HEADLINES

Tom Brady

DeflateGate: Brady, Patriots, Wells

May 7th, 2015 at 10:23pm CST by Zachary Links

At an event at Salem State on Thursday evening, Tom Brady sat down with reporter Jim Gray and while the Wells Report was discussed, the Patriots quarterback wasn’t willing to say a whole lot about it. “I don’t have really any reaction, Jim,” Brady said, according to NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling. “Our owner commented on it yesterday. And it’s only been 30 hours, so I haven’t had much time to digest it fully. But when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know how I feel about it.” While we wait to see if Brady gives a more direct response to the findings of the report, here’s a look at other news regarding the Pats’ scandal..

  • Brady’s agent, Don Yee, released a statement on the matter and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter) passes it along in its entirety. It reads, in part, “The Wells report, with all due respect, is a significant and terrible disappointment. It’s omission of key facts and lines of inquiry suggest the investigators reached a conclusion first, and then determined so-called facts later.”
  • Disciplinary decisions for the Patriots and Brady are “coming soon,” a source tells Mark Maske of The Washington Post (on Twitter). Fines, suspensions, and loss of draft picks are all “under consideration” as forms of punishment.
  • Four unnamed head coaches want to see Brady suspended and the Patriots fined, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). One of the coaches told Cole that the situation is a “mess” that needs to be put to an end once and for all.

Ted Wells Releases DeflateGate Report

May 6th, 2015 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

After a 103-day investigation, Ted Wells has submitted his report on the “DeflateGate” controversy to commissioner Roger Goodell and the Patriots. The report, which spans 243 pages, is available in full right here. Wells and his team conclude that it’s “more probable than not” that Patriots personnel knowingly altered the inflation level of the game balls.

“In particular, we conclude that it is more probable than not that [locker room attendant] Jim McNally and [equipment assistant] John Jastremski participated in a deliberate plan to circumvent the rules by releasing air from Patriots game balls after the examination of the footballs by NFL game officials at the AFC Championship Game,” the report reads. “We believe that McNally and Jastremski were aware that the inflation level of the Patriots game balls following pre-game inspection by the game officials would be approximately 12.5 psi and planned for McNally to deflate the balls below that level following the pre-game inspection using a needle provided by Jastremski.

“Based on the evidence, we also have concluded that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls.”

While the report implicates Brady, it adds that there’s no indication that Patriots ownership or the front office, including head coach Bill Belichick, was involved or had any knowledge of the affected balls. Team owner Robert Kraft has already released a statement in which he and his club will accept the findings of the report. However, he continues to stick behind members of his organization, and expressed disappointment with the investigation.

“To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship game, would be a gross understatement,” Kraft said.

Although there is not hard evidence proving that Brady was aware of the game balls being altered, text messages exchanged by McNally and Jastremski strongly suggest that the quarterback knew what was going on, making him a candidate for discipline from the NFL. Goodell released a statement today saying that a determination on “what steps to take” would be made by the league’s executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent and his team (Facebook link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).

AFC Links: Jets, Brady, Browns, Ravens

February 15th, 2015 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers have a number of impending free agents, including linebacker Jason Worilds and cornerback Ike Taylor. While some Pittsburgh fans may be pessimistic about the team retaining all of their players, general manager Kevin Colbert is actually confident.

“Almost to a man I’d be shocked if [they] didn’t want to stay,” Colbert said (via ESPN.com’s Scott Brown). “I feel they all would like the opportunity to be able to stay. It doesn’t mean they won’t field other offers or see what else is out there. In the end I think the majority of them will want to be here.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC…

  • We heard yesterday that Antonio Cromartie would be very open to a reunion with the Jets, but the cornerback cautioned that he may want to play for a contender. However, he also noted that the organization was closer to contention than their 4-12 record indicated. “I don’t think the Jets are rebuilding at all,” Cromartie told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
  • Tom Brady is set to make $5MM today as part of the $30MM signing bonus from his 2013 extension with the Patriots, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates.
  • If Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com was the Browns owner, his first move this offseason would be re-signing Brian Hoyer. However, he’d only make that move if the entire organization agreed.
  • ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley examined whether the Ravens should cut wideout Jacoby Jones, with the writer concluding that the team should hold on to the return specialist. The writer does caution that the receiver’s production may not justify his salary.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Marrone, Polian, Jets

January 22nd, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady adamantly denied that he had any involvement in the deflating of footballs during New England’s victory over the Colts in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. “I didn’t alter the ball in any way,” said Brady. “…I was surprised as anyone on Monday morning when I heard what was happening…I have no knowledge of anything…I’m very comfortable saying that” (Twitter links via Albert Breer of NFL.com). Furthermore, Brady stated that NFL has not yet contacted him as part of their investigation, but allowed that they might do so, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) — per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Brady would be the last person the NFL speaks to, based on Rapoport’s knowledge of the how the league conducts its probes. Here’s more from the AFC East, including a little more on DeflateGate:

  • Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also spoke to reporters earlier today, and one league source found it “shocking” that Belichick shifted the focus of the scandal to Brady, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Of course, Belichick didn’t accuse Brady of anything improper, but he did say that “quarterbacks…know a lot more than I do,” which struck many as odd.
  • Some league insiders believe that ex-Bills coach (and current Jaguars OL coach) Doug Marrone and Jacksonville executive Chris Polian could be a head coach/general manager pairing in 2016, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link via Mike Rodak).
  • Packers assistant offensive line coach Steve Marshall is expected to join the Jets, presumably continuing to work with the offensive line, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).
  • Kansas State receiver Tyler Lockett interviewed with the Dolphins on Wednesday, and the former Wildcat says the meeting went well, per James Walker of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Lynn, Brady, Bills

December 30th, 2014 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

As the AFC East’s only playoff team takes a week off before preparing to host its first postseason contest, let’s round up the latest notes from out of the division….

  • We can add an internal candidate to the Jets‘ list of potential head coaches, according to Kristian Dyer of Metro New York, who tweets that Anthony Lynn will interview for the position. Lynn, who has served as the team’s running backs coach and assistant head coach for the last three seasons under Rex Ryan, is likely being interviewed to help the Jets satisfy the terms of the Rooney Rule.
  • When it was first reported yesterday that Tom Brady had agreed to restructure his contract with the Patriots, it was presented as simply a matter of converting guaranteed salaries into salaries guaranteed for injury only, but that’s not the only change that was made to Brady’s deal. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explains that the Pats also added $1MM to each of Brady’s base salaries for the next three seasons.
  • Brady’s willingness to rework his contract has been presented as a magnanimous gesture that will allow the Patriots to be more flexibility when they negotiate with other players, but Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com doesn’t quite see it that way. As Barnwell outlines, the fact that Brady essentially gave up his guaranteed money makes it easier for the Pats to part ways with the quarterback in the next three years. That could benefit Brady as well, since allowing the club to cut him without swallowing a ton of guaranteed money would allow him the freedom to pick his next destination in unrestricted free agency. Of course, presumably both sides would prefer for Brady to maintain his current high level of play for the next few seasons, allowing him to finish this contract without any drama.
  • With Kyle Orton retiring and E.J. Manuel likely not the long-term answer in Buffalo, John Kryk of the Toronto Sun wonders if the Bills could explore the trade market this offseason. In Kryk’s view, Robert Griffin III would make a better target for the Bills than Jay Cutler.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Jets, Bills, Polian

December 29th, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after his base salaries for the next three seasons – totaling $24MM – became guaranteed over the weekend, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has agreed to rework his deal so that those salaries are now guaranteed for injury only, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Facebook link). While it doesn’t change Brady’s cap hit, the move allows the Pats to free up some cash, since the team no longer has to put $24MM for Brady in escrow right away, as PatsCap.com explains (via Twitter). That could allow the team to be a little more flexible this winter when discussing extensions with a handful of free-agents-to-be.

Here’s more from out of the AFC East:

  • Earlier today, Jets owner Woody Johnson told reporters that he’d “love” to have Darrelle Revis back in a Jets uniform in 2015. Considering Revis remains under contract with the Patriots, that comment could easily be viewed as tampering, which Johnson must have realized, since he has since backpedaled. Johnson’s latest statement, via the team: “I misspoke today when I commented on Darrelle Revis. I would never interfere in the contractual relationship of a player with another team and should not have used those words. I called [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft this afternoon to emphasize those points” (all Twitter links).
  • According to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (via Twitter), the more he hears, the more he’s inclined to believe that Bill Polian will indeed return to the Bills. However, Graham cautions that there are no guarantees at this point. On Saturday, Polian refuted a report indicating that he was returning to the organization for which he was once the general manager.
  • On the heels of Kyle Orton‘s retirement announcement, Bills general manager Doug Whaley acknowledged that his team will have to add at least one quarterback, and maybe two. Whaley added that Buffalo will leave all its options open when it comes to acquiring a QB, so as not to put the team in a corner “or show our hand” (Twitter links via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).

 

AFC East Notes: Rex, Dolphins, Patriots

December 28th, 2014 at 11:45am CST by Dallas Robinson

We’ve already passed along the news of front office executive Nick Caserio’s extension with the Patriots and a batch of Jets notes, but there’s more news from the AFC East…

  • As we’ve heard, the Jets are expected to fire GM John Idzik this week, but Rex Ryan might still have a chance to save his job. According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the Jets are open to letting the club’s next general manager decide Ryan’s fate. Ryan hasn’t been told that he’s fired, but he’s already cleared out his office. And per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk), New York contacted Ryan’s agent to determine the interest of a separate client in the Jets job, so it would be a surprise to see Ryan return.
  • Sources tell Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle’s performance will be assessed after season, leading to speculation that he could be let go. Head coach Joe Philbin declined to give Coyle a vote of confidence last week after it was announced that Philbin would return to Miami in 2015. Under Coyle’s leadership, the Fins finished 10th in defensive DVOA, but 19th in weighted DVOA, meaning the unit got weaker as the year progressed. In a separate piece, Salguero speculates that Ryan could be a fit as the club’s new DC.
  • As Joel Corry of CBS Sports points out (on Twitter), Patriots quarterback Tom Brady‘s base salaries for 2015-17, which total $24MM, are now guaranteed for injury and skill because he’s on New England’s roster for Week 17.
  • Ben Volin of the Boston Globe lauds the work done by Bill Belichick, noting that Patriots head man has excelled both in his coaching responsibilities and his front office role. While allowing that this year’s draft class hasn’t produced much so far, Volin writes that nearly every free agent signing or trade orchestrated by Belichick has worked out this season.
  • Deep into his Sunday notes piece, Volin rounds up the various performance escalators that are on the line for several key Patriots today.
  • After speaking with agent Brian Ayrault, Florio reports (via Twitter) that Ayrault won’t be taking a job with the Bills. Florio had speculated as much earlier in the day.

Joel Corry On Worst Salary Cap Situations

December 25th, 2014 at 10:18am CST by Rob DiRe

On Christmas Eve, Joel Corry of CBS Sports took a look at a few NFL teams who have the worst salary cap situations going into 2015. He picked out the five organizations stuck deepest in salary cap hell:

  1. New Orleans Saints – $23.07MM over the cap
  2. Arizona Cardinals – $6.44MM
  3. Pittsburgh Steelers – $2.901MM
  4. New England Patriots – $1.945MM
  5. San Francisco 49ers – $928,000

Here are some of the highlights of actions Corry suggests that would help them get under the cap in order to have a successful offseason:

Saints

  • Pass rusher Junior Galette could see his contract restructured to open up $10MM, despite signing the extension this past offseason.
  • Another contract doled off last offseason that can be restructured is of prized free agent Jairus Byrd, which could open up $5.6MM in cap space.
  • A third contract from last offseason that can be restructured is that of tight end Jimmy Graham. That move could save $4.77MM in cap space.
  • Both of their Pro Bowl guards are suddenly highly paid luxuries as they have seen their performance drop, and Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs are candidates for release. If cut, they will free up $6.6MM and $3.6MM, respectively.
  • Veteran receiver Marques Colston holds a $9.7MM cap number, and has seen a sharp decline in his play. It will be a tougher cut, but is a candidate to be released.
  • The team could restructure Drew Brees‘ contract again, although they will only push their cap problems into the future in exchange for immediate relief.
  • Releasing linebacker David Hawthorne will free up $2.99MM in cap space if he is released before his $2.5MM roster bonus on the third day of the 2015 league year.

Cardinals

Steelers

Patriots

  • The obvious move for the Patriots would be signing Darrelle Revis to a long-term deal, which would create substantial cap space. The team is unlikely to keep him in 2015 at his current number. They will open $20MM in cap space if they do not keep him on the roster.
  • The Patriots could open up $4MM in cap space by restructuring Tom Brady‘s contract.
  • The team will likely ask linebacker Jerod Mayo to take a pay cut, or they may release him. Corry writes that his $4.5MM injury guarantee will be the only thing that potentially saves him from being released.
  • Danny Amendola will be expendable, and cutting him will free up $2.1MM in cap room or $4.5MM if he is designated a post June 1st cut.
  • Vince Wilfork could also become a cap casualty, as the team will have to decide whether to guarantee his contract for 2015 and 2016. Releasing him will free up $7.566MM in cap room.
  • The team could also recoup some money from Aaron Hernandez‘ signing bonus if the grievance ruling comes back favorable for the Patriots.

49ers

  • The 49ers could restructure Colin Kaepernick‘s contract to lower his 2015 cap number.
  • Linebacker Ahmad Brooks may be released, freeing up a little over $4MM in cap room.
  • Another staple of the team, Vernon Davis, could be released as performance has dropped. The team would gain $4.95MM from releasing him.
  • If Aldon Smith‘s off-field troubles are too much for the 49ers, the team could decline his 2015 option and pick up $9.754MM in cap space.
  • The team could pass on re-signing Michael Crabtree, and will likely cut Stevie Johnson and save just over $6MM unless they lose Crabtree and replace him with Johnson.
  • The team will most likely not seek to bring Frank Gore back to the team, unless it is at an extremely reasonable number.

Patriots Notes: Salary Cap, Brady, Cannon

December 13th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Rob DiRe

The Patriots still have $5.9MM in cap space this season, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He writes that they will likely lose some of that after incentives this season, but will likely roll the rest over into next season.

Here are some more notes surrounding the Patriots financials:

  • Assuming the Patriots do not cut Tom Brady before Week 17 (a pretty safe assumption by Volin), his base salaries for the next three years become fully guaranteed (via Twitter). This seemed like a bigger deal in early October.
  • Volin also came up with a few details on Marcus Cannon‘s extension (via Twitter). He writes that the $3.2MM signing bonus will be split over three seasons, and he will have base salaries of $1.2MM and $3.4MM the next two seasons.
  • For those looking at a more in-depth look of the Cannon extension, Field Yates of ESPN.com provides a comprehensive breakdown of how the contract is structured.

AFC East Notes: Ayers, Brady, Jets, Pryor

October 24th, 2014 at 10:23am CST by Ben Levine

Akeem Ayers finds himself in a much different situation with the Patriots than he with his previous team, the Titans. The former second-round pick apparently fell out of favor with Ken Whisenhunt and his coaching staff, but the 25-year-old is happy for a chance to contribute in New England. Via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald…

“I’m pretty much just happy to be here. Obviously, I wasn’t playing there, and I just happened to get in a good situation here,” Ayers said. “As I’m learning the playbook, I’m trying to simplify things as much as I can and the coaches are helping me out with that. We’re trying to keep things simple and try to learn to the best I can to play as fast as I can when I’m on the field.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC East…

  • ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss believes Tom Brady will finish his career with the Patriots. However, based on the team’s previous handling of franchise players, Reiss warns that it isn’t a guarantee.
  • While Bill Belichick has received some criticism for releasing veteran Tommy Kelly, Reiss points out that the veteran didn’t put forth much effort in the team’s preseason opener. The writer opines that Kelly wanted out and forced Belichick’s hand.
  • Following an eight-win season in 2013, the Jets should have done a better job of addressing some of their weaknesses in free agency, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Entering the season with the league’s second-highest salary-cap surplus is an “embarrassing truth,” the writer opines.
  • Among the Jets disappointments this season has been first-rounder Calvin Pryor. Coach Rex Ryan attributed the rookie’s struggles to a missed interception earlier in the season. “Probably started with the first game when he dropped that pick-six. But, he hasn’t had the impact necessarily that I think all of us had expected, but quite honestly, our defense has been played a little differently than maybe we had anticipated,” Ryan said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “So, I think we’ve had to make some of those adjustments along the way. It hasn’t gone according to plan so to speak.”
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