2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Cowboys Re-Sign WR Brice Butler

March 8th, 2017 at 3:19pm CST by Ben Levine

Brice Butler is returning to Dallas. The wideout told Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he’s signed a new one-year deal with the Cowboys (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.1MM with $300K fully guaranteed, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The 27-year-old is hoping to prove himself in 2017 and earn a larger contract next offseason.

The 2013 seventh-round pick has spent the past two seasons in Dallas, appearing in 23 games. With the Cowboys, the San Diego State product hauled in 28 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns. Butler spent the first two seasons of his career with the Raiders, where he caught a career-high 280 yards in 2014.

The Cowboys receiver depth chart currently consists of Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley, and Lucky Whitehead. Despite previous reports, we learned last night that the team doesn’t have interest in free agent wideout DeSean Jackson. Kenny Britt has also been mentioned as a potential target.

Jaguars Expected To Sign Barry Church

March 8th, 2017 at 2:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys free agent safety Barry Church is expected to land with the Jaguars on a four-year deal worth more than $6MM per year, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rapoport says the deal will go down barring a “change of heart.” Church can officially ink his contract on Thursday.

Church, one of my Top 50 Free Agents based on projected earning power, seemed likely to leave Dallas as the Cowboys work to keep multiple key free agents with limited cap room.

The 29-year-old totaled 85 tackles and two interceptions in 12 games last season. Pro Football Focus gave him an 85.3 overall score, placing him as the eleventh-best safety in the league out of 89 qualified players. The former undrafted free agent had played in at least 15 games between 2013 and 2015, averaging at least 100 tackles and nearly two forced fumbles per season.

The Redskins and the Panthers were among the other teams to express interest in Church this offseason.

Church will join a Jaguars safety corps that currently consists of Tashaun Gipson, James Sample, Peyton Thompson, Jarrod Wilson, and Akeem Davis.

Bills Interested In Brandon LaFell

March 8th, 2017 at 2:47pm CST by Ben Levine

With Tyrod Taylor seemingly returning to the Bills, the team is now looking to provide the quarterback with some weapons. According to Jim Owczarski of Cincinnati.com (via Twitter), the Bills have shown interest in free agent wideout Brandon LaFell. The writer notes that the veteran is a priority of the Bengals, and he adds that the Bears have also expressed interest.

The 30-year-old had one of the most productive seasons of his career in 2016. The wideout hauled in 64 catches for 862 yards and six touchdowns. LaFell hasn’t collected less than 500 yards since his rookie campaign. The veteran joined the Bengals last offseason following two years with the Patriots.

The Bills depth chart at wideout is currently looking a bit depleted behind Sammy Watkins. The team’s current depth consists of Dezmin Lewis, Walt Powell, Kolby Listenbee, and Marcus Easley.

LaFell was mentioned as an honorable mention in our rankings of the best free agent wideouts.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/17

March 8th, 2017 at 2:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Shiloh Keo will re-sign with a team for the second straight offseason. This year, the Saints made a move to re-up the safety, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. A former Texans draft pick, Keo caught on with the eventual 2015 Super Bowl champion Broncos late that season and re-signed in Denver in the subsequent offseason. The Broncos cut Keo while he was serving a two-game suspension for a personal conduct violation, leading to the Saints adding him. The 29-year-old defender played in 10 games for the Broncos and Saints in 2016 and recovered three fumbles while failing to record a tackle.
The Patriots are planning to re-sign tight end Michael Williams, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. Williams saw action for the 2015 Patriots but missed their latest Super Bowl season because of a torn ACL.
The Bills did not offer an RFA tender to punter Colton Schmidt but instead reached an agreement to re-sign him, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports. Rodak estimates Schmidt will be brought back at a lower cost instead of at the RFA low-round tender rate of nearly $2MM. A fourth-year player, Schmidt made $600K last season.
Another Bills transaction involves the team parting ways with a long-tenured wide receiver. Buffalo cut Marcus Easley, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Affiliated with the Bills since they drafted him in the fourth round in 2010, Easley missed the entire 2016 season after suffering a severe knee injury late in the 2015 campaign. He spent several seasons as one of Buffalo’s top special-teamers. Buffalo announced the move as a post-June 1 release.
The Chargers have agreed to a four-year, $4.41MM extension with long snapper Mike Windt, tweets Michael Gehlken. Windt, who has appeared in 100 games with the Chargers, received a $600K signing bonus.

Falcons, Desmond Trufant Nearing Extension

March 8th, 2017 at 2:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons are getting close to retaining one of the top free agents. D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the team is finalizing a “lucrative contract extension” with cornerback Desmond Trufant.

It was reported earlier this week that talks were beginning to heat up, as the Falcons were prioritizing re-signing the Pro Bowler. Ledbetter says the deal will likely be worth between $12MM and $14MM a year, and it will just miss the five-year, $75MM deal that Josh Norman received from the Redskins last offseason.

The former first-round pick has started every game he’s played in since entering the league in 2013. Trufant earned a Pro Bowl birth in 2015 after finishing the campaign with 42 tackles, one sack, seven passes defended, and one interception.

A torn pectoral muscle limited the defensive back to only nine games this past season, but the 26-year-old still managed to collect 31 tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. Trufant ultimately ranked as the 32nd-best corner in the NFL out of 119 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.

Ledbetter notes that the organization is also trying to re-sign safety Kemal Ishmael, tight end Levine Toilolo and fullback Patrick DiMarco.

Falcons Re-Sign QB Matt Schaub

March 8th, 2017 at 2:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons and quarterback Matt Schaub reached agreement on a two-year, $9MM deal, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Schaub will continue serve as the backup to starter Matt Ryan.

Schaub, 36 in June, spent last season with Atlanta and wound up appearing in five games. There was some speculation that he could have signed on with the Niners to be a transitional starting quarterback, but that option went away moments ago when SF signed Brian Hoyer.

Schaub now appears poised to end his career back where it all began. He entered the league as a third round pick of Atlanta in 2004 and spent three years as a backup. In 2007, he moved on to Houston where he had mixed results as a starter. He turned in a solid effort in 2012 and earned a 12-4 record as a starter. In the following year, however, he stumbled badly, leading to his exit. After stints with the Raiders and Ravens, Schaub hooked on with Atlanta prior to the 2016 campaign.

Bills To Sign FB Patrick DiMarco

March 8th, 2017 at 2:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are signing fullback Patrick DiMarco, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll get a four-year deal worth $8.5MM. The pact will contain $4MM guaranteed.

DiMarco was one of the top fullbacks available this offseason. Now that he has gotten a sizable payday, the arrow will be pointing upwards for Ravens free agent fullback Kyle Juszczyk. The Bills were considered the favorites on Juszczyk earlier, and it’s possible they did not want to spend to match an asking price that’s expected to be the new fullback standard. This stands to leave the Browns, 49ers and Ravens in better position to land Juszczyk, who wants a hybrid-type role in addition to pure fullback duties.

The Falcons wanted to retain DiMarco — PFR’s No. 2 UFA fullback free agent behind Juszczyk — but could not keep him from making plans to move to Buffalo. DiMarco earned Pro Bowl acclaim in 2015 with the Falcons, his employer from 2013-16, and profiles as more of a straight-up blocking back than does Juszczyk. While the Ravens’ blocking back graded as Pro Football Focus’ top fullback, the Falcons’ lead blocker received the best run-blocking grade at the position.

Considering the Bills led the league in rushing last season and used a pure fullback in Jerome Felton, this addition — and the retention of Tyrod Taylor — may be a sign Buffalo wants to keep the offense on a similar track.

Latest On Joe Mixon

March 8th, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Maybe the most anticipated pro day of the year occurred today when Oklahoma’s event included controversial running back Joe Mixon. Since the former Sooners ball-carrier didn’t receive an opportunity to perform at the Combine, he tested today.

Mixon ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash, running one sprint, and performed 21 bench press repetitions of 225 pounds. He posted 35-inch vertical jump. The 21 bench reps would have tied Mixon for sixth among running backs at the Combine, while the 40 time would have placed him in a tie for ninth. Nine running backs surpassed 35 inches on their vertical vaults in Indianapolis (Twitter link via Gil Brandt of NFL.com).

The Panthers came away as one of the interested teams, per David Newton of ESPN.com (on Twitter). They won’t likely be the only one. Four teams — the Bengals, Browns, Lions and Saints — met with Mixon on Tuesday night in Norman, Okla. Other NFL personnel pegged him as a potential first-round talent, though some teams have removed him from their boards due to the 2014 incident that saw a video camera capture him hitting a woman. Others are on the fence.

“He was public enemy No. 1 on campus,” said one AFC scout, via Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “You heard stories about people staring at him, taking pictures in class, the stuff he’d hear from other fan bases. Some guys [in that situation] would fly off the handle. … And he’s been nothing but a model citizen, a great teammate.”

Mixon amassed 1,812 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 touchdowns last season, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. He will follow the likes of Tyreek Hill and Frank Clark in polarizing talents that come into the NFL with this kind of off-field baggage. Tom Pelissero of USA Today expects Mixon to be drafted on Day 2, like Clark was.

Latest On Stephon Gilmore

March 8th, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore is using Janoris Jenkins‘ deal as a baseline to work from, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com hears (on Twitter). The Giants handed Jenkins a five-year, $62.5MM contract last offseason.

We learned yesterday that the Bears were making a strong push for Gilmore. The cornerback said in January that he’d like to stay with the Bills, but the team ultimately decided against slapping the player with the franchise tag.

The former first-rounder has started 66 games since entering the league in 2012. Despite finishing the 2016 season with a career-high five interceptions, Pro Football Focus ranked him only 61st among 112 qualifying corners.

Despite the apparent decline in performance, Gilmore still ranked as our third-best available free agent cornerback. Zach Links also predicted that Gilmore will receive the 10th-highest contract this offseason.

Dolphins Re-Sign Andre Branch

March 8th, 2017 at 1:42pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins are re-signing pass-rusher Andre Branch on a long-term deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known. It’s a three-year contract worth $27MM in total, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Cashes in after a resurgence

One report recently assessed Branch’s value at somewhere between $7MM-9MM per year. That sounded a tad high, but it turns out that was right on the money. The $9MM average annual salary will rival the $8MM earned by teammate Cameron Wake. The yearly salary would rank just outside the top-10 among NFL defensive ends.

The defensive end appeared in all 16 games last season – his first perfect attendance record since 2013 – and turned in a strong year. He compiled 49 total tackles and 5.5 sacks and made eleven starts. Prior to signing, Branch was listed as our tenth-best edge defender on the open market, ahead of Julius Peppers, Charles Johnson, Datone Jones, Mario Addison, and Dwight Freeney.

Despite the expected interest, Branch was said to be a priority for Miami. Today, the Dolphins got it done. For what it’s worth, there weren’t a whole lot of teams connected to the lineman over the past few days.

Branch would have been sorely missed if he departed for another team. The Dolphins currently have a pair of defensive ends under contract in Wake and Terrence Fede.