2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Buccaneers To Sign Nick Folk

March 17th, 2017 at 8:54pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A year after trading up for kicker Roberto Aguayo and using a second-round draft pick on the ex-Florida State star, the Buccaneers may be ready to replace him. Tampa Bay has reached an agreement with free agent kicker Nick Folk, reports Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The team announced the signing in a press release.

Folk had been on the market since the Jets released him Feb. 23, which had more to do with opening up cap room than unhappiness with his performance. The 32-year-old, after all, drilled 27 of 31 field goal attempts and connected on 24 of 26 extra points last season. After he went through four down years with the Cowboys and Jets from 2009-12, Folk converted between 81.3 and 91.7 percent of field goals in each of the past four seasons.

Given Folk’s track record, it would seemingly be rather auspicious for the Bucs if Aguayo were to beat out the veteran during the summer for the team’s kicking job. Aguayo’s preseason issues last year transferred to the regular season, in which he made only 22 of 31 field goals. At 71 percent, he ranked last among the NFL’s 31 qualified kickers in conversion rate. On the positive side, Aguayo did make 32 of 34 extra points.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/17

March 17th, 2017 at 8:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest minor moves:

The Bills have signed three free agents – cornerback Leonard Johnson, running back Joe Banyard and wide receiver Corey Washington. Johnson easily possesses the most experience of the trio, having appeared in 62 games and started 20 with the Buccaneers, Patriots and Panthers since entering the NFL in 2012. He also has five career interceptions, though none since 2014, and connections to the Bills’ coaching staff. Johnson played under defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in Tampa Bay in 2014 and head coach Sean McDermott in Carolina last season. Banyard, a five-year veteran of the Vikings and Jaguars, has collected 23 career rushes – 21 of which came in 2014. Washington, meanwhile, hasn’t played in a game since 2014, when the then-Giant totaled the only 14 appearances and five catches of his career. He had a brief stint on the Bills’ practice squad last year.
The Chargers have re-signed reserve offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins to a one-year deal, per Michael Gehlken (Twitter link). Wiggins, who had stints with the Ravens and 49ers from 2011-13, is now in line to play a fourth year with the Bolts. He debuted in 2014 and has since racked up 29 appearances and nine starts. Wiggins totaled a career-high eight starts in 2015, while the other came last year.
The Bengals have re-signed restricted free agent center T.J. Johnson, tweets James Palmer of NFL Network. The three-year veteran is coming off his first 16-game season, in which he logged the lone start of his career.

NFL Could Drop Ezekiel Elliott Investigation

March 17th, 2017 at 7:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The NFL has been investigating domestic violence claims against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott since July, but it appears the first-team All-Pro will emerge without punishment. Representatives for Elliott have advised him that he won’t face discipline when the league closes the case, which should happen soon, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

After the Cowboys’ season ended in January, the 21-year-old Elliott complained that the league’s investigation was taking too long.

“I do want closure,” Elliott said. “I would rather it not drag on this long. If there was something to find, which there’s not, they would’ve found it by now. The police did a very thorough investigation. I will tell you this — it just seems like they’re dragging their feet right now. Who knows, man? I’m just ready for it to end.”

Elliott’s statement came two months after a report that he was “Public Enemy No. 1” in the NFL’s view. The league has taken its time, and has gotten cooperation from Elliott’s ex-girlfriend, because it doesn’t want to botch yet another domestic violence investigation after it mishandled the Ray Rice and Josh Brown cases.

Elliott’s accuser claims that she was a victim of five separate domestic violence incidents when they were together, though the district attorney’s office in Columbus, Ohio, decided not to pursue charges against him last September. For his part, the league’s reigning rushing champion has maintained his innocence.

Ricky Jean-Francois To Visit Bears

March 17th, 2017 at 5:55pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois informed ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he will visit the Bears on Saturday. If he leaves Chicago without a deal, his previously reported meeting with the Seahawks will take place Sunday (Twitter link).

Jean-Francois just hit the market when the Redskins released him on Wednesday. That came on the heels of a 16-appearance, seven-start season in which he racked up 32 tackles and 1.5 sacks while playing roughly 40 percent of the Redskins’ defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus ranked Jean-Francois’ performance an above-average 45th among 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.

The 30-year-old Jean-Francois remains a competent defender, clearly, and hasn’t missed a game since 2013. An adept run defender, Jean-Francois would help bolster a Chicago defense that finished just 28th in DVOA against opposing ground games last year. While the eight-year veteran indicated Thursday that he’d rather play in a 4-3 alignment than a 3-4 (the Bears utilize the latter), signing with Chicago would reunite him with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Jean-Francois previously played under Fangio from 2011-12 in San Francisco.

Seahawks Sign Oday Aboushi

March 17th, 2017 at 5:40pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A Seahawks-themed Friday continues: The team has signed free agent guard Oday Aboushi to a one-year contract, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

The 25-year-old has started in 18 of 26 appearances since the Jets used a fifth-round pick on him in 2013. He was with Gang Green through the 2014 campaign before ending up in Houston, which claimed him off waivers from the Jets in September 2015. Aboushi served a one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy that year. He appeared in just four games last year and made three starts.

Aboushi, whom PFR’s Zach Links ranked as the seventh-best interior lineman on the market before Friday’s deal, follows Luke Joeckel as the second O-lineman the Seahawks have picked up in this year’s free agent class. The team also visited with tackles Ryan Clady and, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, Matt McCants on Friday. Aboushi figures to serve as depth behind starting guards Germain Ifedi and Mark Glowinski.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: Foles, Carr, Poe, Cowboys

March 17th, 2017 at 5:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s a fun fact from Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links): Of the 155 free-agent contracts that have been filed since March 9, only 23 have more than $3MM fully guaranteed in post-2017 money. In essence, that means 85.2% of the contracts done over the last ten days are one-year deals with team options.

Now for the latest contract details:

Cornerback Brandon Carr‘s four-year, $23MM Ravens contract comes with $6MM in 2017 – most of which is by way of a $4MM signing bonus – and then the Ravens will have a 2018 team option, reports Breer (on Twitter).
Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe‘s one-year, $8MM accord features a $500K signing bonus and incentives for playing time, sacks and a Pro Bowl appearance (Twitter link via Breer).
Quarterback Nick Foles‘ previously reported two-year, $11MM deal with the Eagles is actually a five-year, $27.5MM pact, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. However, the final three years of the contract will void if Foles is still on Philadelphia’s roster 23 days before the start of the 2019 league year. The arrangement comes with $5MM in incentives and an esclator for 2018 worth as much as $6MM (Twitter links).
Panthers defensive tackle Kyle Love‘s two-year contract is worth $2.2MM and features a few bonuses – $200K for signing, $25K for workouts and $10K per game active – as well as $500K in annual incentives, tweets Wilson.
Cowboys running back Darren McFadden‘s one-year contract is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K (a salary of $900K and an $80K signing bonus). Guard Jonathan Cooper‘s single-year accord is worth $2MM and has a $31,250 bonus per game active, $500K in incentives and a $100K workout base de-esclator (Twitter links via Wilson).
Cardinals running back/wide receiver Andre Ellington will earn a $775K base salary on his one-year agreement, tweets Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910.
Redskins defensive tackle Ziggy Hood’s two-year, $2.7MM deal includes a $300K signing bonus, per-game active bonuses of $15,625 each, $600K in incentives and a $600K escalator. Meanwhile, the Redskins gave linebacker Chris Carter a minimum salary benefit deal worth $855K, including $775K in salary and a signing bonus of $80K, relays Wilson (Twitter links).
Saints running back Travaris Cadet also got a minimum salary benefit contract for 2017, says Wilson (Twitter link). It’s worth $855K ($775K in salary and an $80K signing bonus).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Seahawks Sign Arthur Brown

March 17th, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Arthur Brown‘s visit to Seattle clearly went well. The Seahawks have signed the linebacker, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).

A second-round pick of the Ravens in 2013, the 26-year-old Brown hasn’t found a niche as a defender and is coming off a season in which he spent time with the Ravens, Jaguars and Jets. Baltimore cut Brown before Week 1, and the special teamer went on to appear in 14 games with Jacksonville and New York. For the third straight season, though, he didn’t register a tackle on defense.

Brown, who has 15 tackles and a half-sack in his career, is the brother of former Seahawks running back Bryce Brown. Arthur Brown will take on a depth role similar to the one fellow linebacker Brock Coyle filled in Seattle over the past three years, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

Ryan Clady Visited Seahawks

March 17th, 2017 at 4:40pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent offensive tackle Ryan Clady visited the Seahawks on Friday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link).

Seattle is the first reported team to show interest in the 30-year-old Clady since the Jets elected against exercising his 2017 option in mid-February. That came after Clady’s lone year in New York, where he played in only nine games (eight starts) before suffering a season-ending rotator cuff injury. Injuries have derailed the career of the four-time Pro Bowler, unfortunately, as the ex-Broncos standout has appeared in just 27 of a possible 64 regular-season games since 2013.

Last season was Clady’s first action since 2014, and he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 62nd-best tackle among 78 qualifiers. Meanwhile, the Seahawks’ left tackle, George Fant, placed dead last, so an upgrade is clearly in order. After a season in which Seattle’s O-line finished 25th in Football Outsiders’ adjusted sack rate metric and 27th in sacks allowed, the club has already added one new offensive tackle in Luke Joeckel. He hasn’t fared all that well since the Jaguars took him second overall in the 2013 draft, though, and is coming off an injury-plagued season of his own.

Cardinals Re-Sign DL Frostee Rucker

March 17th, 2017 at 3:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals re-signed defensive lineman Frostee Rucker, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rucker was ranked as one of the 15 best remaining free agent defensive tackles in our latest update of the rankings.

Rucker, 34 in September, probably didn’t find much of a market this offseason. He started in 13 games for the Cardinals in 2015, but he was bumped down to a reserve role last season. In 13 games (one start), Rucker had 13 total tackles. In the previous year, he had three sacks, 28 total tackles, and one safety. In both seasons, Pro Football Focus gave him mediocre overall scores, though their advanced metrics weren’t high on him during his prime either.

The Cardinals have some more work to do on the defensive line after losing Calais Campbell to the Jaguars in free agency. Rucker won’t fill a starting position, but he could offer some reserve help at both end and tackle.

Latest On Marshawn Lynch

March 17th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Here we go again. Marshawn Lynch, reportedly, is pondering a comeback and the Raiders are thinking about acquiring him. At the moment, however, the Seahawks are still in control of his rights.

A few things have to go down before the long-rumored Lynch-to-Oakland rumors can come to fruition, but it all starts with the running back himself. Lynch is in a bit of a holding pattern and is still deciding whether he wants to come back, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Lynch does in fact have the itch to play though and is already in shape. Interestingly, Garafolo hears (Twitter link) that Lynch stopped by the Seahawks’ facility, but it “was more of a personal visit than anything.”

Lynch’s contract called for him to earn $9MM in 2016 and that would be his default salary for this season if he were to return. The Seahawks won’t have room for him with Eddie Lacy, C.J. Prosise, and Thomas Rawls already on the roster and it’s not clear if the Raiders will be willing to pay that salary. Oakland is looking to extend Derek Carr and Khalil Mack in the near future and that kind of addition could limit them financially.

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