Tre Mason - Pro Football Rumors

Tre Mason Looking To Make NFL Return

March 6th, 2018 at 11:09am CST by Zachary Links

Tre Mason is looking to make an NFL return, sources tell Matt Zenitz of AL.com. People close to Mason have reached out to teams to let them know that Mason’s mental health has greatly improved since 2016 when he had multiple run-ins with police.

It remains to be seen whether Mason will get another opportunity. In March of 2016, the former SEC Offensive Player of the Year was arrested for reckless driving, resisting arrest, and possession of cannabis. In July of that year, he was “admitted for evaluation” after an incident at his mother’s house.

Due to his personal issues, Mason has not played since the 2015 season. The Rams placed the running back on the reserve/did not report list in August 2016 he failed to show up to a meeting. Leading up to that, he had not been in contact with the organization for months.

The Auburn product didn’t produce a whole lot when he was on the field and he’s now years removed from the game. At this point, Mason may not be able to get so much as a non-guaranteed, minimum salary deal.

Mason appeared in 25 games for the Rams (12 starts) in his two seasons with the Rams. He ran for 972 rushing yards and five touchdowns off of 254 carries, and he added another 34 receptions for 236 yards and one score. After averaging a solid 4.3 yards per carry as a rookie, that number plummeted to 2.8 yards as a sophomore.

Rams Officially Cut Tre Mason and Trey Watts

March 10th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams have officially cut running backs Tre Mason and Trey Watts, via the NFL transaction wire.

Mason didn’t play at all last season as he dealt with an array of personal issues. The Rams placed the running back on the reserve/did not report list after he failed to show up to an August meeting, and subsequent reports indicated that he hadn’t contacted the organization in months.

Last March, Mason was arrested for reckless driving, resisting arrest, and possession of cannabis, and he was “admitted for evaluation” in July following an incident at his mother’s house. Former coach Jeff Fisher had expressed concern for his well-being, while tackle Greg Robinson said the player changed his phone number.

The 2014 third-round pick appeared in 25 games for the Rams (12 starts) during his first two seasons in the league. He collected 972 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 254 carries, and he added another 34 receptions for 236 yards and one score.

Meanwhile, Watts was suspended indefinitely in November after once again violating the league’s policy on substances of abuse. The former undrafted free agent ultimately played in 15 games with the Rams, compiling 48 all-purpose yards.

Following the move, the Rams now have a trio of running backs on their roster in Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown, and Aaron Green.

NFC Notes: Bradford, Vikings, Rams, Mason

September 7th, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Peter King of The MMQB spoke with Vikings GM Rick Spielman about the Sam Bradford trade and how it unfolded. As Spielman explained, teams all around the league were asking for a fortune to part with their veteran quarterbacks.

“I made a bunch of calls. I am not gonna mention teams. But there was blood in the water and teams knew it. The price was too high,” the Vikings GM said. “I didn’t want to mortgage our future. Some teams asked for a first-round pick and a core young player. I can understand the pick. But we worked too hard over the past three years to put all that time and energy into drafting and developing a solid core of this team. I was taken aback who they were asking for. Players who’d been in the Pro Bowl. I mean, in the off-season you’ve got time. There’s not blood in the water in the off-season. But now there was.”

The Vikings paid a big price to land Bradford, but they didn’t part with anyone currently on their roster. While some observers have said that the Vikings gave up too much to get the former No. 1 overall pick, it sounds like the Vikes would have had to give up as much or more for any other established QB.

Here’s more from the NFC:

Not only is Tre Mason not on the Rams roster, but the team has not spoken directly with the troubled quarterback in some time, as Mike Florio of PFT writes. “Tre Mason is on our Reserve/Did Not Report list, that’s where he stands,” coach Jeff Fisher told reporters this weekend. “We’ve been in communication with the family, not Tre, but with the family. The organization’s position, including the league and the [NFL] Players Association, is to take care of him and help him to get the help that he needs to get through this life crisis that he’s having.” Mason can return to the team at any time until the Tuesday after Week 10 and he will be unpaid until he does. If/when he reports, the Rams will have to decide how to handle him from a roster perspective. Of course, Mason has demons to deal with before he can even consider returning to football.
Carson Wentz ran a pro-style offense at North Dakota State, and the Eagles believe that has prepared him well to start right away in the NFL, as Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today writes. With the Bison, Wentz used a lot of play-action passes, shotgun plays, zone-reads, and power sweeps. “Some guys don’t even do half those things,” Wentz said in April. “A lot of the stuff we did (at NDSU) was similar to what you see in the NFL. We just called it something different..“Any time we were in two-minute, I called it. Unless it was a huddle play and I would get it from the sidelines. But even some of those calls, I could change at the line.” Last week, the Eagles’ faith in Wentz allowed them to trade Bradford to Minnesota for substantial draft pick compensation.
Former Bears kicker says he’s Robbie Gould definitely not retiring, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Gould still plans to kick this year and beyond, Jahns adds, and he has a few teams vying for his services. The Bears cut Gould earlier this week.

Latest On Rams, Tre Mason

August 3rd, 2016 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

Recently, the Rams were forced to place running back Tre Mason on the reserve/did not report list when he was not present for a mandatory team meeting. Now, it seems especially unlikely that Mason will be suiting up for the Rams this season as the team has not made contact with him in seven months, according to Dan Graziano and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

[RELATED: Rams Release Nick Foles]

“Right now, we’re more concerned with Tre Mason’s well-being than we are his football career,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher told reporters at Rams training camp over the weekend. “We’re going to continue to try to reach him to see where he’s at.”

In March, Mason was arrested for reckless driving, resisting arrest, and possession of cannabis, an incident that was part of a series of interactions between the running back and police. According to Gregory Cox of The Palm Beach Post, Mason was “admitted for evaluation” in July after cops found him at his mother’s house, seemingly midway through trashing the place. “As he walked out of the room he also stated the police were responsible for teaching (Al-Qaeda) how to fly planes,” a sheriff’s incident report said.

Rams tackle Greg Robinson was in touch with Mason via text at some point this offseason, but he apparently hasn’t been able to maintain contact as Mason has changed his cell phone number multiple times. In June, Fisher said that his team has to “prepare [itself as though] that Tre’s not going to be here.”

As the team’s depth chart shows, the Rams have Benny Cunningham, Chase Reynolds, and Malcolm Brown to back up Todd Gurley at running back. It’s unlikely that Mason will be joining that group in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rams Place Tre Mason On Reserve/DNR List

July 30th, 2016 at 6:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams have officially placed troubled running back Tre Mason on the reserve/did not report list, according to multiple reports. Los Angeles held mandatory team meeting Friday morning, and Mason did not attend, reports Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (all Twitter links). Per Bonsignore, the Rams weren’t surprised by Mason’s absence, but because of their inability to get in contact with him, the club wasn’t sure if Mason would be present.

[RELATED: Rams Release Nick Foles]

Mason’s recent off-field issues have been well-documented, beginning with a March arrest for reckless driving, resisting arrest, and possession of cannabis, an incident that is reportedly one of just five that have involved Mason and the police in the past several months. According to TMZ Sports, Mason’s family is concerned for his well-being, while the Rams have seemingly accepted that Mason won’t be contributing any time soon, as head coach Jeff Fisher said in June that his team has to “prepare [itself as though] that Tre’s not going to be here.”

At this point, a team or league suspension for Mason appears all but certain, while Los Angeles could also simply waive the third-year running back. The Rams are well-stocked at running back, as Roster Resource shows 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year Todd Gurley leads a group that includes Benny Cunningham, Chase Reynolds, and Malcolm Brown. But Mason, who rushed for more than 700 yards in 2014, could have surely played a role had his personal life not become so dire.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Ramsey, Davis

July 28th, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Zachary Links

49ers defensive lineman Kaleb Ramsey retired from football today, as Cam Inman of The Mercury News writes. Ramsey, a draft pick of the 49ers in 2014, was sidelined for all of his rookie year with an Achilles injury. In 2015, he was on San Francisco’s practice squad and was also hit with a four-game suspension for a PED violation.

“The 49ers took a chance on drafting me and made my NFL dreams come true,” Ramsey said in a statement. “Unfortunately, my career has been cut short, as I have made the decision to step away from the game to concentrate on other priorities in my life.”

As shown on Roster Resource, Ramsey would have faced an uphill battle to make the Niners’ roster given the number of defensive linemen they have under contract.

Here’s more out of the NFC West:

Safety Tyrann Mathieu took to Twitter earlier this week and seemed to express frustration at the state of his contract talks with the Cardinals (sic). “Money mean nothing, I want my respect,” Mathieu tweeted. Recently, Cardinals GM Steve Keim expressed optimism about getting a deal done with the player formerly known as Honey Badger.
Anthony Davis has been taking jabs at the 49ers for the better part of a year now, but agent Drew Rosenhaus says all of the animosity is in the rear view mirror. “I do believe that he has patched things up with the organization,” Rosenhaus told PFT’s Mike Florio. “He has been in contact with the organization and I also believe with the coaching staff and they’ve rebuilt that relationship. So whatever damage took place in my estimation has been repaired.” Davis submitted the necessary paperwork to come out of retirement earlier this week. One report indicated that the Niners are “wary” of getting involved with the mercurial offensive lineman again.
Rams running back Tre Mason has been at the center of five different incidents involving cops in the past four months, according to TMZ Sports. The report also states that Mason’s family is concerned about his well being. Mason was arrested in March for resisting arrest, possession of cannabis, and reckless driving. Fisher told reporters in June that the Rams had to prepare as if the running back would not be with the club after that incident, but a recent report indicated that a decision had not been made on whether Mason would be involved in training camp. Mason could be facing a suspension from the league office for his episode earlier this year.

West Notes: Rams, Fisher, Snead, Mason, Bosa

July 17th, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the latest out of the NFL’s two West divisions:

A early June report indicated that the Rams were working on extensions for both general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link) suggest that little progress has been made on either front, noting that there is no “present timeline or parameters” on negotiations with either Snead nor Fisher. Both men are entering the final year of their respective contracts, and despite the club’s lack of success under the pair’s management, teams generally don’t like their GMs or head coaches to enter lame-duck seasons, so one-year extensions (at the least) wouldn’t be surprising. Fisher, for his part, is already thought to be among the highest-paid coaches in the league, as he’s reportedly earning around $7MM annually.
Fisher told reporters that last month that the Rams had to prepare as if running back Tre Mason would not be with the club after Mason was arrested in March for resisting arrest, possession of cannabis, and reckless driving, but according to Bonsignore (Twitter link), a decision has not yet been made as to whether Mason will be involved in training camp. It’s still unclear if Mason’s potential absence is related to a looming league-imposed suspension or because Los Angeles is considering waiving him. Regardless, Mason already saw his role with the club dwindle in 2015, as the presence of Todd Gurley meant that Mason’s carries dropped from 179 in 2014 to just 75 last year.
No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa continues to haggle with the Chargers over his rookie deal, and while negotiations haven’t yet gotten unpleasant, that could change if the battle goes on much longer, writes Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bosa and his agent are reportedly angling to remove offset language from his contract, and to improve the overall cash flow of the pact. For what it’s worth, former agent and current CBSSports.com contributor Joel Corry recently said that Bosa and his camp have a much better shot at upgrading the payout schedule than getting rid of offsets. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues that San Diego should cave on both issues, noting that getting Bosa into camp is far more important than possibly recouping a small amount of cash years down the road, a view we’ve espoused on PFR.
Earlier today, we learned that the Rams are planning on bringing quarterback Nick Foles to camp, but are still holding out hope that another club will express interest in trading for the signal-caller.

Latest On Rams RB Tre Mason

June 20th, 2016 at 4:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Rams running back Tre Mason has been in legal hot water all offseason, first after a March arrest on numerous charges including resisting arrest, possession of cannabis, and reckless driving, and then following a missed arraignment in April. Those incidents could lead to Mason losing his spot on Los Angeles’ roster, as Rams head coach Jeff Fisher told reporters, including Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News, that the club has to “prepare [itself] that Tre’s not going to be here.”

It’s not entirely clear if Fisher is referring to a looming league suspension — which is very likely — for Mason, or whether the head coach is implying that the Rams could waive the 22-year-old Mason. Mason hasn’t attended any of Los Angeles’ OTAs this offseason as he deals with his legal troubles, and even if he does make it back on the field, Mason is in danger of losing his role in a Rams running back corps that includes superstar Todd Gurley, plus reserves Benny Cunningham, Chase Reynolds, and Malcolm Brown.

Mason already saw his place on the club dwindle in 2015, as the presence of Gurley meant that Mason’s carries dropped from 179 to just 75. After rushing for 765 yards during his rookie year, Mason toted the ball for only 207 yards in 2015, while his snap percentage was nearly cut in half (36.7% vs. 19.1%). With Cunningham acting as the Rams’ go-to third down back, and Reynolds serving as a special teams ace, waiving Mason might not be all that difficult a decision.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: NFLPA, Ball, Mason, Spence

April 13th, 2016 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, an arbitrator ruled that the NFL’s policy of placing players who are under investigation on paid leave using the commissioner’s exempt list is valid, as Mark Maske of the Washington Post writes. The NFL Players Association had filed a grievance against the policy, which has affected players such as Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy, but the league scored a win over the union after having seen a handful of Roger Goodell‘s decisions overturned in court within the last couple years.

In the wake of the arbitrator’s ruling, optimism has “dimmed considerably” about the prospects of the NFL and NFLPA reaching a compromise on Goodell’s role in player discipline, writes Maske. Multiple sources tell Maske that there are no negotiations happening between the two sides regarding that issue at this point, with one source suggesting it may not be addressed until the next CBA: “We are where we are…. [It] seems like [there’s] nothing to talk about until 2020.”

As we wait to see what battle is next on the docket for the NFL and NFLPA, let’s check in on a few more odds and ends from around the NFL…

A pair of running backs have been dealing with legal trouble this week, with free agent Montee Ball arrested for felony bail jumping and Rams back Tre Mason missing an arraignment related to his March arrest. WKOW’s Robyn Turner has the story on Ball, while Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com has the details on Mason.
Eastern Kentucky pass rusher Noah Spence is visiting the Texans today and will visit the Saints tomorrow, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Meanwhile, another potential first-round defender with some off-field question marks, Robert Nkemdiche of Ole Miss, has visits on tap with the Saints and Bengals, says Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
Joel Corry of CBSSports.com and Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider link) had similar ideas, with each scribe writing articles proposing trades that could take place before or during this year’s draft. Both Corry and Sando suggested hypothetical deals involving Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, and Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles.
The NFL’s VP of football operations Merton Hanks has left the league office, multiple sources tell Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. It’s not known if the NFL or Hanks made the final call on his departure, but one source tells PFT that the move was part of an effort by the league to upgrade in that area. Two other NFL employees, Joe Hurta and Russ Giglio, are out as well, says Florio.

Rams RB Tre Mason Arrested

March 6th, 2016 at 4:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Rams running back Tre Mason was arrested in Hollywood on Saturday, according to Paradise Afshar of ABC 10. Mason was charged with resisting arrest, possession of cannabis, reckless driving, and failure to register a motor vehicle.

Clearly, the arrest not only means Mason will likely face a suspension, but it could also put his status on the Los Angeles roster in question. Mason, 22, acted as Todd Gurley‘s backup in 2015, rushing for 2.8 yards per carry on 75 attempts and scoring once. As a starter in 2014, Mason was performed much better, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt in 12 games. Mason is signed thorough 2017 at near-minimum rates.

The Rams are still “gathering information” on the situation, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, and while it’s doubtful the club will take any action before the league does, Mason’s arrest could force Los Angeles to look for another running back in the coming weeks. Besides Mason, the Rams also have Benny Cunningham and Malcolm Brown, among others, behind Gurley.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.