2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Cardinals Re-Sign A.Q. Shipley

March 9th, 2017 at 1:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cardinals announced that they’ve re-signed center A.Q. Shipley to a two-year deal.

Shipley, 30, is coming off another two-year contract that paid him less than $800K per season, but he could be in for a raise after a 2016 campaign that saw him grade as the league’s No. 14 center, per Pro Football Focus. Shipley isn’t big-bodied like most offensive lineman — he’s officially listed at 5’11” — and while Arizona has expressed interest in replacing him in the past, the former seventh-round pick keeps producing consistent results.

Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said last week he hoped his club would retain Shipley, who earned an honorable mention on PFR’s list of the top free agent interior lineman.

Texans Not Interested In Adrian Peterson

March 9th, 2017 at 1:11pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans are now the latest team to deny having interest in Adrian Peterson, as the club reportedly has “never once talked about him,” reports Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Reports linking Peterson to Houston have all been generated by the Peterson camp, per Barshop.

The Patriots, Seahawks, and Giants have also said they’re not pursuing Peterson, while the Raiders are apparently not as interested in a possible union as Peterson is in joining Oakland. Certainly, price could be a factor — Peterson was set to make $18MM in 2017 under his old Vikings contract, and may have difficulty accepting a steep paycut. But given his contract demands and lack of ability to play in the passing game, it could be awhile before Peterson lands a deal.

Peterson, who was limited to only three games in 2016, ranks as PFR’s No. 32 free agent and No. 2 available running back.

Extra Points: Bears, Cutler, Bills, Gilmore, Kendricks, Eagles

March 9th, 2017 at 1:01pm CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but the Bears tried to trade Jay Cutler before releasing him on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. After his 2016 struggles, teams were not willing to take on his contract. He’s now a free agent.

Here’s more from around the NFL:.

Bills brass decided well before the 2016 season they wouldn’t pay Stephon Gilmore anything close to the $14MM/year figure he’ll reportedly get from the Patriots, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News tweets.
There has been no movement on a potential Mychal Kendricks trade for the Eagles, a source tells Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). He’ll see his $4.35MM salary guaranteed if he remains on the roster on Saturday.
The Falcons had talks about defensive tackle Terrell McClain, according to source who spoke with Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter). However, McClain will be joining up with Washington on a multi-year deal.
The Eagles have some interest in bringing back Stefen Wisniewski, Mike Kaye of First Coast News tweets. Wisniewski has the ability to play either guard or center and did well in starts at left guard last season.

Latest On Brandon Williams

March 9th, 2017 at 12:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although several clubs want to take a meeting free agent defensive tackle Brandon Williams, his agents are working on a contract with the Ravens, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

The 28-year-old Williams has so far spent his entire career with the Ravens, who selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. Williams has been durable, having appeared in 16 games in each of the past three seasons, and productive. In addition to piling up 16 starts for the second straight year, he ranked as Pro Football Focus‘ 39th-best D-tackle among 127 qualifiers last season.

Williams, who rates as PFR’s No. 4 free agent interior defender, is expected to command a Damon Harrison-esque contract: five years, $46.25MM.

Giants, JPP Won’t Do Extension Today

March 9th, 2017 at 12:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul could still hammer out a cap-smoothing extension, but it won’t happen today, according to Seth Walder of the Daily News.

The deadline for a new deal isn’t until July 15th, so there’s still plenty of time. However, the Giants would probably like to clear out that space today so that they can do a little extra work on the free agent market.

As it stands, JPP is slated to be on the books for $16.934MM in 2017. Given that they have already added a decent-sized contract in Brandon Marshall, the Giants don’t have very much space to work with. No one expected the G-Men to go on a shopping spree like they did one year ago, but multiple holes still need to be addressed on both sides of the ball. Right now, it looks like they’ll focus more on the draft to get those upgrades.

Pierre-Paul played in 12 games before his 2016 ended in December on account of core muscle surgery, though he showed well with seven sacks and three forced fumbles. Pierre-Paul also ranked 13th among Pro Football Focus’ 109 qualified edge defenders and totaled the league’s 15th-most QB hurries (24).

49ers To Sign TE Logan Paulsen

March 9th, 2017 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers plan to sign former Chicago tight end Logan Paulsen, according to Fallon Smith of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). Paulsen is known primarily for his run blocking. It’s a one-year deal, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

Last year, Pro Football Focus gave Paulsen a 75.2 run blocking score, which put him in the top ten amongst all tight ends. He had a less impressive 68.8 pass blocking grade, putting him 22nd amongst all qualified TEs.

We had Paulsen ranked as one of the 15 best tight ends on the open market.

Bears Release QB Jay Cutler

March 9th, 2017 at 12:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are releasing quarterback Jay Cutler, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Cutler asked for and was granted his release on Thursday morning. He is now a free agent and free to sign with any team. The Bears have since confirmed the move via press release.

Cutler’s release has been anticipated for some time now and it more or less solidified by the Bears’ free agent deal with Mike Glennon. Because Cutler was the one to ask for his deal to be terminated, it’s possible that the Bears asked him to serve as Glennon’s No. 2 quarterback. Cutler, who has been a longtime starter, presumably would have rejected such a proposal.

Right now, Cutler has to be considered one of the best free agent quarterback options out there along with Tony Romo. Cutler didn’t have such a hot 2016, but he is a starter with experience and teams in need of a short-term option under center will have interest. The Jets are already interested in Cutler, according to Schefter (Twitter link), and New York could conceivably add Cutler as something of a bridge quarterback while developing a younger option.

Cutler, 33, spent most of the 2016 campaign sidelined by injuries, and wasn’t effective when he was on the field. In five starts, Cutler tossed four touchdowns against five interceptions, and posted a Total Quarterback Rating of just 33.1. He’s been loosely to linked to a couple of clubs this offseason, but no team has expressed any known solid interest.

The Bears reportedly tried to trade Cutler earlier this year, but were rebuffed. Meanwhile, Cutler has apparently tossed out the idea of retirement, although that could simply be a negotiating ploy.

Free Agency Rumors: Titans, Hightower, Rams

March 9th, 2017 at 12:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Let’s round up some of the latest free agency rumors:

The talk of the Titans pursuing linebacker Dont’a Hightower might not be at the levels some have reported, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. Hightower stands as one of the best free agents left on the board.
Not a huge surprise, but the Rams are not expected to bring back safety T.J. McDonald, ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. I have McDonald ranked as the No. 40 free agent on my Top 50 list, in terms of earning power. He’s not my favorite safety in this year’s free agent crop, but he is young and his hard-hitting style should translate into dollars.
Despite formally declining his option on Thursday, the Chiefs have expressed interest in retaining quarterback Nick Foles, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
There are still plenty of teams sorting through the offensive tackle market, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. That list includes the Chargers, Jets, Vikings, Giants, and Broncos. It should be noted that JLC’s tweet came before Denver’s acquisition of Ronald Leary. It’s not immediately clear if they’re still looking for high-end linemen.
Russell Okung probably goofed by not having an agent last offseason, but he has one now, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). Cole does not identify the rap by name, but says that he has talked with teams and is not NFLPA-certified.
Packers free agent guard T.J. Lang is likely going to have to take some trips before signing, Cole tweets. He had hip surgery in January and teams want to check that out before signing him. This jibes with earlier word that Lang will have to wait a bit before signing elsewhere.

Cardinals Sign S Antoine Bethea

March 9th, 2017 at 12:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have reached agreement with strong safety Antoine Bethea on a three-year deal, a source tells Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). With that signing, the Cards have replaced the departing Tony Jefferson.

Bethea will see a three-year commitment despite being set for his age-33 season. The 49ers cut the 12th-year veteran earlier this week, and instead of having another role on a rebuilding team, Bethea joins a veteran roster that is one year removed from being on the Super Bowl precipice.

The three-time Pro Bowler has a Super Bowl ring already, earning it as a full-time rookie starter for the 2006 Colts, and brings plenty of experience to Arizona’s secondary. Bethea has started all 162 games he’s played since entering the league as a sixth-round pick. Bethea made his most recent Pro Bowl in 2014 for the 49ers. He joins a star-powered secondary behind Patrick Peterson and alongside Tyrann Mathieu.

This agreement comes after the Cardinals moved quickly to extend the franchise-tagged Chandler Jones.

Patriots To Re-Sign Alan Branch

March 9th, 2017 at 12:26pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots have reached agreement with defensive tackle Alan Branch on a two-year deal that can be worth up to $12MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Branch, 32, has spent the past three years in New England, and has started 15 games in each of the past two campaigns. The Patriots reportedly believed they had made a “solid offer” to Branch last week, and Branch apparently agreed, as he’s now under contract through the 2018 season. In 2016, Branch graded as the league’s No. 25 defensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus, which gave him excellent marks against the run.

Branch, a former second-round pick, was ranked as PFR’s No. 8 free agent interior defender. He’ll slot back into a Patriots defensive line that includes Malcom Brown, Trey Flowers, Geneo Grisson, and Vincent Valentine.