HEADLINES

Tim Jennings

North Notes: AP, Jennings, Steelers, Shanahan

January 7th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

If Adrian Peterson feels as if he needs a fresh start away from the Vikings next season, head coach Mike Zimmer would respect that decision, he said today in an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live.

“I would respect Adrian’s decision,” Zimmer said. “I’ll always be honest with him and up front but I’m gonna try to explain to him the reasons why I would like to him to be here. But it has to be a two way street and he has to get his life taken care of — but we’ll sit down and talk, but I’m a pretty good recruiter, too.”

Of course, Peterson remains under contract in Minnesota, so it’s not as if he’ll simply have the opportunity to sign elsewhere right away when he’s reinstated from his suspension. But it’s unlikely that the Vikings will want to keep the star running back at his current 2015 cap number ($15.4MM), so Peterson will have leverage to reach the open market if he declines to take a pay cut.

Here are some more Wednesday links from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was arrested today in Georgia on charges of speeding, DUI, and reckless driving, according to a report by Jeff Dickerson and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. Jennings could face disciplinary measures from the league or from the Bears, who released a statement indicating they’re in information-gathering mode.
  • Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review examines what a new contract for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might look like, concluding that something in the range of five years and $100MM would make sense.
  • Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor is open to playing one more year in Pittsburgh if the team wants to bring him back, and hopes to remain with the organization after ending his playing career, as Kaboly details. “I can be in the office. I can be at the bottom and work my way up. I can be an assistant,” Taylor said. “I don’t mind working my way from the bottom up.”
  • If Kyle Shanahan decides to leave his offensive coordinator position with the Browns this offseason, he prefers to try to establish his own identity as a coach rather than necessarily teaming up again with his father, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.
  • The Lions announced 12 reserve/futures signings yesterday, but rugby star Jarryd Hayne wasn’t among them. The team still intends to finalize a contract with Hayne once a work visa issue is cleared up, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Brandon Marshall Announces Contract Extension

May 19th, 2014 at 7:33pm CST by Matt Feminis

7:33pm: The financials of Marshall’s extension have been released, with the big-play wideout earning $30.1MM in new money, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Of the three year extension, $22.5MM is guaranteed, and Marshall will make $15MM in his first year of the new deal.

11:53am: Marshall’s extension has some “hidden” importance, says Dan Pompei on Sulia: “…the other aspect of [Marshall’s] value is his leadership. Marshall gets players together and runs offseason workouts both on the field and off…it would send the wrong message for the Bears to dole out all the money they have this offseason to players from other teams such as Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, Willie Young and others, and then re-sign their own players such as Tim Jennings, Charles Tillman, Jay Ratliff, Jay Cutler and others, and then not take care of one of their foremost leaders. This contract is about rewarding a great player, but it’s also about sending a message to the entire roster.”

11:20am: Bears receiver Brandon Marshall broke news of a three-year, $30MM contract extension on the television program “The View.” Marshall, who had one year and $9.3MM remaining on his five-year, $44.8MM deal, is now locked up for four years and $40MM ($23MM guaranteed), per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).

Acquired from the Dolphins in March of 2012 for a pair of third-round picks, Marshall was the first big splash of GM Phil Emery’s tenure. The 30-year-old has rewarded the team’s confidence, establishing a rapport with Jay Cutler and posting two Pro Bowl seasons in which he totaled 218 receptions for 2,803 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Melton “All For” Staying In Chicago

February 18th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Matt Feminis

Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton‘s contract year did not go as planned. He suffered a season-ending torn left ACL injury in Week Three, then was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and public intoxication after a bar fight in December. However, while Melton might not be in line for the mega deal many anticipated prior to the season, he remains an athletic, disruptive, pass-rushing three-technique in his age-27 season, making him a coveted asset. Melton talked about his uncertain future with the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

The Bears will not franchise Melton and have yet to make a contract offer, but the injured tackle continues his rehab at the Bears facility, remains in contact with the coaching staff and says he’s “all for” staying in Chicago. It sounds as though GM Phil Emery would like to make that happen, but he was not shy about sending a public message to Melton last month:

“He has to fully dedicate his mind and his focus to football, which is extremely important,” Emery said. “And as I have sat down and talked to him, there was a reason we franchise-tagged him [for 2013]. There was a reason for that [$8.45 million] investment. The under-tackle position in the scheme that we’re in is the engine that drives the defense. And when he was in the game, even though from a statistical standpoint he wasn’t off to a fast start, it was very evident on tape that he was a very important part of the defense.”

Melton says he’s “80 to 90” percent and believes he’s on track to participate in OTAs in late May, or be ready to go for training camp at the latest. Whether he’s in training camp with the Bears or another team remains to be seen. While it was the previous regime which drafted Melton, a college running back-turned-defensive lineman, Emery has been exposed to Melton for two years and knows better than anyone the risk and reward involved with an extension. He must weigh Melton’s injury risk, on-field inconsistency and overall accountability against his upside, market value and sheer importance to the Bears defense.

Accordingly, Emery faces a difficult decision, especially in the aftermath of most of the team’s off-season salary cap space being allotted to quarterback Jay Cutler. The team’s pressing needs, however, are on the defense, which bottomed out last season and is devoid of established building blocks with the exception of 30-year-old cornerback Tim Jennings and aging linebacker Lance Briggs. Retaining Melton would perhaps allow the Bears to focus on an edge rusher or secondary defender early in the draft.