Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/15
Today’s minor moves…
- The Texans signed offensive tackle Aaron Adams, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Green Bay cut Adams with a failed physical designation in April. He tore his ACL and MCL in training camp last year and missed all of the 2014 season.
- The Packers waived cornerback Bernard Blake with the non-football illness designation, Howard Balzer reports (Twitter link). Green Bay signed Blake as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in May.
- The Steelers signed offensive tackle Kelvin Palmer and waived safety Jordan Dangerfield, Balzer tweeted.
- The Browns’ Tory Slater passed his physical, according to Balzer (Twitter link), and the team will remove him from its PUP list. Cleveland claimed Slater off waivers in May, when the Seahawks waived him with the injured designation.
- The Buccaneers have waived linebacker Jared Koster, Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune reports (Twitter link). Koster signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in May. His release gives Tampa 88 active players.
- The Ravens placed injured safety Terrence Brooks on the physically unable to perform list, according to Wilson (via Twitter). Brooks, who appeared in 11 games and made 19 tackles as a rookie in 2014, is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered last December.
- The Jaguars signed wide receiver/returner Greg Jenkins, per the Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran. The 25-year-old Jenkins has appeared in six games, all with Oakland in 2013, and returned 10 kicks for 221 yards.
NFC Notes: Eli, Mathis, Wagner, Wilson
Two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning is entering a contract year, which means his 12th season with the Giants could be his last with the team. Adding fuel to the fire is that Manning and the Giants haven’t yet engaged in “meaningful, substantive contract talks,” Rand Getlin of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). However, Getlin noted in a separate tweet that the two sides do want to get a new contract done. Manning, who threw for 4,400-plus yards and 30 touchdowns against just 14 interceptions last year, has a $17MM base salary this season and will count $19.75MM against the Giants’ cap.
Here’s more on the Giants and a couple of their NFC counterparts:
- Don’t expect the Giants to land free agent guard and ex-Eagle Evan Mathis, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano – who tweeted that New York isn’t serious about signing the two-time Pro Bowler and longtime NFC East rival.
- Both the Seahawks and linebacker Bobby Wagner are optimistic about getting a new deal done prior to the season, a source told ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). Wagner, 25, is entering a contract year fresh off a breakout 2014 that saw him earn Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors.
- Buccaneers defensive back C.J. Wilson, who lost two fingers in a July 4 fireworks accident and announced earlier today he was taking some time away from the game, isn’t ruling out a return to football later this year. He could end up on Tampa’s practice squad if he does come back, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link).
Latest On Junior Galette
The Saints’ eye-opening move to release pass rusher Junior Galette earlier today has drawn plenty of response, including from Gallette himself. Galette fired back at the team in the wake of its decision – which he called “terrible,” per Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com.
“Who else do they have?” he asked Woodbery, implying that the Saints don’t have anyone to replace the 22 sacks he provided the previous two seasons.
Per Woodbery, the Saints will try to fill Galette’s void with a slew of candidates – namely Anthony Spencer, second-round rookie Hau’oli Kikaha, fifth-rounder Davis Tull, Kasim Edebali and Ronald Powell. Whether any can adequately take over for Galette remains to be seen, but it doesn’t seem to matter to the Saints – who, despite his production and the four-year, $41.5MM contract they signed him to last September, were done with Galette months prior to today, according to Larry Holder of NOLA.com.
The Saints tried in vain throughout the offseason to trade Galette, who Holder reports was in a locker room fight with teammate Brandon Deaderick last year, and then video of him striking a woman with a belt in March 2013 came to the forefront in June. That was Galette’s second known domestic violence-related incident. The other came this past January, when he was booked on one count of misdemeanor simple battery (a domestic violence charge was subsequently dropped). A suspension may not be forthcoming, however, as Galette stated he met with league officials and said he was “in the clear” with respect to potential discipline, Lyons Yellin of WWL-TV tweeted. Holder wrote that the league’s investigation into both matters is “ongoing.” Galette expects to play somewhere, clearly, and said that he’ll be the top outside linebacker in the league in 2015, per Yellin (Twitter link).
Regarding which member of Saints brass was most influential in releasing him, Galette said, “Everything is Sean’s call,” referring to head coach Sean Payton. “He told me that himself. He’s the one who pulls the trigger,” Woodbery tweeted.
Payton axed Galette after the defender refused to go on season-ending injured reserve with a pectoral injury that he suffered last month, according to Yellin (Twitter link).
“I’m not hurt,” Galette told Payton. “Either play me or cut me.”
Payton’s move to get rid of Galette will have significant financial ramifications for New Orleans, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap detailed. In addition to having already paid Galette $17MM, the Saints won’t save any cap space this year and will be on the hook for a $5.45MM cap hit. It gets even worse in 2016, when the team will eat $12.1MM in dead cap space.
In his last parting shot (for now), Galette said on Snapchat, “They say don’t let business get personal. [Expletive] it,” Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate tweeted.
His release will become official once he takes – and passes – a physical with the Saints, which is expected to happen this weekend.
Cardinals, Jermaine Gresham Agree To Deal
The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent tight end Jermaine Gresham, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports (via Twitter). Financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
The 27-year-old Gresham spent the first half-decade of his career in Cincinnati, which used a first-round pick on him in 2010. With the Bengals, the ex-Oklahoma Sooner hauled in 280 passes and 24 touchdowns – including 62 receptions and five scores last season – while earning a reputation as a solid blocker. He averaged a meager 7.4 yards per catch in 2014, however, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him a below-average 37th out of 67 qualifying tight ends.
Gresham – who underwent surgery on a herniated disc in March – drew interest this offseason from several teams besides the Cardinals, including the Saints, Packers, Bears and Raiders. In Arizona, Gresham will provide a veteran tight end to a team that lost John Carlson and Rob Housler during the offseason. Carlson and Housler combined for 42 receptions, 479 yards and a touchdown last year. Gresham has exceeded 42 catches every year of his career, surpassed the 479-yard mark twice, and totaled at least four TDs in each of his five seasons.
Ravens Place Dennis Pitta On Active/PUP List
The Ravens have placed injured tight end Dennis Pitta on the active/physically unable to perform list, ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter). Now that he’s on the PUP list, Pitta will have to partake in training camp at some point in order to be eligible to play during the first six weeks of the regular season. If he doesn’t, he won’t be able to make his 2015 debut until Week 7 at the earliest.
Pitta is trying to return from a fractured hip he suffered in Week 3 of last season. He suffered the same injury during training camp in July 2013, and this time his career could be in jeopardy, the Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson wrote earlier this week.
In parts of five seasons with the Ravens, the 30-year-old has racked up 138 catches and 11 touchdowns – including career highs of 61 and seven, respectively, in both categories in 2012. He signed a five-year, $32MM contract to remain in Baltimore last year.
Vikings Sign Josh Thomas
The Vikings have signed free agent cornerback Josh Thomas, according to their official website. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Thomas, 26, is a four-year veteran who played for the Panthers from 2011-13 before spending time with the Jets, Seahawks and Lions last season. He appeared in four games and amassed two tackles, and has tallied 66 tackles and an interception in 42 career contests. He’ll provide depth to a Minnesota secondary that will be without Jabari Price because of a two-game suspension and Josh Robinson, who will miss an undisclosed amount of time because of a torn pectoral muscle.
Extension Candidate: Nick Foles
Quarterback Nick Foles burst on the scene as a member of the Eagles in 2013, appearing in 13 games and totaling league bests in yards per attempt (9.12) and and rating (119.2 rating) on the strength of an astounding 27:2 touchdown:interception ratio. As a result, expectations with Foles were sky high entering last year, but he missed half the season because of a broken collarbone and his numbers took a significant step back (6.96 YPA, 13 TDs, 10 INTs and an 81.4 rating).
Eagles coach and football czar Chip Kelly decided Foles wasn’t an ideal fit for his offense, so he traded the 26-year-old to the 
Rams in a deal involving draft picks and, more importantly, Sam Bradford – another QB who has battled inconsistency during his career – earlier this offseason.
In St. Louis, Foles will try to rebound from a mediocre 2014, give the Rams their first taste of consistently above-average QB play since Marc Bulger’s heyday nearly a decade ago, and help the team break its 10-year playoff drought. If Foles accomplishes those things – or, at the very least, reestablishes himself as a legit starter – he’ll be in line to cash in by next offseason as a free agent. There’s a chance it could happen before then, though, as the three-year veteran and the Rams have both expressed interest in a contract extension. Head coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged discussions on a new deal, USA Today’s Howard Balzer tweeted in June, after NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported (via Twitter) that the initial talks between the two sides would “ramp up” prior to the season. Foles has already stated both a fondness for St. Louis and a desire to remain there, but noted that his agent would handle contract negotiations, ESPN’s Nick Wagoner tweeted last month.
Given the fact that he has put up less-than-stellar numbers in two of three seasons, it would be a gamble for the Rams to give Foles an extension prior to ever seeing him throw a pass in their uniform. But, considering how important quarterbacks are and how badly Rams QBs have struggled during their playoff drought, it might be a worthwhile risk for general manager Les Snead to lock up Foles now instead of waiting and possibly seeing his price rise exponentially thanks to a bounce-back season.
The question is: How much is it going to cost for the Rams to keep Foles long term? Wagoner took a look at the issue earlier this month and concluded that the Bengals’ Andy Dalton could be used as a comparable for a hypothetical Foles contract.
Dalton signed a six-year extension worth up to $115MM (with a guaranteed $17MM, which has already been paid out) last summer. At the time, Dalton had three things in common with present-day Foles: three years’ experience, one Pro Bowl appearance, and career-best outputs in 2013. In terms of counting stats, Dalton – unlike Foles – had three straight seasons of at least 3,300 yards, including a 4,200-plus-yard campaign in 2013, three consecutive years of 20-plus touchdown passes (33 in ’13) and quarterbacked three playoff teams in a row. Incidentally, Dalton and Foles were one spot apart in Pro Football Focus’ ranking system for QBs in ’13 (Dalton was 16th, Foles 17th – subscription required).
Foles hasn’t accomplished enough to earn a deal in Dalton’s neighborhood in terms of total value, but Dalton’s contract isn’t as enormous as it looks. Given the fact that Bengals have already paid Dalton his guaranteed money, his deal isn’t an anvil going forward. That allows the Bengals to evaluate Dalton on a year-to-year basis and decide whether to continue on with him. Wagoner notes that a similar structure would make sense for the Rams on a hypothetical Foles deal.
As far as length, annual value and guarantees go, Wagoner wrote that something in the range of $12MM to $14MM per annum for four years (with roughly $20MM in guarantees) might get an extension done. If Foles signs a contract in that vicinity and pans out, he’d be a steal for the Rams. Those financial numbers would be relatively modest for a solid starter, as the yearly salary and total guaranteed money would place just inside the top 20 among today’s QBs, according to Over The Cap. For Foles’ part, accepting a contract along those lines would allow him to secure himself financially now and, if he fares well, give him another crack at a hefty payday in a few years.
There would be risk on both sides if they were to strike a deal, clearly. If the two are realistic about Foles’ worth, though, the reward should outweigh any wariness.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Rivers, Browner, Brady, Lions
The next year might be a time of major transition for the Chargers, who will be able to break their lease at season’s end and leave San Diego – their home since 1961 – potentially for Carson, Calif. Further, 11-year Charger and six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers is entering the final season of his contract and could conceivably be under center for another organization 12 months from now. Rivers has started every Chargers game since 2006, playoffs included, and been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks during that span. However, the 33-year-old hasn’t shown much urgency in getting a long-term deal done with the Bolts, writes the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Michael Gehlken. Regardless of what happens with the Chargers, then, Rivers’ days as a San Diego institution may be winding down.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Former Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner said Sunday at Richard Sherman‘s celebrity softball game that he’d like to return to Seattle when his contract is up, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). If Browner was serious, the timing of his comment is odd, as he recently joined the Saints on a three-year deal during free agency. Browner, who spent 2011-13 with the Seahawks, was a member of the Super Bowl-winning Patriots last season.
- It’s been almost a month since Tom Brady‘s Deflategate appeal hearing, yet no ruling has come down. If Brady’s four-game suspension isn’t overturned, it could lead to a lawsuit against the league. However, there may be behind-the-scenes negotiations going on in hopes of preventing that, per Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “I do think they’re negotiating,” said Jodi Balsam, who was the league’s counsel for operations and litigation from 1994-2002 and its counsel for football operations from 2002-2007. “They may be back-channel conversations, but what the NFL wants is to get an implicit agreement from Brady’s people that a reduction in the number of suspended games would resolve the issue and put the brakes on any further litigation.”
- The Lions’ offense is getting to work prior to training camp, tweets ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, who deduced from tight end Joseph Fauria‘s Instagram that he and some teammates are gathering in Atlanta to run routes. Quarterback Matthew Stafford said during the spring that members of Detroit’s offense would look to get some pre-camp work in, according to Rothstein (Twitter link), and it appears to be happening.
Extension Candidate: Cordy Glenn
Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is rightly atop the Bills’ priority list when it comes to extension candidates, but he isn’t the team’s only key lineman entering a contract year. Offensive tackle Cordy Glenn is also set to play out his final season under Buffalo’s control. While the team would be wise to make an effort to lock Glenn up for the foreseeable future, there hasn’t been much talk of a long-term deal for the 25-year-old. Unless something changes, he could cash in elsewhere in 2016.
Since the Bills used a second-round pick in 2012 on Glenn, the former Georgia standout has been a durable stalwart, appearing 
in 45 of a possible 48 regular-season games with the team. Every one of Glenn’s 45 appearances have been starts, and he has earned positive grades from Pro Football Focus in all three seasons of his career. Glenn was the only Bills O-lineman last year who received plus marks from PFF, which ranked the unit an abysmal 30th out of 32 teams.
Glenn’s ability to both stay on the field and play well despite being surrounded by subpar line mates are reasons to keep him in the fold going forward, but the Bills may not view the 25-year-old as positively as PFF does. In fact, he and second-year man Seantrel Henderson – whom PFF (subscription required) ranked as the worst right tackle in the league in 2014 – spent offseason practices alternating between the left and right sides.
Glenn took the transition in stride, saying, “The way I look at it, when you’re here, you’re trying to help out your team … Anything you’ve got to do to win, you’ve got to do it.”
Glenn’s positive approach could change if he ends up in a backup role, which Buffalo News scribe Vic Carucci introduced as a possibility last month. If the Bills’ coaches (namely head man Rex Ryan, offensive coordinator Greg Roman and line coach Aaron Kromer) like the athletic Henderson enough to be their left tackle and fellow second-year pro Cyrus Kouandjio on the right side, that could relegate Glenn to the bench – a place for which he’s clearly far too qualified. That seems unlikely when one considers Glenn’s track record, Henderson’s horrid 2014 and Kouandjio’s inability to get on the field as a rookie after the team used a second-round pick on him, but the fact that Carucci mentioned the idea means it isn’t totally far-fetched.
Even if Glenn does ultimately start and impress for a fourth straight season, it may not be enough to sway Bills brass, led by general manager Doug Whaley, in his favor. Carucci noted late last month that, given the Bills’ desire to keep a dominant defense together, Glenn was at the bottom of an extension pecking order that includes Dareus and linebacker Nigel Bradham, whose deal also expires at year’s end.
In the event the Bills do find a way to keep Glenn as part of their long-term core, a deal in the range of $30MM to $40MM overall may be in the offing. That’s roughly the going rate nowadays among good, in-their-prime tackles – evidenced by the recent contracts given to Rodger Saffold ($31.7MM), Jared Veldheer ($35MM) and Eugene Monroe ($37.5MM) – not to mention a significant step up from the rookie deal under which Glenn is currently playing.
One comparable Glenn and his agent could use is Veldheer, whose resume was similar to Glenn’s in places when he signed his deal as a free agent in 2014. At the time, Veldheer was 26, a four-year veteran, with 48 starts under his belt. On the other hand, two of Veldheer’s seasonal performances drew negative grades from PFF and he missed 11 games because of a triceps tear the year before signing with the Cardinals. However, PFF did rank him as one of the league’s 16 best tackles in 2011 and ’12. Those efforts helped the ex-Raider land a five-year, $35MM payday. The total value of Veldheer’s contract currently ranks a modest 14th among left tackles, as does the the $17MM in guarantees (including a $6.25MM signing bonus) he received, per Over The Cap. If Glenn’s next contract exceeds those totals, odds are it won’t be by much.
The Bills seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach with respect to Glenn’s long-term status. But if Henderson and Kouandjio don’t take sizable steps in 2015, it’s hard to imagine Buffalo letting Glenn go without a fight. Quality left tackles who are young and durable aren’t exactly easy to come by, and a team whose O-line was a major weakness last season (and could be again this year) isn’t in position to allow one of its few capable blockers to head elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Jags, London, Hardy, Kaep, WRs
The Jaguars signed a four-year agreement in 2012 to play one home game per year in the city of London from 2013-16. That deal is half over, but the Jags’ foothold in England is unlikely to slip anytime soon. When the team travels to London to play in October, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union expects Jags owner Shad Khan to announce a new four-year agreement. If it’s the same as their current accord and begins in 2017, it would mean one Jags home game in the U.K. through 2020.
The venue could eventually change from Wembley Stadium to Tottenham’s new stadium when it opens in London in 2018, notes O’Halloran, though the latter is expected to hold at least 22,000 fewer fans. That would mean less revenue for the Jags, but Tottenham’s stadium will have an artificial playing surface – which holds up better for American football than the natural grass at Wembley.
Here’s what else is happening around the NFL:
- Arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision to reduce Cowboys pass rusher Greg Hardy‘s suspension for domestic violence from 10 games to four games is getting panned nationally, notes the Dallas Morning News. One sampling, courtesy of National Organization for Women president Terry O’Neill: “What’s very very sad is that nothing has come out of the NFL that indicates a real commitment to ending the violence-against-women problem that they have in the NFL.”
- The 49ers had a hectic offseason highlighted by several key departures and some noteworthy additions, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick thinks the changes will ultimately serve the team well. “A lot of new faces in the locker room and a lot of new coaches. I think the changes are for the good,” Kaepernick told the Nevada Appeal, according to CSNBayArea.com. “I feel people are writing us off, but for us, that’s all right.”
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap took a look at three wide receivers who, in his opinion, have the worst contracts at their position. The list consists of a trio of big names, with two being potential Hall of Famers.