Tom Brady - Pro Football Rumors

AFC East Notes: Brady, Jets, Watkins, Jordan

June 1st, 2016 at 5:17pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has added a couple of powerful allies – the AFL-CIO and high-profile attorney Kenneth Feinberg – as he seeks to overturn his four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal, details The Associated Press. In a friend of the court brief filed Monday, the AFL-CIO asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a three-judge panel’s April decision to reinstate Brady’s suspension. According to the labor federation, the panel made a mistake in regarding NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a neutral arbitrator. Meanwhile, Feinberg claims that Goodell “impermissibly exceeded the scope of his authority” and “used the vehicle of arbitration as a mechanism to rewrite the underlying bargain between the parties, to the sole advantage of his organization.”

As for the rest of the AFC East…

There was a report last week that the Jets’ Eric Decker was skipping OTAs because of the team’s lack of progress in re-signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the receiver issued a denial Wednesday. “That’s not the reason I wasn’t there,” he said (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). Decker also expressed confidence that Fitzpatrick will eventually re-up with Gang Green, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. On the other hand, fellow wideout Brandon Marshall wouldn’t say whether his absence was on account of the Fitzpatrick situation (Twitter link via Costello). However, Marshall did acknowledge Wednesday that the Fitzpatrick-less Jets must “move forward and try to figure out how we can win some games.”
When news of a minor foot fracture surfaced earlier this month, the expectation was that Bills receiver Sammy Watkins would be ready for training camp. Based on the words of Watkins and head coach Rex Ryan, that’s now up in the air, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes. “The goal is the regular season,” said Watkins, whose walking boot will come off Thursday. “All I know is that Sammy won’t miss time in the regular season,” Ryan commented.
When asked about defensive end Dion Jordan applying for reinstatement, Dolphins coach Adam Gase said, “I’ll worry about that when it comes around” (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports). Jordan, the third pick in the 2013 draft, had to sit out last season after the league suspended him for violating its substance abuse policy. Jordan has missed 22 games because of suspensions during his short career and has totaled just three sacks in 26 contests.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Dolphins, Ajayi, Jets

May 23rd, 2016 at 2:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi admits that he has been excited about the coming season ever since Lamar Miller left the team in free agency.

“I’ve been excited since I found out that Lamar was going to be moving on and that the position would be available,” Ajayi said, via the team’s website. “I’ve just been pushing myself through this offseason to prepare myself to have a great sophomore season. I was able to get a lot of opportunities last year when I finally started playing, and I felt comfortable. Now, I’m ready to elevate my game to a new level this season.”

After the Dolphins watched Miller sign a four-year deal with the Texans, Miami pivoted towards restricted free agent C.J. Anderson only to watch the Broncos match a four-year, $18MM offer sheet. Later on in March, the Fins missed out on Chris Johnson when he re-signed with the Cardinals on a hometown discount.

Recently, head coach Adam Gase admitted that Ajayi is the leading candidate to take over as Miami’s top tailback. With third-round pick Kenyan Drake standing as the team’s only meaningful addition at running back, the team will be banking on Ajayi for some major production.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

Tom Brady‘s new lawyer Ted Olson told ABC News today that the facts in his client’s case are “so drastic, and so apparent … the court should rehear it,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The NFLPA will file a petition to rehear the Brady case today “en banc,” meaning that there will be a rehearing before a whole panel of judges (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com)
In an interview with SiriusXM (Twitter link), former Jets offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson made it sound as though he is comfortable with retirement. “Retirement is different but welcomed. Signs that times were changing. Didn’t want football to define my life,” Ferguson said.
Earlier today, Ryan Fitzpatrick reaffirmed his desire to return to the Jets. The veteran quarterback also dismissed the notion that he might retire if he does not find a suitable deal.
On Monday, the Browns released former Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline.

Patriots Notes: Belichick, Easley, Brady

May 18th, 2016 at 12:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Bill Belichick sees a “strong trend” in the NFL with hybrid defensive players, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. This year, the Patriots followed that trend when they selected Kamu Grugier-Hill of Eastern Illinois in the sixth-round, a player who played linebacker in college but could play safety in the NFL.

“I think that you are definitely seeing a strong trend in the league towards corners that play safety or corner-type athletes that play safety, bigger safeties that play linebacker. Both of those are trends,” Belichick said during the draft.

At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, Grugier-Hill is on the bigger side for a safety but light for a linebacker in the team’s base defense. The Patriots wil likely move him between both positions, depending on their needs throughout the season and during each drive.

Here’s more out of New England:

The Patriots have offset language on Dominique Easley’s $1.084MM salary, as Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (Twitter links) points out. The Patriots now only owe Easley the difference between that figure and what the Rams pay him. The minimum salary for Easley is $600K, so at most, the Patriots will owe him roughly $484K.
If Tom Brady and the NFLPA successfully get U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to give them another hearing, then the quarterback will likely avoid any suspension for the 2016 season as the legal proceedings drag on. However, even if the Second Circuit denies the petition, the Pats QB still has a path by which he can further delay his suspension, Mike Florio of PFT writes. The first step then would be for Brady to ask the Second Circuit for a stay of the suspension while an appeal to the Supreme Court is prepared. If that request is denied, Brady would present the question of whether the suspension will be stayed not to the Supreme Court justice assigned to the Second Circuit, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If Ginsburg were to issue a stay, Brady would not be suspended until 2017, at the earliest.
Earlier this week, Dwight Freeney told Peter King of The MMQB that he would not rule out joining up with the Patriots.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Tom Brady, Suspension

May 3rd, 2016 at 8:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFLPA and Tom Brady‘s legal team have been granted an extension and will now have until May 23rd to appeal the latest pro-NFL ruling on Brady’s Deflategate suspension, Mark Maske of the Associated Press tweets. Unsurprisingly, the NFL objected to the two week extension, as Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal tweets.

Brady‘s four-game suspension related to the Patriots’ Deflategate incident, which was initially overturned in court last year, was been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit late last month. In the immediate aftermath, it was reported that Brady was prepared to continue his fight and Pats owner Robert Kraft was quick to stand alongside him. Meanwhile, the NFL does not see any need to reignite settlement talks. Ultimately, this dispute being Brady and the league office will be settled by the justice system.

If Brady’s four-game suspension is ultimately upheld, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots would be without their starting quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in that scenario. Understudy Jimmy Garoppolo would likely step into the starting role in New England if Brady is forced to miss the first month of the coming season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Brady, Cowboys, Panthers

April 30th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Ben Levine

Robert Kraft addressed the reinstatement of Tom Brady‘s suspension on Friday night, and the Patriots owner certainly didn’t mince his words.

“Number one, there is no finer ambassador for the game of football, and the New England Patriots, than Tom Brady,” Kraft said, via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. “We always have had, and will continue to have, Tom’s back. Especially when he’s being treated unfairly. He knows that. All the decisions that this organization and I personally have made throughout this ordeal have been focused on putting Tom in the best possible position for success.”

“Number two, I have been in constant communication with Tom over the past 16 months and we’ve had numerous conversations this past week. We are both on the same page and he knows exactly where my allegiances, and the total team’s [allegiances] are, relative to the extremely unfair discipline that he has been subjected to.”

“I share in our fans’ anger and frustration with the penalties the league has levied, and the entire process and how it was conducted. But please trust that I am always trying to do what I believe is best for this franchise, and pledge that I will always continue to do that.”

The Patriots have seemingly started preparing for Brady’s absence, as the organization selected quarterback Jacoby Brissett during last night’s third round.

Let’s check out some more non-draft-related notes from around the NFL…

Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee underwent minor knee surgery yesterday, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Expected recovery time is two weeks for the 29-year-old. The former second-round pick finished last season with 128 tackles, a career-high.
The Cowboys are no longer pursuing veteran defensive end Jeremy Mincey, tweets Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram. The writer notes that the team also won’t be adding former-Lions defensive lineman Jason Jones.
ESPN.com’s David Newton believes the Panthers will pursue a veteran cornerback following the draft (Twitter link).

Extra Points: Chargers, Brady, Las Vegas

April 27th, 2016 at 9:15pm CST by Zachary Links

With less than 24 hours to go until the draft, we have a pretty good idea of how the first two picks will go. The real intrigue, then, starts with the Chargers at No. 3. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) seems confident that the Bolts will take Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.

While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s more from around the NFL:

The NFL does not see any need to reignite settlement talks with Patriots QB Tom Brady and the NFLPA, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Facebook). The NFL believes that neither the NFLPA nor anyone from Brady’s camp has provided any rationale for settlement discussions, so they are not motivated to revisit that idea. The league believes the time for those talks has come and gone, Schefter writes, after the two sides had discussed a settlement last summer.
The Raiders will need the approval of 24 NFL owners if they wish to move to Las Vegas, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News figures that they already have four votes in the bag. The Rams and Chargers would likely OK the move because it would remove the Raiders from their market. Meanwhile, the Cowboys and Texans would likely approve the relocation because it would prevent the Raiders from moving to San Antonio.
Lions GM Bob Quinn and head coach Jim Caldwell went to Ohio State to work out offensive tackle Taylor Decker, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. If Detroit goes tackle in the first round, Birkett gets the sense that Decker could be their guy. Decker says that he has also met with the Bills, Broncos, and Titans.
Johnny Manziel‘s lawyer, Jim Darnell, tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) that there has been no settlement of any kind with the quarterback’s ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. That contradicts a previous report that indicated Manziel and Crowley had reached an out-of-court civil settlement, and suggests that Crowley will have motivation to cooperate with the prosecution during Manziel’s case.
The Seahawks worked out defensive end/outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson today, according to a league source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Dickson, a former seventh-round pick of the Pats, played collegiately for Alabama. He also spent time with Atlanta’s taxi squad.
49ers GM Trent Baalke personally worked out Clemson defensive end/outside linebacker Kevin Dodd and also brought him in for a pre-draft visit, Alex Marvez of FOX Sports tweets.

AFC Rumors: Ravens, Bosa, Brady, Steelers

April 26th, 2016 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Ravens are prioritizing pass rushers, including Ohio State’s Joey Bosa, with the sixth overall pick, an industry source tells Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. With no clear answers for how the draft will play out beyond the top two picks, it’s not clear which players will be available when Baltimore prepares to make its selection. It’s possible that Bosa and Oregon’s DeForest Buckner will both still be on the board at No. 6, but there’s also a chance that both players could be gone by then.

Of course, while Baltimore likes Bosa, Buckner may not even be an option for the club. According to Hensley, if Bosa is picked in the top five, the Ravens favor taking a player like Clemson’s Shaq Lawson or Georgia’s Leonard Floyd. Bosa, Lawson, and Floyd all project as potential outside linebackers for 3-4 teams, whereas Buckner would likely be a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

In theory, the NFLPA and the NFL could reach a settlement to resolve the Tom Brady/Deflategate situation at any time, but in reality, such an agreement remains very unlikely, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio observes, the league has most of the leverage now, and hasn’t shown any willingness in the past to settle. With the Patriots‘ starting quarterback once again facing a four-game suspension, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explores some ways the team could add depth at the QB position.
In a pair of Steelers-related pieces, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review discusses Jarvis Jones‘ long-term future – or possible lack thereof – in Pittsburgh, while Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines the team’s history of avoiding cornerbacks in the first round.
Garrett Graham‘s one-year deal with the Broncos is for the veteran’s minimum and includes an $80K signing bonus, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a split contract for the veteran tight end.
The Jets are expressing interest in Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton as a priority undrafted free agent, says Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
Buffalo offensive tackle John Kling has received interest from the Jaguars, according to Wilson, who tweets that Jacksonville could be a landing spot for Kling.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Tom Brady’s Suspension Reinstated By Appeals Court

April 25th, 2016 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

3:27pm: Brady is “far from” ready to simply accept today’s court ruling, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who tweets that the former MVP is mulling over his options with his legal team.

10:42am: Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension related to the Patriots’ Deflategate incident, which was initially overturned in court by Judge Richard Berman last year, has been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, according to Reuters (Twitter link via CNBC Now). The court’s full decision can be found right here.

“We hold that the Commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement and that his procedural rulings were properly grounded in that agreement and did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness,” reads the ruling from the Court of Appeals. “Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND with instructions to confirm the award.”

While the ruling is significant, it likely won’t put the issue to rest — as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets, Brady’s next recourse would be to seek an injunction and request a re-hearing before the full Second Circuit, or even to appeal to the Supreme Court. Given how Brady and the NFLPA fought the original four-game suspension in 2015, there’s little reason to think they wouldn’t attempt to get it overturned again for the 2016 season.

However, if today’s ruling is ultimately upheld and Brady serves the four-game suspension, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots would be without their starting quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in that scenario.

Jimmy Garoppolo would likely step into the starting role in New England if Brady is forced to miss the first month of the coming season, but the team would have to address the quarterback position further — Brady and Garoppollo are currently the only two QBs on the roster, so another backup would be necessary.

Additionally, assuming the suspension is upheld, it will be interesting to see whether or not the NFL attempts to take away Brady’s pay for four games based on 2015’s salary, or settles for docking that pay from his 2016 salary. Brady reworked his contract earlier this offseason, and will earn a base salary of just $1MM this year, as opposed to $8MM in 2015. Losing four games of 2016 pay would cost him just $235K, whereas it would have cost him $1.88MM a year ago.

The Wells report commissioned by the NFL more than a year ago determined that Brady was “more likely than not” to have been aware of footballs being deflated below their usual levels during the AFC Championship Game against the Colts in January 2015. The league issued a four-game suspension for Brady as a result of those findings, and that penalty was overturned by Judge Berman last summer, prior to the start of the 2015 campaign, allowing Brady to play the full season. The NFL appealed Berman’s decision.

Today’s ruling by the Second Circuit isn’t concerned with whether or not Brady or the Patriots actually deflated footballs intentionally, but rather with the authority of the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell to uphold their disciplinary rulings based on the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pats Looking To Recover First-Round Pick

March 21st, 2016 at 7:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters that he wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to reinstate the draft picks taken from the club as part of the Deflategate sanctions (link via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss). Kraft’s letter, written over one month ago, also requested that Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension be nullified.

Goodell has said that he would consider any new information brought forward and that, in turn, could lead to the Pats’ punishment being altered. As it stands, the Patriots are set to lose their 2016 first-round pick and 2017 fourth-round pick in addition to the four-game suspension of Brady plus a $1MM fine. However, a league source says that the Patriots have “zero chance” at getting their first-round choice back, according to Judy Battista of NFL.com (via Twitter).

The NFLPA and the league went head-to-head earlier this month over Brady’s four-game ban. Around the same time, we learned that the league’s polarizing commissioner earned upwards of $34MM in 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Patriots Extend Tom Brady Through 2019

March 10th, 2016 at 7:30am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 10, 7:30am: Brady’s extension is now official, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that it includes a $28MM signing bonus and $41MM in new money.

Brady’s cap hits for the next four years are now $14MM (2016), $14MM (2017), $22MM (2018), and $22MM (2019), tweets Yates. On the terms of his previous deal, the former Super Bowl MVP had been set to count for $15MM in 2016 and $16MM in 2017, so those charges have been slightly reduced.

MARCH 2, 2:50pm: Brady’s extension has yet to be officially finalized, according to Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com, who says the two sides still need to iron out some financial details.

FEBRUARY 29, 9:05am: The Patriots and Tom Brady have reached an agreement on a two-year contract extension that will keep the star quarterback under team control through the 2019 season, sources tell Adam Schefter and Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

With Brady set to turn 39 this August, his previous contract had been set to take him through his age-40 season. Adding two more years to that deal means that the longtime Patriots quarterback has the chance to remain in New England until he’s 42, if he plays out the full contract.

Brady, an 11-time Pro Bowler, was as excellent as ever in 2015, throwing for 4,770 yards, 36 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. Even as he approaches age 40, he shows no signs of slowing down — since he missed most of the 2008 season with a knee injury, Brady has averaged over 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns per year from 2009 to 2015, making the Pro Bowl in each one of those seasons and not missing a single game.

Brady’s previous contract had been arguably the most team-friendly pact in the NFL, featuring cap hits between $13-15MM for the last three years. In 2016, Brady had been set to earn a $9MM base salary, with a cap number of $15MM. I’d expect the new agreement to reduce that cap charge a little, while giving the signal-caller some additional money up front, in the form of a new signing and/or roster bonus.

The extension for Brady will likely be the first in a series of moves for the Patriots, who have several other candidates for pay cuts, extensions, or outright releases. Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, and Jamie Collins are among the team’s top candidates for extensions, while the contracts for Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, and Marcus Cannon could also be addressed. The Pats will, of course, have a handful of free agent decisions to make as well.

It will also be interesting to see whether Brady’s new deal affects backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at all. Garoppolo’s rookie contract expires after the 2017 season, so although I don’t expect him to go anywhere this year, perhaps the Patriots will consider trading him next winter if Brady continues to perform at his current level. New England previously dealt Brady’s former backup, Ryan Mallett, heading into the final year of his rookie contract when it became clear he was no longer in the club’s long-term plans.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.