Falcons Activate Devin Hester; Hankerson To IR
The Falcons have activated receiver and return man Devin Hester from IR-DTR, sending wideout Leonard Hankerson to season-ending injured reserve in a corresponding move, the team announced today in a press release. Hester’s next snap will be his first this season, as a toe injury has sidelined him for the year until now.
Hester, 33, earned his fourth Pro Bowl berth last year in his first season with the Falcons, after leading the league in kick return yardage and punt return average. However, the team determined in early October that he needed to be placed on IR with designation to return due to that toe injury. After having spent eight weeks on IR-DTR, this is the earliest he was eligible to return.
In Hester’s absence, Eric Weems has been Atlanta’s primary return man on both kickoffs and punts. While it’s not clear if Hester will immediately take over both of those roles, he’s one of the league’s all-time best returners, so he figures to see some action on special teams. Having caught 38 balls last year for Atlanta, he may also contribute on offense, particularly with Hankerson out.
Hankerson, who turns 27 next month, totaled 26 receptions for 327 yards and three touchdowns in his first season with the Falcons. He had been sidelined recently by a hamstring injury. Since he’s on a one-year contract, Hankerson may have played his last game for Atlanta, as he nears free agency for the second straight offseason.
West Notes: Osweiler, Reich, Kaepernick
Although he has just two career starts under his belt, Brock Osweiler‘s success over the past couple weeks has prompted plenty of discussion about how he’ll fit into the Broncos‘ future plans. One high-ranking executive tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today that it’s a good problem for Denver to have, but cautions that “it’ll be very, very difficult to navigate on multiple fronts.”
“They’re the only ones who are going to know if he’s their guy or not,” another NFL exec said. “But if he lights it up, and he thinks he’s your future, and you’ve already been there with him — I won’t say you’re going to pay him top market (value), but you’re going to have to pay him.”
It’s hard to know how much the Broncos will be willing to invest in Osweiler, or how much value he’ll have, before seeing how he finishes the season. But if he plays well down the stretch, he could command in the neighborhood of $15MM per year, that first executive estimates. Considering they’ll want to avoid using the franchise tag on Osweiler instead of Von Miller, the Broncos will be under some pressure to get something done with the quarterback before free agency, assuming they want to extend him.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions:
- Within his column, Pelissero wonders if offensive coordinators will be popular targets for NFL head coaching vacancies this offseason, since many teams with potential openings have young quarterbacks under contract. One possible candidate is Chargers OC Frank Reich, who confirmed to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he interviewed with Maryland – his alma mater – about the school’s head coaching job before the Terps decided on D.J. Durkin. “With interviews, if they come and when they come, I want to be selective about those things,” Reich said. “But you never want to take them for granted.”
- Matt Bowen and Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider link) are the latest to break down potential landing spots for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in the event that the 49ers part ways with him. Both Bowen and Sando identify the Rams as one possibility.
- Former Browns general manager Phil Savage believes Kaepernick would probably draw the most interest around the league if Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III, and the 49ers quarterback all become available this offseason, as he tells Mark Maske of the Washington Post.
- Center Drew Nowak spoke to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times about being waived by the Seahawks and then re-joining the team’s practice squad.
AFC East Notes: Marshall, T. Taylor, Dolphins
Outside of the Patriots, no AFC East teams are shoo-ins for the playoffs, but none of the division’s other three clubs are out of the mix quite yet. The Dolphins and Bills will probably have to run the table – or come close to it – to earn postseason berths, so they badly need home wins this weekend against the Ravens and Texans, respectively. Even more interesting will be the battle of New York teams at the Meadowlands, where both the Jets and Giants badly need a win to remain in a comfortable position for a playoff spot.
As we wait to see how the AFC East’s matchups shake out this weekend, let’s round up the latest out of the division….
- Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has yet to play a full season for the Jets, but he’s enjoying his time in New York, and doesn’t have interest in playing anywhere else before the end of his NFL career, as he tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “Once the Jets say, ‘We don’t need you anymore,’ I’m going to venture off into that world,” Marshall said. “I’m not playing for another team. Four is all I need. It’s too hard to make new friends and relationships and deal with different egos. I don’t like the business already. So I’m not trying to deal with that.” Marshall still has two years left on his contract with the Jets after the 2015 season.
- Asked if he believes he could be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Bills, Tyrod Taylor deferred to the club’s decision-makers, as Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News details. “It’s up to the management,” Taylor said. “I’ll just continue to approach each and every day the same way. Hard work. Attitude. Continue to keep working.”
- Having selected DeVante Parker in the first round of the 2015 draft, the Dolphins view the rookie as a building block and an eventual starter, meaning the club can afford to let wide receiver Rishard Matthews walk in free agency this winter, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. Walker thinks there’s only about a 20% chance that Miami re-signs Matthews.
Tom Coughlin, Jerry Reese On Hot Seat?
FRIDAY, 8:06am: A source familiar with the Giants’ thinking tells Steve Serby of the New York Post that Coughlin’s seat is hotter than Reese’s. The GM is expected to be safe even if New York misses the playoffs this season, according to Selby’s source.
THURSDAY, 2:51pm: Although the Giants head into Week 13 tied for first place in the NFC East, they have lost back-to-back games and has a sub-.500 record, having failed to pull away with the division when they had the chance. The season has been a frustrating one for co-owner Steve Tisch, who “made it clear” that ownership considers the home stretch of the season “win-or-else time” for the franchise, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
“Under Coach [Tom] Coughlin, we’re fighters,” Tisch said. “[But] sometimes we fight harder than the previous week. We’ve got to stay focused and go out there as a team.”
When asked if the final five games of the season were particularly important for Coughlin and Jerry Reese, Tisch didn’t exactly offer a ringing vote of confidence for either the head coach or the general manager, according to Hubbuch. Although Tisch said the discussion on Coughlin and Reese wasn’t one to have today, he noted, “I certainly don’t want to disappoint our fans as we get into the last month of Giants football,” adding that he “would not be happy” if the team’s season ended on January 3.
Coughlin has been the Giants’ head coach since the 2004 season, and Reese has handled GM duties since 2007, so the club won’t make any hasty decisions on their respective futures. Still, New York has missed the playoffs for the last three seasons, finishing below .500 in each of the last two, and ownership didn’t deny last winter that 2015 would be a make-or-break year for the franchise’s brain trust.
Another losing season without a postseason berth would be particularly difficult to swallow, given how bad the Giants’ NFC East rivals have been. With five weeks left in the regular season, New York still has plenty of time to make a late-season run and win the East, and should even have a little margin for error. But if the Giants lose three or four more games and finish outside the playoff picture, the team could be in the market for a new coach or GM, or both.
Coughlin is currently under contract through the 2016 season.
2016 Cap Outlook: Washington
Through the 2015 NFL season, Pro Football Rumors has been looking ahead to the 2016 offseason, gauging the salary cap situation for a number of teams with significant cap charges for next season. The cap for 2016 hasn’t been set yet, but we can still assess the salary commitments made by a club and determine whether or not that club will be in good financial shape going forward.
In addition to evaluating each team’s overall cap situation, we’ll focus in on a few key players who may be candidates to be extended, restructured, or released by their current teams. These lists aren’t comprehensive, and depending on a player’s 2015 performance and health, he could drop off one of these lists – or be added to one – as the season goes on. For now though, these are some players to watch.
Using data from Over The Cap, we’re making our way through NFL teams in order of total salary commitments for 2016. Today’s team is Washington, which currently has the seventh-highest total for its ’16 cap.
Let’s dive in….
Top 10 cap hits for 2016:
- Robert Griffin III, QB: $16,155,000
- Trent Williams, LT: $10,700,000
- Pierre Garcon, WR: $10,200,000
- Chris Culliver, CB: $9,250,000
- DeSean Jackson, WR: $9,250,000
- Jason Hatcher, DL: $8,750,000
- Ryan Kerrigan, OLB: $8,450,000
- Dashon Goldson, S: $8,000,000
- DeAngelo Hall, DB: $5,062,500
- Perry Riley, ILB: $5,049,804
Current 2016 cap number for top 51 players: $143,859,037
Washington, like many NFL teams, has a quarterback atop its list of cap commitments for 2016. Unlike most of those other clubs though, Washington’s QB almost certainly won’t be with the team next year, and removing him from the books for ’16 won’t leave any dead money on the cap, since his salary is currently guaranteed for injury only.
Still, releasing Griffin likely won’t be the only cap-clearing move required for Washington in the offseason, since the team’s current starting quarterback isn’t under contract yet for 2016. Depending on how much it costs to re-sign Kirk Cousins, the club could end up using a good chunk of that RGIII money on Cousins instead.
Candidates for extension:
- Chris Baker, D
- DeSean Jackson, WR
While Cousins is a candidate for an extension, this section focuses on players who are under contract for 2016 already, whose cap numbers could potentially be reduced a little by extending them beyond next season.
Jackson is an interesting case, since his current deal features a 2017 salary, but ’17 is essentially a dummy year, since the contract is set to void after 2016. The speedy wideout has been injured this season, and hasn’t been a huge part of the offense even when he’s been healthy, so perhaps Washington won’t want to invest any additional money in him. But reworking his deal to keep him under contract for an extra couple years could reduce his 2016 cap hit without the team taking on much long-term risk. While there are a number of different ways the club could go with Jackson, I expect he’ll be back for at least one more year, since there will still be $6MM+ in dead money left on his deal.
As for Baker, it doesn’t seem like that long ago that he signed a three-year contract extension, but 2016 will be the final year of that agreement. He’s still young and productive enough to warrant another extension, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Washington let him play out the final year of his contract before making a decision.
Candidates for restructure:
- Chris Culliver, CB
- Shawn Lauvao, G
Like center Kory Lichtensteiger, Lauvao opened the year as a starter on Washington’s offensive line, but wasn’t among the league’s top interior linemen, and eventually landed on IR. Both of those players will have cap hits in the $4-5MM range in 2016, which isn’t a significant price to pay for a starting offensive lineman. But those are high prices for backups, so if the club has other options it likes better, it could try to rework both deals — particularly Lauvao’s. A pay cut may also be in play.
Culliver, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere after signing a long-term free agent contract earlier this year, since his 2016 salary is fully guaranteed. Beyond ’16 though, there’s only $2.5MM in dead money – and no guaranteed salary – left on the pact, so restructuring it to reduce next year’s cap charge wouldn’t put Washington in a bad spot for future seasons.
Candidates for pay cut or release:
- Pierre Garcon, WR
- Dashon Goldson, S
- Robert Griffin III, QB
- DeAngelo Hall, DB
- Jason Hatcher, DL
- Perry Riley, ILB
- Andre Roberts, WR
Griffin is the most logical release candidate here, but there’s no shortage of them for Washington, giving the team plenty of flexibility heading into the offseason. If the club needs the cap room, it could take an approach similar to the one taken by the Saints last winter, when New Orleans asked a handful of players to take pay cuts to avoid being released — some accepted those cuts, while others were dropped.
As we weigh the pros and cons for keeping the non-RGIII players on this list, let’s start in the secondary, where Goldson and Hall are the candidates to be cut. The Buccaneers’ willingness to pay a portion of Goldson’s salary allowed Washington to acquire the safety in a trade earlier this year, but with his salary set to increase to a non-guaranteed $7.5MM next year, the team will be less willing to pay up — especially for a player who currently ranks 83rd of 84 qualified safeties, per Pro Football Focus.
Could Hall step into Goldson’s starting safety spot? Maybe, but Washington may prefer to identify a younger, cheaper replacement, rather than counting on a high-priced veteran like Hall to make the transition from cornerback at this stage in his career.
At the wide receiver position, Garcon has posted pedestrian numbers since racking up 113 catches in 2013, and while that can be partially attributed to inconsistent quarterback play, you’d still expect a little more out of a player with a $10MM+ cap hit. The club could create $8MM in cap savings by cutting him, and another $3MM by releasing Roberts, who has caught just 11 balls this season.
Elsewhere, Hatcher and Riley are two players who could return in 2016 if Washington isn’t short on cap space. Neither player has quite lived up to expectations since they signed their current contracts in March 2014, but Hatcher has been decent in the middle, and Riley has looked a bit better in recent weeks. The team would create about $4MM in cap savings by releasing either player, so that will have to be a consideration, even if they ultimately remain on the roster.
Contract information from Over The Cap was used in the creation of this post.
Browns Rumors: Pettine, QB, Haden, Hawkins
The Browns played a little better than many observers expected during Mike Pettine‘s first season as the head coach in 2014, but the team finished that season on a five-game losing streak, and have gone 2-9 so far in 2015. Taking those struggles into account, Pettine acknowledges that he and owner Jimmy Haslam figure to have a talk about his performance sooner or later, and he hopes he’ll have some positive signs to point to when that discussion happens.
“As the season winds down, [my future] could potentially come up between [Haslam and me],” Pettine said today, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I’m full speed ahead to getting it fixed here in Cleveland, and I know the results aren’t anywhere near where they need to be. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not making strides, we’re not getting it set up that it can be done. So, to me, it’s a belief that we can. We got five games left and we’re going to go out and wear the Cleveland logo proud and try to win football games.”
As Pettine attempts to right the ship in Cleveland, let’s check in on a few more Browns-related notes…
- Discussing the decision to start Austin Davis in Week 13, making him the Browns’ third starting quarterback in three weeks, Pettine suggested that just because Davis is atop the depth chart now, that doesn’t mean he’ll finish the year there (link via Ulrich). “I don’t want to declare, ‘Hey, this is what it is going to be from here on out,'” Pettine said. “[Davis and Johnny Manziel] are two young quarterbacks that have upside, and we want to see what that upside is. Austin is the guy for this week.”
- According to Pettine, the Browns may have some discussions about the possibility of placing cornerback Joe Haden and/or wide receiver Andrew Hawkins on injured reserve (Twitter link via Tom Withers of The Associated Press). Both Haden and Hawkins have concussions, but the team hasn’t decided yet to shut down either player for the year.
- New Browns wideout Terrelle Pryor said today that he was in the middle of a visit with the Bears this week when Cleveland called him, per Ulrich (Twitter link). Pryor was interested in a return to Cleveland since he knows the offense and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo.
- The three-week practice period for Browns tight end Randall Telfer expired this week without a roster move, as Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets. Telfer has been on the non-football injury list all season, and having missed his window to be activated, he’ll officially be out for the rest of his rookie year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/15
It’s been a fairly quiet day in the NFL when it comes to transactions, but we do have a couple minor roster moves to pass along:
- In advance of tonight’s game against the Lions, the Packers have promoted running back John Crockett from their practice squad, waiving running back Alonzo Harris to make room on the roster, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Harris has been Green Bay’s third running back behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks for most of this season, but hasn’t seen much action, carrying the ball just four times for 19 yards.
- Buccaneers cornerback Leonard Johnson was cut from injured reserve by Tampa Bay today, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Johnson, who appeared in all 48 of the Bucs’ regular season games from 2012 to 2014 (17 starts), was waived/injured by the team in September and has been on IR since then. He’ll be free to sign elsewhere if he clears waivers.
NFC Notes: Hawley, Lions, Cassel, Saints
Buccaneers center Joe Hawley feels like he got a raw deal from his former team, the Falcons. On a conference call, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Hawley if he felt that he was given enough time coming back from the injuries to win the starting job.
“Uh, honestly, no. I think they kind of used it as an excuse,” Hawley said. “When I got here I wasn’t 100 percent yet. But they gave me a chance. Now, I’m feeling like the knee is back to new. But it just took four or five more weeks that I thought it would. Yeah, I think they kind of cut me short of that.”
The Bucs (5-6) are set to host the Falcons (6-5) on Sunday.
- With Matt Prater battling an illness, the Lions tried out free agent kickers Kyle Brindza, Billy Cundiff, and Garrett Hartley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). However, Prater will be able to play tonight against the Packers after all, so the team didn’t sign anyone.
- If Matt Cassel plays the final five games of the Cowboys‘ season, that extra playing time could earn him $1.2MM in incentives, as Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com explains. Cassel’s deal includes incentives for playing a certain percentage of the team’s snaps, and he’s projected to play over 55% ($1.2MM), but not up to 65% ($1.6MM).
- The performance of certain players over the course of the Saints‘ final five games this year could help dictate some of the salary cap decisions the club makes in the offseason, writes Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. I examined the Saints’ cap outlook for 2016 earlier this fall.
- Edge defender Willie Jefferson, a former Texan who spent the last two seasons with the CFL’s Edmonto Eskimos, will work out for two NFC teams next month, and is drawing a lot of interest, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link). Jefferson had six sacks this season for the Grey Cup champions.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Giants Worked Out Barry Cofield
The Giants brought in defensive tackle Barry Cofield for a workout this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). A nine-year veteran, Cofield has been on the free agent market since being released by Washington back in February.
Cofield, who started his career with the Giants, suffered his first major injury in 2014, as he missed about half the season after an ankle injury forced him onto the injured reserve list with the designation to return. While the defensive lineman returned to action for Washington in November, he only started three of eight games for the season, marking the first time since 2007 that he appeared in a game he didn’t start.
Based on various reports over the last several months, it’s hard to know exactly how healthy Cofield is now. In July, he told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he was healthy and waiting for a call, but a report a week later suggested he’d be ready to go in another four to six weeks. A September report indicated the 31-year-old would likely sign with a contending team in October, when he fully recovered from offseason hip surgery. Cofield has since worked out for the Colts, and now the Giants, so presumably he’s ready to return at this point.
In addition to trying out Cofield, the Giants also auditioned English rugby star Tom Burgess today as a tight end, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. While we’ve seen Jarryd Hayne open the door for rugby players to earn spots on NFL rosters, Burgess will almost certainly have to wait for an offseason deal, if New York – or another team – wants to add him.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/2/15
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Abou Toure (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
- Cut: TE Brandon Bostick
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Chuck Jacobs, RB Terrence Magee (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Dan France (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)
- Cut: OL Ronald Patrick
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Ben Malena, CB Terrance Mitchell, DE Efe Obada (Twitter link via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Dan Light (link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post)
- Cut: TE Arthur Lynch
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OT Reid Fragel (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Chris Harper (Twitter link via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald), DT Kelcy Quarles (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DB Dewey McDonald (Twitter link via Scott Bair CSNBayArea.com)
- Cut: S Chris Hackett
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: WR Shane Wynn (Twitter link via Eric Williams of ESPN.com)
- Cut: WR Donte Foster
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Deshon Foxx, DT Justin Hamilton, C Drew Nowak (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
- Cut: WR Douglas McNeil