Bengals Exercise Options On Kirkpatrick, Zeitler
The Bengals have picked up a pair of fifth-year options, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link), who reports that cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler both had their 2016 options exercised by the team.
Of the Bengals’ two 2012 first-rounders, Zeitler has been the more productive contributor during his first three years in the NFL. Though he has been slowed by injuries the last two seasons, Zeitler has established himself as the club’s right guard, starting 41 games there since 2012. Despite the fact that he played just 12 games in 2014, only eight guards – including four right guards – ranked higher than Zeitler, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required).
Kirkpatrick, on the other hand, played just 248 defensive snaps for Cincinnati last season, fourth among Bengals cornerbacks. However, with Terence Newman now playing for the Vikings, there may be a greater opportunity for the former 17th overall pick to see the field in 2015. In spite of his limited playing time, Kirkpatrick has grabbed six interceptions over the last two seasons.
We heard last week that the Bengals were making it a priority to work out contract extensions with Kirkpatrick and Zeitler, so the fifth-year options for 2016 may end up just being placeholders. For now, Kirkpatrick is slated to earn $7.507MM in ’16, while Zeitler would earn $8.07MM. Those salaries are guaranteed for injury only until next March.
Jaguars Eyeing Amari Cooper At No. 3?
A year ago, the Jaguars surprised many NFL observers and fans by selecting Blake Bortles with the third overall pick. General manager David Caldwell reportedly withheld his strong interest in Bortles from his own staff until about a week before the draft, and at this time last year, it still seemed possible that the quarterback could slide to late in the first round.
One AFC personnel executive, who claims he identified Bortles as the Jags’ target prior to draft night last year, tells Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports that he believes Jacksonville is locked in on Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper this time around.
“I think the third spot could shock people [again],” the source said, discussing the Jaguars’ pick. “I think they like Cooper more than they are letting on. You hear things and they have been pretty good about what’s getting out there. It’s a lot like it was last year.”
The Jags, having selected two receivers early in last year’s draft, would seem to have greater needs at other positions. While Jacksonville certainly wants to give Bortles the weapons necessary to succeed, the team has Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, and Allen Hurns under contract, and landed Julius Thomas in free agency this offseason. A defensive playmaker such as Dante Fowler Jr. or Leonard Williams would seem to be a better fit.
Nonetheless, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is also hearing increased chatter that Cooper could be the Jags’ pick at No. 3. As Florio points out, there’s an outside chance that the Alabama wideout goes as high as second overall to the Titans, but if he’s available at No. 3, the Jags may pounce.
While selecting Cooper would raise some eyebrows around the league, Caldwell said recently that the team needs one difference-making player rather than two solid contributors, and the young receiver fits that bill. That also helps explain why the Jags haven’t yet received any calls about trading down, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
Muhammad Wilkerson Drawing Trade Interest
With the draft right around the corner, multiple teams have approached the Jets about a possible trade for defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Schefter, at least two teams, and possibly more, have contacted the Jets to inquire about Wilkerson.
Wilkerson, 25, has been one of the NFL’s best interior linemen since being selected 30th overall by the Jets in the 2011 draft. Over the last two seasons, he had accumulated 16.5 sacks, and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him and teammate Sheldon Richardson as the best run-stoppers among 3-4 defensive ends in 2014.
Having played out the first four years of his rookie contract, Wilkerson is heading into his fifth-year option season, and will earn $6.969MM in 2015 if he isn’t extended. The Jets would like to work out a contract extension, and they should have plenty of cap room to make it happen, so I’d be surprised if the club seriously discussed a trade.
Still, with no bonus money remaining on his contract, the Jets wouldn’t take on any dead money if they moved Wilkerson this year. If the two sides aren’t close to an agreement on a extension, and a rival team willing to meet the defensive lineman’s contract demands was also willing to offer a significant trade package to New York, GM Mike Maccagnan would likely at least consider the possibility.
Cowboys Sign Chris Jones To Extension
Shortly after signing his restricted free agent tender from the Cowboys last week, punter Chris Jones agreed to tack on a couple more years to that one-year contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Yates reports (via Twitter) that Jones signed a two-year extension with the Cowboys, giving him a three-year total of $4.2MM, with $750K guaranteed.
The Cowboys re-signed Tom Hornsey earlier in the offseason as potential competition for Jones, but after extending the incumbent punter and giving him some guaranteed money, the Cowboys seem unlikely to make a change in 2015. Previously, Jones had been set to earn a non-guaranteed $1.542MM salary for the coming year.
Jones, 25, has now been the Cowboys’ full-time punter for the last two seasons, after first joining the squad in 2011. According to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required), Jones has been an above-average contributor during that stretch — the site ranked him ninth among 41 qualified players at the position in 2013, and 15th out of 37 in 2014.
Philip Rivers/Titans Rumors: Monday
As recently as Saturday, Peter King of TheMMQB.com suggested that there was something to the Philip Rivers-to-the-Titans rumors, but his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column throws a bit of cold water on that idea. Here’s the latest on Rivers, the Chargers, the Titans, and the No. 2 overall pick:
- As of now, the Chargers have yet to have conversations with any team regarding a trade of Rivers, Alex Flanagan of NBC Sports tweets.
- After making many calls over the weekend, King doesn’t believe the Chargers will trade Rivers. While he’s not ready to lock that in, he writes that San Diego “definitely does not want to trade Rivers.” Additionally, the Titans would want more than just Rivers for the second overall pick, and the Chargers probably wouldn’t be willing to offer more than that.
- If the Titans don’t get a good offer for that No. 2 pick from the Chargers or another team, they’ll likely select Mariota, writes King, adding that while “they feel good about Zach Mettenberger, [they] would feel better about Mariota.
- An Oregon source tells King that no team scouted Mariota more fervently during and after the college football season than the Titans.
- According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Browns, Rams, and Chargers are the most likely candidates to make a deal with the Titans. However, Rapoport agrees that San Diego doesn’t appear to be interested in dealing Rivers, who would have to sign a contract extension and take a physical to finalize a trade — neither of those things is in motion at this point.
- Rapoport adds that the Browns and Rams may find it more difficult to match up with the Titans, since neither team could send Tennessee an established quarterback like Rivers in a trade.
Rapoport On Browns, Vikings, P.J. Williams
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has passed along a handful of noteworthy draft nuggets via Twitter this afternoon, so let’s check out what he has for us….
- According to Rapoport (Twitter link), the Browns have spoken to Washington within the past week about possibly moving up to No. 5. Cleveland has two first-rounders to work with, and Washington GM Scot McCloughan indicated today that he was open to moving down and picking extra picks, so there could be a match there. Of course, as Rapoport adds, the Browns have “touched base” with most teams in the top 10.
- Another pick to keep an eye on is the No. 11 selection, which currently belongs to the Vikings. Rapoport tweets that Minnesota wants ammo to move around in the draft, and points out that the 11th pick is an appealing one because fifth-year option prices decrease outside of the top 10. As such, there may be potential trade partners interested in moving up to that spot.
- Lawyer Jonathan Simon tells Rapoport (Twitter links) that the DUI case against Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams has been dismissed. According to the paperwork filed in the case, the signs of impairment claimed by the arresting officer were not corroborated on video. The timing of the dismissal is good news for Williams, whose draft stock may have taken a hit if the case had moved forward.
- Rapoport identifies the Dolphins, Jaguars, and Texans as some teams that may be interested in drafting Georgia running back Todd Gurley (Twitter link).
- Oklahoma’s Jordan Phillips and Mississippi State’s Preston Smith are two defensive linemen who could sneak into the back of the first round on Thursday, tweets Rapoport.
Eagles Pick Up Option On Fletcher Cox
The Eagles have exercised their fifth-year option on defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, sources tell Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Will Brinson of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) first reported the decision, which has since been confirmed by the team (Twitter link).
Although Breer identifies Cox as a defensive tackle, the assumption is that he’ll receive a defensive end salary for 2016, since he plays end in the Eagles’ 3-4 system. So while a defensive tackle like Michael Brockers will be in line for a $6.146MM option-year salary, Cox will earn $7.799MM in his fifth year.
Cox’s 2016 salary is initially only guaranteed for injury, but it will become fully guaranteed on the first day of the ’16 league year, and I suspect the Eagles won’t have a problem with that. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the 24-year-old was the fifth-best 3-4 DE in the NFL last season, behind standout players like J.J. Watt, Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Calais Campbell. Cox graded well above average as both a run defender and a pass rusher.
Broncos Re-Sign Tony Carter
Broncos defensive back Tony Carter has become the latest restricted free agent to sign his tender to return to his team, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Broncos had assigned Carter a low-end RFA tender, so he’ll be in line for a salary of $1.542MM for the coming season.
Carter, who turns 29 next month, didn’t play much for the Broncos in 2014. Chris Harris was coming into his own as one of the league’s best cornerbacks, and the club also had notable offseason signee Aqib Talib and first-round pick Bradley Roby at the position. Given the crowded depth chart, there were some whispers at last October’s trade deadline that Carter could be on the move, but the Broncos ultimately elected to hang on to the former Florida State Seminole.
Around the time that the Broncos tendered Carter a contract offer last month, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com indicated (via Twitter) that there was “strong” outside interest in the cornerback. However, the deadline for rival teams to sign Carter to an offer sheet came and went without any additional rumors. It’s not clear whether the RFA tender diminished that outside interest, or whether potential suitors simply couldn’t work anything out with the Denver corner.
Either way, Carter appears poised to return to the Broncos for the coming season, and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next March. If the Broncos secondary suffers an injury or two, he could take on a larger role in 2015 — if not, he may be the subject of trade rumors again this fall.
Rams Declining Mark Barron’s 2016 Option
After reporting earlier today that the Rams are picking up their fifth-year option on defensive tackle Michael Brockers for the 2016 season, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an update on the team’s other option-eligible player. According to Thomas (via Twitter), St. Louis won’t exercise its ’16 option for safety Mark Barron, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency next winter.
Barron, the seventh overall pick in 2012, started his career with the Buccaneers and spent two and a half seasons in Tampa Bay before the team sent him to St. Louis at last year’s trade deadline. The Rams surrendered a fourth-round pick and a sixth-rounder for Barron, but the decision to decline his option doesn’t come as a real surprise.
Because he was a top-10 pick in 2012, Barron’s 2016 salary – if the Rams had picked up his option – would have been equal to the 2015 transition salary for a safety — $8.263MM. There aren’t many safeties in the league making that sort of money, and Barron hasn’t exactly ranked among the NFL’s best defensive backs in his first three NFL seasons. The Alabama product played only 174 defensive snaps for the Rams after last season’s trade.
Barron is currently set to earn a fully guaranteed salary of $2.363MM in 2015, the final year of his rookie contract.
NFC Notes: Bucs, Perry, Hardy, 49ers, Rams
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said last week that teams had contacted him to gauge the availability of the first overall pick, suggesting at the time that those calls would probably continue over the next few days. Speaking to Steve Wyche of NFL.com, Licht confirmed as much, indicating that more than one team called him on Sunday to inquire about the No. 1 pick.
According to Licht, the calls were more about “feeling out what it would take” to trade up to No. 1, so it doesn’t sound like any serious discussions took place. It would presumably take a significant offer for the Bucs to consider moving down, since the club has decided which player it will select with that pick. While Licht, of course, declined to name the player, he said that he and head coach Lovie Smith “are in complete alignment” on the choice. Jameis Winston is considered the strong favorite.
As we wait to see if the Bucs have any last-minute surprises up their sleeves, let’s check in on a few other items from across the NFC….
- The Packers are expected to decline their fifth-year option on linebacker Nick Perry, but nothing is official yet and the team has a few more days to make its decision, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. It would cost $7.751MM for the 2016 season to exercise the option on Perry, who has yet to make a real impact on Green Bay’s defense since being selected 28th overall in 2012.
- As expected, the NFLPA has officially appealed Greg Hardy‘s 10-game suspension on behalf of the Cowboys defensive end. According to Pro Football Talk (Twitter link), the union filed the appeal on Friday night.
- As Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com writes, 49ers GM Trent Baalke won’t be pressured into drafting a receiver early this week, but the team is certainly considering wideouts. Georgia Tech’s Darren Waller said today on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) that he had a pre-draft visit with the Niners, who spoke to him exclusively about playing wide receiver — Waller is considered a potential tight end in the NFL by some other teams, including the Cardinals (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of Fox Sports).
- Given the advancing ages and rising cap numbers for James Laurinaitis and Chris Long, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com thinks it’s possible that the Rams will eye potential replacements for their veteran defensive leaders in this year’s draft. In Wagoner’s view, a defensive end is more likely than a linebacker, given the strengths and weaknesses of 2015’s class, but ideally both players would have nice 2015 seasons and adjust their contracts to stick around St. Louis even longer.