2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Lions Sign T.J. Lang

March 12th, 2017 at 3:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions have signed free agent guard T.J. Lang the club announced today. It’s reportedly a three-year deal worth $28.5MM that includes $19MM in guarantees. Lang said earlier today he was deciding between Detroit, Seattle, and Green Bay.

By adding Lang, the Lions have now completed a transformation on the right side of their offensive line. While Detroit lost both right tackle Riley Reiff (Vikings) and right guard Larry Warford (Saints) in free agency, the club has arguably upgraded at both spots by adding Lang and Ricky Wagner. The Lions’ front five — which ranked in the bottom half of the league in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate in 2016 — now contains significant investments at multiple positions, including first-round picks at both tackle (Taylor Decker) and guard (Laken Tomlinson, who will likely act as a reserve).

Lang, 29, had spent the past eight seasons in Green Bay, having already agreed to one extension with the club back in 2012. A full-time starter since his third year in the league, Lang appeared in 119 games (94 starts) during his Packers tenure. In 2016, Lang graded as the No. 8 guard in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

Green Bay’s offensive line takes another hit with the defection of Lang to an NFC North rival, as the club already lost top reserve J.C. Tretter to the Browns earlier this week. Fellow All Pro guard Josh Sitton, meanwhile, was released prior to last season and, like Lang, is still playing in the division with the Bears. With Lang gone, 2016 second-round pick Jason Spriggs appears to be the favorite to over right guard for the Packers.

Lang was the last elite option left on the free agent market guard market, as Kevin Zeitler, Ronald Leary, and Warford had already landed new deals. Jahri Evans, John Jerry, Nick Mangold, and Tim Lelito are the best interior lineman who still remain unsigned.

Lang’s agent Mike McCartney first tweeted the news of the deal and its length. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) added the overall value and guarantees. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Details: Campbell, Demps, Wheaton

March 12th, 2017 at 3:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look the financial details of some recently-signed contracts:

Mike Adams, S (Panthers): Two years, $4.2MM. $1.15MM guaranteed. $650K signing bonus. $00K available annually via Pro Bowl and interception incentives (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
Calais Campbell, DL (Jaguars): Four years, $60MM. $30MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. Base salaries $9MM (guaranteed), $15MM (guaranteed), $12MM, $15MM. $3MM option bonus for 2019 (Twitter link via Wilson).
Marcus Cooper, CB (Bears): Three years, $16MM. $8MM guaranteed. $1.5MM signing bonus. $1MM available annually in Pro Bowl and interception incentives (Twitter links via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
Quintin Demps, S (Bears): Three years, $13.5MM. $5MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Wilson).
Ryan Griffin, TE (Texans): Three years, $9MM. $3.225MM guaranteed. Annual $100K workout base de-escalator (Twitter links via Wilson).
D.J. Hayden, CB (Lions): One year, $3.75MM. $2.25MM guaranteed. $1MM signing bonus. $250K workout bonus. $1.5MM available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
Ted Larsen, OL (Dolphins): Three years, $5.65MM. $1.75MM guaranteed. $1.25MM signing bonus. $500K escalator in 2018. $1MM escalator in 2019 (Twitter link via Wilson).
Josh Robinson, CB (Buccaneers): Two years, $5M. $2MM guaranteed. $1MM roster bonus due on eighth day of 2017 league year. $1.75MM team option in 2018. $750K available via incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
Cornelius Washington, DL (Lions): Two years, $5.825MM. $1.5MM signing bonus. $1.5MM guaranteed (link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
Markus Wheaton, WR (Bears): Two years, $11MM. $5MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times)
Terrance Williams, WR (Cowboys): Four years, $17MM. $9.5MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. 2020 option season. Annual $200K workout base salary de-escalator (Twitter links via Wilson).

PFR Originals: 3/5/17 – 3/12/17

March 12th, 2017 at 2:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

Zach Links unveiled PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents of 2017, a list topped by cornerback A.J. Bouye, who received $65MM from the Jaguars over a five-year term. Given that we’re nearly three days removed from the start of free agency, most of the players on the list have signed, but there are still 14 free agents from that ranking who are still on the open market. That group of available players is led by linebacker Dont’a Hightower, who placed fourth overall.
In addition to PFR’s overall rankings, Zach and I surveyed the top-15 players at each position on both offense and defense. So far, the running back and non-rush linebacker position markets have been slow to develop, while wide receivers, interior offensive linemen, and interior defensive linemen have been flying off the board. We’ll have updates to each of these lists in the near future, examining the top players still around for the second wave of free agency.
Many free agents were already spoken for by Friday, leading Zach to take a look at the best remaining players at that time, a list that included (and still includes) Adrian Peterson, Hightower, Eddie Lacy, Dontari Poe, and Johnathan Hankins.
The NFL has seen seven trades go down this year, and the Patriots have already been involved in three! Keep track of all the deals by bookmarking our ongoing list of 2017 NFL Trades.

Jaguars To Release Roy Miller

March 12th, 2017 at 1:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars will release defensive tackle Roy Miller, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

Miller, 29, won’t be part of a Jacksonville defensive line which has seen a good deal of change over the past several seasons. This week, the Jaguars signed former Cardinals defender Calais Campbell to a four-year, $60MM deal, marking the second time in as many years Jacksonville has nabbed one of free agency’s top interior players. In 2015, that lineman was Malik Jackson, who joined a front that now includes recent draft picks Dante Fowler Jr., Yannick Ngakoue, and Sheldon Day.

An eight-year NFL veteran, Miller had spent the past four seasons with the Jaguars, starting 49 games during that span. In 2016, Miller only managed to play in six contests before going down with a torn Achilles, an injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the year. Presumably, Miller is still recovering from that tear, meaning interested clubs will need to take a close look at his physical before inking him to a deal.

Miller had been signed through the 2018 campaign, and the Jaguars will now clear nearly $4MM in cap space by parting ways. Because all of Miller’s guaranteed money had been paid out, and because Jacksonville didn’t use an extravagant signing bonus, the club will only incur $200K in dead money. All told, the Jaguars now boast north of $60MM in cap room.

Miller becomes the second Jaguars defensive lineman to be released this week, as the club also cut Sen’Derrick Marks after first attempting to trade him.

Jets, Patriots In Lead For Dont’a Hightower

March 12th, 2017 at 12:44pm CST by Rory Parks

The Jets and Patriots are currently the favorites to land free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter). However, La Canfora notes that several other clubs are closely monitoring the situation.

We learned yesterday that New England was still interested in re-signing Hightower, who was named to his first Pro Bowl this season. The Alabama product finished the 2016 campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games, and he was listed as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings. Until today, however, no one other than the Patriots had been definitively connected to Hightower (although another AFC East club, the Dolphins, have been mentioned as a possible fit).

Needless to say, the Jets and Patriots are in very different places as far as their immediate championship prospects, so Gang Green may have to outbid New England by a wide margin if they want to lure Hightower away from Foxborough. The Patriots, though, still have plenty of money to spend, and none of their other options offer the type of production that Hightower does from the middle linebacker spot, so they may be inclined to match a larger offer from another club, even if they were unwilling to use the franchise or transition tag on Hightower. New England typically embraces a “next man up” philosophy, but the team may make an exception in this case.

The market is capped for a non-rush ‘backer like Hightower, but he is among the best at what he does, and he has also been lauded for his intangibles. Coming off another Super Bowl championship, he may be willing to join a rebuilding team like the Jets if the money is right. However, just yesterday we heard that one team involved in Hightower talks is convinced he will remain with the Pats.

West Notes: Cardinals, Joeckel, Raiders

March 12th, 2017 at 12:07pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a quick swing around the league’s west divisions:

We learned earlier today that Tony Jefferson‘s new deal with the Ravens will pay him up to $37MM over four years. We also heard reports in recent days that the Browns and possibly the Jets offered him slightly more money, but that he spurned those offers to sign with Baltimore. As Andy Benoit of TheMMQB writes in a detailed piece on Jefferson’s free agent journey, Jefferson’s former team, the Cardinals, made him an initial “low-ball” offer of three years, $12MM, before upping their proposal to four years and $24MM, still well short of the winning bid.
Mike Jurecki of FoxSports910 passes along some contract details on two of the Cardinals‘ recent signings (Twitter links). Jurecki reports that safety Antoine Bethea‘s new three-year deal will pay him yearly base salaries of $2MM, $3MM, and $3MM, while A.Q. Shipley‘s new two-year pact is worth a total of $3.5MM with base salaries of $775K and $1.5MM, $725K in guarantees, and $250K in roster bonuses for 2017 and 2018.
Luke Joeckel‘s new one-year deal with the Seahawks will pay him a fully-guaranteed $7MM, with an additional $1MM available in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Robbie Gould‘s new two-year pact with the 49ers is worth a total of $4MM, with $1MM fully guaranteed.
The Raiders will likely not have a lease agreement for a proposed Las Vegas stadium in place before the league owners meet later this month, a meeting during which they could approve the team’s relocation bid. However, as noted in a piece from the Associated Press, the absence of a finalized lease agreement does not mean the league owners will be precluded from voting on the relocation proposal. Instead, they could conditionally approve the relocation as long as the lease adequately addresses issues that are important to the league.
The Raiders have made a few changes to their coaching staff, as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Last season’s assistant secondary coach, Rod Woodson, will coach cornerbacks, as he did previously, and Brent Vieselmeyer, who was assistant linebackers coach last year, will coach the safeties in 2017. Meanwhile, Travis Smith has been promoted from quality control to outside linebackers coach, and Nick Holz is now the assistant receivers coach. Nate Tice, son of offensive line coach Mike Tice, is the offensive quality control coach.
We learned earlier today that the Broncos and OT Donald Stephenson have agreed to a restructured deal.

T.J. Lang Down To Packers, Lions, Seahawks

March 12th, 2017 at 11:26am CST by Dallas Robinson

Appearing on WXYZ-TV in Detroit today, free agent guard T.J. Lang said he’s narrowed his potential landing spots to the Packers, Lions, and Seahawks, tweets Brad Galli of WXYZ. Lang added he hopes to make a final decision by today.

The best guard remaining on the market, Lang may be in a position to garner as much as $10MM per year, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports recently reported. Green Bay has interest in retaining Lang, while the 29-year-old has already completed visits with Detroit and Seattle. The Seahawks fielded one of the worst (and cheapest) offensive lines in the league in 2016, and have added only Luke Joeckel thus far, while the Lions are searching for a Larry Warford replacement,

Lang, a former fourth-round selection, has spent the past eight seasons in Green Bay, having already agreed to one extension with the club back in 2012. A full-time starter since his third year in the league, Lang has appeared in 119 games (94 starts) during his Packers tenure. In 2016, Lang graded as the No. 8 guard in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Falcons also expressed interest in Lang at one point, but as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reported yesterday, Atlanta no longer believes it’s in the mix for Lang’s third contract. Additionally, Lang had a visit scheduled with the Broncos, but that did not end up materializing after Denver signed Ronald Leary to a four-year deal on the first day of free agency.

Colts Want Long-Term Deal With Dontari Poe

March 12th, 2017 at 10:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Colts are meeting with defensive tackle Dontari Poe today, and while the club is willing to ink him to a long-term deal, Poe may be more open to a one-year pact, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Indy is “trying to get something done” in regards to a contract, Poe tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Poe will visit with the Falcons, Dolphins, and Raiders next, per Poe.

Given the reported level of interest in Poe — in addition the clubs listed above, the Jaguars and 49ers are eyeing the 26-year-old — he should be able to garner a multi-year contract, but if the structure and guarantees of the proposals he’s receiving are not to his liking, Poe could instead accept a one-year deal, as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated earlier this week. Given league-wide lingering concerns about Poe’s back (an issue Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweeted about Thursday), Poe may want the opportunity to show he’s healthy before hitting the market again in 2018.

Poe served as a lane clogger in Kansas City but was a dynamo in terms of snaps played, logging more than any nose man during his rookie-deal tenure in Kansas City. But his sack totals decreased, plummeting from 10.5 between the 2013 and ’14 seasons (both Pro Bowl slates) to 2.5 combined in 2015 and ’16.

Brandon Williams set the market for true defensive tackles earlier this week, signing a hefty five-year, $52.5MM deal with the Ravens. Veteran Calais Campbell also scored on the open market, landing a $15MM annual salary on his four-year deal with Jacksonville.

Broncos, Donald Stephenson Rework Deal

March 12th, 2017 at 10:29am CST by Rory Parks

Offensive tackle Donald Stephenson has restructured his deal with the Broncos to remain in Denver, as Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Stephenson signed a three-year, $14MM contract with the club last offseason, but he struggled in his first year at Mile High. He started 12 games at right tackle and graded as the second-worst OT in the league among qualifying players per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). He was responsible for three sacks and 11 penalties.

Still, as Troy Renck of Denver7 tweeted last night, Stephenson’s salary was low enough that the team was considering retaining him for depth, and now he will stick around at a price tag that the Broncos are more comfortable with. As Klis reports in a separate tweet, Stephenson was due a $4MM salary in 2017, and this restructure gives him $2MM in guaranteed money now; he will get the additional $2MM if he makes the team’s 53-man roster.

Speaking of the 53-man roster, Renck isn’t convinced that the lineman is a shoo-in to make the squad. The team has 10 draft picks in the upcoming draft, and the writer believes the organization could add a rookie to the unit. However, the Broncos are optimistic that new offensive line coach Jeff Davidson could help Stephenson improve.

The Chiefs selected Stephenson in the third round of the 2012 draft, and he has largely underwhelmed in his career. Stephenson opened his last season in Kansas City as the starting left tackle, but he ultimately lost that job to former first overall pick Eric Fisher.

The Broncos, though, desperately need as much help as they can get along the offensive line, especially since this year’s rookie crop of O-linemen is considered to be rather weak. The club lost last year’s starting left tackle, Russell Okung, to division-rival San Diego on Thursday.

Klis observes that the Broncos now have four offensive tackles in Stephenson, Menelik Watson, Michael Schofield, and Ty Sambrailo. Watson is the only member of that group that cannot play both guard and tackle, which does give Denver some positional flexibility (Twitter link). Klis adds (via Twitter) that Stephenson will likely get some LT reps, though the club is expected to sign or draft a left tackle as well.

Jets Interested In Brandon Carr

March 12th, 2017 at 9:52am CST by Rory Parks

The Jets have expressed interest in free agent cornerback Brandon Carr, as Connor Hughes of NJ.com writes. Carr, who spent the last five years in Dallas and who will turn 31 in May, contemplated retirement after the Cowboys’ 2016 season came to an end, but he ultimately decided to continue his playing career and test the free agent market.

He took a significant paycut last offseason, agreeing to lower his base salary from $9.1MM to $4.25MM in the final year of the five-year, $50.1MM pact he signed with the Cowboys prior to the 2012 season. He never quite lived up to that contract, but he is still a serviceable player. In 2016, Carr played 96% of Dallas’ defensive snaps, posted one interception, and graded as the NFL’s No. 52 cornerback among 114 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. He is also durable, having never missed a game in his nine-year career.

The Jets, of course, had one of the worst pass defenses in the league last season, and they recently parted ways with franchise icon Darrelle Revis (though Revis was obviously part of the problem). As Hughes observes, the Jets allowed 52 pass plays of 20-plus yards (14th most in NFL) and 13 of 40-plus (3rd most). They allowed 30 passing touchdowns (6th most) and intercepted just eight passes (second fewest).

Carr, a physical man-coverage defender, would immediately step into the club’s starting lineup, which would allow Gang Green to let Marcus Williams, Darryl Roberts, and Juston Burris compete for the other outside spot.

The Jets have not yet scheduled a visit with Carr, who received an honorable mention in PFR’s list of top 2017 free agents.