Uncategorized - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Notes: Saints, Packers, Eagles, Panthers

December 22nd, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Saints‘ season winding down, Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com revisits the September trade that sent defensive lineman Akiem Hicks to New England in exchange for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. As Woodbery writes, neither player has made a huge impact for his new team, though New Orleans has had to play Kevin Williams a little more than expected to compensate for the loss of Hicks, and the Saints’ lack of depth.

Having landed on injured reserve on Monday, Packers wide receiver Ty Montgomery will undergo surgery on his ankle next week, agent Damarius Bilbo tells Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Although the rookie’s high ankle sprain – sustained in October – had healed, there’s still cartilage damage that needs to be repaired.
The Eagles could be without their starting nose tackle as they make a run for the postseason, Derrick Gunn of CSNPhiladelphia.com reports (via Twitter) that Bennie Logan could be out for the remainder of the season. A source tells Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News that Logan will miss this weekend’s contest against Washington.
The Panthers will have a roster exemption for defensive end Wes Horton until next Monday, tweets Howard Balzer of the SportsXchange. Horton has been reinstated from his four-game suspension, but won’t be able to return to action until Carolina places him on its 53-man roster.

Following Specific Players On PFR

December 18th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Kirk Cousins as he plays out the final year of his contract in Washington and approaches possible free agency, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest rumors involving Josh Gordon, who will be eligible to apply for reinstatement from his suspension in less than two months, you can find Gordon’s page right here.

In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific topics. For example, all our posts relating to the city of Los Angeles can be found here, while our updates on the 2016 NFL draft are here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.

Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

December 17th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

As the NFL’s 2016 offseason approaches, you can follow all the latest news and rumors with the Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android devices! Here are some of the features of the app:

Customize your home screen. The app has feeds for Pro Football Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, and Hoops Rumors by default, but if you’re more of a one- or two-sport person, you can easily remove and reorder feeds. You can also add a feed for any of the 92 MLB, NFL, or NBA teams, as well as the thousands of players in the archives of our three sites. Please note that the default ordering puts MLB Trade Rumors on your home screen, but you can easily go into Settings to reorder and add or remove feeds.
In addition to customizing your feeds, you can also set up notifications at the sport, team, or even player level, and receive a notification as soon as a new article is posted on that topic.
We’ve also allowed for filtering of all stories versus top stories, for what is shown on the home screen as well as for notifications. This allows you to limit yourself to just the most important news for a feed, if you prefer.
Article sharing options are plentiful: choose Facebook, Twitter, email, and text message.
Once you’ve clicked an article in a feed, you can swipe to read the next article in that feed.

Best of all? The Trade Rumors app is free! Download it today for iOS or Android.

NFC Notes: Michael, Jeffery, Trattou, Cousins

December 16th, 2015 at 8:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Seahawks inked running back Christine Michael to a contract earlier today, his second stint with the organization. The former second-rounder was traded prior to the season, and with all of the injuries in Seattle’s backfield, he’s hoping his second chance ends better than his first.

“I’m just here to work and give you guys all I have,” he told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “That’s all I can do. All I want to do. And I told them just like that.’’

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

Alshon Jeffery ranked number two in the first installment of our 2016 free agent power rankings, but he’s not the only important Bears player on an expiring deal. Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com takes a look at four more to go along with Jeffery.
After re-signing with the Vikings, defensive end Justin Trattou admitted that he got an offer from another team during his brief time as a free agent, but turned it down because he wanted to remain in Minnesota. “I really didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Trattou said, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I’m happy where I’m at.”
While Panthers cornerback Josh Norman is considered one of the top free-agents-to-be at any position for 2016, there are plenty of other corners who should be in line for nice deals, including Sean Smith of the Chiefs and Janoris Jenkins of the Rams. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap takes a closer look at the cornerback market.
Former sports agent (and current writer for CBSSports.com) Joel Corry examined what Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ next contract will look like. Corry wonders if Cousins could receive a deal similar to the two-year, $24.5MM (worth up to $38MM) extension between the Rams and Nick Foles.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Patriots, Revis, Bills, Tyrod

December 11th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s take a quick spin around the AFC East, with notes on three of the four clubs in the division:

The Patriots had wide receiver DeAndre Carter in for a workout and Thursday, then took a look at wideout Eric Rogers today, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Rogers was the leading receiver for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders this season, racking up 1,448 yards and 10 touchdowns on 87 receptions.
The Jets spent big money to bring Darrelle Revis back to the team last offseason, committing $39MM in guaranteed money to the star cornerback. However, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes, while Revis makes the team better, he looks like he’s past his peak years.
Within his weekly column for NFL.com, Albert Breer of the NFL Network touches on a number of noteworthy topics, discussing the possibility of an extension for Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the likelihood of a DeMarco Murray trade, and the rising value of Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

Pro Football Rumors Features

December 8th, 2015 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Pro Football Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NFL player movement 365 days a year, but those aren’t the only updates you’ll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you’ll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here’s a rundown of a few of them:

Using your iOs and Android devices, you can use our app to follow the latest stories on PFR, MLB Trade Rumors, and Hoops Rumors. The Trade Rumors app is highly customizable, allowing you to add feeds for any of the 92 MLB, NBA, and NFL teams, as well as for any of the thousands of players in our archives.
With the offseason fast approaching for many teams, you can find the full breakdown of 2016 veteran free agents by position using our list, which will be updated throughout the winter and spring.
Several players figure to receive contract extensions from their respective teams between now and the start of the 2016 free agent period, and we’ve identified a number of potential recipients in our Extension Candidate series, which profiles players eligible for extensions and assesses their value. As the list shows, many of the players we’ve profiled have since had their contracts extended.
The NFL isn’t known as a trade-happy league, but by our count, an impressive 69 trades were consummated by teams in 2015, and you can find them all on our recap of 2015 NFL trades. Meanwhile, you can keep tabs on traded draft picks for 2016 with our tracker.
Among our roster tools: A breakdown of all 32 practice squad rosters, along with a recap of how teams have used their IR-DTR slots in 2015 and a summary of teams’ fifth-year option decisions for 2016.
The Pro Football Rumors glossary highlights a number of aspects of the NFL’s salary cap, free agency, and Collective Bargaining Agreement. Feel free to let us know if there’s a specific concept that you’d like us to discuss in a future Glossary piece.
We value your input at PFR, which is why we regularly publish Community Tailgate discussions, in which we elicit your feedback on a noteworthy story or topic from around the NFL. We also have a regular feature called Pigskin Links, in which we highlight a few interesting recent articles from football blogs. You can find our Community Tailgate archives here and our Pigskin Links pieces right here.
While a handful of our notable articles can be found under the “Featured Posts” section on the right sidebar, the PFR Originals archive rounds up all the original posts from our staff. Recently, we broke down 2015’s trades by the numbers and looked ahead to the 2016 salary cap situation for the Cowboys.

Extra Points: Ravens, Cutler, Gase

November 19th, 2015 at 9:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome was among NFL execs who were targeting Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin in the 2013 draft, as Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun writes.

“They definitely brought me in on a visit,” Austin said. “I met with the GM, a great guy. He had a plan for me, that they were going to draft me. They had a plan for me, for my whereabouts when I was in Baltimore and things like that. He’s a great guy, but coach ‘Fish’ pulled the trigger on me. That’s the guy I’m rolling with now.”

The Ravens never got the opportunity to take the explosive wide receiver, who was drafted No. 8 overall by St. Louis. Drafting at No. 32, the Ravens would go on to select Florida safety Matt Elam instead.

West Notes: Armstrong, Floyd, Welker

November 11th, 2015 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Police are looking into whether Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong illegally taunted a police dog before a game against the Steelers on Sunday, as an Associated Press report outlines. Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus says a player lifted his shirt, beat his chest and barked at the K-9 before telling a deputy to release the dog. Needless to say, the deputy did not follow Armstrong’s orders.

Taunting a police dog is a third-degree felony in Pennsylvania, so the consequences could potentially be severe for the linebacker. It’s not a concern for Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio though, who downplayed the story during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (link via FOX Sports).

“I’ve caught wind of this story. I’m going to put it in the ‘silly’ category,” Del Rio said. “I think once the facts come to light I don’t think there’s going to be much of an issue. I wouldn’t make too much of it.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions:

Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd suffered a torn labrum on Monday night, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (Twitter link). According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Floyd plans to rehab the injury and “see how it goes,” with the hopes of playing through it. The 34-year-old has previously stated that 2015 will be his final season in the NFL, so it would be an unfortunate end if he had to shut it down early.
In his latest column for Bleacher Report, Mike Freeman examines the Rams‘ decision to sign Wes Welker, and – more importantly – Welker’s decision to continue his NFL career despite possible health risks. Freeman hears from a source that Welker has “taken great care of his finances,” and is returning to action because he doesn’t want to stop playing yet, not because he needs the money.
Linebacker Nico Johnson, who signed yesterday with the Giants’ practice squad, also had a workout this week with the Rams, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
Wilson also passes along the names of several players who auditioned for the Seahawks this week, including tight end Cameron Clear, quarterback Jake Heaps, defensive lineman Glenn Foster, safety Jonathan Dowling, and cornerback Keon Lyn (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Pead, Collins, Murray, Saints

November 5th, 2015 at 10:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Running back Isaiah Pead is confident that he’ll regain his footing with the Steelers after three unproductive seasons with the Rams, as Ralph N. Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Pead, along with Jordan Todman, is expected to back up DeAngelo Williams during the second half of the regular season. To date, Pead hasn’t looked like the explosive athlete who helped Cincinnati capture the 2009 Big East championship, but he believes that he is about to turn a corner.

Despite their shortcomings on the offensive line coming into the 2015 season, the Eagles didn’t explore signing undrafted free agent La’el Collins, as Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. “We didn’t have any interest,” head coach Chip Kelly said Thursday. Collins went on to sign a three-year deal with the Cowboys worth $1.6MM guaranteed.
Tom Pelissero of USA Today wonders if having DeMarco Murray would change the Cowboys‘ season. While Darren McFadden has been just OK for Dallas, the club’s offensive line continues to be strong. Behind the power running of Murray, the Cowboys boasted one of the league’s best offenses and the top rushing attack. There’s no way to tell if this would be a totally different season with Murray in the backfield, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt, Pelissero writes.
Saints defensive tackle Kevin Williams was non-committal when asked about his future beyond this season. “This is a fun thing. You get to be around your teammates, and if you can’t have fun with them, you know you’re not a close group,” the 35-year-old said, according to Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune. “So we joke and have fun. I think that’s what makes the game fun—the friendships you have.”

West Notes: Davis, Broncos, Crabtree

November 4th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Years back, the NFL moved the trade deadline up from Week Six to Week Eight. However, the day of the deadline typically isn’t a hotbed of activity and we didn’t see any trades take place on Tuesday. While some would argue that the deadline should be pushed back even further, Mike Florio of PFT argues that the deadline should be abolished altogether to encourage as much activity as possible.

Of course, on the day prior to the deadline, we saw an AFC West team and an NFC West team link up for a pretty significant deal. Here’s more out of the West divisions..

The Broncos believe that Vernon Davis will give them a serious threat in the passing game, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report in one of his latest videos. However, some around football wonder if the tight end will be able to learn the new playbook quickly enough. That’s something that Davis struggled with in San Francisco.
Count quarterback Derek Carr among those who would like to see the Raiders lock up wide receiver Michael Crabtree. “I would love for Crab to be here for a long time,” Carr said, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Crabtree has been targeted 65 times already in 2015, turning those looks into 40 catches for 483 yards and three touchdowns. And, while Carr isn’t the man responsible for signing Crabtree’s checks, the young quarterback’s endorsement probably carries a lot of weigh with the front office.
49ers safety/special teamer L.J. McCray had a meniscus tear fixed on Tuesday, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets. McCray could come back later this season but a trip to the IR is still possible.

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