Sean Smith Suspended Three Games
11:14am: The Chiefs issued their own statement confirming the three-game suspension for Smith, adding that they “respect and support the league’s decision in this matter and will have no further comment on the situation.”
8:52am: The NFL has suspended Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith for three games to open the 2015 regular season, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The penalty comes as a result of Smith pleading guilty in March to driving under the influence, for which he received two years probation.
The league’s new drug policy, which was jointly approved by the NFL and the NFLPA last September, calls for a two-game ban to be levied upon a player after a “conviction or plea agreement for violations of law involving alcohol and driving.” However, the policy also allows for longer suspensions in the case of “aggravating circumstances,” such as property damage — so the fact that Smith allegedly drove into a light pole could have given the league the leeway to tack on an extra game.
Entering the season without Smith may not have a huge impact on the Chiefs in Week 1, when they’ll face either Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett in Houston. But the team will certainly miss its standout cornerback in its next two games, as Kansas City plays Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Week 2, then Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 3.
Smith, who is entering the final year of a three-year deal with the Chiefs, had been set to earn a base salary of $4.25MM, so a three-week suspension will cost him $750K. The 28-year-old has been a solid investment for Kansas City so far, having ranked as the league’s fifth-best cornerback in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Per PFF’s data, Smith allowed a 57.0% completion rate on passes thrown into his coverage, and didn’t commit a single penalty all season.
QB Rumors: Brady, E. Manning, Wilson
A handful of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks are in the news this Friday morning, so let’s dive in and round up the latest on the Patriots, Giants, and Seahawks signal-callers….
- A source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that there’s “zero chance” of a ruling on Tom Brady‘s appeal being announced today, meaning the saga figures to drag on until at least next week. As a point of comparison, arbitrator Harold Henderson took 43 days following Greg Hardy‘s appeal to make a decision — so far, it has been 31 days since the appeal hearing for the Patriots quarterback.
- Contract talks between Eli Manning and the Giants have “intensified” within the last few days, with the team making an effort to see if something can get done before training camp begins, according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano.
- Graziano’s report echoes one from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com earlier this week, suggesting that the Giants are confident they’ll get Manning locked up “at some point.” Per Graziano, New York would prefer to get it done before training camp, but the club doesn’t mind waiting until after the season, if necessary. According to Graziano, the Giants are comfortable with the idea of paying Manning an annual salary in the range of the $21.75MM Ben Roethlisberger got on his new deal with the Steelers.
- According to Werder (via Twitter), one reason the Seahawks may be reluctant to pay Russell Wilson like a franchise quarterback is the team’s emphasis on its running game and defense. As Werder observes, Wilson’s 26.8 pass attempts per game over the last two years represents the lowest mark in the NFL.
- Former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren believes Wilson should accept Seattle’s offer, suggesting that the team has definitely not “lowballed” the quarterback. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the details on Holmgren’s comments, made during an appearance on The Erik Kuselias Show on NBC Sports Radio.
Extension Candidate: Julio Jones
Over the last two offseasons, a handful of productive wide receivers have signed new contracts, including Jeremy Maclin, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Torrey Smith, Eric Decker, and DeSean Jackson. Out of that group, only Nelson has a strong case for being placed amongst the league’s very best wide receivers, and the Packers star signed his extension well before reaching free agency, accepting a below-market deal.
In other words, it had been a while since a top wideout had signed a contract that reset the market for receivers, establishing a new baseline for the NFL’s best players at the position. Mike Wallace‘s five-year, $60MM deal, finalized in March 2013, was the last signing that qualified up until last week, when Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas inked new extensions at the 11th hour before the franchise-tag deadline. The Cowboys’ and Broncos’ Pro Bowlers had their deals structured a little differently, but they look identical in terms of years and overall base value — five years and $70MM.
The per-year salaries for Bryant and Thomas fall well short of Calvin Johnson‘s $16.27MM annual average value, but that deal was an outlier, and the fact that the two franchised stars easily topped Wallace’s $12MM annual average better reflects their place among the NFL’s best wideouts. It also sets a clear baseline for the next crop of elite receivers who will seek new contracts, such as A.J. Green and Julio Jones.
Green may sign an extension this year, but he has suggested that he doesn’t mind playing out the 2015 season without a new agreement in place, and the Bengals seem content to wait as well. That leaves Jones as the receiver most likely to sign a lucrative new deal in the coming weeks, or even the coming days, with training camp just around the corner.
At the moment, Jones is set to play the 2015 season on his fully guaranteed fifth-year option, worth $10.176MM, which puts him in a slightly different situation that Bryant’s or Thomas’. Atlanta will have the option of franchising the team’s No. 1 receiver in 2016, meaning Jones’ case could eventually play out like the ones resolved last week.
However, as we saw with Bryant’s situation in particular, a prolonged negotiation can often result in some unpleasantness along the way. The Cowboys wide receiver was the subject of reports suggesting he was having money problems, and whispers about off-field concerns and a Walmart video tape that may or may not exist followed him for most of the offseason. If the Falcons could get Jones’ contract situation squared away now, it could save both sides some unnecessary stress down the read, considering the team has made it clear the wideout is considered a key long-term piece in Atlanta.
Before we automatically place Jones in the same five-year, $70MM range as Bryant and Thomas, it’s worth considering how he stacks up to the franchised duo. On paper, his 2014 numbers certainly compare favorably — in 15 games, Jones racked up 1,593 yards and six touchdowns on 104 receptions, setting a new Falcons team record for most receiving yards in a season. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) also ranked him right behind Bryant and Thomas, despite the fact that he played fewer snaps than either player.
Jones’ ability to explode for huge yardage totals was on full display in Green Bay last December, when the 26-year-old went off for 259 yards on just 11 receptions in Week 14. His 106.2 receiving yards per game last season also topped the career-best marks for both Bryant and Thomas, and his eye-popping 116.0 mark during five 2013 games suggests last year’s mark wasn’t an aberration.
Still, there are some areas in which Jones doesn’t match up to the league’s other top receivers quite so favorably. He only appeared in five games in 2013 because of a fractured foot that brought his season to a premature end, and that’s not the only time he has dealt with injuries. The former sixth overall pick missed a game in 2014 after suffering a hip pointer, and has had multiple hamstring-related issues since entering the league in 2011.
Not including that 2013 season that was cut short after five weeks, Jones has only missed four games in his three other years in the NFL, so it’s not as if he’s a major question mark to be on the field going forward. But considering neither Bryant nor Thomas has missed a game over the last three seasons, it’s a factor the Falcons must take into account when they consider a long-term investment in their own No. 1 receiver.
Another factor worth considering for the Falcons is who Matt Ryan will be throwing the ball to for the next several years, if not Jones. The former first overall pick no longer has future Hall-of-Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez to rely on, and longtime slot man Harry Douglas is now in Tennessee. Roddy White is still in the mix, but White will turn 34 in November, and is no longer a perennial lock for 1,000 yards.
A quarterback like Ryan will post solid numbers no matter who’s on the receiving end of his passes, but it’s worth noting that in 2013, when Jones missed 11 games, the Falcons signal-caller threw a career-high 17 interceptions and averaged a career-low 10.3 yards per completion en route to a 4-12 season. It would be a significant blow to the Atlanta offense to be without Jones at any point over the next few years.
So what will it take for the Falcons and Jones to get a deal done before the 2015 season gets underway? In examining the situation for CBSSports.com, former agent Joel Corry suggests that an extension in the neighborhood of $15.25MM per year makes sense, based on the likely franchise-tag figures for 2016 and 2017. If we assume a five-year extension at that rate, tacked onto Jones’ $10.176MM salary for 2015, it would work out to a total of six years and $86.426MM, an average of about $14.4MM annually.
Depending on the guaranteed money attached to such an offer, that looks like a pretty good deal for Jones, who could edge out Bryant and Thomas to become the league’s second-highest-paid receiver in that scenario. However, I’m not sure whether the Falcons would sign on the dotted line quite yet, considering they still have the franchise tag at their disposal, and they may want to see Jones stay healthy for one more year.
Still, if the Falcons were to make such an offer, it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve gone out on a limb for Jones — Atlanta parted with two first-round picks, a second-rounder, and two fourth-rounders to move up for the former Alabama wideout in 2011, and it’s hard to imagine the team thinks any less of him now. After all, his career mark of 88.4 receiving yards per game places him atop the all-time NFL leaderboard, slightly ahead of Johnson, the league’s current highest-paid receiver. I don’t expect the Falcons to make an offer in the Megatron neighborhood to Jones, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club soon make him the league’s second-highest-paid wideout.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers Extend Mike Tomlin Through 2018
12:21pm: With the extension, Tomlin will now be among the top five highest-paid coaches in the NFL and all sports, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
8:57am: The Steelers have extended head coach Mike Tomlin‘s contract by two years, locking him up through the 2018 season, the team announced today in a press release. Tomlin’s deal had previously been set to expire after the 2016 season, so the new pact gives him a little more long-term security in Pittsburgh.
“I very much appreciate this contract extension, but my sole focus has been and will continue to be meeting the challenges that lie ahead for the 2015 season,” Tomlin said in a statement. “These past nine years in Pittsburgh have been a wonderful experience for my family, and I look forward to pursuing what is the Steelers’ goal every year – bringing another Super Bowl championship to the City of Pittsburgh.”
Tomlin’s extension continues the Steelers’ tradition of coaching stability — the franchise has only had three head coaches since Chuck Noll assumed the role in 1969, with Bill Cowher taking over for Noll in 1992, and Tomlin replacing Cowher in 2007.
Since becoming the head coach in Pittsburgh, Tomlin has an 82-46 record in the regular season, and has led the team to five playoff berths. The Steelers were Super Bowl champions in the 2008 season, and fell just short two years later, losing Super Bowl XLV to the Packers.
In an era that features plenty of turnover in the coaching ranks, Tomlin is the sixth-longest-tenured head coach in the NFL. Only Bill Belichick (Patriots), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Tom Coughlin (Giants), Mike McCarthy (Packers), and Sean Payton (Saints) have been with their respective teams longer than Tomlin has been with the Steelers.
Patriots To Sign Tarell Brown
The Patriots have reached an agreement with free agent cornerback Tarell Brown, according to Dianna Marie Russini and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, but I’d imagine it’s a modest, short-term contract that will give Brown a chance to compete for a regular-season roster spot.
Brown, 30, made multiple visits to the Patriots earlier in the offseason, first in March and again in May. The veteran cornerback, who spent most of his career with the 49ers before joining the Raiders last year, didn’t receive much interest from Oakland when he became eligible for free agency this winter, as the Raiders opted to go younger at the cornerback spot.
Having started 14 games for the Raiders in 2014, Brown logged exactly 1,000 snaps for the team before he was shut down with a foot injury. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Brown’s -4.6 grade placed him 75th out of 108 qualified cornerbacks, though he only allowed one passing touchdown on 67 passes thrown into his coverage.
For the Patriots, Brown will provide some much-needed veteran cornerback depth for training camp and the preseason, and perhaps the regular season as well. While Darrelle Revis‘ departure for the division-rival Jets was the most notable shake-up in the Patriots’ secondary, and will have the biggest impact on the group for 2015, Brandon Browner also departed in free agency, signing with the Saints, and the club cut Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard as well.
NFC Notes: Carlson, Okung, Thomas
Former Cardinals tight end John Carlson unexpectedly announced his retirement in May, leaving Arizona searching for a veteran replacement this summer. As Carlson tells Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune, he considered the health risks inherent in continuing to play after suffering multiple concussions when he made his decision. But with three kids under the age of five at home, he admits that his priorities were shifting as well.
“It was clear already that I didn’t have that same passion and love for the game that I had in the past,” Carlson said, adding that committing so much time to the NFL meant he wasn’t “nearly the husband and father” he wanted to be.
While Carlson adjusts to retirement, the Cardinals are eyeing possible free agent alternatives like Jermaine Gresham and Chris Cooley. Here’s more from across the NFC:
- Seahawks tackle Russell Okung, who has parted ways with his agent, is consulting with agents and may hire one to assist with his contract, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Okung would pay that consultant a flat fee rather than a percentage of his new deal.
- Meanwhile, Okung tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he’s “optimistic” about his future with the Seahawks and will be speaking with the team soon about his situation. I’d speculated earlier this week that Okung may prefer to wait until after the season to discuss his contract, so as not to interfere with his on-field performance this summer.
- With Okung planning to negotiate his own deal, and Giants running back Rashad Jennings encouraging other players to do the same (as Nick Powell of NJ.com writes), Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk lists several things an agent can do to help a player and earn his commission, outside of simply negotiating a contract. It’s worth approaching any praise of agents from reporters with a critical eye – since agents are often the sources of insider information for those reporters – but Florio’s breakdown is a good one.
- Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, recovering from shoulder surgery, acknowledges to Ed Werder of ESPN.com that he’s not sure if he’ll be ready to go when the regular season gets underway.
- With their division rivals making roster upgrades this offseason, Chip Kelly and the Eagles decided Philadelphia’s upside wasn’t quite high enough, and the team couldn’t afford to stand pat, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News in a look at the NFC East.
Latest On Tom Brady’s Appeal
A month ago today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell served as the arbitrator for Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing, at which point the Patriots quarterback and the NFLPA made a case for why Brady’s four-game suspension should be rescinded. With no official timeline in place for a decision, it’s no surprise that Goodell has yet to make an announcement — it took arbitrator Harold Henderson more than six weeks to announce a ruling on Greg Hardy‘s appeal.
While we wait to see if Brady’s penalty is upheld, reduced, or wiped away entirely, let’s round up the latest updates on the case….
- Settlement discussions for Brady have occurred between the NFL and the Players Association, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, no progress has been made between the two sides, and it would be unexpected if they found common ground and worked something out.
- According to that same source, Goodell is being pushed by “a small handful of influential owners” to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension, writes Florio.
- However, there’s some concern that, if Goodell were to stand firm on Brady’s ban, the penalty would eventually be overturned by a federal court. According to Florio, attorney Gregg Levy, who participated in the appeal as a legal consultant to Goodell, has been warning the commissioner that it will be hard to make a suspension stick in court.
- A source tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com that the NFLPA made a settlement offer to the league last week, but that proposal was met with “silence” by the NFL. According to Graziano, it is believed that Brady will continue to fight any suspension, even a reduced penalty, but would consider accepting a fine.
- Yesterday, NFLA president Eric Winston indicated that the union is prepared to take the next step on behalf of Brady if he’s not exonerated.
Details On Adrian Peterson’s Reworked Deal
THURSDAY, 8:19am: Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post has slightly different figures on Peterson’s new contract in his breakdown of the deal, writing that the base value is $42MM rather than $44MM. The discrepancy appears to be related to the amount of the 2016 roster bonus, which Wilson says is just $3MM instead of $5MM.
According to Wilson, the escalators in the pact are dependent on Peterson’s rushing yards and the Vikings’ playoff success.
TUESDAY, 3:41pm: After providing some initial figures on Adrian Peterson‘s restructured deal with the Vikings earlier today, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk now has the full details of Peterson’s contract, reporting the following information:
- In 2015, Peterson will earn a $2MM roster bonus next Tuesday (July 28), plus a fully guaranteed $11MM base salary.
- In 2016, Peterson has a $7.75MM base salary. $7MM is guaranteed for injury only for now, but that salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2016 league year. Peterson would also earn a $5MM roster bonus on that day, if he remains under contract.
- In 2017, Peterson has a non-guaranteed $11.75MM base salary, plus a $6MM roster bonus due on the third day of the league year.
- In 2016 and 2017, Peterson can earn $250K workout bonuses, bringing the total three-year value of the contract to $44MM, slightly down from the $44.75MM base value of his old deal.
- There are also various escalators and de-escalators in 2015 and 2016 that could increase or reduce Peterson’s earning by about $2MM, per Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
In other words, the deal doesn’t necessarily ensure that Peterson will be in Minnesota beyond 2015, but it makes it likely, barring a significant dip in production this year. If the Vikings decide to move on from Peterson in 2016 or 2017, they’d have to make that decision very early in the league year, allowing the running back to hit free agency when plenty of teams would still have cap room available.
East Notes: Brady, Cooley, Washington
As of Thursday, a month will have passed since Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing, and with no timeline in place for a ruling from Roger Goodell, it’s not clear if that announcement will come this week, next week, or sometime after that. According to NFLPA president Eric Winston, it’s “not even worth trying to guess” when Goodell will make his decision. However, Winston hopes Brady is exonerated, adding that if he’s not, the union is prepared to take the next step (Twitter links via Rob Guerrera of NBC Sports Radio).
Ultimately, the decision on whether or not to continue fighting the NFL if Brady’s suspension isn’t wiped away will be up to the Patriots quarterback himself, but Winston’s comments confirm that the NFLPA is ready to take the league to court on Brady’s behalf, if necessary.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:
- Chris Cooley spent his first nine NFL seasons in Washington, but the team hasn’t had any discussions about bringing back the tight end, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The Cardinals are said to be kicking the tires on Cooley, who is contemplating a comeback.
- Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com debate whether Brandon Scherff was the right pick for Washington at No. 5 overall in this year’s draft. El-Bashir writes that Scherff fits all of Scot McCloughan’s prerequisites and even though the lineman could have been plucked later in the draft, he doesn’t really find fault with Washington jumping at the chance to get him at No. 5. On the other hand, Tandler isn’t wild about Scherff’s value that high in the draft.
- After Mike Sando of ESPN.com grouped the NFL’s starting quarterbacks into tiers based on talent, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap examines how each QB’s salary matches up to his placement on Sando’s list. Unsurprisingly, Brady is the major outlier, with Sando placing the Patriots quarterback near the top of his list, despite the fact that he has a fourth-tier salary.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (audio link), agent Tom Condon discussed one client who just signed an extension (Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant) and another client who looks like a good bet to sign a new deal in the near future (Giants quarterback Eli Manning).
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/15
With training camps around the corner, NFL teams are beginning to address their 90-man rosters again, making minor signings, cuts, and other transactions as the season inches closer. Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
- As their rookies reported to training camp today, the Browns added a player to their 90-man roster, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed offensive lineman Joe Madsen. Madsen, who played his college ball at West Virginia, has spent time with the Steelers, Packers, and the AFL’s Los Angeles KISS since going undrafted in 2013.
- The Seahawks have waived running back Demitrius Bronson off their injured reserve list, removing him from their roster entirely, according to the league’s transactions log. Bronson, who spent most of the 2014 campaign on Seattle’s practice squad, signed a futures contract when the season ended, but was removed from the 90-man roster in May due to a hamstring injury.