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Month: April 2024

Aqib Talib Falsely Accused Of Public Intoxication

June 29th, 2014 at 10:52am CST by Rory Parks

10:52am: It’s official. Aqib Talib’s brother, Yaqub, was arrested, not Aqib himself. Major Geron, who initially tweeted the arrest, has corrected his mistake and issued an apology (via Twitter). And the city of Denver heaves a collective sigh of relief.

10:41am: The Dallas Police Department has yet to amend its statement that Yaqub Talib, and not Aqib Talib, is the individual currently held at the city’s processing center, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. According to a rather confident tweet from Pro Football Talk, Dallas PD does not have Aqib in custody. One confusing factor in all of this is that Synn, the nightclub where the alleged incident took place, was said to be hosting an “Official NFL Camp After Party” last night, according to Robert Wilonsky of The Dallas Morning News. Several other NFL players were reportedly in attendance. It could be that the Talib brothers were there together, but that is just speculation at this point. As of right now, all signs indicate that the Dallas PD made a (rather egregious) mistake. Stay tuned.

10:18am: Perhaps what looked to be a major story is instead a non-story. According to Pro Football Talk, Talib’s agent, Todd France, says that Talib’s brother, Yaqub Talib, was the individual arrested in Dallas this morning (Twitter link).

10:06am: New Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib was arrested at a Dallas night club at approximately 1:45 this morning, tweets Major Max Geron of the Dallas Police Department. Geron adds that Talib was arrested for public intoxication as he was throwing bottles, causing a disturbance and creating a danger to himself and others.

AFC East Links: Brady, Satele, Trump

June 29th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Rory Parks

Ben Volin of The Boston Globe notes that there are seven Patriots players set to make more money than Tom Brady this year, whose $2MM base salary is tied for eighth-most on the club. Of course, Brady did receive $33MM as a result of last year’s extension that pushed his contract into 2017. However, if Brady honors that deal, he will be making a total of $27MM over the course of the next three seasons, just $9MM per year when the going rate for franchise quarterbacks is at least twice as much.

Brady’s contract situation has made Volin wonder if there was any subliminal meaning to head coach Bill Belichick‘s statement, “we know what Tom’s age and contract situation is” after the team drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of last month’s draft. Although neither side has mentioned anything about a contract dispute, Volin opines that the Patriots could be preparing themselves for one just in case.

Now some more notes from the AFC East:

  • In a video segment for CSNNewEngland, Tom Curran, Mike Giardi and Phil Perry discuss the success of the Patriots‘ two first-round picks in 2012, Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. They agree that the team needs to decrease Jones’ workload a bit to ensure his continued effectiveness, and they also note that 2014 is a “pseudo-contract year” for both players. As first-round picks under the new CBA, they will be under club control for two more seasons (assuming that New England picks up the fifth-year option for both, which is probably a given). Nonetheless, the Patriots do like to get contract issues resolved early, so 2014 may well be the best time for Jones and Hightower to boost their leverage.
  • In their continuing search for a replacement for injured center Mike Pouncey, the Dolphins will bring in Samson Satele–who spent the first two seasons of his career with Miami–for a workout on Monday, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson adds that the team will bring in two other linemen as well, but it is unclear who those players are at this point.
  • Although the Jets‘ competition is not an open one–Geno Smith is expected to take 70 to 75 percent of the first-team reps in training camp–it is not an entirely closed competition either, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. Normally, a veteran starter takes about 90 percent of reps with the first team.
  • As our Luke Adams wrote last week, Donald Trump, one potential bidder for the Bills franchise, believes he is the only bidder who would keep the team in Buffalo. Phil Perry of CSNNewEngland writes that if Trump were to purchase the club–which is a dubious proposition at best–he has indicated that the Bills would need a new stadium, perhaps within the Buffalo city limits.

 

Dead Money

June 28th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Luke Adams

In our most recent PFR Glossary entry, we explored the different kinds of guaranteed money found in NFL contracts, concluding that the only figures in a contract can be considered fully guaranteed are signing bonuses and salary that is guaranteed for injury, skill, and cap purposes. This fully guaranteed portion of a contract is also known as dead money, from a club’s perspective — it will hit the player’s team’s cap sooner or later, whether he plays out his full contract or whether he gets released early in the deal.

Because signing bonuses are prorated, teams signing bigger contracts that include bonuses typically can spread out that guaranteed money over several years. However, if a team releases a player while it still owes him some or all of this guaranteed money, it “accelerates” onto either the current league year (if the player is released prior to June 1) or the following year (if the player is released after June 1), and applies to the team’s cap even when the player is no longer on the roster. This is what makes it “dead” money.

Let’s take a look at a free agent who signed a new contract this offseason for a practical example. As our Zach Links covered in his Offseason in Review piece on the Browns earlier this week, linebacker Karlos Dansby inked a four-year, $24MM pact with the team — the agreement included a $6MM signing bonus and $6MM in guaranteed base salary ($4MM in 2014 and $2MM of his $4MM salary in 2015). Therefore, the contract currently contains $12MM in dead money – $5.5MM in ’14, $3.5MM in ’15, and $1.5MM each in ’16 and ’17.

When the dead money left on a player’s contract is greater than his current year cap hit, he’s in little danger of being released. Dansby has a $5.5MM cap number in 2014, compared to $12MM in total dead money, meaning even if the Browns had reason to want to cut him (which is unlikely, considering it’s only been a few months since they made that offer), it would make little sense to do so. Under the post-June 1 rule, if Dansby were released now, his $12MM in dead money would hit the cap for a total of $5.5MM this year and $6.5MM in 2015, with the remaining dead money accelerating on that season’s cap. That means Cleveland would be taking larger overall cap hits to get him off the roster than to keep him on it.

In some instances, even a huge amount of dead money isn’t enough reason for a team to keep a player on its roster. For instance, LaMarr Woodley headed into 2014 with a cap number of $13.59MM and $14.71MM in dead money remaining on his contract. By designating him as a post-June 1 cut, the Steelers were able to reduce Woodley’s ’14 cap hit to just $5.59MM, while his ’15 cap hit decreased from $14.09MM to $8.58MM.

Of course, in that scenario, a 2015 cap number of $8.58MM is still exorbitant for a player who won’t be on the team’s roster, which is why clubs who manage the cap the best generally try to keep dead money for non-roster players to a minimum. There are ways of constructing deals to avoid piling up dead money charges, including avoiding large signing bonuses. Darrelle Revis‘ six-year, $96MM pact with the Buccaneers looked massive on paper, but it featured yearly $16MM salaries, with no bonus, meaning the deal didn’t include any guaranteed money. So when Tampa Bay cut the star cornerback earlier this year, the team wasn’t on the hook for any salary, and Revis doesn’t count against the club’s cap at all in 2014.

NFL players often don’t have a ton of job security, but if a player has a sizable amount of dead money left on his contract, it gives him more leverage than he’d otherwise have. If you’re wondering if a veteran player on your favorite team might be a candidate to be cut, it’s worth checking a salary database like Over the Cap or Spotrac to see how much dead money is remaining on his deal. The higher that number is, the less likely the player is to go anywhere in the near future.

Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.

Florida Notes: Jags, Dolphins, Colledge

June 28th, 2014 at 7:39pm CST by Luke Adams

In his first two drafts as the Jaguars‘ general manager, David Caldwell has used four of his five first- or second-round selections on offensive players, but Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union doesn’t expect that to be the case in 2015. In Carlyon’s view, it’s a safe bet that Jacksonville will target a pass-rusher to fill the Leo role on defense. Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun, and Dante Fowler of Florida are among the players the Times-Union scribe suggests Jags fans keep an eye on when the 2014 NCAA season gets underway.

Here’s more on the Jags and another of the NFL’s Florida teams:

  • Within the same piece, Carlyon notes that safety Sherrod Martin will be one of the more intriguing players to watch in training camp for the Jaguars this summer. Martin has about as much combined starting experience as fellow safeties Johnathan Cyprien, Josh Evans, Winston Guy and Chris Prosinski, but his spot on the regular season roster is far from guaranteed.
  • In his discussion of Daryn Colledge‘s impending meeting with the Dolphins, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald points out that, under new general manager Dennis Hickey, the team has attempted to sign every free agent it has brought in for a visit. That bodes well for Colledge’s chancing of earning a contract offer in the wake of Mike Pouncey‘s hip injury.
  • Dolphins safety Reshad Jones is intent on bouncing back in 2014 after a down 2013, vowing to practice harder this year, as Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel details. Jones has a guaranteed salary for the next two seasons, so even if he struggles again in ’14, Miami is unlikely to give up on him.

Offseason In Review: Cincinnati Bengals

June 28th, 2014 at 5:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

Notable signings:

Notable losses:

Extensions and restructures:

Trades:

  • Acquired a fourth-round pick (No. 111) from the Seahawks in exchange for a fourth-round pick (No. 123) and a sixth-round pick (No. 199).

Draft picks:

  • Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State (1.24): Signed
  • Jeremy Hill, RB, LSU (2.55): Signed
  • Will Clarke, DE, West Virginia (3.88): Signed
  • Russell Bodine, C, North Carolina (4.111): Signed
  • A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama (5.164): Signed
  • Marquis Flowers, LB, Arizona (6.212): Signed
  • James Wright, WR, LSU (7.239): Signed
  • Lavelle Westbrooks, DB, Georgia Southern (7.252): Signed

Other:

Over the last few seasons, the Bengals have assembled one of the most complete rosters in the NFL from top to bottom, which has resulted in three consecutive playoff appearances. The run started after they selected A.J. Green and Andy Dalton in the first two rounds of the 2011 NFL draft, and those two players have come to the forefront of a Bengals team that has become a modicum of consistency in the AFC.

Unfortunately, despite having among the least gaping holes in the roster of all 32 NFL teams, they have also accumulated three consecutive first round exits, and have not won a playoff game since the 1990 season. Without any glaring weaknesses on the roster, and with the team scoring a total of 33 points over those three playoff losses, pressure is beginning to mount on Dalton, despite his regular season successes.

Still, the team did not do much to improve the pieces around Dalton. Cincinnati kept guard Mike Pollak, but let utility lineman Anthony Collins walk. Collins played left tackle last season, and this will push Andrew Whitworth back to anchor Dalton’s blindside. The club also failed to bring in a third receiver to compliment Green and rising star Marvin Jones. Dane Sanzenbacher, Brandon Tate, and seventh-round pick James Wright are the only three players the Bengals prioritized this offseason, and none of three are likely to supplant Mohamed Sanu as the team’s third wideout.

Dalton does have a pair of receiving threats at tight end in Tyler Eifert and Jermaine Gresham, both very talented pass catchers, and Giovani Bernard can also catch the ball out of the backfield. The Bengals drafted LSU running back Jeremy Hill in the second round, but at best he only projects to replace an aging BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Overall, however, Dalton’s weapons are not greatly improved from a year ago. With Green up for a monster extension, it will be difficult for the Bengals to invest more money in the passing game going forward. Gresham already is being pushed out of Cincinnati, if the team does not look to open its checkbook for him at the end of the year.

Dalton is up for an extension soon, as he is entering the last year of a four-year rookie deal. He will likely be given one more season to prove himself before being able to cash in, and it is unclear what his future looks like. The Bengals brought in veteran quarterback Jason Campbell to serve as Dalton’s backup, and he is not too far removed from an impressive stint as a starter for the Raiders before getting injured (and replaced by Carson Palmer, netting the Bengals ammunition to build their current roster).

Among the Bengals’ most notable draft picks was A.J. McCarron, the two-time national champion out of Alabama. McCarron’s stock slipped during the draft process, but he led some great college teams as a quarterback, and provides a certain upside that might be appealing to Bengals’ fans who have watched a signal-caller with a low ceiling in terms of his potential. If Dalton struggles in 2014, it might make sense for the team to walk away from him, and move forward with McCarron or another quarterback.

The defensive side of the ball also left little room to improve, but the Bengals added to their depth in the secondary by choosing Darqueze Dennard out of Michigan State with their first-round pick. Dennard enters a crowded depth chart at corner. Leon Hall has emerged as a star since being drafted in 2007, but has struggled with injuries, tearing his Achilles tendon twice in the last three seasons. The team is preparing for life after Hall, who will turn 30 years old later this year. The Bengals have also successfully plugged in former Pro-Bowl players Terence Newman and Adam “Pacman” Jones, who both revived their careers, playing well for the team. All this is in addition to Dre Kirkpatrick, who was a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft, and has yet to contribute much to the defense, starting three games last year.

The biggest loss of the offseason was defensive end Michael Johnson, who signed with the Buccaneers. Johnson had 11.5 sacks in 2012, but only managed 3.5 last season. The Bengals will lean more heavily on Carlos Dunlap going forward, but they have good depth behind him, with young contributors such as Margus Hunt, Sam Montgomery, and third-round pick Will Clarke likely to get a chance to see the field. They are still tough in the middle of their defensive line, with Domata Peko signed to an extension and Geno Atkins returning from injury.

The best asset Cincinnati has on defense may be head coach Marvin Lewis, who the team extended through 2015. Lewis is the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL, behind Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Lewis has been able to put a defensive product on the field every year that seems to overachieve, and handles particularly well with losing stars and carrying on, as we saw last year when Hall and Atkins went out. Of course, he has failed to win a single postseason game, only reaching the tournament five times in ten seasons.

The AFC North was a top heavy division for many years, with the Steelers and Ravens dominating playoff berths for most of the 2000s. It is not the same AFC North in 2014. With the Steelers and Ravens taking a step back last year, and the Browns winning the offseason, this division is up for grabs. Still, the Bengals are a slight favorite to win the division and secure a fourth straight playoff birth.

Lewis drafted Palmer in his first season as head coach, and was given the opportunity to reboot with Dalton in 2011. Most coaches do not get the luxury to pick two franchise quarterbacks. Almost none get the chance to draft three. If the organization decides to move on from Dalton after this season, Lewis might not survive another quarterback change.

Spotrac and Over The Cap were used in the creation of this post.

NFC North Links: Cutler, Fales, Lions, House

June 28th, 2014 at 3:35pm CST by Rob DiRe

Bears‘ quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh is impressed with Jay Cutler going into year two in head coach Marc Trestman’s offense, writes Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com. “I’ve seen incredible progress,” said Cavanaugh. “He’s taken every suggestion we’ve given and he’s embraced it. From how he holds the ball to how he lines up in the`Gun’ pre-snap to how he drops back, to his throwing base to his follow-through. Every little fundamental we’ve talked to him about, he’s embraced, and it’s like night & day.”

Here are some other notes from around the NFC North:

  • Although the Bears signed veterans Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer to compete to be Cutler’s backup, the team still is invested in rookie sixth-round pick David Fales, writes Boden. “He had a real good understanding of defenses, coverages, where to go with the ball, based on what the coverage was. He has a good understanding of protections — he’s figuring out ours right now,” said Cavanaugh. “But I thought just a real good core understanding of offense and defense. If you have that, you can learn the language and be productive.”
  • With some time before training camp opens, the Lions still have a number of questions that need to be answered, writes Lindsay Selengowski of DetroitLions.com. Selengowski examines how an injury to rookie receiver T.J. Jones will effect the team’s depth chart, and which second-year players are looking to contribute in 2014.
  • The Lions have an ongoing kicking battle between Nate Freese and Giorgio Tavecchio for a roster spot, writes Josh Katzenstein of DetroitNews.com. Freese, a seventh-round pick this year, has the slight edge over Tavecchio at the moment, although both struggled so far.
  • Packers‘ cornerback Davon House has found himself in a tough depth chart situation, behind starters Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, and Casey Hayward, writes Weston Hodkiewicz of PackersNews.com. House, who played 16 games last year for the first time in his career, was relegated mostly to special teams towards the end of last year, but played well in the playoffs against the 49ers after Shields left the game with an injury.

AFC North Notes: Manziel, Tucker, Polamalu

June 28th, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

Johnny Manziel hasn’t played in an NFL game yet, but his off the field conduct has already become a point of contention in the Browns‘ organization, according to the Chicago Tribune. He has been in the news for his already legendary partying, and has come out and stated that he was not going to tone down his personality for the NFL. Manziel’s conduct is already the biggest storyline in the NFL this offseason, according to our PFR Poll, slightly edging out Andre Johnson trade rumors, Jimmy Graham‘s contract, and the Redskins’ name controversy.

Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:

  • Browns‘ head coach Mike Pettine has been impressed with the team’s two top backs, free agent signing Ben Tate and rookie Terrance West, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. The Browns attempted 681 passes in 2013, most in the NFL, and will need a strong ground game to help avoid repeating that performance next season.
  • The Ravens have a number of players who are up for contract extensions this summer, including kicker Justin Tucker, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Tucker is coming into the final year of a three-year deal and has been one of the top kickers in the league over his first two seasons. The team is also looking to lock up Torrey Smith, Jimmy Smith, and Haloti Ngata.
  • Steelers‘ safeties Troy Polamalu and Shamarko Thomas are training together this offseason, writes Ray Frager of CSNBaltimore.com. Polamalu invited the younger safety out to California this offseason to help bring him up to speed on the defense.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Redskins

June 28th, 2014 at 1:58pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles have experience with tight ends Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, and James Casey, and they could employ their skill sets in multiple tight end formations early in the season, writes Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. As the season goes on, and rookie receivers Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff become more comfortable in the offense, their roles could increase as well.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

  • Eagles‘ punter Donnie Jones and gunner Brandon Boykin were keys to the team’s special teams in 2013, and could anchor a unit that will help win games this season, writes Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com. The punting game particularly is set to be a strong point in 2014.
  • The Redskins were not particularly strong in the kicking game last season, but are poised to improve under a new coaching staff this season, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com. Tandler sets a goal of averaging 25 yard per kickoff return, which would start to turn their fortunes in a positive direction.
  • Redskins‘ offensive coordinator Sean McVay was impressed by Robert Griffin III during OTAs, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. Griffin, who was unable to call audibles under former head coach Mike Shanahan, will not have some flexibility at the line of scrimmage.

AFC Links: Watkins, Shorts, Keisel, Raiders

June 28th, 2014 at 12:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Last night we not only passed along some Browns notes, but also asked whether Johnny Manziel’s off-the-field conduct was among the NFL’s most intriguing storylines. Let’s take a look at some more news from Cleveland, as well as the rest of the AFC:

  • Sammy Watkins revealed to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal that Browns general manager Ray Farmer met with him in Clemson just a few days before the start of last month’s draft. Watkins, of course, was thought to be an option for the Browns at pick No. 4, but Cleveland ultimately traded the pick to the Bills, who selected the 21-year-old receiver.
  • Negotiations between the Jaguars and Cecil Shorts could take awhile, but Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com thinks an extension could be signed sometime during the first half of the season. DiRocco agrees with a recent assessment that Doug Baldwin‘s contract with the Seahawks could be a template for a new Shorts deal, but cautions that if Shorts demands No. 1 receiver money, an agreement could stall.
  • In his latest mailbag, Scott Brown of ESPN.com writes that he still expects the Steelers to re-sign veteran Brett Keisel, though a reunion may not come until just before the start of training camp. Keisel would serve as a mentor to second-round pick Stephon Tuitt, and act as part of a rotation with the rookie and Cam Thomas.
  • 2011 Steelers fifth-round linebacker Chris Carter might be facing his last chance in Pittsburgh, according to R.J. Schaffer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following the release of LaMarr Woodley, there is room for another pass-rusher to step up for the Steelers, but rumors persist that the team might add veteran James Harrison.
  • The Raiders still have more than $10MM left in cap space, and ESPN.com’s Paul Guiterrez wonders if the team should look to spend that money, while questioning why Oakland did not look into signing Brandon Flowers. Personally, I think it makes more sense for the Raiders to roll over that cap space into 2015, as there aren’t any high-impact free agents left on the market.

East Notes: Kiwanuka, Johnson, Redskins, ‘Fins

June 28th, 2014 at 11:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

In his annual exercise naming the most overrated and underrated player on each team, Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com highlighted Mathias Kiwanuka as the Giant who isn’t living up to expectations. The advanced metrics bear that out — the 31-year-old Kiwanuka, who might be living off his first-round pedigree at this point, graded as the third-worst 4-3 defensive end in the NFL last season per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Giants apparently also noticed a degradation of eight-year veteran’s skills — they required him to take a pay cut in March.

More from New York and the league’s two East divisions:

  • With Jon Beason likely to miss some regular season action with a foot injury, Jameel McClain is poised to take over at middle linebacker for the Giants, writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com in his latest mailbag. In that scenario, 2011 sixth-rounder Jacquian Williams would become the starter at weakside linebacker.
  • For a rookie playing in a complicated offense, Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson didn’t perform all that poorly in 2013. But, as he tells Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com, Johnson wants to show marked improvement next season. “I’m trying to be a dominant player. I know I have the ability,” said the 24-year-old. “It’s just a matter of being consistent with it because there’s times where I showed flashes of being a really good player, and then there’s other times where I didn’t. So I’m just trying to be more consistent this year.”
  • In a discussion examining potential 2014 breakout Redskins, Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com spotlighted running back Roy Helu and tight end Niles Paul, deducing that a pass-happy, Jay Gruden-led offense will lead to plenty of offensive production to go around.
  • Center Ted Larsen is hoping to break camp with the Dolphins following Mike Pouncey‘s injury, and is just one of several Miami undrafted rookies to watch for in 2014, according to James Walker of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins have officially begun renovations on Sun Life Stadium, the team announced on Twitter. The refurbishment is expected to include (via Fox Sports Florida) all new seating, concourse and concession upgrades, and new video screens, and will conclude before the 2016 season.
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