Dez Bryant Says He’ll Visit Browns
Browns general manager John Dorsey said earlier today that he can’t reach Dez Bryant in order to set up a visit, but the veteran wideout is now indicating he will in fact meet with Cleveland. “Starting my visits next week…I’m coming to the Land to see you Mr Dorsey,” Bryant tweeted on Thursday night.
While the Browns have been intrigued by Bryant for some time, Bryant’s willingness to play for Cleveland had been in doubt. Bryant simply tweeting that he’ll meet with the Browns next week certainly doesn’t make the prospective visit official, but if he’s willing to sit down with Dorsey & Co., there’s no real reason why a meeting wouldn’t occur.
Cleveland is in need of help at the wide receiver position: not only is the club waiting for Josh Gordon to return to practice (he’s currently dealing with off-field issues), but it just traded presumptive starter Corey Coleman to the Bills on Sunday. At this point, the Browns are planning to start Jarvis Landry and rookie wideout Antonio Callaway in two-wide sets.
Bryant, 29, certainly comes with risk, as he hasn’t topped 1,000 yards receiving since 2014, while his 12.1 yards per reception in 2017 was the lowest average of his career. But he can still post up opposing defensive backs near the end zone, and would be a tantalizing option for most quarterbacks. Recently, Bryant has expressed interest in signing with the 49ers, while Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report indicated that league insiders’ “best guess” is that Bryant will land with San Francisco.
Raiders Could Trade LT Donald Penn
The Raiders are reportedly asking left tackle Donald Penn to accept a pay cut in advance of the 2018 season, and it’s possible Oakland could trade the veteran offensive lineman if he declines the request, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).
That the Raiders would be open to dealing Penn shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as the club is likely attempting to generate trade interest in lieu of a release. If Penn refuses to lower his 2018 base salary, Oakland will consider cutting him, but a trade would be preferential on two fronts.
First, the Raiders would pick up some sort of compensation in exchange for Penn, something they wouldn’t do in the event of a release. And an acquiring club would take on Penn’s 2018 base salary (which includes $3MM in full guarantees), freeing up more cap space for Oakland.
Penn, 35, is scheduled to earn a $6MM salary in 2018, and is also eligible to collect up to $1.75MM in per-game roster bonuses. Those figures are the result of Penn’s 2017 training camp holdout, which ended when he agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension that runs through the 2019 campaign.
Last year, Penn started 14 games for the Raiders, grading as the NFL’s No. 12 offensive tackle per Pro Football Focus before being placed on injured reserve with a foot issue. 2017, notably, marked the first season of Penn’s career in which he failed to appear in all 16 games. If Penn is traded or released, Oakland would deploy rookie first-round pick Kolton Miller on Derek Carr‘s blindside.
Carson Wentz Unlikely To Play In Preseason
The general feeling in Philadelphia is that Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will not appear in any preseason games as he recovers from a torn ACL, according to Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia and Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Wentz is still expected to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season.
“I don’t think it’s a big hurdle for me,” Wentz said of not playing in any exhibition contests. “Would I love to be out there on Thursday? Absolutely. I’d love to be out there every day. But I think for me personally, I think I’ll be fine if I don’t get out there for preseason.”
Wentz has been a limited participant in Eagles’ training camp, per Berman, as he’s performed in seven-on-seven drills but hasn’t practiced in full-team workouts. That regimen will continue until Wentz is given a full medical clearance, something that should be on the horizon. Until then, Philadelphia won’t place Wentz in any situation where could collide with other players.
“It can be a rhythm game, you kind of get in a groove and everything,” Wentz said. “But that’s kind of the challenge I have right now. It’s kind of like being on the sideline for a long period time in a game, a long drive from the other team or something like that. Sometimes it just helps to find the rhythm, and right now I’ve got to get the most of it.”
Missing the majority or the entirety of the preseason shouldn’t be much of a problem for Wentz, as he likely would have sparingly played even if he’d been at full health. The Eagles could use exhibition season to get extra repetitions for fellow quarterbacks Nick Foles (who could be called on in the event Wentz misses regular season action) and Nate Sudfeld.
David Irving Won’t Lose Free Agent Status
In a case similar to that of Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving will not see his 2019 free agent status affected by his absence from training camp, a source tells Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News.
Irving needed to report to Dallas’ camp 30 days prior to the start of the regular season in order to preserve his unrestricted free agent status next offseason. But because Irving, who is skipping camp to work on personal issues, has an agreement in place with the Cowboys, his contract will not toll, meaning he can hit the open market in the spring.
A former undrafted free agent, Irving hit restricted free agency this past offseason, and ultimately re-signed with the Cowboys on a second-round tender, which will pay him $2.9MM for the 2018 campaign. He’ll only earn a prorated portion of that total, however, as he’s suspended for the first four games of the season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
In 2017, Irving served another suspension (eight games for performance-enhancing drugs), but was effective in his half-season of play. In 338 defensive snaps, Irving managed seven sacks and graded as the league’s No. 23 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Colts Rumors: Brissett, Castonzo, Hooker
Colts owner Jim Irsay said earlier this week that he wouldn’t consider trading backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett in exchange for a first-round pick, and it sounds like new head coach Frank Reich agrees, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes. “We actually talked right at the beginning of camp, and I just cannot emphasize enough how fortunate we are to have Jacoby,” Reich said. “I think this guy’s one of the top 20 quarterbacks in the NFL, and we have two of them on this team. It will be a different role for him. We talked about that, and Jacoby is a real pro in every sense of the word.” Brissett, who started 15 games for Indianapolis a season ago, will now act as the club’s No. 2 option behind Andrew Luck, who is recovering from a shoulder injury which cost him the entire 2017 campaign.
Here’s more on the Colts:
- Left tackle Anthony Castonzo re-injured his hamstring last week and will now be “miss a little bit of time,” Reich told Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Castonzo, who began camp on the physically unable to perform list while dealing with the same injury, has only missed five total games through seven NFL seasons. At this point, it’s unclear if Castonzo is in danger of missing regular season action, but the Colts don’t have much tackle depth behind him. While Indianapolis spent the offseason reinforcing the interior of its offensive line, tackle wasn’t necessarily addressed in the same fashion. Currently, journeyman J’Marcus Webb, who was signed at the end of July, is filling in on the blindside.
- Speaking of Colts injuries, safeties Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers could both be ready for Week 1 after dealing with their own health questions marks, per Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. Both Hooker, who is recovering from a torn ACL, and Geathers, working his way back from January knee surgery, opened training camp on the PUP list but have since been moved to the active roster. If Hooker and/or Geathers aren’t available to begin the season, the Colts will turn to Matthias Farley (who started 15 games in 2017) or T.J. Green to carry the load.
- On the Colts’ first unofficial depth chart of the preseason, 2017 second-round pick Quincy Wilson was not listed as a starter at cornerback. Instead, journeyman Pierre Desir and former undrafted free agent Kenny Moore are the current top options in the Indianapolis secondary. In a separate piece, Holder looks at the unlikely ascendance of Moore, whom the Colts picked up via waivers last September.
Chiefs S Daniel Sorensen To Miss Time
Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen will miss “the first part” of the regular season after he undergoes an impending knee surgery, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Herbie Teope of NFL.com (Twitter link) was the first to report that Sorensen was dealing with a knee injury, and specified Sorensen did not tear his ACL.
Sorensen had been set to replace Ron Parker in Kansas City’s base defense. Parker, who was released by the Chiefs this spring, had played in at least 95% of the club’s defensive snaps in each of the past four seasons. Sorensen was to take those snaps opposite All-Pro Eric Berry, who is returning from a 2017 campaign which was lost to an ACL tear.
With Sorensen sidelined, Eric Murray will likely step into the Chiefs’ starting lineup. Murray, a 2016 fourth-round pick, saw a 39.8% playtime percentage last season, defensing five passes and posting one sack in the process. A Minnesota product, Murray will be backed up by a combination of Robert Golden, rookie fourth-rounder Armani Watts, and Leon McQuay.
If the Chiefs want to add a free agent to their safety mix, Steven Terrell is perhaps the likeliest option. Terrell, 27, spent the majority of the 2017 season in Kansas City. While he played mostly on special teams, Terrell did see 79 snaps on defense. He’d presumably offer a familiarity with the Chiefs’ scheme, which could prove important with the regular season looming.
If they don’t consider Terrell, the Chiefs could take advantage of a slow-developing free agent safety market to find a veteran on the cheap. Eric Reid is the best defensive back without a contract, while other available safeties include Lardarius Webb, Darius Butler, Mike Mitchell, T.J. Ward, Quintin Demps, and Tyvon Branch, the latter of whom played in Kansas City in 2015.
Dez Bryant “Not Seriously Interested” In Browns?
The Dez Bryant-to-Cleveland train keeps getting stalled. Per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Browns are under the impression that Bryant is “not seriously interested” in joining Cleveland.
Browns general manager John Dorsey first admitted his club’s Bryant intrigue at the end of July, and subsequent reports indicated the two parties had “mutual interest.” However, as of last week, no official date for Bryant to meet with Cleveland had been scheduled, and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com added the Browns only have a “modicum of interest” in adding the 29-year-old pass-catcher.
On Sunday, Cleveland traded wide receiver Corey Coleman to the Bills in exchange for a 2020 seventh-round pick, but that swap wasn’t intended to create space for Bryant, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Additionally, the deal wasn’t indicative of Josh Gordon‘s current status, as the Browns believe he’ll eventually rejoin the team.
Even before Coleman was traded, the Browns had expressed a desire to use Jarvis Landry — who ran 72.7% of his routes from the slot with Miami in 2017, as a part-time outside receiver. With Coleman gone, and Gordon’s status up in the air, Cleveland may have to rely on other options such as rookie Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins, and Jeff Janis to fill in the blanks.
While a number of teams have been tangentially linked to Bryant since he was released by the Cowboys, no clubs aside from the Ravens and Browns have been directly interested in the former first-round pick. In fact, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com has reported many teams are unwilling to consider Bryant even at the minimum salary. Bryant had been expected to land a new deal inJuly, so the clock is now ticking on the veteran wideout.
Amini Silatolu To Undergo Meniscus Surgery
Panthers left guard Amini Silatolu has a torn meniscus that will require surgery, the club announced Tuesday. Silatolu will undergo a procedure on Friday and will subsequently be evaluated on a “week-to-week basis.” Although Carolina didn’t announce a recovery timeline for Silatolu, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer indicates a four-to-six week rehabilitation period is typical for meniscus tears.
The Panthers could ill afford another blow to their offensive line, which already saw starting right tackle Daryl Williams go down with a dislocated knee and a torn MCL. Per Wilson, Williams is planning to attempt a 2018 return without undergoing surgery. Either way, Carolina’s offensive line — which ranked as a bottom-half unit in both run- and pass-blocking in 2017 before losing All-Pro left guard Andrew Norwell, per Football Outsiders — doesn’t have the depth to withstand multiple absences.
Silatolu had been competing to replace Norwell as a starting interior lineman, and had reportedly been seeing the most reps at the position. Now, undrafted rookie Brendan Mahon is the likely starter at left guard, according to Bill Voth of Panthers.com. Jeremiah Sirles and Greg Van Roten might also be candidates for increased reps, but Person reports Sirles is slotted in as a pure backup, while Van Roten has spent most of his time at center.
The 29-year-old Silatolu started three games and made 14 total appearnces for the Panthers in 2017, a season which marked his return season in Carolina. Originally a Panthers second-round pick and 15-game starter in 2012, Silatolu spent the 2016 campaign out of the NFL. He re-upped with Carolina this offseason on a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract.
Browns Likely To Make More Trades?
After shipping wide receiver Corey Coleman to the Bills in exchange for a 2020 seventh-round pick, the Browns may consider making more trades in the coming weeks, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Specifically, general manager John Dorsey could engage in talks regarding players brought in by Cleveland’s former front office.
The Browns have already been among the most active teams in the NFL’s 2018 trade market; by our count, Cleveland has made nine trades involving veteran players, plus two more deals that involved draft selections. To Rapoport’s point, the Browns have mostly traded away players added by ex-general manager Sashi Brown, with quarterbacks DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, and Kevin Hogan, defensive tackle Danny Shelton, and cornerbacks Jason McCourty and Jamar Taylor all moving in addition to Coleman.
Talent hasn’t only been outgoing in Cleveland, as the club has also made deals that added veteran talent to its 53-man roster. Notably, the Browns picked up their presumptive starting quarterback — Tyrod Taylor — from the Bills in exchange for a third-round pick, and acquired franchise-tagged wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Dolphins, sending fourth- and seventh-round selections to Miami in return.
On a macro level, it’s unclear whether the Browns may look to bring in more veterans via trade, or simply sell off parts added by the previous regime. In a recent interview with Kevin Clark of The Ringer, Dorsey admitted he doesn’t want Cleveland to be too youthful a roster in the coming years (the Browns ranked 32nd in snap-weighted age last season, per Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders). “Those guys did a nice job in terms of acquiring the cap space. They hurt themselves in that they got too young,” Dorsey said of the Browns’ previous front office. “That’s the plan I always wanted to do—top five youngest in the league, not the youngest.”
Latest On Josh Gordon’s Roster Designation
Although the Browns had planned to move wide receiver Josh Gordon from the did not report list to the non-football injury list in order to preserve his 2019 free agent status, a closer inspection of league rules revealed Cleveland didn’t need make any sort of Gordon-related transaction, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Based on a general reading of the rule, Gordon’s contract should have tolled this week because he didn’t report to the Browns 30 days prior to the start of the regular season. In order to prevent that mechanism, Cleveland was set to transfer him to the NFI list in something of a goodwill gesture.
However, the NFL’s rule regarding the NFI list contains an exception for players who have not reported due to “hardship or illness,” per Rapoport. Therefore, Gordon will accrue a season toward free agency regardless of when he shows up.
Because of various league-imposed suspensions, Gordon is still only on schedule to become a restricted free agent following the 2018 campaign (despite the fact that he originally entered the league in 2012). Cleveland will have the option to tender him as a RFA next spring, either at the first-, second-, or original-round level.
The Browns have been vague about the schedule for Gordon’s return, but fellow Cleveland wideout Rashard Higgins says Gordon is in “good spirits.” Gordon, who has dealt with alcohol and drug problems in the past, is reportedly working through mental health issues.