Owners To Discuss Changing Goodell’s Role in Disciplinary Process
Following the NFL’s latest defeat in court, the NFL’s team owners intend to discuss the possibility of changing commissioner Roger Goodell’s role in the player disciplinary process, several sources tell Mark Maske of the Washington Post.
According to Maske, there’s no guarantee that Goodell’s role will be altered as a result of these discussions, but it’s the first sign that Judge Richard Berman’s ruling on the DeflateGate case could have an impact beyond just getting Tom Brady back on the field for the Patriots.
A person familiar with “the league’s inner workings” tells Maske that it’s too soon to know whether there are enough owners in favor of changing Goodell’s role. If there are, it could result in the league engaging the NFL Players Association about possible modifications to the disciplinary process. The players’ union would like to see a neutral arbitrator hear disciplinary appeals, replacing Goodell in the process.
A timetable for the owners’ discussions has not yet been set, but the next formal meetings are scheduled for October.
Panthers Extend Derek Anderson
FRIDAY, 12:33pm: Adam Caplan of ESPN.com provides some specifics on Anderson’s extension, tweeting that the veteran quarterback gets $4.7MM for the two new years, including $1.5MM guaranteed.
WEDNESDAY, 12:37pm: Anderson’s two-year extension is worth $5MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
12:12pm: After locking up their starting quarterback, Cam Newton, to a long-term contract earlier in the offseason, the Panthers have extended their No. 2 signal-caller as well. According to a team release, Derek Anderson has added two years to his deal with the Panthers, keeping him under team control through the 2017 season. Anderson’s contract had previously been set to expire after this year.
“Derek adds stability to the quarterback position as the backup, and we have tremendous confidence in him,” head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement. “His experience and veteran leadership has been important in the quarterbacks room and with the coaches. We’re securing a veteran player who has been a big part of what we’re building.”
Anderson, who has been with the Panthers since 2011, saw his first two starts for the team in 2014 when Newton went down, and led the club to victories in both of those games, throwing five touchdowns to no interceptions and completing 67.0% of his passes. It was arguably the best stretch in his career since he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2007 after winning 10 of 15 starts for the Browns.
Earning a salary of $1.175MM in 2015, Anderson isn’t among the league’s highest-paid backups, though the 32-year-old figures to be in line for at least a small raise on his new deal, which he called a “no-brainer.”
Falcons Acquire Andy Levitre From Titans
12:03pm: The Titans have officially confirmed the trade, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online, who tweets that Tennessee will get a 2016 sixth-round pick and a conditional pick in a future year from the Falcons.
11:31am: The Falcons are acquiring a veteran guard in a trade with the Titans, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who reports (via Twitter) that Andy Levitre is heading to Atlanta. Levitre himself first hinted at the move, tweeting out the message “#RiseUp” from his official account.
Levitre, 29, has started all 16 games for the Titans at left guard in each of the past two seasons, and has never missed a game in his six-year NFL career. However, while his consistency and ability to stay on the field is an asset, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked the veteran lineman as just the 45th-best guard out of 78 qualified players last season, giving him a -5.8 grade.
There had been plenty of speculation that Levitre would be released by the Titans before the season, since his cap charge for 2015, and for each of the following two seasons, is an exorbitant $8.6MM. By trading Levitre, the Titans will still be on the hook for $2.1MM in dead money this year and $4.2MM next year, but it would reduce his cap hit significantly.
As for the Falcons, they’d take on Levitre’s $6.5MM salary, which seems like an awfully steep price to pay for a guard who’s not among the league’s best. Atlanta released another veteran guard, Justin Blalock, earlier this offseason, and Blalock didn’t carry as large a cap number as Levitre does.
Still, we don’t have the full details on the move yet, so it’s possible there are other factors in play here — Levitre may have accepted a pay cut as part of the deal, or the Titans may be paying a portion of his 2015 salary, for instance.
Ravens Waive Five Players
The Ravens are among the first teams to officially announce a handful of roster moves as they make their way down to 53 players from 75. According to the club (via Twitter), the following players have been waived:
- ILB Andrew Bose
- WR Daniel Brown
- T Blaine Clausell
- WR Tom Nelson
- CB Quinton Pointer
Baltimore still has a long way to go to get its roster down to 53 players. With 70 players currently in the mix, another 17 roster moves will be required by tomorrow’s deadline.
Giants Acquire Brad Wing From Steelers
11:32am: The Steelers will get a conditional seventh-round pick for 2016 in exchange for Wing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
10:41am: Shortly after having released veteran punter Steve Weatherford, the Giants have identified his apparent replacement. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the team has worked out a trade with the Steelers, acquiring punter Brad Wing in exchange for a late-round draft pick.
Wing, 24, punted 61 times for the Steelers in his rookie season in 2014, recording 43.7 yards per punt and a net average of 38.6 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on the LSU product’s performance, ranking him 28th out of the league’s 32 regular punters, with a -7.6 grade (subscription required).
Because he was only an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason, Wing is on a minimum salary deal, which works out to $510K for a player with his experience. His contract expires at the end of the 2015 season, but he won’t be able to hit the open market if the Giants want to keep him, since he’s set to be an ERFA again.
Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News first reported that the Giants were discussing a Wing deal with Pittsburgh.
Bills To Cut IK Enemkpali
Less than a month after claiming him off waivers from the Jets, the Bills have waived defensive end IK Enemkpali, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Enemkpali, of course, was initially cut by the Jets following an altercation with Geno Smith.
Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. The young pass rusher may eventually face NFL discipline for punching Smith, as the league confirmed it’s reviewing the August locker-room incident that left the quarterback with a broken jaw.
Rex Ryan, heading into his first season as the head coach in Buffalo, held the same position in New York a year ago when the Jets used a sixth-round pick to draft Enemkpali out of Louisiana Tech. Ryan cited Enemkapli’s character and took responsibility for the roster move when he and the Bills claimed the 24-year-old off waivers, but it doesn’t appear they saw enough from him over the last few weeks to keep him on the roster.
Enemkpali will have to pass through waivers again before becoming a free agent.
Giants Cut Steve Weatherford
10:35am: According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants are discussing acquiring punter Brad Wing in a deal with the Steelers, though nothing is finalized yet.
10:20am: The Giants appear to be on the lookout for a new punter, as Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that the club has parted ways with veteran Steve Weatherford. New York also cut Robert Malone earlier this week, so the latest move leaves the team without a punter on its roster.
Weatherford, who turns 33 in December, spent the first five years of his NFL career with a handful of different teams before finding a more permanent home with the Giants in 2011. The Illinois product has been the team’s punter for each of the last four seasons, ranking 25th out of the league’s 32 qualified players at the position in 2015, per Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required).
Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Coughlin strongly hinted that outside help would likely be brought in to challenge Weatherford for the Giants’ punting job this year.
“Well, there’s a game to go, and it’s going to be a competitive thing,” Coughlin said. “Not necessarily with the guys that are here. That goes for any position. Any position. People have to understand that. You’re not competing just against the guys here, you’re competing against the waiver wire.”
Buccaneers To Release Connor Barth
Connor Barth‘s latest stint with the Buccaneers only lasted a little over a week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran kicker is being released by the club.
Barth landed with the Buccaneers quickly last Wednesday after being released by the Broncos, and figures to be atop the list of targets for the next NFL team in need of kicking help. The 29-year-old signed with Denver last November to replace Brandon McManus, who was struggling with his accuracy. However, McManus beat Barth out for the kicking job in Denver this season, even though Barth finished the 2014 campaign by nailing 15 of 16 field goals for Denver.
According to Rapoport, Barth’s release signals that Kyle Brindza will open the regular season as the Bucs’ kicker. However, Patrick Murray remains on the team’s roster as well, so it’s not clear if that’s set in stone quite yet. We should get some more clarity when Tampa Bay officially announces its cuts, but Brindza looks like the choice, given Murray’s preseason struggles.
Barth is the second notable Buccaneer whose release has been confirmed today — the club is also parting with former second-round pick Da’Quan Bowers.
49ers Release Darnell Dockett
After an offseason that saw many notable defensive players depart from San Francisco via free agency, retirement, or as a result of legal issues, another veteran defender is no longer a Niner. This time, however, it appears to have been the team’s decision. According to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), the 49ers have released defensive lineman Darnell Dockett.
Dockett, 34, was sidelined for the entire 2014 campaign due to an ACL tear. In 2013, the former third-round pick started all 16 games for the Cards, logging 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks. However, Dockett’s cap number for 2015 was nearly $10MM, which forced the Cards to cut him earlier this year, at which point their NFC West rivals in San Francisco snatched up the three-time Pro Bowler.
In addition to recovering from that ACL tear, Dockett also battled a rib contusion during the preseason, and appears to have become expendable in San Francisco, where the Niners have Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie and first-round draft pick Arik Armstead competing for playing time behind the starters.
A $2MM chunk of Dockett’s salary for 2015 was guaranteed, and he also earned a $500K workout bonus, to the 49ers will be on the hook for $2.5MM in dead money. However, by releasing him now, the team avoids paying him a $250K roster bonus, which he would have earned had he been on the Niners’ Week 1 roster.
With Dockett set to hit the open market again, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the Cardinals to see if his old team is interested in a reunion.
Buccaneers To Cut Da’Quan Bowers
The Buccaneers re-signed defensive lineman Da’Quan Bowers in July after letting him reach the free agent market earlier in the offseason, but it doesn’t appear he’ll have a spot on the team’s regular season roster. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), the Bucs will cut Bowers today.
The 51st overall pick in the 2011 draft, Bowers played 50 games for the Buccaneers from 2011 to 2014, compiling just 66 total tackles and seven total sacks. The 25-year-old, a Clemson product, was plagued by injuries and never developed into the sort of productive defensive player the Bucs were hoping for, starting just 10 of those 50 games with the club.
As Garafolo notes, Bowers had a sack and five tackles in Tampa Bay’s final preseason game, but it wasn’t enough to save his job. The Bucs won’t be on the hook for any dead money for Bowers, since he was signed to a minimum salary contract with no guarantees.