Latest On Bills, LeSean McCoy
Bills running back LeSean McCoy raised some eyebrows when he skipped the first day of the Bills’ offseason program. It’s still not clear why he wasn’t in the building, but his absence was not related to any kind of contract holdout, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
This year, McCoy is slated to earn a base salary of $6MM plus nearly $3MM in prorated bonuses and workout incentives. However, his base salary is not guaranteed, so his absence from the team’s voluntary practice led to some speculation that he was pushing for a revised contract. McCoy might have been away from the team to celebrate his son’s fifth birthday or for some other reason, but he apparently wasn’t trying to drum up leverage for a new deal.
So far, new coach Sean McDermott has been publicly enthusiastic about working with Shady.
“LeSean is going to be with the Buffalo Bills moving forward,” McDermott said in early March. “He’s a great player. We worked together in Philadelphia and when you look at the skill set LeSean brings to the table, we’re excited to be working with him.”
McCoy is scheduled to be under contract with Buffalo through 2019.
Eagles Acquire Timmy Jernigan From Ravens
The Eagles have acquired defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and a third-round pick (No. 99 overall) from the Ravens in exchange for the No. 74 overall pick, which is also in the third round. In essence, the Eagles have dropped down 25 spots in the third round in order to add a starting-caliber defensive lineman. 
After losing Bennie Logan to the Chiefs in free agency, this trade makes lots of sense for Philly. Jernigan, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, played in all 16 games last season and managed five sacks. He finished out as the league’s 42nd best interior defensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, putting him ahead of names like Ricky Jean-Francois, Corey Peters, and Cullen Jenkins. For what it’s worth, that ranking put him more than 40 spots ahead of Logan.
Recently, when asked about rumors that Jernigan could be traded, Ravens coach John Harbaugh did not deny that the 24-year-old (25 in September) could be moved.
“Everybody is up for trade,” Harbaugh said. “It’s part of the conversation in the NFL.”
The Ravens recently made Brandon Williams the highest-paid nose tackle in the NFL and they also have Michael Pierce, Carl Davis, and Willie Henry competing for playing time. From their perspective, keeping Jernigan and re-signing him to a pricey deal after the 2017 season didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
“This will allow our young group of defensive lineamn an opportunity to compete and play,” Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said in a statement.
Jernigan will carry a modest cap number of $1.395MM in 2017 before becoming eligible for the open market.
NFL Draft Rumors: Thomas, 49ers, Davis
There continues to be lots of talk about Solomon Thomas going No. 2 overall, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report hears (Twitter links). However, he’s not totally convinced that it’ll the 49ers taking him. On one hand, the Niners could use a strong 4-3 defensive end and Thomas could be used a role similar to what Michael Bennett has filled for Seattle. At the same time, Miller can also see the Niners trading out from No. 2, allowing the Panthers or Jaguars to move up for Thomas.
Miller speculates that SF could send the No. 2 overall pick to Carolina for the Nos. 8 and 40 selections. Recently, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ran down a number of scenarios in which the Panthers could come away with that highly-coveted draft choice.
While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s a roundup of the latest draft rumors:
- The Browns are visiting with Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday), Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Davis missed the combine with an ankle injury but he is still considered to be one of the very best wide receivers in this year’s class. Last year, he had 97 catches for 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns.
- The Ravens are hosting prospects a number of big name prospects this week, including Alabama outside linebacker Tim Williams and North Carolina State safety Josh Jones (Twitter link via Albert Breer of The MMQB). Williams is said to have serious upside, but concerns about his conditioning and motivation may push him into the second round. This will mark Jones’ second meeting with Baltimore.
- Quarterback Deshaun Watson is scheduled to be with the Jaguars on Wednesday and Thursday (Twitter link via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com).
- Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore is on his way to visit with the Titans, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Titans could consider him at No. 5 overall.
- Ohio State safety Malik Hooker is visiting with the Bears, Rapoport tweets.
Cowboys Release Tony Romo
The Cowboys are releasing Tony Romo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The move will be designated as a post-June 1 cut, allowing the Cowboys to disperse the cap hit over the next two seasons. The necessary paperwork has been sent in to the league office, Todd Archer of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). 
“We wish Tony and his family nothing but the best,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a statement. “As an organization, we did what he asked us to do in terms of his release, and we wanted to do what was ultimately in his best interest and in the best interest of his family. Tony has been a wonderful representative of the Cowboys organization for 14 years, and he left everything he had on the field. He will leave us with many great memories and a legacy of being, truly, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history. We are thrilled for him and his family that he will be able to continue working as a professional in the game he so dearly loves. He is a young man who is just getting started on a long journey in life. All the best my friend.”
As we learned on Tuesday morning, Romo is headed to CBS where he will take over for Phil Simms as the network’s No. 1 color commentator. Some expected Romo to file retirement paperwork, but this move by the Cowboys will contractually allow him to sign elsewhere at some point, if he chooses. From a cap standpoint, the outcome is roughly the same. But, technically, Romo will be free to return in a different uniform, and that will leave the door open to speculation.
Romo, 37 in April, has been through a myriad of injuries in recent years and his health was said to be a driving factor in his decision. Certainly, the opportunity that awaits him at CBS also helped to push him in this direction. Romo won’t be taking too much of a pay cut as he transitions to TV and, obviously, he won’t be risking the same kind of wear and tear to his body. The Cowboys reportedly will not go after his bonus money, so he’ll get to hold on to ~$5MM that the team could have theoretically withheld.
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Tony Romo To Sign With CBS
Rumors of Tony Romo landing with the Texans, Broncos, or some other team circulated for months before today’s news of his retirement. Apparently, Romo won’t be leaving us wondering for too long about his next career move. After also receiving serious interest from FOX, Romo has reached verbal agreement on a deal with CBS, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily. 
Romo will be in the booth alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz in the network’s “A-Team” package. That means that Romo will be calling CBS’ most important game of the week and will almost certainly be making the most money of any color analyst in the family. The arrival of Romo will displace Phil Simms and it’s not immediately clear whether he’ll remain with CBS in a different capacity.
Ourand hears that CBS offered more money than FOX and also a more prestigious position. FOX, apparently, wanted Romo to replace new 49ers GM John Lynch on their B-Team. Romo’s familiarity with the NFC would have made him a fit for FOX, but he would have been effectively blocked from moving up to the A-Team thanks to the presence of Troy Aikman. Aikman is just 50 years old and unlikely to retire anytime soon. Another plus to the CBS offer was the potential for Romo to eventually do some golf commentary, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Romo’s decision to step away from football makes a bit more sense when considering the salary and visibility that will come with the CBS job. Some in football seem to think that Romo could return to the Cowboys in the event of an injury, but he might not want to step away from one of the game’s best broadcasting gigs in order to do that.
Cowboys QB Tony Romo Retires From NFL
Tony Romo will retire from the NFL in order to begin a new career in broadcasting, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Romo has reportedly drawn interest from at least two of the league’s major television partners, but it’s not clear which network he’ll be joining. What we do know is that he won’t be taking the field for the start of the 2017 season. 
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Ultimately, Romo’s decision came down to health. After two lost seasons, Romo apparently did not feel good about the idea of taking the field for his age-37 season. The veteran has suffered collarbone and back injuries, including the compression fracture that opened the door for Dak Prescott in 2016.
This year, speculation was rampant that the Texans and Broncos would go hard after Romo. However, in recent weeks, we’ve been hearing that their interest has cooled. At minimum, both teams had decided that they would not be willing to trade for him, which makes sense given his enormous contract and Jerry Jones’ asking price, which was believed to be high. It’s not clear what each franchise would have been willing to offer Romo as a free agent, nor do we know if he would have been guaranteed a starting job in Week 1. That’s especially true in Denver, where the Broncos have two quality young QBs. For now, it’ll be Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch fighting for the job in Denver. Meanwhile, Houston as Tom Savage penciled in as the QB1 with Brandon Weeden as the understudy.
Dallas will be able to split Romo cap hit over two years without designating him as a post-June 1 release or even releasing him, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If Romo officially retires on June 2 or later, they can take cap hits of $10.7MM in 2017 and $8.9MM in ’18 rather than one giant $24.7MM hit in the coming year. However, not everyone is convinced that Romo is done for good.
“Romo is now every teams emergency backup QB in case your starter gets hurt. [They can] pay him to come out of “retirement.’ ,” one anonymous team executive texted to Schefter (on Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jane Slater of NFL Network (Twitter link) hears from one source that it’s a soft retirement for Romo. If the Cowboys ever really needed him, he would consider a return. As CBS and FOX (and possibly NBC) vie for him, Romo may push for an opt-out clause that would allow him to come back to the NFL whenever he chooses.
OL Notes: Seahawks, Joeckel, Eagles, Paradis
As teams get set for the start of offseason workouts, they are assembling their pre-draft offensive line depth charts. One such team with some fluidity: the Seahawks. They plan to make a move that ended up backfiring on the Jaguars in stationing Luke Joeckel at left tackle. While Pete Carroll acknowledges Joeckel could end up at left guard, the recently added blocker will begin his Seahawks tenure as a left tackle.
“Luke is a guy who started at left tackle, was drafted at left tackle. I’m thinking of him as that, knowing he can play left guard,” Carroll said, via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. “He had a really good experience this year moving in, and he liked it and felt comfortable doing that. So my first thought is we head into it with he’s coming into it as a left tackle that can play left guard.”
Jacksonville shuttled Joeckel from left tackle to left guard before the 2016 season, but an injury limited him to only four games. The former No. 2 overall pick did not fare especially well at left tackle as a full-time starter from 2014-15; he began his Jags run as a right tackle while a rookie. The Seahawks signed Joeckel to a one-year deal for a fully guaranteed $7MM in an attempt to help what’s been a maligned offensive line over the past two seasons. Carroll plans, for now, to sit converted basketball player George Fant behind Joeckel. Fant started 10 games for the NFC West champions last season.
“If George had to sit for a while, what could be better for him than sitting behind a guy who was a [No. 2] pick in the draft and knows how to play the position?” Carroll said. “If that happens, it would only enhance his future, and we have high expectations for him down the road — high expectations.”
Here’s more out of Seattle and the latest from other offensive fronts.
- The Seahawks’ most recent first-round pick, Germain Ifedi, is expected to receive a long look at right tackle, per Kapadia. Ifedi started 13 games at right guard last season, but a chain reaction might relocate him. Should Joeckel move to left guard, 2016 left guard starter Mark Glowinski would shift to the right side and possibly bump Ifedi to right tackle. Ifedi primarily played right tackle at tackle-rich Texas A&M but slid inside during his debut NFL season. Seattle, of course, is no stranger to moving its linemen. Former second-round pick Justin Britt shifted from tackle to guard to center during his first three seasons in the league.
- Isaac Seumalo started four games — at three different positions — for the Eagles last season, and it looks like Doug Pederson is eyeing more time for the second-year blocker. “He’s a guy that we want to get into the mix,” Pederson said, via Zach Berman of Philly.com. Berman adds Seumalo could wind up at center or guard long-term. The Eagles, though, are keeping left guard Allen Barbre and center Jason Kelce after being rumored to be set to unload both. Philadelphia also brought back center/guard Stefen Wisniewski, complicating Seumalo’s immediate path to playing time.
- Matt Paradis underwent offseason surgery on both of his hips and has an uncertain timetable back to his spot on the Broncos‘ starting offensive front. The fourth-year center shed his crutches last month and is expected back. But Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post notes the hope now is Paradis won’t miss any regular-season action, meaning Paradis might not be a lock for training camp. The former sixth-round pick enjoyed a breakout season in 2016, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center and doing so on one of the league’s shakiest offensive lines. He’s played every Broncos snap over the past two seasons.
B.W. Webb To Visit Browns, Bears
B.W. Webb spent his first four NFL seasons with four different teams, so the cornerback is accustomed to visiting different parts of the country. He’s continuing this trend this week as a UFA.
After paying a visit to Buffalo today to meet with Bills brass, Webb is scheduled to make trips to meet with the Browns and Bears, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Webb’s set to be in Cleveland on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday, barring an earlier deal changing the itinerary.
Webb has suited up for the Cowboys, Steelers, Titans and Saints the past four seasons, with his most significant usage coming in New Orleans. He started seven games last season on a Saints team stricken with cornerback maladies.
The Bears have retooled at corner this offseason in signing Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper. They still have Kyle Fuller, Tracy Porter and Cre’Von LeBlanc as well. Cleveland does not have the same depth outside. Jamar Taylor did well to rebound after a shaky stretch in Miami and was rewarded with an extension. He and Joe Haden remain the Browns’ top two corners. Behind them, though, are second-year player Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Trey Caldwell.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Titans have agreed to terms with cornerback Demontre Hurst, according to a team announcement. Hurst spent the past three seasons with Chicago, where he totaled 58 tackles and two interceptions. Hurst is the eighth player signed by the Titans since the opening of free agency.
- As expected, tight end Trey Burton signed his one-year RFA tender, per an announcement from the Eagles. It’s a one-year, $2.746MM contract.
- Three Broncos signed their ERFA tenders. Starting center Matt Paradis, reserve wide receiver Jordan Taylor and long snapper Casey Kreiter signed tenders and will make $615K in 2017, Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post reports. Denver extended ERFA tender offers to five other players — including outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett — but none of the remaining contingent has signed yet.
Broncos, Texans Won’t Trade For Tony Romo
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has opened up the lines of communication for a Tony Romo deal to go down. So far, that has not spurred any action. The Broncos and Texans still will not trade for Romo, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Instead, it seems that both teams will wait to see if Romo is released by Dallas. From there, they can freely negotiate with Romo (if they choose) without sacrificing draft compensation. They should also be able to sign him at a cheaper rate that his current contract calls for.
Romo does not want to play out the season as Dak Prescott‘s backup it seems unlikely that Jones would force him to stay. That doesn’t leave the Cowboys with an awful lot of options. At this point, it’s the smart play for Denver and Houston to bide their time and see what happens. Even if Romo reaches the open market, the Broncos might not be willing to go all out for him given that they have two quality QBs already under contract.