Minor NFL Transactions: 5/31/16
Today’s minor moves:
- To fill the void left by Tim Wright – who landed on IR today – the Lions will sign free agent tight end Ben McCord, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. McCord went undrafted this year out of Central Michigan.
- The Cowboys have signed their two fourth-round picks, defensive end Charles Tapper and quarterback Dak Prescott, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. As a result, their only unsigned selection remaining from this year’s class is third-round defensive tackle Maliek Collins. Prescott, the more notable of today’s signings in terms of name recognition, was a three-year starter at Mississippi State and served as a major dual-threat weapon for the Bulldogs, totaling 111 touchdowns as a passer (70) and rusher (41). Tapper appeared in 39 games with Oklahoma in three seasons and piled up 13.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.
- The Cardinals have cut offensive tackle Edawn Coughman, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Arizona signed the 27-year-old in January, and he previously spent time with seven other NFL organizations. He hasn’t yet appeared in a game, however.
- The Titans have signed second-round outside linebacker Kevin Dodd, as Jim Wyatt of Titans Online writes. Nine of the team’s ten draft picks have now reached deals with the team and safety Kevin Byard stands as the lone straggler. Dodd, who recorded 12 sacks last season at Clemson, has been sidelined from OTAs after undergoing foot surgery last week. The Titans have high hopes for Dodd and so does veteran Brian Orakpo. “He is just a natural pass rusher,’’ Orakpo said of Dodd. “He knows how to get after the quarterback. I love what he brings to the table. I am very excited to have him on the team. He is going to make everyone better, and we’re going to get him better and he is going to help the pass rush.”
- The Texans have waived offensive lineman David Quessenberry with a Non-Football Injury designation, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Quessenberry has battled cancer in the past. The Texans are hoping to have him back in some capacity if he clears waivers, Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com writes. Houston could place him on the NFI list if he clears waivers. Alternatively, the team could welcome him back in a non-playing role. The Texans re-did Quessenberry’s deal on April 20th to include a full salary split, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. If and when Quessenberry lands on the team’s NFI list, he’ll earn $333K in 2016.
- The Vikings have signed defensive lineman Bruce Gaston and waived/injured fellow defensive tackle B.J. Dubose, Matt Vensel of the Star-Tribune tweets. Dubose tore his ACL last week. Gaston made Green Bay’s opening day roster in 2015 and he’ll now try to do the same with an NFC North rival.
Larry Fitzgerald Unsure What Future Holds
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had something of a comeback season in 2015, catching 109 passes for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns in his age-32 season. Now, as he enters the final year of his contract with Arizona, could retirement be on the horizon? “Honestly, I have no idea,” Fitzgerald told Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). “I really don’t look at it like that.”
“We’re just in OTAs right now, man,” added Fitzgerald, who is set to enter his 13th season with the Cardinals. “We’ve got training camp and minicamp and the regular season. We’ve got a long ways to go before that’s even a point of discussion. So I’m enjoying this. I’m trying to make it the best year yet.”
Mathieu Wants To Be Paid As A Top Defender
A report last Monday indicated that the Cardinals were nearing an extension with defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, and today Mathieu himself told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com that the negotiations have been “smooth.” However, neither Mathieu nor general manager Steve Keim offered any sort of timeline for when a deal might finally be hammered out. Regardless, Mathieu isn’t concerning himself with positional designation as he awaits his payday.
Cardinals Notes: Freeney, Hall, Humphries
Although Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has shown a willingess to bring in veterans late in the summer, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com doesn’t expect to Arizona to agree to deals with either Leon Hall or Dwight Freeney. Hall, for his part, took a visit with the Cards earlier this spring, but it looks like the club is looking for a more “durable” option opposite Patrick Peterson. The 30-year-old Hall is still an excellent slot corner, but he’s neither resistant to injury or particularly capable of playing on the outside at this point in his career.
Although Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has shown a willingess to bring in veterans late in the summer, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com doesn’t expect to Arizona to agree to deals with either Leon Hall or Dwight Freeney. Hall, for his part, took a visit with the Cards earlier this spring, but it looks like the club is looking for a more “durable” option opposite Patrick Peterson. The 30-year-old Hall is still an excellent slot corner, but he’s neither resistant to injury or particularly capable of playing on the outside at this point in his career.
Freeney, of course, spent the final 11 games of the 2015 season with Arizona, posting eight sacks over that span. But as Weinfuss notes, the Cardinals have added Chandler Jones and Robert Nkemdiche to an edge-rushing rotation that also includes Alex Okafor, Kareem Martin, and Shaq Riddick, so the need for a veteran like Freeney has been reduced. Last week, I ranked Freeney as the fourth-best defensive free agent left on the board.
Here’s more on the Cardinals plus a few more notes from around the league…
- After not playing a single snap as a rookie, 2015 first-round pick D.J. Humphries is projected to start the season as the Cardinals‘ right tackle, as Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic details, noting that the club’s offensive line will have a different combination than in did last season. While Jared Veldheer and Mike Iupati will continue to man the left side, veteran Evan Mathis will take over at right guard, while either A.Q. Shipley or rookie Evan Boehm will play center.
Rashad Johnson: Cardinals Didn't Make Me An Offer
Jets receiver Eric Decker told SiriusXM NFL on Tuesday afternoon that, right now, the Jets “have to move on without” free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, as a guest on NFL Total Access on Tuesday evening, he expressed confidence that the Jets and Fitzpatrick will ultimately get a deal done, writes Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.
“Something is going to happen. It might be before training camp, the day or two before, but I believe that he’ll be back on the team come this fall,” Decker said, though he did acknowledge that the two sides “are so far off” from each other when it comes to the quarterback’s dollar value.
In other NFL news…
- It looks as if Colts quarterback Andrew Luck‘s injury-plagued 2015 campaign is behind him. The four-year veteran is participating in Colts workouts with “no limitations,” he said Tuesday (via Mike Wells of ESPN.com). After appearing in all of the Colts’ games during his first three seasons, Luck missed nine contests last year with injuries to his kidney, ribs and shoulder, and experienced a precipitous statistical decline while on the field. Now, Luck “looks really good,” according to head coach Chuck Pagano. As of late April, the Colts were focusing on an extension for Luck, whose deal expires at the end of the upcoming season. It’s likely a new contract for the 26-year-old would make him one of the league’s highest-paid players.
- Chargers defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who signed with the Bolts in free agency, spoke effusively about the team’s defensive personnel Monday (per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I was telling guys, there’s more talent on this defense than in Seattle. If you look at the draft, you’ve got four first-round draft picks. You’ve got five second-round draft picks, all total on defense. In Seattle, we only had two first rounders and one second rounder. Everybody else was pretty much down in the draft or undrafted.” Mebane is quite familiar with the Seahawks’ defense, of course, having spent the first nine years of his career in Seattle. Regardless of draft pedigree, however, the Seahawks has been among the NFL’s defensive elite over the past several years, whereas the Chargers’ stop unit was toward the bottom of the league in all notable categories last season. With Mebane and third overall pick Joey Bosa now aboard, at least some improvement should be in order this year.
- Chip Kelly understood Jarryd Hayne‘s decision to retire in light of a potential Olympic rugby opportunity, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. On the subject of Hayne, the NFL’s drug-testing protocol may keep him out of the Olympics despite American football having no presence in the Games. Prospective Olympic athletes must be in a World Anti-Doping Agency-compliant pool for at least six months, Jamie Marcuson of the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The NFL does not fall under the WADA umbrella, and former Australian Anti-Doping Agency chief Richard Ings told Marcuson that Hayne has “no chance” of playing for his native Fiji this August as a result. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Hayne’s exit strategy stemmed instead from the fact he didn’t have much of a chance to make the 49ers‘ 53-man roster.
- Titans safety Rashad Johnson told SiriusXM (Twitter link) that the Cardinals expressed some interest in having him back, but did not make an offer.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cardinals Nearing Extension With Tyrann Mathieu?
The Cardinals are “deep in negotiations” for an extension with star safety Tyrann Mathieu, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The deal (if and when it is completed), will make Mathieu the highest-paid safety in the NFL, Rapoport adds. 
[RELATED: Cardinals Unlikely To Sign Antonio Cromartie]
Eric Berry currently stands as the NFL’s highest-paid safety on a per-year basis with a contract paying him $10.8MM in 2016. Of course, the Chiefs are hoping to lock up their own star safety as he is scheduled to hit the open market after the 2016 season. With that in mind, it’s possible that Mathieu’s mantle of being the highest-paid safety in the league might be short lived.
Earl Thomas of the Seahawks stands as the highest-paid safety on a multi-year deal following his four-year, $40MM extension signed in April 2014. Thomas’ AAV of $10MM/year edges Devin McCourty‘s $9.5MM salary after the Pats standout signed a five-year, $47.5MM deal to stay in New England last year. In terms of absolute guarantees, however, McCourty’s deal takes the cake at $22MM.
Mathieu is slated to earn a modest $1.5MM salary in his contract year. The LSU product underwent surgery in December to fix his torn ACL, but that apparently has not detered Arizona from getting a multi-year deal done. Mathieu, who will not take the practice field until training camp this summer, could be in line for more than $10MM per year on his new deal.
The former third-round pick is one of the league’s hardest hitters at his position and is an impact player when he’s on the gridiron. Mathieu, unfortunately, has missed eight games across his three NFL seasons.
“More than anything he’s a football player regardless of position and he’s a guy who can be a difference maker,” GM Steve Keim told PFT. “The hardest part of it all is in three years he has had two significant knee injuries. Aside from that Tyrann has done everything right on and off the field and he’s a guy that we envision as hopefully a face of the program moving forward.”
In 2015, Mathieu earned a Pro-Bowl selection and was named First-Team All-Pro. In his 14 games, Mathieu recorded five interceptions, 89 tackles, 1 sack, 17 passes defensed, and also recorded a defensive touchdown.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cardinals Unlikely To Sign Antonio Cromartie
- Having lost the aforementioned Powers to Baltimore, the Cardinals don’t have a ton of depth in the defensive backfield, and might not even have a clear starter opposite Patrick Peterson, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com details. Free agent (and former Cardinal) Antonio Cromartie doesn’t seem to be on the club’s radar, per Weinfuss, which would leave Justin Bethel as the best option to start. Bethel’s strengths lie on special teams, however, and third-round corner Brandon Williams might need some time to develop after having played CB for just one season at Texas A&M.
Palmer's Passes Had More Zip On Them In 2015
- Carson Palmer‘s work with Cardinals consultant Brett Fischer last year helped strengthen his throwing arm, with wideouts and defensive backs noticing quickly he was throwing harder than he had in 2014, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports. Fischer worked with pitchers Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer before aiding Palmer.
Dwight Freeney Interested In Returning To Cards
- Veteran edge defender Dwight Freeney, who had eight sacks in 11 games for the Cardinals last season, identified Arizona as a team he’d like to play for in 2016 during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter today. However, Freeney said that if the Cards don’t want to bring him back, he’d still like to get a chance to continue his career with another winning team. The 14-year veteran turned 36 in February.
Cardinals, Tyrann Mathieu Talking Extension
Contract talks between safety Tyrann Mathieu and the Cardinals are once again in motion, agent Tom Condon tells Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic. No deal is imminent at this time, but Cardinals GM Steve Keim is on record as saying that a new deal for the player formerly known as Honey Badger is a priority. The Cardinals and Mathieu discussed an extension back in February, but things ostensibly were put on hold during the madness of free agency and the draft.
[RELATED: Cardinals Sign Robert Nkemdiche]
Mathieu is slated to earn a modest $1.5MM salary in his contract year. Of course, his negotiations are complicated after he underwent surgery in December to fix his torn ACL. Mathieu, who will not take the practice field until training camp this summer, could be in line for more than $10MM per year on his new deal. However, as Somers notes, the Cards might want to see how Mathieu looks before committing that kind of cash.
The former third-round pick is one of the league’s hardest hitters at his position and is an impact player when he’s on the gridiron. However, Mathieu has missed eight games across his three NFL seasons and the team likely has concerns about his durability.
“More than anything he’s a football player regardless of position and he’s a guy who can be a difference maker,” Keim told PFT. “The hardest part of it all is in three years he has had two significant knee injuries. Aside from that Tyrann has done everything right on and off the field and he’s a guy that we envision as hopefully a face of the program moving forward.”
In 2015, Mathieu earned a Pro-Bowl selection and was named First-Team All-Pro. In his 14 games, Mathieu recorded five interceptions, 89 tackles, 1 sack, 17 passes defensed, and also recorded a defensive touchdown.
In other Cardinals contract news, Condon tells Somers that no contract talks have taken place regarding fellow client Calais Campbell. The defensive lineman is slated to carry a hefty $15.25MM cap number this year with a salary of $9.5MM. Condon claimes that the team’s selection of Robert Nkemdiche in last month’s draft has no bearing on Campbell’s future in Arizona, but I personally do not agree with the agent’s assessment of the situation. It’s also worth noting that the Cardinals traded for standout defensive end Chandler Jones earlier this offseason and there probably isn’t enough money in the budget to dole out big bucks to both players in the long-term.
Campbell, 30, is coming off of his second-straight Pro Bowl season, but the Cardinals will have some tough choices to make if they hope to retain Jones. After defensive lineman Malik Jackson and Olivier Vernon received monster deals this offseason, the Cardinals may have pay Jones $20MM or more per season on a multi-year deal.
In late March, Campbell dumped troubled agent Ben Dogra in favor of Condon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.