2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys OT Doug Free To Retire

March 11th, 2017 at 12:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Right tackle Doug Free has informed the Cowboys he plans to retire, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Chatter had arisen in recent weeks regarding Free’s status, and although multiple reports denied Free would hang up his cleats, the veteran lineman ultimately decided to call it a career.

For Dallas, the loss of Free is a blow to its league-best offensive line, a group that had already seen the defection of top backup Ronald Leary earlier this week. While Free was probably the link weak link along the Cowboys’ front five, he was still a starting-caliber player (No. 40 offensive tackle in 2016 per Pro Football Focus), and the club will now have to assess its options as it seeks to replace him.

Internally, the Cowboys’ top option is Chaz Green, a 2015 third-round pick who played 151 snaps last season. If Dallas isn’t ready to hand over right tackle to Green, it could venture into the free agent market, where options such as Austin Pasztor, Sebastian Vollmer, and Andre Smith still reside. Adding a tackle through the 2017 draft is another possibility, with Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk, Alabama’s Cam Robinson, and Utah’s Garett Bolles in the mix as first-round picks.

Alternatively, the Cowboys could consider moving incumbent left guard La’el Collins to right tackle and bringing in another guard. Collins played left tackle in college so he could probably handle the right side, and his versatility will likely play a role in Dallas’ decision. The Cowboys knew Free was retiring before the beginning of free agency, tweets Archer, so the decision not push harder for a Leary return was unrelated.

Originally a left tackle, Free shifted to the right side after Dallas drafted Tyron Smith in 2011. The Northern Illinois alum had undergone foot surgery in each of the past two offseasons. The Cowboys will pick up $5MM in cap space thanks to Free’s retirement, and while they could conceivably recoup $2.5MM in signing bonus money, the club probably won’t ask Free to give that total back.

Latest On Dont’a Hightower, Patriots

March 11th, 2017 at 12:29pm CST by Ben Levine

We haven’t heard much on the Dont’a Hightower front over the past couple of days, but that shouldn’t be a cause for concern for Patriots fans. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the organization is still interested in re-signing the linebacker, noting that they’re keeping “close tabs” on the situation. This essentially echoes the various reports we’ve heard throughout the week.

Hightower was listed as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings, and Zach Links predicted that he’d earn the fourth-highest contract this offseason. Despite the hype, there haven’t been many rumors surrounding the former first-rounder, with the Patriots being the lone team connected to him.

The Patriots have already made a number of moves this offseason, but they’re still armed with plenty of money, so they shouldn’t have any issues fitting Hightower into the cap. None of the team’s current linebacker options, including Rob Ninkovich, Shea McClellin, Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, and Jonathan Freeny, provide the free agent’s production.

Hightower was named to his first Pro Bowl this season. The linebacker finished the campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. During his five-year career, the 26-year-old has missed a total of 13 regular season games.

AFC Notes: Pats, Bengals, Mixon, Fins, Aiken

March 11th, 2017 at 12:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Defensive lineman Lawrence Guy has completed his visit with the Patriots and will continue taking meetings with other clubs, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The Ravens, meanwhile, would still like to re-sign Guy, but their overall level of interest is unclear. PFR ranked Guy as the No. 12 interior defender heading into the free agent period.

Here’s more from the AFC:

The Bengals will host controversial Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon on a private visit, reports Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com. Cincinnati was one of four clubs — including Cleveland, Detroit, and New Orleans — that met with Dixon last week. Because Mixon was not invited to the combine, the Bengals want the opportunity to speak “extensively” with Mixon about his character, per Terrell.
Although the Dolphins made a “late attempt” to retain tight end Dion Sims, they offered roughly $2MM less per season than the Bears, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Chicago ultimately signed Sims to a three-year, $18MM deal that features $6MM in guarantees. Miami has since signed veteran Anthony Fasano to fill the void at tight end.
Three teams are interested in free agent wide receiver Kamar Aiken, tweets La Canfora (although he doesn’t identify the clubs). Aiken, 27, managed only 29 receptions for the Ravens in 2016 after putting up 75 catches the year prior.

Lions Sign TE Darren Fells

March 11th, 2017 at 12:03pm CST by Ben Levine

Darren Fells was apparently impressed by his visit to Detroit yesterday. NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports (via Twitter) that the Lions have signed the tight end to a one-year deal worth $1.5MM.

The 30-year-old was non-tendered by Arizona earlier this week, and it was apparent that his tenure with the team was over following their signing of tight end Jermaine Gresham.

Other than a brief stint with the Seahawks, Fells had spent his entire career with the Cardinals. The former undrafted free agent ultimately played in 38 games (24 starts) for Arizona, hauling in 40 catches for 536 yards and four touchdowns. This past season, the tight end caught 14 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown.

The 30-year-old will certainly provide the Lions with some depth, as the team was only rostering tight ends Eric Ebron and Cole Wick. Fells will presumably be relied on as a blocker.

Bears Re-Sign Christian Jones

March 11th, 2017 at 10:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears announced that they’ve re-signed linebacker Christian Jones to a one-year deal. Jones was a restricted free agent, so Chicago presumably inked him for something less than the $1.797MM original round RFA tender.

Jones, 26, was a full-time starter for the Bears as recently as 2015, when he started 15 games for the club. That year, he played over 70% of Chicago’s defensive plays and picked up 59 tackles. But when the Bears signed veteran ‘backers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman last offseason, Jones lost his starting gig.

The Bears shopped Jones before last season, but after not finding any takers, they placed Jones in a special teams role. Although he appeared in all 16 games in 2016, Jones only started two contests, instead picking up most of his playing time through 323 special teams snaps. He posted five tackles in that space, and will likely continue on as a special teamer in 2017.

Jaguars Sign LB Audie Cole

March 11th, 2017 at 10:45am CST by Ben Levine

After having signed defensive tackle Stefan Charles earlier today, the Jaguars are adding another player to their defense. Mike Kaye of First Coast News reports (via Twitter) that the team is expected to sign linebacker Audie Cole.

The former seventh-round pick had spent his entire five-year career with the Vikings, serving mostly as a sub and special teamer. In 16 games last season, Cole collected 12 tackles. His best season came in 2013, as he compiled a career-high 45 tackles and one sack. The 27-year-old has seven career starts under his belt. Previous reports indicated that a return to Minnesota was still in play.

Cole is the second linebacker the Jaguars have added this week, as the team signed former Bills defender Lerentee McCray. The duo will be joining a deep Jaguars linebackers corps that also includes Myles Jack, Paul Posluszny, Telvin Smith, Dan Skuta, Marcus Rush, Sean Porter, and Hayes Pullard.

Bills To Re-Sign Lorenzo Alexander

March 11th, 2017 at 10:40am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bills have agreed to re-sign linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, as Alexander himself posted on Twitter. He’ll sign a two-year, $9MM deal that includes $4.1MM guaranteed, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Alexander settled for a minimum salary benefit deal with the Bills in free agency last spring, when he was a special teams-first journeyman who had racked up only 9.5 sacks in his first nine NFL seasons. But Alexander broke out last season in Buffalo, where he accumulated 76 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception across 16 starts en route to second-team All-Pro honors and the only Pro Bowl berth of his career.

The first real defensive success of Alexander’s career came under the Bills’ previous head coach, Rex Ryan, whom they fired with a week left in the season. Buffalo has since replaced Ryan with another defensive-minded coach, Sean McDermott, but the team clearly regards Alexander as a player capable of thriving in its new system.

Heading into the free agent period, PFR ranked Alexander as the fifth-best pass rusher available.

Buccaneers To Re-Sign DT Sealver Siliga

March 11th, 2017 at 10:34am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, according to
Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, tweets Siliga’s agency.

Tampa Bay claimed Siliga off waivers last November after he was waived by the Seahawks. In six games with the Bucs, the 27-year-old compiled five tackles and one sack. Between 2014 and 2015, Siliga started nine games (in 20 appearances) for the Patriots, collecting 60 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Last offseason, the defensive tackle earned a one-year, $1.4MM ($250K guaranteed) contract from Seattle.

Siliga will presumably compete with Clinton McDonald to be the primary substitute for starting defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Chris Baker.

Jaguars To Sign Stefan Charles

March 11th, 2017 at 10:20am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jaguars are expected to sign free agent defensive lineman Stefan Charles, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

Charles, 28, spent the 2016 campaign with the Lions after starting his career with the Bills, with whom he played from 2013-15. Last year, Charles acted as a rotational option on Detroit’s front four, managing to get in 235 defensive snaps in 12 games. He posted 12 tackles in that span, and also played on 17 special teams snaps. His best season came in 2014 when he compiled 23 tackles and three sacks in 16 games.

In Jacksonville, Charles will reunite with Doug Marrone, who coached Charles during the 2013-14 seasons in Buffalo. The Jaguars have already landed one elite option — Calais Campbell — to add to an impressive defensive line that also includes Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue.

Latest On Patriots’ Forfeited Fourth-Rounder

March 11th, 2017 at 10:18am CST by Dallas Robinson

Under the terms of their Deflategate punishment, the Patriots are required to forfeit their earliest fourth-round draft choice, leading us at PFR to wonder (Twitter link) if New England would be forced to give up the pick (No. 118) it just acquired as part of the Brandin Cooks trade. A NFL spokesman has confirmed that is indeed the case, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), meaning the Patriots will now get pick No. 132 (acquired from the Seahawks) back.

The Patriots, at one point or another, have owned three separate fourth-round picks: their own No. 137 which was dealt to the Colts in the Dwayne Allen trade; the Seahawks’ No. 132 which was acquired in a 2016 draft-day swap; and No. 118, picked up in the Cooks deal. New England will have to sacrifice that No. 118 pick but will be returned No. 132, so the New Orleans trade essentially boils to Cooks and No. 132 in exchange for No. 32 and No. 103.

To account for this bookkeeping change, we’ve altered our Complete 2017 NFL Draft Order page. As it currently stands, the Patriots won’t make a selection until Round 3 (pick no. 72).

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