Bengals Sign Cedric Ogbuehi
The Bengals have finished signing their 2015 draft class, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed first-round offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to his rookie contract. Ogbuehi was the last of nine Bengals draftees to ink his deal.
According to Over The Cap’s data, Ogbuehi’s four-year contract will have a total value of about $9.326MM, with a signing bonus worth approximately $5.042MM. The deal, which will also feature a fifth-year option for the 2019 season, likely won’t quite be fully guaranteed, since most players selected late in the first round don’t get full guarantees. The Bengals grabbed the Texas A&M lineman with the 21st overall pick back in April.
The Bengals’ draft was heavy on offensive lineman at the top, as Cincinnati used its second-round pick on former Oregon tackle Jake Fisher after having added Ogbuehi. While they could very well be the Bengals’ long-term solutions on either side of the offensive line, Ogbuehi and Fisher will have to contend in 2015 with veterans Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith, who won’t be eager to surrender their starting spots. Whitworth and Smith are both eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2016.
I wrote yesterday that 25 players from 2015’s draft class remained unsigned. Since then, three offensive linemen – Ogbuehi, Lions first-rounder Laken Tomlinson, and Buccaneers second-rounder Ali Marpet – have been locked up by their respective teams, leaving just 22 draftees still to sign.
West Notes: Seahawks, Boldin, L.A., Cards
After the team traded away four-year starter Max Unger, Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable says that he expects “quite a battle” at the center position, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes.
Lemuel Jeanpierre, who has been with Seattle since 2010 – but has made only eleven starts – appears to be the frontrunner. However, Patrick Lewis started four games last year and is a definite contender. Also in the mix are Drew Nowak and rookie Kristjan Sokoli.
While the center position may be up in the air, the Seahawks fortified tight end in a big way when they acquired Jimmy Graham from the Saints in the Unger deal. Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two West divisions:
- The 49ers saw multiple players retire this offseason but Anquan Boldin said that he didn’t give any thought to joining that list, as Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group writes. “If I felt we didn’t have a chance, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Boldin said Wednesday at minicamp. “There’s a lot of talent in this locker room. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we’ll be right in the mix.”
- Longtime NFL executive Carmen Policy is helping the Raiders and Chargers with their Carson stadium project, and in Q&A with Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News, Policy lays out his case for why Carson is the ideal location for the NFL to return to L.A.
- Demaryius Thomas, who received the franchise tag from the Broncos this offseason, has until July 15 to work out a long-term contract with the club, and his teammates are keeping a close eye on the situation, as Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com details.
- The Cardinals lost what little experience they had at the tight end position when John Carlson suddenly retired in May, leaving them to work with a much younger group, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic writes.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Dolphins Sign C.J. Mosley
5:39pm: The Dolphins announced that the deal is official, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). To make room, defensive tackle Kamal Johnson has been shown the door.
1:16pm: It’ll be a minimum salary benefit contract for Mosley, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
12:33pm: After hosting him for a visit, the Dolphins have reached an agreement on a one-year contract with defensive tackle C.J. Mosley, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The free agent defender reportedly drew interest from the Lions and at least one other team besides the Dolphins.
By agreeing to sign with Miami, Mosley will reunite with former teammate Ndamukong Suh, the offseason’s No. 1 free agent, who joined the Dolphins back in March. Although he wasn’t as coveted a free agent as his ex-Lions teammate, Mosley was a solid contributor in Detroit last season as well. Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required) ranked him 26th out of 81 qualified defensive tackles, viewing him as slightly above average against both the pass and the run.
While the addition of Suh was huge for the Dolphins, the team lost two of its top defensive tackles from 2014 this past winter — Jared Odrick departed in free agency and Randy Starks was released by the team. Earl Mitchell is returning from last year’s squad to pair with Suh up front, but the club doesn’t have much veteran depth at the position, so Mosley could be a useful part-time player. Second-round rookie Jordan Phillips also figures to be a part of Miami’s interior defensive line rotation.
It’s not clear yet what sort of salary Mosley will earn on his one-year pact with the Dolphins, but it figures to be fairly modest, since no free agents are signing for big money this late in the offseason. Still, the fact that the 31-year-old had multiple potential suitors may earn him a deal worth more than the minimum.
Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins’ executive vice president of football operations, was the general manager in New York when Mosley played for the Jets from 2006 to 2008.
Minor Moves: Wednesday
Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with additional moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The 49ers re-signed linebacker Michael Wilhoite, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). Wilhoite was an exclusive rights free agent. At one point earlier this offseason, the 49ers were said to be shopping Wilhoite as a possible trade chip. However, that was back when San Francisco was still expecting to have Patrick Willis and Chris Borland back in the mix for 2015. In April, GM Trent Baalke indicated that he was working on a new deal with Wilhoite. Apparently, that did not come together as planned.
- As we heard yesterday, the Panthers are signing tight end Scott Simonson after working him out earlier this week. To make room on the roster, Carolina has waived punter Matt Wile, the team announced today (Twitter link). Wile initially joined the Panthers as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan about five weeks ago.
- The Lions have made some changes at the back of their 90-man roster, signing tight end David Ausberry and cutting safety Nathan Lindsey, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Like Simonson, Ausberry is a former Raiders tight end, having spent four seasons with the team after being drafted in the seventh round back in 2011. He played sparingly during his time in Oakland, catching 11 career passes for 120 yards.
Poll: Which QB Will Sign Extension Next?
A pair of starting quarterbacks signed long-term extensions with their clubs in recent weeks, as the Dolphins and Panthers locked up Ryan Tannehill and Cam Newton respectively. With Ben Roethlisberger signing a multiyear deal of his own with the Steelers back in March, a few of the signal-callers we expected to see extended this offseason have already taken care of business.
Several more notable quarterbacks are still without new deals though, and are seemingly preparing to enter the final year of their respective contracts without an extension in place. Of course, we still have about three months until the regular season gets underway, so there’s plenty of time between now and then for these QBs to work out agreements with their teams.
Sam Bradford and Nick Foles are among the quarterbacks whose contracts expire after the 2015 season, but neither player is a top-tier NFL starter, and both Bradford and Foles are coming off significant injuries that shortened their 2014 seasons. So while they may sign extensions at some point, we’re not including them in this discussion, since they’re not quite in the same class as a few other contract-year QBs.
We’ll also remove Andrew Luck from this conversation, since the Colts have explicitly stated that they don’t intend to negotiate an extension with the former No. 1 pick until 2016. Like Tannehill, Luck was a first-round pick in 2012, which makes him eligible for an extension now, but since Indianapolis holds a fifth-year option for the ’16 season, there’s no rush for the team to get something done.
That leaves us with three top quarterbacks entering contract years: Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, and Eli Manning. Like Roethlisberger, Rivers and Manning are each in the final year of a veteran contract. However, Rivers seems somewhat hesitant about re-upping with the Chargers given the uncertain future of the franchise, which resulted in some trade rumors earlier in the offseason. It doesn’t appear that Rivers is going anywhere, but the two sides don’t seem to be close to an extension either, despite some optimism from the Bolts.
As for Manning, we heard earlier this week that contract talks between the two-time Super Bowl MVP and the Giants haven’t begun yet, and he’s not sure when they will. The latest report on the situation suggests that the club may be willing to wait until after the season, with Manning using the 2015 campaign to prove his worth once more.
Wilson, meanwhile, is coming off a rookie contract, which perhaps makes his situation the trickiest of the three. Having built a talented roster around Wilson, the Seahawks are now facing the possibility of their quarterback’s cap hit jumping from the $1MM range to something much, much higher. So far, the two sides are at an impasse, and by all accounts, Wilson is willing to play out the 2015 season and force Seattle to use the franchise tag if he feels like he’s being low-balled by the team in extension discussions.
It’s possible that all three of these quarterbacks will head into the 2015 regular season without having signed new contracts, but I’d be surprised if that were the case. What do you think? Which of these three Pro Bowl quarterbacks will extend his contract with his current team first?
NFC West Notes: Wilson, Dockett, Keenum
The best roster in football belongs to the Seahawks, according to Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus (Insider-only link via ESPN.com), who ranks Seattle No. 1 on his list all 32 NFL rosters. As Monson details, the offensive line is a weak area, with perhaps three starters who should be upgraded, but the team has several above-average offensive skill players, and one of the league’s best defenses. The Seahawks “aren’t going anywhere for a while” with the talent they have all over their roster, in Monson’s view. No other NFC West team places in the top half of PFF’s roster rankings, with the 49ers coming in 17th, the Rams 22nd, and the Cardinals 24th.
Here’s more from around the NFC West:
- Former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com offers some specifics on what he thinks Russell Wilson‘s next contract should look like, suggesting a four-year, $89MM deal that includes $62.5MM in guaranteed money ($41MM+ fully guaranteed). After explaining why the structure of his proposed extension makes sense for Wilson and the Seahawks, Corry plays devil’s advocate and offers some reasons why it might not work.
- The Seahawks should try to get a deal done as soon as possible with Wilson, even if it means making him the highest-paid player in the NFL, says Terry Blount of ESPN.com.
- Despite a parade of departures via free agency and retirement since he joined the team, defensive lineman Darnell Dockett doesn’t regret his decision to sign with the 49ers this offseason, writes Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. “My decision was easy. I wouldn’t change it,” Dockett said.
- Case Keenum has shuffled back and forth between Houston and St. Louis in recent years, and is hoping his latest stint with the Rams is “a little more permanent,” as he tells Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Keenum and Austin Davis are competing for the No. 2 job behind Nick Foles, and the loser of that battle may not make the roster, since third-round rookie Sean Mannion is also in the mix.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the city of St. Louis could get another team if it loses the Rams, like Cleveland did with the Browns.
25 NFL Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
With training camps still a few weeks away, it should just be a matter of time until all 256 of this year’s draft picks have signed rookie contracts with their respective teams. The 2015 draft concluded a little over five weeks ago, and so far, 231 of those draftees have signed their deals, leaving just 25 picks unsigned, less than 10% of 2015’s draft class.
Of those unsigned picks, most are first- or third-rounders. Salaries and bonus amounts for draft picks under the current CBA are fairly rigid, so only a few details in a contract can really be negotiated, including guarantees and offsets. The first and third round – particularly the end of the first round and the start of the third round – are two spots where those specifics are a little more negotiable than usual.
While 17 of the 25 unsigned picks are first- or third-rounders, the other eight are mostly Rams players, since St. Louis typically announces all of its draft signings at once. The one exception this year for the team was sixth-round wide receiver Bud Sasser, who wasn’t physically cleared, due to a heart condition — he signed his rookie contract and was subsequently waived from St. Louis’ roster. Besides the Rams, no team has more than two unsigned picks.
Here’s the full list of 2015 draftees who have yet to sign their rookie contracts:
First Round:
- Marcus Mariota, QB (Tennessee Titans)
- Vic Beasley, DE/OLB (Atlanta Falcons)
- Ereck Flowers, T (New York Giants)
- Todd Gurley, RB (St. Louis Rams)
- Cedric Ogbuehi, OL (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Byron Jones, CB (Dallas Cowboys)
- Laken Tomlinson, G (Detroit Lions)
- Damarious Randall, S (Green Bay Packers)
- Malcom Brown, DT (New England Patriots)
Second Round:
- Landon Collins, S (New York Giants)
- Mario Edwards, DL (Oakland Raiders)
- Rob Havenstein, T (St. Louis Rams)
- Ali Marpet, OL (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Third Round:
- D’Joun Smith, CB (Indianapolis Colts)
- Jeremiah Poutasi, OL (Tennessee Titans)
- A.J. Cann, OL (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Clive Walford, TE (Oakland Raiders)
- Jamon Brown, T (St. Louis Rams)
- Duke Johnson, RB (Cleveland Browns)
- Sean Mannion, QB (St. Louis Rams)
- Henry Anderson, DE (Indianapolis Colts)
Fourth Round:
- Andrew Donnal, T (St. Louis Rams)
Sixth Round:
- Cody Wichmann, G (St. Louis Rams)
Seventh Round:
- Bryce Hager, LB (St. Louis Rams)
- Martin Ifedi, DE (St. Louis Rams)
East Notes: Wilkerson, Mosley, Eagles
While Muhammad Wilkerson isn’t saying much publicly about extension negotiations with the Jets, fellow defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson was happy to discuss Wilkerson’s contract situation on Tuesday, telling Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that his teammate should be the NFL’s next $100MM man.
“He’s worth that penny,” Richardson said of Wilkerson. “And you know what penny I’m talking about. … We don’t just want J.J. Watt money. We want it all. We want [Ndamukong] Suh money. Hopefully everybody wants that type of bread in this league.”
If Wilkerson gets a $100MM contract, it won’t come from the Jets this year, according to Mehta, who points out that the team has the leverage at this point. The addition of first-round pick Leonard Williams to the defensive line somewhat weakened Wilkerson’s negotiating position, per Mehta.
Here’s more on Wilkerson, along with a couple more items out of the NFL’s East divisions:
- More Richardson on Wilkerson, via Mehta: “If Gerald McCoy can get $100MM, I’m pretty sure my guy Mo Wilkerson can get $100MM.”
- During his visit to Miami this week, defensive tackle C.J. Mosley received a contract offer from the Dolphins, who “made clear they would love to add him as soon as possible,” agent Harold Lewis tells Adam Beasley and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Lions and one other unknown team also have interest in adding Mosley, who has yet to make a decision.
- Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and safety Earl Wolff appear to be at odds over the defensive back’s recovery from microfracture surgery, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Bowen notes, Wolff is more upbeat about his recovery than Kelly, who instead emphasized how well Walter Thurmond is adapting to the safety position.
Chargers Sign Corey Liuget To Extension
TUESDAY, 3:29pm: The Chargers announced that they have signed Liuget to an extension.
“Corey is a consummate team player who goes about his work in an unselfish manner,” GM Tom Telesco said. “His preparation and dedication to the game and the Chargers has been evident since day one. Corey is talented, tough and durable, and plays a very important role in our defense. This extension is another reflection of our commitment to investing in our core players and homegrown talent.”
MONDAY, 8:16pm: The deal is expected to add five years to Liuget’s deal for a little north of $10MM per year, sources tell Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego.
3:33:pm: The Chargers and defensive lineman Corey Liuget are putting the finishing touches on a long-term contract extension, which should be done soon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported (via Twitter) that an extension, characterized by Rapoport as “lucrative,” appeared imminent — Liuget himself told Gehlken that he hoped it would get done within the next few days.
Liuget, who turned 25 in March, has been a key contributor at defensive end for the Chargers since being selected in the first round of the 2011 draft. The former 18th overall pick has started 61 regular season contests for the club in his four seasons, including all 16 games in each of the last three years. In 2014, Liuget notched a career-high 57 tackles and recorded 4.5 sacks to go along with a pair of forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
As a first-round pick, Liuget had a fifth-year option tacked onto the end of his rookie contract, which the Chargers exercised last offseason. That option called for the Illinois product to earn a $5.477MM base salary in 2015, though that number will likely be altered when an extension is finalized, with Liguet’s payout for ’15 increasing while his cap hit decreases.
While Liuget has been a reliable contributor for the Chargers over the last few seasons, and his new extension was considered a “priority” for the club this spring, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has given him a mix of positive and negative grades throughout his career, and he’s not an elite pass rusher. As such, while Cameron Jordan‘s recent extension with the Saints may have been a point of comparison in negotiations with the Chargers, I wouldn’t expect Liuget’s deal to be in quite the same neighborhood as Jordan’s new contract.
As Over The Cap’s data shows, Jordan is part of a group of four 3-4 defensive ends that are paid significantly more annually than other players at the position, with Jordan, J.J. Watt, Calais Campbell, and Jurrell Casey all earning at least $9MM per year. My guess is that Liuget’s new deal will place him in the second tier of 3-4 defensive ends, rather than amongst that top group.
Locking up Liuget is big for the Chargers, but the team will still have several core players in line for unrestricted free agency following the 2015 season. Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, and Eric Weddle are among the San Diego veterans entering contract years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Buccaneers To Claim Spencer Lanning
The Buccaneers are claiming punter Spencer Lanning off waivers today, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Typically, we’d have to wait for the NFL to confirm the transaction, in case multiple teams put in claims. However, the Bucs have the league’s top waiver priority this offseason, so Lanning will be headed to Tampa Bay.
In 2014, only two punters had more attempts than the 93 punts Lanning made for the Browns. On those 93 attempts, he averaged 44.5 yards, with a net distance of 39.2 yards per punt. Those were middle-of-the-road numbers, and the Browns took the opportunity to try to upgrade the position over the weekend when they acquired Andy Lee from the 49ers for a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick, waiving Lanning in the corresponding move.
In Tampa Bay, Lanning will compete for the starting job with incumbent punter Michael Koenen and Northern Arizona product Andy Wilder, who was signed as a free agent in March. Koenen may head into camp with the edge, but his $3.25MM cap hit, which includes no dead money, makes him vulnerable if one of the younger, cheaper players impresses.