5 Key Stories: 3/26/17 – 4/2/17
Viva Las Vegas. As expected, NFL owners approved the Raiders’ plan to relocate to Las Vegas by a tally of 31-1, with the Dolphins registering the only “no” vote. While the club is expected to remain in Oakland for the next two seasons, San Antonio has also been mentioned as a possible interim site. The Raiders’ new stadium is expected to cost $1.9MM billion, but the team secured a record $750MM in public money to put towards the effort.
Seahawks discussed Richard Sherman trade. While Pete Carroll admitted Seattle had listened on offers for Sherman, he indicated that no deal was likely to take place. One team which reportedly called on Sherman was the Patriots, who subsequently signed free agent Stephon Gilmore and are now presumably not interested in the Seahawks All Pro. Sherman, for his part, was comfortable with his name coming up.
Browns open to Josh Gordon return. Although nearly every report out of Cleveland has indicated the Browns are likely to trade or release Gordon if he’s reinstated, executive vice president Sashi Brown said last week that his club is willing to accept Gordon once again. “We’re not in position at wide receiver to turn down a guy like Josh if we feel he’s settled himself,” Brown said. Gordon, still only 25 years old, hasn’t played a full season since 2013, when he led the NFL with 1,646 receiving yards.
TV wants Tony Romo. Both CBS and FOX are thought to be courting Romo, who has yet to be either released or traded by the Cowboys. CBS, specifically, is willing to hand Romo its top commentator job, where he’d take the place of Phil Simms. Romo would slide into the network’s No. 1 broadcasting team, working with Jim Nantz on the week’s top game.
Eagles add a pair of veterans. In need of help both up front and in the secondary, Philadelphia inked defensive end Chris Long and cornerback Patrick Robinson last week, fortifying its defense with a duo that teems with experience. Long didn’t plan to re-sign with the Patriots as he searched for a larger role, while Robinson was cut by the Colts last month. Despite adding Long, the Eagles are still expected to target pass rushers in the draft.
NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants
Safeties aren’t a priority in Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli‘s scheme, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, which could help explain why Dallas didn’t seriously attempt to re-sign Barry Church or J.J. Wilcox. Church landed a four-year, $26MM deal with the Jaguars, while Wilcox inked a two-year, $6.5MM pact with the Buccaneers. Former first-round pick Byron Jones, meanwhile, is signed for two more years (plus a fifth-year option), and could be an interesting “case study” as Dallas will be forced to consider handing a hefty contract to a safety, per Archer.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- The Eagles hosted UConn safety Obi Melifonwu for a top-30 draft visit on Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. At least seven other NFL teams have expressed interest in Melifonwu, who is expected to be drafted in the the first or second round. Philadelphia is set at safety for the immediate future, although veteran Malcolm Jenkins has reportedly been discussed in trade talks.
- Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham has “attracted the interest” of the Giants, and could be in the mix for New York when it picks at No. 23, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. While the Giants famously haven’t selected a first-round linebacker since 1984, the club needs reinforcements at the position, as Devon Kennard, Keenan Robinson, and Jonathan Casillas isn’t exactly a world-beating starting group. Earlier this year, a scout told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that Cunningham “needs to gain strength” and “make more tackles.”
- Offensive lineman Byron Bell‘s one-year deal with the Cowboys has a base value of $2MM, reports Wilson (Twitter link). Bell, 28, will receive a $1MM base salary, a $250K signing bonus, and $300K in per-game roster bonuses. He can also earn another $450K through weight bonuses, which will immediately count on Dallas’ salary cap as likely-to-be-earned because they’re considered to be under the player’s control.
PFR Originals: 3/26/17 – 4/2/17
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- With rumors swirling that the Panthers would like to acquire the No. 2 overall pick from the 49ers, I examined what Carolina would have to sacrifice to move up to the top of Round 1. Using Chase Stuart of Football Perspective’s draft value chart, I worked out a trade that would see Carolina send the eighth selection, a second-rounder, and a fifth-rounder to San Francisco in exchange for No. 2, a fourth-rounder, and a seventh-rounder. The classic, Jimmy Johnson-devised value chart, however, would force the Panthers to ship much more to the Niners.
- An Indoor Football League team declined to sign Greg Hardy following a fan vote, leading Zach Links to ask if an NFL club should consider inking the controversial defensive end. Hardy, still only 28 years old, is an exceptionally talented player, but no team wants to touch him after his history of domestic violence (and his lack of accountability). Thus far, PFR readers agree with devotees of the Salt Lake City Screamers — more than 80% of respondents don’t think Hardy should land a contract.
Zach Brown To Visit Redskins
Zach Brown‘s free agent tour will continue, as the veteran linebacker will take a meeting with the Redskins on Monday, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Brown, one of only four PFR Top 50 free agents who remains unsigned, has been linked to several clubs over the past month, including the Raiders, Dolphins, Colts, and Bills. At one point, Brown was thought to be choosing between Oakland and Miami, but the Fins are now not expected to sign the 27-year-old. Reportedly looking for a multi-year pact in the $6MM range, Brown has yet to find a team willing to match that ask.
Washington, meanwhile, has two starting linebackers returning in the forms of Mason Foster and restricted free agent Will Compton, but Brown would be an upgrade on the latter. Compton ranked as only the No. 74 linebacker in the league last season, per Pro Football Focus, while Brown placed 17th.
Jets Work Out Patrick Mahomes
The Jets had a private workout with former Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes this morning, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com noted earlier today, the Jets will have met with every top QB prospect in the draft by the time draft day arrives, but Cimini believes those meetings are largely just a smokescreen to drive up the value of their No. 6 overall pick.
Nonetheless, Gang Green does need a long-term solution at the quarterback position, as free agent acquisition Josh McCown is a stopgap, and it is unclear what the team has in 2016 second-round pick Christian Hackenberg and 2015 fourth-round pick Bryce Petty. Mahomes has been scheduled for a league-high 18 official visits and private workouts, and he recently worked out for the Bengals, Cardinals, Saints, Chargers, and Browns.
Mahomes’ stock has been on the rise for the last couple of months. In February, the NFL’s College Advisory Committee gave the quarterback a second-round grade. Meanwhile, with an overall underwhelming crop of quarterbacks in this year’s class, it’s not hard to see Mahomes going somewhere in the first round. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com previously estimated that his floor could be No. 25 overall when the Texans are scheduled to be on the clock. His ceiling, according to La Canfora, could be as high as top three overall.
Mahomes passed for 5,052 yards last season for the Red Raiders along with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He completed 65.7 percent of his throws. Over the past three years, Mahomes rushed for 22 touchdowns while running a spread offense. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay recently said of the signal-caller, “He is a big-time developmental prospect, and I mean big time in both the positive and negative. I think his upside may be as great as any quarterback in this class, but his learning curve could be as great as any quarterback in this class because he comes from a system that has not translated well to the NFL.”
This workout is in keeping with a report several days ago indicating that the Jets have strong interest in Mahomes. The Jets also worked out former Texas Tech tight end Tyler Scalzi on Sunday.
Draft Rumors: Mixon, Charlton, McCaffrey
The Chiefs are “still doing research” on embattled Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, as Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star writes. Several teams have reportedly scratched Mixon off of their draft boards, while others are “digging in hard” on him. Kansas City, of course, selected another talented player with an ugly domestic abuse incident on his record, Tyreek Hill, last year, and Hill was a key component of the club’s success in 2016. Chiefs brass was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of drafting Mixon, simply saying that there is more evaluation to be done. A report last month suggested that, despite Mixon’s history and the fact that some teams are not considering him at all, his draft stock is on the rise.
Now for more draft-related rumors:
- Add the Dolphins to the long list of teams with interest in Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Miami has scheduled a visit with Charlton, who is a consensus first-round talent. Charlton has also met, or will meet, with at least seven other clubs.
- As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com observes, the Jets will have met with every top QB prospect in the draft by the time draft day arrives, but he believes those visits are more of a smokescreen than anything else. New York is clearly in rebuilding mode, and Cimini posits that the Jets are hoping to drive up the value of their No. 6 overall pick, which he does not believe the club will use on a signal-caller, despite public suggestions to the contrary.
- Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com believes the Giants will select a quarterback in the draft, but he does not think Big Blue will use a first- or second-round selection on one. Instead, he suggests New York will target a player like Josh Dobbs or Jerrod Evans in the middle rounds. He adds that the Giants would love to draft former Stanford star Christian McCaffrey, but it’s unlikely McCaffrey will still be on the board when the Giants make their No. 23 overall selection.
- Thanks to Jesse James‘ surprisingly effective 2016 campaign, the Steelers do not have to select a starting-caliber tight end in this month’s draft, as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests. The club has proven that it can win with James as a starter, although Ladarius Green‘s health concerns may still compel Pittsburgh to select a developmental tight end in the middle rounds of the draft. Fittipaldo names Michigan’s Jake Butt — who may have been a first-round prospect but for his devastating knee injury in the last game of his collegiate career — Arkansas’ Jeremy Sprinkle, and Iowa’s George Kittle as potential targets.
- Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Browns will draft Mitch Trubisky somewhere in the first round — although presumably not with the No. 1 overall selection, as the team seems set to take Myles Garrett there — if Trubisky is available. If they cannot somehow land Trubisky, Cabot believes Patrick Mahomes is the backup plan. Mahomes is probably not worth the Browns’ No. 12 overall selection, but he may be gone by the time Cleveland picks again at No. 33, so if the Browns want Mahomes, they may need to trade into the bottom of the first round to get him.
NFL Held Owners-Only Meeting Last Week
From the people that brought you players-only meetings comes the equally exciting owners-only meetings. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports, one session of the league meetings in Arizona last week included only club owners. Florio describes such meetings as unusual, but not unprecedented, and he lays out some of the discussions that took place behind closed doors.
Unsurprisingly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was the ringleader of the conference, as he knows from experience that most of the membership will choose to remain silent in those situations. Jones was the one who introduced topics about which he and other owners have questions and concerns.
One of those topics was commissioner Roger Goodell‘s salary. Currently, a subset of the owners, the Compensation Committee, handles the determination and negotiation of Goodell’s pay, and a few owners believe that increased involvement from the rest of the membership would be beneficial to the league, which is a nice way of saying that they believe Goodell’s salary is too high. The owners also discussed a potential succession plan for the commissioner’s job, but a source close to Jones indicated that Jones remains committed Goodell, which, given Jones’ influence over the rest of the owners, is good news for the incumbent.
That does not mean, however, that Jones does not have concerns. For instance, he wants the league to drop its prohibition on marijuana use, although such a policy change would have to come out of labor negotiations and would require the players to make one or more concessions to the league (Jones, of course, has seen a number of his own players be hit with suspensions under the league’s substance-abuse policy in recent years).
Jones also wants the league to terminate its practice of investigating off-field misconduct. The NFL stepped up its vigilance in that regard following the Ray Rice incident, but Jones, who has seen firsthand the inefficiencies of such investigations during the Ezekiel Elliott saga, believes that the league may be biting off more than it can chew. Perhaps realizing that those sentiments may result in a public opinion backlash, an NFL spokesman said the NFL continues to maintain its commitment to pursuing investigations that are relevant and meaningful, and that the league office always looks to be efficient when conducting investigations.
For the time being, it does not appear as if any dramatic changes to the league’s operations are imminent. However, one source indicated that owners-only meetings may take place on a more regular basis moving forward.
No Deal Imminent Between Chiefs, Maualuga
The Chiefs brought in former Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga for a visit earlier this week, but Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports that Maualuga left without a contract, and it does not appear as though there is anything imminent between the two sides at this time.
[RELATED: Patrick Mahomes Visits Chiefs]
Kansas City also hosted free agent linebacker Gerald Hodges a few weeks ago as it attempts to bolster a unit that ranked No. 26 in the league against the run in 2016. Hodges, too, left town without a contract.
Maualuga, a USC product, was drafted by the Bengals in the second round of the 2009 draft, and he was a serviceable starter for most of his eight-year tenure in Cincinnati, but he saw his playing time decrease last season, as he was on the field for just 326 snaps in 14 games. He rated as the third-worst linebacker in the league, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.
Most of the Chiefs’ linebackers – including Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, and Tamba Hali – are homegrown. Victor Ochi, who was previously with the Jets’ taxi squad, is the only LB to join the group since the end of the 2016 season, and he profiles as more of a pass rusher than run-stopper. It appears that the Chiefs’ search for a run-stuffing linebacker will continue on, and they may now turn to the draft to fill that need.
Latest On Kirk Cousins
We learned several days ago that the Redskins offered Kirk Cousins a five-year extension that would begin in 2018, after Cousins plays out the 2017 campaign under the $23.94MM franchise tag. However, we also heard that the two sides remain far apart in negotiations, as the proposed extension does not include significant guaranteed money.
Not only is the Redskins’ current offer not sufficient to tempt Cousins, but John Keim of ESPN.com is pessimistic that a long-term deal will get done at all (some sources, Keim says, are even more pessimistic). Keim believes the club has waited too long to make an offer that Cousins will accept, and that, at this point, Cousins has more incentive to wait and see how things play out in Washington with respect to the direction of the franchise, how he meshes with coach Jay Gruden as a playcaller, etc. After all, if the Redskins want to be sure that Cousins remains with the team in 2018, they would need to apply the franchise tag for a third and final time next year, which would mean paying Cousins over $34MM. If Washington does not offer an extension that includes at least that much in fully-guaranteed money, Cousins may be better off testing the open market, where he would almost certainly be the best quarterback available.
For its part, the team continues to insist that an extension will get done, and perhaps as the July deadline for a long-term pact approaches, Washington will increase its offer enough to get Cousins to eschew the prospect of free agency in 2018. But as Keim notes, the Redskins also have to be realistic and prepare for the chance that Cousins will not be around next year. Not everyone in the organization is as convinced as departed GM Scot McCloughan that 2016 sixth-rounder Nate Sudfeld is the solution, and this year’s crop of rookie signal-callers is believed to be rather weak. Nonetheless, as Keim reports, McCloughan was “studying a lot of quarterbacks” prior to his dismissal, which could have been simple due diligence, or which could have been preparation for life with Cousins.
As our Connor Byrne wrote earlier this week, Cousins has made his case for a sizable commitment since he took over as the Redskins’ starter in 2015. He started all of the Redskins’ games over the past two seasons and helped the team to a 17-14-1 record, including an NFC East title in 2015. Along the way, Cousins combined for over 9,000 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
North Notes: Ravens, Fournette, Vikes, Lions
The Ravens “love” LSU running back Leonard Fournette, according to Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun. Of course, given that Fournette is considered the top back in the 2017 class, a number of teams probably have similar feelings, but Baltimore could conceivably consider a trade up in order to land Fournette. Currently, the Ravens sit at pick No. 16, so they’d probably have to jump 10 spots (at a minimum) to get a shot at Fournette, who is likely the only running back Baltimore would select in the first round.
Let’s take a look at the latest from the NFL’s two North divisions:
- While the Ravens are open to a reunion with receiver Anquan Boldin, the veteran pass-catcher may want to sign with a club that plays closer to his home in Florida, as Zriebec writes in a separate piece. Earlier this week, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said he’d “obviously” be amenable to signing Boldin, and the fit makes sense given the team’s lack of depth at wideout. Boldin is reportedly taking his time finding a landing spot, perhaps an eye towards skipping spring workouts.
- Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara will meet with the Vikings next week, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Originally viewed as a Day 2 pick due to his working in a committee for the Volunteers, Kamara is now being bandied about as a potential Round 1 selection. Minnesota recently signed free agent Latavius Murray to help compensate for the loss of Adrian Peterson, but Murray can opt out of his contract after 2017. Kamara, meanwhile, has also taken a visit with the Saints.
- Having swapped out DeAndre Levy for Paul Worrilow this offseason, the Lions still feel linebacker is a need area, as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes. “We’re going to throw (Worrilow) in the mix, and see how it kind of works out with the guys that we have and any guys we might add,” Detroit general manager Bob Quinn said. “He’s not the total answer to everything we want, but we think he’s a really good signing that we kind of targeted early on.” Worrilow joins Tahir Whitehead, Antwione Williams, and Thurston Armbrister as the Lions’ current linebackers, while the club could use the No. 21 overall selection to bring in another second-level player.