Anthony Barr Reports To Vikings
Anthony Barr ended his short-lived holdout and reported to the Vikings’ offseason team activities on Tuesday, notes Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Goessling had previously reported that Barr was a no-show for the first portion of OTAs. At the time, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer declined to share whether Barr’s absence was related to his contract, but did say Barr told him in advance that he wasn’t going to be there.
Barr, 26, is headed into the final year of his contract and will be earning $12MM this season after the Vikings picked up the fifth-year option on their former first-round pick. Barr became a star nearly instantly upon entering the league, and has made three straight Pro Bowls. The Vikings have a number of key players entering the final year of their deals, and definitely don’t want any headaches from one of their vital cogs.
Barr said back in January that he wanted a long-term extension with the Vikings, but the team has been reluctant to give him one. Since Barr isn’t a great pass rusher for an outside linebacker (he has just 10.5 sacks through four seasons) some have speculated the Vikings may just let him walk after this season.
After giving Kirk Cousins the first ever three-year fully guaranteed contract back in March, the Vikings don’t have a ton of disposable cap money. It’s entirely possible they decide to use their resources elsewhere and not retain Barr. If that’s the case, it makes sense why Barr was in no rush to report to the team. Either way, he’s back now, and the Vikings are surely glad to have one less distraction to deal with.
Eagles Notes: Foles, Bryant, Shittu
A recent reported indicated that the Browns had offered the Eagles the 35th pick in the 2018 draft for Nick Foles at some point this offseason before they ultimately ended up trading for Tyrod Taylor. The report stated that the Eagles approached Foles with the deal, that Foles shot it down, and so the Eagles turned it down out of respect for his wishes.
Foles is now pushing back on that claim, saying there’s no truth to it. Foles said he “didn’t turn down any trade” and added that the first time he heard of the proposed deal was when people started texting him about the article (Twitter link via The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman).
If the trade was indeed offered by the Browns and considered by the Eagles and it was not shot down by Foles, it’s an indicator that the Eagles are confident in the health of Carson Wentz as he continues to work his way back from a torn ACL.
Here’s some more news on the Eagles as they continue OTAs:
- Despite Dez Bryant‘s stated desire to continue playing in the NFC East, it doesn’t seem like the Eagles will be bringing him in. Although the Eagles traded Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery will miss the entire offseason with a shoulder injury, Bryant isn’t a realistic option according to NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks. Parks writes that the odds of Bryant being brought in are “slim”, in part due to the team’s signing of Mike Wallace to help replace Smith.
- Parks also notes that backup defensive tackle Aziz Shittu has been a standout at OTAs so far, and that he’s rapidly helping his stock. Shittu made several great plays during today’s OTA session, and Parks believes his chances of making the roster improved on Tuesday.
- The Eagles opted to classify Mychael Kendricks’ release as a post-June 1 cut, meaning that they will spread out his dead money hit over two years instead of just one.
Seahawks To Sign Brandon Marshall
Brandon Marshall has finally found a home. After struggling to draw much interest after being released by the Giants in April, Marshall has signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks, worth up to $2MM if incentives are reached, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Marshall visited the Seahawks a couple weeks ago, and apparently showed he’s still got enough left in the tank to earn a deal.
Marshall was let go by the Giants after just one injury-plagued season. Signed by the Giants to a two-year $12MM deal, Marshall ended up playing in just five games during his brief stay in New York. He never was able to develop any chemistry with Eli Manning and caught just 18 passes for 154 scoreless yards before an ankle injury ended his season.
The Seahawks were looking to add some receiver help after the departure of Paul Richardson in free-agency. Their depth chart was a bit thin behind starters Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett. They signed Jaron Brown in March, but Marshall should be able to beat him out for the starting job opposite Lockett, with Baldwin in the slot, if he’s healthy.
Marshall is 34 years old now, but was still productive in 2016 and was one of the best receivers in football in 2015. That year, he caught 109 passes for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns, helping Ryan Fitzpatrick complete a career resurgence and very nearly leading the Jets to the playoffs.
With Marshall now signed, the veteran free-agent receiver market is even thinner. Dez Bryant continues to be the biggest name left, along with Jeremy Maclin and Eric Decker. Those three may sign quicker now that Marshall is off the board and has set the market for the past-his-prime receiver as Schefter points out.
Cowboys Working Out Darius Jackson
Despite reportedly planning on using the recently acquired Tavon Austin as a running back, and drafting Bo Scarbrough in the seventh round last month, the Cowboys are apparently considering signing another running back. They’re working out Darius Jackson, who was recently waived by the Browns (Twitter link via ESPN’s Todd Archer).
The Cowboys are quite familiar with Jackson, having taken him in the sixth-round back in 2016. Jackson made the 53-man roster his rookie season but was waived in December of that year to make room for Darren McFadden, who was returning from injury. Jackson was then claimed by the Browns where he spent the rest of the season. He missed all of 2017 with a knee injury.
Despite being on the active roster at various points for both the Cowboys and Browns, Jackson has never gotten a regular season carry. Before he was drafted, he was a standout at Eastern Michigan, scoring a school-record 16 touchdowns as a senior. Although the Cowboys already know a lot about him, they’re likely working him out to see how healthy he is and if he’s fully recovered from his knee injury.
With McFadden out of the picture, Rod Smith and Austin figure to soak up most of the playing time behind Ezekiel Elliott. If the Cowboys do decide to sign Jackson, that would leave him, Scarbrough, and journeyman Trey Williams all fighting for likely just one roster spot during training camp. Either way, whoever gets the final running back spot is unlikely to see the field much unless there’s a slew of injuries, as the Cowboys will want Elliott playing the vast majority of snaps. Jackson hasn’t shown much during his time in the league, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him get brought in for camp due to his familiarity with the team.
Poll: Which AFC West Team Had The Best Offseason?
Of all the divisions in the NFL, perhaps none had a busier offseason than the AFC West. The Chargers were the only team in the division that didn’t change their head coach or starting quarterback. Each team had their own clear strategy for navigating the spring, but only one will emerge as the top dog in the division next season. 
The Raiders kicked off a new era in January when they signed Jon Gruden to a ten-year deal to be their new head coach. Over the last few months, Gruden has totally remade the team to fit his vision of a squad with lots of veteran leaders, while getting rid of some players whose personalities he didn’t like such as Michael Crabtree and Marquette King. They’ve signed a slew of aging veterans like Doug Martin, Jordy Nelson, and Leon Hall. They added offensive tackle Kolton Miller with their first-round pick to help bolster their offensive line and keep Derek Carr upright. The 2018 season will be the team’s first without Sebastian Janikowski as their kicker since 1999, as the team let the longtime fan favorite walk in free-agency. This Raiders team will be one of the oldest in recent league history, but with some top-line talent in Carr, Amari Cooper, and Khalil Mack, along with a very experienced locker room, they have the potential to make some noise in the AFC.
The Chargers had by far the quietest offseason of all the AFC West teams. They opted to mostly stand pat in free agency, although they did sign Mike Pouncey after he was cut by the Dolphins. The Chargers are mostly counting on the talent from last year’s team being able to get them over the hump this year. They got what many considered to be the steal of the draft when Florida State safety Derwin James fell to them at the 17th pick in the first-round. They’ve sought to address the kicking game, the team’s biggest weakness in 2017, by bringing in Caleb Sturgis and former second-round pick Roberto Aguayo to compete. On paper, the Chargers are one of the most talented teams in the league. A couple of missed field goals at the end of games was the only thing stopping them from being a playoff team last year. They’ve been a popular media pick so far to win the AFC West in 2018, and could make a deep playoff run if they can put it all together.
The Chiefs kicked off the NFL offseason by making a blockbuster trade with the Redskins, shipping out quarterback Alex Smith and officially starting the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City. The team had no first-round pick, but did make a splash in free agency. They signed Sammy Watkins to a three-year deal to pair with Tyreek Hill on the outside. They lost offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who took a head coaching job with the Bears. They also traded All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams, in part due to his clashes with the coaching staff. It was a tumultuous offseason for the Chiefs as they look to restart rather than rebuild. Mahomes showed flashes of brilliance during his lone regular season start last year, but it will be hard to win in a tough division with a quarterback making his first meaningful starts. Still, if any coach could pull it off, it’s probably Andy Reid.
The Broncos are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Following their Super Bowl win in 2015, they went 9-7 in 2016 only for the wheels to come off this past year. They ended up starting three different quarterbacks, and none of Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler were effective. Siemian and Osweiler are gone now, and Lynch will be fighting for a roster spot this summer. The team brought in Case Keenum to be their new starting quarterback, and added defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fifth overall pick. They traded Aqib Talib, a former staple of their legendary “No Fly Zone” to the Rams, and traded for former second-round safety Su’a Cravens. While the Broncos didn’t do anything crazy to revamp their roster other than bringing in Keenum, things tend to change quickly in the NFL, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Broncos rebound fast from their dismal 5-11 season.
Which team do you think had the best offseason in the AFC West? Vote in PFR’s poll below and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Latest On Cowboys WR Terrance Williams
The recent incident involving Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams continues to get more and more bizarre as the story unfolds. First, Williams was arrested this past Saturday and charged with public intoxication and leaving the scene of an accident. What’s undisputed is that Williams’ Lamborghini crashed and he was detained while riding an electric scooter near the scene.
Williams then released a statement the day after accepting responsibility for the accident, saying that a car slammed on its brakes in front of him and he swerved to avoid it, but denied he was intoxicated. A wrinkle was thrown into the case when police released a video this morning of Williams the night of the accident contradicting his initial public account. Williams is shown telling officers that it wasn’t him who was driving the car that night, and that it was actually his friend and fellow wide receiver Kendall Wright of the Vikings.
The officers didn’t buy Williams’ claim that he wasn’t even in the car that night, as his phone was inside the vehicle. They arrested him, but the details about Wright’s alleged involvement stayed under wraps until today.
Williams’ lawyer then clarified earlier today once the video blew up online that Wright was not involved after all (Twitter link via Dallas Morning News’ Brandon George). Vikings general manager Rick Spielman then followed up and said the Vikings were standing by Wright and that Wright and his agent both assured him there was no truth to Williams’ accusation (Twitter link via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin).
Williams was already in a good amount of trouble, but his puzzling and now apparently false explanation that it was Wright who crashed his car could make matters even worse. He could be looking at a possible suspension from the league.
Working as the Cowboys’ number two receiver the past few years, Williams was theoretically in line for an increased workload after the release of Dez Bryant. The Cowboys signed Allen Hurns in free agency, but Williams was thought to have the inside track at being the team’s number one receiving option. It’s unclear if this arrest or possible suspension will change the Cowboys’ plans.
Last season, Williams caught 53 passes for 568 yards. He caught zero touchdowns for the first time in his career. Whatever happens, it’s a headache that the Cowboys absolutely don’t need in the midst of an already tumultuous offseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/24/18
Today’s minor moves:
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Kyle Wilson
Draft Pick Signings: 5/24/18
Here are today’s second-tier draft signings:
- The Buccaneers signed their second-round pick, cornerback Carlton Davis from Auburn. Davis was a three-year starter for the Tigers, earning a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior. An average athlete with good size, Davis will slide in behind Brent Grimes, Ryan Smith, and Vernon Hargreaves on the depth chart. The Bucs likely see Davis as the eventual successor to the now 34-year old Grimes.
- Second-round linebacker Breeland Speaks signed his rookie deal with the Chiefs. Left without a first-round pick in the 2018 draft due to last year’s Patrick Mahomes trade, Speaks was the team’s first selection. Speaks played defensive tackle and defensive end in college, but the Chiefs plan to line him up at outside linebacker. Playing at Mississippi last year, Speaks generated seven sacks. He’ll initially be competing for playing time behind veterans Justin Houston and Dee Ford.
- The Jaguars agreed to terms with third-round safety Ronnie Harrison on his rookie deal. Harrison was one of a slew of Alabama players selected in last year’s draft, and is looking to be the latest in a long line of Crimson Tide defenders to become stars in the NFL. Harrison was always a great player in college, but underwhelmed athletically with his testing at the combine. Harrison will play strong safety for the Jaguars, and is yet another piece added to their already dominant defense.
AFC Notes: Raiders, Incognito, Steelers
After the NFL recently announced their new national anthem policy, more details about the owners’ process are trickling out. There apparently was no official vote on the new anthem policy, only an informal polling of owners by league executives, according to Seth Wickersham of ESPN (Twitter links). Wickersham added that Raiders owner Mark Davis abstained from the vote and was “one of the most eloquent speakers on the social justice issues.” Davis joined 49ers owner Jed York, who made his abstention public yesterday, in abstaining from the vote.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- Free agent offensive lineman Richie Incognito apparently believed he was being followed by FBI agents and was in the possession of secret NSA documents when he was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold yesterday (Twitter link via USA Today’s A.J. Perez). Incognito recently announced his retirement from the league, but has since wavered and indicated he’d like to continue playing with a team other than the Bills, who he played the last three seasons with. Incidents like this certainly won’t help Incognito’s quest to latch on with another team.
- Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt played with a torn bicep during the 2017 season, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (Twitter link). Tuitt made clear that he’s fully healthy now, saying the injury “is back healed again and strong and I can’t wait to stick people in the mouth with it.” Tuitt was signed to a $60MM extension before last season, and will be counted on to play a big role this year.
- Bengals star defensive end Carlos Dunlap missed the beginning of OTAs, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Although Bengals coach Marvin Lewis called it “not a big deal,” Dunlap will miss out on a $300K workout bonus. Dunlap, a two-time Pro-Bowler, is entering the final year of his contract and is apparently angling for an extension.