Josh Freeman’s Agent Contacted Cowboys
After backup quarterback Kellen Moore suffered a broken leg Tuesday, the Cowboys engaged in preliminary dialogue with free agent signal-caller Josh Freeman‘s camp Wednesday, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN. A source told Anderson that Freeman’s agent reached out to the Cowboys, who are “reviewing their options” (Twitter links).
Earlier Thursday, ESPN’s Ed Werder reported that the Cowboys aren’t in any rush to find a replacement for Moore, who was set to serve as their top option behind Tony Romo. Dallas has also been connected to Nick Foles, who signed with the Chiefs on Wednesday, and Browns reserve Josh McCown.
In the case of Foles, the Cowboys’ interest was never particularly high. Owner Jerry Jones said Thursday (Twitter link via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News) that the team didn’t make a push to sign Foles as the competition for his services was winding down.
Cleveland is reportedly seeking a mid-round pick for McCown, 37, and the Cowboys are unsurprisingly less than eager to pay such a lofty price for someone they’d acquire with the hope of never having to use in a key situation. That could lead the club to go forward with rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott and 2015 undrafted free agent Jameill Showers, which Jones admitted is a possibility.
“We don’t know that we are void on campus at the backup at all,” he said (via Todd Archer of ESPN.com).
Relying on two players who have combined to throw zero passes in the NFL would obviously be a gamble for the Cowboys, who went a miserable 1-11 in the games Romo missed last season because of collarbone issues. In fairness to Jones, however, the Cowboys took the veteran route last year with Matt Cassel – which blew up in their faces – and there’s no guarantee someone like Freeman would be any more effective than either Prescott or Showers.
A first-round pick in 2009, Freeman showed flashes during his four years with the Buccaneers, but his career fell off a cliff early in 2013 and the Bucs released him that October. Now 28, Freeman has since spent time with the Vikings, Giants, Dolphins and Colts. Before signing with Indianapolis last December, he was a member of the Brooklyn Bolts of the Fall Experimental Football League. As an NFLer, Freeman has totaled 61 starts in 62 appearances, 81 touchdowns, 68 interceptions and a 57.6 percent completion rate. On Jan. 3, his first start since 2013, Freeman completed 15 of 28 passes for 149 yards, a touchdown and a pick in a 30-24 Colts victory over the Titans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Steelers’ Contract Negotiations
While Steelers cornerstones Le’Veon Bell, Lawrence Timmons and Markus Wheaton are all in contract years, the only free agent-to-be the team is negotiating an extension with is guard David DeCastro, reports Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Steelers and DeCastro were reportedly making progress in talks as of Wednesday, but Bouchette writes that a deal isn’t close. The deadline for an agreement is the start of the season, which leaves the two sides just over a month to find common ground.
The 26-year-old DeCastro has established himself as one of the core pieces of the Steelers’ offensive line since the team used a first-round pick on him in 2012. DeCastro has started all but one game over the the last three seasons, and he’s coming off a year in which he earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections for the first time. DeCastro, whom Pro Football Focus has graded as one of the league’s 20 best guards three years running, is on the Steelers’ books this season for $8.07MM. That’s the cost of the fifth-year option that was included in the 24th overall pick’s rookie deal.
Considering the turbulent year Bell has endured, it’s not surprising that the Steelers aren’t negotiating with him. The star running back is currently preparing to appeal the four-game suspension the NFL handed him in July for a violation of its substance abuse policy. If Bell loses the appeal hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 18, it’ll mark his second suspension since last season. Bell sat out two games then thanks to an arrest for marijuana possession and DUI, and he missed the final eight contests of the year after tearing his MCL and PCL on Nov. 1. It perhaps didn’t help Bell’s cause that the Steelers’ offense showed well without him, finishing with the eighth-best yards-per-carry average in the league.
Timmons, meanwhile, is about to conclude the $48MM contract he signed with Pittsburgh in 2011. The Steelers have restructured that deal three times, leaving the 30-year-old with an unpalatable $15.1MM cap hit this season. A 2007 first-rounder, Timmons has spent his entire nine-year career in Pittsburgh – where he has racked up 33 sacks (five last season) – but 2016 could be his swan song with the Steelers.
Wheaton, 25, put up a whopping 17.0 yards per catch on 44 receptions and added five touchdowns in 2015. Previously, he amassed a career-high 53 grabs in 2014, though both his YPC (12.2) and TD total (two) were much less impressive. Wheaton is due to collect just over $1.67MM this year, but if he continues to post strong production, a significant raise will come – whether from Pittsburgh or someone else. The fact that Martavis Bryant will miss the entire season because of a suspension could lead to more opportunities and better numbers for Wheaton, who garnered a combined 166 targets over the previous two years.
Unlike the aforementioned players, wideout Antonio Brown isn’t in a contract year, though the elite-caliber weapon would like a deal more in line with his production. After tying for the league lead in receptions (136), finishing second in yards (1,834) and scoring 10 times last season, Brown is slated to earn $6.25MM this year and $8.71MM in 2017. He’s just 18th among receivers in average annual value, but Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert isn’t about to rip his contract up in favor of a richer one.
As was the case last year, the Steelers could advance Brown $2MM of his salary for 2017, notes Bouchette. They would then have the option of awarding him a new contract after the season. Doing that would enable the Steelers to maintain their long-held policy of not negotiating new accords with players who have more than one year remaining on their deals. Quarterbacks are the only exception to that rule, and Ben Roethlisberger is already locked up through 2019.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cardinals Sign Alan Ball
The Cardinals have announced the signing of free agent cornerback Alan Ball and the release of safety Tyrequek Zimmerman. Ball auditioned for the Cardinals on Thursday and obviously showed the team enough to warrant a contract, though details of the pact aren’t yet available.
Ball, 31, spent last season in Chicago and figures to provide some veteran depth to an Arizona team that lost fellow corner Mike Jenkins to a broken hand prior to training camp. Aside from Patrick Peterson and Justin Bethel, the Cardinals are short on healthy corners with NFL experience. They did address the position through the draft, landing third-rounder Brandon Williams and sixth-rounder Harlan Miller, but the former is a converted running back who only took on a full-time corner role for the first time as a senior at Texas A&M last season.
Ball, who was teammates with Jenkins in Dallas from 2008-11, entered the league as a seventh-round pick in 2007. In addition to the Cowboys and Bears, he has seen action with the Texans and Jaguars. All told, Ball has accrued 108 appearances (47 starts) and six interceptions. He appeared in 15 games, made three starts and totaled 18 tackles last season.
Zimmerman went undrafted out of Oregon State last year and has since bounced around the league, including multiple stints with the Cardinals. His latest one began June 2 and lasted just over two months.
Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic first reported Ball’s signing.
Josh McCown On Cowboys’ Radar
THURSDAY, 7:01pm: The Browns likely want at least a third- or fourth-round pick for McCown, writes Cabot.
5:07pm: The Cowboys and Browns have discussed a McCown trade, but Cleveland has attached a high price to the veteran and prefers to keep him, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder (Twitter link). At the moment, the Cowboys are balking at the Browns’ price, adds Werder.
WEDNESDAY: As the Cowboys prepare to target a replacement for Kellen Moore behind Tony Romo, they’re considering Josh McCown, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Now connected to Nick Foles, whom Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones confirmed the team is in talks with, Dallas appears to be conducting a widespread search for a proven option behind Romo. A deal for the 37-year-old McCown would qualify but would cost the Cowboys at least a draft pick. The Browns, though, would probably be willing to part with him for the right price, Cabot writes.
A deal would make sense due to the rebuilding Browns’ most recent draft performance, which featured rampant collecting of picks, and the Cowboys cratering without Romo last season. A native of Jacksonville, Texas, McCown looms likely to see Robert Griffin III take Cleveland’s starting quarterback reins. Cleveland’s previous starter is set to make $4.375MM and 3.625MM the next two seasons after signing with the Browns last year.
McCown finished 14th in passer rating last season despite having one of the league’s worst skill-position arsenals at his disposal. Griffin’s strong start to training camp notwithstanding, the former No. 2 overall pick has a deserved injury-prone reputation, and the Browns would possess only Austin Davis and rookie Cody Kessler if they were to trade McCown.
The Cowboys’ hierarchy here is unknown, but considering Jones already mentioned him to the team’s website, Foles should be considered a frontrunner if the sides are in the same neighborhood, compensation-wise. Dallas finished 1-11 in games Romo didn’t start last season.
The Browns’ starter for eight games last season, McCown completed 63.7% of his passes and threw for 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. In 2014, however, he piloted the Buccaneers to a 1-10 record in his starts and saw the team cut him after one season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Chargers, Joey Bosa
There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight to the contract standoff between the Chargers and first-round defensive end Joey Bosa, writes Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who adds that the third overall pick will be ineligible to play this season if he doesn’t sign by the Tuesday after Week 10. Fortunately for both parties, that’s a long way off. But in the highly unlikely event the Chargers already feel their rift with Bosa is irreparable, they have until Aug. 9 to trade the ex-Ohio State star’s rights. An unsigned Bosa would otherwise be under the Bolts’ control until the start of the 2017 draft, and he unsurprisingly wouldn’t be permitted to talk with any other teams beforehand or attend next February’s scouting combine.
As of Monday, Bosa and the Chargers, who are at loggerheads over signing bonus distribution and offset language, hadn’t conversed since July 28. Bosa’s camp, led by agent Todd France, reportedly wants the Chargers to pay the 21-year-old the entirety of his signing bonus (approximately $17MM) in 2016. San Diego, meanwhile, would rather wait until next March to dole out a “significant portion” of the bonus. At last check, the Chargers want to give Bosa roughly 61 percent of his signing bonus during this calendar year, which is the same payout schedule the Cowboys agreed to with fourth overall selection Ezekiel Elliott, who was Bosa’s teammate at Ohio State and went one pick after him.
Further, in order for Bosa to agree to offset language in the fourth year of his deal, his reps wants to see the majority of his bonus paid up front. If a player with offset language in his contract is released midway through the pact, the original team is only on the hook for the difference in salary between the two deals. Without offset language, the player can effectively collect two paychecks. Naturally, there are many agents who are disinclined to forfeit that potential earning power.
The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement has made negotiating rookie contracts much simpler than it was before, which had led to far less acrimony between teams and new draft picks. Bosa’s situation is a throwback, then, and his holdout is now the longest the league has seen since the introduction of the rookie wage scale in 2011.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors’ Instagram account.
Offseason In Review: Seattle Seahawks
The 2015 Seahawks won the fewest regular-season games of the four-year Russell Wilson era (10) and were unable to extend their streak of consecutive Super Bowl appearances to three, but they still made the playoffs for the fourth straight time and were among the the final four NFC teams standing. They also racked up top-five finishes in total offense, defense and point differential, and ranked first in Football Outsiders’ regular-season DVOA metric. All things considered, then, general manager John Schneider didn’t need to do anything drastic during the offseason to keep the Seahawks’ window of contention open.
Notable signings:
- Jeremy Lane, CB: Four years, $23MM. $11MM guaranteed.
- Jermaine Kearse, WR: Three years, $13.5MM. $6.3MM guaranteed. $1.4MM available annually via incentives.
- Ahtyba Rubin, DT: Three years, $12MM. $5.5MM guaranteed.
- Jon Ryan, P: Four years, $10MM. $3.4MM guaranteed.
- J’Marcus Webb, OL: Two years, $5.75MM. $2.45MM guaranteed.
- Sealver Siliga, DT: One year, $1.05MM. $200K guaranteed.
- Mike Morgan, LB: One year, $1MM. $200K guaranteed.
- Bradley Sowell, T: One year, $1MM. $200K guaranteed.
- Christine Michael, RB: One year, $725K. $25K guaranteed.
- Patrick Lewis, C: One year, $1.671MM. Signed original-round RFA tender.
- Brandon Browner, CB: One year, $760K.
- Brandon Williams, TE: One year, $675K.
- Tavaris Barnes, DE: One year, $525K.
As has been typical in recent years, the Seahawks were stingy versus opposing quarterbacks last season, finishing first in the league in touchdown tosses allowed (14), second in aerial yardage surrendered, and third in both QB rating against (78.1) and Football Outsiders’ pass defense rankings. Seattle was especially strong down the stretch, which was thanks in part to the return of cornerback Jeremy Lane. After missing the first 10 games of the year because of a broken arm and torn ACL he sustained on an interception return in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLIX loss to the Patriots the previous February, Lane recorded the first two regular-season INTs of his career. Overall, Lane’s performance earned him a respectable 51st-place ranking out of 111 qualifying corners at Pro Football Focus.
Since the Seahawks selected him in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, Lane has missed 23 of 64 regular-season games and made just six starts, but the club saw enough positives when he played to bet on the 26-year-old going forward. Lane was the Seahawks’ largest expenditure in free agency, receiving a four-year, $23MM commitment and $11MM in guarantees, and figures to start opposite Richard Sherman on the outside this season. Given his experience as a nickelback, Lane is also likely to spend time inside defending the slot.
Helping Lane and the rest of the Seahawks’ defensive backs could be free agent pickup Brandon Browner, who thrived in Seattle from 2011-13 as a member of the Legion of Boom before spending the previous two seasons in New England and New Orleans. Last year was unexpectedly ugly for Browner, who rated as PFF’s worst qualifying corner (113th overall) and set the league’s single-season penalty record. That led the Saints to release Browner less than a year after signing him to a $15MM contract that was supposed to last through the 2017 campaign. The Seahawks then took an ultra-cheap flyer on Browner for $760K and will try to revitalize the 32-year-old, though he’ll play safety instead of corner. The Seahawks have arguably the preeminent safety tandem in the league in Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, but that won’t necessarily limit Browner’s impact. In fact, head coach Pete Carroll said in May that Browner will have a “really unique role.”
If Browner makes the Seahawks’ roster, they’ll deploy him in a run-stopping capacity on rushing downs and match him up against opposing tight ends in passing situations. Football Outsiders ranked the Seahawks’ pass defense a bottom-of-the-barrel 26th versus tight ends in 2015, so having the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Browner in the fold could serve the club well this year.
Continue reading about the Seahawks’ offseason…
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/16
Today’s minor moves:
- The Falcons released rookie linebacker Torrey Green, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Green, an undrafted free agent linebacker from Utah State, is under investigation after two women accused him of rape.
- The 49ers have claimed defensive back Cleveland Wallace III off waivers from the Texans and waived linebacker Lenny Jones, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Houston cut Wallace on Wednesday.
- The Bears announced that they have waived fullback/tight end Joe Sommers. They’ll also waive offensive lineman Adrian Bellard with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Bellard suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament in right knee plus a bone bruise. Defensive lineman Marquis Jackson will join Sommers and Bellard on waivers, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Giants waived cornerback Tramain Jacobs, as James Kratch of NJ.com tweets.
- After just one day with the Jets, running back Terry Williams has been released, Darryl Slater of NJ.com tweets. The Jets have replaced Williams with fellow running back Matthew Tucker.
- The Vikings announced the signing of running back Kevin Monangai, bringing their roster back to the 90-player max.
- The Bears will sign linebacker Danny Mason, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Eagles have waived/injured defensive tackle Connor Wujciak, who is having surgery on his shoulder, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
- The Browns have signed fullback Robert Hughes and running back Rajion Neal, as Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer tweets. To make room, they waived fullback Patrick Skov.
- The Seahawks have cut long snapper Drew Ferris, tweets Wilson, and signed safety Keenan Lambert and running back Cameron Marshall (via Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk). Lambert is the half-brother of star Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor.
Bills, Tyrod Taylor Discussing Two-Year Deal
The Bills and contract-year quarterback Tyrod Taylor are currently discussing a two-year deal in the $30MM range, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link). While that would represent a significant raise for Taylor, who inked a much more modest pact with the Bills last year in free agency and is slated to earn $3.1MM this season, he’d still be fairly low on the earnings pecking order at his position. At $15MM per year, Taylor would fall between the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick ($12MM) and underpaid Bengals signal-caller Andy Dalton ($16MM).
Taylor, who entered the NFL as Baltimore’s sixth-rounder in 2011 and backed up Joe Flacco for four years, won the No. 1 job in Buffalo last summer and carried his success into the regular season. Although the Bills posted a mediocre 8-8 record last season, Taylor gave the franchise its best performance under center in several years. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder emerged as a high-end dual threat during his 14 starts, finishing top seven among QBs in yards per attempt (7.99) and passer rating (99.4) in 2015. He also completed 63.7 of his throws and accounted for 24 touchdowns (20 passing, four rushing) against a paltry six interceptions. Further, Taylor led all QBs in yards per carry (5.5) and trailed only MVP Cam Newton in rushing yards (568).
While Taylor was clearly above average last season, the ex-Virginia Tech star’s lack of a track record has the Bills wary of committing major money to him over the long haul. A two-year bridge deal worth middle-of-the-pack cash would therefore seem to be a solid solution for them, and it would pad Taylor’s bank account and give him a chance to earn a bigger contract shortly. Still, it wouldn’t be ideal for Taylor, who the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci wrote last week could be in line for an accord similar to the one the Texans awarded Brock Osweiler in free agency. Osweiler wasn’t as effective as Taylor last season despite playing for the Super Bowl-winning Broncos, but he nonetheless received a four-year, $72MM pact with $37MM in guarantees from the Texans.
Notably, Taylor turned down the Broncos in free agency before signing with Buffalo last winter. That proved to be a sound decision from a playing time standpoint in 2015, and Taylor could now parlay his first season as a starter into a much more respectable contract than the one he inked less than a year and a half ago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers, Antonio Brown Discuss Contract
The agent for Antonio Brown and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert have begun discussing the wide receiver’s contract situation, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler writes. Brown still has two years to go on his contract but has been pushing for a pay bump. The Steelers, meanwhile, have a policy not to renegotiate with non-quarterbacks until the final year of a player’s deal. 
[RELATED: Steelers, David DeCastro Resume Contract Talks]
“We believe in our philosophy,” Colbert said recently, with regards to the team’s policy. “I don’t see that changing, but I’ll never address a player individually.”
Brown is slated to earn a guaranteed base of $6.25MM this year and $8.71MM in 2017 before potentially hitting the open market. Widely regarded as one of the very best wide receivers in the NFL, Brown is outside of the top ten at his position in terms of pay. In fact, Brown is No. 18 in terms of average annual value, putting him behind the likes of Pierre Garcon, Michael Crabtree, Allen Hurns, Vincent Jackson, and Doug Baldwin.
Last year, the Steelers restructured Brown’s deal to move $2MM of future salary into 2015. While Brown says that he appreciated that gesture, he is looking for something much more meaningful this time. The Steelers certainly want to keep Brown happy, but so far they have been unwilling to set a precedent by reworking his deal so far out from its expiration.
Brown tied for the league lead in receptions (136), finished second in yards (1,834), and found the end zone 10 times last season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New Team Showing Interest In Greg Hardy
Could Greg Hardy be getting closer to finding his next NFL home? A new team has begun to show interest in the troubled defensive end, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Cowboys, Travis Frederick Talking Extension]
Werder posits that every free agent defensive end has “moved up” one spot on the board now that Dwight Freeney has joined the Falcons. The Bengals were said to be a finalist for Hardy, so one has to wonder if Cincinnati could be the mystery club expressing interest in the 27-year-old. Recently, the Redskins and the Jaguars both flirted with the idea of signing Hardy before putting the defensive end (and the hellish PR firestorm that he would bring) on the back burner.
Most NFL teams have distanced themselves from the idea of signing Hardy and it sounds like the CFL may have blacklisted him. Hardy played 12 games for the Cowboys last season, tallying 35 tackles, six sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. In terms of traditional numbers, that was a far cry from Hardy’s production with the Panthers. Between 2011 and 2013, the former sixth-round pick averaged 56 tackles and 10 sacks a season. Still, Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
It remains to be seen whether a team will gamble on the multiple-time Pro Bowler, but there’s at least one more club considering it internally.
Photo courtesy of PFR on Instagram.