Pats RB Dion Lewis Drawing Trade Interest
Multiple clubs are attempting to pry running back Dion Lewis away from the Patriots, but a deal is unlikely to occur, according to Michael Lombardi of the Ringer (Twitter link).
Lewis has rebounded from injury-marred 2015 and 2016 campaigns to become New England’s lead back in a running back rotation that also includes Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, and James White. Although he still trails Gillislee in total carries, Lewis has led the Patriots in rushes in each of the past three games (all victories), and has now totaled 329 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Among backs with fewer than 55 carries, Lewis is second in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR, a metric which attempts to quantify a player’s value over replacement.
This isn’t the first time Lewis has been mentioned in trade rumors — New England received inquiries on the veteran back just before the start of the season, but no swap was ever completed. Despite his injury history, Lewis remains a critical part of the Patriots’ No. 2-DVOA-ranked offense. As such, rival teams may have a better chance at trading for Gillislee than Lewis at this point, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
Lewis is scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He’s earning $1.2MM in base salary this year as part of a two-year extension he signed in 2015, and an acquiring club would be responsible for the remainder of that figure. The Patriots wouldn’t incur any dead money on their salary cap by trading Lewis given that he’s in the final season of his contract.
5 Key NFL Stories: 10/22/17 – 10/29/17
Trade deadline primer. With the NFL’s trade deadline only two days away, rumors are everywhere. Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton could possibly be available, while Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll strongly denied tight end Jimmy Graham could be used as a trade chit. Seattle is on the lookout for an offensive tackle, however, with the Bills’ Cordy Glenn and the Texans’ Duane Brown among the club’s possible targets. Meanwhile, clubs are asking the Lions about retired wideout Calvin Johnson‘s rights, while Detroit tight end Eric Ebron is also purportedly on the block.
Jaguars fortify their defense. Jacksonville made a massive — both in terms of magnitude and the player in question’s size — acquisition over the weekend by sending a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Bills in exchange for defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. The Jaguars, who already rank first overall in defensive DVOA, hope they’ll be able to motivate Dareus into improving their run defense. Buffalo, meanwhile, wasn’t actively shopping Dareus, but general manager Brandon Beane has now cleared a hefty contract from the Bills’ books while removing a player in Dareus who may not have bought into the club’s culture. In addition to acquiring Dareus, the Jaguars also inked linebacker Telvin Smith to a four-year, $44MM extension.
Stalwart left tackles go down. Joe Thomas had never missed a snap during his NFL career, but he’s now on injured reserve after suffering a torn triceps in Week 7. The Browns will now lose the opportunity to trade Thomas — something they likely had no interest in doing anyway — and will go forward with Spencer Drango at left tackle. The Eagles, meanwhile, lost their blindside protector when Jason Peters suffered a torn ACL, and could now be open to acquiring another left tackle via the trade market.
Anquan Boldin wants to play. Boldin surprisingly retired just weeks after signing a one-year deal with the Bills earlier this year, but now he wants back in the league. The only problem? Buffalo still controls his rights, and has no plans to release Boldin to the open market. While the Bills’ front office says there’s a small chance Boldin could return to Buffalo, the veteran wideout reportedly wants to play closer to his Florida home. The Bills are open to trading Boldin, but aren’t expecting much in the way of offers.
Dwight Freeney finds a home. At long last, Freeney is back in the NFL after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Seahawks. Seattle was on the hunt for defensive line depth after losing Cliff Avril for the rest of the season, and Freeney was among the best edge rushers available on the open market. Freeney, who said he was close to hanging up his cleats after garnering little offseason interest, will earn a prorated $1MM base salary, plus an additional $8K for each game he’s on the 53-man roster.
Latest On Colts QB Andrew Luck
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck began feeling pain after throwing several weeks ago and is now seeking further medical opinions related to the cause of his discomfort, tweets Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.
Reports of a Luck setback first surfaced earlier this month, and the Indianapolis signal-caller hasn’t participated in practice or thrown since. Instead, Luck — who hasn’t played at all this season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery — received a cortisone shot and ceased all football activity.
The Colts opted not to place Luck on the physically unable to perform list at the season’s outset, meaning he’s been accounting for a roster spot all year long. Whether or not a late-season Luck return is possible remains unclear, but Indianapolis is now 2-6 following today’s loss to the Bengals. FiveThirtyEight gives the Colts just a 1% chance of winning the AFC South and a 3% chance of earning a postseason berth.
PFR Originals: 10/22/17 – 10/29/17
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- The Jaguars have raced out to a 4-3 start on the strength of their defense, while the Titans have skirted by with a few close victories and also sit at 4-3. Sam Robinson asked PFR readers if one of those two clubs was the favorite to take the AFC South, or if the Texans or Colts have a chance. Thus far, Jacksonville has the lead with 45% of the vote, with Houston second at 32%.
- Aaron Rodgers‘ broken collarbone opened a gap atop the NFC, and the Eagles have since filled that void, leading the conference with a 6-1 record. Still, there are a number of other contenders in the conference including the Seahawks, Rams, Saints, and even the Falcons, who have struggled in recent weeks. Sam wanted to know which NFC club has the best chance to take the conference championship, and the Eagles took the cake, per PFR readers.
Colts WR T.Y. Hilton Available Via Trade?
T.Y. Hilton‘s name has popped up as a player who could be traded before Tuesday’s deadline, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. While the asking price for the Colts’ No. 1 wideout would presumably be sky-high, a source tells Florio “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” in relation to a potential deal.
Hilton, 28 next month, has no interest in leaving Indianapolis, per Florio, and also wouldn’t be amenable to altering his contract in order to ease a trade. The Colts inked Hilton to a five-year, $65MM extension prior to the 2015 campaign, and he still has three years remaining on his current pact. The former third-round pick has non-guaranteed base salaries of $11MM, $13MM, and ~$14.5MM over the next three seasons, all of which are relative bargains for a pass-catcher of Hilton’s caliber.
The Colts have struggled in 2017 without Andrew Luck under center, but despite the lack of quality talent on Indianapolis’ roster, there’s been no indication the club is ready to undergo a complete rebuild under general manager Chris Ballard. In 10 months as the Colts’ top decision-maker, Ballard hasn’t traded away any key pieces, as his most high-profile deals have included spare parts in tight end Dwayne Allen and wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.
Dealing Hilton, though, would signal Indy’s intention to revamp its roster, as he’s been the team’s top offensive weapon for four-plus seasons. From 2013-16, Hilton averaged 81 receptions, 1,250 yards, and six touchdowns per season, and while his numbers in 2017 aren’t as eye-popping given the absence of Luck, Hilton has still managed 512 receiving yards through seven games.
Hilton isn’t the only Colts player to be mentioned in trade rumors today, as left tackle Anthony Castonzo and cornerback Vontae Davis have also been bandied about as potential candidates to be shipped out prior to Tuesday.
Latest On Cardinals RB David Johnson
Placed on injured reserve in early September after undergoing surgery for a dislocated wrist, Cardinals running back David Johnson admitted on Friday he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to return to the field, according to Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM.
“I hope I do get back, but I really don’t know,” Johnson said. “The wrist is a complicated limb and it’s tough to say, just because I still have this cast on. I haven’t even started rehab so I don’t know yet.”
The wording of Johnson’s answer is somewhat alarming, given that the third-year back is seemingly unsure if he’ll be allowed to play again this season. The NFL’s injured reserve rules stipulate a minimum eight-week absence, but Arizona head coach Bruce Arians said a best-case scenario for Johnson entails a Thanksgiving return.
Regardless of Johnson’s health, the Cardinals could conceivably hold him out for the rest of the year, especially if the club isn’t in playoff contention. Football Outsiders gives the Cards just a 0.7% chance of earning a postseason berth, and a trip to the playoffs looks incredibly unlikely now that quarterback Carson Palmer has joined Johnson on IR.
Johnson, 25, was arguably the league’s best offensive player in 2016 as he posted more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns. With Johnson sidelined, the Cardinals first turned to a committee of Kerwynn Williams, Andre Ellington, and Chris Johnson, but have since acquired veteran running back Adrian Peterson from the Saints.
Martellus Bennett Considering Retirement?
Packers tight end Martellus Bennett is seemingly considering hanging up his cleats following the end of the 2017 season, as he announced on his Instagram account (Twitter link).
“After conversations with my family I’m pretty sure these next 8 games will be the conclusion of my NFL career,” writes Bennett. “To everyone who has poured themselves and time into my life and career. These next games are for you. Thank you.”
Bennett, 30, is in the midst of his 10th NFL campaign, and his first with the Packers, with whom he signed a three-year, $21MM deal in the spring. Fresh off one of the more productive seasons of his career with the Patriots in 2016, Bennett has disappointed this year, as he’s managed only 24 receptions, 233 yards, and zero touchdowns through seven games.
If this is it for Bennett, the former second-round pick will have completed an outstanding decade-long career, a tenure all the more noteworthy given that Bennett was essentially a part-time player through his first four NFL seasons (all with the Cowboys). Over the next five years, Bennett averaged 64 catches, 688 yards, and six touchdowns per season with the Giants, Bears, and Patriots, and earned a Super Bowl ring in the process.
Bennett will finish the rest of his Packers career without quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center, so his dismal numbers might not see much of an improvement over the second half of the season. If Bennett does indeed retire, Green Bay will be stuck with dead money in 2018, as $4.2MM in prorated signing bonus cash will immediately accelerate onto the Packers’ salary cap.
Bennett has never been accused of a shortage of interests, and his life off the football field figures to be just as entertaining and refreshing as his NFL career. (For an excellent profile of Bennett and his brother, Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett, check out Mina Kimes’ of ESPN.com’s 2016 piece.)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/28/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Jonathan Anderson
- Released: LB Carl Bradford
Oakland Raiders
- Released: DE Jhaustin Thomas
Extra Points: Texans, Dolphins, Alonso, Kaep
A number of Texans players — including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back D’Onta Foreman — left practice today following franchise owner Bob McNair‘s comments in an ESPN The Magazine article, in which he compared national anthem protests to “inmates running the prison,” according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. Some of the players who left practice ultimately returned, but the Houston coaching staff had to convince the team not to stage a full-scale walkout. Head coach Bill O’Brien — who says he is “100% behind” his players — later staged a 90-minute meeting in which players could engage in “candid conversation,” per Barshop. Left tackle Duane Brown called the comments “ignorant” and “embarrassing,” and said “the situation’s not over,” an indication further protests or other repercussions could be coming.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NFL hasn’t yet decided whether it will suspend Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso for his hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, a source tells Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. Alonso hit a sliding Flacco in the head, forcing Baltimore’s signal-caller to miss the remainder of Thursday night’s game and be placed in the concussion protocol. While he was penalized for unnecessary roughness, Alonso could now face a ban (as Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan did for his hit on Packers wideout Davante Adams earlier this year). Meanwhile, the league will not suspend Miami defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for placing his hands around quarterback Ryan Mallett‘s neck nor forcing offensive lineman Ryan Jensen to the ground , per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
- Colin Kaepernick will attend next week’s social activism-based meeting between NFL owners and players, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reports. Kaepernick didn’t participate in the last session of talks even though other players invited him, as the free agent quarterback didn’t want to be a distraction. Multiple players determined that Kaepernick’s presence this time around was important, which makes sense given that he’s the progenitor of the league’s national anthem protests.
- The NFL’s trade deadline should either be pushed back or removed altogether, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. This year’s deadline comes on October 31, and enough teams are still in contention that player movement could be limited. The league recently moved the deadline from the Tuesday after Week 6 to the Tuesday after Week 8, and extending that cutoff could result in more deals getting done if clubs believe they’re not in the running for a postseason berth.
- Speaking of the rapidly approaching deadline, both Joel Corry of CBSSports.com and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com designed a few hypothetical deals that could come together before Tuesday. Both pieces were written earlier this week, and Corry actually predicted the Dontrelle Inman/Bears trade, while Schefter guessed Marcell Dareus would be dealt.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/27/17
Today’s workout updates:
Buffalo Bills
- RB Marcus Murphy, Dare Ogunbowale, Jhurell Pressley, Jahad Thomas, Marquez Williams; CB Marcus Burley, Will Davis, Trevin Wade (Twitter link via Howard Balzer)
Los Angeles Chargers
- K Andrew Franks, Younghoe Koo, Jason Myers (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com)
New England Patriots
- DT Deandre Coleman (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Giants
- DE Ryan Delaire (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
- P Jeff Locke (link via Balzer)