Extra Points: Bears, Cowboys, Scherff, Browns
Former San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio doesn’t regret vouching for Ray McDonald to the Bears staff but admits bringing him to Chicago was his fault, report Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t regret trying to vouch for him. At the time, I believed it was the right thing to do,” Fangio said. “The only thing I regret is because it didn’t work out and the club put their faith in my recommendation, (team chairman) George (McCaskey), (GM) Ryan (Pace) and John (Fox) took some hits from it from you guys (the media). You really should have been hitting me, not them.” McCaskey initially vetoed a McDonald-Fangio reunion but changed his mind when he met with the embattled defensive end face to face.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Injuries to Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar have made it increasingly likely that the Cowboys will bring in another running back, writes Bob Sturm of the Dallas Morning News. McFadden might be able to hit the field tomorrow, but the club is probably on the lookout for several RBs who could audition for a spot in the near future.
- Washington drafted Iowa lineman Brandon Scherff as a tackle, but the No. 5 overall pick might slide in at guard instead, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The club’s coaching staff likes what they see from former third-rounder Morgan Moses at right tackle, and while fifth overall might seem high for an eventual guard, OL coach Bill Callahan thinks Scherff could have a similar impact to Zack Martin, who earned an All-Pro nod as a rookie with the Cowboys.
- Free agent addition Shaun Draughn is impressing at Browns camp, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, and the 27-year-old looks like a good bet to earn a roster spot behind fellow running backs Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, and Terrence West. Draughn, a five-year veteran, saw time with both the Bears and Chargers last year before finishing the season with Cleveland.
- In his latest mailbag at Titans.com, Jim Wyatt tackles several subjects such as the roster fate of Charlie Whitehurst, a possible reunion with Chris Johnson, and more.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
2015 Release Candidates: NFC West
Most clubs have fairly set rosters at this point, as OTA, minicamp, and preseason performances won’t do much to alter roster composition. The majority of key releases came in March, but there are still several scenarios where certain contributors could lose their roster spot in the coming months. For the most part, we’ll focus on situations where the cap savings would be in excess of $1MM.
Because free agency has already passed, financial ramifications won’t play a huge role in these decisions; there aren’t a ton of high-profile free agents on which to spend that saved money, so these calls will mostly be made based on performance. However, any cap space saved through these potential releases could be rolled over into 2016, so that’s something clubs have to consider.
We’ve already looked at the AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South, and NFC South, and AFC West, so let’s wrap up with the NFC West…
Arizona Cardinals:
- Lorenzo Alexander, LB: Alexander, 32, is basically a special-teams only player at this point in his career; he saw 336 special teams snaps in 2014, as opposed to just 51 on defense. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus didn’t rate him positively even on special teams duty, handing him a -4.0 grade (subscription required). But Alexander is regarded as a valuable veteran presence on Arizona’s roster, and given that the club would save less than $2MM by releasing him, he will probably make the final 53. Prediction: not released.
- Ted Larsen, G: Larsen had a forgettable 2014 season, during which ranked as the league’s No. 68 guard among 78 qualifiers, per PFF. He won’t be playing left guard again, as the Cardinals handed Mike Iupati $40MM to handle that spot on the offensive line, but Larsen is actually listed atop Arizona’s depth chart at center. But the Cardinals were apparently so displeased with Larsen’s (and A.Q Shipley’s) camp performance that they re-signed last year’s starting center Lyle Sendlein, whom PFF graded as the league’s second-worst center in 2014, in the hopes that he’d be an improvement. Getting replaced by a player of Sendlein’s caliber isn’t a great look for Larsen, and given that Arizona can save $2.2MM by releasing Larsen, I don’t think he’ll last the summer. Prediction: released.
San Francisco 49ers:
- Ahmad Brooks, LB: Any discussion of a San Francisco release candidate has to be couched with the knowledge that the club has lost a good amount of talent during the offseason. No position on the 49ers’ roster has been more affected by offseason losses than linebacker — Chris Borland and Patrick Willis both announced their retirement, while Aldon Smith was released yesterday following an arrest. So even though Brooks lost playing time last season (and wasn’t effective when he did play, grading as a bottom-five 3-4 outside linebacker per PFF), the team will rely on him as its top OLB in 2015. The Niners could save about $4.7MM by releasing the 31-year-old Brooks, but when their other option at outside ‘backer are rookies Eli Harold and Marcus Rush, the club will gladly by the price to keep Brooks. Prediction: not released.
- Vernon Davis, TE: The 49ers’ offense didn’t take quite the offseason hit that did the team’s defense, but San Francisco’s starting 11 is noticeably lacking in terms of playmakers. That descriptor might no longer fit Davis, who caught just 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns last year, his worst totals since his rookie season. Davis publicly complained about his contract status last summer, but never received a new deal, and now the club save $4.9MM in cap space by cutting him. Earlier this week, however, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said that he’s interested in working out an extension with Davis, so the 31-year-old tight end will definitely stick around for 2015. Prediction: not released.
Seattle Seahawks:
- Brandon Mebane, DT: The Seahawks don’t have much cap space to work with after extending both Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, and with that in mind, they released Mebane’s running mate at defensive tackle — Tony McDaniel — earlier this week. Clubs don’t need a ton of cap space to get through the season — Seattle should be fine with its ~$4.9MM — but Mebane’s roster spot still could be in jeopardy for several reasons. First, Mebane is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 season; he was placed on injure reserve in November after suffering a hamstring injury. Second, if the Seahawks did feel that they needed more cap room, Mebane would be the logical candidate to go, as the club could save $5.5MM by cutting him. But with McDaniel gone, Seattle probably wants some stability on the interior of its defensive line, and Mebane was a solid player as recently as 2013. Prediction: not released.
St. Louis Rams:
- Isaiah Pead, RB: It’s been a quick fall to irrelevance for Pead, whom the Rams selected out of the University of Cincinnati in the second round of the 2012 draft. After garnering just 17 rushing attempts through his first two seasons, Pead missed the entire 2014 season after tearing his ACL. He recently accepted a pay cut, lowering his base salary from about $940K all the way down to the minimum. But I wonder if St. Louis is even interested in paying Pead that much — he’s buried on the deptch chart behind Todd Gurley, Tre Mason, and Benny Cunningham, and he isn’t a real factor on special teams, having hovered around 15% ST participation during his first two years in the league. Prediction: waived.
Latest On Jason Pierre-Paul
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin revealed that he had finally gotten in touch with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, adding that the two had a “good conversation,” according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. JPP, of course, hasn’t been with the club since injuring his hand in a fireworks incident a month ago, one that ultimately led to the amputation of his right index finger.
“He’s looking forward to coming,” Coughlin said. “He’s anxious to be here. But he’s not going to come until he feels like he’s ready to be able to play.”
It’s unclear when exactly that will be, obviously, as there has been little word as to the actual extent of Pierre-Paul’s injury and recovery. But recent reports have indicated that he is in good spirits and is confident that he will play at some point during the season — but again, whether that means he’ll be ready for Week 1, or at some point further down the road, is unknown.
What is known is that JPP has no intention of signing his franchise tag tender until he is physically able to contribute — as soon as he signs the offer, the Giants have the right to place him on the non-football injury list, which allows them to withhold his pay. As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes, the mostly likely outcome involves Pierre-Paul and the team agreeing to a new contract altogether — one that would presumably pay him something close to the franchise tag figure, but probably a bit lower — at which point JPP will report to camp.
But for now, the entire situation remains clouded with uncertainty. “It could be whatever amount of time,” said Couglin when asked when he thought JPP might return. “I’m not even going to speculate.”
“There’ve been many people talking to him,” Coughlin continued. “He’s little by little tried to make his contacts. That is a positive thing. I was glad to hear his voice. He sounded good. He sounded interested, that he wanted to get back here.”
Washington GM, HC On Galette Signing, Morris
After the Saints released controversial linebacker Junior Galette last week, Washington quickly signed him to a one-year, minimum salary deal. General manager Scot McCloughan and head coach Jay Gruden spoke to reporters today, touching on the Galette signing, running back Alfred Morris, and other topics. Lets’ take a look at the highlights:
- McCloughan said Washington got word the Saints were going to release Galette about a week before the transaction actually took place, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (via Twitter), so the club had plenty of time to conduct research on Galette.
- “There’s a chance” that Galette is in line for a suspension — either because of his arrest earlier this year, or his involvement in an assualt incident captured on video — but McCloughan doesn’t know where the process stands at the moment, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.
- On the subject of the video: “I did not like the video at all and as a matter of fact when I saw the video it was scary,” McCloughan said, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. “That’s why I wanted to meet with him face to face. That’s why I had to sit down with him and ask him what happened. I got the real story and I’m fine with that.” McCloughan said he spoke to more than 20 people regarding the events on the video, per Keim (Twitter link).
- Washington is giving Galette a second chance, but it won’t give him a third, says McCloughan. “He knows he’s got to walk the line, and he knows if he doesn’t, he’s gone,” said the GM (per Jones on Twitter).
- Both McCloughan and Gruden want Morris to stay in Washington for the long haul, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). “We anticipate Alfred being here for a while,” said Gruden. “I love what Alfred is all about on and off the field.” However, Keim adds (via Twitter) that a deal isn’t expected to come together any time soon. Morris is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
- McCloughan confirmed that he has final say over the 53-man roster, but added that the coaching staff and personnel department would have a hand in formulating the final roster, tweets Boyer.
Chip Kelly: Mychal Kendricks Won’t Be Traded
After months of speculation, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly today told reporters, including Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, that linebacker Mychal Kendricks will not be traded. A report earlier this afternoon indicated that Kendricks was likely to stay in Philadelphia and act as an “insurance policy.”
“Mychal Kendricks is not going anywhere, I can tell you that right now,” said Kelly. “You can write that down in ink, not pencil. He’s not going anywhere.”
Given that the Eagles made several additions at inside linebacker during the offseason, it was fair to speculate if the 24-year-old Kendricks was a candidate to be dealt to another club. Philadelphia not only renegotiated veteran DeMeco Ryans‘ contract, ensuring that he’ll stay with the team in 2015, but traded for former Bill Kiko Alonso, signed ex-Packer Brad Jones, and drafted Jordan Hicks in the third round.
Ryans and Alonso project as the Eagles’ starters inside, so given that Kendricks is entering the final year of his rookie contract, it made sense that the club would try to get some sort of compensation now, especially if they don’t plan to re-sign him. Kendricks has started 40 games over the past three seasons, and graded as the league’s fifth-best inside linebacker in 2014, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Throw in Kendricks’ contract — an acquiring team would be on the hook for just under $1MM — and Philadelphia could probably find a decent return for the Cal alum.
Reports earlier this year indicated that the Eagles did shop Kendricks during the draft, and were asking for as much as a second-round pick. Teams reportedly balked at the request, but Kendricks was also rumored to be part of a proposed package to acquire the No. 1 or No. 2 pick, in the hopes of selecting quarterback Marcus Mariota.
The Eagles have certainly been no strangers to the trade market during the past few months. In addition to swinging a deal for Alonso (by giving up running back LeSean McCoy), the club also acquired quarterback Sam Bradford (and picks) from the Rams for fellow QB Nick Foles (and picks). And just last night, Philadelphia traded slot corner Brandon Boykin to the Steelers for a mid-round pick.
For his part, Kendricks said during OTAs that he had not been approached about an extension, and today, after acknowledging that Kelly had told him he would not be traded, Kendricks said he’d rather focus on the season at hand.
“That doesn’t even matter man,” Kendricks said. “We’re here to play ball and to do the best that we can do while we’re here. After the season is after the season. We’ll worry about that then. Until then I’m just going to ball out like I’ve been doing.”
Week In Review: 7/26/15 – 8/2/15
The headlines from the past week at PFR:
Extensions:
- The Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson agreed to a four-year, $87.6MM extension. The deal, which keeps Wilson under contract through 2019, includes $31.7MM in full guarantees.
- The Seahawks also extended linebacker Bobby Wagner, inking him to a four-year deal that will keep him in Seattle through 2019. The pact is worth $43MM in total, and contains $22MM in guarantees.
- Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan signed a five-year extension with Washington that is worth $57.5MM.
- The Vikings inked kicker Blair Walsh to a four-year deal, agreeing to a pact that will pay him $14MM through 2019.
Suspension News:
- The NFL upheld Patriots quarterback Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension, arguing that Brady destroyed his cell phone, which may have contained evidence that he was complicit in the DeflateGate scandal. Brady will challenge the decision in federal court.
- The league reduced Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell‘s suspension from three games to two.
Signed/Re-Signed:
- Bengals – Greg Little, WR (link)
- Buccaneers – Da’Quan Bowers, DE (link)
- Giants – James Jones, WR (link)
- Lions – R.J. Stanford, CB (link)
- Titans – Chase Coffman, TE (link)
- Washington – Junior Galette, LB (link)
Released/Waived:
- Bills – Chris Williams, G (link)
- Cardinals – Alfonzo Dennard, CB (link)
- Patriots – Derek Cox, CB (link)
- Saints – Brodrick Bunkley, DT (link)
- Seahawks – Tony McDaniel, DT (link)
Trades:
- Seahawks – acquired CB Mohammed Seisay from the Lions in exchange for a 2016 sixth-round pick (link)
- Steelers – acquired CB Brandon Boykin from the Eagles in exchange for a conditional 2016 fifth-round pick (link)
- Pick will increase to a fourth-rounder if Boykin plays 60% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.
Suspended:
- Washington – Bashaud Breeland, CB: One game (personal conduct)
Holdouts:
- Cowboys – Jeremy Mincey, DE (link)
- Seahawks – Kam Chancellor, S (link)
Retired:
- Jonathan Martin, T (link)
- Keith Rivers, LB (link)
- Osi Umenyiora, DE (link)
Seahawks Acquire Mohammed Seisay
The Seahawks have added a bit of depth in the secondary today, as they’ve acquired cornerback Mohammed Seisay from the Lions, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Seattle will surrender a 2016 sixth-round pick, according to Rob Rang of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
Undrafted out of Nebraska in 2014, Seisay latched on with Detroit following the draft and went on to appear in 13 games. The 25-year-old played mostly on special teams, as he logged just 17 snaps on defense. Seisay is earning the minimum salary, so this trade wasn’t financially motivated — rather, it was intended to clear out the Lions’ logjam at cornerback, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
For the Seahawks, Seisay will give the club another option at corner, where Jeremy Lane is rehabbing from both knee and arm surgery, while Tharold Simon is recovering from a shoulder operation. Interestingly, Seattle made a similar trade last summer, sending a late-round pick to the Colts for CB Marcus Burley, who went on to see more than 300 snaps. Seisay will now compete with Burely (and others) for time behind Richard Sherman and Cary Williams.
Seattle released defensive tackle Tony McDaniel this morning, so Seisay will presumably take the veteran’s spot on the club’s roster.
Seahawks Release Tony McDaniel
In need of cap space following the extensions of both quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner, the Seahawks have released veteran defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Seattle has since confirmed the move.
McDaniel, 30, was scheduled to earn a $2.5MM base salary in 2015 — combined with his prorated roster bonus and workout bonus, he would have counted $3.625MM against Seattle’s cap. By cutting him now, the club will clear out that total except for his roster bonus, saving $3MM in the process.
Since joining the Seahawks prior to the 2013 season, McDaniel has been a full-time starter in the middle of the team’s defensive line, starting 29 contests during that stretch. He played on 413 snaps last year, posting 17 tackles, but didn’t grade too well according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which ranked McDaniel as a bottom-10 defensive tackle.
McDaniel, who has also spent time with the Jaguars and Dolphins, is a vested veteran, so he won’t need to pass through waivers, and he’s available to sign with any club immediately.
Vikings, Blair Walsh Agree To Extension
5:55pm: There are indeed $1MM worth of incentives in Walsh’s new deal, reports ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling (via Twitter).
The reporter also caught up with Walsh, who was thrilled about signing the extension.
“It’s nice to have security and get an extension,” he said. “But it makes you even more hungry to prove everyone right, to continue to perform like you’ve been performing. That’s the way I approach things: I’m never satisfied with anything. I want to continue to get better and do better.
12:30pm: The Vikings have signed kicker Blair Walsh to a contract extension, the team announced in a press release. The deal is for four years and worth up to $14MM, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), meaning that Walsh, who was entering his contract year, is now locked up through 2018. The pact contains $5.25MM in guaranteed money, per La Canfora.
“Blair has been a vital part of our special teams success since we drafted him and we felt it was very important to secure his future with our organization,” said Vikings general manager Rick Spielman in a statement. “His consistency on kickoffs and on long range field goals can help change the game for our team and we’re excited for his future here in Minnesota. This extension stays true to our philosophy of drafting young talent, developing them in our system and rewarding their success.”
Walsh, 25, has been in Minnesota since being selected in the sixth round of the 2012 draft out of Georgia. After an impressive rookie debut during which he made 92.1% of his field goals and was named to both the Pro Bowl and the All Pro team, Walsh’s production has declined in recent years, as he’s converted only 86.7% and 74.3% of his field goal attempts during the past two seasons, respectively.
Given that Walsh’s deal is worth “up to” $14MM, we can assume there are some incentives tied to the deal, and while we can’t calculate the average annual value just yet, a source does tell La Canfora that Walsh is now among the five highest paid kickers in the league. Dan Bailey is currently No. 5 among kickers in annual salary, earning about $3.214MM per annum, so Walsh will presumably pull in more than that figure.
PFR’s Luke Adams examined Walsh’s case for an extension a little over two months ago, specifically addressing whether Walsh’s problems from inside 40 yards would affect the Vikings’ interest in an long-term deal, given that extra points will be attempted from 32 or 33 yards beginning in 2015.
PFR Originals: 7/19/15 – 7/26/15
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past seven days:
- We continued our Offseason In Review series, as Zach Links looked at the Lions, Jaguars, and Texans; Connor Byrne examined the Colts; and I touched on the Bears.
- Connor went over the extension case for Rams quarterback Nick Foles, noting that while risk exists on both the side of player and team, a deal that’s structured like that of Andy Dalton‘s would make sense.
- With the ink dry on the Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas extensions, Luke Adams examined what a long-term deal for Julio Jones might look like, writing that Jones could become the league’s second-highest paid receiver.
- I looked at several candidates for release in both the NFC South and AFC West, where players like Jerricho Cotchery, Roman Harper, and Donald Brown could be on the chopping block.
- We posted several topics in our Community Tailgate series, encouraging readers to contribute their thoughts in the comment section. The issues covered by Luke and Zach: