2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Rams Re-Sign K Greg Zuerlein

March 14th, 2017 at 1:35pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams have re-signed Greg Zuerlein, according to a team announcement. The kicker gets a three-year deal to remain in L.A. Young GZ will average $2.25MM per year on the new pact, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Zuerlein is entering his sixth season with the Rams. After a rough 2015 in which he made only 66.7% of his attempted field goals, he bounced back in 2016 and converted on 86.4% of his tries, though he only had 22 attempts overall. Zuerlein also converted on all 23 of his extra point opportunities, no small feat given the recently-extended range. In 2015, he missed two of the longer distance XP attempts.

Amongst all kickers with eight or more games played, Zuerlein’s 86.4% field goal percentage was good for ninth-best in the league.

Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler

March 14th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints and Malcolm Butler have begun negotiations on a new contract and hope to strike a deal this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. From there, the Saints will discuss the parameters of a trade with the Patriots.

Butler won’t be meeting with New Orleans until later this week, but the two sides are already discussing a potential deal. From here, there are a number of different potential outcomes:

The Saints sign Butler to an offer sheet and risk losing their No. 11 overall pick to New England. This scenario, I feel, is unlikely. Butler has previously pushed for top ten cornerback money and the Saints would be borderline crazy to give up such a valuable pick in addition to that type of contract. Butler could potentially agree to a lesser deal, but he’ll only bend so far and the Saints won’t end up with him if the deal is team-friendly enough for New England to match.
The Saints hammer out contract terms with Butler, then work out a less-costly trade with the Patriots. The Patriots and Saints obviously have a good rapport as evidenced by the Brandin Cooks deal. The Patriots can afford to lose Butler after adding Stephon Gilmore and they could be inclined to negotiate if they believe New Orleans will not sacrifice the No. 11 pick. A good middle-ground option here might see the Patriots get back their own No. 32 overall pick. Then, in essence, the two sides will have swapped Cooks for Butler with the Saints moving up from No. 118 overall to No. 103. In this scenario, to circumvent the rules of restricted free agency, the Patriots would “sign-and-trade” Butler to New Orleans.
The Patriots refuse to agree to a trade and the Saints refuse to part with the No. 11 overall pick. This would result in Butler continuing his (restricted) free agency tour. If he can’t find a team willing to cough up a first-round choice for the right to sign him and the Pats do not give him a multi-year extension, he’ll only have one option: play out 2017 with the Patriots on the one-year, $3.91MM first-round tender. Butler is reportedly not entertaining any sort of holdout, so his contractual drama would be put on pause until March 2018.

Latest On Latavius Murray, Jamaal Charles

March 14th, 2017 at 12:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Now that Eddie Lacy has landed in Seattle, Latavius Murray is changing course. Instead of meeting with the Seahawks today, Murray is visiting with the Vikings, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Interestingly, Jamaal Charles‘ scheduled visit to Seattle on Wednesday is still on, according to Schefter.

Lacy’s deal with the Seahawks could start a run on free agent running backs. Teams have been wallflowers when it comes to engaging the top available RBs so far. Now, teams could finally start to get serious with Murray, Charles, Adrian Peterson, LeGarrette Blount, Darren McFadden, and others.

At the same time, Lacy was my No. 1 rated RB on the board and he had to settle for a one-year prove-it deal. The age and injury concerns will probably lead Charles, Peterson, Blount, and McFadden to similar pacts, perhaps with less money. Murray, I feel, could still have a shot at a multi-year deal, but if the market is soft for the position, he may also opt for a one-year contract to allow him to try the open market again next year.

Right now, the Seahawks have a strong RB group with Lacy, Thomas Rawls, and C.J. Prosise in the fold. Charles would be a great addition, but it’s hard to see there being enough carries to keep all four backs satisfied.

Packers To Sign CB Davon House

March 14th, 2017 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

Cornerback Davon House has agreed to one-year deal with the Packers, according to a source who spoke with Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The deal brings House back home to where his NFL career started.

The timing of the House agreement might not be coincidental. Minutes ago, the Packers lost running back Eddie Lacy to the Seahawks. A reunion with House may take some of the sting out of the Lacy defection for some Packers fans (other Packers fans, meanwhile, are rolling their eyes as they read this).

The 27-year-old (28 in July) shined in a reserve role while with the Packers. When he first joined Jacksonville, he ascended to a larger role and started in all 16 games. Then, in 2016, he was demoted to the bench as Jalen Ramsey and Prince Amukamara held down the top spots.

After finishing near the bottom in passing yards allowed last season, House could give the Packers secondary some badly-needed reinforcements.

Seahawks To Sign RB Eddie Lacy

March 14th, 2017 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

Eddie Lacy is going to Seattle. The Seahawks and the running back have agreed to a one-year, $5.5MM deal with $3MM fully guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Lacy now joins a running back group that already features C.J. Prosise and Thomas Rawls. Presumably, Lacy will be at the top of the order and receive the bulk of the carries. Now, the Seahawks will likely move away from other free agent RB targets like Latavius Murray and Jamaal Charles.

Even though Lacy has had problems with consistency and conditioning over the years, he was my top-ranked running back in this year’s free agent crop. The Packers were interested in retaining Lacy, but they apparently didn’t offer him much money to stay. The Vikings were also in the mix. The Vikings may now circle back to Adrian Peterson and, speculatively, I wonder if this could spark the Packers to also get involved with No. 28.

The ex-Alabama star averaged a so-so 4.1 yards per rush and posted a career-low three touchdowns in 187 carries in 2015. Last year, he was averaging 5.1 YPC through five games before an ankle injury ended his season. If healthy, Lacy could be one of the league’s very best rushers. He could then parlay that into a lucrative multi-year deal next year.

The running back market has been slow to develop this year and Lacy’s deal might finally get the ball rolling. So far, only Lacy and a few other backs on PFR’s top 10 list of free agent RBs have come off the board.

Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.

Saints To Meet With Patriots’ Malcolm Butler

March 14th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler will be visiting the Saints on Thursday, coach Sean Payton tells Brett Martel of The Associated Press (on Twitter). This will be Butler’s first free agent visit.

Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent and the Patriots reserve the right to match any signed offer sheet. If the Patriots decline to match an offer sheet, Butler will join that new team and the Patriots will receive that club’s 2017 first-round pick.

After signing Stephon Gilmore in free agency, that’s a concession the Patriots might be willing to make. The Pats are already down a pick thanks to the Brandin Cooks deal completed with New Orleans last week, so this could be their opportunity to get back into the first round. In the Cooks deal, the Pats received the No. 118 overall selection while pick Nos. 32 and 103 went to New Orleans.

RFA rules dictate that the Patriots would receive the No. 11 overall pick from New Orleans, not their own No. 32, if the Saints were to sign Butler away. It’s possible that this could be the starting point for a sign-and-trade type of deal. The Patriots could agree to a deal with Butler, then trade him to New Orleans for lesser compensation. Sign-and-trade deals are not often seen in the NFL, but neither are salary dump trades and that barrier was broken recently by the Browns and Texans in the Brock Osweiler deal.

The Patriots could also play hardball and refuse to take anything less than the No. 11 pick from the Saints. If that happens, Butler will probably continue to meet with interested clubs, some of whom may be willing to sacrifice a first founder. The worst case scenario for New England is that they retain the rights to one of the league’s better cornerbacks in Butler. Reportedly, Butler isn’t thrilled with New England right now, but he is not going to hold out under any circumstances.

Kirk Cousins Denies Making Trade Request

March 14th, 2017 at 9:54am CST by Zachary Links

Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins says that he never asked for a trade, despite rumors claiming he did so last week in a personal appeal to owner Dan Snyder (link via John Keim and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Instead, Cousins says he simply reached out to the Redskins to find out if they were planning on trading him.

“I laughed and thought, ‘I don’t know where that comes from because that wasn’t the case,’” Cousins said of the report. “Somehow it got twisted..that’s not the approach I took.”

This offseason has been a bizarre one for the Redskins, even by Redskins standards. General manager Scot McCloughan was M.I.A. for several weeks without explanation from the team. Finally, last week, the Redskins fired him with anonymous team officials telling reporters that McCloughan was let go due to ongoing issues with alcohol. At the same time, there have been rumblings that top Redskins decision makers dumped McCloughan out of jealousy and a desire to regain power in the front office. With everything going on, few would have blamed Cousins for requesting a trade.

Now that he has signed his one-year tender, Cousins will play out the 2017 season for roughly $24MM, unless the two sides can agree to a long-term deal between now and July. Based on the way contract talks have gone between the two sides, a new deal doesn’t seem likely to fall into place in the next five months.

Saints To Sign LB Alex Okafor

March 14th, 2017 at 9:28am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have agreed to terms with outside linebacker Alex Okafor, NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. It is a one-year deal worth up $3MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This means Okafor is leaving the Cardinals, the only NFL team he has ever known.

Okafor, 26, played through a torn bicep last season and didn’t have a great season. Still, teams recognized his potential and he had multiple suitors upon reaching free agency this month. Before the Saints deal came about, the Dolphins also showed interest in signing Okafor.

Okafor was only on the field for 231 last year, but he did line up with Arizona’s first string defense 12 times in 2014 and posted a career-high eight sacks. In 2015, he made 13 starts and notched 2.0 sacks. Last year, as a reserve, he had 3.5 sacks and eleven total tackles. He didn’t see enough action to qualify to be ranked, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 72.5 overall score, buoyed mainly by his pass rush work. With enough snaps, he could have placed somewhere in the late 50s amongst PFF’s 100+ qualified edge defenders.

The Saints currently project to start Craig Robertson and Dannell Ellerbe at outside linebacker with new addition A.J. Klein in the middle, though you can expect the team to seek an upgrade over Ellerbe. Okafor wll join fellow outside linebackers Hau’oli Kikaha, Nathan Stupar, and Travis Feeney in support. Middle linebacker Stephone Anthony, an underachieving former first-round pick, also remains under contract.

Rams Sign Bills C Ryan Groy To Offer Sheet

March 14th, 2017 at 9:26am CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams made a move late tonight to potentially add a starting center, signing Bills RFA Ryan Groy to an offer sheet, Mike Rodak and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com report. It’s a two-year offer sheet worth $5MM with $3.5MM guaranteed on March 21st, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Groy inked the deal, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The ball is now in Buffalo’s court.

The Bills gave Groy and original-round tender and would not be entitled to draft compensation if they elect not to match since Groy was undrafted. Buffalo has five days to match the offer sheet. Groy was drawing interest as an RFA last week from teams who believe he could start at center or guard for them.

Groy would be expected to become the Rams’ starting center, a status he does not presently occupy with the Bills. Currently, the Rams house fourth-year player Demetrius Rhaney as their only pure center.

Eric Wood is the Bills’ starting center, although after a season-ending injury in November, Wood ceded his starting spot to Groy for the Bills’ final seven games last season. He’d previously started just three in his three-year career. Wood, though, is entering a contract year and will turn 31 on Saturday. Groy will turn 27 in September.

The Bills saw an RFA decision last year come back to bite them in allowing Chris Hogan to sign with the Patriots. Groy did grade out better than Wood in the opinion of Pro Football Focus last season, but Wood has started 104 games for the Bills since 2009 and made the Pro Bowl in 2015. So, it will be interesting to see how the Bills proceed here since Groy, too, is entering a contract year.

Terms Of Tyrod Taylor’s New Bills Deal

March 14th, 2017 at 9:10am CST by Zachary Links

Tyrod Taylor‘s camp insisted that it was an all or nothing proposition: the Bills either had to pick up his five-year option with $30.5MM guaranteed or the quarterback would test the open market. Amidst rumblings that Bills brass wasn’t all that high on Taylor anyway, it seemed like a sure thing that the QB would reach free agency. Then, out of nowhere, the Bills and Taylor agreed to a restructured deal to keep him under center. Details were a bit sparse at the time, but we now have additional info on the revamped pact.

Taylor’s restructured Bills deal is a two-year, $30.5MM pact, which is less than the $40.5MM he would have made under the terms of the option (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). However, Taylor benefits here because he will be eligible for free agency following the 2018 season. Under the old deal, he would have remained under Bills control through the 2021 campaign.

The structure of the new deal could lead the Bills to go through the same song and dance next year. Only $1MM of his $10MM salary in 2018 is guaranteed and he’ll be due a $6MM roster bonus early on in the 2018 league year. If Taylor is retained through 2018 and plays well, there will also be a decision to make on whether to use the franchise tag. In that scenario, Taylor would probably prefer to test the open market unencumbered since he’ll still only be entering his age-30 season.

Assuming the two sides see this new contract through until the end, he’ll have a $9.713MM cap number in 2017 and a $18.08MM cap number in 2018. In the original five-year option, Taylor’s 2018 cap number would have been $16.78MM. The deal will automatically void if he’s on the roster just after the Super Bowl in February 2019. Then, the Bills will carry $4.2MM for 2019 in dead money in 2019, representing the leftover portion of his $7MM signing bonus.