2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Patriots Rumors: Brady, Butler, Garoppolo

March 27th, 2017 at 2:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Moments ago, Patriots owner Robert Kraft addressed the media in Phoenix, Arizona. Here’s a look at the highlights:

Apparently, Tom Brady isn’t going anywhere. “As recently as two or three days ago, he assured me that he’d be willing to play another six or seven years,” Kraft said (Twitter link via Albert Breer of The MMQB).
Kraft says that he hopes Malcolm Butler returns to the Patriots for 2017 and that the team’s intention is not to trade him (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate). Butler, a restricted free agent, has discussed contractual terms with the Saints and the two sides apparently far off. An unmatched offer sheet from the Saints would result in New Orleans’ No. 11 overall pick going to New England. Of course, that’s a steep price to pay and the Saints are reportedly unwilling to go that far to land the cornerback. The possibility of a sign-and-trade with lesser compensation could be in the cards, but right now the Pats are acting as though they want Butler back.
When asked about the possibility of trading quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Kraft deferred that decision to coach Bill Belichick (Twitter link via Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald).

NFL Approves Raiders’ Move To Las Vegas

March 27th, 2017 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

NFL owners have voted to approve the Raiders’ proposed move to Las Vegas, Nevada. With at least 24 votes in favor of the relocation, the road has been paved for the Raiders to leave town and start anew in Sin City. The final tally was 31-1, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link), with the Dolphins as the only nay vote.

For many Bay Area fans, this is a crushing blow. The Oakland Raiders were born in 1960 as a member of the revolutionary American Football League. The city of Oakland lost its team in the early 1980s when it migrated to Los Angeles, but the Raiders returned for the 1995 NFL season. Now, more than 20 years later, the Raiders are leaving all over again and, this time, it’s probably for good.

On Monday morning, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf asked the NFL to hold off on voting, but that was a low-percentage shot in the dark likely designed to try and salvage Schaaf’s standing with dejected Raiders fans. Owners reportedly still like the Bay Area as an NFL market, but they did not agree with Schaaf’s assertion that Oakland has put forward a viable stadium solution. The Raiders have secured a record $750MM in public money for their new LV digs and that will be a major bargaining chip for the league in its future efforts to get stadiums built with taxpayer funds.

Even with the green light from NFL owners, it remains to be seen where the Raiders will play their games between now and when the $1.9 billion stadium is built. The Raiders will play in Oakland in 2017 and they have pledged to play there in 2018 as well. However, if the local fan reaction is too much for the Raiders to withstand, they may want to blow the popsicle stand early. UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium could serve as a temporary host for the team, but it will probably need upgrades to meet league standards. If things go south this year in Oakland, those upgrades will have to be in place sooner rather than later.

Giants Interested In Ex-Jets C Nick Mangold

March 27th, 2017 at 12:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have interest in former Jets center Nick Mangold, according to a source who spoke with Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. Mangold has been a free agent ever since being let go by Gang Green in late February.

The Jets saved more than $9MM by cutting Mangold and there has been no real talk of a reunion at a lower rate. I have Mangold rated as the best center remaining in free agency, but teams have reportedly asked him about moving to guard.

The Giants already have Weston Richburg at center with Justin Pugh at left guard and the newly re-signed John Jerry at right guard. The G-Men also added guard D.J. Fluker in free agency, giving the team additional depth. It’s not immediately clear where or how Mangold would factor into the Giants’ plans. In theory, he could be a tremendous reserve to fill in at all three interior spots – not unlike Stefan Wisniewski’s role last season with the Eagles – but Mangold might be holding out for a more prominent role. Alternatively, the Giants could offer him a chance to compete with Richburg for the starting job in training camp. After finishing near the bottom of the league in yards per game last year, the Giants might be open to some O-Line change.

late last month, allowing the team to clear upwards of $9MM of cap room for 2017. Contending clubs are expected to pursue the veteran and PFR’s Dallas Robinson speculated that the Buccaneers, Bengals, Lions, Vikings, Redskins, and Cardinals could be among the clubs to call on him.

If Mangold joins the Giants, he’ll join fellow ex-Jets Brandon Marshall and Geno Smith.

Oakland Asks NFL To Delay Las Vegas Vote

March 27th, 2017 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

The mayor of Oakland is asking NFL owners to hold off voting on the Raiders’ proposed move to Las Vegas, as Josh Dubow of The Associated Press writes. The league is set to hold a vote during this week’s meetings in Arizona and it is said to be at the top of the agenda.

“Never that we know of has the NFL voted to displace a team from its established market when there is a fully financed option before them with all the issues addressed,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement, adding that the city has put forth a $1.3 billion plan for a new stadium that would be ready in five years. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t do everything in my power to make the case for Oakland up until the very end.”

At this point, “everything” in Schaaf’s power doesn’t include much. The city of Oakland has declined to build the Raiders a new state-of-the-art stadium largely bankrolled by public funds. Local government has instead opted to back a brand new facility for the Oakland A’s, leading the Raiders down the Vegas path. Meanwhile, owners seem to have made peace with concerns about legalized gambling in Nevada and how it could potentially affect the integrity of the game.

If 24 of the league’s 32 owners approve the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas, very little will stand in the way of the move. That vote is scheduled to go down in a matter of moments and Schaff’s last-ditch effort probably won’t buy her additional time.

Latest On Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly

March 27th, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Zachary Links

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly has received some good news on the medical front. Dr. James Andrews has given him the green light to follow a “35-45 play script” at his upcoming Pro Day, agent Duray Oubre tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). The agent estimates that Kelly will be 85% recovered from his ACL and lateral meniscus tears by the April 3 showcase.

Kelly was not among the 300+ players to be invited to this year’s draft combine due to his off-the-field issues. Even if he had gotten an invitation, however, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do much in Indianapolis. The Ole Miss Pro Day will effectively serve as Kelly’s make-up session and it’s Kelly’s first such tryout for NFL scouts.

Earlier this year, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller wrote that Kelly is “still an intriguing quarterback prospect in a bad overall class.” Meanwhile, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report heard back in November that the Ole Miss product was being viewed by evaluators as a Day 3 prospect. Before the injury, Kelly was leading the SEC in total offense and was viewed as one of this year’s QBs. With a strong showing next month, Kelly can rebuild his stock and reassert himself as a leading signal caller, despite concerns about his health and off-the-field red flags.

Seahawks QB Trevone Boykin Arrested

March 27th, 2017 at 10:40am CST by Zachary Links

Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin was arrested early Monday morning after a car crash left eight people with injuries (via ESPN.com). Boykin was a passenger in the car, not the driver, but he is facing misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and public intoxication.

The driver, Shabrika Bailey, reversed her car at a high speed at around 2:00 am, hitting pedestrians on the sidewalk and crashing into a bar. Bailey was hit with a host of charges, including a felony. For Boykin, the legal trouble is not quite as serious, but he is on probation stemming from a late 2015 incident in which he allegedly struck a police officer.

Boykin, a TCU product, went undrafted in 2016 but was scooped up by the Seahawks soon after. Serving as a backup to starter Russell Wilson, Boykin completed 13 of 18 passes with one touchdown and one interception.

Redskins Prez Bruce Allen On McCloughan

March 27th, 2017 at 10:23am CST by Zachary Links

With one month to go until the NFL Draft, the Redskins are without a general manager and they will wait until after the draft’s conclusion to fill the vacancy. After a drama-filled offseason which saw Scot McCloughan ousted for alleged issues with alcohol, team president Bruce Allen spoke publicly for the very first time this week when he sat down with Liz Clarke of The Washington Post. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from their chat:

On firing McCloughan:

I thought it was the right thing to do for where we were at the time. We wanted to give clarity to our free agents and to our staff of where we were going. For Scot, it was good timing because it allows him to be hired by anyone right now before this draft…I enjoyed working with [Scot’s father and brother] and the success we had in Oakland. Obviously that’s what I envisioned when I brought Scot to the Redskins. So, yes, I’m disappointed it didn’t work out. I hope it works out for him in the future. My responsibility is to the Redskins and the organization and the scouts and the players on this team.

On reports that McCloughan’s dismissal was driven by the jealousy of Allen and others in the organization:

Scot and I had a wonderful relationship. I do like him as a person. And I wanted him to do great. And it just didn’t work out.

On Daniel Snyder’s decision to give an extension to coach Jay Gruden:

[Gruden] has established himself as a good leader for our team. Our players have responded well to him. His honesty and his directness and his sense of humor have taken us through some speed bumps in the season. His ability to creatively come up with new ways to attack a defense is something that we’re very fortunate to have.

Dolphins Not Interested In Joe Mixon

March 27th, 2017 at 9:03am CST by Zachary Links

In recent weeks, teams have been meeting with Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon and weighing his potential against the public relations nightmare that would come with drafting him. At least one team, it seems, won’t even put it on the scale. There is a “zero percent chance” that the Dolphins will draft Mixon, a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking told Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald.

Mixon was not invited to the draft combine in late February after video surfaced of him striking a woman in a late-night altercation. There’s also an alleged incident from 2016 in which the running back got in the face of a female meter maid. Teams are uneasy about Mixon’s history, but at the same time, he is one of the top running backs in this year’s class in terms of pure ability. Absent the red flags, Mixon would have safely been projected as a first-round choice. There’s serious downside with Mixon, but Tyreek Hill’s breakout season in Kansas City is a reminder how a risky pick can pay off.

Mixon amassed 1,812 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 touchdowns last season, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. It’s looking more and more likely that one team will roll the dice on him, but it will not be the Dolphins.

Giants Offering Hankins Multiyear Deal

March 26th, 2017 at 9:10pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

It appears the Giants have a legitimate shot to re-sign free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, and if it happens, it’s unlikely he’ll have to settle for a “prove-it” deal. The Giants have a multiyear offer on the table for Hankins, reports the NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones, who adds that the proposal “stacks up well in this free agent market.” New York has had a “solid offer” on the table “for weeks,” though Hankins is holding out for a far richer contract, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com adds (Twitter links).

While it’s obvious Hankins’ goal is a sizable payday, it could be difficult to come by for a player who has only drawn reported interest from one other team, the Dolphins. And unfortunately for Hankins, Miami doesn’t seem particularly gung-ho on the 25-year-old, as it’s only searching for a rotational defensive tackle to play with Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips. On the other hand, Hankins has been a full-time starter in New York since 2014, his second season in the league.

By retaining Hankins, which Jones expects to happen, the Giants would return all 11 defensive starters from last year, she notes. That would be an auspicious development for a team whose defense topped the NFC in DVOA and finished second overall in the league, trailing only the Broncos’ all-world stop unit.

It’s debatable how much of an impact Hankins made last year, as he didn’t post mind-blowing traditional stats (43 tackles and three sacks), nor did he impress Pro Football Focus or some around the NFL. Nevertheless, Giants owner John Mara made it clear Sunday that the team would like to re-sign Hankins if it’s financially feasible.

“We certainly want him back but it’s got to make sense for us,” Mara told Tom Rock of Newsday. “He’s an important part of our team, he’s a great kid, he’s young and he fits in very well with us. So we hope to have him back.”

The Giants have upward of $12MM in spending space remaining, Raanan reported Thursday, which puts them toward the bottom of the league.

Extra Points: Broncos, Redskins, Raiders

March 26th, 2017 at 8:38pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Broncos were reportedly all but out of the Tony Romo sweepstakes as of Friday, and nothing has occurred at the NFL owners meetings to suggest otherwise. Broncos general manager John Elway hasn’t engaged in any trade talks at the meetings with Cowboys CEO and fellow competition committee member Stephen Jones, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS writes. “We’ve been here all week and his name never came up,’’ said Elway, who also gave further votes of confidence to Denver’s current top two QBs, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, per Klis. Even if the Cowboys end up releasing Romo, the expectation is Elway will still pass on the soon-to-be 37-year-old, notes Klis, who nonetheless cautions to “never say never.”