Lions Re-Sign Dominic Raiola
FEBRUARY 14: Raiola’s new contract will pay him a $1.5MM base salary for 2014, along with a $250K signing bonus, reports Birkett (via Twitter).
FEBRUARY 7: The Lions have re-signed center Dominic Raiola to a one-year contract, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). After agreeing to a contract restructure a year ago that reduced his 2013 base salary to the veteran’s minimum, Raiola has received a “nice raise” this time around, according to Birkett.
Raiola, who turned 35 in December, has been a longtime mainstay of the Lions’ offensive line. With the exception of four 2008 contests, Raiola has started every single game in the last 12 seasons for the franchise, and appears poised to do the same in 2014. The Nebraska product indicated last month that he hoped to play a couple more seasons in the NFL, so it’s possible that this new one-year deal won’t be his last contract in the league.
While the specific financial details of the contract aren’t yet known, Raiola’s “nice raise” likely won’t be too drastic, since the Lions are already facing a cap crunch. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com detailed earlier this week, only three teams currently have less projected 2014 space than the Lions. However, Detroit can create some flexibility via cuts and restructures, and after re-signing Raiola, the team only has three 2013 starters still eligible for free agency, notes Birkett (via Twitter).
Buccaneers Sign Steve Maneri, D.J. Moore
The Buccaneers added two more players to their 2014 roster today, signing tight end Steve Maneri and cornerback D.J. Moore, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. While both players were on NFL clubs in 2013, neither player finished the season on a team’s active roster, making them eligible to sign before the free agent period begins on March 11.
It’s worth noting that Maneri and Moore both have experience with the Bears, though only Moore played under current Bucs head coach Lovie Smith in Chicago. A fourth-round draft pick in 2009, Moore racked up 10 interceptions for the Bears in three seasons from 2010 to 2012, playing primarily as a nickelback. The Vanderbilt product, who turns 27 next month, signed a one-year deal with the Panthers for the 2013 season, but was released by the club in October after missing multiple games with knee issues.
As for Maneri, his most significant playing time came in 2012 when he started eight games and caught five passes for the Chiefs. The 25-year-old is a converted offensive tackle, so if he makes the Bucs’ regular season roster, he figures to see the brunt of his playing time as a blocker in sets featuring multiple tight ends.
Terms of the contracts weren’t released, but I’d guess both players will be in line for minimum base salaries, perhaps with modest signing bonuses.
NFL Paid Roger Goodell $44MM+ Last Year
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell received another significant bump in salary during the last fiscal year, according to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal. Kaplan reports that the NFL paid Goodell a total of $44.2MM in the year that ended March 31, 2013, a figure that includes $9.1MM in deferred pay.
A year ago, word broke that Goodell had earned nearly $30MM during the previous fiscal year, a salary that raised plenty of eyebrows since it came on the heels of a league lockout. Prior to the league’s new labor deal, Goodell’s top pay was $11.5MM, according to Kaplan. The league, which defended Goodell’s pay, stressed that his actual earnings for the year are closer to $35MM, with $9MM+ of that overall amount coming from deferred bonuses and pension from the 2011 lockout period.
“Goodell’s compensation reflects our pay-for-performance philosophy and is appropriate given the fact that the NFL under his consistently strong leadership continues to grow,” wrote NFL team owners Arthur Blank (Falcons), Robert Kraft (Patriots), and Jerry Richardson (Panthers) in a letter that Kaplan says was to be emailed to the rest of the league’s owners this afternoon.
Despite the justification from the league’s compensation committee, Goodell’s massive salary doesn’t do much to dissuade the notion that the 2011 labor deal was one that favored the league’s management owners, an agreement for which the commissioner is now being reward. It also figures to raise more questions about the NFL’s non-profit status.
According to Kaplan, Goodell’s earnings for last year almost certainly make him sports’ highest-paid executive, likely surpassing MLB commissioner Bud Selig.
NFC Notes: Vikings, Falcons, Packers, Graham
With Matt Cassel and Josh Freeman headed for unrestricted free agency, the Vikings will have some decisions to make at quarterback this offseason. Despite Christian Ponder‘s subpar performance in 2013, the team is confident will return, GM Rick Spielman tells ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling (Twitter link). As Goessling notes though, Spielman sounds committed to the idea of bringing in a young QB, and says the club will “at least two” signal-callers to the roster.
Let’s round up a few more Friday items from across the NFC….
- The Falcons are giving “strong consideration” to hiring former Rams GM Billy Devaney to their front office, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Falcons, who recently added Scott Pioli to their ranks, employed Devaney as recently as 2007, when he was an assistant GM in Atlanta.
- Even if the Packers hope to retain both of their restricted free agents – safety M.D. Jennings and linebacker Jamari Lattimore – it may not make sense to tender either player for $1.389MM, says Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, suggesting that the team could try to sign both players for something close to the minimum salary.
- There’s a good chance that contract negotiations between Jimmy Graham and the Saints will go to the eleventh hour, but it’s not entirely clear when the clock will strike as midnight, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains.
- Re-signing punter Donnie Jones should be the easiest call for the Eagles this offseason, according to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com.
Seahawks Sign Greg Van Roten
Just three days after being cut by the Packers, offensive lineman Greg Van Roten has signed with a new NFL team, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. According to Demovsky (Twitter links), Van Roten inked a one-year deal with the defending champion Seahawks. Van Roten himself confirmed the report on his Twitter account.
Van Roten, who spent a good chunk of the 2013 season on injured reserve with a foot injury, accumulated two credited seasons with the Packers, so assuming he signed for the minimum salary, he’ll be on the books for a $570K cap number in 2014. He’ll likely be competing for a roster spot in Seattle this summer.
Lions Links: Burleson, Delmas, Free Agency
The two players the Lions released yesterday, wide receiver Nate Burleson and safety Louis Delmas, weren’t the most talented on the roster, but they were the “emotional centers” of their respective units, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. While Meinke acknowledges that the cap figures involved made the cuts inevitable, he adds that losing two of their locker-room leaders could negatively impact the Lions’ chemistry. Here’s more out of Detroit:
- Even before the team waived Burleson and Delmas, wide receiver and safety were areas of need, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who explores a few potential options for the Lions as they seek reinforcements at those positions.
- After relying heavily on Calvin Johnson in recent years, the Lions need to find a receiver who can not only complement him but perhaps be his eventual replacement, says ESPN.com’s Michael Robinson. Unfortunately, given the club’s cap issues, finding that receiver in free agency this offseason doesn’t appear likely.
- The Lions’ need for a second receiver is also addressed by Dan Pompei in a piece for Sports on Earth, though Pompei addresses several other areas of concern for the club as well. Among them: Matthew Stafford‘s apparent regression, Ndamukong Suh‘s huge cap number, and the need for a culture change in Detroit.
Manziel Says Texans Would Regret Passing On Him
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle has maintained for several weeks that the Texans will use the first overall pick in the 2014 draft to select a quarterback, and for his latest Chronicle piece, he got a chance to speak extensively with one of the top candidates for that No. 1 pick: Johnny Manziel. The former Heisman winner expressed in strong terms that he hoped and expected to be picked No. 1 by the Texans in May. Here are a few notable quotes from Manziel, as detailed by McClain:
On how he wants the Texans to feel about drafting him:
“I want them to say absolutely, without a doubt, with 100% certainty, that I’m who they want. I want everybody from the janitor at Reliant Stadium to the front office executive assistant all the way up to (owner) Bob McNair to say, ‘This kid is 100%, can’t miss. This is who we want being the face of our program. We want the Texas kid staying in Texas and leading the Texans.'”
On how the Texans should feel if they pass on him and he’s drafted by the Jaguars (No. 3):
“It would be the worst decision they’ve ever made. I’d be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito.”
On his expectations for his NFL career:
“People can call me crazy, and it’s not cockiness — I’m going to put myself in (position) to win the Super Bowl every single year. A 5’10” guy (Russell Wilson) just won the Super Bowl in his second year in the NFL. That’s unreal. I want to be the first rookie to win the Super Bowl.”
On the possibility of being drafted by the Browns:
“If something happens, and it’s the Cleveland Browns, I’m going to pour my heart out for the Dawg Pound and try to win a Super Bowl for Cleveland. I don’t care if they’ve had 20 starting quarterbacks since 1999. I’m going to be the 21st and the guy that brought them the Super Bowl.”
On leaving the ‘Johnny Football’ moniker behind and simply becoming Johnny Manziel:
“Johnny Football is the stuff you see on TMZ. There’s part of that folktale that goes along with it and tries to twist me into somebody I’m not all the time. I feel like now there’s kind of like this frozen food package — a prewrapped, precooked package of who I am. Johnny Manziel is the guy that – whether it’s Houston, Jacksonville, Cleveland or Oakland – you’ll have to drag off that field before I stop playing for those guys. Those are my teammates. Those are my brothers from now on. I’m going to fight until there’s no time left on the clock. That’s Johnny Manziel.”
Saints Re-Sign Trevin Wade
The Saints have re-signed cornerback and special-teamer Trevin Wade, according to Brian McIntyre (on Twitter). Wade had two years of NFL experience, so he was an exclusive rights free agents, unable to sign with any team except New Orleans.
A Browns’ seventh-round pick in 2012, Wade saw a decent amount of playing time (200+ snaps) in Cleveland’s secondary that season, but was cut by the team last summer. The 24-year-old caught in with the Saints in November, and was active for New Orleans’ final two regular season games as well as the club’s two postseason contests.
Wade’s one-year contract will be worth the minimum salary ($570K). Assuming he lasts the season in New Orleans, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency a year from now.
Chiefs Re-Sign Richard Gordon
The Chiefs have signed tight end Richard Gordon to a one-year, $645K extension, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). Gordon had been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, but he’ll instead return to Kansas City on a minimum salary deal.
Gordon, 26, hasn’t seen much playing time during his three NFL seasons with the Raiders, Steelers, and Chiefs, but he’s managed to record at least one reception in each of those seasons. The former Miami Hurricane, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft, figures to play on special teams and occasionally on offense for the Chiefs in 2014.
Buccaneers Sign Mike Kafka
FRIDAY, 11:07am: Kafka’s deal with the Bucs is a two-year pact worth $1.255MM, tweets Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com. That figure suggests the contract either includes a signing bonus or is worth slightly more than the minimum.
MONDAY, 3:15pm: The Bucs have officially announced the signing of Kafka, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter).
2:05pm: Although it looked last week as if he was poised to join the Cowboys, free agent quarterback Mike Kafka will sign with the Buccaneers, according to his agent. Mike McCartney of Priority Sports tweeted today that he’s excited for Kafka signing with Tampa Bay.
Kafka, a fourth-round pick in 2010, saw a little action for the Eagles in 2011, but was waived by the team before the 2012 season. Signed last January to a reserve/futures contract by the Patriots, Kafka was subsequently waived and claimed by the Jaguars, where he competed for a roster spot in the summer before being cut again. The Northwestern alum worked out for the Cowboys last week, but it seems either Dallas or the signal-caller himself chose to go in another direction.
Although details of Kafka’s deal with the Bucs aren’t known, it will likely be another reserve/futures deal, perhaps with a small portion of guaranteed money included. Considering Josh Freeman is no longer in the picture in Tampa Bay and Dan Orlovsky is eligible for free agency, there may be an opening for the 26-year-old Kafka to compete for a job on the Bucs’ 2014 roster.