Marcus Harris

ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/4/16

Earlier today, we rounded up the latest decisions on restricted free agent tenders. Now, we’ll shift our focus to the day’s exclusive-rights free agent tenders, for players with fewer than three years of NFL experience. here’s the latest:

Giants Sign Jeromy Miles

FRIDAY, 6:17pm: Miles’ deal is for one year and worth $745K, Jordan Raanan of the New York Daily News reports. There is no guaranteed money in this team-friendly agreement, and should Miles head to injured reserve, IR salary language that would pay Miles a $413K split or a smaller lower settlement exists in the contract.

WEDNESDAY, 1:35pm: The Giants have officially announced the signing of Miles, waiving wide receiver Marcus Harris and safety Justin Currie. Harris received an injured designation.

WEDNESDAY, 9:56am: Miles will sign a one-year contract with the Giants later today, a source confirms to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 9:10am: Having lost their top three safeties from the 2014 season, the Giants continue to explore ways to replace that production, and their search has led them to a former Raven, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Caplan reports (via Twitter) that New York is expected to sign ex-Baltimore safety Jeromy Miles to a contract.

Miles, who turns 28 next week, began his career with the Bengals before joining the Ravens in 2013. Having played mostly on special teams during his first few seasons in the league, Miles saw 365 defensive snaps in 2014 and held his own, making 34 tackles, grabbing an interception, and forcing a pair of fumbles.

Antrel Rolle, Stevie Brown, Quintin Demps all left the Giants in free agency this offseason, leaving a significant hole at the safety position. The team opted not to address that hole in free agency, using a second-round pick on Landon Collins and experimenting with cornerbacks at the safety spot. Assuming Miles officially puts pen to paper and joins the Giants, he should provide the club more depth at the position, and will likely have the opportunity to earn regular playing time.

East Notes: Kromer, Cassel, Harris

Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is scheduled to appear in court for an August 12 plea date, following his arrest last weekend, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. With Kromer having been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave by the Bills this week, that August court session could go a long way toward determining whether or not he’ll have a job with the team by the time the regular season gets underway.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • We’ve been hearing in recent weeks that Matt Cassel may be in danger of losing his roster spot on the Bills, but Rodak believes that, despite a shaky spring and a sizable salary, Cassel still has about a 60% chance of making the regular season roster.
  • This week, ESPN.com’s AFC East writers weighed in on which coach is on the hottest seat in the division. Unsurprisingly, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin ran away with the dubious distinction. Philbin is 23-25 as Miami’s head coach. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan (Bills) and Todd Bowles (Jets) were just hired earlier in 2015, and Bill Belichick‘s job with the Patriots certainly seems safe.
  • Wide receiver Marcus Harris, cut by the Giants yesterday with an injured designation, underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee last month, which led to his removal from the team’s 90-man roster, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. Assuming he’s not claimed today, Harris figures to land on the Giants’ injured reserve list. It’s the second straight year that the 26-year-old has seen his chances of earning a spot on the club’s Week 1 roster dashed by injuries.

Giants Waive 13 Players, Place Two On IR

10:49am: Graziano provides the last four Giants moves, reporting in a pair of tweets that the team has also cut safety C.J. Barnett and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins, as well as placing wideout Marcus Harris and safety Cooper Taylor on season-ending injured reserve.

10:27am: Vacchiano adds two more names to the list of Giants’ cuts (via Twitter): Travis Harvey (WR) and John Sullen (G). The team still has to part ways with four more players by this afternoon.

9:26am: In addition to McManus and James, the Giants have cut the following players, according to reports from Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger:

  • Spencer Adkins, LB
  • Justin Anderson, LB (waived-injured)
  • Jerome Cunningham, TE
  • Emmanuel Dieke, DE
  • Xavier Grimble, TE (waived-injured)
  • Kyle Sebetic, S
  • Ross Weaver, CB

The seven additional cuts bring the Giants’ roster count down to 81.

8:34am: The Giants’ first wave of roster cuts is underway, and one of the team’s first moves will settle the kicking battle in New York. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Giants have informed Brandon McManus that Josh Brown will be the club’s kicker, with McManus being cut. Additionally, defensive back Charles James will be waived, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). James announced that move himself this morning, via Instagram.

McManus, 23, may have lost the Giants’ kicking competition to the veteran Brown, but he has a big leg, having reportedly made a 75-yard field goal in training camp, as well as frequently putting kickoffs 10 yards out of the end zone, writes Bill Pennington of the New York Times. He’ll have to make it through waivers to become a free agent, so we’ll keep an eye out this week on whether another team decides to put in a claim for him.

As for James, he spent last season with the Giants and only saw two total defensive snaps, but was a frequent contributor on special teams — he recorded six overall tackles in kick and punt coverage. Graziano tweets that New York would have liked to delay its decision on James, but recent injuries on the offensive line have forced the team to change its plans.

The Giants have yet to announce these transactions, but figure to make them official later today when they finalize the rest of their cuts. The team will have to part ways with 13 more players by this afternoon’s roster cutdown deadline.

Extra Points: Cowboys, 49ers, Browns, Giants

Let’s check out some leftover links on this Saturday night…

NFC East Links: Schwartz, Cowboys, Redskins

Giants‘ guard Geoff Schwartz was brought in this offseason to sure up the offensive line, but in light of his recent injury, the team needs to look at potential replacements on the roster, writes Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. Rookie center Weston Richburg is the logical replacement, although he was thought of as the center of the future and was already competing to be the starter at the other guard spot with Brandon Mosley. John Jerry and Dallas Reynolds are the other guards on the roster.

Here are some more links from around the NFC East:

  • The Giants‘ offensive line is not the only cause for concern heading into the regular season, as the team’s tight ends and their quarterback Eli Manning have struggled as well, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The team is also short on wide receivers with rookie Odell Beckham Jr. and former practice squad star Marcus Harris struggling with injuries. Harris was thought to be a lock to make the roster before his injury, writes Raanan.
  • There are still a few starting spots on the Cowboys‘ depth chart up for grabs, and David Moore of DallasNews.com points out three places where those jobs are up for grabs. The team still has a decision to make at left guard, left defensive end, and middle linebacker.
  • The writers of DallasCowboys.com have highlighted two players each to watch going into the Cowboys‘ preseason game against the Dolphins. The players to watch are not necessarily in straightforward position battles, and range from rookie Devin Street to franchise quarterback Tony Romo.
  • The Redskins‘ cornerback depth chart is still up in the air, with multiple players impressing so far during camp. Tracy Porter seems to have the slot corner spot locked up, but if his injury history comes back to haunt him, that could open up a roster spot for a player like Chase Minnifield, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. Bashaud Breeland has also had an excellent camp, but must learn how to play the slot before he sees significant playing time.