NFC North Notes: Suh, Vikings, Packers
So far today, the Lions have officially signed first-round pick Eric Ebron to his rookie contract, and the Vikings have brought aboard former Browns wideout Josh Cooper. A few more Friday updates out of the NFC North have trickled in over the course of the day, so let’s round up the latest on the Lions, Vikings, and one of their division rivals….
- A restructure of Ndamukong Suh‘s contract is a good bet to happen at some point this summer, but a trade remains unlikely. A source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that no discussions or negotiations about a potential deal involving the Lions star have occurred.
- While Harrison Smith will be one of the Vikings‘ starting safeties this fall, the team continues to audition players for the other starting job, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. According to Goessling, Kurt Coleman, Robert Blanton, Brandan Bishop, and rookie Antone Exum have all received plenty of looks during OTAs.
- Packers head coach Mike McCarthy continues to insist that the club hasn’t closed the door on the possibility of bringing back free agents Jermichael Finley, Ryan Pickett, and Johnny Jolly. “I would love to work with all three of those guys again,” McCarthy said during an appearance on the Bill Michaels Show on SportsRadio 1250 (hat tip to Pro Football Talk). We’ve heard for months that the Packers have been monitoring those free agents, with health an ongoing concern for Finley and Jolly.
Lions Sign First-Rounder Eric Ebron
First-round pick Eric Ebron has officially signed his contract with the Lions, according to a tweet from the tight end himself. Ebron posted a photo of him putting pen to paper, announcing that it’s a “done deal.” The move ensures that Detroit now has its entire 2014 draft class under contract.
Ebron, 21, was viewed as far and away the best tight end prospect in this year’s draft class after racking up 973 receiving yards on 62 receptions during his junior year at North Carolina in 2013. Still, it was a bit of a surprise when the Lions selected him with the 10th overall pick last month — the team already committed a significant portion of its offseason spending to pass-catchers to complement Calvin Johnson, having signed Golden Tate and Brandon Pettigrew to long-term deals. The Ravens were reportedly very interested if the UNC product had lasted a little longer in the first round.
The eight and final Lions draftee to ink his deal, Ebron will be in line for a signing bonus of more than $7.228MM, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. The four-year value of the contract, which includes a fifth-year team option, will be about $12.249MM. We’ll have to wait to hear details about possible offsets, but the pact will likely be fully guaranteed.
It was believed that the Lions would have to rework another player’s deal to create cap space to formally sign Ebron, so we’ll see if any corresponding moves are reported today. Ndamukong Suh is the most notable restructure candidate on the roster, but the club wouldn’t necessarily have had to do something with his contract in particular in order to sign Ebron.
Extra Points: Agents, Owners, Raiders, Bills
The Browns are excited about rookie tailback Terrance West but free agent pickup Ben Tate isn’t concerned about the competition, write Nate Ulrich and George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon-Journal.
“I’m not worried about that because I know when I’m on my game – I respect every running back here – but there’s no one that can really touch me or that’s close to what I do,” Tate said. “So honestly, I mean I’m not worried really about that. I battled in and out every day with what some people consider the best running back in the league — Arian Foster. I’ve seen the best. I went against him every day. I battled it. So this around here to me is really not anything.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- There needs to be more oversight when it comes to player-agent money dealings, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. There was some light shed on this issue earlier this week when DeSean Jackson and his former agent Drew Rosenhaus clashed and La Canfora urges the NFLPA to prevent more instances of this in the future.
- La Canfora also looks at ownership succession plans for 13 NFL teams. We’ve seen multiple owners pass away in recent years and the CBSSports.com scribe looks at what will happen to teams including the Panthers, Saints, and Bengals when their owners pass or cede control.
- Even after an active offseason, the Raiders still have plenty of cap space, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Oakland entered the offseason with $60MM+ in cap space and in June the club still has a healthy $10MM in breathing room.
- Former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano has been heavily connected to the Bills and today, Jeff Russo of WKBW (on Twitter) hears that current owner Terry Pegula wants to make a bid. Not only that, Pegula is determined to come out on top.
- The 2015 class of free agent receivers could be loaded, even if some players sign extensions before next winter. In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Mike Sando examines several of the top free-agents-to-be, with Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Michael Crabtree, and a pair of Packers making up the top five.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Steelers Sign Maurkice Pouncey To Extension
FRIDAY, 11:40am: Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com has the year-by-year breakdown of Pouncey’s new deal, which creates a cap hit of about $5MM for 2014.
THURSDAY, 8:28am: The Steelers have agreed to terms with standout center Maurkice Pouncey on a five-year contract extension, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Florio, the five-year pact is worth a little over $44MM, with $13MM in the form of a signing bonus and $26.5MM coming in the first three years. Since Pouncey had one year remaining on his current deal, the new agreement will ensure that he remains under team control through the 2019 season.
Pouncey, who turns 25 next month, missed the majority of the 2013 campaign after suffering a torn ACL and MCL in Week One. Prior to that lost season, the former Gator had been the Steelers’ starter in the middle of the line since entering the league as the 18th overall pick in 2010. During his three full seasons, Pouncey earned three Pro Bowl berths and an All-Pro nod in 2011, and he has seen his Pro Football Focus grades (subscription required) steadily improve. According to PFF, the Florida product was the 21st-best player at his position in 2010, 19th in 2011, and 12th in 2012, all before he turned 24.
It’s likely no coincidence that the $44MM figure on Pouncey’s five new seasons just barely eclipses the $42MM Alex Mack earned on his five-year contract this past offseason. The most recent contracts for Carolina’s Ryan Kalil and Nick Mangold of the Jets had higher overall values than Pouncey’s new deal, but the Pittsburgh center has established a new high water mark for annual salary for a center, at $8.8MM. His previous deal had called for a base salary worth around $1.288MM in 2014.
When I evaluated Pouncey’s case for an extension last week, I predicted a deal in the neighborhood of five years and $40MM, with $15MM+ in guaranteed money. Although we’ll have to wait for the full breakdown of salaries and guarantees on the new agreement, it looks like I slightly underestimated the overall value of the deal, and perhaps overshot the amount of the guarantee a little. That structure makes sense though, considering the Steelers may have been reluctant to award Pouncey a huge guarantee when he’s still recovering from last season’s knee injury.
With Pouncey locked up, the Steelers can turn their attention to other potential extension candidates on the roster. Outside linebacker Jason Worilds may be one of the club’s top priorities — Worilds is currently in position to play the 2014 season under the one-year transition tag, but remains hopeful for a multiyear contract that will keep him in Pittsburgh beyond this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vikings Sign Josh Cooper
The Vikings have signed free agent wide receiver Josh Cooper, according to agent Matt Striegel (via Twitter). Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner was Cleveland’s OC last season when Cooper was a Brown, so Turner must have seen something he liked in the former Oklahoma State standout.
Cooper, who was friends with former Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden, caught 17 passes for 166 yards in parts of two seasons in Cleveland. He finished the 2013 campaign playing as the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Josh Gordon, hauling in five passes in the club’s last game of the season. The 25-year-old will compete for a spot on Minnesota’s roster this summer.
The signing of Cooper coincides with the waiving of wideout Lestar Jean, who appears likely to land on the Vikings’ IR.
Buccaneers Sign Ronald Talley
The Buccaneers auditioned six players at their minicamp earlier this week, and at least one of those players has earned a contract with the club. According to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, the Bucs have signed free agent defensive end Ronald Talley. In related roster moves, the team also cut wide receiver Aaron Burks and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins.
Talley, 28, spent his first three NFL seasons with the Cardinals as a reserve defensive lineman. In those three years, the Detroit native was never more than a very occasional contributor, logging between 44 and 75 snaps on defense in each of his seasons with the club. Arizona elected not to submit an RFA tender to Talley in March, so the 28-year-old became an unrestricted free agent, paying a visit to the Titans in April before reaching an agreement with Tampa Bay.
As for the players who were cut, Dawkins finished last season with the Bucs, while Burks received a $5K signing bonus as an undrafted free agent last month. The moves leave Tampa Bay with one open roster spot on its 90-man roster, so the club could still add one more player from the group that auditioned this week, or bring in someone else.
South Notes: Graham, Hilton, Panthers, Titans
Jimmy Graham‘s hearing on the positional designation for his franchise tag is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday, and at least one Saints beat writer believes the Saints should win the decision. Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune points to Graham’s production during the rare instances when he was covered by a cornerback last season, arguing that his numbers in those cases don’t compare favorably at all to the league’s best receivers. The idea of determining a player’s value based on his position rather than his overall contributions to the team seems a little archaic to me, so I appreciate that Holder’s argument centers more around the pressure Graham puts on a defense rather than where he lines up — even if that may ultimately not affect the arbitrator’s decision. We’ll have to wait and see if the NFL management council makes a similar case during next week’s hearing.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two South divisions:
- After parting ways with agent Drew Rosenhaus, Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton has hired Maverick Carter and Erik Burkhardt to represent him, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Hilton still has two years left on his rookie deal.
- In the wake of Jordan Gross‘ retirement, the Panthers still aren’t sure who will be protecting Cam Newton‘s blind side at left tackle this season, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
- Northern Colorado signal-caller Seth Lobato auditioned for the Titans yesterday, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Lobato went undrafted last month and signed with the Colts as a free agent, but was cut by the team earlier in June.
- Former Dolphin Will Yeatman, who was converted from a tight end to an offensive lineman a couple years back, has visited the Texans this week, as well as the Vikings, according to Wilson. Yeatman is recovering from an ACL injury but is expected to be ready for the season.
Rams Sign Robinson, Donald, Eight Others
5:12pm: Donald doesn’t have offsets in his deal either, Breer adds (on Twitter).
5:01pm: The Rams’ deal with Robinson does not have offsets, tweets Albert Breer of NFL Network. He’s the first player to get that concession this year and that could factor into the Jaguars’ talks with Blake Bortles, Breer adds.
4:34pm: The Rams may have waited the longest of any NFL team to get a draft pick under contract, but it didn’t take the team long to complete the process once it was started. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the Rams have signed all 11 of their 2014 draftees. In addition to the previously reported Lamarcus Joyner, that group includes first-rounders Greg Robinson and Aaron Donald and 249th overall pick Michael Sam.
A year ago, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher wanted to take the team’s rookies through “Financial Planning 101” before those players received their signing bonuses. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Rams did the same thing this year, delaying the signing process to ensure that their players know how to manage their money when they receive it.
Among those signing bonuses, Robinson’s will be the largest — according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the signing bonus for the No. 2 pick should fall just short of $14MM. As the 13th overall pick, Donald will be in line for a bonus of $5.692MM. The remaining eight bonuses range from about $46K to $638K.
Besides Robinson, Donald, Joyner, and Sam, the Rams now have the following draftees under contract:
- Tre Mason, RB, Auburn (3.75)
- Maurice Alexander, S, Utah State (4.110)
- E.J. Gaines, CB, Missouri (6.188)
- Garrett Gilbert, QB, SMU (6.214)
- Mitchell Van Dyk, OT, Portland State (7.226)
- Christian Bryant, S, Ohio State (7.241)
- Demetrius Rhaney, C, Tennessee State (7.250)
Dolphins Sign Second-Rounder Jarvis Landry
A flurry of draft picks, including several first-rounders, have signed their contracts so far this afternoon, and we can add one more to the list. Second-round wide receiver Jarvis Landry has inked his rookie deal with the Dolphins, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Landry, the 63rd overall pick, is the sixth of the Dolphins’ eight draftees to be locked up by the team. Only a pair of offensive tackles – first-rounder Ju’Wuan James and third-rounder Billy Turner – remain unsigned.
As Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at Over the Cap show, Landry should receive a signing bonus worth approximately $847K. Overall, the four-year value of the contract for the LSU product will be in the neighborhood of $3.475MM.
Rams Sign Lamarcus Joyner
At last count, only 31 members of 2014’s draft class remained unsigned, and 11 of those belonged to the Rams. Head coach Jeff Fisher and his team have gotten into the habit of walking their rookies through “Financial Planning 101” before handing them big signing bonuses, but it seems St. Louis has finally begun to start locking up its draftees. According to agent Sunny Shah of 320 Sports (Twitter link), second-round cornerback Lamarcus Joyner inked his rookie contract today.
Joyner, a member of the Florida State squad that won last season’s BCS National Championship, earned First Team All-ACC and consensus All-American honors in his final year as a Seminole. For the season, the 23-year-old had 69 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 5.5 sacks.
Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Joyner’s signing bonus as the 41st overall pick should come in at about $1.978MM