Falcons Sign Vic Beasley
After assuring Falcons fans and owner Arthur Blank last night that a deal would come soon, general manager Thomas Dimitroff has locked up first-round pass rusher Vic Beasley to his rookie contract, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
With Beasley now under contract, the Falcons have secured all seven of their 2015 draft picks, becoming the latest team to do so. Fewer than 20 draftees around the NFL have yet to sign their rookie deals.
In Beasley’s case, his new four-year deal will be worth $14.495MM, according to Over The Cap’s data. That contract will also feature a signing bonus worth about $8.802MM and a fifth-year option for 2019, and will almost certainly be fully guaranteed, since the former Clemson edge defender was the eighth overall pick.
The Falcons have struggled to produce an effective pass rush over the last couple seasons, and the arrival of Beasley is expected to help improve that aspect of the defense. It will be interesting to see how new head coach Dan Quinn makes use of Beasley, who was considered one of the top edge rushers in this year’s draft.
Buccaneers Claim Tim Wright
Less than a year after trading him to the Patriots, the Buccaneers have re-acquired tight end Tim Wright, the team announced today in a press release. The Bucs have the No. 1 waiver priority in the NFL this offseason, and placed a claim on Wright after he was cut yesterday by New England.
Wright, 25, grabbed 54 balls for 571 yards and five touchdowns for the Bucs in his rookie season in 2013. However, after drafting Austin Seferian-Jenkins and signing Brandon Myers, the Bucs took advantage of their depth at tight end, sending Wright to the Pats in a deal for veteran guard Logan Mankins.
In New England, Wright didn’t come close to matching his 2013 totals, totaling just 26 receptions for 259 yards, though six of those catches went for TDs. His individual numbers were still more impressive than those compiled by Seferian-Jenkins and Myers in Tampa Bay — the duo combined for just 43 catches, 411 yards, and two touchdowns.
The claim on Wright is the second time this week that the Bucs have taken advantage of their top waiver priority. The club also added former Browns punter Spencer Lanning via waivers, and claimed veteran safety D.J. Swearinger a month ago.
Patriots Sign Matt Flynn
FRIDAY, 2:19pm: The Patriots have officially signed Flynn, the team announced today in a press release.
THURSDAY, 3:10pm: The Patriots have agreed to terms on a contract with quarterback Matt Flynn, reports Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Russini reported earlier today (Twitter link) that Flynn was working out for New England. Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe has the corresponding move, tweeting that the Pats are waiving QB Garrett Gilbert.
Russini notes (via Twitter) that she has been told by several sources that the signing has “nothing to do” with Tom Brady‘s situation, and that the Pats simply want to have a veteran quarterback in camp. Still, it makes sense that New England would want a veteran in the mix to start the regular season as well. The team is bullish on Jimmy Garoppolo, Brady’s backup, but if the four-game ban for the reigning Super Bowl MVP is upheld, having a No. 2 QB on the roster with more experience than Gilbert make sense.
Flynn, who turns 30 later this month, has spent most of his career with the Packers, parlaying a huge Week 17 game in 2011 into a three-year contract with the Seahawks in free agency. After never starting a game in Seattle, Flynn bounced around the league a little, joining the Bills and Raiders before returning to Green Bay.
Last season, Flynn backed up Aaron Rodgers once again, completing eight of 16 passes when he saw the field. The Packers carried both Flynn and Scott Tolzien on their roster in 2014, but after they re-signed Tolzien this past March, reports indicated that they weren’t interested in retaining Flynn as well.
Extra Points: Beasley, T. Johnson, Owens
At a season tickets holders’ Q&A on Thursday night, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff assured fans – and owner Arthur Blank – that first-round pick Vic Beasley will be locked up soon, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com details.
“He has not been signed yet, but it’s very close,” Dimitroff said. “And rest assured, Arthur, it’ll be done very quickly. And he’ll be very happy.”
Here are a few more Friday odds and ends from around the NFL:
- Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson has been found not guilty on all charges stemming from his arrest last year for disorderly conduct, agent Bardia Ghahremani tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links). Per Pelissero, Johnson plans to file a civil suit against the Minneapolis Police Department.
- In an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show (link via SI.com), former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens said he hasn’t officially retired, adding that he’d be “ready to go right now” if called upon. At age 41, Owens hasn’t appear in a regular season game since 2010, so I don’t expect we’ll see him draw interest from any teams.
- With the details of Corey Liuget‘s new contract with the Chargers now available, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap examines how the deal compares to Cameron Jordan‘s extension, and what it means for the 3-4 defensive end market.
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) believes that Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, A.J. Green will break the ceiling in the stagnant wide receiver market. They may all try to reach Calvin Johnson money though, and it remains to be seen whether they’ll do quite that well.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
WR Rumors: Welker, D. Thomas, J. Jones
Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and James Jones spent the 2014 season playing in the AFC West, but now all three receivers are free agents. Thomas, of course, isn’t on the unrestricted market like Welker and Jones, but he has yet to sign his one-year franchise tender, meaning he’s not yet officially under contract with the Broncos.
Here’s the latest on the trio of wideouts:
- A general manager tells Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that his team strongly considered signing Welker, but “there was great concern” about his history of concussions. As Freeman writes, teams familiar with Welker’s medical history say they think the ex-Bronco has sustained at least six concussions during his NFL career.
- Despite the concern about Welker’s head injuries, which will keep many suitors away, there are still teams interested in adding him. According to Freeman, the Patriots and Broncos aren’t interested in a reunion with Welker, but the Ravens and Dolphins could be good fits.
- Thomas, Welker’s old Denver teammate, has until July 15 to sign a long-term contract with the Broncos, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Thomas may not report to training camp if the two sides don’t strike a deal.
- While the Broncos consider Thomas’ asking price too high, some league executives have suggested to Rapoport that Thomas deserves a Calvin Johnson-esque deal, based on Thomas’ recent production and the salary cap increases over the last couple years. When Johnson inked his eight-year, $130MM extension in 2012, the cap was $120.6MM. Three years later, it’s up to $143.28MM.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) today, Jones identified the Jaguars as a potential fit for him. He also mentioned the Chiefs, Giants, and Seahawks, three teams that reportedly inquired on him when he became a free agent last month.
Brandon Spikes Facing Multiple Charges
Veteran linebacker Brandon Spikes is facing charges following the traffic incident that resulted in his release from the Patriots. Massachusetts State Police announced today that it has issued a citation charging Spikes with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, among other charges.
A car registered to Spikes was found abandoned on I-495 in Foxborough, Mass., early last Sunday morning. An OnStar representative told Massachusetts State Police that the driver reported hitting a deer, but no deer was found in the vicinity and the car had front-end damage.
A short time later, police responded to a hit-and-run report nearby. The occupants of the SUV, who said they were rear-ended by a car they didn’t see, were treated for minor injuries at an area hospital and were later released. Police determined that Spikes was speeding and driving negligently when he crashed his Maybach sedan into the SUV.
While leaving the scene of a personal injury crash calls for up to two years in jail, it’s unlikely Spikes will face severe penalties, given the minor nature of the injuries. Still, the case figures to negatively impact his chances of playing for an NFL team this season, since he could face discipline from the league as well. The Pats didn’t even wait for the charges against Spikes to be confirmed before announcing earlier this week that they were cutting the inside linebacker.
Details On Corey Liguet’s Extension
The full details of Corey Liuget‘s contract extension with the Chargers have surfaced, and the 25-year-old defensive lineman did very well for himself. When news of Liuget’s new deal first broke, I speculated that he would fall into the second tier of 3-4 defensive ends rather than joining players like J.J. Watt, Cameron Jordan, Calais Campbell, and Jurrell Casey in the first tier.
However, the Chargers’ agreement with Liuget indicates that the team is paying him not only for what he has done so far in his career, but for what the club believes he can do over the next several years. Liuget’s deal places him fourth among 3-4 defensive ends in annual salary, falling in just behind Jordan’s new contract, suggesting that San Diego thinks the former first-round pick is still on the rise.
Here are the details on Liguet’s extension, via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) and Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post:
- New money on five-year extension: $51.25MM ($10.25MM per year)
- Total money on six-year contract: $56.727MM ($9.455MM per year)
- Signing bonus: $7.5MM
- Total guaranteed money: $30.477MM
- Total fully guaranteed money: $18.977MM
- Annual base salaries:
- 2015: $1MM
- 2016: $3MM
- 2017: $8MM
- 2018: $8MM
- 2019: $7.5MM
- 2020: $8.25MM
- Annual salary cap numbers:
- 2015: $7.977MM
- 2016: $10MM
- 2017: $9.5MM
- 2018: $9.5MM
- 2019: $10.25MM
- 2020: $9.5MM
- Roster bonuses:
- 2015: $5.477MM (due today)
- 2016: $5MM (due third day of league year)
- 2019: $1.25MM (due third day of league year)
- 2020: $1.25MM (due third day of league year)
Negotiations Stalled Between Dotson, Bucs
9:18am: Dotson will end his holdout and report to the Bucs’ mandatory minicamp next week, according to Mark Cook of PewterReport.com. As I noted below, that should help restart contract talks between the two sides, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if a deal was agreed upon before training camp.
8:46am: A week ago, we learned that Buccaneers tackle Demar Dotson was seeking a new contract, and wasn’t in attendance at the team’s OTAs as he angled for that new deal. According to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Dotson’s absence from the Bucs’ voluntary program has created an impasse in negotiations.
Sources tell Cummings that the Buccaneers previously entered contract talks with Dotson’s camp, aiming to secure their longest-tenured player to an extension. Per Cummings’ sources, negotiations were nearly complete, but they stalled due to a team policy that prohibits the negotiation of contracts with players who are absent from workouts, whether those workouts are voluntary or mandatory.
Based on Cummings’ report, it sounds like the impasse between Dotson and the Bucs may be temporary. The club is holding its mandatory minicamp next week, and if the veteran right tackle reports at that time, it sounds like talks could resume, and an agreement could potentially come together quickly. For now though, as long as Dotson is away from the team, those discussions are at a standstill.
While the Buccaneers have struggled to find a reliable left tackle in recent years, they have received steady production on the right side from Dotson, who has started all but one game for the team since the start of the 2012 season. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dotson has recorded a positive grade in each of the last three seasons, and ranked 28th out of 84 qualified tackles in 2014. He’s set to earn a base salary of just $2.5MM in 2015.
North Notes: Vikings, Gipson, Guion
To say that things have been rocky between the Vikings and star running back Adrian Peterson this offseason would be a criminal understatement. Still, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf says that he holds no animosity towards Peterson.
“He’s always had a good heart,” Wilf said of the former MVP, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “He’s a great football player. We have great memories, and we’ll continue to have good memories with him. … He’s been great for the community, and that’s basically who he is, and when you know that’s the character of that person, you believe in him.”
Peterson, of course, is pushing for a reworked contract that gives him guaranteed cash for the remaining three seasons – or at least the first two years – of his deal.
Let’s check in on a few more items from out of the NFL’s North divisions….
- The Browns could rescind Tashaun Gipson‘s restricted free agent tender next Monday, but head coach Mike Pettine wouldn’t comment today on whether or not that’s in the team’s plans, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. If Cleveland does withdraw Gipson’s RFA offer, worth $2.356MM, the team could retain the safety’s rights by offering him a tender worth about $627K (110% of his 2014 salary).
- Pete Dougherty of the Press-Gazette feels that the Packers were right to re-sign Letroy Guion this offseason, but it’s now on the defensive tackle to stay away from marijuana. Guion was arrested with about two-thirds of a pound of pot, which could indicate a pretty serious problem. Guion, 27, had an effective first season with the Packers in 2014, starting all 16 games for the team and racking up 41 tackles to go along with 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
- Although the Ravens are saying all the right things about Arthur Brown publicly, it’s fair to wonder if this year is the linebacker’s last chance with the team, writes Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com. I’d be somewhat surprised if Baltimore gave up on Brown this summer, but he has certainly been underwhelming since joining the club as a second-round pick in 2013.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eagles Release Evan Mathis
An acrimonious relationship in Philadelphia has come to an end today, as the Eagles are releasing veteran guard Evan Mathis, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Since Mathis is a vested veteran, he’ll immediately hit the open market, and will be free to sign with any team.
The move comes as something of a surprise since Mathis is considered one of the league’s best guards. In 2014, despite playing just 608 offensive snaps, the former third-round pick ranked as the league’s best left guard, performing particularly well as a run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required). PFF had previously graded Mathis as the NFL’s No. 1 guard in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Still, the relationship between head coach Chip Kelly and Mathis never seemed great — the Pro Bowl lineman had been the subject of trade rumors for the last couple years, and had yet to report to Philadelphia’s offseason program in 2015. A combination of his age (33) and his salary ($5.5MM in 2015) may have scared off potential suitors, though Mathis did receive a little trade interest prior to the draft this year. While the Bills, Vikings, Dolphins, Rams, and Patriots are among the teams that have been linked to Mathis so far this offseason, I expect that list to grow significantly now that he’ll be a free agent.
For Kelly and the Eagles, Mathis becomes the latest in a growing list of Pro Bowl offensive players released or traded by the team in the last couple years, following DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy out the door. Heading into the 2015 campaign, it appears that Allen Barbre will get the first opportunity to replace Mathis as the Eagles’ starting left guard.
Mathis will count for $1MM against the Eagles’ cap in 2015, as the team reduces his cap hit by $5.5MM. Because he was a post-June 1 cut, Philadelphia will also carry $1MM in dead money for Mathis in 2016.