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Tre Boston

Extra Points: Rams, Manziel, Eagles, Colts

May 20th, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by Micah Powell

The majority of the 2018 NFL Draft class is now signed, but that’s not the case in Los Angeles. The Rams have yet to sign a single pick.

Should fans be concerned? To put it simply, no.

This isn’t new to the team, as Michael David Smith of PFT writes, as it likes to address financial planning with its players before giving them a large signing bonus. Like in years past, the Rams rookies will all generally sign at once sometime in the next few weeks.

“One of the things that we think is important with that is bringing the rookies in as a group, having them live together as a group, and not having any real differentiation between the first-round pick and the undrafted rookie,” Demoff said. “They’re in the hotel together. They’re eating meals together. They’re doing things together. And then [by the time] they all scatter, we’ll sign their contracts. They’ll leave knowing the contract’s done, so they don’t have to worry about that headache when they go on vacation.”

So no need to panic Rams fans. This is par for the course.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • The Eagles signed running back Matt Jones earlier in the week. The Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski has the details at two years for $1.5MM, none of which are guaranteed (Twitter link). He joins a crowded backfield that includes Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement and Darren Sproles.
  • The Colts have had visits from Kenny Vaccaro, Tre Boston and Bashaud Breeland in recent days. Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets, however, the meetings were merely informational and no signings are imminent.
  • And we’ll also make pitstop in the CFL, where Johnny Manziel is not guaranteed to start for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith writes. Smith quotes head coach June Jones, who praised current starter and former Oregon standout Jeremiah Masoli. “Let me tell you something right now, he’s got his work ahead of him to beat out Jeremiah,” Jones said of Manziel. “He’s got a lot to catch up on, but he’ll spend the time to get that done. I know he will because he’s already learned that lesson.” Though Masoli has the leg up, it won’t be long before Manziel is given the reins, given he can stay out of trouble.

AFC Notes: Bengals, Jefferson, Colts

May 15th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The College Advisory Committee told Malik Jefferson to stay in school for another year. After becoming a third-round pick of the Bengals, Jefferson is glad that he didn’t listen.

“It’s not really good feedback,” Jefferson said, via Max Olson of The Athletic. “If a guy wants to come out early, they have to make a decision on their own. Really, if you’re not like a top-10 guy coming out early, it’s just up in the air from there. You just don’t know. Anything can happen.”

Instead of continuing his education without being compensated for playing, Jefferson will now back up Nick Vigil and Vontaze Burfict with a contract worth $3.4MM over four years.

“You say stay in school, but a kid wants to better himself and his future,” Jefferson said. “So you can be making money for the university, struggling, trying to eat dining hall food, waking up early, having to go through extreme pressures and not getting paid for none of that. Or you can not go to school, just play football all day, study film and get better and work out all day and max yourself out.”

Jefferson may be happy with his choice, but in defense of the CAC, the Texas product probably anticipated going late in the first round or somewhere in the second when he declared for the draft.

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • The Colts met with safeties Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro on Monday, but Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) hears that nothing is imminent with either player at this time. Boston and Vaccaro both offer significant starting experience, but the free agent market has been painfully slow to develop for them and other safeties this year.
  • Jets linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis struck an agreement with Kansas prosecutors to have his drug-possession charge dropped if he completes one year of probation, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. While with the Chiefs in January, Pierre-Louis was charged with several misdemeanors, including marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Jets signed him to a two-year, $5.25MM deal this offseason.
  • The Bills are taking a look at former Cowboys and Bucs defensive end Ryan Russell.

Colts Meet With Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro

May 14th, 2018 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts are taking a look at two of the best safeties left on the free agent market. Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro will meet with the Colts on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 

The market has been slow to develop for veteran safeties this year as many clubs opted to go for younger and cheaper alternatives in the draft. The Colts already have one high-potential safety in Malik Hooker and either Boston or Vaccaro would provide them with another quality starter in the secondary. Last week, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked both players in the top 10 of the remaining free agents on defense.

The Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants expressed interest in Boston back in March, but we haven’t heard much on that front in recent weeks. Needless to say, it has been a frustrating offseason for the former Charger.

“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”

Vaccaro, meanwhile, met with the Dolphins in April, but left Miami without a deal. The lack of interest has been surprising given Vaccaro’s starting experience and ability to play slot cornerback, but he is coming off of a down season in New Orleans.

Neither player is without warts, but the Colts may have an opportunity to add one or both of them at an extremely discounted rate.

NFC East Rumors: Witten, Cowboys, Eagles

May 1st, 2018 at 9:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem ready to admit it, tight end Jason Witten is fully expected to follow through on retirement and become an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), who called Witten’s shift to the Worldwide Leader a “done deal.” If Witten does indeed hang up his cleats, he could be stuck in a thorny contractual issue with Dallas. The Cowboys converted $4.7MM of Witten’s base salary into a signing bonus earlier this year, but could now ask for that money back, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Dallas released quarterback Tony Romo last summer, allowing him to retain all of his bonus money in the process, and it’s fair to wonder if the club will do the same for Witten, who is expected to command a salary of $4-4.5MM at ESPN.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • Despite not adding a single defensive back in last weekend’s draft, the Cowboys are not expected to have interest in free agent safeties Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, or Tre Boston, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Dallas did’t have any interest in either of the three veterans pre-draft and doesn’t believe any would fit its defensive scheme. For what’s it worth, the Cowboys reportedly tried to acquire Vaccaro at the 2017 trade deadline. Safeties in general have had a hard time generating buzz this offseason, with one agent telling Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com that defensive backs aren’t getting offers of even “one year, $3MM.” For now, Dallas will likely roll with Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath at safety after moving former first-round pick Byron Jones to cornerback.
  • If the Redskins had released defensive tackle Terrell McClain earlier this year (instead of on Monday), he’d likely already be back on the Cowboys roster, tweets David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Dallas picked up former second-round interior defender Jihad Ward from the Raiders in a draft-day exchange that sent wideout Ryan Switzer to Oakland, but they’re still expected to express interest in McClain. The 29-year-old McClain spent the 2014-16 campaigns in Dallas, and was a 15-game starter during his final season with the Cowboys.
  • Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan recently underwent surgery for a herniated disc, per Howard Eskin of WIP-FM (link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). As such, Jernigan won’t participate in spring workouts but is fully expected to be ready for 2018 regular season. Philadelphia acquired Jernigan from the Ravens last April, sacrificing just a 25-slot drop in the third round in order to land the now-25-year-old. After a productive debut year with the Eagles, Jernigan inked a four-year, $48MM extension that should keep him in town through 2021.

NFC South Notes: Panthers, Boston, Saints

April 18th, 2018 at 12:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Safety Tre Boston remains unsigned and Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer wonders if the Chargers free agent’s history of social activism is hampering his market. Much has been written about Eric Reid‘s ongoing unemployment, but Boston was fairly outspoken following the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte police officer two years ago while with the Panthers. For his part, Boston isn’t sure that his public stance in 2016 is working against him.

“I have no idea. But if I told you there’s a 25-year-old out there, no nagging injuries, no off-field issues, [eight] career picks, 180 tackles-plus, [two] sacks, what would you tell me?” Boston said. “I don’t know. I can’t say what upstairs is thinking,” he added. “But I know I have the stats and the numbers to play with the best of them. So for me it’s just being patient. Things are gonna happen.”

Late last month, Boston said that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. We haven’t heard much about him in recent weeks, however.

Here’s more from the NFC South:

Four Teams Interested In Tre Boston

March 30th, 2018 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

The safety market has moved at a snail’s pace this year and Tre Boston has taken notice. The Chargers free agent says that he is frustrated by the way things unfolded, though tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. Meanwhile, things have stalled with the Bolts because they are looking to pay him more as a “strong safety type of player.” 

“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”

Signing a player like Boston could impact a team’s compensatory pick formula and clubs with safety needs could be waiting until the draft to score top prospects like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, Florida State’s Derwin James, or Stanford’s Justin Reid. The Seahawks are also open to trading Earl Thomas (for a hefty asking price) and that’s probably holding things up for this year’s available veteran safeties. Boston isn’t the only one in a holding pattern – Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are also without NFL homes as we look ahead to April.

“It’s a marginal group,” one executive said of this year’s free agent safety class, noting the lack of top-end speed in the bunch. “You really don’t have one cover safety in the group. You have some decent box types like Vaccaro and Reid, but it’s primarily backup types left.”

Last year, Boston had to settle for a one-year deal. For now, he’s still holding out hope of landing a multi-year pact, but he acknowledges that he may have to do another one-year contract before trying his luck in the open market next year.

The Top 25 Remaining NFL Free Agents

March 14th, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Many of this year’s top free agents came off of the board during the legal tampering period, including Kirk Cousins, Trumaine Johnson, Sammy Watkins, and Allen Robinson. Still plenty of the names from our list of the Top 50 Free Agents remain, including some new additions. Here’s a rundown of the players to keep an eye on as free agency officially begins, ranked roughly by their expected contract value:

1. Ndamukong Suh, DT (Dolphins): The Dolphins bailed on Suh’s mega contract midway through, freeing him up to sign another high-priced contract. He won’t get anything close to a six-year, $114MM deal this time around, but he should settle in at an AAV that keeps him among the best compensated players at his position. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked Suh fifth among 122 interior defenders. 

2. Tyrann Mathieu, S (Cardinals): The Cardinals worked feverishly to hammer out a new contract with the Honey Badger, but the two sides could not come to terms on a deal to lessen his 2018 cap hit. He has been released, allowing him to hit free agency as the best safety available. The Jets are not believed to be interested, despite his connection with head coach Todd Bowles. The other tenant of the Meadowlands, however, could have interest thanks to the presence of former Arizona DC James Bettcher.

3. Sheldon Richardson, DT (Seahawks): Richardson may have lost some luster following the trade that sent him from the Jets to the Seahawks, but he among the best defensive tackles currently available. With plenty of cap space remaining, Richardson should find a lucrative deal, though it probably won’t come from Seattle. Our own Dallas Robinson estimates that Richardson will fetch about $9MM/year.

4. Dontari Poe, DT (Falcons): Poe missed out on a big payday last year when teams shied away from him due to lingering back issues. After turning in his second consecutive 16-game season, things could be different this time. For the record – Poe has missed only two regular season games over the course of his career, so he boasts a better attendance record than a lot of other veterans on this list. He’s unlikely to circle back to Atlanta.

5. Josh Sitton, G (Bears): With Andrew Norwell off of the board, Sitton stands as the best guard on the market. He’s missed six games over the last two years, but he has four Pro Bowl appearances to his credit. He’s set to meet with the Dolphins.

6. A.J. McCarron, QB (Bengals): It’s difficult to peg McCarron’s value heading into free agency. Outside of some quality starts in 2015, there isn’t much film out there on McCarron, despite that fact that he has spent four years in the NFL. Hue Jackson was itching to reunite with McCarron, but the Browns no longer seem a likely destination for him after the acquisition of Tyrod Taylor. It’s also hard to see him landing with the QB-needy Jets after they re-signed Josh McCown and added Teddy Bridgewater. McCarron will find a home, but it may not be as a starter. [UPDATE: McCarron has signed with the Bills]

7. E.J. Gaines, CB (Bills): Injuries in the fall limited Gaines to just 11 games last season, but he proved to be a quality return for the Bills in the Watkins trade, in addition to the second-round pick that came with him. Gaines graded out as the No. 13 cornerback in the league last year, per PFF, and he just turned 26 in February. Gaines missed all of ’15 due to injury and didn’t look all that sharp in ’16, but timing is everything in free agency. You can expect multiple teams to call on him and the Texans could still have interest, even after inking Aaron Colvin.

8. Eric Reid, S (49ers): Reid is just 26 and is undoubtedly a starting quality safety. He has both youth and versatility on his side, but it’s possible that his anthem protest participation could hurt him when it comes to some suitors. Injuries over the last two seasons will hurt his market as well.

Read more

Top 2018 Free Agents By Position: Defense

March 6th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

NFL free agency will get underway on Wednesday, March 14th, and while the list of free agents will change between now and then, we do have some idea of who will be available when free agency kicks off. The frenzy is right around the corner and it’s time for us to break down the outlook for each position. After looking at offense on Monday, we’ll tackle defense and special teams today.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each defensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by defensive position for 2018:

Edge defender:

  1. Julius Peppers
  2. William Hayes
  3. Trent Murphy
  4. Pernell McPhee
  5. Aaron Lynch
  6. Alex Okafor
  7. Adrian Clayborn
  8. Kony Ealy
  9. Connor Barwin
  10. Jeremiah Attaochu
  11. Junior Galette
  12. Derrick Shelby
  13. Barkevious Mingo
  14. Kareem Martin
  15. Erik Walden

As a positional group, pass rushers comprise interesting market on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not often that a list of best available players is topped by a 38-year-old, but Peppers is the top free agent edge defender after the Cowboys and Lions deployed the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah, respectively. As with quarterbacks, NFL clubs are extremely reluctant to allow pass rushers to hit the open market, so top-tier options are rarely ever truly “available.” Peppers, for his part, hasn’t even declared whether he’ll return in 2018, but indications are that he’ll suit up for a 17th campaign after posting 11 sacks last year.

Alongside Peppers, other veterans populate the edge market, and while William Hayes may not be a household name, he’ll be a contributor for whichever team signs him. A stout run defender, Hayes is also capable of generating pressure despite managing only one sack in 2017. The Dolphins used Hayes on only 271 defensive snaps a season ago, and have since replaced him by acquiring fellow defensive end Robert Quinn from the Rams. Now that he’s entering his age-33 season, Hayes should come cheap, but will almost assuredly outplay his contract.

Nearly every other available pass rusher has some sort of flaw which will likely limit his market next week. Trent Murphy is only 27 years old and put up nine sacks in 2016, but he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury. Pernell McPhee, Alex Okafor, Junior Galette, and Derrick Shelby have also been plagued by health questions in recent seasons. And Adrian Clayborn famously registered the majority of his 2017 sacks (and 20% of his career sack total) in one game against overwhelmed Cowboys backup Chaz Green.

The two names that I keep coming back to are Aaron Lynch (49ers) and Jeremiah Attaochu (Chargers). Yes, Lynch has been suspended for substance abuse, struggled with his weight, and was reportedly in danger of being waived prior to last season. He’s also extremely young (he won’t turn 25 years old until Thursday) and ranked fifth in the league with 34 pass pressures as recently as 2015. Attaochu, a 25-year-old former second-round pick, also has youth on his side, and while he hasn’t quite flashed as much as Lynch, he’s also been buried on LA’s depth chart for much of his career.

Interior defensive line:

  1. Sheldon Richardson
  2. Dontari Poe
  3. Muhammad Wilkerson
  4. Star Lotulelei
  5. DaQuan Jones
  6. Beau Allen
  7. Denico Autry
  8. Justin Ellis
  9. Tom Johnson
  10. Bennie Logan
  11. Chris Baker
  12. Kyle Williams
  13. Dominique Easley
  14. Haloti Ngata
  15. Jay Bromley

Interior rushers are getting more respect in today’s NFL, but that still hasn’t translated to them being paid on the level of edge defenders — the 2018 franchise tag for defensive tackles, for example, is roughly $3MM cheaper than the tender for edge rushers. While the 2018 crop of interior defenders boasts some impressive top-end talent, none of the available players figure to earn a double-digit annual salary. Sheldon Richardson may have the best chance to do so, but Seattle determined he wasn’t worth a one-year cost of $13.939MM, so is any other club going to pay him $10MM per year? I’d guess he comes in closer to $9MM annually, which would still place him among the 25 highest-paid defensive tackles.

Dontari Poe will be an intriguing free agent case after setting for a one-year deal last offseason, but the most interesting battle among defensive tackles will take place Star Lotulelei and Muhammad Wilkerson, and I’m curious to see which player earns more on the open market. Both are former first-round picks, and it’s difficult to argue Wilkerson hasn’t been the more productive player — or, at least, reached higher highs — than Lotulelei. Wilkerson also won’t affect his next team’s compensatory pick formula given that he was released, but his off-field issues, which include a reported lack of effort and problems with coaches, could limit his appeal.

While Beau Allen and Denico Autry are potentially candidates to be overpaid based on their youth, there are bargains to be had at defensive tackle. Tom Johnson is 33 but he’s offered consistent pressure from the interior for years — his last contract was for three years and $7MM, so he shouldn’t cost much this time around. Haloti Ngata was injured in 2017 but plans to continue his career, and he can still stop the run. And Dominique Easley was outstanding as a 3-4 end in 2016 before missing last season with a torn ACL, meaning the former first-round pick could be a value play for any number of teams.Read more

AFC West Notes: Chiefs, Smith, Mahomes

May 18th, 2017 at 11:05am CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs gave Alex Smith a heads-up before drafting Patrick Mahomes, but the veteran is realistic about what the rookie’s presence means for him.

“I think [the Chiefs are] committed to me [only] through this year,” Smith said (via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher). “That’s just the nature of it. If you don’t go out there and perform, I mean, coach [Andy] Reid and [quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy] are very honest. You’ve got to go out there and do your deal. We all have to. Whether or not we drafted Patrick, it doesn’t change that, right? If you’re not good enough and didn’t get it done, you’re not going to be around long. That’s just our culture. I know it. That’s the nature of the position.”

Smith is under contract for two more seasons, but KC can drop him next year and save $17MM versus just $3.6MM in dead money. If Mahomes gets an opportunity this year and performs well, it’s conceivable that Smith won’t be around to see the scheduled end of his contract.

Here’s more from the AFC West:

  • The Chiefs are hiring former Packers Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Tim Terry to be their new Director of Pro Personnel, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Terry was started with the Packers in 2004 and ascended to Assistant Director of Pro Personnel in 2008. After roughly 13 years in Green Bay, he’s going from the NFC North to the AFC West and getting a promotion.
  • Tre Boston was moved to sign with the Chargers after a chance meeting with a random man, as ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams writes. “I crossed two lanes to get to the gas station. I pump my gas. After I pump my gas, I put my wallet in my car. After I put my wallet in my car, there’s a guy with three kids and he asked me for a little bit of change, or if I had a dollar or two,” the safety explained. “I gave him a $20. So he tells me thank you so much, and that God put me in his life for a reason. And in my mind I’m saying you’re here for a reason, too. So in my mind I’m saying should I ask him, ‘L.A. or Buffalo.’ And before I could ask him, my man told me, ‘Thank you so much. There aren’t too many people like you in this world, God’s children. My name’s Mike Daniels, but people call me L.A.'” Pittsburgh also reportedly expressed interest in signing Boston, but it sounds like the Bills were the real runners-up for his services.
  • Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like we’ll see Aldon Smith suiting up for the Raiders anytime soon.

Chargers Sign S Tre Boston

May 12th, 2017 at 4:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Tre Boston has found a new home. The safety took to Twitter on Friday to announce that he is the newest member of the Chargers. The Bolts confirmed the move.Tre Boston (vertical)

[RELATED: Chargers Sign Forrest Lamp, Three Others]

Boston was released by the Panthers earlier this month and that came as a big surprise since the Panthers did not draft a safety last month. There could be more to the story, but if there were unknown factors that led to Boston’s pink slip, then they obviously didn’t bother the Chargers.

The Chargers took safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and Desmond King in the middle rounds of last month’s draft, and they do have Dwight Lowery returning, but Lowery did not fare much better than Boston in 2016 in terms of Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and he turned 31 in January. Lowery was decidedly better in coverage than Boston, but PFF indicates that Boston made up for much of that with high marks in pass rushing situations.

The Steelers and Bills also had interest in Boston before he signed with Los Angeles.

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