Tony Romo

QB Rumors: RGIII, Foles, Romo, Luck

March 4th, 2016 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

At least 10 teams are giving Washington signal-caller Robert Griffin III “a hard look,” sources tell Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. Griffin is a strong candidate to be either traded or released in the coming days, and there are teams around the league who feel like they can remake RGIII both on and off the field, according to Freeman.

While no team will want to trade for Griffin and pay his $16MM+ salary for 2016, that figure remains non-guaranteed until next Wednesday, so there could be resolution on the quarterback’s situation soon. As Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com tweets, Washington wouldn’t want more than a conditional late-round pick in a trade, so if a team can negotiate a reworked contract as part of a deal, it could be worth parting with that pick to get a leg up on all the clubs waiting for RGIII to be released.

As we wait to see what happens with the former No. 2 overall pick, let’s round up a few more Friday items on quarterbacks around the NFL, including the guy who was selected before Griffin in 2012…

With the Rams currently counting on Case Keenum to be their starting quarterback, Nick Foles could almost certainly be had in the right trade. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests (via Twitter) that the Dolphins, the Cowboys, and Washington would be among the teams with interest if Foles were available. It’s hard to imagine any of those teams giving up anything of value for Foles though.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who will go under the knife next week, intends to undergo a “Mumford procedure” on his collarbone, rather than having a plate inserted, writes David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Mike Fisher of CBSDFW.com had reported that Romo would undergo the plate insertion, which involves a set of screws and a plate being inserted to protect the bone. However, Moore says that while the plate remains an option, the plan for Romo is the Mumford procedure, which would involve shaving off or removing a portion of the distal clavicle.
Andrew Luck‘s looming extension will change the Colts‘ cap outlook drastically going forward, but the team has been anticipating that jump in its quarterback salary for several years. Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star takes a closer look at how the Colts are approaching the deal, and how it will affect the rest of the team’s offseason plans.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Morris, Coughlin

March 3rd, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Having signed Sam Bradford to a two-year contract extension, the Eagles don’t necessarily plan to put the quarterback position on the back-burner for the rest of the offseason. Head coach Doug Pederson acknowledged today that he and the Eagles will look into drafting a signal-caller, though he added it would probably be later in the draft, rather than with the No. 13 overall pick (Twitter links via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman on whether the offensive line will be a priority for the club this offseason: “It’s a priority today. It’s a priority tomorrow. It’s a priority next week. It’s a priority in April” (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). It sounds like that’s a yes.
Admitting that he doesn’t know what to expect as his first opportunity at free agency approaches, running back Alfred Morris says he’d be open to returning to Washington, but will have “no hard feelings” if the team doesn’t bring him back. Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com has the details and the quotes from Morris.
Former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is sending an odd message by hanging around the team’s facility and using the gym twice a week, writes Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. Myers hear that Coughlin’s “hard feelings for the Giants came through loud and clear” during his head coaching interview with the Eagles in January, and adds that it’s time for the veteran coach to move on.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will undergo surgery on his collarbone next week, sources tell David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Romo is believed to have made his decision on what kind of procedure he’ll have, but it’s yet known which direction he’s going.

East Rumors: Vernon, Wilkerson, Cowboys

February 27th, 2016 at 3:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins and Olivier Vernon‘s representatives haven’t spoken much about the possibility of a long-term deal in Miami, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports.

Recognizing the interest the 25-year-old defensive end will draw in free agency if he reaches the market, the Dolphins will entertain the possibility of tagging Vernon with the intent to then trade him, sources inform La Canfora.

The franchise tag for defensive ends is $15.7MM, and the Dolphins already employ the league’s highest-paid defender in Ndamukong Suh, who makes $19.06MM per year. Suh and Cameron Wake‘s cap numbers add up to $38.4MM in 2016 if those contracts are not restructured, making a potential Vernon extension tricky.

PFR’s Dallas Robinson rated Vernon as a top-15 free agent in this year’s class.

Here’s some more news coming out of the Eastern divisions on Combine Saturday.

Publicly seeking a long-term deal for some time, Muhammad Wilkerson could also be a tag-and-trade candidate, La Canfora reports. The Jets and Wilkerson’s reps aren’t close on a long-term deal and haven’t discussed it much since talks broke off last year. The 25-year-old’s been the game’s second-best 3-4 defensive end over the past few seasons, and the $15.7MM Wilkerson would draw as a tagged player would make Gang Green’s auxiliary moves — like keeping Ryan Fitzpatrick — more difficult. The Jets possess $21.9MM worth of cap space. League executives told La Canfora Wilkerson is “plenty worth” the deal Marcell Dareus signed to stay in Buffalo last year (six years, $95.1MM, with a $25MM signing bonus) and would be incredibly sought-after on the open market. La Canfora lists the Giants, Raiders and Jaguars as teams who would listen in a tag-and-trade scenario.
Jerry Jones expects Tony Romo to be the Cowboys‘ quarterback for another four or five years, he tells media, including Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Although this isn’t the first year Dallas’ owner tossed out that timetable for the soon-to-be-36-year-old quarterback, it wouldn’t mesh with Dallas drafting Romo’s successor at No. 4 overall, but either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz probably reaches the Cowboys at that spot barring a trade-up scenario.
Romo’s leaning toward having a plate surgically inserted to stabilize his collarbone, which he injured twice last year, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports. Such a procedure would allow the 11th-year Cowboys starter to participate in offseason workouts despite suffering his latest setback on Thanksgiving Day.
Romo’s backup could be a higher-profile player than Wentz or Goff, at least according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. The veteran reporter expects Robert Griffin III to be in play for the Cowboys next month despite previous reports indicating tepid interest on Dallas’ behalf, Schefter said on a radio appearance with Cowlishaw and Mosley (via JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com).
The lengthy legal battle between DeSean Jackson and former agent Drew Rosenhaus ended with a judge ruling the Washington wideout doesn’t have to pay back the $516K he was previously ruled to have owed Rosenhaus, Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal reports (on Twitter). Jackson and Rosenhaus had been mired in a legal tussle since 2013, when Jackson fired Rosenhaus in favor of Joel Segal. In April 2014, an NFLPA arbitrator ruled in Rosenhaus’ favor after the agent filed a grievance to recoup unpaid loans and agent fees.

NFC East Rumors: Cox, Brinkley, Romo, JPP

February 25th, 2016 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

Having already extended the contracts of Vinny Curry, Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Malcolm Jenkins, and Brent Celek since their season ended, the Eagles would still like to get something done with Fletcher Cox, whose next deal may very well make him the team’s highest-paid player. Speaking to the media on Wednesday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, de-facto general manager Howie Roseman called it a “huge priority” to lock up Cox, as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer details.

“He’s a great player and he’s going to get great player money,” Roseman said. “And we’re not shy about saying that.”

Cox remains under contract with the Eagles for one more season, so the team isn’t under any immediate pressure to get something done with the standout lineman. As the two sides attempt to work on a deal, let’s round up a few other items from out of the NFC East….

Giants linebacker Jasper Brinkley is expected to hit the open market next month, according to James Kratch of NJ.com. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll sign elsewhere. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Kratch that the Giants have expressed interest in signing Brinkley and have had discussions with his representatives.
While there’s still no final decision on what type of collarbone surgery Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will undergo, he’s expected to go under the knife within the next two weeks, a source tells Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A Tuesday report indicated Romo is leaning toward a Mumford procedure, which involves shaving off or removing a portion of the distal clavicle.
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is likely focused on his next contract as he nears free agency, but he’ll have another issue on his plate in the near future. According to Julia Marsh of the New York Post, Pierre-Paul filed a lawsuit against ESPN and reporter Adam Schefter on Wednesday for publishing his medical records last year. The lawsuit contends that Schefter “improperly obtained” JPP’s medical chart, violating his medical privacy.

NFC Notes: Romo, Lawrence, Bucs, Lions

February 23rd, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Let’s take a look at some of the latest news coming out of NFC cities, starting with Tony Romo‘s immediate future.

Romo has yet to make a final decision on what type of surgery he’ll undergo in March, but the 14th-year Cowboys quarterback leaning toward a Mumford procedure, a source tells Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. The Mumford procedure involves shaving off or removing a portion of the distal clavicle.
Demarcus Lawrence probably won’t be 100% until at least training camp after he underwent January back surgery to repair an injury that Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said was “a little more serious” than anticipated, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Lawrence played in all 16 games last season and led Dallas with eight sacks, but Jones conceded the third-year defensive end may miss time this summer due to the procedure.
The Buccaneers are leaning toward assigning RFA tenders to wide receiver Russell Shepard and safety Bradley McDougald, but have yet to make a decision on linebacker Danny Lansanah, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times and Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter links). Shepard and McDougald figure to be in line for low-end tenders, while Lansanah would become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t get an offer from the Bucs by March 9.
Tampa Bay wants Sterling Moore to return, per Cummings (on Twitter), but will allow him to test free agency. Moore experienced a down year after Pro Football Focus ranked the journeyman corner as a top-25 player at his position in 2014. The site ranked him 64th among cornerbacks last season. He started nine games for the Bucs after being nontendered by the Cowboys last March.
Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com has a few suggestions for Bob Quinn as the Lions general manager prepares for his first NFL combine as a GM. Calvin Johnson and Darius Slay are among the players on Quinn’s list of issues to address.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

Tony Romo Mulling Collarbone Surgery

February 5th, 2016 at 6:25pm CST by Dallas Robinson

FEBRUARY 5: Add another wrinkle to the story, as Romo tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he hasn’t decided whether or not to have the operation. Like Archer reported below, Romo will wait three or four weeks before making a final determination, using that time to “find the bone density and see how strong it is.”

11:02am: Romo still intends to have surgery on his left clavicle, but will wait to determine what kind of procedure he needs, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

Source tells Moore that two options are in play — Romo may have a plate surgically attached over the collarbone to limit the potential for recurring injury, or doctors could opt for a “Mumford procedure,” which involves shaving off or removing a portion of the distal clavicle.

As Archer notes below, the Cowboys and Romo intend to reassess their options in about four weeks.

FEBRUARY 3, 8:35am: The Cowboys and Romo have decided to postpone the decision on whether or not the quarterback will undergo surgery on his collarbone, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Romo’s collarbone will be re-evaluated in four weeks before a final determination on surgery is made, sources tell Archer.

As noted below, if Romo does eventually go under the knife, the recovery period is expected to be about six to eight weeks, which would still put him on track to participate in offseason workouts in May.

JANUARY 24: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will undergo offseason collarbone surgery, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, who reports that Romo will have a plate inserted in his left collarbone in order to prevent future injuries. Romo has fractured his left clavicle three times in the past five seasons, most recently in November 2015.

A report yesterday indicated that Romo would undergo a CT scan this week, and Werder says that scan will help determine if Romo’s clavicle has healed enough to support that hardware that doctors will insert into his collarbone. “I think we know which way we’re siding and some of the things,” Romo said Saturday, in regards to the possibility of surgery. “We’ve had exhaustive discussions about it.“

Cowboy management expects a six-to-eight week recovery period from the date of the surgery, adds Werder (Twitter link). So depending on when the actual operation occurs, Romo should clearly be available for the beginning of the 2016 regular season. It’s unclear how much of Dallas’ offseason program Romo will be able to participate in, but it’s likely that the club will take a cautious approach.

On a macro level, the Cowboys are widely expected to add a quarterback via the draft this year, as the club has been devastated by a lack of options behind Romo (Dallas posted a 1-11 record in the absence of Romo in 2015). Romo, 36 in April, said yesterday that he expects to remain in the NFL “for awhile,” but the team plans to acquire more depth, especially given that Matt Cassel, last year’s No. 2 quarterback, is an unrestricted free agent.

East Notes: Barrett, Jets, Reed

January 24th, 2016 at 9:52am CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins have hired Danny Barrett as their new running backs coach, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Barrett, 54, most recently served as the interim head coach at the University of Central Florida, but he has a varied background, having acted as a collegiate positional coach and as the head coach of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Now for some more notes from the league’s East divisions:

Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com tweets that the Jets will not look to retain free agent linebacker Demario Davis, regardless of what the team does in the draft.
In a full-length post, Cimini observes that Jets GM Mike Maccagnan is about to face his second major test. In his first year as GM, Maccagnan was armed with a great deal of cap space to supplement his roster, but in 2016, he not only has less cap space to work with, but six of the team’s eight highest cap charges belong to players who will be at least 31 next season (a statistic that does not yet includ 33-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick). Maccagnan will now have to make his team younger without sacrificing wins, one of the toughest things to do in professional sports.
Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com wonders if Washington should pursue a contract extension with Jordan Reed, noting that although the tight end is set to earn just $685K in 2016–the last year of his current deal–it may make more sense long-term to lock him up now, despite his injury history.
The Giants will of course run Ben McAdoo‘s West Coast offense in 2016, but who the offensive play-caller will be remains up in the air. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes, McAdoo himself is the most qualified, but he may prefer to get his head out of the play chart to better concentrate on the entire game. New York’s offensive coordinator, Mike Sullivan, and quarterbacks coach, Frank Cignetti, both have play-calling experience.
Despite his recent injuries, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo thinks he’ll be fine for the foreseeable future. “There’s no question, I will be able to play for awhile,” Romo told Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Romo, 36 in April, will reportedly undergo a CT scan this week to determine if he needs surgery on his collarbone.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Eagles, Packers, Cowboys, Lions

January 23rd, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles were prepared to offer new Giants head coach Ben McAdoo their top coaching job had he come in for the second interview he scheduled, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The Giants moved up their interview with their then-offensive coordinator to expedite their process and retain him, but multiple sources told the Inquirer he would’ve gotten the Eagles’ job had he interviewed again.

Philadelphia also did not offer new coach Doug Pederson final say on the 53-man roster like Adam Gase, the Eagles’ initial coaching interview as part of their 10 “Tier 1” candidates, received upon accepting the Dolphins’ job.

Linebackers coach Ken Flajole turned down the UTEP DC job to land in Philadelphia. UTEP had to amend a Jan. 14 press conference to inform that Flajole, the Rams’ DC from 2009-11, would be returning to the NFL instead of guiding the Miners’ defense.

Jeffery Lurie told Berman the regular season’s final week, after he fired Chip Kelly, proved beneficial in terms of communicating with the players on what exactly went wrong under Kelly and how best to re-route the team.

Here are some more notes on the Eagles, along with the latest from other NFC locales.

With Pederson saying Sam Bradford “fit perfectly” into the offense he plans to run with the Eagles, Daniel Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com notes in his Eagles mailbag the best course of action for the franchise going forward would be to sign the former No. 1 pick to a long-term deal. Despite an unremarkable season, Bradford will still figure to have his share of suitors if he reaches the market, with the Texans and Browns also in dire need of a quarterback. Bradford threw 19 TDs, 14 INTs and completed 65.3% of his passes in 14 games — the most he’d played in since 2012.
Tony Romo will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if he’ll require any surgery to repair his troublesome collarbone, according to a report on the Cowboys‘ website. “We have a pretty good idea, but we’re going to get a CT scan here this coming week and then make all the choices from there,” Romo said. “I think we know which way we’re siding and some of the things. We’ve had exhaustive discussions about it.” In December, Romo discussed attaching a plate to his collarbone to reduce the reinjury risk. Romo said he’ll be “ready to rock” by the time OTAs begin.
Lance Dunbar, Rolando McClain and Morris Claiborne should be available to the Cowboys on cheaper, one-year deals, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap lists them as free agents the team should consider bringing back. Fitzgerald suggests the team move on from Greg Hardy and consider bringing back DeMarcus Ware on a one-year deal in the event the Broncos release him to clear cap space.
The Packers hired Rams running back coach Ben Sirmans for the same position, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter). Sirmans will now be traveling from the league’s second-largest market to its smallest. He coached running backs in St. Louis for four years after spending the previous 16 coaching in college.
Lions defensive tackle Caraun Reid underwent ankle surgery this week but is expected to return sometime during the offseason, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Reid started 12 of the 14 games in which he played, but was hampered throughout the season by the high-ankle sprain he suffered in training camp. The team regularly held its 2014 fifth-round pick out of practice down the stretch as a result. Reid is the only interior defensive lineman guaranteed to return to Detroit, with Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones and Tyrunn Walker‘s contracts having expired.

NFC East Notes: Bradford, Coughlin, Romo

December 29th, 2015 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur anticipates that quarterback Sam Bradford will re-sign with the team this offseason, as Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. Bradford, of course, is eligible for free agency, but the Eagles will have the franchise tag at their disposal if they want – or need – to use it, and the former first overall pick could agree to a new deal with or without being franchised.

“I expect him to [re-sign],” Shurmur said. “He’s all along expressed to us that he enjoys what we’re doing. He likes our offense, he likes the culture here. And so it’s no surprise that that was revealed publicly. But, yeah, I hope he’s here for sure.”

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

The Giants will have a tough decision to make if they want to move on from coach Tom Coughlin. However, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com wonders if Coughlin could make things easier on the organization by simply walking away himself.
If the Giants make a coaching change, they should go after current Saints coach Sean Payton, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News opines. Furthermore, Myers feels that if Coughlin goes, GM Jerry Reese should also be shown the door based on his disappointing results in recent drafts (with Odell Beckham Jr., of course, standing as an exception).
After fracturing his collarbone twice this season, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is considering having a plate inserted in an attempt to prevent further injuries, as Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Davison also passes along Romo’s comments on his future and on the possibility of the Cowboys drafting a quarterback.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Jerry Jones Won’t Overhaul Cowboys

December 29th, 2015 at 1:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Things did not go according to plan for the Cowboys in 2015, but owner Jerry Jones is not about to start from scratch. In a radio interview on Tuesday, Jones explained that he isn’t looking to overhaul the roster this offseason.

“Change just for change’s sake? You’re not going to have that because I too believe that we’re closer than this record indicates,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, according to Drew Davison of the Star Telegram.

However, Jones went on to indicate that there would be natural roster turnover and implied that there could be a few changes to the coaching staff. However, he certainly didn’t sound like he was going to make any significant changes on the coaching front. So, the Cowboys don’t sound intent on breaking the five-year, $30MM extension given to Jason Garrett after last season, nor will they break off the multi-year extensions handed to offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.

It’s been a trying season for Dallas thanks in no small part to the absence of Tony Romo. Without the quarterback in the lineup, the Cowboys went 1-10 on the year and they’re eagerly awaiting his return in 2016. There’s some news on that front as well, as a source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that Romo will have scans done on his collarbone next week as the team explores the option of surgery. For his part, Jones said in his radio hit that Romo will not have a plate inserted unless the healing process slows, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Jones added that the way Romo has healed so far likely means the QB will not have surgery (link).

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