2018 March - Pro Football Rumors

Redskins Sign LB Pernell McPhee

March 26th, 2018 at 2:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins have officially signed free agent edge rusher Pernell McPhee, the club announced today.

McPhee, 29, was released by the Bears earlier this offseason after a disappointing three-year run in the Windy City. Chicago inked McPhee to a five-year deal prior to the 2015 campaign, but he was only able to stay healthy for 36 games over the past three years. The former undrafted free agent still managed to post 12 sacks during his time with the Bears, and he was effective when able to stay on the field.

Despite his question marks, McPhee still ranked as the No. 4 edge rusher heading into the free agent period. While that ranking was due in part to McPhee’s talent, it also spoke to the lack of pass-rushing options on the free agent market. Among PFR’s top-15 edge rushers, only three — Kony Ealy, Connor Barwin, and Junior Galette — are still without a contract.

Washington won’t ask McPhee to serve as a starter, as he’ll instead provide rotational snaps behind Preston Smith and Ryan Kerrigan. McPhee has shown the ability to line up from several different areas of the field in the past, and keeping his playtime low could help stave off further injuries. The Redskins don’t intend to re-sign fellow veteran Junior Galette, so McPhee will immediately step into Galette’s role as the Redskins’ third pass-rusher.

Before signing with Washington, McPhee also took a meeting with the Falcons.

Johnny Manziel To Throw At Texas A&M Pro Day

March 26th, 2018 at 2:29pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel will throw at Texas A&M’s pro day on Tuesday, according to Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).

Manziel worked out at the University of San Diego’s pro day last week, but only 13 teams were in attendance. Texas A&M obviously has a much larger profile than USD, especially in terms of football, and all 32 NFL clubs will be on hand to watch Manziel and the rest of the Aggie prospects.

Manziel was thought to be interested in working out a deal to play in the Canadian Football League during the 2018 campaign, and was in fact offered a contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January. However, Manziel and his team reportedly weren’t pleased with the terms of the pact, and he’s now scheduled to play in the upcoming Spring League. The former first-round pick is reportedly amenable to a minimum salary or a practice squad slot.

Although Manziel is still only 25 years old, he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2015 campaign. In eight career starts for the Browns, the former Heisman trophy winner completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Panthers Re-Sign G Amini Silatolu

March 26th, 2018 at 1:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have re-signed guard Amini Silatolu to a one-year deal, the club announced today.

Silatolu, 29, has spent his entire playing career with the Panthers (his two-month stay with the Bears in 2016 never actually resulted in any playing time). A former second-round pick, Silatolu started 15 games during his rookie campaign in 2012, but has started just 16 contests since that time. Last season, Silatolua appeared in 14 games and made three starts for Carolina, playing on roughly a quarter of the club’s offensive snaps and 18% of the Panthers’ special teams snaps.

Carolina has now assembled a mix of players who could conceivably take over at left guard for the departed Andrew Norwell, with Silatolu, Taylor Moton, Jeremiah Sirles, and Tyler Larsen among them. Of that group, however, Silatolu is probably the most likely to enter the upcoming season as a clear reserve.

Jets Offered Ndamukong Suh One-Year Deal

March 26th, 2018 at 1:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets’ rescinded offer to free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was for one year and came with a “hard deadline,” general manager Mike Maccagnan told reporters, including Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

New York was reportedly offering Suh the most money of any interested party, but that may have only meant Gang Green was willing to give Suh the largest annual average. An annual average doesn’t make much of a difference if the contract is only one year in length, and Suh is almost assuredly going to land a multi-season pact with a hefty guarantee.

The Rams are now considered the favorites to land Suh, although the Titans and Saints are still interested, as well. The Jets, for what it’s worth, possess more cap space than any of those clubs, but owner Christopher Johnson indicated signing Suh “wasn’t in keeping with [the Jets’] long-term plans.”

Browns Re-Sign LB Tank Carder

March 26th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns have re-signed linebacker Tank Carder, the club announced today.

Carder missed the entire 2017 campaign after suffering a torn ACL, but given that the injury occurred last August, it’s fair to assume that he’ll be ready for the upcoming season. Given that he’s recovering from a serious injury, it’s likely that Carder inked a one-year deal with little or no guaranteed money.

Carder, 29, is a linebacker in name only, as he rarely plays on the defensive side of the ball. However, he’s a key cog on Cleveland’s special teams unit, and he’s seen at least 60% ST playtime in each of his healthy Browns seasons. A former fifth-round pick, Carder has been with Cleveland since 2012, and was voted a team captain in 2016.

Raiders Trying To Re-Sign LB NaVorro Bowman

March 26th, 2018 at 12:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raider will meet with NaVorro Bowman‘s agent at this week’s league meetings in an effort to re-sign the veteran linebacker, according to Vic Tafur of the Athletic (Twitter link).

Bowman, 29, hasn’t drawn much interest since the market opened earlier this month, as Oakland is the only club to which he’s been linked. But he’s clearly the best off-ball linebacker who remains unsigned after fellow free agents such as Nigel Bradham, Avery Williamson, Zach Brown, and Anthony Hitchens all landed contracts.

The Raiders signed Bowman last October after he was released by the 49ers, and he went on to start 10 games for the club. In 15 total games last season, Bowman posted 80 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one interception while grading as the NFL’s No. 11 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus. Bowman said in December that he’d prefer to re-sign with the Raiders, noting his affinity for the Bay Area.

Oakland has already made one major addition to its linebacking corps this offseason by inking former Lion Tahir Whitehead to a three-year deal. Whitehead has experience at each of the linebacker positions, but he’d shift to the outside to make room for Bowman if the latter is re-signed.

Cowboys WR Terrance Williams Recovering From Broken Foot

March 26th, 2018 at 12:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams is recovering from a broken foot that required surgery, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dallas executive Stephen Jones said Williams’ injury could force him to miss a portion of organized team activities, tweets David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

While it doesn’t sound as though Williams will miss regular season action, his injury nonetheless adds more intrigue to the Cowboys’ receiving corps. Jones said Dallas’ recent wideout addition Allen Hurns is not expected to replace Dez Bryant, but admitted the club still has not discussed altering Bryant’s contract, per Moore (Twitter link).

Bryant is due a $12.5MM base salary in 2018, and will count for $16.5MM on Dallas’ salary cap. If he’s released, the Cowboys would save $8.5MM but still be on the hook for $8MM in dead money. Dallas could designate the 29-year-old Bryant as a post-June 1 release and in turn save $12.5MM in 2018 space.

Williams, for his part, is likely stuck on Dallas’ roster despite his lack of recent production. The Cowboys would pay more to cut Williams than release him prior to June 1, and they wouldn’t net any savings even if Williams was a post-June release. Williams, 28, has failed to top 600 yards receiving in either of the past two campaigns.

Eagles DE Chris Long To Play In 2018

March 26th, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Despite rumors that he’d been considering retirement, Eagles defensive end Chris Long plans to continue his career in 2018, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link).

Long reportedly signed a new deal with Philadelphia last week, leading to speculation that he would indeed return for the upcoming campaign. Long is now guaranteed $3MM in 2018, and his base salary will increase from a non-guaranteed $1MM to $2.5MM guaranteed. Additionally, the Eagles eliminated Long’s $750K in per-game roster bonuses and $750K in incentives.

Philadelphia has revamped its defensive line this offseason, as the club added Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata while losing Vinny Curry and Beau Allen. Bennett, though, is scheduled to turn himself into authorities on Monday after being indicted on a felony charge, so Long’s presence will be all the more important if Bennett is handed a league-imposed suspension.

Long, 32, appeared in all 16 games and saw roughly 50% playtime for the Super Bowl champion Eagles last season. In that time, Long managed 20 tackles and five sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 30 edge defender among 106 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Panthers Re-Sign CB Ladarius Gunter

March 26th, 2018 at 11:55am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have re-signed cornerback Ladarius Gunter to a one-year deal, the club announced today. Gunter can earn up to $1.4MM including incentives, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Carolina claimed Gunter off waivers from the Packers last September, but opted not to tender him as a restricted free agent earlier this month. The Panthers always had interest in a reunion with Gunter after free agent signing Bashaud Breeland‘s failed physical led to a voided contract, but the club re-signed him at a price cheaper than the $1.907MM original round tender.

The Panthers were able to secure Gunter at a low-cost rate because the 25-year-old simply doesn’t come with enough of an NFL track record to warrant a more serious investment. In two of Gunter’s three NFL campaigns (2015 and 2017), he played a combined total of 10 defensive snaps. During his lone year as a starter in 2016, Gunter graded as one of the worst cornerbacks in the league while starting 15 games for Green Bay, per Pro Football Focus.

Gunter is the third defensive back signed by the Panthers in the past week, joining fellow corner Ross Cockrell and safety Da’Norris Searcy. He joins a cornerback depth chart that includes James Bradberry, Captain Munnerlyn, Kevon Seymour, and Cockrell, among others, but is without Daryl Worley (trade) and Teddy Williams (free agency).

Cowboys Re-Sign OL Joe Looney

March 26th, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have officially re-signed offensive lineman Joe Looney to a two-year deal, the club announced today. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that Dallas was close to a new deal with Looney.

Looney is just one of three offensive linemen who are scheduled to sign with the Cowboys this week. Dallas has announced its addition of former Patriots tackle Cameron Fleming, while interior lineman Marcus Martin is also expected to land with the Cowboys. Looney, like Martin, looks like a clear backup, while Fleming could the opportunity to start at right tackle if Dallas opts to move La’el Collins to guard.

After stints with the 49ers and Titans, Looney has found a home as a reserve lineman the last two seasons in Dallas. He has appeared in all 32 games since 2016, starting three, and play both guard positions and center. The 27-year-old Looney is also used in the team’s jumbo formation as a sixth offensive lineman.