Steelers Rumors: Worilds, Woodley, Ben
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert met with several members of the Pittsburgh media today to discuss the team’s coming offseason, and a handful of beat writers diligently tweeted out several of Colbert’s more noteworthy quotes. So let’s dive right in, and round up the highlights, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (all links go to Twitter)….
- Asked about the chances of the Steelers re-signing Jason Worilds and retaining LaMarr Woodley, Colbert said it would be possible to bring both back, but expressed some caution about Woodley’s injury issues in recent years. Our Matt Feminis explored the Worilds/Woodley situation in Pittsburgh in a piece a couple weeks ago.
- The Steelers have plenty of things on their to-do list for before March 11, according to Colbert, who said that list may include “terminations, restructurings and extensions,” and added that the team wants to re-sign some of its own free agents.
- Although Colbert didn’t name any players specifically, he conceded that asking players to take pay cuts is one subject the team is currently discussing. As Bouchette notes, defensive back Ike Taylor is a candidate for a salary reduction.
- Even with several older players on sizable salaries, the club doesn’t ever plan to blow things up and enter full-scale rebuilding mode, said Colbert.
- The Steelers aren’t presently as deep as they’d like at either safety or cornerback, according to Colbert.
- Colbert believes the 2014 draft class is perhaps the deepest he’s seen in 30 years, but has some concerns that a number of the underclassmen who declared their intent for the draft may have left school too early.
- Although Ben Roethlisberger turns 32 this year, selecting a quarterback won’t be a priority for the Steelers in this year’s draft, according to Colbert. The GM also declined to discuss whether contract discussions with Big Ben are planned or ongoing, but said the team needs to “make the most” of the years it has left with its franchise quarterback.
Latest On Mark Sanchez
It has long been considered unlikely that Mark Sanchez will still be a New York Jet by the time the 2014 season gets underway, and in a video report for ESPN.com, Rich Cimini confirms that the two sides still seem likely to part ways. Here are the highlights from Cimini’s report:
- There’s no chance that Sanchez will return to the Jets on his current $13.1MM cap number, but the team could ask him about taking a significant pay cut to remain on the roster. Still, after talking to both camps, Cimini gets the sense that a fresh start may be in the best interests of both sides, with Sanchez likely seeking a change of scenery.
- Sanchez is owed a roster bonus of $2MM on March 25, so the Jets will make their move before that date. While the club will explore trade options, finding a taker is a real long shot — releasing him is far more likely. In that case, Sanchez would count as $4.8MM in dead money on New York’s 2014 cap.
- Assuming Sanchez ultimately does end up on the open market, he could land a deal worth $3-4MM with a chance to be a starter, general managers tell Cimini. That’s a similar sentiment to one we heard expressed in a New York Post report last month, and taking into account the rather weak free agent market for quarterbacks, it doesn’t sound like a stretch.
Rams Hire Gregg Williams As DC
FEBRUARY 12: The Rams have officially announced Williams as their new defensive coordinator, with a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning.
JANUARY 29: As reported by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter) and confirmed by the team (Twitter link), the Rams decided not to bring back defensive coordinator Tim Walton for the 2014 season. According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Rams intend to replace Walton with veteran coach Gregg Williams.
Williams, 55, was the head coach of the Bills from 2001 to 2003, though he’s perhaps better known for his role in the Saints’ bounty scandal. As the defensive coordinator of a unit that allegedly awarded bonuses to players for hits that inflicted injuries on opposing players, Williams received a year-long suspension from the NFL in 2012.
If and when his hiring is made official, it won’t be the first time Williams has accepted the same position from the Rams. He had been poised to act as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2012, having been hired before the league handed down the one-year suspension. Williams was eventually let go by St. Louis last January without having ever coached for the team, and spent the 2013 with the Titans as a defensive assistant.
NFC South Notes: Gonzalez, Graham, Panthers
Former Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano was in the news again today, with a report suggesting that his candidacy in the Browns’ coaching search contributed to the rift between CEO Joe Banner and owner Jimmy Haslam. The Bucs themselves aren’t making headlines at the moment, but here are a few of the latest items on their division rivals in the NFC South:
- In a recent ESPN The Magazine interview, retiring tight end Tony Gonzalez left the door slightly open for a possible return to the Falcons later in the 2014 season, “if the team is hot in November, 9-2 or something.” However, it doesn’t sound like GM Thomas Dimitroff is anticipating having Gonzalez back. Speaking to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, Dimitroff simply said, “I believe Tony Gonzalez has retired and he’ll have a fantastic career in the media business.”
- While Jimmy Graham was split out as a receiver for about two-third of his snaps in 2013, that fact alone doesn’t tell the whole story about his position, writes John McTigue of ESPN.com (Insider link). In McTigue’s view, Graham will still be considered a tight end if and when the Saints designate him as their franchise player, but when he eventually receives a long-term deal, he should get wide receiver money.
- When I asked earlier in the week whether Graham should be viewed as a tight end or wide receiver for franchise salary purposes, over 60% of you went with TE.
- With three of the four defensive backs who finished the season as starters eligible for free agency, the Panthers will have to make their secondary an area of focus this offseason, writes David Newton of ESPN.com. As Newton suggests, this year’s cornerback class is strong enough that Carolina could likely find a starter in the second round of the draft.
Broncos Extend John Elway, Add GM To Title
The Broncos have extended their relationship with executive VP of football operations John Elway, signing him to a three-year contract extension, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post. In addition to locking him up for three additional years, the Broncos have also added the position of general manager to his current title, says Klis.
Elway’s deal had been set to expire after the 2014 season, so the new agreement ensures that he remains under contract through the 2017 season. As for the new title, as Klis explains (via Sulia), Elway had already been tasked with making the final decisions related to roster-building, so being known as the GM doesn’t figure to change his responsibilities much.
Since assuming the role of executive VP of football operations in 2011, Elway has seen the Broncos compile a 34-14 record, including two 13-3 seasons, and earn a spot in this month’s Super Bowl. While that game didn’t turn out well for Denver, Elway’s tenure, which included the hiring of coach John Fox and the acquisition of future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, has been very fruitful for the franchise thus far.
Speaking of Fox, he appears to be the next one in line for a contract extension from the Broncos. According to Klis, the team is expected to work out a new multiyear contract with its head coach.
Saints Re-Sign Keyunta Dawson
The Saints have signed Keyunta Dawson to a one-year, minimum-salary contract extension, reports Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The veteran DE/OLB received a $5K guaranteed signing bonus in the deal, according to McIntyre.
Dawson, 28, has only played in 13 games over the last three seasons, and he saw just 105 snaps with the Saints in his 2013 stint with the team. In those six games with New Orleans, he recorded three tackles and a half-sack, and forced a fumble.
Dawson’s cap number will be $575K for 2014, though assuming he earns a spot on the roster and remains in the league for the entire season, he’ll earn a slightly larger salary than that.
NFC East Notes: Salary Cap, Ware, Redskins
As teams look to get under the 2014 cap in advance of the NFL’s league year beginning on March 11, several players with large cap numbers will be worth watching. In his latest piece for CBSSports.com, Joel Corry examines the players with the top five biggest cap numbers in the league, two of which come from the NFC East: Tony Romo of the Cowboys and Eli Manning of the Giants. While the Cowboys have the discretionary right to convert Romo’s base salary into a signing bonus, the Giants don’t have the same flexibility with Manning, so lowering Eli’s cap hit may mean signing him to an extension.
Besides Romo and Manning, DeMarcus Ware represents another interesting case, writes Corry. Ware’s $16MM+ cap number probably needs to be addressed to help the Cowboys’ slip under the cap, but it’s not clear if the veteran pass rusher would be willing to accept a pay cut. Here’s more on Ware, along with a few other NFC East notes:
- Ware tells Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com that his agent has yet to be approached by the Cowboys about Ware’s contract, though that figures to happen soon. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ware said. “I’m going to let the guys run the numbers and handle that. My mentality is that I’m going to do what I need to do to try to help the team out the best I can where they’re going to win and I want to win.”
- John Keim of ESPN.com takes a snapshot of the Redskins’ cap breakdown by position, revealing that well over half of the team’s current commitments are on the offensive or defensive line.
- In a photo gallery, the Dallas Morning News identifies 10 wide receiver prospects who the Cowboys could target in this year’s draft.
Browns Rumors: Parcells, Banner, Draft
Before announcing their new front office structure, the Browns targeted Bill Parcells to run the franchise, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. While Freeman’s report comes via an unnamed source, Parcells himself tells the BR scribe that he only spoke to the Browns about why organizations succeed and fail.
Parcells has previously served as the Jets’ general manager and, more recently, as the executive VP of football operations in Miami with the Dolphins. However, he hasn’t worked with an NFL team in an official capacity for the last several years. While Freeman’s report remains unconfirmed, it’s not a stretch to think that the Browns would have approached him about a position in the organization, nor is it hard to believe that Parcells passed, given his age (72) and the way in which the club’s coaching search played out.
Here’s more on the team’s front office shakeup and fallout:
- TheMMQB.com’s Peter King took an extended look at the situation in Cleveland, passing along an anecdote about the team’s interview of coaching canidate Ken Whisenhunt which illustrated why owner Jimmy Haslam made the decision to part ways with CEO Joe Banner — according to King, Haslam had become increasingly “dubious about Banner’s football acumen,” which was openly questioned by Whisenhunt during his interview.
- King hears from a source that, after strong recommendations by Bill Belichick and Urban Meyer, Haslam was interested in interviewing former Bucs coach Greg Schiano for Cleveland’s opening. However, Banner wanted nothing to do with Schiano, whose stint in Tampa had been rocky, and was cold to him during his interview, according to the source. The incident further illustrated the “major rift” among the Browns’ decision-makers, King writes.
- King backs up a Tuesday report which suggested that Banner and Michael Lombardi were shocked by the abrupt announcement by Haslam.
- The Browns “seem prepared to move heaven and earth” to draft a franchise quarterback in the first round of May’s draft, according to King.
- Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer spoke to a number of people around the league about new Browns GM Ray Farmer, and the consensus was that Farmer is ready to take on the role.
- Earlier today, we heard that the Browns are negotiating a long-term contract with cornerback Joe Haden.
Browns, Joe Haden Talking Long-Term Deal
While the Browns’ front office overhaul may have an effect on the team’s decisions relating to certain players, it doesn’t appear as if it will affect cornerback Joe Haden. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links), the Browns have been negotiating a long-term contract with Haden, and were in touch with his reps yesterday. Locking up Haden will remain a top priority for the club through the front office transition, says Breer.
Haden, the seventh overall pick in 2010, has one year remaining on his rookie contract, with a base salary of $6.68MM owed to him for 2014, to go along with a cap number of about $8.93MM. As such, the Browns may be more concerned with finalizing decisions on ’14 free agents like center Alex Mack and safety T.J. Ward. Still, the team will be looking to keep Haden off the open market next year, so an agreement within the next 12 months looks likely.
On his first NFL contract, Haden already ranks among the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, by annual salary. A new agreement could easily vault him into the top five at his position. With that sort of deal, he’d be looking at a salary that approaches or surpasses $10MM per year, not an unreasonable figure for a player who is still just 24 years old and is considered one of the league’s best at his position. NFL scribe Brian McIntyre expects Haden to seek $30MM+ in guaranteed money on his next contract (Twitter link).
Haden was named to his first Pro Bowl this past season. In 15 starts for the Browns, the Florida product picked off four passes and defended 20 more, while consistently limiting the production of opposing teams’ number one receivers.
Florida Notes: Jaguars, Dolphins, Kafka
After rounding up the latest updates on a handful of AFC and NFC North teams earlier this afternoon, we’ll head down south and check in on today’s items on the league’s three franchise in Florida:
- Last offseason, the Jaguars didn’t sign any free agents to contracts exceeding two years, but GM Dave Caldwell has expressed a willingness to go to three or four years this time around, writes Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. Still, Caldwell cautioned that the club won’t be looking to set the market with big deals.
- Selecting an offensive tackle with the No. 19 pick in May’s draft isn’t the Dolphins‘ only option, but it’s the best option, according to Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Perkins also identifies running back and free safety as positions the Dolphins may target in the first round, with linebacker as a “dark horse.”
- Agent Mike McCartney tells Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune that Mike Kafka signed with the Buccaneers instead of the Cowboys because Tampa Bay is more likely to carry three quarterbacks in 2014.
- Given Kafka’s and Mike Glennon‘s lack of NFL experience, Cummings expects the Buccaneers to add a third quarterback to the roster in free agency rather than in the draft (Twitter link).