AFC Rumors: Steelers, Broncos, Titans
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey‘s career could end when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s does, relays Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Pouncey’s still young (he’ll turn 28 in July), but it’s possible the seventh-year man and five-time Pro Bowler would rather hang it up than continue with someone other than Roethlisberger, who mulled retirement after last season and is entering his age-35 campaign. “It will be hard for me to come back if he’s not here,” Pouncey said of Roethlisberger. “Whenever you’re playing with that level of quarterback, to try to switch that up would be a different mojo for everybody on the team. … I’m glad he came back. We need him to win a championship around here.”
More on Pittsburgh and two other AFC clubs:
- Three Broncos who have gone high in recent drafts, wide receiver Cody Latimer, offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo and tight end Jeff Heuerman, will have to fight for their roster spots in training camp, observes Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. Latimer, a second-rounder in 2014, hasn’t made much of an impact as a receiver (16 career catches), and he’s not in position to change that with Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Carlos Henderson and Isaiah McKenzie ahead of him on the depth chart. As such, his best hope is to make the Broncos as a special teamer, posits Wolfe, who expects that to happen. Sambrailo, meanwhile, went in the second round a year later and has only totaled 13 appearances and seven starts. Even if he cracks the Broncos’ roster, Sambrailo seems likely to serve as primarily a backup again, as the team spent a first-rounder on tackle Garett Bolles this year after adding fellow bookend Menelik Watson on a three-year, $18.3MM deal in free agency. And then there’s Heuerman, a 2015 third-rounder who missed his entire rookie year with a torn ACL and then caught nine passes in 12 games last season. He’ll have to fend off Henry Krieger-Coble to make the team, notes Wolfe. Denver’s other tight end options include Virgil Green, A.J. Derby and fifth-rounder Jake Butt, a former Michigan standout who’s working back from the torn ACL he suffered in his final college game last December.
- As a rookie last season, fifth-rounder Tajae Sharpe finished second among Titans wide receivers in catches (41), targets (83) and yards (522) in 2016. Nevertheless, it seems he’ll enter camp with a weak hold on a roster spot, writes Jason Wolf of the Tennesseean. The Titans used two valuable picks on receivers – Corey Davis in the first round and Taywan Taylor in the third – in the spring and then signed established veteran Eric Decker last week. Those additions combined with Sharpe’s questionable health (he recently underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot) and a police investigation over an alleged assault have the 22-year-old in limbo, according to Wolf.
- The fact that the Steelers have a deep receiving corps means third-year man Sammie Coates will have to battle for a spot in camp, suggests Fowler. Coates was a relatively high selection in 2015, when he went in Round 3 of the draft, but the ex-Auburn star has totaled just 22 receptions in 21 games as a Steeler. A broken finger and a groin injury likely contributed to Coates’ underwhelming output last season (21 catches on 49 targets, two touchdowns), and he indicated that he’s nearing full health with camp approaching. “I’m getting there. It’s a process,” said Coates, who underwent sports hernia surgery over the winter. “That’s what this process is for, to get your body back so you can compete during camp.”
Extra Points: CBA, CFL, Falcons, Jones
The cap floor, rather than rookie deals, should be the focus of the next collective bargaining agreement for the players, Mike Florio of PFT opines. Some, like Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, wants to eliminate the restrictions on rookie deals. However, more money for rookies doesn’t do any good for the players already in the league.
The cap floor is currently at 89%, which allows teams to pocket 11% of the allowed salary cap limit on a four-year average rather than spent it on players. Using the 2017 cap of $167MM, that theoretically means that each team can bank as much as $18.37MM. In any given year, roughly one-third of teams will view themselves as non-contenders, so the possibility for mass frugality is there.
It’s rare that unions will look out for rookies over veterans, so it’s pretty likely that the NFLPA’s focus will be on the salary floor and revenue sharing rather than an overhaul of rookie slotting.
Here’s more from the world of football:
- CFL standout quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is not ready to give up on his NFL dreams, despite the fact that he turned 27 earlier this year, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano writes. The Texas native had only one invite to tryout for an NFL team and that was in 2012 when the Texans came calling. Since then, he has captured the CFL’sMost Outstanding Player Award, a Grey Cup trophy, and Grey Cup MVP award. Last year, he threw for 5,385 yards.
- Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is the focus of a lawsuit between agents Pat Dye Jr. and Jimmy Sexton, as Greg Stephenson of AL.com details. Sexton is accused of stealing away key clients when he left SportsTrust Advisors for CAA in 2011. One of those clients is Jones. If the civil suit continues into the fall, Jones may be asked to give his testimony during the season.
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Derek Carr: Deal Structured To Help Team
Derek Carr‘s new contract is, in some ways, a record-setter. In other ways, it fell a bit short of what the football world figured he would get in an extension. At a Friday morning press conference, Carr explained that his contract is structured specifically so that the Raiders can also work out long-term deals with his best teammates. 
“This affords us to do that. We’ll start on that ASAP,” GM Reggie McKenzie said (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal).
Next up could be an extension for right guard Gabe Jackson. Back in March, McKenzie hinted that a new deal could be on the way for the 25-year-old. In 2016, Jackson graded out as the league’s 20th best offensive guard out of 72 qualifiers, per the numbers at Pro Football Focus. The Raiders’ offensive line also ranked first in pass protection in 2016, allowing an adjusted sack rate of just 3.4%, according to Football Outsiders. While interior offensive linemen don’t get as much love as tackles, Jackson is clearly a key cog in Oakland’s O-Line.
The Raiders will also have to address the contracts of wide receivers Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack down the line. The structure of Carr’s deal coupled with the Raiders’ cap flexibility should allow the team to hammer out deals for all of its stars and continue to build on one of the best cores in the league.
Raiders Sign Derek Carr To Extension
The Raiders and Derek Carr have finalized a new five-year deal that is believed to be worth about $25MM per year, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Carr confirmed the deal on Twitter on Thursday morning and the Raiders made it official with an announcement on Friday.
[RELATED: Lions Willing To Make Matthew Stafford League’s Highest-Paid Player]
Carr is now signed through 2022 with a deal that will contain just south of $69MM over the first three years, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Carr’s deal includes $70MM in guarantees with $40MM fully guaranteed at signing, a source tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). Additional details can be found here.
It has long been expected that Carr’s deal could approach the $25MM/year mark, but it wasn’t clear when the two sides would finally shake hands on a deal. Now, the Raiders have gotten the extension hammered out with weeks to go before training camp. That’s a huge win for the Raiders, especially since Carr was adamant about cutting off talks in late July.
“I wouldn’t even answer my phone,” Carr said recently. “The money isn’t the thing that drives me. … What drives me is making sure I’m giving everything that I have with my abilities, and making sure that we win. And I don’t want anything distracting my thought process at all…Now, that’s not a jab, or anything like that. That’s just me saying I’m not going to deal with anything that’s not helping me just focus on winning.”
The former second-round pick was slated to enter the final year of his rookie contract. Instead, he’ll see a titanic bump after his paltry $1.15MM salary in 2017. Before today’s news, Andrew Luck‘s $24.6MM average annual salary was the highest of any player in the NFL. Carr’s new deal – when counting just the “new” money – will place him at the top in AAV, besting Carson Palmer ($24.35MM), Drew Brees ($24.25MM), and Kirk Cousins ($23.9MM).
Last season, Carr completed 63.8% of his passes for 3,937 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 6 QB last season, putting him ahead of Brees, Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, and several other major names. Only Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Luck, and Russell Wilson finished with higher scores than the Raiders QB.
Carr’s new deal will have major implications for Stafford and Cousins as they seek new multi-year arrangements. Lions president Ron Wood admitted this week that a new deal for Stafford would likely mean making him the league’s highest-paid player and the Carr deal only raises the bar. The two sides may now have the framework in place for a deal and that could bump Carr from the top spot in compensation rather quickly.
Meanwhile, Cousins and the Redskins have until July 17 (not July 15) to work out an extension. Cousins is not interested in taking a hometown discount and he is seeking full guarantees that will match the total of this year’s franchise tag ($23.94MM) plus next year’s transition tender ($28.7MM).
NFC North Notes: Vikings, Bradford, Bears
Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford is one year away from free agency and he could be poised to cash in all over again, ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling writes. Bradford’s agent Tom Condon will likely seek a deal with an average annual value of $20MM or more with at least $40-$50MM in guaranteed money. That may sound like a high price tag for Bradford, but it’s not that outlandish when looking at other quarterback contracts. After Derek Carr‘s extension with the Raiders, 13 quarterbacks in the league now make an average of $20MM or more. The question is – will the Vikings be the team to give Bradford that kind of deal? In theory, Minnesota could have Teddy Bridgewater ready to go for 2018, but they can’t bank on that, so they’ll likely explore a Bradford extension.
Here’s a look at the NFC North:
- Running back Ka’Deem Carey is not a lock to make the Bears‘ roster, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes. Right now, Carey is in a contract year and, like former starter Jeremy Langford, he’s competing to be the backup for Jordan Howard. Carey can help his chances of making the cut by improving his special teams play, but Biggs can also see the Bears signing another running back late in the summer.
- Kyle Rudolph, David Morgan, and Bucky Hodges project to be the Vikings‘ three tight ends on the 53-man roster, but Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune could see the team adding a veteran instead of keeping Hodges. Hodges, a Virginia Tech product, was taken in the sixth round of this year’s draft.
- Will former Chiefs GM John Dorsey land with the Packers? Contrary to speculation, a reunion between the two is believed to be unlikely.
- Lions president Rod Wood isn’t balking at the idea of making quarterback Matthew Stafford the NFL’s highest-paid player.
AFC West Rumors: Chiefs, Dorsey, Veach
Here’s a look at the AFC West following the Chiefs‘ surprising GM shakeup:
- Chiefs co-director of player personnel Brett Veach is the name to watch in the team’s GM search, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Veach was widely identified as a candidate for the opening on Thursday, but it sounds like he has an early lead over the rest.
- Several sources in the know say that John Dorsey didn’t know the Chiefs were going to fire him this week, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets. The Chiefs reportedly weren’t pleased with how Dorsey handled contract negotiations with stars like Justin Houston and Eric Berry, but Dorsey still did not believe that his job was in jeopardy.
- The Raiders‘ commitment of $40MM guaranteed at signing for Derek Carr is nothing to sneeze at, but the team got a level of flexibility that you don’t see with some of the other quarterback contracts out there, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. Before the third year of the deal, the Raiders could theoretically walk away from Derek Carr and take on just $7.5MM in dead money. Because he’ll effectively be going year-to-year, the deal has some similarities to Colin Kaepernick‘s 49ers contract and that’s not necessarily great for the player. Carr did get some financial security with his new deal, but Fitzgerald feels that quarterbacks need a new champion to really push the market. That could come in a matter of weeks when/if Matthew Stafford inks a new deal with Detroit.
AFC North Notes: Ravens, Boldin, Bengals
Could the Ravens still sign Anquan Boldin? People are naturally speculating that Baltimore could bring Boldin back to the fold, but Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun gets the sense that the Ravens are content with what they have at wide receiver. The Ravens want to give Breshad Perriman lots of playing time while also getting Chris Moore involved and a Boldin signing would hurt both of those efforts. Baltimore is also looking to use its remaining cap space to bolster the offensive line.
For his part, Boldin says that he is willing to wait until later in the summer to join a team. The wide receiver, who turns 37 in October, reportedly would like to play close to his home in Florida.
Here’s more from the AFC North:
- There’s a lot of chatter about coach Marvin Lewis‘ future with the Bengals, but the players aren’t necessarily dwelling on it. “He doesn’t talk about contracts. He doesn’t talk about his situation,” quarterback Andy Dalton said (via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer) . “It’s all about having a good year. So, the guys aren’t thinking about that.” While Bengals players say they are focused on winning rather than saving Lewis’ job, every player quoted in the story had positive things to say about the coach.
- Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer is gaining ground on Cody Kessler in the Browns‘ quarterback competition, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. “We already have some capable guys here in Brock and Cody, and we want to see if (Kizer) can compete with those guys,” coach Hue Jackson said last week. “Obviously, there are some things he does really well, and there are some things where he’s still a young quarterback. He’s still learning, but he’s emerging. I do believe that. We’ll see how this all unfolds.” Of course, Brock Osweiler is also in the mix for the No. 1 QB job and the early word on him has also been positive.
- Former Browns and Steelers cornerback Justin Gilbert has been suspended for one year by the NFL.
Reaction To Chiefs Firing GM John Dorsey
On the same day they announced a four-year extension for head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs shocked the NFL world by firing general manager John Dorsey. Let’s take a look at some of the reaction and fallout from Dorsey’s dismissal:
- Despite what owner Clark Hunt stated in the Chiefs’ press release, Kansas City and Dorsey did not “agree to part ways,” a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Rather, the Chiefs decided to fire Dorsey, and the decision was made by Hunt, not Reid, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- The Chiefs weren’t pleased with how Dorsey handled contract negotiations with the team’s premier players such as Justin Houston and Eric Berry, reports Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). Kansas City waited until the last minute to work out deals with Houston and Berry (after using the franchise tag on both), and the delay in talks ended up costing the Chiefs down the line.
- Dorsey reportedly told a confidant that he and Hunt were “butting heads” within the past two months, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Dorsey didn’t elaborate on the issue at hand, but it conceivably could have been related to how Dorsey handled Houston and Berry’s contracts, or about Dorsey’s own pact with the Chiefs.
- Reactions to Dorsey’s firing — both inside and outside the Chiefs organization — were ones of immense surprise. Those around were the league were “stunned” and “dumbfounded,” per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), while Kansas City staffers were just as shocked,as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. “It caught everybody off guard,” said a team source. “Nobody saw it coming. Nobody knows (what happened) because everybody is out of the building.”
- Reid will not take on a more active role in personnel, according to Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. Reid, notably, was the Eagles’ de facto general manager from 2001-12. Additionally, Reid and the new general manager will both separately report to Hunt, the same arrangement utilized by the Reid and Dorsey tandem.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/22/17
Today’s minor moves:
- The Patriots have waived wide receiver DeAndrew White in order to create roster space for newly-signed veteran linebacker David Harris, the club announced today. White, 25, signed with the 49ers in 2015 after going undrafted out of Alabama. He spent his rookie season solely as a return man, appearing in four games while returning six kickoffs and one punt. White spent the majority of the 2016 campaign on New England’s practice squad, and had just re-signed with the club last month.