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Month: April 2024

NFC West Notes: Wilson, Foles, Bennett

June 29th, 2015 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

During a return to the Wisconsin campus over the weekend, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was asked about his contract situation, but was fairly noncommittal on the subject, simply reiterating his desire to remain in Seatle for years to come, as Dennis Punzel of Madison.com details.

“It’s not where my focus is,” Wilson said of his contract. “The contract will work itself out. I’m excited about it and excited to hopefully be a Seattle Seahawk for a really, really long time. So, that’s the goal.”

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Field Yates of ESPN.com lays out the pros and cons for the Rams as they consider signing new quarterback Nick Foles to an extension. While Foles’ stock isn’t at its highest point, coming off an up-and-down, injury-shortened season, Yates suggests it still may be prudent for the team to wait on a new deal.
  • Former agent Joel Corry weighs in on the Michael Bennett situation, tweeting that a holdout would likely be “an expensive waste of time” for the Seahawks defensive end. As Corry observes, Seattle is unlikely to budge just one year into Bennett’s four-year contract. Our Dallas Robinson wrote last night about Bennett’s confusing stance.
  • Stepping in for Peter King at TheMMQB.com, Seahawks long snapper Nate Boyer tells the story of how he ended up in the NFL, trying to make the Seattle roster as a 34-year-old rookie.
  • While some teams may shy away from drafting small-school players due to their lesser college competition, Cardinals GM Steve Keim tells Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com that he likes adding those players, since they’re often motivated by feeling like they have something to prove.

Agent Optimistic About New Deal For Eli

June 29th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Eli Manning is one of a few notable quarterbacks heading into the final year of his current contract, but a team source tells Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News that the Giants are confident a new deal will eventually get done, and agent Tom Condon echoes that sentiment, suggesting he doesn’t expect his client to reach free agency.

“The interesting part about it is, since 1993, the inception of free agency, has there ever been an elite quarterback hit the open market?” Condon said. “Peyton [Manning did in 2012], but he had four neck surgeries and no idea if he would ever be well enough to play. Drew Brees, when he went to New Orleans, he had 15 studs in his shoulder, in his throwing arm. … There’s nobody else that’s ever come up. They just re-do you.”

While quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Sam Bradford, and Nick Foles are also discussing extensions with their respective teams, the most similar case to Manning’s is Philip Rivers in San Diego. Rivers has had a little more regular season success than his fellow 2004 first-rounder, while Manning has excelled in the postseason, winning a pair of Super Bowls. Both veteran signal-callers are expected to re-up with their current teams at some point, perhaps using Ben Roethlisberger‘s recent extension with the Steelers as a point of reference.

It’s not clear if the the Giants and Manning anticipate reaching an agreement before the 2015 season begins, but even if no new deal is in place by then and talks are shelved until 2016, there would still be plenty of time to work something out. The Giants could also use the franchise tag to prevent the two-time Super Bowl MVP from hitting the open market. No matter how the situation plays out, Condon is optimistic that Manning will remain in New York.

“The quarterbacks always get done,” Condon said. “And the Giants are not a skittish team. So it’s not one of those things where they get nervous or they jump around or anything like that. You know you’re going to go in and it’s going to get done. I’m sure at the appropriate time it’ll happen.”

The Confusing Stance Of Michael Bennett

June 28th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ever since a rumor was floated in March claiming Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett was seeking a trade to the Falcons, the 29-year-old’s displeasure with his current contract has been well-documented. After clarifying that he did not want to be dealt, Bennett allowed that he was angling for a new contract, and explained his reasoning:

“[I’m] somewhere near the top seven at my position, top eight at my position. Not a lot of guys play inside and out (meaning both tackle and end). Not a lot of guys do what I do. So I feel like I should be somewhere near there… I just want to be [paid] in the realm of the guys that play like me. There are only so many guys that do what I do, and I would love to be like somewhere in there where they are at.’’

That’s certainly sound logic. Bennett is one of the best 4-3 defensive ends in the league, and his contract does not match his production, as his $7.125MM annual salary places him just 13th at his position. There is no question that he’s underpaid. But that fact doesn’t help answer some key questions: Couldn’t this situation have been completely avoided? Why did Bennett accept this contract from Seattle in the first place?Michael Bennett

Let’s go back to the free agent period of 2014. Bennett had just finished his first season in Seattle, during which he earned just $4.8MM while grading out as the league’s fifth-best 4-3 defensive end, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He was a key contributor on Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning defense, lining up at several different spots along the defensive line, and was ranked third by PFF’s pass rush productivity metric. After being forced to settle for a one-year deal the year prior, Bennett was set up to break the bank.

Leading up to the opening of free agency, pundits believed that Bennett would be line for a deal that paid him, at the very minimum, $8MM per season, and most figured he would easily top that figure. In naming Bennett the No. 1 free agent of 2014, PFR’s Luke Adams estimated that, in the right situation, Bennett could secure $9-10MM annually.

Bennett indicated that he would not be open to giving the Seahawks a hometown discount, and there wasn’t any reason he should’ve, as the list of suitors who were reportedly interested in his services was lengthy. The Raiders, Jaguars, Bears, and 49ers were among the clubs who expressed some level of interest in signing Bennett, and a report on March 9 even listed Chicago as the favorites to land Bennett.

But just one day later, on March 10, Bennett re-signed with Seattle without ever officially reaching free agency. The first reports to roll on regarding Bennett’s contract details said he would earn between $8-8.5MM per season, and in our post on the transaction, Luke wrote that Bennett probably could have gotten more than that on the open market. But when the actual specifics came in less than an hour later, we learned that Bennett would earn just slightly more than $7MM a year.

The total seemed substantially low from the outset, and Bennett claimed he turned down larger offers from two clubs, one of whom was the Bears — Bennett said Chicago not only offered him more money, but “way more money.” In the days to come, the Bears found a consolation prize in Jared Allen, who not only hadn’t posted the same level of recent production that Bennett had, but was four years his senior. Despite those detriments, Allen was able to secure a four-year, $32MM deal, averaging nearly $1MM more per season than Bennett.

Of course, that deal was signed after Bennett had already re-upped with Seattle, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t precedents available. Everson Griffen, who had only one season of elite production, re-signed with the Vikings the day before Bennett reached his agreement. Griffen’s five-year deal was scheduled to pay him $42.5MM, almost $1.5MM more per year than Bennett. Griffen was two years younger than Bennett, but the production gap between the two should have made up that difference.

“People assume when you ask for a little more money, they assume that you want to be traded or something like that,” Bennett said last month. “But that’s not what I’m trying to go for.” The Seahawks have a policy of not discussing contracts with players who have more than one year left on their deal, a policy that Bennett is surely abreast of. Now that he is threatening to hold out, it’s fair to wonder exactly what Bennett expects the outcome of this situation to be. As PFR’s Rory Parks wrote in that linked post, perhaps Seattle would be willing to rework some portion of Bennett’s deal as they did for Marshawn Lynch last year — but even Lynch did not get a full restructure.

But the point that I presented at the outset stands: Bennett is absolutely correct that he is underpaid. He should be making at least $1MM more per season, and even $2MM or $3MM more per year wouldn’t be out of the question. But given that he signed the deal just last year, never allowed himself to officially hit free agency, and reportedly turned down money from several clubs, Bennett really only has himself to blame.

Extra Points: R. Wilson, Brady, Manziel, Wake

June 28th, 2015 at 8:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks seem to have two options to retain quarterback Russell Wilson: work out an extension (negotiations of which don’t seem to be going well), or use one of the franchise tags (either exclusive or non-exclusive). But could a third scenario be on the table? Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk outlines a situation which would involve Seattle ultimately trading Wilson — after placing the exclusive tag on him next March — for a bevy of draft picks and/or another starting quarterback. It’s probably an unlikely sequence of events, but it’s at least an option for the Seahawks if talks on a long-term deal continue to stall.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • More from Florio, who proposes a solution to the Tom Brady appeal situation — converting the Patriots quarterback’s four-game suspension into a four-game fine. The NFL, writes Florio, would still be able to claim that it’s severely punishing Brady, as he’d be losing about $1.88MM. And Brady, for his part, would be able to say that he accepted the fine because it meant he could play immediately. There are some problems with the plan, as Florio points out — the league would be accused of not being tough enough on cheating, Brady would be appear to be admitting guilt — but it’s not completely far-fetched.
  • Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has some advice for height-challenged Browns QB Johnny Manziel: act like Drew Brees. That’s easier said than done, of course, but Guenther was referring to Brees’ ability to move ability to operate from within the pocket despite also being on the shorter side for a quarterback. Speaking to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Guenther — whose Bengals defense stymied Manziel in his first start — says the Texas A&M product has the ability to be a solid quarterback in the NFL, especially in the right system.
  • Cameron Wake spent a chunk of time in the Canadian Football League before finding success with the Dolphins, and he endorses the league as a stepping stone of sorts for younger players. “I think it’s a good move for anybody if you get an opportunity. I loved it in my time there,” Wake told James Walker of ESPN.com. “It was an opportunity to get out there and play. If you have the desire to get back [to the NFL], teams kind of grab those guys. To get out there and play the game just for the love of the game was a great opportunity for me.”

Latest On NFL’s Los Angeles Relocation

June 28th, 2015 at 6:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

In yesterday’s San Diego Union-Tribune, the newspaper’s editorial board added a bit of intrigue to the NFL’s plans for relocating a team to Los Angeles. Referencing an owner’s meeting scheduled for August, the board writes speculation has arisen that the owners may vote the entire process back by one year, allowing the situations in San Diego, St. Louis, and Oakland to “percolate.”

For his part, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk isn’t entirely buying said speculation, going as far as to opine that the Union-Tribune, which has a vested interest in seeing San Diego retain an NFL team, could have simply “conjured” the news. Either way, such a delay in the process would have negative consequences for San Diego, writes Florio. A scenario could exist where the Raiders and Rams both move to L.A. and the Chargers stay in San Diego; such moves would obviously be a negative for the Chargers, as they’d have to compete financially with two teams in their area.

Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link) has heard rumors of a different scenario, one where the Rams move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, while the second spot in Inglewood remains open (for how long is not known) so that the Chargers and Raiders maintain leverage. In a second tweet, Breer says that situation could get more complicated if the city of St. Louis is able to come up with a suitable financing plan for a new stadium.

We heard on Friday that the league is exploring temporary venues in L.A. in the event that a club moves to Southern California for the 2016 season.

NFC North Notes: Levy, Lions, Waynes, Vikings

June 28th, 2015 at 5:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy is set to become a free agent at season’s end, leading Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press to wonder what an extension between Detroit and the 2014 second-team All Pro might look like. As of April, the two parties hadn’t even begun a conversation about a long-term deal, and Birkett thinks the club might be waiting for fellow OLB Lavonte David to work out an extension with the Buccaneers, and therefore set some sort of baseline for talks.

K.J. Wright is currently the highest earner among 4-3 outside linebackers, as he’ll make $6.75MM under the terms of his December extension. I think David should be able to top that figure, so Detroit (and Levy’s representatives) would need to decide if David’s potential AAV is a ceiling or a floor for Levy. The 28-year-old Levy graded as the third-best 4-3 OLB in the league last season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but technically was the best off-the-ball linebacker, as the two players ranked ahead of him — Khalil Mack and Von Miller — aren’t typical 4-3 outside ‘backers.

Let’s look at some more notes from the NFC North, including more from Birkett on the Lions:

  • If the Lions can’t work out an agreement with Levy, the franchise tag would not be an option, per Birkett (via Twitter). It makes sense, as the linebacker franchise figure — inflated by edge-rushing LBs — is more than $13MM for this season. Levy isn’t worth that amount, so knocking out an extension is probably the only way for Detroit to retain him.
  • After making a series of transactions last week, the Lions‘ roster count now sits at 89, so they have one spot to add a player. Responding to a Twitter question, Birkett guesses that Detroit will use the vacancy to add either an offensive or defensive lineman.
  • Vikings first-round cornerback Trae Waynes is finding that the adjustment from college to the NFL isn’t so easy, as Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News writes. “It’s steep,” Waynes said of the learning curve. “It’s like a mountain, but luckily we have guys on the team and the coaching staff that are willing to help you out through that process.” Waynes also divulged that he’s been handling slot duties, as Xavier Rhodes and Terence Newman have been playing on the outside during practice sessions.

2015 Release Candidates: NFC East

June 28th, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Most clubs have fairly set rosters at this point, as OTA, minicamp, and preseason performances won’t do much to alter roster composition. The majority of key releases came in March, but there are still several scenarios where certain contributors could lose their roster spot in the coming months. For the most part, we’ll focus on situations where the cap savings would be in excess of $1MM.

Because free agency has already passed, financial ramifications won’t play a huge role in these decisions; there aren’t a ton of high-profile free agents on which to spend that saved money, so these calls will mostly be made based on performance. However, any cap space saved through these potential releases could be rolled over into 2016, so that’s something clubs have to consider.

After looking at the AFC East yesterday, let’s dive into the NFC East…

Dallas Cowboys:

  • Mackenzy Bernadeau, G: The 29-year-old Bernadeau renegotiated his contract last spring, accepting a $2.9MM pay cut in the process. After Dallas selected Zack Martin in last year’s draft, Bernadeau went on to act in a reserve role, and saw only 75 snaps. Now that undrafted free agent La’El Collins is penciled in as the starting left guard, incumbent Ronald Leary will be demoted to act as the top reserve interior lineman, further limiting Bernadeau’s role. The Cowboys could save $1.5MM by releasing him, but I think they’ll keep him around for depth purposes. Prediction: not released.
  • Brandon Carr, CB: It’s been a strange offseason for the Cowboys and Carr, as he indicated in March that he would not accept a pay cut, a stance that Dallas has seemingly accepted. However, owner Jerry Jones has continued to say that the club wants to lower Carr’s cap number (presumably through an extension), but given Carr’s subpar play, I’m not sure tacking on extra years to his deal would be wise. The Cowboys have decent cornerback depth after drafting Byron Jones in the first round, but Jerry Jones has been adamant that the team won’t release Carr. Prediction: not released.

New York Giants:

  • Jameel McClain, LB: Entering the final season of a two-year deal, McClain could be on the chopping block due to both his salary and his performance. The 29-year-old actually played the second-most snaps among Giants defenders, but graded in the bottom 10 among inside linebackers league-wide, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Additionally, he’s scheduled to count for $3.4MM on New York’s cap in 2015; the club could clear all but $300K of that total by releasing him. The Giants are near the bottom of the NFL in terms of cap space, and they might want a little extra room to make moves throughout the season, so creating a little space here and there through moves like cutting McClain could be in the making. Prediction: released.
  • Linebacker Jon Beason and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins each agreed to contract restructures both involved straight pay cuts) earlier this year, or else they likely would have been released.

Philadelphia Eagles:

  • Riley Cooper, WR: The Eagles don’t have a ton of obvious cut candidates, and Cooper is the only veteran whose roster spot might come into question. (I thought about adding fellow pass-catcher Miles Austin here, but the club handed him $1MM in guarantees, so he’s probably a good bet to make the final 53.) Cooper took a big step back from his excellent 2014 season, as his yards per reception dropped from 17.8 to 10.5. He doesn’t figure to be a big part of Philadelphia’s offense, but given that the team would incur $3.8MM in dead money (as opposed to just $1MM in savings) by releasing him, Cooper will probably stick around for one more season. Prediction: not released.

Washington:

  • DeAngelo Hall: Hall agreed to tweak his contact earlier this year, eliminating the $1MM in salary guarantees he was originally due. He can still earn the same $4MM base salary that he was originally due, but Washington is now off the hook if they decide Hall isn’t not fully recovered from two Achilles tears. Washington has decent corner depth following the signing of Chris Cullier, so Hall isn’t necessarily needed. But the club would save only $2.375MM while incurring $2.438MM in dead money by cutting Hall. Prediction: not released.
  • Pierre Garcon, WR: Garcon’s rate stats stayed similar from 2013 to 2014, but his counting stats took a nosedive following the addition of DeSean Jackson. Still, he’s probably not in any real danger of being released — head coach Jay Gruden has been adamant that Garcon is in the club’s plans, and as of February the team hadn’t reached out to his representatives about restructuring his contract. Washington could save $7.5MM by releasing Garcon, however, so I’m guessing it’s a move that has at least been discussed internally. Prediction: not released.
  • Kedric Golston, DE: The 32-year-old Golston didn’t play much last season (182 snaps), but still managed to rack up poor -14.3 grade from PFF. The addition of Ricky Jean-Francois means that Golston will see even less time in 2015, and there’s really no reason for the club to pay his $1MM base salary; Washington can save $1.075MM by cutting him. Prediction: released.

PFR Originals: 6/21/15 – 6/28/15

June 28th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content produced by the PFR staff during the past seven days:

  • The period between minicamp and training camp is usually very quiet, but in today’s NFL, there truly is no offseason. With that in mind, Luke Adams went over some storylines to keep in mind before training camp begins. Among them: Greg Hardy and Tom Brady‘s appeal decisions; the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals; and the three remaining unsigned draft picks.
  • Most of the high-profile free agents came off the board in March, but there are still some interesting players left unsigned, including the recently-released Evan Mathis, whom I ranked as the No. 1 available free agent. Jake Long, Jermaine Gresham, James Jones, and others also make the list.
  • Luke looked at the largest 2015 cap hits by position last week, and in the same vein, I examined the largest 2015 cap charges by position group among both offensive and defensive positions.
  • Also on the topic of salary cap figures, Luke began delving into the numbers division-by-division, going over the largest 2015 cap numbers for the NFC East and the AFC East.
  • Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus will be suspended for the first game of the 2015 season, but he’s still an excellent candidate for an extension. Luke fully examined the possibility, and used Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy‘s contract as a comparison for Dareus.
  • A total of 30 restricted free agents will play out the 2015 season under one-year deals, and Luke sorted them into buckets, separating between those who signed second-round tenders and those who signed original round/right of first refusal tenders.
  • There will surely be some veteran players released between now and the beginning and the start of the season, and I began examining those candidates for release, starting with the AFC East clubs.
  • We continued our new Community Tailgate series, posting topics of note and opening up the floor for discussion. The subjects covered by Zach Links, Luke, and Sam Robinson:

Week In Review: 6/21/15 – 6/28/15

June 28th, 2015 at 1:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The headlines from the past week at PFR:

Key News:

Contracts:

Signed:

Waivers:

Suspended:

Injured:

Sunday Roundup: Chargers, Kalil, Pryor

June 28th, 2015 at 12:37pm CST by Rory Parks

As the stadium saga in Los Angeles continues to unfold, more and more speculative pieces are written in an effort to uncover the intentions of the primary players in the drama and to predict how the league’s landscape will be altered within the next couple of years. Matt Calkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune, for instance, writes that Chargers counsel Michael Fabiani, whose negotiating tactics have made him widely-loathed by Chargers fans and San Diego officials, has a method to his madness.

As Calkins writes, the NFL does not really care which team or teams end up in Los Angeles, as long as it is satisfied that whatever arrangement ultimately unfolds maximizes the league’s profits. So if Rams owner Stan Kroenke ends up moving his team to LA, and stadium negotiations are going well in San Diego but poorly in Oakland, the league may decide that the Raiders should join the Rams in LA, leaving the Chargers with no leverage in its talks with San Diego.

Therefore, it is important for Fabiani that discussions with the city not go too well at the moment, even if it makes him appear arrogant and diabolical. And if the team ends up staying in San Diego, it is likely that most Chargers fans would be willing to forgive and forget.

Now let’s have a look at some links from around the league:

  • Speaking of the Los Angeles dilemma, David Garrick of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Chargers, who have made nine unsuccessful relocation proposals across San Diego County since 2003, have ostensibly met the league’s relocation criteria of exhausting all local options, which gives the team a strong argument in support of its potential move to LA. However, that argument may not have as much weight as the Chargers hope, as critics of the move say that “many of the stadium proposals were flimsy, the time period included the worst recession in 70 years and public support for a stadium had been poisoned by the infamous Chargers ‘ticket guarantee’ at Qualcomm stadium.”
  • Matt Kalil will get every chance to keep his starting left tackle job in 2015, but as Ben Goessling of ESPN.com writes, if Kalil is fully healthy this year yet continues to struggle, the Vikings will have a hard time bringing him back at his $11.1MM option figure.
  • Even though Terrelle Pryor has stated his intention to move from quarterback to wide receiver, and even though the Browns explicitly stated that Pryor would try out for the team as a wide receiver, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com believes that we will see Pryor under center at some point in training camp. Grossi notes, however, that he is only expressing an opinion and has not heard anything to that effect from the organization.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com believes that Logan Paulsen will likely make Washington‘s final roster, as he is the best blocking tight end on the team and therefore serves as a nice complement to Niles Paul. However, Keim writes that Washington remains interested in adding to its tight end corps.
  • Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union projects playing time for each of the Jaguars newcomers on defense and wonders if time has already run out on receiver Bryan Walters. Walters was signed as a free agent in March, but missed most of the team’s OTAs due to a hamstring injury. His best chance to make the team is by winning the punt return job over Ace Sanders and Tandon Doss, but without a long resume to lean on, he needs to be on the field.

 

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