2017 June - Pro Football Rumors

Jets Interested In LB Erik Walden

June 9th, 2017 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Finally, things could be picking up for free agent Erik Walden. The Jets have had talks with the linebacker in recent weeks, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link). Costello adds that he is a name to keep an eye on for Gang Green.

Walden had 11.0 sacks for the Colts last year and few expected him to still be available in June. But, for one reason or another, the market has moved like molasses for the 31-year-old (32 in August). Walden fired agent Todd France at the tail end of March when he wasn’t getting enough bites and hired Michael and Jason Katz of CSE Talent as his new representation. His only known visit of the spring came with the Titans after the Colts informed him he wouldn’t be retained.

The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus might help to explain the lack of interest Walden has generated this offseason. Despite his 11 quarterback takedowns last year, he still graded out as one of the six worst edge defenders in the league.

Walden may or may not be a high-impact player for 2017, but he would represent a cheap linebacker addition in the wake of David Harris‘ release. At minimum, a signing like this Jets can help make a case to fans that they’re trying to win, even though the team is clearly in a rebuilding phase.

Browns Cut Tyvis Powell

June 9th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have waived defensive back Tyvis Powell, according to a team announcement. Powell came to the Browns in February when he was claimed off waivers from the Seahawks.

Powell appeared in eight games as rookie with Seattle last season and tallied three tackles. He did not make it into the postseason with the Seahawks, however. Seattle dropped him from the roster just prior to the playoffs in order to clear a spot for Devin Hester.

Powell will now hit the waiver wire, giving the league’s other 31 teams an opportunity to grab him in the next 24 hours. If he clears waivers, he will be a free agent and permitted to sign with any team. If the Seahawks want to reunite with the 6’2″, 211 pound defensive back, this may be their opportunity.

Branden Albert To Report To Jaguars

June 9th, 2017 at 12:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Finally, the Jaguars will get to see their starting left tackle in action. Jaguars coach Doug Marrone told reporters that Branden Albert has informed him he’ll be at mandatory minicamp next week (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).

The Jaguars acquired Albert via trade earlier this offseason from the Dolphins, but the tackle has been distant from the team in an effort to renegotiate his contract. With two years to go and little in the way of leverage, the Jaguars have held firm and refused to open talks with the veteran. Albert, it seems, is accepting that he will have to play out the deal that he inked with Miami. He’s scheduled to play out the 2017 season at an $8.9MM cap number. Next year, that figure jumps to $9.6MM.

Unfortunately for Albert, there is zero guaranteed money left on his contract. And even though he’s no longer considered an elite tackle, he feels that he should have a better deal, particularly when considering the way the tackle market exploded this spring.

Last year, Albert registered a career-worst 42.2 overall score on Pro Football Focus. He also missed four games due to injury. In his healthier years, however, he vacillated between above average to very good.

Lions’ Golden Tate Wants Extension?

June 9th, 2017 at 10:17am CST by Zachary Links

There’s plenty of time left on his current deal, but Golden Tate could be getting ahead of the game. The Lions wide receiver took to Twitter last night with what is an apparent request for a new deal.

“I hope I’m one of the next ones to get extended,” Tate wrote. “Big plays can come in all shapes and forms, huh?”

Tate, 29 in August, has two years to go on the five-year, $31MM deal he signed with the Lions back in 2014. Tate’s tweet came moments after Julian Edelman agreed to an extension with the Patriots, but there are some key differences between the two situations, namely that Edelman is entering his contract year. Teams are typically reluctant to enter extension talks with players that have two years to go for fear of setting a precedent with others.

Tate was the Lions’ top receiver in 2016 as he hauled in 91 catches for 1,077 yards and four touchdowns. His current deal pays him an average of $6.2MM per season and places him just 26th among receivers, so it’s not hard to see why he would want a pay bump. But, unless he’s willing to drum up some leverage by skipping out on minicamp, it’s not likely that he’ll get what he’s searching for this summer.

If Tate can reprise his 2016 performance, he should be in line for the extension he’s seeking next summer. The Lions inked cornerback Darius Slay, running back Theo Riddick, and punter Sam Martin to new deals when they were one year out from expiration and defensive back Don Carey got a new deal in the midst of his final season under contract.

Jets Sign LB Spencer Paysinger

June 9th, 2017 at 9:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have signed linebacker Spencer Paysinger, according to a team announcement. Paysinger will help fill in for the recently released David Harris.

Paysinger, 29 later this month, has spent his entire career to date with Jets rivals. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Giants in 2011. In 2015, he joined up with the Dolphins and has spent the last two seasons in Miami. Last year, Paysinger made 15 appearances (three starts) for Miami, tallying 52 tackles, three passes defensed, and two fumble recoveries.

The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus rated Paysinger as the 51st best linebacker in the league last year out of 87 qualified players. His 68.4 overall score wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was better than that of the recently re-acquired Demario Davis (58.4) and 2016 first-round pick Darron Lee (38.3).

Jay Cutler, Jets Couldn’t Line Up Visit

June 9th, 2017 at 8:41am CST by Zachary Links

Jay Cutler is going from the field to the broadcast booth this year, but before announcing his retirement, Cutler explored his options. The Jets were among the clubs to reach out to Cutler after he was released by the Bears, but timing was ultimately an issue and the two sides never wound up meeting, the quarterback tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (audio link).

“The stars didn’t really align for me to get out there,” Cutler said (transcript via PFT). “By the time I was scheduled to get out there, my buddy Josh ]McCown] had taken a visit and they worked something out with him. It all worked out. I’m happy for him.”

When the Jets reached out to Cutler, the quarterback was up front with the team and said that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue playing. While Cutler was on the fence, the Jets shifted focus to McCown. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Cutler might have continued playing in 2017 had things timed out better between him and Gang Green.

Cutler reportedly also had “strong” interest in joining the Texans, but things didn’t work out on that front either. For now, Cutler’s playing days are in the rear view mirror as he gears up for his new career with FOX, but it’s clear that the QB still has some desire to play. If the right opportunity comes along for Cutler in the next year or two, it seems possible that he’ll listen.

NFC East Rumors: Cousins, Hollins, Jaylon Smith

June 8th, 2017 at 9:57pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned yesterday that long-term contract talks between the Redskins and quarterback Kirk Cousins were finally progressing, though Cousins is still holding all the cards in those negotiations. After all, since it would cost Washington north of $34MM to put the franchise tag on Cousins for the third time in 2018, Cousins can afford to play hardball, and Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com says it will still take $50-60MM in guaranteed money to get an extension done. Indeed, the Raiders and Lions are preparing to hand out massive paychecks to Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford, respectively, the Bears just gave Mike Glennon — who threw 11 passes over the past two seasons — essentially a one-year, $16MM deal, and the 2018 class of rookie quarterbacks is supposed to be better than this year’s crop, but it still lacks any Andrew Luck-type certainties, all of which enhances Cousins’ value.

Now for a quick trip around the NFC East to close out the night:

The Eagles reportedly have no interest in reuniting with old friend Jeremy Maclin, and Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks he knows why. Bowen says the Eagles are willing to sign a free agent stopgap like LeGarrette Blount if they do not have young, promising options at a given position, but otherwise they do not want to stunt the growth of a talented prospect that could blossom into a quality starter by the time they are truly ready to compete for a championship in a couple of years. Maclin may not be especially productive by that time, whereas rookie wideouts Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson would just be entering their prime. Hollins in particular is making the Philadelphia coaching staff excited, and as ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets, Hollins is well-regarded around the league and would have been a second- or third-round draft choice this year if not for a broken collarbone that hurt his draft stock.
Reporters finally got the opportunity to see Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith on the field yesterday, as Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press reports that Smith did individual drills and some 7-on-7 work with reporters watching. It was Smith’s sixth practice overall but the first one that the media was allowed to observe, and afterwards, Smith was characteristically vague about his practice time and recovery. However, he remains adamant that he will be ready for Dallas’ September 10 season opener.
We learned earlier tonight that NFL agents and front office personnel expect Giants receiver Odell Beckham to land a contract with a total value very close to, or even exceeding, $100MM.

Odell Beckham To Get $100MM+?

June 8th, 2017 at 8:55pm CST by Rory Parks

We have heard conflicting reports as to whether Odell Beckham‘s absence from OTAs is connected to his desire for a new contract, but regardless of OBJ’s motivations, the Giants want to keep him around for the long haul. They have not yet started long-term negotiations with their star wideout, but they do have some time, as Beckham is under contract through the 2018 season.

Of course, New York could hit Beckham with the franchise tag after after 2018, but as the division-rival Redskins have learned, that approach could get very expensive very fast, and it makes sense that Big Blue would want to lock Beckham up sooner rather than later. And when that happens, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.com says many people around the NFL expect OBJ to receive the largest contract ever given to a receiver (depending on how it’s measured), which could have a total value of over $100MM.

After all, as Vacchiano observes, Beckham’s age (24) and incredible stats through his first three seasons in the league have put him into rarefied air, which means that he will be more than entitled to ask for the five years that Julio Jones recently got from the Falcons, and an average annual value that bests the $17MM figure that the 28-year-old Antonio Brown landed with the Steelers. Vacchiano suggests that the Giants might start their negotiations at five years, $90MM (with $45MM guaranteed), and from there, it would not be difficult to see Beckham eclipse the $100MM mark. Per Vacchiano, NFL agents and front office personnel believe he will at least come close if he stays healthy and productive between now and the time contract talks really get serious, which Vacchiano says will likely happen at the end of the 2017 season.

Roman Harper Mulling Future

June 8th, 2017 at 7:40pm CST by Rory Parks

It does not appear as if free agent safety Roman Harper has generated any interest on the open market, but the 34-year-old says that he is still mulling his NFL future and is in no rush to make a decision as to whether he wants to retire or continue playing. Harper said, per Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune, “[a]s a family, we haven’t really decided on it yet, so one good thing is that I have time. I’m in no hurry to make a decision.”

Harper, whom the Saints selected in the second round of the 2006 draft, made a name for himself as a hard hitter and proficient tackler, which helped to mitigate his struggles in coverage. He spent his first eight seasons in New Orleans before signing with the division-rival Panthers in 2014, and he was fairly productive in his second and final season in Carolina in 2015, as he started all 19 of the team’s games (playoffs included) that season while grading 53rd out of 89 qualifying safeties per Pro Football Focus.

However, his return to New Orleans last season was less than triumphant, as he started just four games and posted a career-low 22 tackles. But with the start of the regular season still over three months away, there is still time for an opportunity to present itself. Meanwhile, Harper is enjoying the freedom that not being under contract at this point in the season has afforded him, as he has had the opportunity to attend the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp and travel.

Given that the Saints drafted safety Marcus Williams this year and signed Rafael Bush in free agency, it does not appear as if Harper will be suiting up for New Orleans in 2017. Saints head coach Sean Payton, though, did try to recruit Harper to join him on the sidelines as a coach, though Harper is unsure if coaching is in the cards for him. He said, “[c]oaching, I just don’t know. I’ve given so much time to this game already. I definitely need to decompress when I do say I’m done and get away from it for a little while before I really make that decision on where my next chapter is.”

AFC Notes: Steelers, Fins, Ravens, Bills

June 8th, 2017 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Steelers would like to sign contract-year defensive end Stephon Tuitt to an extension before the start of the regular season, reports Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 24-year-old is clearly open to a new deal with the Steelers, telling Fittipaldo: “I would love it here. It’s a blessing if they see me being here for the long term. I love the organization.” Locking up Tuitt could cost the Steelers $8MM to $9MM per year, and it probably won’t become a priority until later in the summer, writes Fittipaldo. Tuitt, a second-round pick in 2014, started 14 games in each of the past two seasons and combined for 10.5 sacks in those 28 contests. He also impressed Pro Football Focus last season, receiving its 19th-best grade among 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.