Hall, Redskins Talking Multiyear Deal
The Redskins have begun to negotiate a new multiyear contract with veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall, reports Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The free-agent-to-be spent the 2013 season playing on a one-year, $1.25MM deal.
Hall, a former eighth overall pick, grew up cheering for the Redskins and has played for the club since the 2008 season, so it’s not a surprise that he’d like to work out a new deal to remain in Washington. Meanwhile, the Redskins are projected to be among the teams with the most cap flexibility this offseason, and have indicated a desire to be active in free agency. That will likely include bringing back a handful of their own free agents, including Hall and perhaps linebacker Brian Orakpo.
Advanced stats historically haven’t been kind to Hall, who still considers himself the best cornerback in the league. However, he had a strong 2013 season, and was the most explosive playmaker on the defensive side of the ball in Washington, returning a fumble and a pair of interceptions for touchdowns. At age 30, Hall may not receive a long-term extension, but it at least sounds like the Redskins are interested in locking him up for more than one year.
Dan Quinn May Have Taken Browns HC Job
In their hunt for a new head coach, the Browns targeted multiple coaches involved in Sunday’s game, including Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. However, when Quinn indicated he wouldn’t interview for a second time until after the Super Bowl, the Browns moved on to other options, eventually hiring Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. If Cleveland had waited and offered Quinn the job, he likely would have accepted it, as he told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer after Sunday’s game.
“I certainly would’ve been interested,” Quinn said. “I mean, it’s a big-time place. It’s the Cleveland Browns.”
The Browns can’t be blamed for wanting to finalize their decision well before this week. Cleveland was already the last club in the NFL without a head coach, and waiting another two weeks would’ve made it difficult for the team to fill out its staff, given all the coaches who found jobs in the meantime. Prior to Sunday, the Browns hired Jim O’Neil as their defensive coordinator and reportedly reached an agreement with Kyle Shanahan to become the team’s offensive coordinator.
As for Quinn, based on the Seahawks’ defensive performance on Sunday, it’s hard to say he made the wrong decision by choosing to focus solely on the game rather than pursuing another job. He told Cabot that he had “not one” regret about his choice. While Quinn appears poised to head Seattle’s No. 1 defense again in 2014, it will likely only be a matter of time before another head coaching opportunity arises for him.
Michael Vick Believes He’ll Start In 2014
SUNDAY, 11:41pm: ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter tweets that the Buccaneers and Jets are likely to have some level of interest in Vick. Vick would likely have the chance to compete for a starting job with either of those clubs.
THURSDAY, 2:52pm: Teams in search of a starting quarterback may be best off addressing that need through the draft or a trade, as this year’s crop of free agent QBs is relatively uninspiring. Michael Vick is the most intriguing name on the list, and although he finished 2013 as a backup in Philadelphia, he doesn’t expect to begin next season on the bench. Vick told Dan Hanzus of NFL.com today that he’ll “absolutely” be starting in Week One next season.
Vick has shown flashes of brilliance since returning to the NFL in 2009, including a Pro Bowl season in 2010. He’s been plagued by injuries though, and will turn 34 this summer, meaning many of the physical tools that made him special are on the decline, limiting his upside.. In 2013, Vick was replaced in Philadelphia by Nick Foles, who threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions while leading the Eagles to a playoff berth.
While Vick would be an excellent backup for just about any NFL team, it remains to be seen how many starting jobs will be out there. Perhaps a non-playoff team unable to land a top QB prospect like Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, or Teddy Bridgewater in the draft would turn to Vick as a Plan B. Given Vick’s injury history, any team counting on him as a starter would likely have to pair him with a reliable second option.
Poll: Which Team Will Win The Super Bowl?
After two weeks of buildup and hype, we’ve arrived at Super Bowl weekend, with Sunday’s game now just 48 hours away. Much has been made of the league’s No. 1 offense squaring off against its No. 1 defense, and on Sunday we’ll finally see which side comes out on top.
Ever since Denver dispatched the Patriots in the AFC Championship and Seattle survived the NFC game against the Niners, Peyton Manning and the Broncos have been the Super Bowl favorites. However, Denver’s predicted margin of victory is slim, and fans seem fairly split on which club will actually win. ESPN.com released its reporters’ individual predictions for Super Bowl XLVIII today, and of the 48 writers polled, 25 picked the Seahawks, while 23 went with the Broncos.
So today’s PFR poll question is fairly simple: Which team do you expect to win this year’s Super Bowl? Feel free to weigh in with your specific score predictions in the comments section.
Which team will win Super Bowl XLVIII?
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Seattle Seahawks 54% (658)
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Denver Broncos 46% (553)
Total votes: 1,211
NFC Notes: Bush, Lions, Packers, Falcons
It may not seem like long ago that Reggie Bush was starring at USC, but the running back’s first season in Detroit was his eighth overall in the NFL. Still, as Bush prepares to turn 29 in a few weeks, he tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that he hopes to play “at least another five years” before calling it a career. Bush’s current contract with the Lions runs through the 2016 season, so even if he plays out those three years, his ideal scenario would have him signing at least one more deal before retiring.
Here are a few more Friday updates from around the NFC, as the Super Bowl inches closer:
- The Lions will be facing a decision this offseason on safety Louis Delmas, who started all 16 games for the team, but will have a $6.5MM cap number for 2014. says Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.
- Safety will also be an area of concern for the Packers this spring, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, who writes there’s “probably no higher priority in the draft” for Green Bay.
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com that he’s only focusing on a select few positions in free agency, with the offensive and defensive lines among the postitions the club will address.
- ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas believes that locking up linebacker Lavonte David and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to long-term deals should be among the top items on the offseason checklist for new Buccaneers GM Jason Licht.
Pro Football Rumors On Facebook/Twitter
The 2013/14 NFL season will come to an end this Sunday, when either Denver or Seattle wins Super Bowl XLVIII. Once that game is in the books though, the real fun begins — with free agency and the draft just around the corner, NFL teams are already looking ahead and planning their offseasons. There will be plenty of notable stories to track on Pro Football Rumors throughout the winter and spring, 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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Jaguars May Draft Multiple Quarterbacks
The Jaguars, who currently hold the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, have been viewed as a near-lock to pick a quarterback, if not with that No. 3 pick than with another early selection. Team owner Shad Khan confirmed as much today, telling Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link) that “everybody knows we’re going to draft a quarterback — maybe two.”
With the third pick in hand, the Jags are in good position to land one of the quarterbacks at or near the top of every team’s draft board, if they so choose. The Texans are believed to be eyeing QBs with the first overall pick, and while the Rams would likely target other positions at No. 2, St. Louis could also trade the pick to a team in need of a signal-caller. Even if multiple QBs come off the board before Jacksonville’s pick though, there are generally considered to be three names in the first tier: Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, and Blake Bortles.
Breaking down Khan’s comments, Hays Carlyon of the Times-Union likens the Jags’ potential approach in 2014 to the Redskins’ 2012 draft, which saw Washington select Robert Griffin III in the first round and Kirk Cousins in the fourth. However, as Carlyon points out, the team could also select a player like Jadeveon Clowney at No. 3, pick a quarterback in round two, then insure that pick by drafting another QB in the middle rounds. With eight selections in the first five rounds of the draft, Jacksonville has the flexibility to add a pair of QBs while still bringing aboard plenty of talent at other positions.
Chad Henne, who finished the season as the Jags’ starter under center, may not be out of the picture yet either. General manager David Caldwell has told Henne’s agent that the team will reach out prior to the free agent period to discuss the possibility of a new contract, tweets O’Halloran.
Extra Points: London, Cromartie, FA Tryouts
During his State of the NFL presser this morning, commissioner Roger Goodell downplayed speculation about the possibility of the Rams moving to Los Angeles, but sounded more bullish about the city of London getting an NFL team. According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), Goodell said that selling out three games for the 2014 season helped push London “further down the road” toward a franchise. Meanwhile, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets that, in his opinion, the question isn’t whether or not London will eventually get a team, but rather whether it will be via expansion or relocation.
- Jets head coach Rex Ryan indicated today that he hopes cornerback Antonio Cromartie regains his form in 2014, but didn’t commit to him being on New York’s roster for next season, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News details. Cromartie is owed a $5MM roster bonus in March and carries a cap number of nearly $15MM for ’14.
- Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun passes along word of several free agent tryouts, reporting via Twitter that defensive tackle Torrey Davis auditioned for the Packers, linebacker Alex Hall tried out for the Cardinals, and wide receiver C.J. Akins worked out for the Panthers.
- Unsurprisingly, Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters today, including Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), that he’d like to bring back both of the team’s top two free agents, receiver Julian Edelman and cornerback Aqib Talib.
- As Russell Wilson prepares to play in his first Super Bowl, a handful of teams around the league are undoubtedly thinking about the opportunity they had to draft the third round pick in 2012. The Eagles are one team that came close to snatching Wilson off the board in the second round, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- In a pair of Dallas Morning News chats, Rainer Sabin explains why he believes the Dan Bailey contract extension was the right move for the Cowboys, while Kevin Sherrington argues that what the Cowboys call being “aggressive” with the cap is actually mismanagement.
Bears Notes: Tillman, Wright, Bennett
As the Bears look ahead to an offseason in which nearly two dozen players on the roster will be eligible for unrestricted free agency, let’s check in on the latest updates on the team….
- Clarifying some comments he made earlier in the week, Charles Tillman confirmed to Chicago’s AM 670 The Score that when he said he intended to retire a Bear, it didn’t necessarily mean he’d re-sign with the team this spring. Instead, Tillman figures to keep his options open this offseason, but would like to return to Chicago and end his career with the Bears even if he doesn’t play for the club in 2014. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune has the details and the quotes from Tillman.
- Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com writes that safety is an urgent need in this year’s draft for the Bears, who have multiple free agents at the position, including starting strong safety Major Wright.
- In a separate piece at ESPNChicago.com, Dickerson and Jon Greenberg debate a number of Bears-related topics, including who won the Jay Cutler trade with the Broncos, whether or not the Bears should pursue Michael Bennett in free agency, and whether the club should focus exclusively on defensive players in the draft.
Adam Vinatieri Not Considering Retirement
The NFL’s oldest player figures to hold that title again in the 2014 season. 41-year-old Adam Vinatieri isn’t considering retiring this offseason, telling Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that he hopes to continue kicking in the NFL for “two or three more years.”
Vinatieri showed no signs of slowing down in 2013, converting all 34 of his extra-point attempts and 35 of 40 field goal tries, including four of six from beyond 50 yards. The four-time Super Bowl champion passed several players on the NFL’s all-time scoring list this season, and now sits fifth overall with 2,006 points. If he does play for two or three more years, Vinatieri would likely finish his career as the NFL’s third all-time scorer, behind Morten Anderson and Gary Anderson.
Before he starts pursuing NFL records though, Vinatieri will have to find a team. The longtime Patriot and Colt will be a free agent this offseason, and tells Schefter that he’d “love” to re-sign in Indianapolis, where he has played since 2006. However, he adds that he’s also open to playing for the team that wants him the most.