HEADLINES

Month: February 2014

Ryan Kalil, Jonathan Stewart Restructure Contracts

February 24th, 2014 at 9:37pm CST by Ben Levine

As we found out earlier today, the Panthers restructured the contract of linebacker Thomas Davis, but that doesn’t appear to be the last of their moves. The team had also restructured the contracts of center Ryan Kalil and running back Jonathan Stewart, reports Brian McIntyre (both reports via Twitter).

As McIntyre points out, Kalil, a seven-year veteran, had his salary reduced from $4.75MM to $855K, with the rest being converted to his signing bonus. Kalil’s cap number was previously worth $10.4MM, McIntyre tweets, and the reduction to a $7.28MM hit will save the Panthers more than $3MM next season. Kalil is a four-time Pro Bowler.

Stewart’s $1.5MM salary has been reduced to $785K, with the remainder being added into the player’s signing bonus. The new value of the signing bonus is $7.5MM, tweets McIntyre, which will be prorated over five seasons. This lowers Stewart’s 2014 cap hit by just under $1MM.

Titans Re-Sign Jackie Battle

February 24th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Ben Levine

The Titans have re-signed running back Jackie Battle, reports Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean (via Twitter). In an additional tweet, Wyatt says the deal is for one year.

Battle spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chiefs before playing one season with the Chargers in 2012. Last season, the 30-year-old ran for 142 yards on 36 carries as the Titans third-string back behind Chris Johnson and Shonn Greene. Battle was also useful on special teams, where he compiled seven total tackles.

Battle made $715K last season, $21K of which was surrendered to the NFL for violating the “Trent Richardson rule.”

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Hall

February 24th, 2014 at 7:56pm CST by Ben Levine

While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said yesterday that a decision needs to be made on DeMarcus Ware, he took it a bit further on today’s SportsCenter. As Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News writes, Jones is certainly not guaranteeing that Ware will return:

“There’s no question when you are where we are on the cap… and you have a defensive player that’s your highest paid defensive player, and he hasn’t been on the field much the last two years, that has to be considered,” Jones said. “You can’t have it all.”

As the Cowboys figure out what to do with Ware and his huge cap hit, let’s see what else is happening around the NFC East…

Bears Re-Sign Derrick Martin, Taylor Boggs

February 24th, 2014 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:43pm: Martin’s deal is indeed worth the $855K veteran’s minimum for an eight-year veteran. tweets Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.

1:11pm: The Bears have re-signed a pair of players eligible for free agency, inking safety Derrick Martin and center Taylor Boggs to one-year contracts, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link).

Martin, a journeyman who has spent time with the Ravens, Packers, Giants, Patriots, and Bears since 2006, rarely sees any playing time on defense, but figures to compete for a roster spot in Chicago as a special teams contributor. He had been eligible for unrestricted free agency, and will likely be back on a minimum salary contract.

As for Boggs, his options were limited, as he was set to be an exclusive rights free agent. Like Martin, he’ll probably be on a minimum salary deal, with a chance to compete for a place on the Bears’ roster this summer. The 27-year-old has yet to log a snap in a regular season NFL game.

Free Agent Rumors: Strief, Carroll, Woodson

February 24th, 2014 at 5:51pm CST by Ben Levine

The hot stove is slowly starting to heat up. Here are some rumors regarding free agents from around the league…

  • The Saints and offensive tackle Zach Strief have “mutual interest” on a signing a new deal, ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett says (via Twitter). The player’s agent says that initial conversations have been good.
  • The Dolphins have interest in bringing back cornerback Nolan Carroll and have met with his agent, tweets CBSSports.com’s Jason La Confora. La Confora notes that Carroll will test the open market and see where the best offers are.
  • Charles Woodson is going to play in 2014 and the Raiders want him back, writes Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin. When asked about a reunion with the Packers, Woodson didn’t express much optimism.
  • Packers coach Mike McCarthy expressed interest in bringing back B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett and his other free agent defenders, writes Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. McCarthy also acknowledged that it “wasn’t realistic” to bring back all of the players.

Extra Points: Titans, Roos, Harbaugh, Browns

February 24th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Titans are currently prioritizing this year’s pending free agents and potential cap casualties, the team shouldn’t forget about players like left tackle Michael Roos and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, whose contracts are up after the 2014 season, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. In Wyatt’s view, Tennessee can afford to wait to see how Casey fits in a changing defense, but the team would be wise to try to lock up Roos to an extension as soon as possible.

Here are a few more miscellaneous Monday links from around the NFL:

  • Former Octagon agents Doug Hendrickson and C.J. LaBoy have joined Relativity Sports, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). Mullen adds in a second tweet that the duo will work with and report to Relativity’s football CEO, Eugene Parker.
  • If Jim Harbaugh doesn’t receive a contract extension this offseason and the 49ers don’t win the Super Bowl next season, expect the Dolphins to be among the teams pursing the head coach next year, tweets Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Before he was removed from his role as CEO of the team, Joe Banner had the Browns‘ offensive and defensive coordinators reporting directly to him, reports Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com. As agent Mike McCartney observes (via Twitter), if Kirwan’s report is accurate, it’s not hard to understand why head coaching candidates would’ve been reluctant to accept the Cleveland job.
  • Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had a stellar performance at the combine, met with nine teams, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link): The Cowboys, Ravens, Bears, Bengals, Vikings, Texans, Lions, Buccaneers, and Rams.
  • The Packers, Patriots, and Seahawks met with Rutgers receiver Brandon Coleman, who also had an informal meeting with the Redskins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Ravens, Dennis Pitta Making Progress In Talks

February 24th, 2014 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Ravens and Dennis Pitta continue to discuss a new contract and are “making progress” toward a deal, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). While no agreement is imminent, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports 1 echoes Rapoport’s report of progress between the two sides, tweeting that there’s a chance the two sides work something out before March 3.

Because Pitta is a candidate for the franchise tag, March 3 represents an important deadline as the last day teams are permitted to designate franchise players. If the Ravens can’t lock up Pitta to a long-term pact, franchising him is somewhat risky — the 28-year-old will almost certainly file a grievance in the hopes of being franchised as a wide receiver instead of a tight end, which could significantly affect his potential one-year salary.

Still, Rapoport tweets that most rival teams don’t believe the Ravens will let Pitta get away this offseason, which suggests that talks are progressing well, considering a week ago one report indicated the two sides were “far apart” in negotiations. According to Rapoport and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), plenty of suitors would emerge if Pitta did become available on March 11. Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com wrote earlier today that the Packers, Falcons, and Patriots would be candidates to pursue Pitta if he reaches the open market.

Dolphins Unlikely To Re-Sign Paul Soliai

February 24th, 2014 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

3:10pm: Soliai has received interest from at least five teams, and two of those clubs “are quite serious” about trying to sign the veteran defensive tackle, says Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. For now, the Dolphins are the only club that can offer Soliai a contract, but the team has yet to make a proposal.

12:52pm: Defensive tackle Paul Soliai appears ready to test the open market, having already moved out of his South Florida home, reports Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. According to Beasley, the Dolphins will be “hard-pressed” to keep Soliai, who is set to hit free agency on March 11.

Soliai, 30, has started 58 of the Dolphins’ 64 total games over the last four seasons, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 2011 and ranking as a top-20 defensive tackle in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Coming off a $7.375MM cap number in ’13, Soliai likely won’t come cheap, and Beasley suggests the run-stopping lineman has drawn a significant amount of “unofficial interest” at the combine this week.

The Dolphins will have plenty of cap room this offseason, but also have numerous positions and players to address — the club will have to remake its offensive line and retain standout cornerback Brent Grimes. A report earlier this month from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com suggested that Miami would probably only be able to re-sign one of its two free agent defensive tackles. In addition to Soliai, Randy Starks is also eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Miami could free up some additional cap space by restructuring Mike Wallace‘s contract to reduce his $17.25MM cap hit for 2014, but there have been no discussions on that front yet, according to Beasley.

Lions Will Seek Veteran Quarterback

February 24th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions won’t be in the market for a starting quarterback this offseason, with Matthew Stafford firmly entrenched as the number one in option in Detroit. But the team will be keeping an eye out in free agency for a veteran option to back up Stafford, according to GM Martin Mayhew (link via Justin Rogers of MLive.com).

“We’ll get into the free agency market and see what it looks like and see if there’s a veteran out there that’s right for us, that we feel comfortable with,” Mayhew said.

One free agent who will attract some interest from the team is Shaun Hill, who has been Stafford’s backup in Detroit for the last several seasons. However, it sounds as if he’ll just be one of the options the Lions consider, rather than necessarily heading into free agency as the club’s first choice. Former Boise State signal-caller Kellen Moore also remains under contract with the team for one more year, though Mayhew doesn’t love the idea of heading into 2014 with Moore as the primary backup.

While this year’s top free agent quarterbacks such as Michael Vick, Matt Cassel, and Chad Henne will likely be seeking opportunities to start, there are plenty of other intriguing options on the market. Josh McCown, Josh Freeman, Matt Flynn, Tarvaris Jackson, and Kellen Clemens are among the notable No. 2 QBs expected to be available next month.

49ers’ Craig Dahl Agrees To Pay Cut

February 24th, 2014 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Safety Craig Dahl has agreed to a new contract that will reduce his salary for 2014 and create $600K in cap savings for the 49ers, a source tells Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Jason Hurley of NinersCapHell.com was the first to notice that Dahl’s base salary for ’14 was down to $825K in the NFLPA database.

Dahl, 28, had previously been in line to earn a $1.35MM base salary with bonus money increasing his total cap number to about $1.883MM. However, it appears as if his base salary has been reduced by $525K, while his $250K roster bonus has been reduced to a potential $175K that can be earned via per-game roster bonuses. According to Maiocco, $365K of Dahl’s $825K base salary will be guaranteed.

Maiocco also reports that the new deal will also include $650K in unlikely incentives, which Dahl could earn if he makes the Pro Bowl or reaches certain thresholds in playing time and interceptions. Those incentives won’t count against the cap unless they’re earned, so taking into account Dahl’s prorated signing bonus and workout bonus, his new cap number is about $1.283MM.

After starting all 16 games in the Rams’ secondary in 2012, Dahl assumed a backup role in San Francisco in 2013, seeing action on special teams as well. With Donte Whitner set to hit free agency, Dahl could compete for an increased role in the Niners’ secondary in 2014.

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