Bills Planning As If McCoy Will Miss Games
With the Philadelphia District Attorney’s investigation into LeSean McCoy ongoing, the Bills are planning for the 2016 season as if their top running back will miss the first few games, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). While it sounds as if the Bills are bracing for a potential suspension, that indicates the team probably plans to keep McCoy on its roster rather than cutting ties with him.
McCoy, who earned a Pro Bowl nod during his first season with the Bills in 2015, is under investigation for his role in an altercation at a Philadelphia nightclub earlier this month, when he and three of his companions fought with at least two off-duty police officers. The Philadelphia D.A.’s office has yet to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for McCoy for his role in the incident, but even if the running back doesn’t face charges, he could face a suspension from the NFL, which will conduct its own investigation.
A meeting scheduled yesterday between McCoy, his attorneys, and representatives from the Philadelphia D.A.’s office had to be rescheduled and relocated to McCoy’s attorney’s office after it was leaked to the media, as ESPN’s Mike Rodak details. It’s not clear what was discussed at the meeting, but there has been some tension between the D.A.’s office and representatives of a Philadelphia police union, whose members, including president John McNesby, believe McCoy is receiving preferential treatment.
If McCoy is ultimately suspended for his role in the nightclub incident, the Bills would likely turn to Karlos Williams as their starter to open the 2016 season. Although McCoy would be missed in that scenario, Buffalo could probably get by with Williams leading the rushing attack for a few weeks — in his rookie season, he averaged an impressive 5.6 yards per carry and scored nine touchdowns.
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Andre Johnson Preparing To Play In 2016
8:50am: Johnson’s agent, Kennard McGuire, tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) that his client doesn’t intend to call it a career anytime soon. “Retirement hasn’t been discussed,” McGuire said. “Andre is training and preparing for next season.”
8:01am: Calvin Johnson isn’t the only longtime star receiver who is contemplating retirement this offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Andre Johnson also “has a decision” to make. Rapoport adds that Johnson has played his last down in Indianapolis, suggesting that the Colts plan to move on from him this winter even if he continues his career.
[RELATED: Pro Football Rumors previews the Colts’ offseason]
After spending 12 seasons in Houston, Johnson signed a three-year contract with the Colts a year ago, and looked poised to enjoy the benefits of catching balls from Andrew Luck after playing with a cavalcade of mediocre quarterbacks over the years with the Texans. However, Luck missed more than half the season, and Johnson struggled, averaging a career-low 31.4 receiving yards per game. For the season, he had 41 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns, easily the worst full-season marks of his career.
Rapoport’s suggestion that Indianapolis is expected to release Johnson comes as no real surprise, since it seemed unlikely the club would want to keep his $7.5MM cap hit on the books after such an underwhelming 2015 campaign. If they cut him, the Colts could reduce Johnson’s cap hit by $5MM, leaving just $2.5MM in dead money on their cap.
Given how weak this year’s free agent market for wide receivers is, Johnson would likely receive interest from a handful of teams if he were to become available. But for a player who averaged more than 1,100 receiving yards per season during the first 12 years of his career, earning seven Pro Bowl nods during that time, last year’s drop-off was precipitous, so the 34-year-old will first need to determine whether he wants to keep playing. Based on Rapoport’s report, it sounds like that decision has yet to be made.
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Cardinals Re-Sign Drew Butler
WEDNESDAY, 8:42am: Butler’s new two-year deal with the Cardinals calls for base salaries of $700K and $1MM, per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Those annual figures fall short of the $1.2MM per-year average initially reported by Getlin, so perhaps there are additional bonuses or incentives that increase the overall value of the contract. Somers notes that the pact doesn’t feature a signing bonus.
MONDAY, 10:50am: The Cardinals have re-signed punter Drew Butler, who had been on track to become a restricted free agent, the team announced today in a press release. According to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), Butler’s new deal is a two-year contract that pays him $1.2MM annually.
Butler, who started his career with the Steelers, took over as the Cardinals’ full-time punter in 2014 and hung onto the job last season. On 60 attempts in 2015, Butler averaged 42.9 yards per punt, with a 35.4 net-yard average and just six touchbacks. While the 26-year-old figures to enter the 2016 season atop the Cardinals’ punter depth chart, the team could bring in another player to compete with him.
Assuming Getlin’s report on the terms of Butler’s new deal is accurate, it looks like a pretty good price for the Cardinals — a $1.2MM per-year salary barely places Butler within the top 20 highest-paid players at the position, per Over the Cap.
Still, since he had only been eligible for restricted free agency, it makes sense that Butler would be open to accepting an offer that will likely give him a modest guarantee and a little security. Had the Cardinals assigned a low-end RFA tender to him, he would be in line for a slightly larger annual salary (around $1.5MM), but it would only be for one season, and would be fully non-guaranteed.
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AFC Notes: Jaguars, Broncos, Dolphins, Canty
Adding a free safety to the mix will be a priority for the Jaguars this offseason, with the team hoping to find stability at the position, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. As I noted when I previewed the Jags’ offseason earlier in the month, the team could use some help at multiple positions in the secondary, but that free safety spot will be a big one.
“We’ve looked at some good players in free agency, and we’re starting the draft process and see some guys out there,” head coach Gus Bradley said. “The whole defense is designed for guys to come in and play at a young age.”
Here are a few more notes of interest from around the AFC:
- Within his latest mailbag, Mike Klis of 9NEWS projects the salary ranges for several of the Broncos‘ pending free agents, suggesting that quarterback Brock Osweiler would probably take a slightly lesser offer to return to Denver rather than accepting more money from a team like the Browns.
- The key question the Dolphins will have to address this offseason is whether the team feels like it’s on the cusp of contention despite a disappointing 2015, or whether a more thorough rebuild is necessary, says Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Salguero hears from multiple high-ranking people within the organization that owner Stephen Ross isn’t necessarily in win-now mode, and that he prefers to build a roster that can enjoy sustained success.
- The Ravens have been negotiating with a few of their free-agents-to-be in hopes of keeping them from hitting the open market, sources tell Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec explores that subject and a handful of others in his latest look at the Ravens’ offseason plans.
- Ravens defensive end Chris Canty isn’t ready to retire at age 33, as Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. Canty is under contract for next season with the Ravens, so we should soon find out whether he’s still in the team’s plans, or whether he’ll become a cap casualty.
Chris Johnson Wants To Re-Sign With Cardinals
After joining a new team in each of the last two offseasons, running back Chris Johnson hopes to stick with his current team as he nears free agency once again. As Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com details, Johnson said during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday night that he’d like to re-sign with the Cardinals for the 2016 season.
[RELATED: Cardinals, Tyrann Mathieu Discussing Extension]
“I feel like at this point in my career I am not really chasing the money,” Johnson said. “I can’t say I ever really chased the money, but when you’re a young guy in this league, you want to take care of your family and get the highest deal possible. I still want to get the best deal, but at the same time, I want to be somewhere where we have a chance to win. I feel like Arizona is the best place for me right now.”
Johnson, who turned 30 last September, had a bounce-back season of sorts in 2015 with the Cardinals. While his average of 4.2 yards per carry was actually a slight step down from his production with the Jets, he saw more playing time and got more touches in Arizona, racking up 814 rushing yards in just 11 games.
Unfortunately for Johnson, a fractured tibia suffered in the second half of the season sidelined him for the stretch run. Having been placed on IR with the designation to return, the veteran back would have been eligible to return to action if the Cardinals made the Super Bowl, but the team fell just short, losing to the Panthers in the NFC championship game.
Johnson is coming off a year in which he signed a one-year, $870K contract, with the ability to earn up to $1.3MM via incentives. I’d expect a slight raise for him this season, since he looked good before his injury, but he won’t be in line for a huge payday.
If the Cardinals bring him back, Johnson would likely have to compete with presumed starter David Johnson and backup Andre Ellington for touches.
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Latest On Robert Griffin III
Appearing on the Dan Sileo Show on The Mighty 1090 in San Diego, Washington team president Bruce Allen was asked whether Robert Griffin III would remain on the roster for the 2016 season, and essentially confirmed what has been assumed for the last several months – RGIII is expected to take his talents elsewhere this offseason.
“I see Robert getting an opportunity with another team,” Allen said. “I think we’ve heard from some teams that are interested, and I think he’s going to have a choice of a couple teams that will let him excel in the future.”
[RELATED: Latest on Kirk Cousins, Washington]
Washington has been in no rush to release Griffin, whose $16.155MM salary for 2016 remains non-guaranteed for now. As John Keim of ESPN.com outlines, the team will have until the new league year begins to do something with RGIII, whose salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster at that point. A source tells Keim that a trade is a long shot, and would require Griffin to re-do his contract, but Washington is exploring all its options.
While it’s not clear if any team will be willing to make a trade for Griffin, there are at least three teams interested in pursuing him as a free agent, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, Cole cautions that those teams – who don’t want to be identified – would likely want to make sure that Griffin is open to becoming more of a pocket quarterback and willing to accept a probable backup role.
As RGIII waits to find out his fate, Washington is focused on locking up starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is eligible for free agency next month. The team has another week to use its franchise tag on Cousins, which seems at this point like the most logical outcome, since the two sides aren’t believed to be close to a longer-term agreement.
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East Rumors: McCoy, Cruz, Culliver, Jets
Bills running back LeSean McCoy had been scheduled to meet with Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams at his office this afternoon at 4:00pm eastern time, per multiple reports. But when word of that meeting got out, it was canceled, according to John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links), who says McCoy’s lawyers wanted to avoid a media circus and were upset that the news was leaked.
According to a report from ABC 6 Action News in Philadelphia, however, the meeting hasn’t been canceled — it has just changed venues. Action News indicates that the meeting between McCoy (or perhaps just his lawyers) and the district attorney is happening now. Williams is reportedly still weighing whether to press charges against McCoy and his companions for a nightclub altercation that took place earlier this month.
Here’s more from across the NFL’s East divisions:
- Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, coming off a lost season, is set to make $8MM in 2016, but the club seems unlikely to bring him back at that price. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com polled several league sources and found that the general consensus was that the Giants should try to slice Cruz’s salary in half, perhaps giving him some incentives on a one-year deal in the $3-4MM range.
- The secondary will be an area of concern for Washington this offseason, according to John Keim of ESPN.com, who says that there’s no doubt cornerback Chris Culliver will return to the team for 2016. Culliver’s one-game suspension in 2015 gave Washington the opportunity to void his guaranteed money for 2016, but the club doesn’t plan to remove the guaranteed portion of his deal, says Keim.
- Antonio Cromartie was the first Jets veteran to become a cap casualty this offseason, but he’s unlikely to be the last, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini identifies tight end Jeff Cumberland, wide receiver Jeremy Kerley, and kicker Nick Folk as possible release candidates.
- Paul Schwartz of the New York Post explores whether the Giants could afford to roll the dice on defensive end Noah Spence if the Eastern Kentucky pass rusher is on the board at No. 10 in the draft.
Stephen Jones Talks Gregory, Hardy, FAs
Having initially expressed disappointment in Randy Gregory over his four-game suspension, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said today that the team wants to avoid the risk that “four becomes more” for the defensive end. In other words, the Cowboys want to ensure that there are no more failed tests for their 2015 second-round pick, since that would result in an even longer suspension.
With Gregory out for the first four games of the season, targeting pass rushers in free agency and/or the draft will become an even greater priority in Dallas. Jones spoke to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News about that topic, Gregory’s ban, and more. Here are the highlights from the Cowboys’ executive:
On Gregory’s four-game suspension:
“It’s disappointing, but at the same time, sometimes these things don’t get fixed overnight. Anybody who has ever been involved in this type of situation knows that sometimes it takes time. We’re there, but he’s going to have to buckle down, which he is. He’s working hard at it, but he’s got to get over the hump here.
“You have to be concerned. That’s the risk you get when you go there. It’s all about that risk-reward deal, but at the end of the day, we got the infrastructure in place to continue to help him. We think he’s utilizing it, but at the same time, it’s disappointing that we had this go far enough that it resulted in a suspension.”
On the possibility of re-signing Greg Hardy:
“[We are] still not finalized with where we’re going to come down on that.”
On upgrading the pass rush:
“We’ve just got to do everything we can. Obviously we tried hard last year. That will continue to be a focus. At the end of the day, that’s a big part of a successful football team, getting pressure on the passer. We’ve got some good players that can do it. We just need a couple more to go with [Demarcus] Lawrence and [Tyrone] Crawford and those guys.”
On the possibility of the Cowboys pursuing their first real big-money free agent since Brandon Carr:
“You never say never. You never know what player is going to be out there and how we feel about them. Obviously we’ve slowed down our spending in free agency. I think Brandon’s been a solid player, but at the end of the day, I’ve always thought that that’s what you end up doing in free agency, paying solid players like they’re All-Pro players. That’s the negative about the good ones in free agency, you tend to overpay because you’re competing. It’s a tough deal.”
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Free Agent Rumors: Matthews, Bradford, Nelson
Last Friday, we heard that the Dolphins had reached out to free agent wide receiver Rishard Matthews about a possible new deal. The news was somewhat surprising, since Matthews had long been considered a lock to leave Miami in search of a team that would give him an opportunity for more playing time.
According to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), it looks like that’s still the case. Getlin reports that Matthews is “very likely” to reach the open market, adding that the market for the wideout “will be hot.” Matthews set new career highs in 2015 with 43 receptions, 662 yards, and four touchdowns, and while those numbers are relatively modest, they were compiled in just 11 games. Considering how weak this year’s free agent class of receivers is, there may very well be teams that view Matthews as a viable No. 2 option, and Miami almost certainly can’t afford to pay him like a No. 2.
Here are a few more updates on current free agent or free-agent-to-be from around the NFL:
- Some rival teams are doubtful that Sam Bradford will become an unrestricted free agent on March 9th, believing that he may re-sign with the Eagles before then, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Cole adds that if Bradford does hit the open market, he might not receive the kind of lucrative long-term offers he’d expect, making a one-year, prove-it deal a possibility. I’m somewhat skeptical about that — I think Bradford’s second-half performance would ensure that at least one or two teams are willing to invest heavily in him.
- The Cardinals are not interested in bringing Antonio Cromartie back to Arizona, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. Cromartie spent a season with the team in 2014, earning a Pro Bowl spot, but the Cards were willing to let him walk in free agency, and don’t appear eager to pursue him now that he’s back on the market.
- Safety Reggie Nelson saw his 2015 season come to an end when he left the Bengals‘ Wild Card loss with a sprained ankle, and he doesn’t want that to be his last play with the team. “Most definitely not,” Nelson said recently, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “They know that. Everybody knows that. I would love to be a Bengal.” According to Hobson, the Bengals aren’t expected to strike deals with their free agents at this week’s combine, but the club figures to discuss possible parameters for Nelson and others.
AFC East Notes: Cromartie, Develin, Pouncey
Before they released cornerback Antonio Cromartie on Monday, the Jets did not ask him to take a pay cut, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Cromartie had been set to earn an $8MM base salary for 2016, but none of it was guaranteed, and there was no prorated signing bonus money on the cornerback’s deal, so the Jets cleared the entire $8MM cap hit from their books.
The fact that the Jets didn’t ask Cromartie to come back at a reduced price – combined with his farewell Instagram post on Monday – suggests that the team probably doesn’t have any interest in re-signing him now that he has hit free agency.
Here’s more on how the Jets may replace Cromartie, along with a couple more items from out of the AFC East:
- Former undrafted free agent Marcus Williams deserves the first crack at taking over for Cromartie, says Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. In Cimini’s view, promoting an in-house option or using a mid-round pick on a cornerback makes more sense than diving into the free agent market, since the $8MM the team saved on Cromartie could be used elsewhere.
- Fullback James Develin is a part of the Patriots‘ free agent plans and they want him back, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Now, they have to figure out how to accomplish that. Develin a restricted free agent and the Pats could tender him at the lowest level, which would be $1.6MM. That salary would make him the sixth-highest paid fullback in the NFL (as of this writing).
- Dolphins center Mike Pouncey revealed that he recently underwent surgery, as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. Pouncey suffered what was believed to be a minor foot injury in the Dolphins’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers, but it’s not immediately clear if he went under the knife to fix that foot. That injury cost Pouncey the final two games of the ’15 season and kept him from playing in the Pro Bowl.
Zach Links contributed to this post.