Eagles Hoping To Acquire Inside Linebacker
The Eagles want to acquire an inside linebacker via the trade market, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The report doesn’t specify whether de facto general manager Howie Roseman & Co. are looking for a starting-caliber player, or simply hope to add depth, but La Canfora does add that “things will intensify in [a] few weeks” (in reference to the trading season as a whole).
[RELATED: Lane Johnson facing 10-game suspension]
Moving back to a 4-3 defense following three years playing a 3-4 front, the Eagles are projected to start Jordan Hicks at middle linebacker, with Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks flanking him on either side. Hicks was excellent in the five starts he made during his rookie season, and Philadelphia has expressed their confidence in him throughout the summer, so it’s unlikely the club is aiming to replace him. As such, the Eagles are probably looking for someone to compete with reserve inside ‘backers Najee Goode and Joe Walker.
And though La Canfora’s report does specify that Philadelphia is searching for an inside linebacker, it wouldn’t be surprising if the team is also looking for bodies on the outside as well, especially given that Bradham could face a league-imposed suspension due to his involvement in an assault last month. Bradham is accused of punching a hotel employee following a dispute over an umbrella purchase, and is likely facing a ban under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Furthermore, the Eagles’ interest in acquiring a linebacker via trade could speak to the nature of their talks with free agent LB Stephen Tulloch, with whom the club had reportedly been negotiating with over the weekend. Tulloch has experience in new Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz‘s scheme, but he’s also coming off an injury, so perhaps the Eagles found something in a physical they didn’t like.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Bengals, Browns
Though they were up against the salary cap, the Steelers should have explored signing a free agent corner this offseason, opines Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Any semblance of secondary depth Pittsburgh may have had is quickly being depleted, as second-year pro Senquez Golson — who missed his entire rookie season with injuries — is likely to be out for most (or all) of the 2016 campaign after undergoing Lisfranc surgery. This year’s first-round pick, cornerback Artie Burns, wasn’t expected to contribute much during the upcoming season, but he’s also been dinged up. A few veteran corners, such as Chris Culliver and Leon Hall, have come off the open market in recent days, so if the Steelers were interested in adding another option, they’d be looking at options such as Antonio Cromartie, Cortland Finnegan, Cary Williams, and Tarell Brown.
Let’s take a look at more from the AFC North:
- Given that Bengals starting tight end Tyler Eifert is expected to miss the start of the regular season with following ankle surgery, and that backup TE Tyler Kroft is also out for awhile after hyperextending his knee, Cincinnati will need someone to catch passes in the middle of the field, and rookie slot receiver Tyler Boyd, who’s been labeled the “star of Bengals camp,” could be that player, as Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Scouting guru Dave-Te Thomas recently analyzed Cincinnati’s rookie class for PFR, noting that Boyd “explodes off the line and has the second gear to run past cornerbacks when he doesn’t get slowed down at the line of scrimmage.”
- Speaking of the Bengals, current Browns head coach Hue Jackson was a driving force in convincing Terrelle Pryor to make the switch from quarterback to wide receiver when the pair was in Cincinnati, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The Browns drafted five receivers in this year’s draft, adding that rookie crop to a unit that already includes Andrew Hawkins and the recently reinstated Josh Gordon, so Pryor will certainly face competition. But as Cabot details, the former Ohio State QB is likely to make his impact as a deep-ball specialist and a weapon on special teams.
- Earlier today, we learned that the Steelers are unlikely to work out a new deal with receiver Antonio Brown in 2016, given that the club has a policy not to renegotiate with non-quarterbacks that aren’t entering their contract year. Brown currently earns $8.4MM annually, 18th among wide receivers.
Chargers’ Deadline To Trade Joey Bosa Passes
As first explained by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk last week, the Chargers had until 30 days prior to the start of the regular season to trade No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa. That date has come and gone, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, and Bosa still remains the property of San Diego. The Chargers, Schefter adds, “never considered” dealing away the rights to Bosa.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review — San Diego Chargers]
The contract stalemate between San Diego and Bosa is centered around offset language and payout structure, as Bosa and his camp want the entirety of his ~$17MM signing bonus to be paid in 2016. San Diego, meanwhile, prefers to pay a “significant portion” of the bonus next March. The Chargers’ offer to Bosa is reportedly similar in nature to the deal agreed to between the Cowboys and fourth overall pick Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott will receive roughly 61% of his signing bonus during this calendar year, so using the same structure, San Diego wants to delay the payout of about $6.6MM of Bosa’s signing bonus until next March.
It’s important to keep Bosa’s family in mind, as Alex Marvez of The Sporting News pointed out yesterday, since the defensive end comes from a wealthy household and doesn’t have any pressure to immediately collect on an NFL contract. In theory, Bosa could survive a year-long holdout in order to re-enter the draft pool next year. Of course, after a year away from football, it’s unlikely that he would go No. 3 or higher in the 2017 draft. Bosa will be ineligible to play this season if he doesn’t sign by the Tuesday after Week 10.
Meanwhile, Bosa’s mother took to Facebook over the weekend with some interesting comments. “It bums me out for him so much,” she wrote. “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day.” Manning, of course, forced his way out of San Diego after being selected with the top pick in the 2004 draft.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Dolphins To Sign Chris Culliver
6:03pm: Culliver’s one-year deal can be worth up to $5MM, according to Rapoport (Twitter link).
5:04pm: The Dolphins have reached an agreement to sign free agent cornerback Chris Culliver, a source tells Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Culliver will sign a one-year deal, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
[RELATED: Dolphins waive/injured CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu]
Miami has been on the lookout for secondary help for some time, as their cornerback depth chart is rather thin behind Byron Maxwell, whom the club acquired earlier this year via trade. Second-round rookie Xavien Howard had been expected to start opposite Maxwell, but he underwent surgery after suffering a knee injury during minicamp and is now on the active/PUP list. Tony Lippett, Bobby McCain, and Chimdi Chekwa currently round out the Dolphins’ depth chart at corner.
Culliver signed a four-year, $32MM contract with Washington in May 2015, ultimately playing out just one season of that deal. Although Culliver’s agreement with the club called for $16MM in full guarantees, including an $8MM guaranteed salary for 2016, that guarantee was voided when the cornerback was suspended one game for a 2014 incident.
Culliver, 28 next week, also tore his ACL in November, meaning his availability for the start of the season could be in doubt. He probably stood as one of the best true outside cornerbacks left on the open market and he is on the right side of 30, but it’s not clear when he might actually be able to take the field.
In 2014, his final season with the 49ers, Culliver limited opposing quarterbacks to a completion percentage of 50.7% and a 66.5 passer rating when they threw into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF’s grades placed Culliver as the 14th-best cornerback out of 108 qualified players. In 2015, however, Culliver started six games for Washington, tallying 16 tackles and one pass deflection.
Culliver had also drawn interest from the Cardinals this offseason, and took a visit with the club in June. Back in May, we ranked Culliver as one of the best defensive free agents remaining on the board .
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Osweiler, Elway, Broncos, Foles
In a recent interview, Broncos GM John Elway indicated that Brock Osweiler was none too pleased when he got the hook in favor of Peyton Manning last season.
“I can understand that he didn’t want to sit down and have Peyton come back in that San Diego game, but it wasn’t the fact that Brock was playing bad,” Elway said (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post). “We needed a change of something. So I was a little surprised just how he seemed to be a little bent out of shape about that. But he had an opportunity to make a tremendous amount of money in Houston, and for us, it just didn’t fit.”
Given Elway’s view of Osweiler, one has to wonder exactly how much he wanted to re-sign him. This offseason, Osweiler signed a four-year, $72MM deal with the Texans with $37MM in guarantees. The Broncos, meanwhile, only offered Osweiler ~$64MM with $30MM in guarantees.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- Osweiler responded to Elway on Monday (link via ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop). “The only thing I would say is what kind of competitor wouldn’t want to play in that situation?” the former Broncos QB said. “Outside of that, I think I’ve answered all of those questions, we’re now in August, we just had a great training camp practice, and I’m excited to play the 49ers coming up.”
- Nick Foles agreed to lower his guaranteed 2016 base salary in order to secure his release from the Rams, accepting $1MM from Los Angeles rather than the $1.75MM he was scheduled to earn. But as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Foles will make up that difference if he earns a spot on the Chiefs‘ roster, as he’ll earn that same $1.75MM amount on his new contract. Foles’ deal with the Rams contained offset language, Florio suggests, and Los Angeles be able to will clear Foles off their salary cap if he makes the Chiefs.
- Cardinals tackle Jared Veldheer converted $6MM of his $7.25MM base salary into a signing bonus, creating $4MM of cap space for the team, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That gave the team enough wiggle room to give Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer one-year extensions last week.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
NFC South Notes: Saints, Payton, Bucs
The Saints are considering several scenarios with fullback Austin Johnson, according to Nick Underhill of the Advocate. Johnson recently suffered a knee injury in camp, and New Orleans is hoping that he’ll be able to return in a few weeks and continue to work towards a roster spot. But while they wait for more information, the Saints have signed veteran John Kuhn to compete with incumbent fullback Sione Huma.
Here’s more from the NFC South:
- Although rumors persisted that Sean Payton would leave the Saints for a new team, it doesn’t as though the New Orleans head coach ever seriously considered defecting. “I understand how that began to build steam, and yet [GM] Mickey [Loomis] and I have a great relationship,” Payton told Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “That took basically a day-and-a-half of us sitting down and outlining the next five years and what our goals are and where we see this team going.” Payton is now locked up through the 2020 campaign.
- Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht took some flak for firing Lovie Smith after only two seasons, especially given that Licht didn’t exactly shake up the coaching staff, promoting offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to the top job. But as Licht tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com, his choice of Koetter will likely be the defining moment of his Tampa tenure. “My career’s probably on the line with this pick,” said Licht. “That was the thing I thought about right away: We’ve got to find the guy who’s going to have success and eventually leave on his own terms.”
- Locked in a battle with rookie Swayze Waters, veteran punter Mike Scifres has not had a productive camp with the Panthers, writes King in the same piece. Scifres signed a minimum salary benefit contract with no guaranteed money, so Carolina could easily move on if they so choose. Head coach Ron Rivera didn’t dismiss the possibility of signing another punter, according to King.
- Just days after signing with the Falcons, wide receiver Lance Moore announced his retirement from the NFL.
Bears C Hroniss Grasu Tears ACL
MONDAY, 1:00pm: Coach John Fox confirmed that Grasu has torn his ACL and is done for the season (Twitter link via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com).
SUNDAY, 9:44am: The Bears have lost an important member of their offensive line, as second-year center Hroniss Grasu suffered a torn ACL during practice yesterday, sources tell Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Though Chicago has yet to offer any confirmation, Grasu is likely to miss the entire 2016 campaign.
[RELATED: Offseason in Review — Chicago Bears]
Grasu’s injury will force the Bears to reconfigure an offensive line that they’d spent all offseason upgrading, and the club doesn’t have a clear option on its roster capable of stepping in at the pivot. Veteran Ted Larsen, who signed during the free agent period, has played 10 games at center during his career, while rookie Cody Whitehair has also been working in the middle during practice sessions.
Chicago released offensive lineman Matt Slauson earlier this year though he was only due $3.4MM, and notably did not even offer him a chance to stay on the roster and accept a paycut. Hindsight is 20/20, but Slauson would have been an excellent interior lineman to have in reserve, as he graded out as the league’s fifth-best center (per Pro Football Focus) after moving to the middle to replace Grasu following an injury last season.
If they’re unsatisfied with their internal replacements, the Bears could look to the free agent market to find a center, and one intriguing option might be Will Montgomery, who started eight games for the Broncos in 2014 under current Chicago head coach John Fox. Other alternatives include Brian De La Puente (who was a Bear in 2014), the recently-released Trevor Robinson, former Colt Khaled Holmes, and longtime Patriot Ryan Wendell.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Aqib Talib
MONDAY: 9:27am: Talib will return to practice today, according to James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 2;51pm: Two months after he was shot in the leg at a Dallas nightclub, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib is expected to return to practice this week, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, who adds that Talib will only rejoin the club in a “limited capacity” and will be required to pass a physical. Talib has been on the non-football injury list since training camp began.
[RELATED: Offseason in Review — Denver Broncos]
Few specifics about the shooting have been released in the eight weeks since the incident, and though the “working hypothesis” had been that Talib shot himself, no definitive reports have reached that conclusion. On the night of the incident, Talib reportedly told police he was at a park when he was shot, but the police were investigating the evening in full. “Everything was a blur and I was too intoxicated to remember what happened,” said Talib at the time. Authorities never recovered the weapon used in the shooting, and few (if any) witnesses are talking about what happened.
Meanwhile, reports have also indicated that league punishment is coming for Talib at some point down the road. Commissioner Roger Goodell is not a fan of firearms, and the fact that Talib was apparently intoxicated — and a has a history with weapons – will likely factor into any disciplinary decision. It’s still something of an open question as to whether Talib will face legal consequences in addition to NFL penalties.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Cowboys, Moore, Patriots, Lewis
Defensive end Damontre Moore didn’t even last three months on the Raiders’ roster, and is now back on the free agent market after being waived last week. After being cut three times in the span of eight months, Moore could be nearing the end of the line, but one club the could express interest at some point is the Cowboys, opines James Kratch of NJ.com. Kratch is simply speculating, not reporting, but the fit makes sense, as Dallas’ defensive end crop has been depleted by a pair of suspensions handed out to Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. The Cowboys today signed former Broncos defensive end Shaneil Jenkins earlier today, giving the club another body along the front four, but Moore could serve as another (cheap) option.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:
- The Cowboys worked out offensive lineman Kelvin Palmer and Audrey Walker yesterday, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Both players have bounced around the league and been a part of offseason rosters, but neither has ever taken an NFL snap. Dallas could simply be updating their emergency list, or it could be taking a look at offensive lineman in preparation for a Ronald Leary trade, though that’s entirely my speculation.
- Though Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the regular season, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com doesn’t expect the Patriots to add a third quarterback to the roster any time soon. Instead, the club is likely to roll with only two signal-callers, with Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter and rookie Jacoby Brissett. As Reiss notes, the free agent quarterback market isn’t exactly overflowing with options, and New England could add a practice squad arm if it feels it needs another piece of depth.
- Running back Dion Lewis is still on the physically-unable-to-perform list, but Reiss reports that Lewis has not experienced a setback during Patriots camp; rather, the club simply wants to exhibit caution as Lewis works his way back from a torn ACL. As such, Lewis’ usage during the early part of the season could be scaled back, as New England wants to ensure that he’s able to play the entire 16-game slate.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/16
Today’s minor NFL moves:
- In addition to veteran linebackers Brandon Spikes and David Hawthorne, the Bills have signed tight end Jimmay Mundine, the club announced. Mundine, a Kansas product, was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent last summer, but was waived at final cutdowns. To make room for their three new additions, Buffalo cut veteran return man/cornerback Javier Arenas and wide receiver Gary Chambers, and waived/injured linebacker Kevin Reddick.
- The Cowboys have agreed to terms with defensive end Shaneil Jenkins, agent Sean Stellato tells Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jenkins, a UDFA out of Shepherd, was originally signed by the Broncos this spring but was waived last week.
- Four players were recently waived off their club’s respective injured reserved lists (all according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless noted): Chiefs DB Shannon Edwards (Twitter link); Packers linebacker Manoa Pikula (Twitter link); Dolphins receiver Tyler Murphy (Twitter link); and Saints safety Alden Darby (according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com).
- Meanwhile, defensive lineman D.J. Pettway cleared waivers after being waived with an injury designation, and has now reverted back to the Saints‘ IR, tweets Katzenstein.