Latest On Jimmy Garoppolo, A.J. McCarron
While the Patriots are reportedly unlikely to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, they haven’t ruled out moving him if the right offer comes along, a league source told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. New England is likely to want at least a first-rounder for Garoppolo, writes Cabot, who hears that the team has already received one preliminary “offer.” However, a deal is unlikely to come together during the combine.
The Browns, 49ers and Bears, who are set to pick first, second and third in this year’s draft, have drawn the most connections to Garoppolo this winter. Cleveland has seemingly shown more interest than anyone else in Garoppolo, and it could help the club’s cause that it has a second first-rounder (No. 12 overall) that it could dangle to land the 25-year-old.
Should they fail to reel in Garoppolo, the Browns could look for a signal-caller via free agency, elsewhere on the trade market, or in the draft. Cabot reported earlier Thursday that they’re eyeing North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky at No. 1 overall, and she now adds that the Browns could inquire about Bengals backup A.J. McCarron.
Although the Bengals aren’t necessarily aiming to trade McCarron, they might do it if they receive at least a second-rounder, and they wouldn’t be averse to sending him to a division rival, a source told Cabot. Moreover, McCarron “would love” to reunite with Browns head coach Hue Jackson, Cabot notes. McCarron played under Jackson when he was the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2014-15.
Eagles, Beau Allen Talking Extension
The Eagles are discussing a contract extension with defensive tackle Beau Allen, reports Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That could be a sign the Eagles are preparing to lose fellow defensive tackle Bennie Logan in free agency, McLane suggests.
[RELATED: Logan Among PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents]
Of the two linemen, Logan has easily has the more established NFL track record. Since the Eagles chose him in the third round of the 2013 draft, Logan has picked up 51 starts in 59 appearances. Logan has started in each of his appearances dating back to his second year, and he’s coming off a 24-tackle, 2.5-sack, two-forced fumble season over 13 games. The 27-year-old ranked a lowly 84th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior D-linemen last season, but it didn’t help that he dealt with a groin injury. Now healthy, Logan figures to encounter a robust market in free agency, where the NFC East rival Redskins could be among the teams that pursue him.
The Eagles aren’t in imminent danger of losing Allen, who’s signed through next season, but he has impressed de facto general manager Howie Roseman during his three-year career.
“We’re excited about Beau, both in his ability to be powerful in the run game but also his athleticism to work edges,” Roseman said Wednesday. “He has pass-rush moves. With an increased opportunity, we think he’ll be an even better player to our team.”
Allen, 25, hasn’t missed a game in three years and finished with personal bests in tackles (29) and starts (three) in 2016. PFF ranked him as the league’s 57th-best interior D-lineman, 27 spots higher than Logan. Moreover, Allen saw significant action in multiple phases, as he amassed 412 defensive snaps and another 142 on special teams.
AFC Notes: Steelers, Patriots, Chiefs
The Steelers are heavy into negotiations with running back Le’Veon Bell on a long-term deal, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com hears (on Twitter). She adds that there is a very good chance the deal will set the market for running backs. Among rushers with multiyear contracts, the Bills’ LeSean McCoy paces the NFL in total value ($40.05MM) and annual average ($8.01MM), while the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott is atop the league in guarantees (~$25MM). Thanks to his designation as the Steelers’ franchise player, Bell is currently slated to lead all backs in salary next season ($12.12MM).
More on Pittsburgh and two other AFC franchises:
- On another note relevant to the Steelers’ offense, the club has expressed interest in soon-to-be free agent quarterback Mike Glennon, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). It’s fair to say Glennon won’t end up in Pittsburgh, though, unless Ben Roethlisberger decides to retire by the opening of free agency. Glennon’s current team, Tampa Bay, has tried to keep him at $8MM per year, but he’ll get more money and a chance to start on the market.
- Impending free agent fullback James Develin is likely to re-sign with the Patriots in the coming days, tweets CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. A member of the Pats since 2012, Develin hasn’t touched the ball much in his career (13 receptions, seven carries), but he has registered three straight 16-game seasons and won two Super Bowls. He took part in 33.7 percent of the Patriots’ special teams snaps and 31.3 percent of their offensive plays in 2016.
- Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif‘s new deal includes a $10MM signing bonus and $14MM fully guaranteed at signing, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cowboys Looking To Extend Coordinators
On the heels of a 13-3 finish in 2016, the Cowboys are discussing contract extensions with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive chief Rod Marinelli, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Linehan and Marinelli previously inked three-year extensions with the team after the 2014 campaign.
The 53-year-old Linehan is fresh off his third season in Dallas and second as its offensive coordinator, and his side of the ball posted tremendous production without Tony Romo in 2016. Led by two rookies – QB Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott – the Cowboys ranked fifth in the NFL in both scoring and yards, and they placed an even better third in DVOA. Linehan figured to draw head coaching interest as a result, but that didn’t come to fruition. Linehan once served as a head coach in St. Louis, though the Rams posted an ugly 11-25 record under him in two-plus seasons from 2006-08.
Marinelli has also been a head coach, in Detroit, but he won’t get another shot when considering his age (67) and the unsightly 10-38 mark (including an 0-16 season) the Lions logged with him from 2006-08. The longtime assistant has found a home in Dallas, however, as he has been on the team’s staff since 2013 and is coming off his third year as its coordinator. Despite receiving either little or no contributions from high-profile defenders Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory in 2016, Marinelli’s group finished fifth in the league in scoring, 14th in yards and 17th in DVOA.
Bears Could Pursue Top Free Agents
The Bears are set to enter free agency with no shortage of cap space, and it appears they’re primed to put that money to use. General manager Ryan Pace is “extremely prepared” to explore the open market, he told the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, who writes that the Bears could make “strong” bids for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and, as previously reported, quarterback Mike Glennon. Additionally, the Bears could take a run at right tackle Ricky Wagner.
[RELATED: PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents]
As PFR’s Dallas Robinson detailed in January, the Bears are rife with questions at corner. Picking up Gilmore could go a long way toward fixing their issues, then, though the careerlong Bill is going to be costly (Biggs forecasts a $13MM-per-year contract). Gilmore, 26, is a five-year pro who started in each of his appearances (15) for the third straight season and notched a career-high five interceptions in 2016. However, after ranking as one of Pro Football Focus’ 10 best corners in 2015, Gilmore dropped to 61st (among 112 qualifiers) last season. Nevertheless, Gilmore possesses an impressive resume, having racked up 68 appearances, 66 starts and 14 picks since going in the first round of the 2012 draft.
As is the case at corner, the Bears are in dire need of help under center. That figures to lead to a Glennon pursuit, as Biggs relays that he’s Chicago’s No. 1 target to replace the soon-to-be jettisoned Jay Cutler. Glennon sat behind Buccaneers starter Jameis Winston the previous two seasons and barely played during that span, but he previously registered 19 appearances and 18 starts from 2013-14. While the Bucs have tried to retain Glennon at $8MM per year, he’s likely to receive both more money and a legitimate shot to start from another club – perhaps the Bears.
Like Gilmore and Glennon, Wagner figures to earn at least eight figures annually on his next contract. The career Raven, 27, is coming off his third season with at least 14 starts, and he finished as PFF’s 18th-best tackle among 78 qualifiers in 2016. He’d further beef up a Bears offensive line that rated among the league’s 10 best units in both the run and pass blocking departments last year, per Football Outsiders.
Signing Wagner could put incumbent right tackle Bobby Massie in danger of staying on the Bears’ roster. Chicago inked Massie to a three-year, $18MM deal in free agency last offseason, but he went on to rank a so-so 43rd among PFF’s 78 qualified tackles. Massie’s due a $1MM roster bonus March 11 and set to count over $6MM against the Bears’ cap in 2017. Cutting him would leave the team with just $1MM in dead money, however.
Sebastian Vollmer Mulling Retirement
The Patriots decided to release offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer on Thursday, and that could go down as a career-ending move for the soon-to-be 33-year-old. The newly unemployed Vollmer is mulling retirement because of lingering hip pain, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (link via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com).
Vollmer’s hip issues cost him a chance at an extension with the Patriots last offseason and then forced him to sit out all of the Super Bowl champions’ games in 2016. Before the career-threatening injury arose, the 2009 second-round pick amassed 88 appearances and 80 starts during his first seven seasons. In his latest action, 2015, Vollmer’s performance ranked 42nd among Pro Football Focus’ 77 qualified tackles. That represented a step back for Vollmer, who consistently finished as one of PFF’s top 30 tackles in previous seasons.
If Vollmer decides he’s healthy enough to continue his career, he could score a contract as one of the most established bookends available on the open market. PFR’s Zach Links places him eighth in this year’s free agent tackle class.
B.J. Raji Not Planning 2017 Comeback
Longtime Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji surprisingly elected to take last season off from football, and it appears he’ll do the same in 2017. The 30-year-old is helping to take care of his mother and aunt, both of whom have dealt with illnesses, and “hasn’t really thought about football,” agent Brian Murphy told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
Members of the Packers organization have kept in touch with Raji, per head coach Mike McCarthy, and Murphy added that the club would “like to have him back.” Before Raji stepped away from the game last March, he turned down a lucrative offer from the Packers as a free agent and also rebuffed interest from other teams. Raji has made $26MM during his NFL career, notes Demovsky.
A careerlong Packer, Raji went to the club ninth overall in the 2009 draft and appeared in 91 regular-season games (78 starts) before leaving the game. The ex-Boston College standout helped the Packers win a Super Bowl to cap off the 2010 season, during which he recorded a personal-high 6.5 sacks. He then earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2011.
Cowboys To Shop Alfred Morris
The Cowboys’ addition of running back Alfred Morris via free agency last year proved to be somewhat superfluous, as they later went on to select workhorse Ezekiel Elliott fourth overall in the draft. Elliott earned first-team All-Pro status as a rookie after leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,631) and carries (322). Morris picked up just 69 attempts, meanwhile, and the Cowboys are now planning to shop him around the league, according to Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram.
The 28-year-old Morris is due a relatively meager $1.2MM base salary in 2017, the final season of his contract, and getting rid of him would make it more realistic for the team to retain at least one of Darren McFadden or Lance Dunbar – two impending free agent rushers. McFadden is open to staying in Dallas as Elliott’s backup, though two other clubs are showing interest in the soon-to-be 30-year-old, per Hill. While he played only four games last season because of an elbow injury, McFadden isn’t far removed from a thousand-yard showing in 2015.
A Redskin from 2012-15, Morris has gone past the 1,000-yard mark three times during his five-year career, but his effectiveness has faded in recent seasons. He averaged a subpar 3.7 yards per carry on 202 tries in his final season in Washington and posted a 3.5 YPC in what could be his only Dallas campaign. Morris has been a bell cow, having exceeded 200 attempts in four seasons, and his need for carries makes him a poor fit for the Cowboys, notes Hill.
Hardy, Browner Commit To Spring League
Former NFL stars Greg Hardy and Brandon Browner have committed to play in the Spring League, according to its CEO, Brian Woods (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com). The league, whose six-game season will take place from April 15-26, isn’t affiliated with the NFL. However, NFL scouts will be on hand to watch, so it could be a way for Hardy, Browner and other ex-pros to showcase their skills and perhaps return to football’s highest level.
Once a top-caliber defensive end, Hardy’s stock began plummeting when he was found guilty in 2014 of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, though her decision not to testify against him led to the dropping of charges. Then a member of the Panthers, Hardy sat out all but one game that season after commissioner Roger Goodell placed him on the league’s exempt list.
Hardy joined the Cowboys as a free agent in 2015, but he served a four-game suspension to begin the year and was an off-field headache and public relations nightmare during his 12-game Dallas stint. Nobody signed Hardy last year as a result, and he was indicted on a felony count of cocaine possession in November. He then attempted to become a mixed martial artist last fall, but it didn’t take. Despite his myriad off-field issues, Hardy is certainly talented enough to play in the NFL, evidenced by his 40 sacks in 75 games.
Like Hardy, Browner has a past suspension on his resume (for substance abuse) and didn’t play at all in 2016. The defensive back did land a contract last offseason, but the Seahawks ultimately cut him in late August after his effort to move from cornerback to safety didn’t pan out.
Now 32, Browner, was a high-level defender in Seattle and New England from 2011-14, when he combined to start in all 45 appearances, intercept 11 passes and win two Super Bowls. However, he declined sharply as a Saint in 2015. While Browner started all 16 of the Saints’ games that season after inking a three-year, $15MM contract in free agency, he rated dead last in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 113 qualified corners and set the league’s penalty record. New Orleans subsequently cut Browner and he hasn’t played a meaningful snap since.
Bolts Trying To Keep Addae, Woodhead
The Chargers offered contracts to multiple in-house free agents before the combine, including safety Jahleel Addae, Bolts reporter Michael Gehlken tweets. Talks are ongoing between the Chargers and Addae, and the club is also attempting to re-sign running back Danny Woodhead, per Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
Both Addae and Woodhead were among the cavalcade of Chargers who dealt with significant injuries in 2016. The 27-year-old Addae broke is collarbone in September and ended up appearing in only eight games – all of which were starts. Addae, who now has 48 appearances and 27 starts to his name, added 48 tackles and the first interception of his career last season. Teams covet the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder for his physicality, Gehlken notes.
Woodhead, 32, suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 and landed on season-ending injured reserve as a result. Previously, the pass-catching back appeared in all 16 games for the Chargers in 2015 and hauled in a tremendous 80 receptions for 755 yards and six touchdowns. He also pitched in 336 rushing yards and three more scores on 98 carries.
Zach Links contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.