Raiders, Marshawn Lynch In Negotiations
If the Seahawks are going to trade temporarily retired running back Marshawn Lynch to the Raiders, he’s first going to have to negotiate a new contract with Oakland. That process is underway, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder, who reports that Lynch and the Raiders are attempting to hammer out a “short-term, heavily incentivized” pact.
It would behoove Lynch, whose one-year hiatus from the NFL will soon end, to reach a new deal and avoid earning his release from the Seahawks. If Seattle cuts the 30-year-old, it would ask Lynch to pay back his $2.5MM signing bonus from last season, per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lynch, unsurprisingly, doesn’t want to do that. The Raiders, meanwhile, want no part of the $9MM Lynch would make on the contract he left behind when he stepped away from football last offseason.
Ultimately, it’s likely Lynch and the Raiders will work out a more palatable contract, thus leading to a trade. The Oakland native wants to play for the Raiders, and they’re in need of help at running back after losing Latavius Murray in free agency. With the Raiders’ time in Oakland winding down, the soon-to-be Las Vegas-based franchise could also use a public relations boost in the Bay Area, which Lynch would perhaps provide.
If Lynch and the Raiders do indeed find common ground, the general managers involved are unlikely to encounter much difficulty in trade talks. The Raiders’ Reggie McKenzie and the Seahawks’ John Schneider have a friendly relationship stemming from their time together in Green Bay’s front office, notes Tafur. Given his closeness with McKenzie, Schneider told 710 ESPN Radio last week that Lynch-related discussions between the teams should “go in a smooth manner.”
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Three Teams Interested In Jared Odrick
The Giants are in need of help at defensive tackle after losing Johnathan Hankins to the Colts on Thursday. Aid could come in the form of the best interior defender left on the market, Jared Odrick, whom the Giants are interested in, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported last month that Odrick would be a possibility for a Hankins-less Giants team.
Hankins had to wait awhile for a deal to come together, which has also been the case with Odrick. The 29-year-old has been on the market since Feb. 20, when the Jaguars released him only two seasons into a five-year, $42.5MM contract. Odrick earned that deal after compiling 64 appearances, 40 starts and 16.5 sacks with the Dolphins from 2011-14. He continued to serve as a durable pass-rushing threat in his first year in Jacksonville, logging 16 starts and 5.5 sacks, before an injury-shortened 2016 in which he missed 10 games. Odrick passed a physical with the Patriots in late February, though, indicating he’s healthy.
The Seahawks and Eagles also have Odrick on their respective radars, per Raanan, who notes he’s likely to join the third team of his career after the draft. Thanks to Hankins’ departure, the Giants seem to need Odrick more than both Seattle and Philadelphia. Aside from Damon Harrison, Big Blue is lacking along the interior line. The Seahawks have Jarran Reed and Ahtyba Rubin, though both players underwhelmed last season, while the Eagles are in fine shape with Fletcher Cox and the newly acquired Timmy Jernigan.
AFC Notes: Colts, Browns, Steelers, Fins
It took over a month for defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to land a contract in free agency, but the newest member of the Colts told reporters Friday that he “knew something good would eventually come through.” It did Thursday, in the form of a three-year, $30MM deal featuring $15.9MM in guarantees. While there’s a belief around the NFL that the former Giant is only a two-down player, he insists being “a three-down guy” hasn’t been a problem. The 25-year-old added that he’ll go forth as a nose tackle and 3-technique, which will give him an opportunity to rush the passer (Twitter links via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post and Mike Chappell of FOX59. Hankins posted a career-high seven sacks in 2014, but he has combined for just three since.
More from around the AFC:
- Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams is currently visiting the Browns, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Williams won’t be in play for the No. 1 pick in the draft, but he could be available for the Browns’ second first-rounder, the 12th overall selection. The club did take a first-round receiver last year in Corey Coleman, though, and it signed Kenny Britt to a sizable contract in free agency a month ago.
- Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Connecticut safety Obi Melifonwu met with the Steelers on Thursday, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Both Humphrey and Melifonwu are prospective first-rounders, and the Steelers are reportedly likely to take a defensive back with their top pick, No. 30 overall.
- The Dolphins hosted Houston edge rusher Tyus Bowser on Thursday, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Bowser figures to go somewhere in the first two rounds, making him a possibility for the Dolphins at either No. 22 or 54 overall. Miami would likely use Bowser as an outside linebacker in its 4-3 alignment, per Jackson. Kiko Alonso is entrenched in one of the club’s top two OLB spots, but it could stand to upgrade the other.
- Another note on the Dolphins: They’ve hired longtime coach Joe Vitt as a consultant, per Alex Marvez of Sporting News. Vitt, the father-in-law of Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, most recently served as an assistant in New Orleans from 2006 until his firing in January.
Extra Points: Cutler, Lynch, 49ers, Eagles
Free agent quarterback Jay Cutler continues to mull retirement, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. The Jets have been the only team to show real interest in the 34-year-old since the Bears released him in March, and Gang Green went on to sign a different veteran, one of Cutler’s former backups in Josh McCown. It seems the Jets would have added Cutler had he been willing to sign with them, as Caplan writes that he wasn’t gung-ho on joining a rebuilding club. As a playoff-caliber team without an obvious answer under center, the Texans and Cutler could theoretically be a match, but they’re uninterested in signing him. Cutler has started in all 139 of his appearances, so it would be understandable if he’d rather walk away from football than continue as a backup.
More from around the game:
- Retired running back Marshawn Lynch, who’s considering returning to the league, was involved in an unflattering incident at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, video of which is available courtesy of TMZ. Lynch smacked a cellphone out of the hand of an autograph seeker, cracking the screen, and that person is now considering filing a police report for assault. The league declined to comment on the run-in, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- Contrary to a report from Tuesday, the 49ers aren’t ready to give up on running back Carlos Hyde, according to general manager John Lynch. They’re actually “really high on” Hyde, who’s “a very talented young man,” per Lynch (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). It wouldn’t necessarily be wise to take Lynch’s comments at face value here, though Hyde did make his case to continue as San Francisco’s No. 1 back when he posted a 4.6 yards-per-carry average on 217 attempts and combined for nine touchdowns last season.
- The Eagles have worked out Missouri defensive end Charles Harris, writes Tim McManus of ESPN.com. The potential first-rounder totaled nine sacks last season during his final year with the Tigers. Harris is part of what some executives and coaches are calling the best defensive draft class of the past two decades, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.
- Free agent wide receiver Louis Murphy was arrested Wednesday at Tampa International Airport on a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Murphy, 29, played with the Raiders, Panthers, Giants and Buccaneers from 2009-15. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL, becoming a free agent after the Bucs waived him off injured reserve in November.
Draft Rumors: 49ers, Jets, Fins, Mixon,
The 49ers are willing to trade the second pick in the draft, which has been the case since at least February. They’ll “listen to anything,” said general manager John Lynch, who revealed that teams have shown interest in acquiring the selection (via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area). Regardless of whether they trade the choice, the 49ers won’t have top prospects like Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas or Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey in for pre-draft visits. “I think we know those guys pretty well,” stated Lynch (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). They did work out Cal quarterback Davis Webb on Tuesday, per Wagoner. Webb is gaining momentum as a potential first-rounder.
More on the draft:
- The Jets worked out North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky on March 30, but they’ll take another look at the 22-year-old Thursday in the form of a pre-draft visit, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. There are some members of the organization who are quite bullish on Trubisky, Mehta writes. The quarterback-needy Jets, who are set to pick sixth, have also met twice with Texas Tech signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
- With their first-rounder, No. 30, the Steelers plan to select the best defensive back available, says Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (video link). That could be Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers, whom GM Kevin Colbert “loves,” according to Kinkhabwala. Head coach Mike Tomlin said last month that the Steelers need DBs capable of playing man coverage, noting that New England quarterback Tom Brady roasted their secondary in January’s AFC championship game.
- The Dolphins’ previously reported visit with Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton took place Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.The team also hosted Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis, who, like Charlton, is a prospective first-rounder. PFR’s Dallas Robinson currently has Miami taking Charlton at No. 22 overall.
- Speaking of the Dolphins, they’ll meet with Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt this week, and he’ll also visit the Saints, 49ers and Broncos in the coming days, relays Jeremy Bregman of NFL.com. The brother of Texans superstar J.J. Watt may end up coming off the board in Round 1.
- Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon is “absolutely in play” for the Vikings in Round 2 (No. 48 overall), Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller told Matt Vensel, Andrew Krammer and Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. Along with Minnesota, the Saints, Bengals and Raiders have shown the most interest in Mixon, per Miller. The Raiders seem like a curious fit, though, given Mixon’s past and owner Mark Davis’ zero tolerance policy regarding domestic violence.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/17
The latest minor moves…
- Jets center Wesley Johnson signed his restricted free agent tender on Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Gang Green tendered Johnson at a second-round level, entitling him to a $2.75MM salary in 2017. The 26-year-old logged career highs in appearances (15) and starts (eight) last season, and with longtime stalwart Nick Mangold no longer in the fold, Johnson is poised to take over as the Jets’ No. 1 center.
Giants Offering Johnathan Hankins $28MM
Over a month since the start of free agency, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins surprisingly remains available, having not found any offers to his liking. The Giants, with whom Hankins spent the first four seasons of his career, have had an offer on the table to re-sign him since before the market opened. It turns out it’s a four-year, $28MM proposal, reports Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
It’s unclear exactly how much guaranteed money Big Blue is including in its offer, but Schwartz notes that it’s similar to the pact fellow D-tackle Nick Fairley signed with the Saints last month. Fairley’s contract, also worth $28MM over four years, includes $14MM in guarantees. While such a deal hasn’t appealed to Hankins, it’s fair to call it a generous offer at this stage of free agency. A source Schwartz spoke to agrees, saying, “At some point, you got to be pragmatic about it.”
Hankins, whom most teams view as a two-down player, has generated little legitimate interest outside of New York this offseason. Both the Dolphins and the Colts have kicked the tires, but the former would only add him as a rotational player and the latter is uninterested in his asking price, which started out at $15MM per year before quickly dropping to $10MM annually, according to Schwartz.
While Hankins, 25, is coming off the second 16-start season of his four-year career, he has racked up just three sacks (all in 2016) since a seven-sack 2014. He also ranked a subpar 72nd in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen last season. As such, the Giants don’t regard him as a must-sign player, relays Schwartz, who writes that the team could rescind the offer if it addresses the middle of its D-line in the draft.
South Notes: Falcons, Saints, Bucs, Texans
The Falcons expect to lock up Devonta Freeman with an extension in the coming months, but the running back told Sporting News’ Alex Marvez he won’t skip the team’s offseason football activities if a new deal doesn’t come. “I’m doing everything,” said Freeman. “I love these guys. I love football.” Freeman was planning to seek “elite” money as of January, though it’s unclear if that remains the case. For now, he’s in line to make just under $1.8MM next season – the final year of his rookie contract – after combining for 2,100-plus rushing yards, 27 touchdowns (22 on the ground, five receiving) and 127 catches from 2015-16.
More from the South divisions:
- When free agent running back Adrian Peterson visited the Patriots earlier this month, they put him through a workout. That wasn’t the case with the Saints, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Peterson’s meeting with the Saints reportedly “went well,” and it seems each side has interest in working out an agreement.
- Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is on his way to Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Cook, who was college teammates with Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston in 2014, joins Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon as the second draft-bound runner Tampa Bay has eyed in the past week. Cook figures to come off the board in the first round. The Buccaneers are slated to pick 19th.
- The Saints hosted UCLA defensive end Takkarist McKinley on Monday, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). Even though he’s amid a monthslong recovery from shoulder surgery, McKinley could go in the opening round, where New Orleans has two selections (Nos. 11 and 32). McKinley’s coming off a 10-sack season, one-third of the Saints’ 27th-ranked total from 2016.
- Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp visited the Texans on Wednesday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The guard seems likely to come off the board somewhere in the 20s, which is in the neighborhood of the Texans’ pick (No. 25). In Houston, Lamp would presumably unseat left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, who has disappointed since going 44th overall in 2014. Although Su’a-Filo started a career-high 15 games last season, Pro Football Focus ranked him as one of the NFL’s worst guards.
Terrance Knighton To Retire
Free agent defensive tackle Terrance Knighton is retiring after eight NFL seasons, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). The 30-year-old will pursue a career in coaching, Schefter adds.
A third-round pick out of Temple in 2009, Knighton spent the first four years of his playing career with the Jaguars before signing with the Broncos in 2013. Knighton was at his best in Denver, where he started in all 32 of his regular-season appearances overall and, in 2014, was part of the NFL’s second-best run defense. The man known as “Pot Roast” finished as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-ranked D-tackle that year, and he left the Broncos the next offseason to sign with the Redskins.
Knighton started in all 15 of his appearances in Washington in 2015, which will go down as his final season. Although he inked a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Patriots last April, he was unable to make the eventual Super Bowl champions’ roster. They cut Knighton prior to Week 1, and he nearly went on to reunite with the Redskins. However, no deal materialized after he met with them in October.
Knighton’s career concludes with 108 appearances, 96 of which were starts, as well as 14 sacks. PFR wishes him well as he looks to enter the coaching ranks.
Raiders Work Out Ego Ferguson
Free agent defensive tackle Ego Ferguson worked out for the Raiders on Wednesday, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
Ferguson is looking for his second new team of the offseason, having previously joined the Packers via waivers after the Bears cut him March 31. Ferguson failed a physical with the Packers, however, leading to his release less than a week after Chicago jettisoned him.
The 25-year-old Ferguson still has youth on his side, and he was a second-round pick in 2014, but his pro career has been a disappointment thus far. The ex-LSU standout didn’t start in any of his 16 appearances as a rookie, nor did he make a huge impact statistically (24 tackles, two sacks), and has since missed 28 of 32 regular-season on account of injuries and a suspension. Ferguson sat out all of last year with a shoulder malady.
The Raiders currently have four D-tackles on their roster in Jihad Ward, Dan Williams, Justin Ellis and Darius Latham.