Extra Points: Raiders, Vegas, Fins, Cowboys, Orlando
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee will meet again next Thursday to discuss potential funding for a Raiders stadium in Las Vegas, reports Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). A $1.4 billion domed stadium has already been proposed, and one NFL owner said last week that the chances of the Raiders relocating to Las Vegas could be anywhere from 50 percent to 75 percent.
More from around the league:
- Second-year Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi is the front-runner to receive the lion’s share of carries this season, head coach Adam Gase told WQAM-560 on Thursday (via Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). In regards to Miami’s other backs – including third-round rookie Kenyan Drake, who hasn’t practiced with the team yet – Gase said, “The rest of that group has done a good job to try and keep up with him, but obviously he’s kind of separated himself from that group as far as the consistency of what he does day in and day out.” The 228-pound Ajayi didn’t get a ton of action as a fifth-round rookie last season, totaling 187 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries. However, the departure of Lamar Miller and Miami’s inability to reel in an established back via free agency combined to open the door for Ajayi.
- The Cowboys are aiming to host the 2018 draft, reports Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. If the Cowboys’ bid wins, the event will be held at either AT&T Stadium or the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, a $1.5 billion facility scheduled to open in August. Chicago has hosted the previous two drafts, while Philadelphia is likely to land next year’s.
- The Pro Bowl will relocate from Hawaii next year, according to Bloomberg News’ Scott Soshnick, who tweets that Orlando will host the next edition of the game. Its previous city, Honolulu, remained in the running, and both Houston and Sydney showed interest, per Soshnick.
- Power agent Tom Condon has signed a six-year contract extension with CAA, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Lions, Falcons
Eagles running back Darren Sproles took to Twitter on Wednesday to shoot down the notion that he’s holding out for a long-term contract (links here). “Totally false,” he claimed in one of the tweets. As of earlier this week, the soon-to-be 33-year-old was reportedly staying away from Eagles workouts amid trade rumors, but head coach Doug Pederson responded by calling Sproles “a big part of this team.” Sproles, who’s entering a contract year, will count $4.6MM against the Eagles’ cap this season.
More regarding Philly and a pair of other NFC clubs:
- Whether Pederson can actually develop quarterbacks remains an open question, opines Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sielski points to 2011, the year Pederson was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach and when Michael Vick declined significantly from the prior campaign, as a reason for skepticism. Pederson also failed to tap into former first-round pick Vince Young‘s talent, adds Sielski, who writes that the beleaguered Chip Kelly did manage to get production from Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford during his oft-criticized run in Philadelphia. While Alex Smith played well during Pederson’s three-year reign as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, his career was revived by Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman – not Pederson – as Sielski offers.
- Lions safety Glover Quin believes teammate Darius Slay is one of the 10 best cornerbacks in the NFL, but there’s one thing missing from his game. “Everybody is going to say it from now until the end of time — he’s a great, great, great cover guy. The only thing that he can do to take it to the next level is intercept the ball. I mean, that’s it,” Quin said Wednesday (via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com). Slay has just four interceptions during his three-year career – all of which came during the previous two campaigns – but Pro Football Focus graded him as the second-best corner in the league last season (111 qualifiers). Thanks to his reputation as a shutdown corner, Slay should land a sizable raise between now and the expiration of his contract after next season. A deal could be in the works, as Slay’s agent – Drew Rosenhaus – was at Lions practice Thursday.
- The Falcons are making a few changes to their defensive alignment, including shifting Vic Beasley to strongside linebacker. The eighth pick in last year’s draft, Beasley spent his rookie campaign as a LEO pass rusher, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com notes, and totaled four sacks while playing in all 16 of the team’s games. The ex-Clemson star had a difficult time against the run, writes Patra, which would explain the switch. Beasley will now fill the role that former Seahawk Bruce Irvin occupied when Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2014. Patra, however, is skeptical of the decision because it’ll lead to fewer pass-rushing opportunities for Beasley.
- In addition to moving Beasley, the Falcons will give Ra’Shede Hageman a look at defensive end and try DE Tyson Jackson at D-tackle, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Hageman, a second-round pick in 2014, spent his first two seasons at tackle, amassing 43 tackles and two sacks in 32 games (11 starts). On playing end, the former Minnesota standout said, “It’s something I did in college. It’s a nice little move for me.” The Falcons believe the change will give the 310-pound Hageman a better opportunity to take advantage of his size and strength.
Saints To Sign Connor Barth
Free agent kicker Connor Barth is on his way to New Orleans to sign with the Saints, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Barth will replace Josh Scobee, whom the Saints released Tuesday.
Barth was the most established among several kickers who tried out for the Saints at their rookie camp last week, and they’ll be 
his fourth NFL employer. Barth has spent the majority of his career with the NFC South rival Buccaneers, who released him earlier this month after using a second-round pick on Roberto Aguayo. Nonetheless, Barth is is coming off a solid season, having converted 23 of 28 field goals and a more impressive 25 of 26 extra points. Overall, the 30-year-old has made 139 of 164 career field goal tries, good for an 84.8 percent success rate.
Barth is now one of two veteran kicking options the Saints have, joining Kai Forbath, and it’s presumed that the duo will battle for a roster spot. Forbath has a similar career success rate (84.1) on 82 tries, but he converted just 10 of 15 field goals last season and finished with 10 fewer touchbacks on kickoffs than Barth – albeit in 12 fewer attempts.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC East Notes: Revis, Pats, Bills
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis has fired agents Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. The Schwartz and Feinsod duo had many clashes with the Jets regarding Revis during their tenure representing him – including one that featured ex-head coach Rex Ryan shouting at the two during an episode of “Hard Knocks” amid the cornerback’s 2010 holdout – as Costello notes. Revis ultimately agreed to a four-year, $32MM deal to end his holdout that summer, and the seven-time Pro Bowler has collected a total of $101MM during his career with the help of his two ex-agents. Revis, 30, has four years remaining on the five-year, $70MM pact he inked with the Jets in 2015. That contract is second in overall value among cornerbacks, though it was first until Josh Norman‘s recent $75MM deal with Washington, and paces all corners in guarantees ($39MM).
More from the AFC East:
- With Tom Brady currently scheduled to miss the first four games of the season because of a suspension, the division is “up for grabs,” Jets wide receiver Eric Decker told NFL Network (via Christopher Price of WEEI). Decker’s Jets knocked off the Brady-led Patriots in one of two matchups last season, though New England took the division title at 12-4. The Jets finished a solid 10-6, but with Ryan Fitzpatrick still unsigned, their own quarterback situation isn’t sorted out.
- There are questions regarding how competent the Bills’ medical and scouting staffs are in the wake of first-round pick Shaq Lawson‘s need for right shoulder surgery, according to The Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci. Lawson’s shoulder issues were known coming into the draft, but that didn’t stop the Bills from taking the outside linebacker 19th overall or allowing him to partake in their three-day rookie minicamp, when Lawson aggravated his shoulder. The Bills were so desperate to land a potential impact defender in the first round that they may have overlooked Lawson’s health concerns, implies Carucci, who adds that the Bills’ other Lawson – Manny Lawson – doesn’t have the pass-rushing ability to adequately replace the rookie during what should be a several-game absence.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Manish Mehta of the Daily News whether the drafting of Christian Hackenberg makes re-signing Fitzpatrick even more important. While having Fitzpatrick as a mentor for the Penn State product would be nice, Mehta writes that his guidance is pretty low on the priority list for reasons the Jets should re-sign the veteran. When asked to predict the Jets’ record sans Fitzpatrick, Mehta said he envisions a 9-7 season with no playoffs.
- With Shaq Lawson down, the Bills are hosting free agent linebacker Jamari Lattimore on a visit, the team announced (via Twitter). Lattimore is more of an insider ‘backer, however, than a replacement for Lawson. The 27-year-old spent the first four seasons of his career in Green Bay before joining the Jets in 2015. He appeared in 15 games for Gang Green and totaled 13 tackles. Lattimore has 64 appearances and nine starts on his NFL résumé.
- As previously reported, Lattimore isn’t the only player visiting the Bills on Thursday. Free agent receiver Andre Roberts is also meeting with the team.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Rams Sign Dominique Easley
WEDNESDAY, 4:21pm: Easley’s signing is now official. Los Angeles waived linebacker Kache Palacio to make room for Easley on its 90-man roster, Nick Waggoner of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
TUESDAY, 6:35pm: The Rams and free agent defensive lineman Dominique Easley have agreed to a one-year deal, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). It didn’t take long for the Rams-Easley union to materialize, as the 24-year-old worked out for the team earlier Tuesday.
Easley, whom the Patriots selected 29th overall in the 2014 draft, is the fifth member of the Rams defensive line who has a 
first-round pedigree, joining Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn and fellow offseason free agent pickup Quinton Coples.
Despite New England’s significant investment in Easley, it moved on from the 285-pounder earlier this offseason after the two sides reportedly butted heads over “philosophical differences on following injury programs.”
Easley had difficulty staying healthy his first two years in the NFL, missing 10 of a possible 32 regular-season games because of various injuries to his hip, knee and ankle. Easley also tore his ACL at the University of Florida, but that didn’t stop the Patriots from spending a high pick on him. One former Pats teammate referred to Easley as a “locker room cancer,” though, and a team source told the Boston Globe that Easley “comes across as an entitled kid” who “thinks he’s invincible.” Moreover, Easley is currently facing a lawsuit in Palm Beach County from a man who alleges that the defender’s dog bit him.
On the field, Easley has 25 career tackles and three sacks to his credit. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave him a terrific grade for his 2015 performance. His presence in Los Angeles should help make up for the departure of Nick Fairley, who appeared in 15 games with the Rams last year before leaving as a free agent to join the Saints.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Jets, Luck, Mebane, Hayne
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.
East Notes: Eagles, Jets, Washington
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday that he has reached out to Fletcher Cox multiple times, but he hasn’t spoken with the defensive lineman (link via Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com). Cox, who has one year left on his contract, has been absent from the Eagles’ voluntary May workouts. If the two-time second-team All-Pro misses the club’s mandatory three-day minicamp in June, it’ll cost him upward of $76K.
More from the NFL’s two East divisions:
- Though Jets receiver Eric Decker doesn’t seem thrilled with the idea of life after Ryan Fitzpatrick, he acknowledged Tuesday that the team will have to make the best of it if the free agent quarterback doesn’t re-up with Gang Green. “All I can say is we have to move on without him right now because they are stuck where they are with the business decision, where they want to go with the money, who’s going to break,” Decker told SiriusXM NFL Radio (per ESPN’s Rich Cimini). Decker had one of his best seasons in his first (and only?) year with Fitzpatrick in 2015, catching 80 passes for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns.
- In holding out for a trade, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford and agent Tom Condon made a rational business decision, opines Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bradford’s Eagles teammates understand his point of view, which is why they haven’t attacked him for seeking a better opportunity elsewhere, adds Sielski. “A player can get cut before his contract is up. Teams have no loyalty necessarily to their players. So when players make moves, it’s all business,” said safety Malcolm Jenkins
- Some members of the Washington organization are wondering if safety Kyshoen Jarrett‘s career is over, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Jarrett, a 2015 sixth-round pick, appeared in all 16 of the team’s games as a rookie, totaling 58 tackles and a forced fumble. He suffered nerve damage to his right shoulder and neck on a Week 17 hit, however, and still doesn’t have much feeling in his arm as a result. For now, the likelihood is that Jarrett will miss the upcoming season, Jones writes.
NFC Notes: Bradford, Bennett, Seahawks, 49ers
Given the addition of No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is unsurprisingly aware that he’s likely on borrowed time as the team’s starter.
“I’m not completely naive. At some point it’s not going to be my team,” Bradford told reporters Tuesday (via Rob Maadi of The Associated Press).
Bradford looked like a good bet to retain the starting job in Philadelphia for a little while longer after the club kept him from free agency with a two-year, $36MM deal in March, but the Eagles subsequently surrendered a massive haul to move up in the draft for Wentz. Bradford then briefly held out for a trade, which didn’t materialize. The decision to stay away from the Eagles was his agent’s, according to Bradford, who eventually concluded that Philadelphia “is the best place for me.”
“Tom Condon’s been my agent for my entire career,” Bradford said, per Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com. “He’s a guy that I really trust. At the time where we were going through this process, he felt like that was the best option for me. And given that I trust him and know that he has my best interest at heart, I’m always going to follow his advice.”
Bradford added that he’ll help Wentz break into the NFL, saying, “I’m not going to hide anything and if I can do something to help him become a better player, I’m going to do it. It’s only right I fill that role right now. If I wasn’t willing to do that it’s not having respect for the game.”
Wentz, meanwhile, stated that there isn’t any tension between him and Bradford.
More on Philly and a couple other NFC franchises:
- Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett tore into Bradford on Tuesday as a result of his holdout. “I can’t believe Sam Bradford is complaining about making $40 million in the next two years, and because he actually has to compete for a position. This guy… this guy right here definitely sets a bad tone of what a player should be,” Bennett told 710 ESPN Seattle (per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com).
- Bennett hasn’t been happy with his own contract, a four-year, $28MM pact he signed in 2014. Nevertheless, he told reporters – including The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta – that holding out of training camp isn’t an option. General manager John Schneider realizes Bennett isn’t thrilled with his deal, but he said that players with more than a year left on their contracts aren’t the priority when it comes to extensions. Bennett still has two years remaining on his accord, so a possible extension might not come until next offseason.
- When asked about the possibility of acquiring Eagles running back and potential trade candidate Darren Sproles, 49ers head coach Chip Kelly said, “I’ve had nobody call me from Philadelphia since December” (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle), referring to his late-2015 firing. Sproles, of course, played the previous two seasons under Kelly after the Eagles acquired him via trade in 2014.
- Colin Kaepernick still hasn’t been cleared to practice after undergoing shoulder surgery last fall, but it’s not going to cost the 28-year-old in the 49ers’ quarterback battle between him and Blaine Gabbert, Kelly said (via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com). “There’s not a race. The first day we’re able to against defenses is today. We’re not naming the starting lineup for the Rams game today.” Kelly added that Kaepernick has “a great grasp of what we’re doing. I’m really impressed by both Blaine (Gabbert) and him and their intelligence and being able to pick up what we’re trying to do.
Saints Release Josh Scobee
The Saints have released kicker Josh Scobee, tweets Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Additionally, they’ve cut offensive tackle Bryan Witzmann and made the previously reported signing of undrafted cornerback Jimmy Pruitt official.
It was a short stay in New Orleans for Scobee, who joined the club in early March. The 33-year-old spent his first 11 NFL seasons in Jacksonville before the Steelers acquired him prior to the 2015 campaign. Scobee’s time in Pittsburgh only lasted four regular-season games, during which he missed four field goals (all from between 40 to 49 yards) and an extra point while dealing with a hip flexor.
With Scobee out of the picture, the Saints’ only signed kicker is Kai Forbath, though they had several options – including veteran Connor Barth – try out at rookie camp last week.
Witzmann, who went undrafted out of South Dakota State in 2014 and joined the Saints’ practice squad last year, has never appeared in an NFL game. Pruitt, meanwhile, totaled four interceptions during his career as a four-year starter at San Jose State.
West Notes: Woodley, P. Lynch, Cards, Raiders
Free agent linebacker Lamarr Woodley offered scathing reviews of two of his former defensive coordinators, the Cardinals’ James Bettcher and ex-Raiders assistant Jason Tarver (now with San Francisco), on the latest edition of his podcast (per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic).
“In Oakland, we had a dumb defensive coordinator and in Arizona, we had a dumb defensive coordinator,” he said.
Woodley didn’t mention either Bettcher or Tarver by name, but given that he only spent one year with both teams, it’s clear he was referring to them.
He continued, “They thought we were like Madden players. They’d draw something up and on paper it looked good, but the players still have to go out there and run it. Those guys didn’t really listen to their players. They wanted to do it their way and their way only.”
Woodley also ripped into Bettcher for his game plan in the Cardinals’ 49-15 loss to Carolina in the NFC championship.
“It wasn’t because we had bad players. No, our defensive coordinator he didn’t have the common sense to talk to his players to make the adjustments. Because he just wanted to do things his way those are the results we got, bottom line,” he said.
Woodley didn’t play in the title round (or any Cardinals game beyond Nov. 22) because he was on injured reserve. The 31-year-old appeared in just 16 contests over the previous two seasons with the Raiders and Cardinals, combining for 15 tackles and a sack. Woodley was a far more productive player from 2007-13 in Pittsburgh, with which he piled up 58 sacks.
And now the latest from the AFC West:
- Quarterback Mark Sanchez might not be at the Broncos’ helm for long if first-rounder Paxton Lynch forces the team’s hand, which is something general manager John Elway believes the ex-Memphis standout is capable of doing. “We think he’s going to be ready quicker than a lot of people think,” Elway told Denver Sports 760 (link via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). On why the Broncos decided to trade up in the first round for the 6-foot-7 Lynch, Elway said, “He’s a young guy with tremendous athletic ability, he’s got the strong arm, can make all the throws, he’s smart, and he’s a guy that can fit into this offense real well.”
- While Elway sees the Lynch era approaching, Troy Renck of the Denver Post cautions that patience is in order. As Renck writes, Lynch hasn’t played in a pro-style offense since his freshman year at Memphis – which is the last time he was even in a huddle – and his play calls there were far less complicated than they will be in Denver. Moreover, the Broncos would be unwise to rush Lynch into the lineup to serve as a game manager, Renck opines. The club should instead wait until the 22-year-old is truly ready and let him take advantage of his strengths, namely his big arm and elusiveness.
- Raiders defensive end Mario Edwards has been given medical clearance to resume his career, he announced Friday on Instagram (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com). A serious neck injury brought a premature end to Edwards’ rookie campaign after he had started in 10 of 14 appearances and tallied three forced fumbles and two sacks. For his work last season, the second-rounder from Florida State ranked an impressive 32nd out of 110 qualifying edge defenders at Pro Football Focus (subscription required).