2017 February - Pro Football Rumors

Jaguars To Re-Sign Abry Jones

February 14th, 2017 at 5:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars are nearing agreement on a new deal with pending free agent defensive tackle Abry Jones, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets. Jones’ contract will be a four-year, ~$16MM pact featuring $6.5MM in guarantees, reports Mike Kaye of First Coast News.

Last year, Jones was a restricted free agent and Jacksonville retained him with the second round tender. Now slated for unrestricted free agency, Jacksonville was unwilling to let him test the open market.

In 2016, Jones saw more playing time than ever, appearing in 15 games with nine starts. His statline of 32 tackles and zero sacks might not have been an attention grabber, but he was an effective bully on the interior line which allowed Malik Jackson to shine. Last season, the advanced stats at Pro Football Focus placed Jones as a top 25 defensive tackle in the league.

In 2014 and 2015, Jones totalled 5.0 sacks as a reserve. The former UDFA won’t turn 26 until September.

No Progress Between Redskins, Kirk Cousins

February 14th, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The beginning of free agency on March 9 is just over three weeks away, but the Redskins and the most valuable unsigned player in the NFL, quarterback Kirk Cousins, still haven’t made progress toward a long-term agreement, reports Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Talks between the two sides are poised to “intensify” over the next couple weeks, according to Jones.

Redskins president Bruce Allen said last month that the club’s goal is to lock up Cousins for the long haul, but doing so might cost in the neighborhood of $90MM and $110MM – including $50MM to $60MM in guarantees – on a four- to five-year contract, posits Jones. If that’s too big a commitment for Washington, whose brass has differing opinions on Cousins, it could place the franchise tag on the 28-year-old as early as Wednesday and no later than March 1.

The Redskins tagged Cousins at $19.95MM last season, and doing so again this winter would cost them $23.94MM. The likelihood is that the Redskins would use the non-exclusive tag on Cousins, adds Jones, which would enable the five-year veteran to negotiate with other teams. Should someone sign Cousins to an offer sheet, that club would have to send two first-round picks to the Redskins as compensation. That would perhaps be an unpalatable price to pay for bottom-feeding teams like the 49ers and Browns, both of whom have been connected to Cousins this offseason.

For the Redskins, losing the highly productive Cousins would lead to a significant short-term downgrade under center, as Jones writes that the team would seriously consider turning to backup Colt McCoy as a stopgap as it grooms an early round signal-caller behind him. Cousins’ departure could also deter free agents from signing with the Redskins this offseason, per ESPN.com’s John Keim, who notes that “multiple agents” around the league want their clients to join the team if the QB stays in the fold.

It’s easy to see why Cousins is regarded highly by his colleagues: In his two years as a starter, he has helped the Redskins to plus-.500 seasons – including a 9-7, NFC East-winning showing in 2015 – while flourishing statistically. Cousins is coming off a year in which he completed 67 percent of passes, nearly reached the 5,000-yard mark (4,917), and tossed 25 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

Patriots Sign Baby Gronk To Futures Deal

February 14th, 2017 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Glenn Gronkowski is back in the building. The Patriots announced that they have signed the fullback to a futures deal.

The 6-foot-3, 234-pounder was signed by the Bills as a UDFA and was even on the 53-man roster for Week 1. He was cut soon after, however, and he went on to have four different stints on the Patriots’ practice squad. Gronkowski, 22, was thought to be in limbo earlier this month when the Pats signed nine others to futures deals. It took an extra week, but Baby Gronk is back in the fold with New England.

Here is the full list of all ten players now signed to futures deals with the Pats:

OL Chris Barker
OL Jamil Douglas
OL Chase Farris
RB Tyler Gaffney
WR Devin Lucien
LB Trevor Bates
DT Darius Kilgo
DT Woodrow Hamilton
FB Glenn Gronkowski

Bengals To Sign Bene Benwikere

February 14th, 2017 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Try saying this five times fast: the Bengals have agreed to sign cornerback Bene Benwikere. The deal was first reported by Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). It’s a one-year pact, agent Bardia Ghahremani tells ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell (on Twitter).

Before signing with Cincinnati, the corner visited with four other teams, according to Pelissero. As previously reported, the Jets also showed interest in Benwikere and hosted him on a visit in early February.

Still only 25 (26 in September), Big Play Bene is hoping to put a trying 2016 in the rear view mirror. Benwikere was released by Carolina early in the 2016 season after one particularly bad game against the Falcons. In that contest, Julio Jones hauled in 12 catches for 300 yards and a touchdown with the majority of the damage coming against the San Jose State product. After the game, Benwikere admitted that he was gassed and that apparently didn’t sit right with Carolina brass.

After Benwikere was cut, the Dolphins claimed him on waivers, beating out the Titans and Redskins thanks to their higher priority. After finishing the regular season on Miami’s taxi squad, he joined the Packers’ p-squad during the playoffs.

Cardinals Prez: We Won’t Let C. Jones Go

February 14th, 2017 at 1:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Back in January, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told reporters point blank that the team is willing to place the franchise tag on the star defensive end if the two sides cannot agree on a long-term deal. If that wasn’t clear enough, we now have additional confirmation from team president Michael Bidwill.

“We’re not going to mess around with that,” Bidwill said (via the team website). “He’s a great pass rusher, but if we can’t agree to terms that work for us, we’re just going to franchise him. His people know that.”

This year, the non-exclusive tag for defensive ends is expected to come in at $16.955MM. Ideally, the Cardinals would like to sign Jones to a multi-year deal that will keep him in place through his prime, but the tag will be their fallback if they can’t achieve that.

Given Jones’ talent, position, and age (26), his reps will push for astronomical figures on a brand new deal with a favorable cashflow like Olivier Vernon‘s free agent pact with the Giants. The Cardinals were aware of the cost factor when they traded for Jones last season, but they’ll only go so far this spring given the leverage of the first-time tag.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Peterson

February 14th, 2017 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t mincing words – he wants to add a big-time pass rusher this offseason.

“If I have a chance to bring one of these premier pass rusher, one of these war daddies that takes two to block, if I have a chance to get a player like that, I would,” Jones said, via Vince Langford of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s not a question of that. It’s a question of, where is he? And who gives him up if he’s a veteran, or where is he in the draft, or where is he anywhere. So, yeah we do need pressure. We’re going to try to do something about it.”

The Cowboys already have some intimidating edge rushers in DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, but Jones acknowledged that there’s uncertainty with both players due to their surgery and off-the-field issues, respectively. There’s also Jaylon Smith, but he can’t be counted on after missing his entire rookie season.

Here’s more from the NFC:

The Giants should sign Adrian Peterson while Eli Manning‘s Super Bowl window is still open, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News opines. The Vikings will not bring Peterson back at his current rate and it’s possible that he’ll reach the open market in March. Mehta argues that the Giants won’t have to break the bank for the soon-to-be 32-year-old and believes he can succeed if the Giants passing attack takes pressure off of him. There’s a risk of PR backlash, particularly given the Josh Brown saga of last season, but Peterson has stayed out of trouble in the last couple of years. For me, the notion of Peterson signing with the Giants at this stage of his career is reminiscent of LaDainian Tomlinson’s late-career run with the Jets. It’s an idea that sounds good on paper, but there’s only so much you can expect out of a running back after they’ve run up the odometer.
The Cardinals are on the lookout for a quarterback to take over after Carson Palmer retires, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. “There’s no doubt every GM, there is no question your name has to be put on a young quarterback at some point,” Keim said. “I challenge myself every day, because if you look around the league, you’re not a GM for long if you don’t find (a quarterback). I have to do a better job, with my staff and the coaching staff, we have to identify the right guy and put this organization in position to have success for years to come.”
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is switching agents.

Steelers Re-Sign LB Anthony Chickillo

February 14th, 2017 at 10:41am CST by Zachary Links

After making a name for himself in 2016, there was no way the Steelers were going to let linebacker Anthony Chickillo get away. The team has re-signed the exclusive rights free agent to a one-year deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Chickillo, a 2015 sixth-round pick, appeared in seven games for the Steelers as a rookie but primarily contributed on special teams. This year, he played in 15 games and made seven starts. on the year, he had 24 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and 2.5 sacks. Still just 24, Chickillo has played his way into a significant role on the 2017 team.

Chickillo is now the sixth Pittsburgh ERFA to re-up with the team this offseason. Roosevelt Nix, Cobi Hamilton, Chris Boswell, Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Jordan Dangerfield have already signed back on with the Steelers.

Williams To Visit Dolphins, 49ers, Vikings

February 14th, 2017 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

K’Waun Williams has quite the free agent tour set up for himself. In addition to visits with the Lions and Jets, Williams is also slated to visit the Dolphins, 49ers, and Vikings this week, according to ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein (on Twitter). Of course, those visits could also be 86’d if Williams immediately strikes a deal with either Detroit or New York.

Williams arrived in Detroit on Monday and will touch down in the New York/New Jersey area on Tuesday night. If he doesn’t have a contract after wrapping up his visit with the Jets on Wednesday, he’ll continue meeting with clubs.

As a rare February free agent, Williams has a bit of added value for teams who are looking into a low-cost solution at slot cornerback. Williams’ next deal is likely to come as a one-year pact, so he is presumably looking for a situation where he can maximize his playing time and increase his value for next offseason. He probably won’t get a fully guaranteed roster spot, but he could conceivably get a small partial guarantee on his salary if enough clubs show interest.

Williams had surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle back in November. He recently received full clearance from Dr. Robert Anderson.

Broncos Working To Re-Sign Kayvon Webster

February 14th, 2017 at 9:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos have already reached out to Kayvon Webster about signing him to a new deal, a league source tells Mike Klis of 9NEWS. However, Klis writes that it might not be a slam dunk for Denver.

Webster is probably looking for an opportunity to become a nickel back or potentially start as a cornerback somewhere. That opportunity won’t come with the Broncos since they have Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr. and Bradley Roby ahead of him. The Broncos are hoping to keep Webster as a reserve corner and a special teams ace. Last year, safety David Bruton Jr. left for the Redskins with the hope that he could take on a larger role and Webster could follow suit by signing elsewhere in March.

Known as one of the best gunners in the NFL, Webster averaged just 4.5 defensive plays per game in 2016. After multiple years as a No. 4 corner, no one could blame the 26-year-old for wanting more playing time.

Jets Notes: Henderson, Giacomini, Clady

February 14th, 2017 at 9:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets will soon have to make a decision on linebacker Erin Henderson, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Henderson was the Jets’ starting inside linebacker for the first six games of the season before he was placed on the non-football injury list for the remainder of the season without explanation. Now, the team will have to make their call on Henderson in two parts.

Under the terms of his two-year, $4MM deal signed last offseason, the Jets must decide by Wednesday whether to trigger their option for 2017. There’s no financial commitment with that call, however – that doesn’t come into play until March 9, when he’s due a $250K roster bonus. If he’s kept, he’ll count for $2.75MM against the salary cap with a non-guaranteed base salary of $2.25MM.

We still don’t know exactly what happened with Henderson, but he has battled alcohol issues in the past. Recently, on Twitter, Henderson declined to go into specifics, though he did say “all is well on [his] end.” If Henderson is healthy, will the Jets keep him on board? As Cimini notes, the Jets could use depth at inside linebacker behind David Harris and Darron Lee. However, his cap number is a bit too high for a backup, he turns 31 in July, and his off-the-field history is off-putting.

While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s more from the AFC East:

Darryl Slater of NJ.com ranked the Jets‘ likeliest offseason cuts from least to most likely. Henderson was tied for the top spot with 99% odds, along with right tackle Breno Giacomini and left tackle Ryan Clady. Giacomini, 32 in September, had a bad 2015 and was slowed by a back injury last season, so the Jets will likely drop him to save $4.5MM against the cap. Clady, meanwhile, could be brought back on a cheaper deal, but there’s no way the Jets will keep him on his current deal and pass on $10MM in cap savings. Others with a high probability of getting cut include free safety Marcus Gilchrist ($4.625MM in cap savings, $2.75MM dead money) and cornerback Darrelle Revis ($9.3MM savings, $6MM dead). Interestingly, he feels there’s a 60% chance that Brandon Marshall ($7.5MM savings, no dead money) will be released.
Jets GM Mike Maccagnan isn’t prioritizing character as he looks to rebuild, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Mehta points to the team’s recent waiver claim on Mike Pennel as an example of a low-risk move on a potentially troubled player. He also noted that cornerback K’Waun Williams – who is set to meet with the Jets this week – was reportedly mulling retirement in Cleveland last offseason when he lost his starting job. Since then, however, we have learned that Williams was dealing with an ankle issue that the franchise effectively shrugged off.
Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson might have less trade value than you’d expect.