Jaguars, Roy Miller Agree To Extension
1:18pm: Miller received a bump in pay on his new deal, according to Mark Long of The Associated Press, who tweets that the four-year pact is worth about $16MM.
12:52pm: In a tweet congratulating his client on his contract extension, agent Mike McCartney confirms that the deal is for four years.
12:46pm: The Jaguars have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with defensive tackle Roy Miller, says John Oehser of Jaguars.com, who adds that Miler was “very emotional” talking about his new deal (Twitter links). Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union first reported that the two sides were closing in on a new contract agreement.
Miller, 27, was selected in the third round of the 2009 draft by the Buccaneers, and spent the first four years of his NFL career in Tampa Bay before signing with the Jags in 2013. Although he was slowed by a shoulder injury in his first season with Jacksonville, Miller has played better in his second year with the club after undergoing surgery on that troublesome shoulder in the offseason. The former Longhorn has recorded 31 tackles and a sack for the Jags this year, starting all 14 games and logging 492 total defensive snaps.
Miller’s previous contract with the Jags, which was set to expire at season’s end, was worth about $2.3MM annually, with just under $2MM guaranteed initially. His new pact, which appears to be a four-year contract, per Hays Carlyon of the Times-Union (Twitter link), will likely be in the same ballpark as far as annual salary goes, though we’ll have to wait for the official numbers to be sure.
According to O’Halloran, Miller will likely be the only Jacksonville free-agent-to-be who receives an extension from the club this year.
49ers Sign Desmond Bishop; Osgood To IR
11:54am: As expected, Osgood has been placed on IR as the corresponding transaction, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. The 49ers have now confirmed both moves.
10:34am: With their depth at inside linebacker thinning out due to injuries, the 49ers have signed a veteran free agent to help fortify the position, adding linebacker Desmond Bishop, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Bishop, who was cut earlier in the month by the division-rival Cardinals, had tried out for the Niners last week.
The Cardinals signed Bishop to a contract back in August, released him prior to Week 1, then circled back around to him in October. The 30-year-old didn’t see much action on the field for Arizona, however, and didn’t record a tackle all season for the club.
Bishop spent the first six years of his NFL career in Green Bay, emerging as one of the team’s starting linebackers in 2010 and 2011. The former sixth-round pick racked up more than 100 tackles in each of those seasons, totaling eight sacks, 10 passes defended, and four forced fumbles in those two combined years. However, injuries have since derailed his career. Bishop suffered a ruptured hamstring in 2012 while with the Vikings, and in 2013, his season was cut short after four games thanks to an ACL tear.
The 49ers have yet to announce a corresponding move to accommodate the addition of Bishop, but special-teamer Kassim Osgood underwent surgery on his finger today and will miss the rest of the season, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The team could move Osgood to IR to open up a roster spot.
Bucs Promote Three Players From PS
After placing three players, including standout defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, on injured reserve yesterday, the Buccaneers have now filled those three openings on their roster without adding an outside free agent. The team announced today in a press release that it has promoted three practice squad players to the active roster — wide receiver Tavarres King, tight end/fullback Evan Rodriguez, and defensive tackle George Uko got the call for Tampa Bay.
King, 24, spent five weeks on the Jaguars’ active roster this season, but has yet to see action in a regular-season NFL contest. Rodriguez, cut by the Bills in the preseason, has played for Buffalo and Chicago since entering the league in 2012. As for Uko, the undrafted rookie initially signed with the Saints as a free agent back in May, but didn’t survive roster cutdowns in August.
Having created three newly-opened spots on their practice squad due to the promotions, the Bucs filled one of those openings by signing wide receiver Chandler Jones, according to the team. Jones worked out for Tampa Bay a little over a month ago.
Sammie Coates To Enter NFL Draft
Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates will play his final college game in the upcoming Outback Bowl, having made the decision to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, he told reporters on Monday, including Brandon Marcello of AL.com. Coates graduated a year early, and indicated that he wouldn’t be declaring for the draft if he were still an undergrad.
Coates was slowed by injuries for part of this season, and had two or fewer receptions in more than half his games, but finished strong with a five-catch, 206-yard showing against Alabama in last month’s Iron Bowl. In total, Coates hauled in 30 balls for 717 yards and four touchdowns in 2014.
Coates ranks as 2015’s fifth-best wide receiver prospect, according to WalterFootball.com, and seventh per CBS Sports’ rankings. Mel Kiper of ESPN.com suggested last week that he expects the Auburn wideout to be a late-first or early-to-mid-second round pick.
New York Links: Coughlin, Idzik, Ryan
The Jets and Giants are well out of playoff contention themselves, but should have an opportunity to play spoiler over the next couple weeks. The AFC East cellar-dwellers are preparing to host the Patriots this Sunday, and an upset victory would significantly impact New England’s quest for the conference’s No. 1 seed. Meanwhile, the Giants close their season in Week 17 with a game against the Eagles, whose postseason hopes could hinge on winning that game.
As we wait to see if either the Jets or Giants can trip up a division rival in the season’s final two weeks, let’s round up a few Tuesday links out of New York….
- Giants ownership has been mum about Tom Coughin‘s future with the team, and that’s just fine with the head coach, as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post details. Asked if his job status occupies his thoughts, Coughlin replied, “No, it doesn’t. We’ve got two games to go and we want to be the best we can be in these next two games.”
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com identifies five players on the Giants‘ roster who qualify as potential building blocks, led by Odell Beckham, who is “already the best player on the team,” in Raanan’s view. One of the five is free-agent-to-be Jason Pierre-Paul, who won’t come cheap, but should be a priority for the club this offseason.
- Meanwhile, players like defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and cornerback Prince Amukamara remain under contract with the Giants for the 2015 season, but the team may need to rework or extend those deals, among others, says Patricia Traina of Bleacher Report.
- While you can point to several missteps made within the last year by general manager John Idzik, letting Darrelle Revis go to the Patriots when the cornerback had interest in returning to the Jets was the GM’s worst move, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
- Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post outlines several potential landing spots for Rex Ryan, if and when he’s let go by the Jets, identifying several head coaching jobs likely to open up. While Ryan has reportedly told friends he’s interested in a television job, and wouldn’t want to work as a defensive coordinator, Cannizzaro thinks the Giants‘ DC job could be an ideal fit, which sounds like a long shot to me.
Jaguars Place Denard Robinson On IR
DECEMBER 16: The Jaguars have officially placed Robinson on injured reserve, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. No corresponding move has been announced yet.
DECEMBER 10: Jaguars starting running back Denard Robinson has been ruled out for the final three games of the season, the team announced today (Twitter link). Robinson, who suffered a mid-foot sprain, will be placed on Jacksonville’s injured reserve list soon, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.
Robinson, 24, established himself as the top option in the Jaguars’ backfield during the team’s Week 7 win over Cleveland, when he rushed 22 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore’s carries have been on the decline in every week since then, but he had still been getting the ball more than any other Jacksonville running back, including Toby Gerhart, who was signed in the offseason with the expectation that he’d be the starter. For the year, Robinson totaled 582 yards and four touchdowns on 135 rushing attempts.
When Robinson officially lands on IR, the Jags will have a spot open on their 53-man roster to promote or sign a player. With Robinson out, Gerhart and Jordan Todman figure to be first in line for carries.
Pro Football Rumors On Facebook/Twitter
The NFL’s regular season is entering its home stretch, which means the 2015 offseason is just around the corner. As the winter nears and big-name players like Dez Bryant, Ndamukong Suh, and Demaryius Thomas approach free agency, there will be plenty of notable stories to track on Pro Football Rumors, and you don’t necessarily have to keep refreshing our site to keep tabs on them. There are a handful of different ways you can follow us to get the latest updates on NFL news and rumors all year.
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Minor Moves: Monday
Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including practice squad signings and cuts, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- Washington cut Chase Minnifield from injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Minnifield had been on IR ever since suffering a concussion in November.
- Tight end Gerell Robinson has received a promotion in Miami, as the Dolphins added him to their 53-man roster from the practice squad (Twitter link). To accommodate the move, tight end Gator Hoskins has been cut.
- The Rams have filled one of their two practice squad openings by signing defensive lineman Doug Worthington, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The Colts have promoted cornerback Sheldon Price from their practice squad to their active roster, the team announced today in a press release. To make room for Price, the club waived tackle Andrew McDonald.
Earlier updates:
- Although it appeared last month that cornerback Robert Alford would return this season after suffering a broken wrist, Falcons head coach Mike Smith confirmed today that Alford will have surgery on that wrist and is being placed on the team’s injured reserve list, tweets D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- The Panthers have made a change on their defensive line, parting ways with defensive tackle Micanor Regis and signing fellow defensive tackle Kyle Love to take his place on their 53-man roster, according to the team (Twitter link). Carolina also re-added defensive end Frank Alexander to its roster following his suspension — the club receives a week-long roster exemption for Alexander, so nobody needs to be cut to accommodate him quite yet (Twitter link).
- As expected, in the wake of Drew Stanton‘s knee injury, the Cardinals have added a quarterback to their practice squad for emergency purposes. According to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter), the team has added former Cornell signal-caller Jeff Mathews to its taxi squad, cutting linebacker Kion Wilson to create space.
NFC North Notes: Peterson, Lions, Hayne
The NFLPA formally filed its lawsuit on behalf of Adrian Peterson today, in the hopes of getting the Vikings running back reinstated from his suspension prior to the start of the 2015 league year in March. We’ve got plenty of Peterson-related updates to pass along in this afternoon’s round-up of NFC North notes, along with one item on the division-rival Lions. Let’s dive in….
- As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report explains, Peterson’s camp wants the running back reinstated by March so that if the Vikings decide to cut him, he can be involved in the first wave of free agency — if he’s reinstated in April or later, Peterson’s leverage would be significantly reduced in the event that Minnesota approaches him about a pay cut.
- The NFLPA’s lawsuit crafted on Peterson’s behalf is “a masterpiece,” according to ESPN.com legal analyst Lester Munson. However, as Munson points out, judges almost never overturn the decisions of arbitrators, so the suit is unlikely to change anything for the running back.
- According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, the NFLPA attempted to reach a compromise with the NFL before Henderson issued his ruling — the NFLPA proposed that Peterson would sit out the rest of the season, but would recoup some of the $4MM+ in salary he has lost, and would be reinstated well before April 15. Needless to say, the league didn’t agree to those terms.
- After paying a visit to the Lions last week, rugby star Jarryd Hayne is in town again today, and the team has expressed interest in signing him, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Agent Jack Bechta tells Birkett that “no decision is imminent, as we have to explore all options,” but it sounds as if Detroit could have interest in signing Hayne to the same sort of deal Carlin Isles signed a year ago — Isles, another rugby standout, joined the Lions’ practice squad in December, giving the team first shot at him for a reserve/futures contract at season’s end.
Titans Sign Jordan Palmer; Locker To IR
Like the division-rival Texans, the Titans are cycling through quarterbacks as injuries pile up, and have added a veteran free agent to the mix, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who reports that Jordan Palmer is signing with the club. To accommodate the new addition to the 53-man roster, Tennessee is moving Jake Locker to the injured reserve list, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
Palmer, the younger brother of Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, spent last season with the Bears as the No. 3 QB, behind Jay Cutler and Josh McCown, but was cut by the team during the 2014 preseason. The 30-year-old Palmer has also spent time with the Bengals and the Jaguars, and had a brief stint with the Bills prior to the regular season. He has logged just 15 pass attempts in his career.
The other half of the quarterback shake-up is perhaps of greater interest to Titans fans — with Locker heading to the IR list, his season is officially over, and his career in Tennessee appears to be coming to an end as well. The former first-round pick is eligible for unrestricted free agency in March, and new head coach Ken Whisenhunt hasn’t shown much interest in keeping or developing the 26-year-old. Locker likely won’t draw much interest in the offseason as a starter after a subpar, injury-plagued 2014 season. But in the right situation, he could become a solid backup with upside.
With Zach Mettenberger also sidelined, Charlie Whitehurst looks like the probable starter for the Titans’ Thursday night game against Jacksonville.