2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Eagles Included Jenkins In Cooks Trade Offer

March 11th, 2017 at 6:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Prior to the Patriots being the winner of the Brandin Cooks sweepstakes, the Eagles made an offer that included veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

However, the rest of the Eagles’ offer wasn’t quite sufficient enough for the Saints to send Cooks to Philadelphia. Philly offered a third- and a fourth-round pick to the Saints for Cooks, per Florio, who adds the Saints wanted Jenkins and a second-round selection. The Patriots landed Cooks for the No. 32 overall pick, along with a 2017 third-rounder.

Jenkins, of course, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints before signing with the Eagles in 2014. He made his first Pro Bowl for the Eagles a year later. Now entering his age-29 season, Jenkins is signed through the 2020 campaign after inking a second Eagles contract — for four years and $35MM — last year.

The Eagles attempted to trade for Cooks at the 2016 deadline and resurfaced with interest last week, joining the Titans and Patriots in pursuit of the coveted 23-year-old wide receiver. The team held Cooks in high regard dating back to the 2014 draft. Philly was reportedly eliminated from the running earlier than Tennessee, which made a standing offer for the fourth-year wideout that may have been better than the Eagles’ Jenkins-fronted package.

However, the Eagles revamped their 2017 receiving corps without making a trade. They signed both Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and while neither is as young or cheap as Cooks, both figure to make a big impact on what was a depleted Philly wideout corps prior to this week.

Latest On T.J. Lang

March 11th, 2017 at 5:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

T.J. Lang has now visited two teams and may have a final answer soon. The longtime Packers guard just completed a visit with the Seahawks and plans to have an answer for them by Sunday, Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post reports (on Twitter).

Having already visited the Lions as well, the Falcons expressed interest in the 29-year-old guard as well. But Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports the Falcons no longer believe they’re in the mix for Lang’s third contract. 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.

As of Thursday, the Packers had interest in retaining Lang as well. The last of the high-end guards left unattached, Lang would become by far Seattle’s highest-paid lineman. Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com connected him to a deal that could pay as much as $10MM per year.

No team spent less on its O-line last season than did Seattle, and the Seahawks have experienced issues up front for the past two years. Pro Football Focus ranked the Seahawks’ line last in the league. Lang finished as a top-10 guard, per PFF, last season and was PFR’s No. 2-rated UFA guard coming into free agency. Seattle added Luke Joeckel on a one-year deal earlier this week, but a Lang pact would stand to make a bigger difference based on his past performance.

The Falcons have much more committed to their line, having Ryan Schraeder signed for $6.3MM per year and Alex Mack for $9MM annually. Andy Levitre still has $12MM-plus remaining on his contract, and Jake Matthews is entering a contract year. Levitre has a $6.6MM cap number this year.

Ryan Griffin To Re-Sign With Texans

March 11th, 2017 at 5:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ryan Griffin reached an agreement to re-sign with the Texans, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. This will be a three-year deal for the fifth-year tight end. He was scheduled to visit the Lions on Monday, Berman reports. The pact will be worth just more than $9MM, with $3.2MM guaranteed, per Berman (Twitter links).

Darren Fells‘ signing with the Lions earlier today may have played into the 27-year-old pass-catcher’s decision-making process.

“This process is absolutely wild. It’s crazy. A whole bunch of stuff happened,” Griffin said, via Berman. “The Lions signed Fells. The pieces fell into place for me to come back. The money was right.”

Griffin emerged as a key Houston pass-catcher during his fourth season, hauling in 50 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns. Houston will again deploy the tandem of Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz in 2017, with the latter entering a contract year. A former sixth-round pick, Griffin nearly doubled his previous career-high figure in receiving yards last season, with Houston’s two tight ends combining for just more than 1,000 yards during Brock Osweiler‘s one-year cameo.

Prior to his increased usage in 2016, Griffin never caught more than 20 passes in an NFL campaign, so Osweiler’s penchant for feeding the Texans’ tight ends looks to have benefited one player, even if the team involved him in one of the weirdest trades in NFL history.

The Texans now have their core of 2016 pass-catchers retained for at least one more season but obviously have a question as to who will be distributing the passes in 2017.

Cordarrelle Patterson Meets With Bears

March 11th, 2017 at 4:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears are reportedly making a push to sign free agent receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, and the club has now officially taken a visit with him, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Patterson is an excellent kick returner, but he has yet to do much as a receiver in the NFL. This past season, he set a new career high with 52 receptions, but he averaged just 8.7 yards per catch. The Bears might see Patterson as a late bloomer and they could find a gem in the former Viking if they can get him to clean up his route running.

Patterson, 26 later this month, has been breaking the hearts of fantasy owners for years. Last season, however, he earned a second career All-Pro nod by averaging 31.7 yards per kick return. For his career, he has averaged 30+ yards per kick return attempt (it’s a lot higher if you subtract his 2014 showing) and has five TDs off of returns over the last four years.

Patterson has also met with the Redskins and will visit with the Raiders, an meeting that will take place on Sunday, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Travaris Cadet Visits Jets

March 11th, 2017 at 4:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent running back Travaris Cadet took a visit with the Jets today, the club announced in a press release.

Cadet, 28, has spent the majority of his career with the Saints, though he did have short stints with the 49ers and Patriots in 2015. Last year, Cadet settled back into his familiar passing down role, as he caught 41 balls from Drew Brees, managing 281 yards and four touchdowns in the process. Cadet wasn’t asked to carry the ball much, as he posted just four rushes for 19 yards.

Cadet has also spent a good deal of his career returning kicks, and that’s the role he would likely play with the Jets. With Matt Forte entrenched as the club’s starting back, and Bilal Powell the designated receiver, Cadet wouldn’t seem to have much of a niche on offense in New York.

Latavius Murray To Meet With Jags, Hawks

March 11th, 2017 at 4:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent running back Latavius Murray will meet with the Jaguars on Monday and the Seahawks on Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Murray averaged 4.0 yards per carry in each of his two seasons as the Raiders’ primary starter, a post he ascended to late in the 2014 season. While he rushed for 12 touchdowns in 2016, Murray saw Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington eat into his workload. He surpassed 1,000 yards in 2015 but rushed for only 788 last season.

The Seahawks are looking for a veteran, durable running back to play alongside Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise. Jacksonville makes less sense as a potential destination, given that the club recently spent a second-round pick on T.J. Yeldon and signed Chris Ivory to a hefty free agent contract last offseason. Theoretically, the Jags could cut Ivory, but they’d incur more than $7MM in dead money by doing so.

Rams Pushing To Sign CB Kayvon Webster

March 11th, 2017 at 4:28pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams will meet with free agent cornerback Kayvon Webster on Sunday, and Los Angeles is making a push to sign the 26-year-old, tweets Troy Renck of Denver7.

Webster entered the NFL as Denver’s third-round pick in 2013 and produced 59 tackles during his first two seasons. Phillips then came aboard in 2015, and Webster’s playing time dwindled during the coordinator’s two seasons at the helm of an excellent Broncos defense. Stuck behind Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr. and Bradley Roby, among others, Webster played a meager 58 defensive snaps in 13 games last year. He saw far more action on special teams, where he participated in 253 snaps.

Despite Webster’s limited track record as a defender, teammates in Denver believe he’s capable of starting, notes Renck. At the very least, he’d find more playing time in Los Angeles. The Rams have a couple quality corners in the franchise-tagged Trumaine Johnson and slot man Lamarcus Joyner, though the former is a prime trade candidate. Even with those two in the fold, LA finished 2016 just 20th in the league in DVOA against the pass.

The Eagles and Dolphins have also shown interest in Webster this week.

Bears Sign Marcus Cooper

March 11th, 2017 at 4:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears announced that they’ve signed free agent cornerback Marcus Cooper. It’s a three-year pact for Cooper, tweets Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago was the third team known to be eyeing Cooper, as both the Jets and Steelers reportedly had interest in the 27-year-old defensive back. The Bears have already addressed their secondary this week, agreeing to terms with corner Prince Amukamara on a one-year deal, and inking veteran safety Quintin Demps to a three-year pact. Chicago can use all the help it can get in the back end, however, as safety Adrian Amos was the only sure starting-caliber player the club boasted coming into the offseason.

Initially arriving in Kansas City as a waiver claim, Cooper became an instant contributor for the 2013 Chiefs, intercepting three passes. But Cooper’s role slowly began to diminish in the years that followed. After starting 27 games between the ’13 and ’14 slates, Cooper seldom played on a 2015 Chiefs team that only used two cornerbacks in dime packages. Pro Football Focus, though, is less bullish on Cooper’s resurgence last season, slotting the now-27-year-old defender as its No. 101 full-time corner.

The Bears also re-signed cornerback Johnthan Banks to a one-year deal earlier today.

Sidney Jones Suffers Achilles Injury

March 11th, 2017 at 4:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Washington cornerback Sidney Jones — a projected first-round pick in next month’s draft, appeared to suffer an Achilles injury during his Pro Day on Saturday, according to Eric Edholm of Yahoo! Sports. Jones is believed to ruptured his Achilles, which could sideline him for 8-12 months.

Jones was ranked among the top-five cornerback prospects by nearly every draft evaluator — Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com placed Jones fourth behind Marshon Lattimore (Ohio State), Teez Tabor (Florida), and Tre’Davious White (LSU). An Achilles injury, which was devastatingly suffered on the final rep on the day, per Edholm, would almost assuredly force Jones to slip out of Day 1 one of the draft given that he’ll spend most (or all) of his rookie season on the PUP list.

Jones started 30 games during his career as a Huskie. In 2016, he put up 39 tackles, two interceptions, six passes defensed in 14 games.

Bills To Re-Sign Jordan Mills

March 11th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bills have agreed to re-sign offensive tackle Jordan Mills to a two-year, $4MM contract, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Serving as Buffalo’s full-time right tackle in 2016, Mills started all 16 games and graded as the league’s No. 64 offensive tackle among 78 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. The Bills originally signed Mills off Detroit’s practice squad in October 2015, and he’s become a productive player in Buffalo. A former fifth-round pick, Mills has 50 career starts under his belt, all of those coming with the Bills and the Bears (with whom Mills began his NFL tenure).

The Bills’ offensive line, which paved the way for the league’s No. 1 DVOA-rated rushing attack, should return the same five members from left-to-right: Cordy Glenn, Richie Incognito, Eric Wood, John Miller, and Mills.