2014 October - Pro Football Rumors

PFR Commenting Policy

October 31st, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

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If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us. Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances. Remaining civil is not that difficult though, and most commenters have no problems doing so, as well as helping rein each other in. We are grateful for all of our longtime commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure. This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.

Extra Points: Lewan, Adams, Crimson Tide

October 30th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at some assorted notes from around the league…

Titans first-round pick Taylor Lewan pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of disturbing the peace and being drunk and disorderly, writes Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. The writer notes that Lewan is not expected to be disciplined by the NFL.
Stephen Holder of the Indy Star details Colts safety Mike Adams long journey to the NFL. Among the notable anecdotes was Adams reaction to a $2,500 signing bonus as a rookie with the 49ers. “Man, they gave me $2,500,” Adams said. “I was thinking, ‘Don’t you mean $25,000? I mean, this is the NFL, right?’ Man, I had to work for that $2,500. And people are calling me from back home asking me for money. Man, I was broke!”
Following the trade of Mark Barron, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole sat down with Stephen Nelson and discussed the recent lack of success for former Crimson Tide players. The writer believes that Alabama players are “overworked” and subsequently “overvalued” in NFL drafts.

AFC Links: Colts, Titans, Raiders

October 30th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Colts general manager Ryan Grigson spoke to the media on Thursday and addressed a number of subjects, including the return of owner Jim Irsay, who had been suspended six games for an OWI conviction. Via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells…

“With Jim gone, things are pretty well structured. Jim is always there for input, but he never forces anything down our throats. Just his presence, it’s great to see. Got alumni back. Taking a team picture, and everyone’s walking over, everyone’s walking over to talk to him. that’s something you can’t fake. These guys are beaming at seeing him, and hugging him, and he was the same way. Great for our players to see. That relationship goes back years and years, because that’s real. If you play for the horseshoe, you’re family.”

Let’s see what else is happening around the AFC…

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean examines the Titans recent drafts, and attributes the team’s lack of success to their inability to pick good players. Wyatt notes that only two of the team’s 20 draft picks from the 2009-2010 draft are still with the team.
Meanwhile, Josh Glennon of The Tennessean opines that the Titans have not been getting their money’s worth from their free agent signings. The writer is particularly displeased with the performance of Dexter McCluster, Michael Oher and Shaun Phillips.
Kenbrell Thompkins is making the most of his opportunity with the Raiders after he was waived by the Patriots. ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson attributes the wideout’s determination to being released, and the 26-year-old is making sure that never happens again. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Thompkins said. “But it happened and I have to learn from it. Hard working and becoming a big part of this team is what I’m focused on.”

NFC Links: Ingram, Durant, Barron

October 30th, 2014 at 8:21pm CST by Ben Levine

As the Panthers and Saints face off on Thursday Night Football, let’s check out some interesting notes from around the NFC…

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport expects Mark Ingram to hit free agency at the end of the season (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Joel Corry of the National Football Post says that the Saints shouldn’t be blamed for not picking up the running back’s fifth year option worth more than $5.2MM (Twitter link).
Cowboys linebacker Justin Durant underwent season-ending surgery today, and Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com writes that the 29-year-old’s future in Dallas is uncertain. “I’ll just leave that up to people in front offices to decide, let my agent handle everything that comes with free agency,” Durant said. “I just play.”
Mark Barron wasn’t expecting to be traded earlier this week, and the Rams newest safety admitted that he missed the phone call informing him of the move. “I was definitely in shock,” Barron said (via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner). “I had no idea that any of it was going on. I was most definitely shocked but I am excited about the situation [in St. Louis]. I had no idea I was even available for a trade.”
Recently acquired fullback Will Tukuafu is excited about his opportunity with the Seahawks, but the 30-year-old sounds even more excited about blocking for Marshawn Lynch. “I love his style of play,” said Tukuafu (via Terry Blount of ESPN.com). “I’ve been on defense against him. He’s like his nickname — Beastmode. He’s a beast. To be able to block for a guy like that is a blessing. This is real similar to the offense we had at the 49ers. I’m ready to go.”

AFC East Links: Patriots, Idzik, Orton

October 30th, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Linebacker Jonathan Casillas was acquired by the Patriots earlier this week, and the 27-year-old is doing everything in his power to play this weekend. It isn’t easy switching teams midseason, and the six-year veteran realizes that he has a lot of catching up to do (via Lee Schechter of ESPNBoston.com):

“I feel like I’m cramming for a final in college,” Casillas said. “I’m happy to be here and blessed to have this opportunity to play for a great organization.

“This is my fourth [defensive] coordinator in four years since Gregg [Williams], so five [defensive] coordinators in five years, and that’s the tough part — learning all of these different defensive schemes — not really transitioning city to city because a city is a city. I can get acclimated to my surrounding place. My job learning the Xs and Os about what I’m going to do every day and the verbiage and the communication, that’s the difficult part.”

Casillas was also asked how he felt being traded from the last-place Buccaneers to the place-first Patriots:

“Do I really have to answer that question?”

Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC East…

Recently released linebacker Deontae Skinner has cleared waivers and is expected to re-sign with the Patriots, tweets the Boston Globe’s Shalise Manza Young. The rookie was released by New England yesterday following the signing of Alan Branch.
ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss reacts to the Patriots handling of the trade deadline, writing that Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck could have helped, but the price was likely too high. Reiss notes that he never bought into the Vincent Jackson/Doug Martin rumors.
Jets supporters seemingly haven’t been too thrilled with the work of general manager John Idzik, and some fans have created a website called firejohnidzik.com (via John Healy of the New York Daily News).
Mike Rodak of ESPN.com examines the Bills options for handling Kyle Orton‘s contract should the quarterback lead the team to the playoffs. The veteran currently has $5.4MM base salary for next season (with a $7MM cap hit), but he has the opportunity to void his contract immediately following the Super Bowl. If Orton decides to stick around, Rodak believes the team’s two options are to either extend him to a long-term contract or offer him a more lucrative, one-year deal.

Practice Squad Updates: Thursday

October 30th, 2014 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll track today’s practice squad signings and cuts, in this space. Here’s the latest:

According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link), the Seahawks‘ practice squad is full again at 10 players after the team signed tight end Brett Brackett and wide receiver Chris Matthews, cutting tight end Rashaun Allen to make room.
The Patriots have formally confirmed the signing of offensive lineman Chris Barker to their practice squad, a move which was reported yesterday. To make room for Barker, New England has cut defensive lineman Ben Bass.

Earlier updates:

The Browns have signed former Seahawks wideout Phil Bates to their practice squad, cutting defensive back Marcus Cromartie to make room, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN in Seattle first reported yesterday (via Twitter) that Bates, who was cut this week by Seattle, had cleared waivers and was headed to Cleveland.
After waiving him earlier this week to sign veteran safety Charles Godfrey, the Falcons have re-signed safety Sean Baker to their practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. Baker, who was on Atlanta’s taxi squad for nearly all of September, takes the spot vacated by safety Kimario McFadden, who has been cut.

Minor Moves: Thursday

October 30th, 2014 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve been tracking Thursday’s practice squad signings and cuts in a separate post, and we’ll use this space to keep tabs on minor transactions relating to teams’ 53-man rosters. Here’s the latest:

When the Rams acquired safety Mark Barron and made a handful of other roster moves this week, the team was bumping up dangerously close to the cap. To create a little wiggle room, the team has restructured the contract of tight end Jared Cook, according to Brian McIntyre. McIntyre tweets that it’s a straightforward restructure, with a portion of Cook’s 2014 salary turned into a signing bonus, freeing up about $900K in cap space.
Tight end Tom Crabtree continues to shuttle on and off the Saints‘ active roster. After being re-signed earlier this week, Crabtree has been cut again, per McIntyre (via Twitter). In his place, linebacker Todd Davis has been promoted from New Orleans’ practice squad to the team’s 53-man roster.

Newton Not Interested In Kaepernick Contract Structure

October 30th, 2014 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

2011’s first-round picks became eligible for contract extensions last offseason, and a handful have already signed new deals, including J.J. Watt, Tyron Smith, and Patrick Peterson. While No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton has yet to re-up with the Panthers, the team has made it clear it views Newton as its franchise quarterback, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. And, as Rapoport tweets, Newton has informed the club that he’s not interested in a contract structured like Colin Kaepernick‘s extension.

Kaepernick’s contract appeared on the surface to be extremely lucrative, with a base value of $114MM and substantial guaranteed money. However, most of those guarantees turned out to be for injury only, leaving the Niners on the hook initially for only about $13MM in fully guaranteed money. That gives San Francisco the opportunity to get out from the pact within a year or two without taking on much dead money, if the team so chooses.

After Andy Dalton signed a similarly structured long-term deal with the Bengals, it became fair to wonder if the next wave of QB extensions would follow the Kaepernick model. However, in my view, those were unique cases, given Kaepernick’s relative lack of starting experience and Dalton’s lack of success in the postseason. Neither player was a first overall pick like Newton or Andrew Luck, and neither player had won a Super Bowl like Russell Wilson, so it stands to reason that those three young signal-callers shouldn’t have to settle for Kaepernick-esque extensions.

According to Rapoport, Matt Ryan‘s contract with the Falcons may serve as a point of comparison for the Panthers and Newton. Ryan’s deal has a smaller overall value than Kaepernick’s, but it’s for one fewer year, and features much more fully guaranteed money — the five-year pact is worth $20.75MM annually, with $42MM guaranteed.

For now, the Panthers have Newton under contract for the 2015 season for a salary and cap number of $14.666MM, after exercising his fifth-year option. The team would also have the opportunity to use its franchise tag on him in 2016, though I’d expect both sides will be interested in working out a more permanent arrangement sooner rather than later, so perhaps negotiations will intensify during the coming offseason.

Bears Chairman Discusses Slow Start

October 30th, 2014 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Comcast SportsNet’s “Bears Huddle” on Wednesday, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey addressed the team’s underwhelming first half, which sees the club sitting at 3-5, several games back of the Lions and Packers. According to McCarskey, he’s “very disappointed” about how the season has gone so far, but is hopeful that a turnaround is on the horizon, as Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com details.

“Bears fans and everybody in the building was expecting this team to contend for a Super Bowl and now we’ve dug ourselves a little bit of a hole,” McCaskey said. “But I think every team faces some adversity at some point in the season and the measure of the team is how they react to that adversity. So we’ll see what these guys are made of. We have every confidence in Phil and Marc and the players to pull us out of this.”

Although it’s not unusual for high-ranking team executives to express disappointment over poor results and optimism about the future, McCaskey’s comments are somewhat notable for their mention of GM Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman. As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com observes (via Twitter), McCaskey’s vote of confidence for Emery and Trestman seems unsolicited and somewhat premature.

At this point, McCaskey’s comments should simply be taken at face value, since it’s unlikely that either Emery, who has been the team’s GM since January 2012, or Trestman, hired in 2013, are on any sort of hot seat just yet. But if the Bears continue to struggle in the second half, it may be a situation worth keeping an eye on as the 2015 season approaches. The team hasn’t earned a playoff berth since the 2010 campaign, and Emery’s massive investment in Jay Cutler is the kind of move that could eventually cost him his job if the Bears don’t become a legit contender with Cutler at the helm.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Verrett, Jets, Rice

October 30th, 2014 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few Thursday items from around the AFC:

The Broncos have taken a step forward on the defensive side of the ball this season, and the team’s pass rush has played a significant role in the unit’s improvement. Joan Niesen of TheMMQB.com takes a look at some of Denver’s key defenders, including free agent signee DeMarcus Ware and outside linebacker Von Miller, who will soon be in line for a pricey contract extension.
Rookie Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett has been diagnosed with a torn labrum, and is expected to miss two or three weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport indicates that Verrett hopes to play through the injury and perhaps explore surgical options after the season. With Brandon Flowers also ailing, San Diego could look into adding depth at cornerback, though it’s hardly the only position where the team has been hit hard by injuries.
Geno Smith doesn’t represent the present or the future for the Jets at quarterback, in the view of Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who suggests that the club needs to move on from its former 39th overall pick and focus on identifying a new QB of the future.
While Ray Rice likely won’t ever play for the Ravens again, some team will look into signing him eventually. Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB.com examines what a conversation between a general manager and a head coach may look like if the topic of signing the veteran running back surfaces.