2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons To Cut Tyson Jackson

March 10th, 2017 at 7:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons are releasing defensive tackle Tyson Jackson, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. Jackson had two years and $8.5MM left on his contract. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that Jackson will be cut with the post-June 1st designation.

By cutting Jackson, Atlanta will save $2.65MM against this year’s cap. The defensive lineman originally signed a five-year, $25MM deal with the Falcons in 2014. The move was expected given Jackson’s iffy production as of late.

Last year, Jackson finished out with 13 total tackles and two pass deflections in 16 games (seven starts). The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus rated him as just the No. 67 interior defender in the NFL out of 127 qualified players. His grades for run defense, pass rush, and coverage were all poor in his 389 total snaps. The Falcons are expected to prioritize the pass rush this offseason.

Jackson had started 28 games for the Falcons during his first two years in the organization. During his time in Atlanta, the lineman failed to produce as he had with the Chiefs. The 30-year-old failed to record a sack in any of his three seasons with the team.

Patriots Host DL Lawrence Guy On Visit

March 10th, 2017 at 7:43am CST by Zachary Links

Free agent defensive lineman Lawrence Guy is visiting the Patriots today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Guy was drawing interest from the Dolphins and Redskins earlier this week, but it’s not immediately clear if they’re still in the mix for him after adding other defensive linemen on Thursday.

Trey Flowers had a breakout season for the Patriots, but they’re a bit thin at defensive end behind the former fourth-rounder. If Jabaal Sheard ends up departing the organization, that would leave the team with only Flowers and Geneo Grissom at the position.

Guy may not necessarily start if he was signed by New England, but he’d certainly provide some depth. The Patriots would also appreciate his versatility, as he could easily serve as a back up defensive tackle to Alan Branch and Malcom Brown.

Guy hasn’t missed a game over the past two seasons, earning 16 combined starts for the Ravens. After recording 4.5 sacks during the 2015 campaign, Guy finished the 2016 season with 28 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.

Lions To Sign CB D.J. Hayden

March 10th, 2017 at 7:40am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions and cornerback D.J. Hayden agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth as much as $5.25MM, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Hayden, 27 in June, suffered a hamstring injury in November of last year, ending his season after just eleven games played. At the time of the injury, Hayden was ranked as No. 100 cornerback in the NFL out of 120 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. He posted poor grades for both coverage and run defense, but he had a better-than-average pass rush grade in his 476 total snaps. Of course, PFF’s scores aren’t everything and Hayden does come with starting experience.

Hayden entered the league as the No. 12 overall pick in 2013. He has not lived up to his first-round billing and he has only one fully healthy season on his resume. Now, he’ll likely be the first cornerback off the bench in support of Darius Slay and Nevin Lawson.

In other Lions news, tight end Darren Fells is set to visit, two other teams have entered the mix to sign Andre Roberts, and T.J. Lang will make Detroit one of his first stops on his free agent tour. The Lions snagged a big fish when they signed tackle Ricky Wagner and they shed a big name when they dropped linebacker DeAndre Levy.

No Jimmy Garoppolo Trade Imminent

March 10th, 2017 at 7:29am CST by Zachary Links

In the middle of the night, a post appeared on Jimmy Garoppolo‘s Instagram which prompted mass speculation online that the Patriots quarterback had been traded.

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“So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston ✌🏻,” the caption read, below a smiling photo of the 25-year-old.

Apparently, there’s nothing to it. Garoppolo has no knowledge of any trade and his agent says the post was the result of a hack, a source close to the quarterback tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). In fact, at this point, there have been no trade talks between the Browns and Patriots, Rapoport adds (Twitter link). Of course, a Garoppolo pursuit has been rumored for some time now for the Browns and they are still mulling the idea, even after acquiring Brock Osweiler.

Typically, we don’t write about bogus rumors here at Pro Football Rumors, but this Instagram post send the football world into a frenzy and woke up a number of reporters around 5:30am ET, so it needed to be debunked. Browns fans and Patriots fans can take a deep breath, for now: Garoppolo has not been traded (as of this writing) and he remains on the Pats’ depth chart as Tom Brady‘s backup.

Cardinals S Tyvon Branch Takes Pay Cut

March 10th, 2017 at 7:29am CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals and Tyvon Branch have reworked the safety’s contract, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The veteran will now making $2MM instead of the $4MM he was set to receive, opening up a chunk of cap room for Arizona.

Branch signed a two-year, $8MM contract with the organization last offseason. The 30-year-old was limited to only six games in 2016 as he struggled through a groin injury, and he had two separate stints on the injured reserve. The safety ultimately finished the year with 28 tackles and four passes defended.

Between 2009 and 2011, Branch was considered one of the top safeties in the game. During that three-year span with the Raiders, he averaged more than 100 tackles, two sacks, and one interception.

In 2017, Branch figures to play a reserve role for the Cardinals behind Tyrann Mathieu and Antoine Bethea.

Packers, Letroy Guion Agree To Restructured Deal

March 10th, 2017 at 7:20am CST by Zachary Links

Letroy Guion signed a restructured contract with the Packers following his PED suspension, a source tells ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky (Twitter link). The new deal will save the Packers a little bit of money and give them additional time before having to make the payments.

The new deal delays Guion’s offseason roster bonuses, which were initially to be paid out on Saturday and again on May 2, back to Weeks 9 and 15 of the season. They were reduced from $400K each to $300K. Guion’s base salary remains in tact, but he will automatically lose four weeks of his $1.7MM payout during the suspension ($400K). All in all, Guion’s slip up will likely cost him $600K.

We learned earlier this week that the defensive tackle had been suspended four games to start the 2017 season. The veteran was previously suspended three games in 2015 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Guion played in 15 games last season, compiling 30 tackles. He hasn’t recorded a sack since the 2014 season.

Jabaal Sheard To Visit Colts

March 10th, 2017 at 7:10am CST by Zachary Links

Jabaal Sheard is scheduled to visit the Colts, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. It was reported earlier this week that the team could pursue the pass rusher.

After the late Thursday/early Friday trade between the Rams and Dolphins, the Colts could be the de facto leading suitor for Sheard. The Dolphins acquired a quality defensive end in William Hayes and that could take them out of the Sheard chase. Miami met with Sheard on Thursday afternoon, but Sheard would be redundant for him as they have Cameron Wake, Andre Branch, and Hayes on the DE depth chart. Hayes was accustomed to starting in L.A., so it’s hard to see Miami trying to sell him on even less playing time by bringing in Sheard.

Meanwhile, the Colts could certainly use some assistance at defensive end. Sheard could bump either Hassan Ridgeway or Henry Anderson from the starting lineup, and the move could also result in one of Arthur Jones or Kristjan Sokoli not making the roster. The Colts finished with an underwhelming 33 sacks last season, and the defensive line allowed 1,926 rushing yards (eighth-most in NFL).

Sheard would certainly help with these deficiencies. Despite getting benched midway through the season, the defensive end still had a productive year for the Patriots in 2016. The 27-year-old finished the campaign with 33 tackles and five sacks, adding on to the eight sacks he collected with New England in 2015.

Dolphins Acquire William Hayes From Rams

March 10th, 2017 at 1:13am CST by Zachary Links

Trades, apparently, are all the rage in the NFL now. Early Friday morning, the Rams and Dolphins agreed on a trade that will send defensive end William Hayes and a seventh-round pick (No. 223 overall) to Miami. In exchange, the Dolphins will send back their sixth-round selection (No. 206).

“Will has been an integral member of our defense since he became a Ram in 2012,” said Rams GM Les Snead in a statement. “His passion set the tone for our defense and served as an example for his teammates. Off the field, he showed compassion as he was a major contributor to the St. Louis and Los Angeles communities, working to improve the plight of the homeless. We wish Will and his family the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.”

The move clears a bit of room for the Rams but it’s likely that this was driven by football reasons. Hayes’ three year, $17.5MM contract signed last year is looking extremely reasonable as lesser pass rushers get showered with money this offseason. Ultimately, the team probably felt that Hayes wasn’t a good fit as they transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense under new coordinator Wade Phillips.

Hayes’ deal called for him collect on a $2MM roster bonus on Saturday while $1MM of his $3.5MM base salary also becomes guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. The Dolphins are happy to pay out that salary as they add a tremendous defensive end to back up starters Cameron Wake and Andre Branch. The Dolphins run a 4-3 scheme and Hayes should thrive under new DC Matt Burke.

Hayes, 32 this spring, appeared in 14 games (all starts) for the Rams last season and racked up five sacks and 43 total tackles. Since joining the Rams in 2012, he has never had less than four sacks per season and has averaged five sacks per campaign. Pro Football Focus has always been fond of his work in St. Louis/Los Angeles and last year he received a 83.4 overall score. That placed him as the No. 17 edge defender in the NFL (thanks largely to his favorable run defense grade) and put him ahead of big names like Nick Perry (who just signed a monster deal with the Packers), Bruce Irvin, Ryan Kerrigan, and Tamba Hali.

Rams Cut Lance Kendricks, Eugene Sims

March 10th, 2017 at 1:00am CST by Zachary Links

The Rams announced they are cutting tight end Lance Kendricks and defensive end Eugene Sims. In total, the Rams have purged four players in a 24 hour span, including their surprising trade of William Hayes to the Dolphins.

Sims, 31 later this month, appeared in all 16 games for the Rams last season and made eight starts. He had 25 total tackles and 2.5 sacks on the year. From 2012-2016, Sims amassed 12 total sacks. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus has never been high on his play and last year he was given a dreadful score 48.2 overall score by their advanced metrics.

Kendricks was in the midst of a contract that was supposed to pay him $18.5MM over four years. Instead, the Rams are getting out of the deal two years early. Kendricks had a career-high 50 receptions last year for 499 yards and two scores, but the new regime didn’t feel he was worth keeping. The 29-year-old might not be out of work for long.

Steelers, Marcus Cooper In Contact

March 9th, 2017 at 11:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Having already landed on the Jets’ radar, free agent cornerback Marcus Cooper can now count the Steelers among the teams with interest in his services, tweets Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Pittsburgh has been in contact with Cooper, according to Fowler.

The 6-foot-2 Cooper could represent a relatively affordable option for the Steelers, who haven’t displayed any willingness to splurge on corners in this year’s free agent class, per Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network (Twitter link). He likely won’t come at a pittance, though, after logging career highs in starts (15), tackles (69) and interceptions (four) in 15 appearances with the Cardinals last season. While the 27-year-old put up impressive traditional numbers, his performance didn’t wow Pro Football Focus, which ranked him 101st among 112 qualified corners.

A decent payday in free agency would be a boon for Cooper, who entered the NFL with San Francisco in 2013 as a seventh-round pick and has already been a part of three organizations. He debuted in 2013 with the Chiefs, who claimed Cooper after the 49ers cut him, and registered 21 passes defensed and three interceptions in a 16-game, six-start rookie campaign. Cooper didn’t pick off any more passes in KC, with which he combined for only 22 appearances and 10 starts from 2014-15. The club then traded him to Arizona for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Cooper is the second reported cornerback to pique the Steelers’ interest since free agency began. The team is also eyeing Brandon Flowers as it looks to add to its William Gay-, Artie Burns– and Ross Cockrell-led contingent of corners.