Allen Barbre

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Wolfe, Downing

The Broncos have lost some key auxiliary performers in recent weeks. Outside linebackers Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett could both be sidelined past Week 1, and defensive line rotation cog Billy Winn is out for the season after tearing an ACL. Denver’s offense received some bad news as well. Third-round pick Carlos Henderson will undergo thumb surgery that will shelve him for at least the remainder of the preseason and possibly into the regular season, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Henderson suffered the injury during the Broncos’ August opener against the Bears.

The Louisiana Tech standout was vying to become Denver’s No. 3 wide receiver but was struggling during camp. The Broncos were using Henderson at kick returner in Chicago. Henderson’s injury will create openings for incumbent pass-catchers Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler and Jordan Taylor in the coming weeks while potentially limiting the rookie’s assimilation.

Here’s the latest out of Denver and other AFC West cities.

  • It doesn’t look like Derek Wolfe will be undergoing surgery, but the sixth-year defensive end will likely be out for a few weeks. An ankle injury forced Wolfe to be carted off the practice field Saturday, but Wolfe informed ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link) he should be good to go for Week 1. That said, Denver’s left defensive end told Anderson his ankle is badly sprained and has a “slight tear.” Pending further examination, the Broncos do not believe this is a serious injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweets. Wolfe tweeted a picture of the afflicted ankle as well.
  • New Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing received the backing of mentor Mike Tice when it came time for Jack Del Rio to choose between Downing and previous OC Bill Musgrave. Tice helped bring Del Rio and Musgrave — who worked together for two years in Jacksonville — back together in 2015. But the Oakland offensive line coach agreed with Del Rio that losing Downing to a team that wanted him as OC wouldn’t be a smart move, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Tice oversaw Downing’s work when he was the Vikings’ head coach during the 2000s, eventually giving Downing his first coaching job in 2005. Musgrave’s contract was not renewed, and the longtime assistant is coaching the Broncos’ quarterbacks.
  • Tafur adds the close relationship between Downing and Derek Carr helped influence the decision and previously dictated the Sunday arrangements last season. Downing coached Carr on the sidelines while Musgrave operated from the booth. Carr said, via Tafur, he will have more freedom to improvise under Downing than he did in two seasons under Musgrave. However, this season will be the 37-year-old Downing’s first time calling plays at any level since he helped coach a Minneapolis-area ninth-grade team in 2002, Tafur adds.
  • Recently added offensive lineman Allen Barbre is competing with Max Garcia for the Broncos‘ starting left guard position, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post notes. Barbre has played both guard and tackle in his career but worked with the first unit in practice and could see time with the starters in Denver’s second preseason game, per Jhabvala. Garcia and Michael Schofield were the Broncos’ starters last season. Ronald Leary is the new right guard.
  • Ray’s target date for a return from wrist surgery is Week 3, when the Broncos make their first road trip of the season in a venture to Buffalo, Jhabvala reports. Former Saints edge defender Kasim Edebali and Vontarrius Dora are the top candidates to start opposite Von Miller come Week 1, should Barrett not make it back by then.
  • Chargers rookie Mike Williams is “running” and “doing well,” per Anthony Lynn, but remains without a firm timetable.

Eagles Trade G Allen Barbre To Broncos

The Eagles aren’t cutting Allen Barbre after all. Upon learning that the Eagles were planning to release the veteran guard, the Broncos reached out to the Eagles to work out a trade. A deal has been agreed upon, with Philly sending Barbre to Denver in exchange for a 2019 conditional draft pick (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). It’s a conditional seventh-rounder, tweets Mike Klis of 9News.Allen Barbre (vertical)

The Broncos already made one major upgrade on the interior line this offseason by signing former Cowboy Ronald Leary. Barbre could now compete with Max Garcia for the other starting guard spot or potentially push Menelik Watson at right tackle. Alternatively, he could be the Broncos’ super sub, filling in where needed at four different positions.

In Barbre, Denver gets a player with 76 appearances and 36 starts on his resume. The 33-year-old has started all 28 of his appearances dating back to 2015, including 12 last season, when he ranked an excellent 16th among Pro Football Focus’ 73 qualified guards. Barbre will earn $2.05MM this year and will have a chance at another $300K in playing time incentives, according to Klis (Twitter link).

The cap implications did not change for the Eagles when they flipped from releasing Barbre outright to trading him. After the deal, the Eagles will still save $2.1MM in cap space while leaving $500K on the books in dead money.

Eagles Cut LG Allen Barbre

As training camp gets underway, Allen Barbre will have to find work elsewhere. The Eagles announced that they have released the left guard.

Allen Barbre (vertical)

[RELATED: Eagles Eyeing Veteran Cornerbacks]

Allen Barbre is a pro’s pro,” said top executive Howie Roseman in a statement. “Not only did he help the team with his solid play as a starter at left guard, but his ability to step up and play multiple positions helped us battle through some difficult situations. We had a conversation yesterday and agreed it made sense to allow him to pursue some other opportunities, but the door is open for him to return here as well.”

By releasing Barbre, the Eagles will free up $2.1MM in cap space while leaving $500K on the books in dead money. Roseman’s statement seems to imply that Barbre could potentially return to the team at a lesser rate, so it’s a situation to keep an eye on as we head into August.

Barbre has been talked about as a potential cap casualty for much of the offseason, so the move doesn’t come as a big surprise. Still, the move will leave the Eagles with a lot less experience on the starting offensive line. Now, 23-year-old Isaac Seumalo will practice with the first team at left guard, per offensive coordinator Frank Reich.

The Eagles are also losing some of their versatility on the offensive line by cutting Barbre. The 33-year-old filled in at right tackle for Lane Johnson during his suspension in 2016. The good news in that regard is that the Eagles still have a handful of linemen that can play at different spots along the line. Seumalo and Stefen Wisniewski can fill in at any of the three interior spots while Matt Tobin offers experience at both tackle and guard.

Latest On Eagles’ Trade Discussions

Stationed up against the salary cap, the Eagles have placed several players on the trade block in recent days. That list now includes Jason Kelce, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Eagles are now open to trading their longtime starting center but won’t do so just to unload his salary.

Kelce loomed as a cap-casualty candidate in January but remains attached to his initial 2017 salary — $5MM, $6.2MM cap hit — with free agency officially set to begin in a few hours.

Philadelphia continues to try to move Mychal Kendricks, according to La Canfora, but looks to have pulled back on an Allen Barbre trade. The team gave the veteran guard permission to seek a trade last week, but Jeff McLane of Philly.com reports (on Twitter) the Eagles will bring back the 32-year-old versatile lineman. Barbre’s set to make just $2.25MM in 2017 despite being set for his 11th NFL season.

The Eagles have made Kendricks the subject of trade overtures for a while now, having attempted to deal him last year. Formerly a key cog for the previous Philly regime, Kendricks was phased out of Jim Schwartz’s defense.

La Canfora adds the Eagles are still trying to acquire Brandin Cooks, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com later added the team has bowed out of the Cooks pursuit.

Eagles Give Allen Barbre Permission To Seek Trade

A full-time Eagles starter for the past two seasons, Allen Barbre may be on the move after the team gave the veteran lineman permission to seek a trade, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.

The 32-year-old guard signed a three-year extension with the Eagles prior to the 2014 season, when one year remained on his previous Philadelphia contract. He has one year remaining on his deal, being set to carry a small cap figure of $2.25MM. This could be a sign the Eagles want second-year talent Isaac Seumalo to start at left guard opposite Brandon Brooks, NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks writes. Seumalo played in nine games as a rookie, starting four.

Barbre’s modest salary and 2016 performance, rating as Pro Football Focus’ No. 23 guard, could make him a reasonably interesting trade piece as a short-term solution. The 10-year veteran will turn 33 in June.

This marks the latest in the Eagles’ attempts to create cap space. They approached Jason Peters about taking a pay cut, but plans to retain him nonetheless, and may still be pondering releasing Jason Kelce. Philly is trying to find a trade partner for Mychal Kendricks as well. The Eagles, who authorized several pricey extensions last year, stand to have $8.6MM in cap room.

East Notes: Drake, DRC, Revis

The Dolphins will treat rookie running back Kenyan Drake as the starter this week in place of the injured Arian Foster, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport, though, passes along more interesting news regarding Miami’s running back corps and head coach Adam Gase‘s attempts to instill discipline in his new club.

After Gase’s highly-publicized decision to leave Jay Ajayi off the team’s travel list prior to the Dolphins’ regular season opener in Seattle, there was another incident involving the team’s running backs the following week. Both Isaiah Pead and Damien Williams missed a meeting in advance of Miami’s Week 2 matchup against New England, which is why both were inactive for that contest. Drake, it appears, is the only back on the 53-man roster who is both healthy and has not had a lapse in maturity over the past several weeks.

As Rapoport notes, time will tell if more “messages” are necessary or if the Dolphins will begin to fall in line with Gase’s vision.

Now for more from the league’s east divisions:

  • Despite his team-friendly deal and his still considerable abilities, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is clearly not in the Giants‘ long-term plans, James Kratch of NJ.com writes. Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple are entrenched as the team’s top two corners, and it would make no sense for New York to pay $6.5MM for a 30-year-old slot corner after this season (especially when the team could recoup the full $6.5MM by cutting DRC). But there are plenty of cornerback-needy teams for whom Rodgers-Cromartie would represent a significant upgrade, so Kratch opines that the Giants should look to trade DRC prior to this year’s deadline, and if that fails, then the team should release him before free agency begins next year.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPN.com believes the Jets and cornerback Darrelle Revis are set for a “contract staredown” after the season. Revis is scheduled to earn $15MM in 2017, including a non-guaranteed roster bonus of $2MM, which is due to be paid on the second day of the 2017 league year in March. Of course, if Revis begins to recapture his prior level of play, his contract may not be as much of an issue, but if he continues to struggle, the team will probably ask him to renegotiate, which Revis has never shown any inclination to do. As Cimini notes, the roster bonus puts a deadline on what could become one of the bigger storylines of the offseason.
  • Eagles head coach Doug Pederson expects Dorial Green-Beckham‘s role to increase as DGB continues to learn the offense and get healthy, as Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com writes. Through the first two games, Green-Beckham has had just six passes thrown his way, though Pederson says DGB was the primary target on several plays in the team’s Week 2 win over Chicago, but the defense dictated that the play go elsewhere.
  • If Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is in fact suspended for PED use–his hearing is set for October 4–Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the team will move left guard Allen Barbre to right tackle and promote Stefen Wisniewski to the starting lineup to take Barbre’s place.

Extra Points: Eagles, Raiders, 49ers, Colts

Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis spoke Sunday on the statuses of two of the team’s injured linebackers, Kiko Alonso and DeMeco Ryans.

Regarding Alonso, who suffered a concussion Tuesday and has missed four practices: “Kiko’s fine,” said Davis, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’ve been coaching linebackers my whole career. It’s just part of that position, when it sneaks up on you nowadays, we have great protocol. It’s not an issue. Kiko’s doing great. He won’t miss a beat.”

Davis was more guarded when discussing Ryans, who is recovering from a ruptured right Achilles tendon for the second time in his nine-year career.

 “DeMeco is a pro all the way through and is taking strides ahead of where most people would be, but he still has a little ways to go,” Davis said.
Ryans has participated in all seven of the Eagles’ training camp practices, but next Sunday’s preseason opener against the Colts will be a much bigger litmus test.
“Any time you’re coming back from injury, you have to get in the game to see where you are,” said Ryans, who got hurt last November. “Go to the ground, tackle somebody, stand up, make sure everything is still intact. And mentally, I think that’s the last hurdle, going out and getting back in a game.”
More on Philly and the rest of the NFL:
  • The Eagles’ right guard situation could take some time to sort out, writes Jeff McLane of the Inquirer. The team has a vacancy there after cutting three-time Pro Bowl left guard Evan Mathis and replacing him with former RG Allen Barbre. John Moffitt, Matt Tobin, Andrew Gardner and Julian Vandervelde are competing for the job.
  • 49ers defensive coordinator Eric Mangini is using his linebackers’ flexibility to his advantage as he tries to find a way to fill the void left by Aldon Smith, whom the team cut earlier this week because of off-field issues. “A guy like Aldon is not a guy that you just can replace,” Mangini said, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “He’s got a unique skill set. But one of the things that we focused on defensively is building flexibility, in terms of what we can play, and then building flexibility with who’s going to play there.” The lion’s share of reps at Smith’s former spot have gone to Corey Lemonier and Eli Harold, writes Gutierrez.
  • The Raiders could have the biggest interior defensive line in the NFL when Dan Williams and Justin Ellis, who combine to weigh 665 pounds, line up side by side. The two have been paired together often in camp, writes Jerry McDonald of InsideBayArea.com. “To be able to have those guys in the front, we feel like you shouldn’t run the ball on us,” safety Charles Woodson said. “If they put those guys up there, we should be a very stout defense. That’s what we’re counting on.”
  • Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is bullish about the team’s secondary, which helped the defense finish a respectable 12th overall against the pass in 2014. “I think we have an excellent group. We got playmakers and smart guys that communicate well and play well together. I’m excited for that group,” Pagano said, according to USA Today.

Eagles Sign Wade Smith

WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: In addition to confirming the signing of Smith, the Eagles also announced that offensive lineman Kevin Graf and linebacker Emmanuel Acho have been promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad (Twitter links). Evan Mathis, Allen Barbre, and Najee Goode head to injured reserve to make room on the roster, with Mathis designated to return.

TUESDAY, 3:16pm: The Eagles have begun attempting to repair an offensive line that has been decimated in the early going by injuries and a suspension. According to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the team has agreed to terms with veteran guard Wade Smith, who was recently cut by the Seahawks.

Smith, 33, was among the players who visited the Eagles today, along with tackle Eric Winston, who left Philadelphia without a deal. Smith has appeared in 138 games over the course of his 11-year NFL career for the Dolphins, Jets, Chiefs, and Texans, starting 98 of those contests. Most recently, he spent several seasons in Houston as the club’s full-time left guard, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2012.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Smith earn some playing time right away with the Eagles, who were already without the suspended Lane Johnson for four weeks coming into the season and have since seen Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre go down with potentially significant injuries.

The Eagles will have to make a corresponding roster move before the signing of Smith can become official. With reports this afternoon suggesting that Barbre’s ankle injury could be season-ending, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the club places him on the injured reserve list.

Eagles Rumors: Barbre, Winston, Smith

After a slow start against the Jaguars on Sunday, the Eagles eventually fought back with 34 unanswered points for a comfortable 34-17 win over Jacksonville, but Philadelphia paid a steep price for the win. Two offensive linemen, Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre, left the game with injuries, and are expected to miss significant time. Here’s the latest on one of those two injured linemen, along with more out of Philadelphia:

  • Barbre is expected to undergo surgery on his injured ankle that could end his 2014 season, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Barbre, who signed a contract extension with the Eagles this summer, was expected to step in to replace the suspended Lane Johnson for September, but now Philadelphia will have to find another replacement at that spot for the next three weeks.
  • With holes to fill on that offensive line, the Eagles are taking a look at veteran tackle Eric Winston and guard Wade Smith, who are visiting the team today, tweets Caplan. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), Winston has already left Philadelphia without a deal, though that doesn’t necessarily preclude an agreement at a later date.
  • In addition to kicking the tires on some offensive linemen, the Eagles are also expected to host some linebackers for tryouts, says Caplan (via Twitter). According to the ESPN.com scribe (via Twitter), inside linebacker Najee Goode sustained a pectoral injury during Sunday’s game.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Mathis, Barbre

Dez Bryant and the Cowboys appeared to be making progress toward a contract extension in the weeks leading up to the regular season, but the two sides didn’t reach an agreement before the team’s opener against the Niners yesterday. According to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News, Bryant said he still intends to table discussions during the season, but seemed disappointed that he and the team couldn’t work something out before that unofficial deadline.

“Truly, I really understand that this is a business,” Bryant said. “I only worry about the things that I can control.”

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

  • Peter King of TheMMQB.com, who reported last week that the NFL encouraged multiple clubs around the league to consider Michael Sam as a practice squad candidate, writes today that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones denied that the league reached out to him to consider the rookie defensive end.
  • An MRI on Eagles guard Evan Mathis revealed an MCL sprain of his right knee, a source tells Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The injury isn’t expected to end Mathis’ season, but it should sideline him for an extended period, so he may be a candidate for the IR list with the designation to return.
  • Allen Barbre, who was stepping in for the suspended Lane Johnson, suffered a high ankle sprain during Sunday’s game and is also expected to miss multiple weeks, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. With Johnson slated to miss the next three games, and Mathis and Barbre likely out for those contests as well, the Eagles will likely be forced to feature a makeshift offensive line for at least the rest of September.
  • Ex-Falcons wideout Darius Johnson is looking for another shot with an NFL team, and has a workout lined up with the Giants this week, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.