Chiefs, Houston To Talk Contract This Weekend
The Chiefs and Justin Houston will discuss a possible extension for the standout pass rusher this weekend, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who indicates agent Joel Segal will talk to Kansas City GM John Dorsey.
Like Jason Pierre-Paul, Dez Bryant, and Demaryius Thomas, Houston received the franchise tag earlier this offseason but has yet to sign that one-year, $13.195MM tender, preferring for the time being to pursue a long-term contract. It’s no surprise that Houston and the Chiefs are expected to ramp up negotiations in the coming days, since the deadline for franchised players to strike a multiyear deal is next Wednesday.
According to Cole, the Chiefs have an offer on the table for Houston that features “generational wealth”-type money. It’s not clear exactly what that means in terms of per-year salary or overall guarantees, but Cole suggests the NFL’s reigning sack leader is seeking a deal in the neighborhood of J.J. Watt‘s six-year, $100MM pact. That’s no surprise either — we heard way back in November, when Houston was on his way to finishing with 22 sacks, that he and Segal may look to top Watt’s deal.
If the Chiefs don’t increase their offer into the Watt range, the two sides likely won’t get anything done within the next five days, leaving Houston to play the 2015 season on his one-year franchise tender. However, it’s not unreasonable to think Kansas City’s offer could get close to that six-year, $100MM figure.
Although Watt received more than $50MM in total guarantees, only about $20MM of that amount was fully guaranteed up front. And while a report in May indicated the Chiefs wouldn’t want to pay Houston more annually than they’ve committed to quarterback Alex Smith ($17MM), a six-year, $100MM agreement would come in just below that.
Houston isn’t quite the one-man wrecking ball that Watt is up front, but Watt’s deal is viewed as a relative bargain for the Texans, since they got it done well before he would’ve reached free agency. Additionally, you could make the case that Houston is the league’s second-best pass rusher, considering he has racked up 43 sacks over the last three seasons, earning Pro Bowl nods in each of those years.
Based on that production, Houston is probably worthy of an extension that matches or exceeds the contracts for top pass rushers like Mario Williams and Robert Quinn, who are in the $14-16MM per year range. We’ll see if the Chiefs are willing to go that high, or if they’re more inclined to go year to year on their star outside linebacker.
Chiefs Sign Kevin Short
11:17am: The Chiefs have officially confirmed the signing of Short, announcing (via Twitter) that they’ve waived cornerback Kenneth Penny to make room for the new addition. Penny, a UNLV alum, had just signed with Kansas City last month.
8:49am: Former Kansas cornerback Kevin Short wasn’t selected in yesterday’s supplemental draft, but it didn’t take him long to find an NFL home. According to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, Short has joined the Chiefs, signing a standard three-year contract for an undrafted rookie.
Short, a 6’2″ 190-pound defensive back, never actually played for the Jayhawks, having been declared academically ineligible last season. He left school in September, citing personal reasons, before entering this week’s supplemental draft.
While Short was the first of the undrafted players from this week’s group to land a deal, I expect it includes little to no guaranteed money, so he won’t be assured of a roster spot for the 2015 season. If he impresses in training camp, Short could get a longer look and perhaps earn a spot on Kansas City’s practice squad.
CAA To Acquire Todd France’s Agency
Two major player agencies will be consolidated in the near future, according to Liz Mullin of SportsBusiness Journal, who hears from sources that CAA Sports is finalizing a deal to acquire Five Star Athlete Management. Todd France, who runs the Five Star agency, has been telling player clients and others in the industry that he expects to become a part of CAA Sports as early as August, reports Mullin.
Five Star Athlete Management, which was formerly run by current Bills owner Terry Pegula, represents about 50 NFL players. Broncos wideout Demaryius Thomas, Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib, Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara, and Jets receiver Eric Decker are among the firm’s most notable NFL clients, with Thomas and Dareus among those who could get lucrative new contracts this summer.
France, who initially sold his agency to Pegula in 2011 before re-acquiring it after Pegula bought the Bills, currently owns 100% of Five Star, an Atlanta-based firm. I expect France will continue to represent most or all of his current roster of players after the deal with CAA is completed, with the power of a larger agency behind him.
JPP Won’t Sign Franchise Tender Until Healthy
In the wake of Jason Pierre-Paul‘s fireworks accident, the Giants had been expected to place their standout defensive end on the non-football injury list until he gets healthy. However, the team can’t make that move until JPP is under contract, and that isn’t the case for now. According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Pierre-Paul doesn’t intend to sign his franchise tender until he’s confident that he can pass a physical, which would prevent the team from placing him on the NFI list.
The move isn’t a surprising one, since it gives Pierre-Paul and his camp some control over the process, rather than handing the reins over to the Giants. In his examination of the situation yesterday, Jason Fitzgerald of The Sporting News observed that JPP would likely hold out until the last possible moment. After all, if he were to sign his franchise tender tomorrow, the Giants would be able to place him on the non-football injury list for the start of the season, ensuring he’d miss at least six weeks and wouldn’t be paid during his absence.
On the other hand, if he waits until after the regular season gets underway to sign the tender, JPP will miss out on game checks, but he’d have the opportunity to return prior to that six-week mark. Franchised players have until after Week 10 to sign their tenders — if they haven’t signed by then, they’re not eligible to play in the NFL for that season.
Of course, this game of tug-of-war between Pierre-Paul and the Giants depends significantly on what the 26-year-old’s recovery timetable will look like. If it turns out he’ll have a chance to be ready by the time the regular season begins, New York may not even need or want to place him on the NFI list. On the other hand, if his recovery extends well into the regular season, the Giants could ultimately decide to rescind the franchise tender, recognizing that JPP won’t contribute much this year and likely won’t be re-signed.
In other words, we’re still in wait-and-see mode when it comes to Pierre-Paul’s health and his contract. However, both sides have certain cards they can play to gain leverage in the situation. As Fitzgerald noted in his piece linked above, a prolonged holdout could fracture the relationship between JPP and the Giants, but for now it seems like the best possible approach for the defensive end.
Largest 2015 Cap Hits By Team: NFC West
Before NFL training camps get underway later this month, we’ll be taking a closer look at the top 2015 cap hits for teams around the league. We began our series in June by focusing on the NFC East and AFC East divisions, before looking at the NFC North, AFC North, and NFC South last week. Earlier this week, we recapped the AFC South, and today we’ll head back to the NFC to examine the West division.
Listed below are the top 10 cap hits for the coming season for each of the four NFC West franchises, accompanied by some observations on the spending habits of those clubs. Let’s dive in….
Arizona Cardinals:
- Patrick Peterson, CB: $14,791,491
- Calais Campbell, DL: $14,750,000
- Larry Fitzgerald, WR: $10,850,000
- Jared Veldheer, LT: $8,500,000
- Carson Palmer, QB: $7,375,000
- Mike Iupati, G: $6,700,000
- Daryl Washington, LB: $6,500,000
- Jerraud Powers, CB: $5,350,000
- Jonathan Cooper, G: $3,967,909
- Drew Stanton, QB: $3,866,668
Total: $82,651,068
Nearly every team in the NFL has one quarterback amongst their top 10 cap hits, but not many have two. The fact that Stanton sneaks into the top 10 shows how much the Cardinals value Palmer’s backup, who held his own when forced into action last season. Of course, by season’s end, neither Palmer nor Stanton was healthy.
While Arizona hopes to get more bang from its buck from its top quarterback in 2015, the team is also waiting to see if it will get anything from Washington, who has yet to be reinstated after being suspended for the entire 2014 season. At $6.5MM, Washington’s cap number is substantial, but it’s not clear yet whether he remains in the club’s plans.
One longtime Cardinal had his contract restructured this season to stay with the team — had he not reworked his deal, Fitzgerald would’ve easily had the highest cap charge on this list, since he initially counted for more than $23MM against the cap. The new figure, less than half that, is much more manageable for Arizona.
San Francisco 49ers:
- Colin Kaepernick, QB: $15,265,753
- NaVorro Bowman, LB: $7,654,000
- Joe Staley, LT: $7,600,000
- Ahmad Brooks, OLB: $7,055,000
- Vernon Davis, TE: $6,967,920
- Anquan Boldin, WR: $6,909,000
- Aldon Smith, OLB: $4,854,875
- Antoine Bethea, S: $4,750,000
- Ray McDonald, DT: $4,609,971 (dead money)
- Phil Dawson, K: $4,134,000
Total: $69,800,519
The one silver lining of all the unexpected retirements that dominated the Niners’ offseason? Many of those players were very well-compensated, so the team’s books look a little cleaner without significant cap charges for veterans like Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, and Anthony Davis.
While those players were removed from San Francisco’s cap, Kaepernick shot up to the top of the list, with his cap hit jumping from $3.767MM in 2014 to $15.266MM this year. The 49ers quarterback has a contract that’s considered very team-friendly, but as long as he remains on the roster, those charges will continue to increase — he’ll be up over $19MM by 2017.
Meanwhile, most teams around the NFL didn’t touch the contracts for players with fifth-year options in 2015, but the Niners took advantage of the fact that those fifth-year salaries weren’t guaranteed by reworking Aldon Smith’s deal. Smith can still earn up to the $9.754MM he was initially set to make, but to maximize his payday he’ll have to stay on the field, earning roster bonuses and incentives.
Seattle Seahawks:
- Richard Sherman, CB: $12,200,000
- Marshawn Lynch, RB: $8,500,000
- Cliff Avril, DE: $8,000,000
- Michael Bennett, DE: $8,000,000
- Jimmy Graham, TE: $8,000,000
- Earl Thomas, S: $7,400,000
- Russell Okung, LT: $7,280,000
- Percy Harvin, WR: $7,200,000 (dead money)
- Brandon Mebane, DT: $5,700,000
- Kam Chancellor, S: $5,650,000
Total: $77,930,000
A look at the names on the Seahawks’ top-10 list shows why the franchise has been one of the league’s most successful in recent years. Many of the players here are Pro Bowlers, while virtually all of them are above-average contributors at their respective positions. And, with a cap hit under $1.7MM, the team’s two-time Pro Bowl quarterback – Russell Wilson – doesn’t even come close to making the cut here.
Even the Seahawks make mistakes though, as the presence of Harvin on this list suggests. The extension he got from the club after being acquired from Minnesota was one of GM John Schneider‘s few missteps, and even after sending the injury-plagued wideout to the Jets, the Seahawks still have to stomach his leftover cap charges for one more year.
As well as the Seahawks have managed their cap, it’s also easy to see why a huge deal for Wilson would upset the balance. With so many players in the $7-8MM range, adding a cap number in the neighborhood of $20MM would make the club’s cap very top-heavy and compromise its flexibility, which makes those extension negotiations even more fascinating.
St. Louis Rams:
- Robert Quinn, DE: $16,744,110
- Chris Long, DE: $12,500,000
- Jared Cook, TE: $8,300,441
- Rodger Saffold, G: $8,250,000
- Lance Kendricks, TE: $5,600,000
- Greg Robinson, LT: $4,837,295
- Nick Fairley, DT: $4,750,000
- William Hayes, DE: $4,480,000
- Kenny Britt, WR: $4,300,000
- James Laurinaitis, LB: $4,275,000
Total: $74,036,846
When discussing the Cardinals above, I noted that Arizona is the rare team with two quarterbacks amongst its top 10 cap hits. The Rams achieve a feat that may be even more unusual, with a pair of tight ends in their top five cap charges. Kendricks’ deal is frontloaded, but it’s still an odd usage of cap room — the guaranteed money on Cook’s deal runs out this year, so I wonder if 2015 will be his last season in St. Louis.
Elsewhere, the Rams’ dedication to their defensive line is obvious here. Besides Quinn and Long at the top, Fairley and Hayes also earn spots on this list, and it’s only a matter of time until Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald earns a massive deal of his own — of course, by that point, Long, Fairley, and Hayes may no longer be in the picture.
The other name here that jumps out at me is Saffold. When the Rams signed him to a lucrative five-year contract last year, I expected him to be used at tackle, but he’s settled in at left guard instead. An $8.25MM cap charge is extravagant for a guard, especially one like Saffold, who probably won’t be earning a Pro Bowl spot anytime soon. But since St. Louis has opted not to spend heavily elsewhere on the line, turning to young, inexpensive players instead, it’s a hit the team can afford.
Information from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.
Jason Pierre-Paul Updates: Thursday
After initial reports suggested that Jason Pierre-Paul‘s injury wasn’t serious, word broke last night that the standout pass rusher was having his right index finger amputated. The shocking development not only complicates JPP’s expected recovery and his contract situation, but has also resulted in speculation about how confidential medical information was leaked – possibly violating HIPAA laws – to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who then published that info on Twitter.
Here are Thursday’s updates on JPP’s situation:
- It’s not clear why Pierre-Paul’s camp has kept the Giants in the dark about his health status, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Vacchiano hears from a team source that the club never discussed the possibility of withdrawing JPP’s franchise tag, and simply wanted to assist with his recovery. “We really don’t understand why they won’t let us help him,” one club source said. “What are they trying to do?”
- Referring to Pierre-Paul’s decision to have his finger amputated, a person close to the defensive end tells Jordan Raanan of NJ.com that “it has nothing to do against the Giants.” As that source points out, JPP isn’t under contract with the team at this point, since he hasn’t signed his franchise tender. Still, it appears likely that the 26-year-old will rejoin the Giants at some point, and Raanan wonder how the relationship between the player and team will be affected going forward.
- In a separate piece at NJ.com, Raanan passes along word that Jackson Memorial Hospital has begun an “aggressive” investigation into the release of Pierre-Paul’s medical chart. “If we confirm Jackson employees or physicians violated a patient’s legal right to privacy, they will be held accountable, up to and including possible termination,” said Carlos A. Migoya, president and CEO of Jackson Health System. “We do not tolerate violations of this kind.”
- As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) points out, the Giants will want Pierre-Paul to attend the team’s training camp to monitor his recovery progress, whereas JPP likely won’t want to sign his tender and report to camp until he’s fully healthy. According to Cole, if New York wants to get its top pass rusher to camp, the club may have to agree not to place him on the non-football injury list.
Ravens, Sam Koch Agree To Extension
The Ravens and punter Sam Koch have reached a verbal agreement on a five-year contract extension, the team announced today (via Twitter). Prior to agreeing to new deal with the team, Koch had been set to become a free agent after the 2015 season.
According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, Koch’s new five-year extension is worth $18.75MM, including a $4MM signing bonus, $7.3MM in guarantees, and $16.25MM in new money. That overall figure includes the 32-year-old’s $2.5MM base salary for 2015, so it looks like the deal will be worth $18.75MM over six total years, keeping the veteran punter under team control through the 2020 season.
Koch, a sixth-round pick out of Nebraska back in 2006, has been the Ravens’ regular punter since joining the team, with over 700 regular season attempts for the franchise. He set a career high in 2014 by averaging 47.4 yards per attempt, and his 42.9 net yards average tied for the NFL lead.
Under his old deal, Koch had been in line for a $3.1MM cap charge in 2015 — his $2.5MM base salary, along with a $600K portion of his prorated signing bonus. The new deal will add $800K in prorated bonus money, but I’d expect the team to reduce the punter’s base salary for the year, perhaps slightly lowering his cap hit.
Rams Pick Isaiah Battle, Lose ’16 Fifth-Rounder
1:13pm: The NFL has confirmed that Battle was the only player selected in the supplemental draft, meaning the other six eligible players are now free agents (Twitter link).
12:56pm: As expected, former Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle has come off the board during today’s supplemental draft. According to the NFL (Twitter link), the Rams used their fifth-round pick to snag Battle after no players were drafted in the first four rounds. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the pick St. Louis used on Battle was No. 8 in the fifth round.
By using a fifth-round supplemental pick on Battle, the Rams will give up their 2016 fifth-round pick. The team also makes the young lineman the first player selected in a supplemental draft since the Browns used a second-round pick on wide receiver Josh Gordon back in 2012.
Battle, who had been penciled in as Clemson’s starting left tackle for the coming season, decided to enter the supplemental draft instead, citing “family” reasons, including a child due this summer. Earlier in the year, Mike Huguenin of NFL.com had identified Battle as a candidate to play in next year’s Senior Bowl, writing that the Clemson lineman “remains somewhat raw, [but] is a good athlete who plays with some nastiness.”
Of the seven prospects eligible for the supplemental draft, Battle was considered the one most likely to be picked, with some pundits suggesting that a team could go as high as a third-rounder for the lineman. However, teams were reportedly wary of Battle due to possible off-the-field concerns, so he ultimately cost the Rams only a fifth-rounder.
The offensive line was viewed as one area the Rams figured to address this offseason, and while they were perhaps not as active on the free agent market as expected, the club has added several young players to its group up front. Battle represents the fifth offensive lineman St. Louis has picked in a draft this year — the Rams were the only one team in the NFL to add as many as four offensive lineman during back in May, selecting one in the second round (Rob Havenstein), third round (Jamon Brown), fourth round (Andrew Donnal), and sixth round (Cody Wichmann).
Last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Greg Robinson, projects as the Rams’ long-term left tackle, but Battle figures to provide depth on both the left and right sides, and could challenge the team’s other young players, including Havenstein, for playing time at the right tackle spot.
Bengals Notes: Sawyer, Green, Postseason
The Bengals are mourning the passing of John Sawyer, who died at the age of 90, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. Sawyer, a former team president and part owner of the Bengals, was considered one of the franchise’s pioneers, as owner Mike Brown said today.
“The team wouldn’t have come into existence were it not for his efforts,” Brown said of Sawyer. “He was our original president and our primary owner for many years. … We’ve not only lost a business partner. We’ve lost a very dear friend.”
As the Bengals mourn the passing of Sawyer, let’s check in on a few items out of Cincinnati….
- As contract rumors heat up for wide receivers like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, Bengals wideout A.J. Green isn’t expecting to sign an extension this offseason, writes Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. “I don’t get into all the ‘I need a contract’ stuff,'” Green said. “I’m not here for money. I’m not broke. So I’m fine. I can wait until the end of the year to get a contract, but I know that time is coming.” As Harvey notes, even if Green and the Bengals don’t reach a long-term contract agreement after the season, the team could use its franchise tag on the star receiver, who is playing the 2015 season on his fifth-year option.
- Green added that while he’s keeping an eye on Bryant and Thomas, their situations won’t necessarily have a significant impact on his own: “It doesn’t say anything about me. They’re three different teams. Three different people. You don’t know what their situation is. All I can do is control what I can do, and that’s play football. Everything after that takes care of itself.”
- In a separate piece for ESPN.com, Harvey makes a case for why the Bengals could snap their postseason losing streak this season.
- In yesterday’s Community Tailgate discussion, we asked whether the Bengals or one of their division rivals would win the AFC North in 2015.
2015 Supplemental Draft Taking Place Today
The NFL’s 2015 supplemental draft is scheduled to take place today at 12:00pm central time, with 10 minutes allotted for each round. As such, we should know later this afternoon whether any of this year’s eligible players have been selected.
The supplemental draft allows clubs to select players who for some reason were unable to enter the standard draft; academic trouble or disciplinary issues are often – but not always – key factors. If a team selects a player in the supplementary draft, it will lose its corresponding pick in the following year’s standard draft. For example, if a club were to select a player in the sixth round of the supplemental, that club would lose its 2016 sixth-rounder as a result.
Most players who enter the supplemental draft ultimately go undrafted, allowing them to become free agents and sign with any team. The last two players to be picked were Terrelle Pryor (third round, 2011) by the Raiders and Josh Gordon (second round, 2012) by the Browns.
This year, seven players have entered the supplemental draft, and could be picked this afternoon. They are as follows:
- Isaiah Battle, T (Clemson)
- Darrius Caldwell, DE (West Georgia)
- Eric Eiland, DE (Houston)
- Sean McQuillan, TE (UConn)
- Kevin Short, DB (Kansas)
- Dalvon Stuckey, DT (West Georgia)
- Adrian Wilkins, WR/KR (North Carolina Central)
Of those seven players, Battle is by far the player most likely to be selected, with pundits suggesting that he could go anywhere between the third and seventh rounds. Battle, who had been penciled in as Clemson’s starting left tackle for the coming season, remains raw, and teams are wary of some off-field red flags, but he has the most upside of any player in this year’s supplemental class.
McQuillan has drawn some recent interest, with the Raiders, Dolphins, and Lions among the teams to attend a recent workout for the tight end. Fifteen teams were also on hand to watch the pair of West Georgia defensive linemen work out last week. It seems unlikely that an NFL team will use a draft pick on any of these players, but they might be scooped up as free agents.
While last year’s records contribute significantly to the selection order in the supplemental draft, the order today won’t necessarily be quite the same as it was in the 2015 draft. The order will be determined later today in a lottery-style process which gives 2014’s worst teams the opportunity to land the top picks, while playoff teams are further down, as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report details in a pair of tweets.