Several FAs On Dolphins’ Radar
Already set to meet with Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons after the market opens Thursday, the Dolphins have several other players on their radar on the eve of free agency, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
With injured safety Isa Abdul-Quddus questionable to take the field in 2017, the Dolphins are prioritizing the position and could pursue the Patriots’ Duron Harmon and the Cowboys’ J.J. Wilcox, to name a couple. Harmon ranks as PFR’s 12th-best free agent and, although he figures to come at a high price, would perhaps form a quality tandem with star strong safety Reshad Jones.
The 26-year-old Harmon hasn’t been a full-time player in New England, where he only started four of 16 appearances there last season (and 12 of 63 since his career began in 2013) and partook in 48.6 percent of defensive snaps. The same has been true for Wilcox in Dallas, where he started 38 of 58 appearances from 2013-16. Only four of his starts (13 games) came last year, though his performance did rank an above-average 27th among Pro Football Focus’ 89 qualified safeties (Harmon was 54th). If the Dolphins want to add Wilcox, it appears they’ll have to compete with another Florida-based franchise, the Buccaneers, for his services.
Miami agreed to re-sign defensive end Andre Branch to a big-money deal Thursday, but that might not be the last time it addresses the position this offseason. The team would like to add two more ends, though it has so far passed on top available names like Calais Campbell and Jabaal Sheard, per Jackson. The Dolphins have reached out to a less notable player, the Cardinals’ Alex Okafor, who’s coming off a 15-appearance, 3.5-sack season. Okafor, 26, didn’t start a game last year, but he did line up with Arizona’s No. 1 defense 12 times in 2014, when he posted a career-high eight sacks, and 13 times in 2015.
Along with Okafor, the Dolphins have fellow D-linemen – tackles Terrell McClain and Lawrence Guy – on their radar, Jackson writes. The Dolphins are at least the fourth team eyeing McClain, a 28-year-old who spent the previous three seasons in Dallas and is coming off the most productive showing of his career. McClain tallied personal bests in appearances and starts (15 apiece), tackles (39), sacks (2.5) and forced fumbles (two) in 2016.
The 26-year-old Guy, meanwhile, played the majority of the past three seasons in Baltimore, where he picked up a career-high 10 starts across 16 appearances in 2016. In 484 snaps, Guy only registered one sack – down from a personal-best 4.5 in 2015 – though his performance did rank an impressive 38th among PFF’s 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Shifting to the offensive side of the ball, Miami wants “two reasonably priced guards” and hasn’t ruled out re-signing Jermon Bushrod, relays Jackson. After playing with the Saints and Bears from 2007-15, Bushrod signed a cheap pact ($1.5MM) with Miami last offseason and proceeded to start all of its games this past year. PFF pegged him as one of the four worst guards in the league, however.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lawrence Timmons To Visit Dolphins
The Dolphins are looking to lock up their top linebacker, restricted free agent Kiko Alonso, but they’ll need to add outside help to the group even if they keep him in the fold. With that in mind, the Dolphins have interest in impending free agent Lawrence Timmons and will meet with him sometime after the new league year opens, reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
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Timmons, 31 in May, has spent the first 10 years of his career with the Steelers, who would like to retain him. It appears he’ll test the open market, though, and could return to Florida, where he starred as a college player at Florida State. Timmons parlayed his Seminoles career into first-round status in 2007 and has since racked up six 100-tackle seasons – including five in a row since 2012 – to go with 35.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions. He has also been eminently durable, having appeared in fewer than 16 regular-season games just once – during a 14-game 2014 – and hasn’t missed a start since 2010.
In his latest action in 2016, Timmons played 92.9 percent of the Steelers’ snaps and piled up 114 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two picks and a forced fumble, though Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with his work. The site placed him just 70th in overall performance among 87 qualified linebackers. Nevertheless, given his careerlong production and durability, Timmons won’t have difficulty landing a contract this offseason. PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranks him as the fifth-best linebacker in this year’s class of free agents.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/7/17
Tuesday’s minor moves:
- The Saints and restricted free agent Chris Banjo have agreed to a two-year deal, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). The 27-year-old defensive back debuted in Green Bay in 2013 and played there until this past November, when the team waived him with an injury settlement. Banjo quickly caught on with the Saints, but he didn’t see any defensive action in his seven games as a member of the club last season. All 120 of his snaps came on special teams.
Lions, Khyri Thornton Agree To Deal
The Lions and restricted free agent defensive tackle Khyri Thornton have agreed to a deal, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. It’s a two-year, $3.3MM pact that features a $325K signing bonus (Twitter link). Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that the deal is actually worth $3.6MM.
Thornton, 27, entered the NFL as the Packers’ third-round pick in 2014, but he didn’t suit up in any regular-season games with the team. He debuted in 2015 as a member of the NFC North rival Lions, with whom he has totaled 19 appearances. Thirteen of those appearances came last year for Thornton, who made the first six starts of his career, registered his first sack and tallied 19 tackles. Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed, though, as it ranked his performance 121st among 126 qualified interior D-linemen.
After appearing in 29.9 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps last year, Thornton should once again serve as depth for the club next season. Haloti Ngata, who plans to return for his age-33 campaign, and A’Shawn Robinson figure to slot in ahead of Thornton along Detroit’s interior line.
Steelers Not Interested In Darrelle Revis
Darrelle Revis is a Pennsylvania native who starred at the University of Pittsburgh before entering the NFL, but the next stop of his career won’t be at home. The Steelers are uninterested in the cornerback, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The 31-year-old Revis has been connected this offseason to the city of Pittsburgh, not its football team, since a February altercation that led to four felony charges. Revis, who could receive punishment from both the legal system and the NFL prior to next season, will attend a hearing related to those charges March 15.
Two weeks after his off-field run-in, the Jets released Revis, though they announced that the decision came for on-field reasons. The seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro is coming off the worst year of his storied career, having yielded the highest quarterback rating among cornerbacks who were targeted 75-plus times. Unsurprisingly, then, his performance ranked a mediocre 66th among Pro Football Focus’ 112 qualified corners.
Given that Revis will collect $6MM from the Jets in 2017, it’s possible he’ll sit out next season if he doesn’t get offers worth at least $8MM, those familiar with the 10-year veteran tell Florio. There’s even a chance the future Hall of Famer will retire this offseason, Florio adds.
Vince Young Could Sign With CFL Team
While former NFL quarterback Vince Young would like to return to the sport’s top league, it appears he’ll have to settle for a job up north. Young’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, is in discussions with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, and it appears he could sign sometime in the next week, according to Dan Ralph of the Canadian Press (via the CFL’s website).
Young, who will turn 34 in May, hasn’t attempted a professional pass since he was a member of the Eagles in 2011. That didn’t go well for Young, who put up four touchdowns against nine interceptions in six appearances (three starts). He then signed one-year deals with the Bills, Packers and Browns in each of the next three years, but he wasn’t able to catch on with any of them. Young retired in 2014, though he has since made multiple attempts to return to the NFL.
A former star at Texas, where he won a national championship, Young spent the majority of his NFL tenure with the Titans, who chose him third overall in 2006. Even though he won a Rookie of the Year and earned two Pro Bowl nods in Tennessee from 2006-10, Young underwhelmed as a passer with the club. In 54 games (47 starts) as a Titan, he completed 57.9 percent of his throws, tossed as many touchdowns as interceptions (42) and averaged just 150 aerial yards per game. The mobile Young did post a strong 5.2 yards-per-carry mark and pick up 12 rushing TDs on 282 attempts as a Titan, though, and the team managed to go 30-17 in his starts.
Redskins Have Interest In Lawrence Guy
With Chris Baker potentially set to sign elsewhere, the Redskins are looking to address their defensive line and have shown interest in impending free agent tackle Lawrence Guy, report Mike Jones, Master Tesfatsion and Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.
The 26-year-old Guy has spent the majority of the past three seasons in nearby Baltimore, where he picked up a career-high 10 starts across 16 appearances in 2016. In 484 snaps, Guy only registered one sack – down from a personal-best 4.5 in 2015 – though his performance did rank an impressive 38th among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Since the Packers chose Guy in the seventh round of the 2011 draft, he has appeared in 67 games (20 starts) and totaled 6.5 sacks. PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranks him 12th in this year’s class of unsigned interior D-linemen.
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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Re-Sign Jack Doyle
The Colts have announced the re-signing of tight end Jack Doyle to a three-year deal. The pact is worth $19MM and includes $2MM in incentives, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Half of the $19MM ($9.5MM) is guaranteed, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan.
Had Doyle gotten to free agency, he would have been among the most sought-after tight ends on the open market. In a breakout 2016 campaign, the 27-year-old Doyle posted across-the-board career highs with 59 catches, 75 targets, 584 yards and five touchdowns. During the previous three seasons of his career, Doyle combined 42 receptions, 209 yards and three TDs.
Doyle now joins Dwayne Allen as one of two well-compensated Colts tight ends. Allen nearly reached free agency last offseason, but the Colts stopped that from happening with a four-year, $29MM offer. The fact that Doyle won’t hit the market this year should increase the demand for free agency’s other top tight ends, Martellus Bennett and Jared Cook, and aid them in their quests to land raises.
Chris Hagan of FOX 59 first reported the news (Twitter link). Garafolo first tweeted the length of the deal. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Broncos Working To Re-Up Ware, Okung
Although DeMarcus Ware is eyeing a return to Dallas, where he spent the first nine years of his illustrious career, Denver isn’t giving up on re-signing the pass rusher. Broncos general manager John Elway has met with Ware regarding a new deal, tweets Troy Renck of Denver 7. However, Ware is likely to test the market, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).
Ware, who will turn 35 in July, is coming off a career-low 10-game season, which came on the heels of a then-worst 11-game showing in 2015. The 12-year veteran has remained productive, though, as he managed eight starts and four sacks in 2016. All told, Ware has piled up 21.5 sacks in three years as a Bronco, giving him 138.5 for his career. He’s now eighth on the all-time sack list and figures to vault up the list at least a couple more spots in 2017 – perhaps in a different uniform.
Meanwhile, Elway has also discussed a return with left tackle Russell Okung, per James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link). The Broncos elected in late February to decline his option, but that’s not necessarily going to lead to a divorce. Picking up that option would have triggered the remainder of the four-year, $48MM deal (including $20.5MM in guarantees) an agent-less Okung signed with the Broncos last offseason. Okung then proceeded to notch the first 16-start year of his career, though Pro Football Focus ranked his performance a mediocre 38th among 78 qualified tackles.
Since the Broncos (briefly?) cut ties with Okung, several other teams have come up as potential suitors. Because he’s still representing himself, Okung is not allowed to speak with teams during the legal tampering period.
Martellus Bennett Seeking $9MM Per Year
After the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory, tight end Martellus Bennett seemed excited about hitting the open market because teams “overpay” champions. It appears someone is about to grant Bennett’s wish with a mega-deal, as Mike Giardi of CSNNE tweets that six teams have already checked in on the soon-to-be 30-year-old. Bennett is seeking around $9MM per year, a source told Giardi.
Currently the best unsigned tight end in the NFL, Bennett is coming off a season in which he was an integral piece of the champs’ offense. With the banged-up Rob Gronkowski on the sideline for most of the year, Bennett appeared in all of New England’s games and hauled in 55 receptions, 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2008, Bennett has combined for 403 catches and 30 scores with four different clubs.
The Pats tried during the season to extend Bennett at $7MM per annum, but he made what could be a wise decision (for his bank account, anyway) in rejecting it. Bennett, whom PFR’s Zach Links ranks 20th overall in this year’s free agent class, has drawn interest from the Raiders, Jaguars and Giants. Notably, he spent 2012 with Big Blue.