Bears Pushing To Sign Stephon Gilmore
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore drew a connection to the Bears last week, and now that the legal tampering period has begun, the club is making a “big push” to sign him, reports Sporting News’ Alex Marvez (Twitter link).
The Bears have a crying need at corner, so adding the accomplished Gilmore would go a long way toward fixing their issues. The five-year veteran possesses an impressive NFL resume, having racked up 68 appearances, 66 starts and 14 picks with the Bills since going in the first round of the 2012 draft. The 26-year-old Gilmore started in each of his appearances (15) for the third straight season and notched a career-high five interceptions in 2016. However, after ranking as one of Pro Football Focus’ 10 best corners in 2015, he dropped to 61st (among 112 qualifiers) last season.
Despite an arguably disappointing 2016, Gilmore undoubtedly stands as one of the best players set to the market. PFR’s Zach Links ranks Gilmore 10th overall in this year’s class, and he’s somewhere in the top three corners with the Texans’ A.J. Bouye and the Patriots’ Logan Ryan. As is the case with Gilmore, the Bears have interest in Bouye. Clearly, then, they’re going big-game hunting in the secondary.
Panthers Re-Sign Charles Johnson
The Panthers have announced the re-signing of defensive end Charles Johnson, meaning yet another edge rusher won’t hit the open market. Johnson can make up to $9.5MM over two years, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal has a base of $8MM before factoring in the $1.5MM in incentives, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
The 30-year-old Johnson made it clear in December that he wanted to remain with Carolina, the only NFL team for which he has played. The Panthers selected Johnson in the third round of the 2007 draft, and he has since tallied 103 starts in 131 appearances, 67.5 sacks and 17 forced fumbles. In 13 appearances – all starts – in 2016, Johnson racked up 26 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles to rank as Pro Football Focus’ 25th-best edge defender among 109 qualifiers.
The Panthers and Johnson briefly separated last offseason, when the team released him in a cost-cutting move. Carolina shortly brought back Johnson on a $3MM deal, so his new contract represents a nice raise. PFR’s Dallas Robinson pegged Johnson as the eighth-best unsigned edge defender prior to Tuesday.
49ers Release Antoine Bethea
After spending the past three years in San Francisco, safety Antoine Bethea will hit the open market. The 49ers have announced the release of the 32-year-old. Already flush with cap space, the 49ers will add another $5.75MM in moving on from Bethea.
An 11-year veteran who spent the first eight seasons of his career in Indianapolis, Bethea has impressively started in all 162 of his appearances since entering the NFL in 2006. He’s also a two-time Pro Bowler, with one nod having come with San Francisco in 2014, and has posted 16-game seasons in eight of the past nine campaigns. The lone exception was 2015, when Bethea only logged seven appearances. He returned to health last year to log 110 tackles and a forced fumble, though his performance ranked a below-average 66th among Pro Football Focus’ 89 qualified safeties.
Bethea doesn’t have age on his side, but given his durability and playmaking prowess (19 career picks), he could draw interest on the market. He’ll join a group of free agent safeties that also includes Tony Jefferson, Duron Harmon, Barry Church and ex-Colts teammate Darius Butler, among others.
Jags, Patrick Omameh Agree To Deal
The Jaguars have agreed to re-sign guard Patrick Omameh, his agency, Schwartz & Feinsod, announced (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year, $775K deal with a $100K signing bonus, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
Since breaking into the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2014, Omameh has amassed 40 appearances and 32 starts. The 27-year-old spent 2015 in Chicago and is coming off his first year in Jacksonville, where he started in seven of 10 appearances before going on injured reserve in late November.
Omameh graded a respectable 31st among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualifying guards in 2016 and would have drawn interest from at least one other team – the Broncos, per Troy Renck of Denver 7 (Twitter link) – had the Jaguars not kept him off the market. PFR’s Zach Links ranked Omameh as the eighth-best unsigned guard on the market Monday.
Re-upping Omameh likely means the Jags will move on from Luke Joeckel, tweets Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com. The free agent hasn’t lived up to his status as the second overall pick in the 2013 draft, though he has started in all 39 career appearances. Joeckel missed all but four games last year on account of a knee injury.
Extra Points: Foster, Worrilow, 49ers, Chip
In a development that could hurt his draft stock, Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster is being sent home from the combine after he and a hospital worker engaged in a “heated argument,” reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter links). What’s more, Foster’s combine interviews didn’t go particularly well, per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report and Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Foster was supposed to continue interviews with teams Saturday, but he’ll instead head home to Tuscaloosa. As of last week, one club had Foster ranked as the third-best player in this year’s class. He at least looked like a shoo-in top 10 pick prior to Friday, though that’s now in question.
As we wait for more on Foster, let’s take a look around the NFL:
- Falcons impending free agent linebacker Paul Worrilow has drawn interest from the Patriots, Lions, Eagles and Colts leading up to March 9, relays Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The 26-year-old wasn’t much of a factor last season as a member of the NFC champions, with whom he collected one start and 18 tackles in 12 games. But Worrilow did garner significant playing time with the Falcons from 2013-15, when he logged 47 appearances, 42 starts and made between 95 and 143 tackles in each season. Worrilow also totaled four sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions during that three-year span.
- Former Eagles and 49ers head coach Chip Kelly hasn’t been able to find an NFL job this offseason, even as an assistant, and is now trying to break into the media ranks. Kelly auditioned for FOX last week, tweets Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson.
- Kelly’s successor in San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan, isn’t impressed with the 49ers’ pass catchers, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. When asked which of the 49ers’ receivers and tight ends have stood out on film, Shanahan said, “No one in particular,” and added that the club will look for help this offseason. Jeremy Kerley and Quinton Patton, the 49ers’ top receivers from 2016, are set to become free agents, making the need to add options all the more obvious. San Francisco might pursue Alshon Jeffery in free agency, and signing him would give the team a much-needed No. 1 target.
- Defensive guru Monte Kiffin is leaving the Jaguars to join up with son Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic University, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News writes. The elder Kiffin, 77, only spent one season in Jacksonville, where he worked as a defensive assistant.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Redskins, Panthers, Cowboys
Although free agency opens in less than a week, the Redskins still haven’t attempted to negotiate a new deal with Pierre Garcon, the soon-to-be available wide receiver said Thursday (via Peter Halley of CSN Mid-Atlantic). “I haven’t heard anything from the Redskins,” Garcon said on former Colts punter Pat McAfee’s podcast. “I have not heard anything at all. But everybody does strategic moves right before free agency, or right during free agency, so I couldn’t tell you what they’re up to.” As arguably a top 25 free agent in the 2017 class, the 30-year-old Garcon could garner $9MM-plus per annum on his next contract.
More from the NFC:
- It’s “fair” to say the Panthers will draft a running back this year, general manager Dave Gettleman told David Newton of ESPN.com. That’s not surprising given that starting running back Jonathan Stewart will play his age-30 season and face a contract year in 2017. Gettleman is bullish on this year’s selection of backs, which LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey headline. “It’s a deep running back group, we know that,’’ he said. “It’ll be interesting to see how the whole process plays out because we’re really just halfway through it.’’
- The Cowboys plan to shop running back Alfred Morris, but they’re going to have difficulty finding a taker because of his contract, opines Rich Tandler of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Although Morris is due an affordable base salary of $1.2MM in 2017, his deal also includes $500K in per-game roster bonuses.
- On the heels of a season in which the Vikings’ offense placed 23rd in scoring, 26th in DVOA and 28th in yardage, defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer has taken a more hands-on approach with the unit, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com details. Zimmer has twice watched every offensive play the Vikings ran in 2016 and sat in on meetings with coordinator Pat Shurmur and his staff over the past couple months. Observed Zimmer: “I’m watching tape [of last season]. And we run a complementary play off another play, but we don’t run that other play. So [the defense] is saying, any time they do this, they’re going to run that. So this is about trying to get the players in the right position to do more.”
- After playing through foot problems last season, all-world Falcons receiver Julio Jones will undergo surgery Monday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com). Fortunately for Jones and the Falcons, the procedure will be minor and won’t affect his training camp availability.
Bears To Meet With Brian Hoyer’s Reps
With Jay Cutler on the outs and no clear starting quarterback in place for 2017, the Bears are likely to meet with representatives for impending free agent Brian Hoyer this weekend, according to John Mullin of CSN Chicago. However, the club’s interest in Hoyer is only “lukewarm,” as it views him as a Plan C option. Instead of bringing back Hoyer, the Bears would prefer to emerge from the offseason having traded for Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo or signed Buccaneers backup Mike Glennon, writes Mullin.
[RELATED: Bears Could Pursue Top FAs]
Chicago’s desire to land Garoppolo or Glennon isn’t exactly a surprise. However, for his part, the 31-year-old Hoyer logged far more playing time than either last season and was fairly effective. All told, Hoyer completed 67 percent of his 200 passes, averaged 7.2 yards per attempt and threw six touchdowns against no interceptions in six games. Five of those appearances were starts for Hoyer, who took over for an injured Cutler and looked primed to grab the job for good before suffering a season-ending broken left arm in a Week 6 loss to the Packers.
While the Bears wouldn’t prioritize drafting a quarterback if they were to add either Garoppolo or Glennon, that wouldn’t be the case with Hoyer, notes Mullin. Hoyer would likely serve as a bridge starter for the Bears, who are set to pick third and 36th overall in the first two rounds of the draft and could conceivably choose a QB with either selection.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
V. Davis Wants To Stay With Redskins
Tight end Vernon Davis is days away from hitting the open market, but he’d rather re-sign with the Redskins than test free agency.
“You know I’m letting my agent deal with that at the moment with hopes that I’ll be back with the Washington Redskins,” Davis told JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. (via Peter Halley of CSN). “I’ll just be optimistic about it. I would love to stay here because it’s such a great organization. The locker room’s amazing. I’m extremely happy here, and it would only make sense to stay here and continue to be a Washington Redskin.”
Davis, an ex-Maryland star and a native of D.C., joined his hometown team last offseason on a $2.38MM deal. That proved to be a bargain for the Redskins, with whom Davis hauled in 44 receptions, 583 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games and 14 starts. Last season was something of a bounce-back campaign for the 33-year-old. Although he won a Super Bowl with the Broncos in 2015, Davis failed to record a touchdown in a year spent between Denver and San Francisco and averaged 10.4 yards per catch (well below his 13.3 YPC from 2016) on 38 receptions. Davis attributes some of his latest success to Redskins head coach Jay Gruden.
“I love him, I love him, and that’s one of the other reasons that I wouldn’t mind staying here,” he said. “He allows the players to play really, really loose, and you want that in a coach.”
While Davis hopes to continue playing under Gruden, he’s currently part of an unsigned tight end crop that also includes Martellus Bennett, Jared Cook and Jack Doyle, among others. Age isn’t on Davis’ side, but his track record is better than the other impending free agent tight ends’. Across 10 seasons, the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder has piled up 505 receptions and 57 touchdowns.
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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Romo, Cowboys, Redskins, Jets
The Redskins could attempt to acquire Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in a trade also involving the 49ers, but it’s not going to happen on Jerry Jones‘ watch, tweets Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see if that will be Jones’ stance if the Redskins make the only trade offer for Romo, who’s a prime release candidate.
More from the East Coast:
- The Jets might move on from wide receiver Eric Decker, though they won’t make a decision on his future until he has recovered from hip and shoulder surgeries, general manager Mike Maccagnan announced Friday (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). “Our goal is to get him healthy and then kind of evaluate how he comes off the injuries,” said Maccagnan, who believes Decker will be ready to return by Week 1 of next season. The soon-to-be 30-year-old appeared in only three games last season, and cutting him would save the Jets $5.75MM against $3MM in dead money for 2017.
- The Jets cut their other top wideout, Brandon Marshall, on Thursday, but not before offering him an extension. That offer came “about a month ago,” a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Marshall wasn’t up for continuing on a rebuilding team, though, so he turned down the extension and requested his release.
- Maccagnan would like to acquire more draft picks to go with the seven he already has, which could mean moving down in any round (via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). “If somebody wants to move up and we have a pick in that round, call us up. Any pick,” said Maccagnan, implying that the team would trade the sixth overall section. At the same time, Maccagnan wouldn’t mind keeping the pick. “Whether we stay at No. 6 and pick a player, we’d be perfectly happy doing that,” he declared. “Whether we decide to move back and get more picks and more opportunities, we’d be perfectly happy doing that.”
- Despite some other chatter this week, Hill tweets that Cowboys offensive tackle Doug Free is not retiring. Head coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday he has not heard any word of the 33-year-old Free walking away.
- The Giants have promoted Rob Leonard to assistant defensive line coach, per the Associated Press. Leonard will take over for Jeff Zgonina, who joined the 49ers’ staff. Big Blue has also hired Bobby Blick to fill Leonard’s previous job, defensive assistant.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eagles To Apply Second-Round Tender To Trey Burton
The Eagles will place a $2.81MM second-round tender on restricted free agent tight end Trey Burton, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. The move will enable Philadelphia to obtain a second-round pick for Burton if he signs elsewhere and the Eagles don’t match the other team’s offer sheet.
Burton, whom the Eagles signed as an undrafted free agent from Florida in 2014, was a statistical non-factor during his first two seasons. He collected just three catches in 31 games in that span, but the Eagles’ reliance on Burton changed significantly last year in a 37-catch, 60-target, 327-yard campaign. Burton also appeared in at least 15 games for the third straight year and picked up the first four starts of his career. It now appears he’ll again join Zach Ertz and Brent Celek to give Philly three capable tight ends in 2017.
In other Eagles news, they’re shopping linebacker Mychal Kendricks and won a coin toss Friday to guarantee themselves the 14th pick in this year’s draft.