Panthers Sign Ted Ginn Jr.
12:01pm: It’s a two-year deal for Ginn, the Panthers announced in their press release confirming the signing.
11:15am: Ginn confirmed on Instagram that he’s returning to Carolina, posting a photo of him signing his new deal with the Panthers.
8:18am: Wide receiver and return man Ted Ginn Jr., who spent the 2013 season with the Panthers, is back in Charlotte today and is expected to sign a new deal to return to the team, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. The years and dollars on Ginn’s new contract with the Panthers aren’t yet known.
Ginn agreed to a three-year, $9.75MM contract with the Cardinals a year ago, coming off a season in which he was an all-purpose threat for the Panthers, accumulating 36 catches, 26 punt returns, 25 kickoff returns, and even four carries. In his first and only season in Arizona, Ginn didn’t have the same impact, outside of one 71-yard punt return touchdown back in September. For the season, Ginn posted a career-low 19.0 yards per return on kickoffs, and caught just 14 balls on offense. He was cut by Arizona last month.
Presumably, by adding him back to the mix, the Panthers are hoping Ginn can recapture his 2013 form. The Browns, Titans, and 49ers were also linked to the 29-year-old since his release by the Cards.
Contract Details: Lynch, McCoy, Ingram, Paul
There were some conflicting – or at least confusing – reports on Friday night about the value of Marshawn Lynch‘s new contract with the Seahawks, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun provides some clarity today, via Twitter. According to Wilson, Lynch’s new three-year pact is worth $31MM, which features $15MM in guaranteed money, including a $7.5MM signing bonus.
Wilson has plenty more numbers on new contract agreements, so let’s round up those updates, with all links going to his Twitter unless otherwise indicated:
- The exact figures on LeSean McCoy‘s new contract extension with the Bills? Five years, a base value of $40.5MM, a $13.125MM signing bonus, and $26.555MM in total guaranteed money.
- As previously reported, the Saints‘ agreement with Mark Ingram is indeed for four years and $16MM. $7.6MM of that total is guaranteed, including a $3.6MM signing bonus.
- Initially reported as being worth up to nearly $10MM, Niles Paul‘s three-year deal with Washington only has a base value of $6MM, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. $2.25MM of that total is guaranteed, and another $3.6MM is available in playing-time and reception-related incentives.
- Mike Nugent‘s two-year deal with the Bengals is worth $3.5MM, with $600K in guaranteed money. That’s not a bad rate for a kicker, though Nugent probably isn’t among the league’s best.
- The exact value on the three-year contract Josh Mauga signed with the Chiefs is $8.25MM, with $2.25MM in guaranteed money.
Panthers Sign Michael Oher
MONDAY, 10:58am: Oher’s two-year deal with the Panthers is worth $7MM, including a $2.5MM signing bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
FRIDAY, 1:00pm: The player who protected Cam Newton‘s blind side in 2014 – Byron Bell – won’t return to the Panthers for 2015, and now the team has signed the player who was the inspiration for The Blind Side. The Panthers announced today in a press release that they’ve added offensive tackle Michael Oher on a two-year contract.
After spending his first five seasons in Baltimore, Oher inked a four-year, $20MM contract with Tennessee last winter that was widely viewed as an overpay at the time. Sure enough, after one disappointing season with the Titans, the club cut him loose a month ago, allowing him to test the open market early. Oher reportedly visited with the Panthers last week.
Although he was mostly solid during his time with the Ravens, Oher struggled in 2014 with Tennessee, battling injuries and underperforming at right tackle for the club. In 11 games, the 28-year-old allowed six sacks and 26 quarterback hurries before he landed on the injured reserve list, ending his season.
It’s not clear yet whether the Panthers envision Oher as their new left tackle, but with Bell out of the picture, the former first-round pick looks like the early favorite for the position.
FA Rumors: Sheard, Eagles, Broncos, Bears
If you’re a little confused about all the reported deals over the last couple days between free agents and new teams, you’re not alone — the three-day “legal tampering” period prior to free agency is supposed to allow teams to negotiate with agents of prospective free agents without any offers being made or agreements being reached.
Of course, teams have long ignored those guidelines, but typically they at least maintain the pretense that they’re waiting until Tuesday afternoon, with a flood of contract agreements hitting the news wire when free agency begins at 3:00pm central time on Tuesday. This year, however, noteworthy free agents Ndamukong Suh, Jeremy Maclin, and Byron Maxwell all reportedly have deals with new teams already in place.
According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links), the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams expressing its displeasure with the release of contract terms prior to the official start of free agency. According to Getlin’s source, the league intends to conduct an investigation to examine whether teams agreed to terms with free agents early.
Considering the leaks on new deals seem to affect so many teams around the league, it seems unlikely that the NFL would come down too hard on everyone. If anything, the situation may be the push the league needs to modify its rules for free agency. In the NBA, for instance, teams and players are allowed to reach verbal agreements during the league’s “July moratorium,” which lasts a little over a week, but those signings can’t be made official until after the moratorium lifts. A system like that could make sense for the NFL.
As we wait to see how the NFL plans to address potential free agency violations, here’s more from around the NFL on free agents and free-agents-to-be:
- The Buccaneers, Bengals, Seahawks, and Patriots are all in the running for edge defender Jabaal Sheard, according to Getlin (via Twitter). Sheard is viewed as a better fit for a 4-3 team, which could give those first three suitors an edge over the Pats.
- A source tells Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link) that the Eagles are showing “a little bit” of interest in cornerback Tramon Williams. Despite having reached a tentative agreement with Byron Maxwell, Philadelphia remains on the lookout for another corner and perhaps a safety as well.
- Speaking of those Eagles, Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) hears that the team was “hovering just below” $10MM annually on its final offer to Jeremy Maclin, which allowed the Chiefs to make a move on the wideout. Maclin will reportedly get about $11MM per year from Kansas City.
- The Broncos have displayed interest in free agent center Chris Myers, a source tells Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link). This comes as no surprise, considering Myers excelled in Gary Kubiak‘s zone-blocking scheme for years in Houston.
- Elsewhere on the center front, former Raider Stefen Wisniewski is on the Bears‘ radar, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. While Chicago has expressed interest in Wisniewksi, it’s not clear how serious that interest is, Biggs notes.
- The Vikings have an offer out to quarterback Shaun Hill, but it’s unclear whether he’ll accept it, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- The Packers maintain interest in bringing back defensive tackle Letroy Guion, despite his recent legal issues, tweets Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Dunne points out that Guion, in the wake of his off-field troubles, may come cheaper than he otherwise would have.
Bills, Jerry Hughes Reach Five-Year Deal
9:53am: The Bills have officially re-signed Hughes, the team announced today (via Twitter).
6:57am: The Bills and edge defender Jerry Hughes have agreed to terms on a five-year contract that will keep Hughes in Buffalo, reports Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. The agreement will keep Hughes off the open market when free agency begins tomorrow.
Multiple reports, including tweets from Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, indicate the five-year deal will be worth about $45MM, with Rapoport adding that $20MM of that amount will be guaranteed. However, a source close to the team tells Carucci that the $45MM figure isn’t quite accurate.
Regardless of whether the final amount lands, Hughes won’t come cheap. A league source tells Carucci that at least six clubs expressed interest in signing the 26-year-old. Clubs like the Jaguars, Raiders, Colts, Browns, and Giants had previously been mentioned as possible suitors. besides Buffalo.
Hughes is coming off his second consecutive 10-sack season for the Bills, and his first year as a full-time starter. The former first-round pick also racked up 54 tackles and forced three fumbles, joining forces with Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, and Marcell Dareus to make up one of the league’s most dominant defensive lines.
Those three players were already on the books for a combined $33.86MM cap hit for the 2015 season, so a new deal for Hughes figures to push that figure up over $40MM, barring other restructures or extensions. That’s a significant amount to invest in a defensive line, but that line is the primary reason Buffalo’s defense has been so good in recent years, ranking in the top five in DVOA in both 2013 and 2014, per Football Outsiders.
When I ranked this year’s top 50 free agents, I named Hughes the fifth-best player in free agency and the top pass rusher on the unrestricted market, after Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul were franchised. With Hughes set to finalize a new deal with the Bills, teams eyeing a top pass rusher could shift their focus to players like Pernell McPhee, Greg Hardy, Brandon Graham, and Jason Worilds.
Carucci first reported on Sunday that Hughes and the Bills were closing in on a new contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Texans, Ryan Mallett Agree To Terms
With the free agent period still more than 24 hours away, the Texans are prepared to snatch a pair of top quarterbacks off the board. Having already reached a verbal agreement with Brian Hoyer, the team has also agreed to terms with Ryan Mallett, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Per Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (via Twitter), it’s a two-year deal, and Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com tweets that it’s worth $7MM.
Mallett, 26, was acquired by the Texans in a trade with the Patriots last offseason, and got a chance to start a couple games for Houston in 2014 before landing on injured reserve due to a pectoral injury. Mallett’s 54.7% completion percentage and 67.6 passer rating likely didn’t have teams burning up his agent’s phone this weekend, but Texans GM Rick Smith and head coach Bill O’Brien both spoke very highly of the ex-Patriot at the combine, suggesting the two sides would probably get something done.
With Mallett, Hoyer, Case Keenum, and Tom Savage all in the fold for the Texans, the team will almost certainly cut ties with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was the primary starter in 2014. If and when Fitzpatrick becomes a free agent, the Jets will pursue him, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. New York GM Mike Maccagnan was in the Texans’ front office a year ago when the team added Fitzpatrick.
49ers GM Denies Shopping Colin Kaepernick
8:37am: A well-placed 49ers official tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the report about the Niners looking to trade Kaepernick is “totally false — 0% truth.” Meanwhile, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says there’s big news on a 49ers player coming at some point today, but it doesn’t involve Kaepernick or Justin Smith (Twitter link).
7:23am: When Jim Harbaugh left the 49ers to become the new head coach at the University of Michigan, a handful of observers speculated that Colin Kaepernick‘s days in San Francisco could be numbered, now that he had been separated from the coach who initially made him the starter. At the very least, based on Harbaugh’s departure, his up-and-down 2014 performance, and the lack of guaranteed money in his contract, Kaepernick’s long-term future with the 49ers looked uncertain.
However, responding to a report last night that suggested the 49ers had put Kaepernick on the trading block, general manager Trent Baalke emphatically denied that his team is shopping its quarterback, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
“Colin is our quarterback and we are excited to have him. He is not going anywhere,” Baalke said in a statement, per Maiocco (Twitter links). “The media reports suggesting otherwise are without merit and quite frankly ridiculous.”
The “media report” Baalke is referring to originated with Jayson Braddock of KBME SportsTalk 790 in Houston (Twitter link). Braddock didn’t just report that the Niners had made Kaepernick available — he also identified the Eagles and Bears as two clubs that have spoken to San Francisco about the possibility of a deal (Twitter links).
In addition to Baalke’s denial, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported (via Twitter) that after reaching out to several teams in need of a quarterback, he had yet to hear from one who had talked to the Niners about Kaepernick. Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports also tweeted that San Francisco is “not shopping” Kaepernick, though he wasn’t sure if other teams had called the 49ers to inquire.
So what can we make of all this? For one, as is often the case, it’s important to parse the specific wording used — Garafolo’s report and Baalke’s statement both say that the Niners aren’t “shopping” Kaepernick, a term that Braddock didn’t use in his initial report. “Shopping” suggests the team is actively out there looking for a deal, while Braddock’s report that the Niners put Kaepernick on the trade block could mean that the club is simply open to listening to offers, but isn’t aggressively seeking out a deal.
Given what we already knew about Kaepernick’s unsettled long-term future in San Francisco, Baalke’s history of issuing this same sort of denial during the season when discussing Harbaugh’s own uncertain future with the Niners, and the fact that Braddock has broken some major stories in the past (including Byron Maxwell‘s agreement with the Eagles yesterday), this is certainly a situation worth monitoring. For now though, nothing appears imminent.
King’s Latest: T. Smith, J. Thomas, Murray, Jets
Peter King’s latest Monday Morning Quarterback column at TheMMQB.com doesn’t break any new signings or contract agreements, but there are plenty of noteworthy free agent tidbits tucked away within the piece. Here are a few highlights:
- Wide receiver Torrey Smith isn’t re-signing with the Ravens, and by all accounts the 49ers look like they’re in position to sign him. According to King, Smith is likely headed to San Francisco for a deal worth about $9MM annually.
- Julius Thomas also looks like a good bet to receive something in the neighborhood of $9MM per year if and when he finalizes a deal with the Jaguars, says King.
- Despite the nice new contracts Marshawn Lynch and LeSean McCoy are receiving, King hasn’t heard of any team willing to pay DeMarco Murray $10MM per season.
- Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton appears likely to leave Denver to sign with either Washington or the Raiders, per King. We heard yesterday that those two teams, along with the Bears and Colts, were among the suitors showing “serious interest” in Pot Roast.
- A person with knowledge of the Jets‘ “ideal-world plan” for the offseason suggests to King that the team would love to land both Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, if possible.
- King expects the Bills to make an effort to get Charles Clay to visit Buffalo and to sign him to a deal when free agency opens. Since Clay received the transition tag from Miami, the Dolphins would have the opportunity to match any offer sheet the tight end signed with the Bills.
- If the Jaguars and Titans don’t sign a handful of players within the next few days, they’ll likely have some big offers turned down, according to King, who anticipates both teams being very active.
2015 NFL Offseason Outlook Series
Since last month’s Super Bowl, the Pro Football Rumors writing staff has been taking a closer look at each of the NFL’s 32 teams, exploring their cap situations, key free agents, and possible positions of need. Our Offseason Outlook series wrapped up this weekend, just in time for the official start of free agency on Tuesday, and you can check out any and all of our team-by-team recaps below.
Since many teams have been busy making moves in recent weeks, not all of our pieces will reflect those latest moves, but for the most part, a team’s overall plan for the offseason remains the same — in a few cases, we’ll even have predicted roster cuts or signings before they happened.
Here’s the full breakdown of our 32 Offseason Outlook pieces for the 2015 offseason, sorted by division:
AFC East:
AFC North:
AFC South:
AFC West:
NFC East:
NFC North:
NFC South:
NFC West:
Bills Close To Re-Signing Jerry Hughes
The Bills are close to finalizing a new contract with their top free agent, pass rusher Jerry Hughes, reports Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (via Twitter). Earlier today, we heard that talks between Hughes and the Bills were expected to come to a head today, and it looks like those negotiations will end with an agreement.
Hughes, 26, is coming off his second consecutive 10-sack season for the Bills, and his first year as a full-time starter. The former first-round pick also racked up 54 tackles and forced three fumbles, and was viewed as a potential candidate for the franchise tag. When the Bills elected not to franchise him, Hughes looked like a good bet to reach the open market, where teams like the Jaguars, Raiders, Colts, and Browns would be potential suitors. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News notes (via Twitter) that the Giants also had interest.
Instead, it appears Hughes will return to Buffalo, rejoining a dominant defensive line that also features Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, and Marcell Dareus. Those three players were already on the books for a combined $33.86MM cap hit for the 2015 season, so a new deal for Hughes figures to push that figure up over $40MM, barring other restructures or extensions. That’s a significant amount to invest in a defensive line, but that line is the primary reason Buffalo’s defense has been so good in recent years, ranking in the top five in DVOA in both 2013 and 2014, per Football Outsiders.
When I ranked this year’s top 50 free agents, I named Hughes the fifth-best player in free agency and the top pass rusher on the unrestricted market, after Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul were franchised. Assuming Hughes finalizes his new deal with the Bills, teams eyeing a top pass rusher could shift their focus to players like Pernell McPhee, Greg Hardy, Brandon Graham, and Jason Worilds.