HEADLINES

Month: March 2018

Martellus Bennett Announces Retirement

March 23rd, 2018 at 7:43pm CST by Ryan Posner

Tight end Martellus Bennett announced on his Twitter account (link) that’s he’s “moving on” from football after a 10-year career in the NFL. Though Bennett never used the word “retire” in his Twitter post, he confirmed in to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero that he is retiring from the league. 

“I’ve decided to move on from the world of football and into the fantastical and wondrous world of creativity,” Bennett said in a Twitter message. “I’m beginning what I believe to be my life’s work.”

In a mid-season Instagram post while with the Packers, Bennett said he anticipated this past season would be his last. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported last month that Bennett intended on returning for the 2018 season.

Bennett, 31, appeared in seven games for the Packers last season before being waived and picked up by the Patriots. The Patriots released Bennett earlier this month after he ended the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He totaled 30 catches for 286 yards receiving without a touchdown catch this past season between his time with the Packers and Patriots.

The Cowboys originally took Bennett in the second round of the 2008 draft out of Texas A&M. He spent four years with the Cowboys before playing a season with the Giants and then four with the Bears. Bennett’s Pro Bowl campaign came with the Bears in 2014 when he tallied career highs in receptions (90) and receiving yards (996) while catching six touchdowns. He had appeared in at least 14 games in eight of his first nine seasons before appearing in just nine last year.

It’s been an eventful day for the Bennett family. Earlier Friday, Michael Bennett was indicted on felony charges in Texas for his involvement in an incident at NRG Stadium during Super Bowl LI.

Broncos Acquire T Jared Veldheer

March 23rd, 2018 at 6:51pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Broncos have announced the acquisition of Cardinals offensive lineman Jared Veldheer in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the upcoming draft (on Twitter). Troy Renck of Denver 7, ABC, first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal involving Veldheer and a late-round pick (on Twitter).

Veldheer, 30, is expected to step in and start at right tackle for the Broncos opposite former first-round pick Garett Bolles at left tackle. The Broncos were previously set to go with Menelik Watson at right tackle after he started the team’s first seven games there last season but was then placed on injured reserve with a calf injury.

Veldheer started 13 games for the Cardinals last season before being placed on injured reserve with a broken ankle. He’s appeared in 106 games over an eight-year career, making 101 starts. The Raiders originally selected Veldheer in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Hillsdale. He’s spent the bulk of his career at left tackle before shifting to the right side of the line last season.

The veteran offensive lineman is set to enter the final season of a five-year, $35MM deal signed with the Cardinals and is slated to have a cap hit of $10.16MM for the upcoming season. The Broncos entered the day with $21.28MM in available cap space, which ranked No. 12 in the NFL.

The addition of Veldheer helps round out the Broncos offensive line. Along with Bolles at left tackle, they’re set to return Max Garcia at left guard, Matt Paradis at center and Ronald Leary at right guard.

The deal creates $3.25MM in dead cap space for the Cardinals but does open up $6.9MM in available space. Newly-signed Andre Smith will likely take over at right tackle for the Cardinals with John Wetzel taking over as the team’s starting swing tackle. The Cardinals also helped beef up their offensive line this offseason by adding right guard Justin Pugh in free agency.

Bills Release DE Ryan Davis

March 23rd, 2018 at 6:17pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Bills have cut ties with defensive end Ryan Davis, a source told Eric Edholm of Pro Football Weekly (on Twitter). Davis, 29, appeared in all of the Bills’ regular-season contests last season, including their postseason game, and recorded three sacks. 

The Jaguars originally signed Davis as an undrafted free agent in 2012 out of Bethune-Cookman. Davis recorded a career-high 6 1/2 sacks in 2014 and spent 2016 with the Cowboys before signing a two-year $2.2MM deal with the Bills last offseason.

The Bills are set at defensive end, with Shaq Lawson and Jerry Hughes entrenched as the team’s starters. Davis became more expendable with the Bills’ addition of Trent Murphy in free agency.

Davis enters a defensive end free-agent market that’s headlined by Robert Ayers, Charles Johnson, Benson Mayowa and Jared Crick. Davis was due to have a cap hit of $1.28MM for the upcoming season. His release marked the second loss to the Bills’ defense Friday as free-agent cornerback E.J. Gaines agreed to terms with the Browns.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Vikings, Floyd, Cobb

March 23rd, 2018 at 5:16pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Packers brought back cornerback Tramon Williams after he spent two seasons with the Browns and one with the Cardinals but his re-addition to the secondary doesn’t mean the Packers are closing the book on re-signing Davon House, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky (on Twitter).

House, 28, started 12 games at cornerback for the Packers last season. He spent the previous two years with the Jaguars after spending the first four years of his career with the Packers, who took him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.

The Packers have a need at cornerback with Damarious Randall being traded to the Browns. Without House, the Packers would rely on the likes of Kevin King, Quinten Rollins and Josh Hawkins to work alongside Williams at cornerback.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • The Vikings have heavily contemplated moving Mike Remmers to right guard, with the anticipation that the team would take a player to fill in at right tackle with the No. 30 overall pick in the upcoming draft, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Tomasson also noted that Rashod Hill could be in the mix to take over at right tackle. The retirement of Joe Berger created a void on the Vikings’ offensive line. Remmers started 11 games at right tackle for the Vikings last season.
  • Sources also told Tomasson (on Twitter) that the Vikings won’t re-sign wide receiver and Minnesota native Michael Floyd. Last season, the former first-round pick of the Cardinals appeared in 12 games for the Vikings, making one start, and caught 10 passes for 78 yards. The 28-year-old was suspended the first four games of last season for violating the NFL’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
  • The Packers hosted free-agent wide receiver Jordan Matthews for a visit Friday. In an online chat with fans, Aaron Nagler of Packers News said firmly that the addition of Matthews wouldn’t affect the roster status for fellow wide receiver Randall Cobb, who’s set to enter the final season of a four-year, $40MM deal. Nagler also said that sources told him Matthews was offered a little over $1MM for a one-year deal after visiting the Cardinals earlier this week.
  • On Thursday, we learned that the Bears and Lions were two of the 14 teams in attendance to scout Johnny Manziel at a pro day at the University of San Diego.

Cardinals Sign CB Bene Benwikere To 1-Year Deal

March 23rd, 2018 at 4:52pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Cardinals added a bit of depth to their secondary Friday by signing cornerback Bene Benwikere to a one-year deal, per the team’s official website. Benwikere is familiar with new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks. The Panthers selected him in the fifth round of the 2014 draft and he spent the first three seasons of his career in Carolina. 

Benwikere, 26, appeared in 12 games for the Cowboys last season. He also spent time on the practice squads for the Bengals, Dolphins and Packers after the Panthers released him early in the 2016 season.

The Cardinals have plenty of holes to fill in their secondary this offseason, with Tramon Williams and Tyrann Mathieu off the roster and Tyvon Branch and Justin Bethel still unsigned as unrestricted free agents. The team also still has interest in free-agent cornerback Marcus Cooper, according to Mike Jurecki of Arizona Sports Station 98.7 FM (on Twitter). Cooper played with the Cardinals in 2016 and was cut by the Bears last week.

In three seasons with the Panthers, Benwikere appeared in 27 games and made 14 starts, along with two starts in the 2014 postseason. The Panthers cut ties with Benwikere after Julio Jones collected 300 receiving yards in a game against the Panthers in October 2016.

Buccaneers Re-Sign OL Evan Smith

March 23rd, 2018 at 3:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign offensive lineman Evan Smith, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Tampa Bay has announced the transaction as a two-year deal.

Smith, who formerly went by the name Evan Dietrich-Smith, has started a whopping 111 games during his eight-year NFL career, but he’s coming back to Tampa Bay as a clear reserve. The Bucs made Ryan Jensen the NFL’s highest-paid center last week, and will now presumably move Ali Marpet to guard. With J.R. Sweezy holding down the club’s other guard spot, Smith will now act as an overqualified backup.

Given that he can play all three interior line positions, Smith could certainly see action during the upcoming season (especially given that Sweezy dealt with serious injuries as recently as 2016). Last year, the 31-year-old Smith made six starts and played 60% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps, grading as the league’s No. 29 guard among 77 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

The interior offensive line market has thinned rapidly this week, as Smith joins Matt Slauson, D.J. Fluker, Jack Mewhort, Jonathan Cooper, Tom Compton, Kevin Pamphile, and Jeremiah Sirles as guard/centers who have landed new deals.

2018 NFL Draft Pick Capital By Team

March 23rd, 2018 at 3:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While each NFL team is organically handed seven draft picks per season, trades involving draft choices and the compensatory pick process ensures that many clubs end up with more (or fewer) than their original seven selections. As always, you can view the complete 2018 draft order, but here we’ll look at how much draft capital each club has amassed.

Let’s take a look at how many draft picks each NFL club currently possesses:

Updated 4-8-18 (1:47pm CT)

12 picks

  • Green Bay Packers

11 picks

  • Cincinnati Bengals
  • Oakland Raiders

10 picks

  • Dallas Cowboys

9 picks

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Indianapolis Colts
  • San Francisco 49ers

8 picks

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Denver Broncos
  • Houston Texans
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • New England Patriots
  • New Orleans Saints
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Washington Redskins

7 picks

  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Chicago Bears
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6 picks

  • Detroit Lions
  • New York Giants
  • New York Jets
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Tennessee Titans

Of course, not all draft picks are created equally, as holding more early-round selections is eminently more valuable than collecting mid-to-late round picks. Using Chase Stuart of Football Perspective‘s draft value chart, we can calculate how many draft capital points each team owns heading into the 2018 NFL draft:

  1. Cleveland Browns: 102.8
  2. Indianapolis Colts: 74.1
  3. Buffalo Bills: 72.9
  4. New York Giants: 65.8
  5. Denver Broncos: 62.6
  6. New England Patriots: 53.5
  7. Green Bay Packers: 52.5
  8. San Francisco 49ers: 52.2
  9. Oakland Raiders: 49.4
  10. Cincinnati Bengals: 49.2
  11. Chicago Bears: 46.6
  12. Miami Dolphins: 45.6
  13. Dallas Cowboys: 44.4
  14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 44.0
  15. New York Jets: 43.8
  16. Arizona Cardinals: 41.8
  17. Baltimore Ravens: 41.1
  18. Los Angeles Chargers: 40.8
  19. Washington Redskins: 39.5
  20. Detroit Lions: 38.5
  21. Tennessee Titans: 36.0
  22. Atlanta Falcons: 33.2
  23. Carolina Panthers: 33.0
  24. Pittsburgh Steelers: 32.9
  25. Jacksonville Jaguars: 31.8
  26. Kansas City Chiefs: 31.2
  27. Seattle Seahawks: 30.7
  28. Minnesota Vikings: 30.4
  29. New Orleans Saints: 30.2
  30. Houston Texans: 27.6
  31. Los Angeles Rams: 22.7
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 22.2

Dolphins To Sign QB Brock Osweiler

March 23rd, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins have reached an agreement with quarterback Brock Osweiler, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

Osweiler’s new deal will reunite him with Adam Gase, who worked with Osweiler as Denver’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2012-14. In Miami, Osweiler will take the place on longtime backup Matt Moore, who was never expected to re-sign with the Dolphins. Other quarterbacks on the Dolphins’ roster include starter Ryan Tannehill, David Fales, and Brandon Doughty.

The 27-year-old Osweiler didn’t get a chance to start for the Broncos until after Gase had left the building, and the former second-round pick’s greatest NFL success came in a 2015 campaign where he started seven games for the eventual Super Bowl champions. It’s been a whirlwind for Osweiler since that time: he inked an ill-fated deal with the Texans, was dealt to the Browns, and spent the 2017 season back in Denver.

While the top tier of free agent quarterbacks came off the board fairly quickly, there are still a number of backup types available. Aside from Stanton, the list of No. 2 passers on the market includes Moore, Blaine Gabbert, Derek Anderson, Drew Stanton, and Geno Smith.

Chargers DL Corey Liuget Suspended

March 23rd, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Liuget, 28, is slated to earn $8MM for the upcoming season, so he’ll lose out on $2MM in base salary. The former first-round pick appeared in 12 games in 2017, posting 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 32 interior run defender, per Pro Football Focus. Liuget was especially proficient as a pass rusher, as his 81.8 grade ranked 15th among defensive tackles.

With Liuget out of the picture for the first quarter of the year, Los Angeles could turn to internal options such as Darius Philon, Damion Square, or Kaleb Eulls to fill in through September. Alternatively, the Chargers could add defensive tackle in the draft, or add a free agent such as Johnathan Hankins, Bennie Logan, Shamar Stephen, or Quinton Dial.

Giants’ Josh Mauro Suspended Four Games

March 23rd, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL has suspended new Giants defensive lineman Josh Mauro four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, New York announced today.

Mauro, of course, inked a one-year deal with the Giants just this week. New York was aware of Mauro’s upcoming ban before it signed the former Cardinals end, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Mauro’s pact comes with a $790K base salary, tweets Raanan, so he’ll lose out on roughly $198K as a result of his suspension.

Mauro, 27, spent the better part of four seasons in Arizona, and started 13 games as recently as 2016. Last year, however, Mauro played on just 31.5% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps, fourth-most among Arizona’s defensive linemen. Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with his effort, grading Mauro as a bottom-10 interior defender among 122 qualifiers.

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