HEADLINES

Month: March 2018

Seahawks To Meet With D.J. Fluker

March 15th, 2018 at 12:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Offensive lineman D.J. Fluker is visiting with the Seahawks, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Raanan adds that there could be more stops coming up for the former first-round pick. 

Fluker spent last season with the Giants after signing a one-year deal. The former Chargers first-round pick did not show a dramatic improvement from the work that induced the Bolts to backtrack on his fifth-year option and cut the Alabama product last year. Pro Football Focus tabbed the 27-year-old blocker as its No. 56 full-time guard.

The Giants, though, experienced rampant injury trouble on their front and Fluker joined Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg in finishing the season on IR. Previously, he had played in at least 15 games in three of his four San Diego seasons.

Seattle again boasted one of the league’s worst lines last season, continuing a troublesome trend. Fluker would likely again profile as a low-cost addition, although recent years have brought a seller’s market at these positions.

Marcus Gilchrist To Visit Raiders

March 15th, 2018 at 12:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are going to inquire about a Marcus Gilchrist addition to their secondary. They are set to host the free agent safety on a visit Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Reggie Nelson‘s contract expired after last season, the second of a two-year deal, and Oakland has a need on its back line alongside Karl Joseph. The Raiders were targeting secondary help this offseason but have yet to bolster that unit with an addition. They lost slot corner T.J. Carrie to the Browns on Wednesday.

Oakland does not have as much cap space as it has in recent years and could well be allocating some of it toward recently released wideout Jordy Nelson. The Raiders, however, are interested in Rashaan Melvin.

Pro Football Focus graded Gilchrist, 29, as a middle-of-the-road safety last season, when he was with the Texans. Despite some big expenses over the past few years, the Raiders have continued to struggle in coverage. They’re now set to have three new starters in their secondary.

Lions To Meet With TE Brent Celek

March 15th, 2018 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

Tight end Brent Celek is meeting with the Lions on Thursday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Celek is a free agent following his release from the Eagles. 

Celek could fill a need for the Lions following the release of Eric Ebron and the departure of Darren Fells in free agency. Ebron was mainly utilized as a receiver for Detroit and Fells was a blocking specialist. Celek, 33, does a bit of both.

Celek was overshadowed a bit in Philadelphia last year with Zach Ertz and Trey Burton ahead of him on the depth chart, but he appeared in all 16 games for the Eagles. He has been remarkably durable over the course of his career, missing just one game since entering the league in 2007.

Once upon a time, Celek was a major part of the Eagles’ passing attack. He nearly hit 1,000 receiving yards in 2009 and he averaged 59 catches for 744 yards and 4+ TDs between 2009 and 2012. In recent years, he’s been used more for blocking purposes. He has just 27 grabs for 285 yards over the last two seasons.

Rams Add To WR Robert Woods’ Deal

March 15th, 2018 at 11:54am CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams are doing right by wide receiver Robert Woods after his strong debut season in Los Angeles.

A 2017 free agent signee, Woods was a healthy scratch in Week 17 because the Rams rested most of their key contributors to prepare for their wild-card playoff game. As a result, Woods missed out on a performance incentive. But the Rams are making it up to him.

The franchise will add $200K to Woods’ $3MM roster bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports. Woods needed just 19 yards to reach 800 last season, and doing so would have increased his incentives to $600K instead of the $400K he collected.

Woods played in 12 games for the Rams last season and cleared the 19-yard threshold in 10 of those. But the Rams did not need to win in Week 17 to secure a division title.

Dolphins To Sign Josh Sitton

March 15th, 2018 at 11:51am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent guard Josh Sitton, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Miami hosted Sitton on a visit on Wednesday.

Sitton’s contract will be worth $15MM in base value, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding that it could max out at $18MM. The veteran guard will receive $8MM in guarantees.

Guard has long been a problem in South Beach, but the Dolphins have now landed a former All-Pro in Sitton. The 31-year-old Sitton has experience at both left and right guard, and could conceivably slide into either spot for Miami. Whatever position he lands at, Sitton will be playing next to new Dolphins center, as the club released veteran Mike Pouncey earlier today.

Sitton originally joined the Bears in 2016 after surprisingly being released by the division rival Packers. Although minor health issues have been a concern, Sitton has been outstanding in the Windy City. Just last season, Sitton ranked as the the fifth-best guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and his marks have remained steady throughout the duration of his career. Despite that production, Chicago opted to decline Sitton’s $8MM option for 2018.

With Sitton off the market, the best free agent guards remaining include Jack Mewhort, Alex Boone, Matt Slauson, D.J. Fluker, and Joe Berger.

[RELATED: Dolphins Depth Chart]

Contract Details: McCarron, Green, Jones, Bushrod, Davis

March 15th, 2018 at 11:46am CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s take a look at the details from the latest contracts signed in the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

  • A.J. McCarron, QB (Bills): Two years, $10MM. $3MM in 2018, $7MM in 2019. $1.1MM of ’19 salary guaranteed for injury. 2019 salary fully guaranteed on Day 5 of 2019 league year. Bills would incur $2MM dead-money charge by cutting McCarron after one season (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
  • DaQuan Jones, DE (Titans): Three years, $21MM, $14MM fully guaranteed at signing. $6MM base salary for 2019 fully guaranteed (per Caplan).
  • Virgil Green, TE (Chargers): Three years, $8.6MM, $5.9MM fully guaranteed, which covers the first two years of this deal (per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, on Twitter).
  • Cody Davis, S (Jaguars): Two years, $5MM, $2.5MM fully guaranteed. Deal contains option bonus due 22 days before the start of the 2019 league year (via Caplan).
  • Jermon Bushrod, OL (Saints): One-year deal (via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)

Redskins Sign P Sam Irwin-Hill

March 15th, 2018 at 11:44am CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins signed punter Sam Irwin-Hill, according to a tweet from agent David Canter. Irwin-Hill is expected to compete with incumbent Tress Way for the starting job.

Way is under contract through the 2020 season, so the odds of Irwin-Hill unseating him are not quite clear. As John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes, Way ranked 13th in yards per punt (45.71) and 28th in net yards (39.02) in 2017 and has done a solid job overall over the last four seasons.

Naturally, as a punter, Way’s contract doesn’t have a ton of guarantees. If they feel strongly about Irwin-Hill, who has never punter in an NFL game, they can cut way with $750K in dead money on the cap.

Irwin-Hill spent last offseason with the Cowboys but ultimately lost out on that punting competition. He is an Arkansas product, which may have helped him get in with Jerry Jones.

Texans’ Jadeveon Clowney Classified As LB

March 15th, 2018 at 11:42am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans will save a bit of cash this season, as Jadeveon Clowney has been classified as a linebacker (instead of a defensive end) for fifth-year option purposes, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Fifth-year options are based on positional value, and fifth-year options for top-10 picks such as Clowney are equal to the transition tender at the player’s position during his fourth season. When Houston exercised its option on Clowney, the club figured it was signing up for a $13.846MM defensive end salary. Instead, the Texans will only have to give Clowney $12.306MM, the figure for a linebacker.

Of course, the Texans are reportedly hoping to work out a long-term extension with Clowney prior to the 2018 campaign, so his new base salary could be moot, as Clowney would likely blow past both figures on a new deal.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/18

March 15th, 2018 at 11:39am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Latest On Patriots’ Cameron Fleming, LaAdrian Waddle

March 15th, 2018 at 11:34am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots lost their starting left tackle on Wednesday when Nate Solder inked a four-year, $62MM with the Giants, but they have interest in retaining one or both of Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Fleming is probably the more important of the New England free agent linemen, as he’s demonstrated the ability to play left tackle in the past. Last season, Fleming played 543 total snaps and graded as the league’s No. 24 offensive tackle, per Pro Football Focus. At age-25, Fleming is now the best pure offensive tackle — not counting Justin Pugh, who is better at guard — on the open market after Solder and Chris Hubbard signed elsewhere.

Waddle, 26, started 10 games for the Lions in 24, but he’s mostly been a reserve since then. He was pressed into starting duty for four games a season ago, and he also chipped in on nearly 20% of the Patriots’ special teams snaps.

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