Month: February 2017

CB Bene Benwikere Visits Jets

Free agent cornerback Bene Benwikere met with the Jets today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that Benwikere is presumably a candidate for a reserve/futures contract with New York.Bene Benwikere (vertical)

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Projected to act as Carolina’s No. 1 corner during the 2016 campaign, Benwikere was torched by the Falcons’ Julio Jones in Week 4 and was subsequently waived. Both the Titans and Redskins put in claims, but the 25-year-old Benwikere landed with the Dolphins, who had the higher waiver priority. After ending the season on Miami’s practice squad, Benwikere signed with the Packers’ taxi squad during Green Bay’s playoff run.

The Jets’ cornerback depth chart is currently comprised of Darrelle Revis, Buster Skrine, Marcus Williams, Juston Burris, Darryl Roberts, Nick Marshall, and others. Revis, of course, could be cut or moved to safety this offseason, while Skrine is also a potential cap casualty. Benwikere, then, could serve as depth on a New York roster that possesses next to none.

Coaching/FO Notes: Browns, Garcia, 49ers

The Browns have interviewed Jeff Garcia for their vacant quarterbacks coach position, tweets Tony Grossi of ESPN.com. Cleveland is aiming to replace Pep Hamilton, who served as QBs coach in addition to acting as associate head coach, after he joined the University of Michigan staff. Garcia, 46, enjoyed a long NFL career as a signal-caller that included a stint with the Browns (2004). His only professional coaching experience, however, came with the Montreal Alouettes in 2014 and the Rams in 2015.

Here’s more from the NFL’s hiring cycle:

  • Former Lions general manager Martin Mayhew could land in John Lynch‘s new 49ers front office, according to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Mayhew, who served as Detroit’s GM 2008-15, served as the Giants’ director of football operations/special projects last year. Schrager also confirmed that ex-Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik is still a candidate to head to San Francisco, despite the club’s hiring of Lynch and VP of player personnel Adam Peters.
  • The Jets announced today that they’ve hired Stump Mitchell as their new running backs coach. Mitchell will reunite with New York head coach Todd Bowles, as both men previously worked under Bruce Arians in Arizona. Mitchell had been with the Cardinals since 2013, but the club opted last week not to renew his contract. Gang Green has now filled out most of its offensive staff under new coordinator John Morton, but still needs to hire a QBs coach.
  • The Panthers are expected to promote assistant defensive backs coach Curtis Fuller to secondary coach, reports Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. Fuller’s promotion would be the final link in a chain of events that involved former Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott taking the Buffalo head coaching position, followed by Panthers secondary coach Steve Wilks‘ promotion to DC. Fuller has worked for Carolina since 2013.

2017 NFL Salary Cap Could Hit $170MM

Speaking to reporters today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL’s 2017 salary cap could rise by as much as $15MM per team, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com (Twitter link). Given that the 2016 cap was $155.27MM, next year’s cap could approach — or exceed — the $170MM mark.NFL General Helmet (Featured)

The salary cap will continue the incredible upward trajectory it has been on since 2013. Here’s what the league’s salary cap has looked like over the last few years:

  • 2013: $123MM
  • 2014: $133MM
  • 2015: $143.28MM
  • 2016: $155.27MM

The official salary cap figure — which affects not only teams’ roster moves for the entire season, but the figures used in franchise/transition tag calculations — will be announced before the new league year begins in early March. Previous reports have indicated the cap could stay as low as $163-165MM, but increasing league revenues will push that figure up.

Using a projected salary cap of $168MM, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com predicted the franchise/transition tender numbers earlier this year, but if the cap rises to $170MM or more, those totals would increase as well.

Gary Kubiak Not Ruling Out NFL Return

Although he stepped down from the Broncos’ head coaching job earlier this offseason, longtime NFL coach Gary Kubiak says he’s not completely ruling out a return to the NFL. “I never say never, but it will NOT be the first thing I do,” Kubiak told John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), adding that he feels “great.”Gary Kubiak (Vertical)

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Although health concerns played a major factor in Kubiak’s decision to step away, he’s still only 55 years old. But the demanding schedule of an NFL lifer clearly took its toll on Kubiak. As the Texans head coach in 2013, Kubiak suffered a mini-stroke during a game, and he missed a contest during the 2016 campaign while dealing with migraine issues. For what it’s worth, Kubiak’s family reportedly preferred that he step away from the game altogether.

Although the 2016 season didn’t go as expected, Kubiak’s run in Denver can’t be considered anything other than a success. After joining the Broncos prior to the 2015 season, Kubiak led Denver to a Super Bowl victory in the first season a four-year deal. Quarterback Peyton Manning retired following the season, forcing the Broncos to turn to Trevor Siemian, and Denver wasn’t able to reach the postseason again, finishing third in the AFC West with a 9-7 record.

In total, Kubiak has posted an 82-75 regular season record, a 5-2 postseason mark, and one Super Bowl win.

Texans Likely To Draft QB, Won’t Pursue Romo

The Texans are likely to select a quarterback at some point in the 2017 draft, team owner Bob McNair told the media today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all Twitter links). “We need better performance out of that position, [but there’s not much available out there,” said McNair, referring to the dearth of quarterback options on the free agent market, before intimating that he’d hope Tom Savage is given the opportunity to compete with Brock Osweiler for the starting job in Houston.Bob McNair (Vertical)

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Veteran Cowboys QB Tony Romo, meanwhile, isn’t an option for the Texans, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, ruling out one potential fit for the 36-year-old signal-caller. Denver is said to be Romo’s preferred landing spot, although the Broncos may be more apt to pursue him if he’s released from Dallas (rather than being forced to finagle a trade). Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may not wish to see Romo land with another Texas-based club, and Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports Romo wants to join a team that will play the Cowboys in 2017, another factor against the Texans.

Houston is essentially stuck with Osweiler, who completed less than 60% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions last season, as releasing him now would leave the Texans with a $25MM dead money cap charge. Even a post-June 1 cut would result in a $19MM hit, so the club doesn’t have much of an option other than retaining Osweiler for at least one more season.

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Palmer, Lions, C. Long

A quick look around the NFC:

  • Despite reports to the contrary, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears Carson Palmer‘s house is not for sale. Furthermore, his family has left town during the offseason before, so perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into the news. It’s still not clear if the three-time Pro Bowler will return for what would be his age-37 season with the Cardinals.
  • If the Patriots didn’t reach out to Chris Long, he could have wound up with the Lions instead, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. “Coach [Jim] Caldwell was awesome throughout that whole free agency process,” Long said. “They showed me a lot of respect that I didn’t necessarily deserve, in my eyes, because the last few years were so tough for me. But Coach Caldwell thought I could get back to who I was, and I’ll always respect him for that.” This year, he had four sacks and 32 tackles while playing in all 16 games for the Pats.
  • Redskins long snapper Nick Sundberg‘s new four-year deal is worth $4.4MM, Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post tweets. As part of the deal, he’ll earn a $610K signing bonus with a $900K base in 2017.

Roger Goodell On Ezekiel Elliott, Josh Brown

In Houston on Wednesday afternoon, Roger Goodell fielded questions from reporters on a wide range of topics. Here’s a look at the highlights:

  • Goodell said there’s no timetable on the league’s investigation into domestic violence allegations against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). About two weeks ago, Elliott indicated that he is unhappy with the pace of the NFL’s investigation. The league has been investigating Elliott since July, and it reportedly regarded him as “Public Enemy No. 1” as of November.
  • The NFL is still reviewing the possibility of putting together a developmental league, Goodell said (Twitter link via CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora). review/study. “We have a debate that goes on,” he said. “It’s something we’re actively considering.” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s head of football operations, has been pushing the idea of a D-League or in-season academy to help groom young talent. Meanwhile, there will be a non-NFL affiliated spring league launching this year.
  • Goodell says Josh Brown‘s domestic violence investigation remains open (Twitter link via La Canfora). Regardless of the outcome, it’s hard to see the former Giants kicker getting another chance in the NFL. If Greg Hardy and Ray Rice can’t get work, then I can’t imagine a team weathering a PR nightmare for a kicker.
  • Goodell indicated that the league is ready to start discussing an extension to the collective bargaining agreement (Twitter link via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports). The current CBA goes through the 2020 season.

Malik Hooker Won’t Participate In Combine

Ohio State safety Malik Hooker had two surgeries this week and as a result he will not be able to work out at the scouting combine, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Hooker had operations on a torn labrum plus a hernia injury that he played through late in the season. Malik Hooker (Vertical)

Hooker is widely projected as a top ten pick but it is fair to wonder if missing the combine could put his stock in flux. The Chargers are in need of a safety and the OSU product would make a lot of sense at No. 7, but if they don’t get to fully evaluate him they could shift their focus elsewhere to someone like LSU’s Jamal Adams.

Hooker started only one year in college but scouts have been salivating about his potential at the next level. As a redshirt sophomore, he had seven interceptions and returned three of those picks for touchdowns.

This week we learned that Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis could also miss the combine due to injury.

Raiders Move To Las Vegas “All But Dead”?

First casino magnate Sheldon Adelson dropped out of the Raiders’ Las Vegas stadium plan, then investment firm Goldman Sachs bailed. Now, the proposed move to Vegas is “all but dead,” Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal (on Twitter) hears. Raiders Fan/Vegas

This week’s events took both the Raiders and the NFL by surprise. Despite some public bickering, the Raiders were hoping that they could take their deal with Adelson to the finish line. But, if that failed, they were under the impression that Goldman Sachs would help finance the stadium instead and that’s what they told the league just a couple of weeks ago. Now, it seems that the two parties are a package deal. Adelson and the firm have a long business history together and it appears that they will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sands billionaire.

If the Vegas move is truly dead, this could theoretically help the team stay in Oakland. So far, owner Mark Davis hasn’t been keen on the proposal put forth by Ronnie Lott’s group, but he might not have a ton of options at this juncture. The Lott deal would call for Oakland to contribute 130 acres of land and absorb all related taxes. Meanwhile, the NFL would chip in $300MM with $300-$400MM from Lott’s Fortress Group. The Fortress Group could be looking for a piece of the team as a part of the transaction, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears there could be other ways to make it all work.

Meanwhile, in Houston on Wednesday, Goodell told reporters that the league still “hasn’t made a determination yet about Las Vegas as an NFL market.” The league, he adds, continues to review the Raiders’ application.

AFC South Notes: Texans, Bouye, Colts

Here’s a look at the AFC South:

  • In a rundown of the top ten players “likely to hit free agency,” Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson ranked Texans corner A.J. Bouye No. 6. Looking only at players that are expected to hit the open market, Monson’s list excludes the likes of Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, Chiefs safety Eric Berry, Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short, and Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Interestingly, higher-mileage players like Jason Pierre-Paul and DeSean Jackson rank ahead of the young corner as well as Cowboys guard Ronald Leary. The latest edition of PFR’s Free Agent Power Rankings – which included Cousins and the others listed – ranked Bouye at No. 7.
  • Is Stanford’s Solomon Thomas a fit for the Colts? In his latest mailbag, Kevin Bowen of Colts.com says that he is intriguing after a strong season, but it remains to be seen whether teams view him as a good 3-4 edge fit. Right now, Thomas is widely projected to fall between Nos. 7-to-15 in the first round. The Colts own the No. 14 overall pick.
  • What’s first on the agenda of new Colts GM Chris Ballard? Bowen notes that exploring new deals for free agents like Mike Adams, Darius Butler, Jack Doyle, Robert Turbin, and Erik Walden will be at the top of his list. Allen is wrapping up a team-friendly two-year, $4.3MM contract and after grading out as a top-20 safety according to Pro Football Focus, he’s in line for a significant pay bump.