East Notes: Bills Sale, Branch, DRC, Jackson
Bids for the Bills franchise are due in about two weeks, a source tells John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Morgan Stanley, the bank supervising the sale of the team, hopes to have a new owner in place by October, and as of now, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula is considered the favorite to land Buffalo’s club. Former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly recently turned down an offer from rocker Jon Bon Jovi to join forces, while entrepreneur Donald Trump and former Sabres owner Tom Golisano are also among the contenders to purchase the team.
More from the NFL’s East divisions:
- The Bills signed Alan Branch to a contract extension last December, but they might already be looking to rid themselves of the defensive tackle. Mike Rodak of ESPN.com looks at how a release of Branch would affect Buffalo’s cap.
- As Steve Serby of the New York Post details, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie almost chose to sign with the Jets rather than the Giants during the offseason. In hindsight, it seems as though the Jets should have pressed harder for Rodgers-Cromartie, as their secondary has struggled during camp and the preseason.
- DeSean Jackson‘s failure to get separation against press-man coverage last season has been cited among the reasons why he was released by the Eagles. Now that referees intend to crack down on illegal defensive holding this season, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Jackson, and other less physical receivers, will benefit from the rule change.
- Guard Dallas Thomas is among the Dolphins whose stock is falling, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. Thomas was beat several times by Gerald McCoy in Miami’s last preseason game, and it looks like free agent signee Shelley Smith might be able to regain his spot among the starters in place of Thomas.
South Notes: Watt, Colts, Baker, Newton
While J.J. Watt would like to hammer out an extension with the Texans, he hasn’t considered holding out in order to get a larger payday. Speaking to Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston (multiple Twitter links), Watt said he wouldn’t use his leverage against the team. “[T]hat would cause me to miss time with my teammates,” said Watt. “I want to practice. I want to be out here with these young guys. I want to teach them the things that I know. I want to better myself. It hasn’t really come to to that. I want to be a Houston Texan. I want to be the best I can be and I can’t do that by sitting on my couch.” More from the NFL’s two South divisions:
- Free agent linebacker Trevardo Williams worked out for the Colts today, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN. Williams was waived by the Cardinals on August 8, and has also spent time on the Texans’ roster this offseason.
- Following his season-ending patellar tendon injury, Sam Baker‘s future with the Falcons looks a bit murky. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap looks at Baker’s unworkable (from Atlanta’s perspective) contract, and goes through the options the team might survey when looking to lower the tackle’s future cap hits.
- After fellow 2011 draftees Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton received new deals, it’s only a matter of time until the Panthers sign Cam Newton to an extension, writes Ari Nissim of the National Football Post. Nissim notes that because Carolina gave defensive end Charles Johnson a $30MM signing bonus, it might be difficult for them offer Newton a bonus that’s less than $40MM.
- The Saints have not been clear about the specifics of fullback Erik Lorig‘s injury, but it sounds like they’re getting set to be without the free agent addition when the regular season begins. “Our preparation’s got to be with the idea that, as Erik’s rehabbing, we’ve got to be ready to have a fullback Week 1, with the chance it’s not going to be Erik,” head coach Sean Payton told Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. “And so both [Greg Jones and Austin Johnson] are competing.”
Nick Collins To Retire
Veteran safety Nick Collins, who spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Packers, has announced his retirement (via TwitLonger). Collins hasn’t played in the league since 2011, as he’d been dealing with a neck injury suffered during Week 2 of that year. Though doctors were reportedly uncomfortable with approving his health, Collins was eying a comeback attempt as recently as February, but it seems as if that plan has been aborted.
“[I’ve] officially announced my retirement from the NFL,” said Collins. “I also would like to thank my family, friends, and the Packer Nation for the love and support.”
Collins underwent cervical fusion surgery following his neck injury in 2011, and was eventually released by the Packers in 2012 when the team expressed unease with allowing him to return to the field. Later that year, Collins’ agent conceded that his client’s playing career was likely over, but the former second-round pick himself always maintained that he wanted to return to action
During his prime, Collins was among the best safeties in the NFL — he was named to the Pro Bowl each year from 2008-10, and won the Super Bowl in 2010. After joining Green Bay out of Bethune-Cookman in 2005, Collins went on to start 95 games, and recorded 340 tackles and 21 interceptions during that span. In 2008, he led the league in interception return yards, taking his picks back a whopping 295 total yards.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
49ers Working To Extend Michael Crabtree
While Alex Boone continues his hold out in the hopes of securing a new contract, the 49ers have been busy handing out extensions to a number of other players. Colin Kaepernick and Joe Staley have both received fresh deals over the past several months, and Glenn Dorsey got two years tacked onto his contract today. San Francisco apparently isn’t done through, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) that the team’s next extension target is receiver Michael Crabtree.
While Niners general manager Trent Baalke had previously stated that there was no deadline by which talks had to cease, Rapoport says that the team wishes for negotiations to conclude by the start of the regular season. If an agreement has not been reached, a new deal won’t be discussed until next offseason. While Rapoport notes that there has been “progress” in the parties’ dialogue, it sounds like San Francisco is willing to take a hardline stance, with the aim of getting a pact completed soon.
For his part, Crabtree sounds receptive to a new deal — Rapoport tweets that while the 26-year-old obviously wants to earn top-of-the-market receiver money, he is willing to do so through incentives, rather than demanding a exorbitant base salary. With his history of injuries, Crabtree probably doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter, as the 49ers are likely unwilling to guarantee much money to a player who has had a difficult time staying on the field. Additionally, signing a new deal now could be also be beneficial to Crabtree, as an injury-riddled contract year would surely tank his value heading into free agency.
As our Luke Adams noted when examining Crabtree as an Extension Candidate last month, the recent contracts signed by Eric Decker ($15MM guaranteed) and DeSean Jackson ($16MM guaranteed) should set the floor for the 49er. However, with Crabtree amenable to an incentive-based structure, perhaps a deal could coalesce that resembles that of Kaepernick — a modest guarantee, with escalators based on performance. Such a contract probably wouldn’t be team results-based (as Kaepernick’s is), as receivers don’t have as much of an impact on wins and losses as do quarterbacks. But an extension based on future individual production might be manageable, especially if it contains agreeable injury protection language.
Crabtree has been largely successful since entering the NFL as the 10th overall pick in 2009. From 2009-2012 (omitting his injury-riddled 2013), the Texas Tech product averaged 65 receptions for 836 yards and five touchdowns. 2012 was his best season, as he caught balls from both Kaepernick and Alex Smith, establishing new career highs in receptions (85), receiving yards (1,105), and touchdowns (9). He was just as dynamic in the postseason, compiling 285 yards and three touchdowns through the air and helping San Francisco reach the Super Bowl, where he nearly hauled in a game-winning touchdown on the team’s final drive.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Cardinals To Work Out Isaac Sopoaga
Following Darnell Dockett‘s season-ending ACL injury, the Cardinals attempted to bring in Brett Keisel in order to bolster their depleted defensive line. But after Keisel declined Arizona’s offer and returned to the Steelers, the Cardinals have set their sights on another veteran lineman — defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga. According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, Arizona has scheduled a workout for the 32-year-old, and if it goes well, plans on signing him.
Sopoaga entered the NFL as a 49ers fourth-round draft pick in 2002, and spent the next nine seasons in San Francisco. He signed a three-year, $12MM deal with the Eagles in March of 2013, but was traded to the Patriots just seven months later. New England released Sopoaga in March, and he’s been waiting for a team to express interest since.
It’s fair to wonder if Sopoaga will be able to fill the void on the Cardinals’ defensive line. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, who covered Sopoaga during his time with the Patriots, tweets that the veteran “had nothing left last year,” a sentiment that meshes with Pro Football Focus’ advanced statistics. PFF (subscription required) gave Sopoaga a -9.4 grade on just 362 snaps in 2013, noting that he was especially poor against the run.
Still, Sopoaga could make for a nice fit along Arizona’s defensive front — he’s spent nearly all of his career working as a nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme, the role he would be expected to play with the Cardinals. Additionally, Arizona is in need of depth along it’s front three. While the triumvirate of Calais Campbell, Dan Williams, and Frostee Rucker is impressive, the options behind the Cardinals’ top three are uninspiring. If signed, Sopoaga probably wouldn’t be asked to do more than spell Williams for a handful of snaps per game.
Extension Candidate: Charles Clay
Given that later rounds of the NFL draft tend to be crapshoots, the success of two players selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft is something at which to marvel. The more notable player, chosen with pick No. 191, is Eagles center Jason Kelce. The former Cincinnati Bearcat, now regarded as one of the best centers in the league, was signed to a six-year, $37.5MM extension in February.
Chosen 17 picks before Kelce was a slightly more anonymous player — tight end Charles Clay. Clay, 25, is not only entering the his fourth season with the Dolphins, but the final year of his rookie contract. As such, he could be a candidate for a new deal that, if not equal to the length and/or compensation of Kelce, more correctly aligns with his production. In fact, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Clay’s agent has approached the Dolphins about an extension, but the talks haven’t led to any serious negotiations.
Clay entered the league three years ago after playing college ball at Tulsa. During his rookie season, he displayed versatility by spending time at both tight end and fullback, but finished with just 16 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns. After transitioning to playing solely TE in 2012, he ended the year with a nearly identical statistical line. Clay broke out in 2013, however, displaying a rapport with quarterback Ryan Tannehill and catching 69 balls for 759 yards and six touchdowns — he also rushed the ball seven times.
Advanced metrics don’t indicate as much positive development for Clay as do traditional stats. Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required) have painted Clay as merely ordinary over the course of his career — he ranked as just the 36th- and 34th-best tight end in the league in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Last year, specifically, PFF painted Clay as a well above-average pass-catcher, but lackluster in terms of pass-blocking. Football Outsiders has a similar opinion of Clay, as he finished 41st and 20th in DVOA over the past two years.
There are several potential roadblocks regarding extension talks from the Dolphins’ point of view, two of which Jackson notes. First, Clay only has one season of above-average production; Miami might want to wait and see if he is able to maintain last year’s level of play. Second, Clay recently aggravated his surgically-repaired knee, so the Dolphins could be wary of further injury risk. It’s just my speculation, but the Dolphins might also be worried about Clay’s fit in new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s scheme. Lazor worked under Chip Kelly in Philadelphia last year, and tight ends weren’t overly featured in the Eagles offense.
So what would a Clay extension look like? He probably won’t match Kyle Rudolph‘s five-year, $36.5MM deal — Rudolph had a second-round pedigree, and the Vikings were likely projecting a big season for the fourth-year TE with the help of offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Further down the list of tight end contracts is Jared Cook‘s five-year, $35.1MM pact with the Rams, which now looks like a major overpay. Descend further, and find the contracts of Brandon Pettigrew and Anthony Fasano that probably set the floor for Clay — four years, $16MM, with between $4-5MM guaranteed.
Among tight ends, there isn’t a perfect comparable with which to juxtapose Clay. The best deal to view might be that of Martellus Bennett, who received a $5.1MM AAV over four years, with $5.215MM in guarantees. Bennett is probably a better overall player, but Clay is two years younger and offers more versatility. The Dolphins will have to judge whether they value Clay as much as the Bears valued Bennett. In the end, I would guess a deal gets worked out, perhaps in-season. Working with an innovative coordinator like Lazor, Clay could be in for an even bigger season, and Miami could win big with a forward-looking contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.
Eagles Would Listen To Offers For Mark Sanchez
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly told reporters today, including John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com, that he would be open to fielding trade offers for backup quarterback Mark Sanchez. Kelly was responding to a direct question about Sanchez’s trade value, so it’s not as if he broached the topic himself. Nevertheless, it’s uncommon for a team official to openly discuss dealing a player under contract.
“I mean, we’ll listen to anything for anybody,” said Kelly. “We’re not just going to put our head in the sand and say no. It better be a pretty good deal in terms of what it is. But that’s not in any of our thought process.” Kelly also noted that no team has asked about Sanchez’s availability as of yet. “Mark has played well, but we haven’t had anybody call or ask us anything. That’s not something we’re talking about because you’re just spending time on things that could happen, should happen. I don’t know. But I know we’re really happy about him.”
Sanchez, of course, was the fifth overall selection in 2009, and went on to start 62 games for the Jets, leading New York to the AFC Championship game twice. He did not take a snap for the Jets last season after shuffling a shoulder injury. He was released in March, and after presumably failing to land a starting job, signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal with the Eagles. Sanchez has reportedly been impressive during practice sessions, and has completed 18-of-22 passes for 196 and two touchdowns in a pair of preseason games.
It’s just my speculation, but I’m guessing Sanchez would welcome a trade if it meant returning to a starting role. In signing with the Eagles, Sanchez was probably hoping that Kelly’s offensive system, which vaulted the relatively unheralded Nick Foles into the upper echelon of quarterbacks, could do the same for him. It’s likely that Sanchez believed that shining during the preseason or in backup duty would allow him to secure a No. 1 job next offseason. A trade now, after just a summer of work under Kelly, would validate that line of thinking.
For the Eagles, it wouldn’t seem prudent to trade Sanchez at this point. Matt Barkley, a fourth-round pick in 2013 who has shown little in the way of development, would be next in line for the No. 2 QB role. If starter Foles were to suffer an injury, Kelly and Co. would surely rather have the experienced Sanchez under center than the second-year Barkley. However, if a team is impressed with Sanchez to the point of offering draft pick compensation, it could be a worthwhile return on a $2.25MM risk.
NFC West Links: Extensions, Seahawks, Givens
In a piece examining how the Seahawks can keep their championship window open, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes that even though Seattle has already extended the deals of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Doug Baldwin, the team could look to hand out even more new contracts in the coming months. Fourth-year linebacker K.J. Wright, whom Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded as the 13th-best 4-3 OLB in the NFL last season, might be next in line for an extension, per La Canfora. The Seahawks might also look to tack on years to defensive end Cliff Avril‘s original two-year, $13MM deal, which expires after this season. Left tackle Russell Okung is also entering the final year of his contract, but might have to wait for new money, as La Canfora believes his injury history will prompt Seattle to evaluate his health after 2014. More from the NFC West:
- The Seahawks have a history of keeping just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, but Terrelle Pryor‘s performance through two preseason games has Gregg Bell of the News-Tribune wondering if the team will keep the 25-year-old Ohio State product around.
- Per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, Rams receiver Chris Givens has been surpassed on the depth chart by Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, and Brian Quick. It’s fair to wonder if Givens, entering his third season, will survive final cuts.
- It’s common practice for teams to send scouts to preseason games around the league, hoping to get looks at players who could be available in the coming weeks as cutdown dates approach. Eight NFL teams, plus two CFL squads, had officials on hand to scout the Broncos-49ers exhibition game, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider was the only top executive on hand to view the contest, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
AFC Notes: Steelers, Jets, Patriots, Jaguars
Let’s round up some links from the AFC…
- The Steelers should consider keeping two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, opines Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. With Bruce Gradkowski locked in as the backup to Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh could save a roster spot by moving Landry Jones to the practice squad. Jones, a 2013 fourth-round pick, would have to be exposed to waivers before being sent to the practice squad, a transaction Bouchette allows is unlikely.
- In a report labeling the Jets’ risers and fallers, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com lauds the progress of general manager John Idzik’s 2014 draft class, noting that both Calvin Pryor and Jace Amaro, New York’s top two picks, fared well against the Bengals on Saturday.
- Brian Tyms hasn’t wanted for media attention lately, and Jeremy Gottlieb of Boston.com lists the receiver among four surprising Patriots roster locks, noting that Tyms’ upcoming suspension will actually help him make New England’s squad because management won’t be forced to make a decision on his status until after Week 4.
- An interesting note from ESPN’s Field Yates, who tweets that Patriots offensive lineman Jordan Devey is the only NFL player to play every snap this preseason; he’s lined up at every O-line position save for center. Devey, a 2013 undrafted free agent, wasn’t listed on Mike Reiss of ESPN.com’s most recent New England roster projection, but perhaps the coaching staff has been quietly impressed with the 26-year-old’s versatility.
- Some have labeled the Jaguars’ plan to slowly develop rookie quarterback Blake Bortles a response to the failure of former Jag Blaine Gabbert, who was almost immediately thrown into the fire. In his latest chat at ESPN.com, however, Michael DiRocco disputes that argument, noting that general manager David Caldwell & Co. were not involved in the Gabbert flameout.
- More Jaguars: Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union offers his latest roster projection, which includes a few updates in the secondary.
PFR Originals: 8/10/14 – 8/17/14
The original content produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- In our latest Free Agent Stock Watch post, I took a look at the potential market for embattled offensive lineman Richie Incognito.
- In our polls this week, David Kipke asked whether the NFL should continue to keep practice sessions open to the media; Luke Adams wondered how long Josh Gordon will be suspended, and which rookie quarterback will fare the best in 2014; and Rob DiRe queried as to which head coach will be fired first during the upcoming season (Cowboys head man Jason Garrett leads the pack with about a third of the vote). Thanks for voting!
- Zach Links ran through the best of the football blogs in the latest edition of Pigskin Links.
- Luke published an update of the most important remaining dates on the 2014 league schedule.
- In the wake of Dwayne Bowe‘s suspension, Luke examined how the one-game ban could financially affect the Chiefs receiver.