Minor NFL Transactions: 3/30/17
Thursday’s minor moves:
- The Vikings have signed three participants from last week’s veteran combine – tight end Nick Truesdell, wide receiver Mitch Mathews and Terrell Sinkfield. Truesdell was most recently in the Arena Football League, but he did spend time on the Colts’ practice squad last season. Mathews, who went undrafted out of BYU last year, was on the Chiefs’ and Browns’ practice squads for multiple-month stints in 2016. Sinkfield is the only one of three with previous experience as a Viking, having logged some practice squad time with them last year. He bounced around four other NFL organizations from 2013-15 and has three years’ experience in the Canadian Football League.
- Falcons offensive tackle Carter Bykowski has retired, reports Vaughn McClure of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bykowski, whom the 49ers chose in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, joined the Falcons in 2016 after a stint in Minnesota. He didn’t appear in any regular-season games during his career.
Draft Rumors: Browns, 49ers, Bears, Pack
The Browns will host Ohio State safety Malik Hooker for a pre-draft visit Friday, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The club is “very high on” Hooker and is considering taking him in the first round, adds Cabot, who notes that it might not be in position to land him. The Browns are likely to take Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett first overall, and Hooker could be off the board when their second selection (No. 12) arrives. Hooker underwent surgeries to repair a sports hernia and a torn labrum Jan. 31, causing him to miss the combine, but he’s still likely to come off the board in the first 10 picks.
In advance of its meeting with Hooker, Cleveland ran Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson through a private workout on the road Thursday, according to Cabot. Watson may well be the Browns’ pick at No. 12.
More of the latest draft notes:
- Garrett has upcoming visits with the 49ers and Bears, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Niners pick at No. 2 and the Bears are at No. 3, so it’s doubtful either will land Garrett. But it seems the 49ers would jump at the chance of selecting him, as 49ers general manager John Lynch said Thursday at Garrett’s pro day that he “checks all of the boxes” (via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area).
- Add the Packers to the list of teams at least considering drafting Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. The Pack brought Mixon in for a visit earlier this week, relays Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). At least two teams – the Patriots and Dolphins – have already ruled out a Mixon selection.
- The Panthers recently worked out Alabama outside linebacker Ryan Anderson, a source told Matt Zenitz of AL.com (via Twitter). Anderson could be a second-round target for the Panthers, who own the 40th pick.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Buccaneers Possibility For Adrian Peterson?
It might be time to add the Buccaneers to the list of possible landing spots for free agent Adrian Peterson. The running back worked out with Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston on Tuesday, and head coach Dirk Koetter then told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times he’s “anxious to talk to Jameis and ask him how his workouts went.”
Koetter also called Peterson “one of the best running backs to ever play,” which is obviously true. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old Peterson hasn’t encountered much legitimate interest on the market since the Vikings declined his contract option in late February. Minnesota could have subsequently brought Peterson back for less, but it instead signed Latavius Murray. Conversely, the Lions and Giants haven’t ruled out a Peterson pursuit, though nothing seems to be brewing between the seven-time Pro Bowler and either team.
Interestingly, Peterson indicated in January, when he was still a Viking, that he had the Buccaneers on his radar. Tampa Bay could have a need in the backfield, too, as it only has “loose plans” for starter Doug Martin heading into 2017. Martin earned a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs toward the end of last year and will have to sit the first three contests of next season as a result. The ban also turned Martin’s $7MM salary from guaranteed to non-guaranteed, meaning Tampa Bay could easily move on from him if it wants.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen as I sit here today, but right now we’ve got time on our side,” Koetter said regarding Martin’s future.
Aside from Martin, who’s only two years removed from earning first-team All-Pro status, the Buccaneers’ running back depth chart features Jacquizz Rodgers and Charles Sims, neither of whom has ever been a bell cow. Peterson, on the other hand, has eight 200-carry seasons to his name. As was the case with Martin, Peterson was excellent in 2015, when he led the NFL in both rushing attempts (327) and yards (1,485). However, a torn meniscus limited him to three games and 37 carries last year, when he averaged a microscopic 1.9 yards per rush. The injury, Peterson’s most recent performance and his age have all conspired to prevent him from landing a contract this offseason.
Bruce Allen To Scot McCloughan: “Nobody Wants You Here”
Redskins president Bruce Allen spoke highly of fired general manager Scot McCloughan over the weekend, but it appears their relationship was disastrous behind the scenes. McCloughan relayed details of his two-plus-year tenure in Washington to his friend, former NFL fullback Michael Robinson, who passed along that information to FOX Sports 910 in Richmond, Va., on Thursday (via Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch).
[RELATED: Redskins Offering Cousins 5-Year Extension]
While Allen claims he and McCloughan “had a wonderful relationship,” that wasn’t the case, according to the latter.
“(McCloughan) knew the players loved him, and he started feeling the hate from Bruce Allen right around, well, he’s been feeling it, but when they didn’t let him speak (to reporters) at the Senior Bowl, he said to him that was his last straw, and he knew that he was on his way out,” Robinson stated. “He said it was after a draft meeting, after the combine, Bruce called him up to his office and was just like, ‘Nobody likes you in this building. Nobody wants you here.’ And Scot was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m out of here.'”
After Allen hit McCloughan with the aforementioned gag order during the Senior Bowl, the GM wasn’t present at the scouting combine. The Redskins attributed McCloughan’s absence to the death of his grandmother, but speculation abounded regarding his status with the organization. And when the Redskins fired him shortly after, on March 9, a team official told the Washington Post that McCloughan, who has a history of alcohol abuse, “had multiple relapses” and “showed up in the locker room drunk on multiple occasions.” McCloughan says otherwise.
“He said, ‘Mike, I don’t have an issue right now drinking,'” Robinson revealed. “‘I haven’t touched a drink in a while. But of course they wouldn’t let me say it because they silenced me.'”
It’s possible McCloughan’s next move will be to take legal action against the Redskins, though the two sides could be working on a settlement to avoid litigation, contends Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. And whether McCloughan will land another job in the league is unknown, but it doesn’t seem a return to Seattle, where he worked from 2010-13, is going to happen.
Chris Chester Retires
Free agent guard Chris Chester won’t be coming back for a 12th season. The 34-year-old has decided to retire, reports Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
Chester entered the NFL as a Ravens second-round pick in 2006 and eventually established himself as one of the league’s most durable linemen. The former Oklahoma Sooner last missed a game in 2010, meaning he logged six straight 16-start seasons to conclude his career. Chester spent the previous two years in Atlanta, where he was part of an NFC championship-winning squad last season, but the team wasn’t interested in re-signing the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder and expected him to retire.
Between his five-year Baltimore stint and his pair of campaigns with the Falcons, Chester spent four seasons with the Redskins. All told, he picked up 169 appearances and 143 starts in his career.
Redskins Offering Cousins 5-Year Extension
While Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins’ future in Washington is uncertain beyond 2017, team president Bruce Allen would like to keep him in the fold for the long haul.
Asked if the Redskins view Cousins as someone capable of serving as the face of the franchise for the next half-decade or so, Allen told Albert Breer of TheMMQB: “Well, since we’ve offered him a contract around that length, I’d say yes we do. He has gotten better the last three years, and we see him getting better in the future, and that’s why we do want to sign him long-term. We like his role as our quarterback and our leader, we just have to work that out.”
The Redskins have floated a five-year extension for Cousins, reports Breer, who adds that the new deal would include the soon-to-be 29-year-old’s franchise-tagged 2017, in which he’ll make $23.94MM. The pact would then begin in 2018 and keep Cousins under Redskins control through the 2022 campaign. However, “the sides aren’t close to getting something done now,” writes Breer. That’s not surprising, as the proposal includes “roughly” $20MM per annum and a “low guarantee,” reports Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post (Twitter link via the Post’s Mike Jones). A “serious” offer would need to feature at least $40MM fully guaranteed at signing, posits Joel Corry of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
If Washington doesn’t sign Cousins by July 15, he’ll play a second straight season under the tag. Designating him as their franchise player again next year would cost the Redskins an unpalatable $34MM-plus, which undoubtedly increases the urgency to reach a long-term deal in the next three and a half months. Cousins has made his case for a sizable committment since he took over as the Redskins’ starter in 2015. He started all of the Redskins’ games over the past two seasons and helped the team to a 17-14-1 record, including an NFC East title in 2015. Along the way, Cousins combined for over 9,000 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
NFC Notes: Giants, Hankins, Lions, Rams
Giants co-owner Steve Tisch confirmed Monday that the team has an offer on the table to re-up free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, per James Kratch of NJ.com. The Giants submitted the multiyear proposal before the opening of the market, where Hankins hasn’t been able to find a payday to his liking. Contrary to a prior report, the Giants haven’t set a deadline for the 25-year-old to accept their contract, according to Tisch, who’s “very optimistic” an agreement will happen and “pretty convinced” Hankins wants to re-sign.
A few other NFC notes:
- Tisch also spoke on the Giants’ long-term quarterback situation, saying “there’s no urgency” to find an heir to Eli Manning, “but it’s in the back of everybody’s mind” (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). Manning will play his age-36 season in 2017.
- The Lions are in the “very early stages” of contract extension negotiations with quarterback Matthew Stafford, general manager Bob Quinn told the team’s website (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). Quinn indicated that it’s going to take “months, not weeks” for a deal to come together. Stafford, 29, is slated to enter a contract year.
- On the heels of their unsuccessful attempt to swipe center Ryan Groy from the Bills, the Rams continue to look for a solution at the position, reports Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. The Rams want an experienced pivot to team with young quarterback Jared Goff, and they’re scouring the trade and free agent markets to acquire one (Nick Mangold is available, for what it’s worth). Aside from possibly signing a center, the Rams are all but done with free agency, Gonzalez adds.
AFC Notes: Texans, Browns, Jimmy G., Fins
The Texans plan to discuss a contract extension with head coach Bill O’Brien after next season, according to owner Bob McNair (via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle). The 2017 campaign will be the penultimate year of O’Brien’s contract, and he has thus far led the typically quarterback-weak Texans to three nine-win showings and two playoff berths.
Houston continues to be in dire need of help under center, of course, which McNair realizes. “It’s important that we upgrade the play at quarterback,” he told McClain. McNair did express confidence in incumbent starter Tom Savage, though he’s leery of the 26-year-old’s durability issues. “He’s played twice (in regular season) and gotten hurt twice,” McNair noted. “That’s our only concern with Tom. He’s smart enough. He knows the system. He’s got a good arm. I think he can get the job done, but if we depend on him, and he gets hurt in the first or second game . . .”
Savage is only atop the Texans’ depth chart now because of the horrid play of Brock Osweiler, whom they traded to the Browns earlier this month. The move was “a shocker” for McNair, who “couldn’t believe” general manager Rick Smith was able to dump Osweiler’s contract on the Browns (albeit at the cost of a second-round pick). Osweiler is just a year into the four-year pact the Texans handed him as a free agent last offseason. Featuring high cap hits and $37MM in guarantees, the deal quickly became an albatross, and McNair has a theory on why things went so poorly for Osweiler in Houston (via McClain). “(O’Brien) didn’t have a chance to get to know him. That’s one of the problems with free agency,” lamented McNair. “In the draft, we’re able to bring them to Houston, sit down with them, watch them interviewed by a bunch of coaches, and you have time to check them out. You can’t talk to them before they become a free agent. You can’t work them out. We didn’t know him that well.”
Texans brass, including McNair, all seemed to love Osweiler last March, but he then bombed on the field and didn’t mesh with O’Brien in his lone Houston season.
More from the AFC:
- “An NFL source familiar with all the principals involved” speculates the Browns will “make another run” at Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the league meetings, ESPN.com’s Tony Grossi writes. Business tends to go down at the league meetings with everyone in the same place and we could see trade talks get a jumpstart this week in Phoenix. If a trade does happen, however, the same source says it might not occur until closer to the draft on April 27.
- Free agent linebacker Zach Brown is reportedly choosing between the Dolphins and Raiders, but Miami’s Mike Tannenbaum-led front office doesn’t seem to be going all-out to sign him, observes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. “The lion’s share of our focus right now is on the draft,” said Tannenbaum, the team’s executive vice president of football operations. “If an opportunity came along, we’d evaluate it appropriately. But our focus is really on the draft and something comes along, we’ll certainly look at it.”
- Defensive tackle Mike Pennel‘s one-year contract with the Jets is worth $990K, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. There’s no guaranteed money in the deal, but it does come with up to $250K in roster bonuses and a $50K workout bonus.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Lions Not Ruling Out Adrian Peterson
The Lions haven’t added any running backs this offseason to a stable that was among the NFL’s worst in 2016, but a prominent rusher could be on the way. Lions general manager Bob Quinn indicated Monday that he’s open to signing longtime NFC North rival Adrian Peterson, per Justin Rogers of the Detroit News.
“I think AP still has plenty left in the tank,” Quinn said of the former Viking and current free agent. “We’ll see how it goes.”
While Detroit only has roughly $8.4MM in cap space, which could make a Peterson addition difficult, the team’s nonetheless “definitely still open for business in terms of free agency,” according to Quinn.
Quinn’s the first executive who has publicly expressed an openness to signing Peterson during what has been a disappointing offseason for the seven-time Pro Bowler. Several rumored suitors – the Texans, Patriots, Raiders, Giants – have shown little to no interest in Peterson since the Vikings declined his option in late February. Minnesota, which conceivably could have brought Peterson back at a lower price, then went in a different direction by picking up Latavius Murray. And another NFC North club, the running back-needy Packers, aren’t planning to meet with Peterson in the near future.
A few factors working against Peterson are his age (32), the injury-marred 2016 he endured, and a reportedly high asking price. But Peterson has disputed that he’s demanding too much money, and he’s now hoping to join a contender. Having made the playoffs last season, the Lions would seemingly fit the bill.
Detroit won nine games and got to the postseason despite posting the league’s sixth-worst yards-per-carry average (3.7), though it did go without the banged-up Ameer Abdullah for all but two games. Peterson, meanwhile, tore his meniscus in Week 2 and only played in three cntests. The seven-time 1,200-yard man and 2012 MVP was far from his usual self during that limited action, as he registered a paltry 1.9 YPC over 37 carries. However, Peterson won the league’s rushing title just two seasons ago, so it’s possible a healthier version in 2017 would jump-start the Lions’ backfield if they were to sign him.
AFC North Notes: Browns, Steelers, Ravens
The Browns will host North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky for a private workout Friday, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Trubisky’s workout won’t count as one of the Browns’ 30 allotted pre-draft visits because it’s a pro day for prospects who are either from the area (Trubisky’s an Ohio native) or attended college there. While the Browns have two first-round picks (Nos. 1 and 12), they’re only considering using the second selection on Trubisky, relays Cabot. They’re primed to spend the top choice on Texas A&M edge defender Myles Garrett.
More from Cleveland two other AFC North cities:
- At least one of the Browns’ current QBs, Brock Osweiler, isn’t a lock to stay on their roster. “Brock could be on our team or we could trade him,” owner Jimmy Haslam told Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. “There’s lots of options out there.” Haslam’s noncommittal attitude toward Osweiler isn’t remotely surprising, as the expectation is the Browns will cut or trade him. It’s fair to say Cleveland only acquired Osweiler (and his $16MM base salary) from Houston this month as a way to pick up a second-round pick. Haslam noted that the Browns are “excited” about that selection.
- More information on the Browns, who “made a very aggressive” and “long-term” offer to re-sign wide receiver Terrelle Pryor before he inked a one-year, $6MM deal with Washington, Haslam confirmed (via Ulrich). The Browns were reportedly willing to give Pryor $8.5MM per year.
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has mulled retirement this offseason, but it seems the 35-year-old will play in 2017. Roethlisberger said earlier this month he’s “leaning towards” continuing his career, and head coach Mike Tomlin revealed Monday the two have had “pretty fluid conversation” about the Steelers’ offseason moves (via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com).
- Tomlin also laid out Monday what the Steelers’ main needs are entering the draft, telling Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they must add pass rushers and defensive backs who can play man coverage. “Our inability to play man-to-man effectively and our inability to apply pressure on the quarterback without blitzing were issues in that game,” Tomlin said of the Steelers’ 36-17 loss to the Patriots in the AFC title game, in which Tom Brady completed 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns.
- With less than $8MM in cap room remaining, the Ravens are unlikely to pursue any more free agents until at least after the draft, team president Dick Cass informed Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “We’d like to preserve the opportunity to win a compensatory draft pick,” said Cass. “We really have to wait until [May 9] before we will sign a player, most likely. But you never say never. If an opportunity comes along, we might take it.” Cass added that the Ravens “have to be careful” with their remaining spending space, though he does think they’ll use all of it.