2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Colts DT David Parry Arrested

March 7th, 2017 at 5:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colts defensive tackle David Parry was arrested in Arizona in late February, and the lineman is facing a number of chargers. According to Stephen Holder of The Indy Star, Parry has been charged with theft of a means of transportation and resisting arrest with physical force, which are both felonies. The defensive lineman was also charged with misdemeanor assault.

Parry was reportedly one of three passengers in a “transportation cart” — per Hays, essentially a golf cart taxi — whose driver was ultimately the victim who contacted police. Per the victim, once the other two riders had been dropped off, Parry hit the driver in the head and stole the cart. Police later found the cart crashed into a gate, with Parry, apparently intoxicated, on the sidewalk.

Parry, 25 next week, was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. During the first two years of his NFL career, Parry has started every game and racked up four sacks. Last year, Parry graded as just the No. 110 interior defender among 127 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Entering the third year of his rookie deal, Parry is set to make the minimum in 2017, with a cap charge of roughly $670K.

While it’s too early to assess Parry’s legal status or standing with the Colts, the charges and description of the incident clearly represent the culmination of several poor decisions. New Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard will now have the Parry’s fate in his hands as he gathers facts on the situation.

Martellus Bennett Seeking $9MM Per Year

March 7th, 2017 at 5:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory, tight end Martellus Bennett seemed excited about hitting the open market because teams “overpay” champions. It appears someone is about to grant Bennett’s wish with a mega-deal, as Mike Giardi of CSNNE tweets that six teams have already checked in on the soon-to-be 30-year-old. Bennett is seeking around $9MM per year, a source told Giardi.

Currently the best unsigned tight end in the NFL, Bennett is coming off a season in which he was an integral piece of the champs’ offense. With the banged-up Rob Gronkowski on the sideline for most of the year, Bennett appeared in all of New England’s games and hauled in 55 receptions, 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2008, Bennett has combined for 403 catches and 30 scores with four different clubs.

The Pats tried during the season to extend Bennett at $7MM per annum, but he made what could be a wise decision (for his bank account, anyway) in rejecting it. Bennett, whom PFR’s Zach Links ranks 20th overall in this year’s free agent class, has drawn interest from the Raiders, Jaguars and Giants. Notably, he spent 2012 with Big Blue.

Chiefs HC, Ownership Support Alex Smith

March 7th, 2017 at 5:40pm CST by Ben Levine

While previous reports have indicated that the Chiefs could look for an upgrade at quarterback, NFL Network’s James Palmer says that may not be the case. The pundit tweets that Chiefs ownership and head coach Andy Reid have been “backing” Alex Smith as their starting quarterback in 2017. Meanwhile, Palmer notes that the organization is not interested in Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

Smith has compiled a 41-20 record during his four seasons in Kansas City, but he’s yet to advance his team past the divisional round. 2016 was arguably the best season of the veteran’s career, as he completed 67.1-percent of his passes for 3,502 yards, 15 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Romo has only played five games over the past two seasons. His last healthy season came in 2014, when he completed 69.9-percent of his passes for 3,705 yards, 34 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Previous reports have also linked the Chiefs to Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

If the team were to add a replacement, they’d still need to find a taker for Smith. Previous reports indicated that in this scenario, it’d be more likely that the team releases the 32-year-old. The Chiefs would save $9.7MM by cutting the veteran, or $13.3MM by designating him as a post-June 1 release.

Redskins, DeSean Jackson Expected To Part Ways

March 7th, 2017 at 5:17pm CST by Ben Levine

Following three seasons with the organization, it sounds like DeSean Jackson‘s tenure with the Redskins is over. According to Mike Jones, Master Tesfatsion, and Liz Clarke of The Washington Post, it’s expected that the two sides “will part ways.” Meanwhile, the trio report that the Patriots, Eagles, Buccaneers, and Cowboys have inquired on the 30-year-old.

Following an underwhelming 2015 campaign, Jackson bounced back in 2016. In 15 games, the veteran hauled in 56 receptions for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns. In nine NFL seasons, the wideout has averaged 55 receptions, 980 yards, and five touchdowns in 14 games per season.

The Buccaneers would be an intriguing option, as Jackson could team up with Mike Evans to provide Jameis Winston with a pair of dynamic receiving options. The veteran would easily fit the role of the veteran long threat in New England, and he’d provide the Eagles with the receiver they’ve been seeking since they lost Jackson following the 2013 season. The Cowboys would be an intriguing option, but it’d be hard to envision Jackson replacing Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley from the starting lineup.

Bears Pushing To Sign Stephon Gilmore

March 7th, 2017 at 5:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore drew a connection to the Bears last week, and now that the legal tampering period has begun, the club is making a “big push” to sign him, reports Sporting News’ Alex Marvez (Twitter link).

The Bears have a crying need at corner, so adding the accomplished Gilmore would go a long way toward fixing their issues. The five-year veteran possesses an impressive NFL resume, having racked up 68 appearances, 66 starts and 14 picks with the Bills since going in the first round of the 2012 draft. The 26-year-old Gilmore started in each of his appearances (15) for the third straight season and notched a career-high five interceptions in 2016. However, after ranking as one of Pro Football Focus’ 10 best corners in 2015, he dropped to 61st (among 112 qualifiers) last season.

Despite an arguably disappointing 2016, Gilmore undoubtedly stands as one of the best players set to the market. PFR’s Zach Links ranks Gilmore 10th overall in this year’s class, and he’s somewhere in the top three corners with the Texans’ A.J. Bouye and the Patriots’ Logan Ryan. As is the case with Gilmore, the Bears have interest in Bouye. Clearly, then, they’re going big-game hunting in the secondary.

Patriots Apply Tender To Malcolm Butler

March 7th, 2017 at 5:05pm CST by Ben Levine

As expected, the Patriots have slapped cornerback Malcolm Butler with a first-round tender, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The value of this tender is worth $3.9MM.

The Patriots now have the opportunity to match any offer sheet the defensive back receives, and they’ll be compensated with a first-round pick if the player signs elsewhere.

The former undrafted free agent broke onto the scene with his Super Bowl-winning interception during the 2014 season. Since then, Butler has established himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. The 27-year-old finished the 2016 season with 63 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and four interceptions, and PFF ranked him as the seventh-best cornerback in the NFL.

The Patriots will presumably do everything in their power to retain Butler, especially since fellow cornerback Logan Ryan is also a free agent. If the duo left, the team would be forced to rely on Eric Rowe, Justin Coleman, Cyrus Jones, and Jonathan Jones.

Panthers Re-Sign Charles Johnson

March 7th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Panthers have announced the re-signing of defensive end Charles Johnson, meaning yet another edge rusher won’t hit the open market. Johnson can make up to $9.5MM over two years, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal has a base of $8MM before factoring in the $1.5MM in incentives, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.

The 30-year-old Johnson made it clear in December that he wanted to remain with Carolina, the only NFL team for which he has played. The Panthers selected Johnson in the third round of the 2007 draft, and he has since tallied 103 starts in 131 appearances, 67.5 sacks and 17 forced fumbles. In 13 appearances – all starts – in 2016, Johnson racked up 26 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles to rank as Pro Football Focus’ 25th-best edge defender among 109 qualifiers.

The Panthers and Johnson briefly separated last offseason, when the team released him in a cost-cutting move. Carolina shortly brought back Johnson on a $3MM deal, so his new contract represents a nice raise. PFR’s Dallas Robinson pegged Johnson as the eighth-best unsigned edge defender prior to Tuesday.

49ers Release Antoine Bethea

March 7th, 2017 at 4:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After spending the past three years in San Francisco, safety Antoine Bethea will hit the open market. The 49ers have announced the release of the 32-year-old. Already flush with cap space, the 49ers will add another $5.75MM in moving on from Bethea.

An 11-year veteran who spent the first eight seasons of his career in Indianapolis, Bethea has impressively started in all 162 of his appearances since entering the NFL in 2006. He’s also a two-time Pro Bowler, with one nod having come with San Francisco in 2014, and has posted 16-game seasons in eight of the past nine campaigns. The lone exception was 2015, when Bethea only logged seven appearances. He returned to health last year to log 110 tackles and a forced fumble, though his performance ranked a below-average 66th among Pro Football Focus’ 89 qualified safeties.

Bethea doesn’t have age on his side, but given his durability and playmaking prowess (19 career picks), he could draw interest on the market. He’ll join a group of free agent safeties that also includes Tony Jefferson, Duron Harmon, Barry Church and ex-Colts teammate Darius Butler, among others.

Jags, Patrick Omameh Agree To Deal

March 7th, 2017 at 4:43pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jaguars have agreed to re-sign guard Patrick Omameh, his agency, Schwartz & Feinsod, announced (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year, $775K deal with a $100K signing bonus, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).

Since breaking into the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2014, Omameh has amassed 40 appearances and 32 starts. The 27-year-old spent 2015 in Chicago and is coming off his first year in Jacksonville, where he started in seven of 10 appearances before going on injured reserve in late November.

Omameh graded a respectable 31st among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualifying guards in 2016 and would have drawn interest from at least one other team – the Broncos, per Troy Renck of Denver 7 (Twitter link) – had the Jaguars not kept him off the market. PFR’s Zach Links ranked Omameh as the eighth-best unsigned guard on the market Monday.

Re-upping Omameh likely means the Jags will move on from Luke Joeckel, tweets Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com. The free agent hasn’t lived up to his status as the second overall pick in the 2013 draft, though he has started in all 39 career appearances. Joeckel missed all but four games last year on account of a knee injury.

Eagles, Dolphins Interested In Kayvon Webster

March 7th, 2017 at 4:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Broncos special teams captain Kayvon Webster could be joining another team this offseason. According to Brandon Krisztal of KOA News Radio (via Twitter), both the Eagles and Dolphins have interest in the defensive back.

The former third-round pick has spent his entire four-year career in Denver. After serving as a backup cornerback during his first two years in the league, Webster has mostly played special teams the past two seasons. In 13 games, the 26-year-old collected eight tackles and one pass defended. His season ended on the injured reserve as he recovered from a concussion. As a rookie, he compiled 41 tackles, nine passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.

The Eagles seemingly need to add a cornerback, as they currently have Jalen Mills, Ron Brooks, and Aaron Grymes on the active roster. Meanwhile, the Dolphins depth chart is a bit more crowded. Byron Maxwell and Tony Lippett are slotted in as the starters, while Xavien Howard, Bobby McCain, Jordan Lucas, and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu are current backups.