South Rumors: Hasselbeck, Spiller, Panthers
Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck turned 40 last fall, and has been playing in the NFL since 1998, but it sounds like he wants to play at least one more season, as Kevin Bowen of Colts.com details.
“I know I want to play (in 2016),” Hasselbeck said. “I know how much fun I had in the huddle last year. I remember getting in the huddle for one game and it was just so much fun to be in there with my guys, with my teammates, with my friends.”
Colts head coach Chuck Pagano told Hasselbeck earlier this month that the club “would love” to have him back, but the veteran signal-caller doesn’t currently have a contract for 2016, so the two sides would have to agree to a new deal. As March 9th approaches, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether the Colts work out a new contract with Hasselbeck, or if the team wants to turn to younger options to back up Andrew Luck. Currently, Josh Freeman and Stephen Morris are under contract in Indianapolis.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s South divisions:
- Saints running back C.J. Spiller hadn’t been considered a lock to return to the team in 2016, but it sounds like GM Mickey Loomis is planning on having him in the mix. In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Loomis said that he thinks the Saints “will see the real C.J. Spiller” next season, as Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune details.
- Another NFC South running back, Jonathan Stewart, is also a good bet to return to his current team. Team and league sources tell Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer that the Panthers are expected to retain Stewart, despite the cap savings his release would create.
- The Titans‘ signings during March’s free agent period might not reveal which player the team plans to take with the No. 1 overall pick, but Tennessee’s March moves could strongly suggest which direction the club won’t go with that selection, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com explains.
- The Colts have had a consistent problem drafting offensive linemen, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com, who examines the team’s various swings and misses at the position over the last few years. The offensive line is an area where the team could use an upgrade or two this offseason, so it’ll be interesting to see if GM Ryan Grigson can start to turn his draft record around at the position.
Jaguars Re-Sign Chad Henne
11:01am: The Jaguars have officially re-signed Henne, the team announced today in a press release.
10:10am: The Jaguars have reached an agreement with Chad Henne on an extension that will bring him back to the team for the 2016 season, and perhaps beyond that, a source tells Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Getlin reports that the two-year deal, which features some incentives, is worth $8MM. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter) first reported that the two sides were closing in on a deal.
Henne, 30, has started 53 games since entering the league in 2008, including 22 for the Jaguars from 2012 to 2014. However, since the team drafted Blake Bortles third overall in ’14, he has been primarily relegated to backup duty, and seems to have transitioned into the role of a veteran mentor. While he was eligible to reach free agency this winter, it seems he’s comfortable enough in that role to forgo exploring the open market.
Henne’s last contract with Jacksonville, signed back in March 2014, was also a two-year extension worth $8MM, which included incentives and escalators based on playing time and team success. Even though Bortles has now cemented himself as the unquestioned starter for the Jaguars, it’s not surprising to see Henne get a similar deal as the clear-cut No. 2 this time around. He’s one of the more reliable backups in the NFL, and those players typically earn an annual salary in the $4-5MM range.
Given the Jaguars’ cap situation, paying Henne an annual $4MM salary isn’t an issue. According to Over the Cap, the team entered Thursday with a league-high $79.8MM in projected cap room for 2016, so Henne’s new deal will be a small drop in the bucket. Additionally, Bortles won’t be due for a new extension of his own for at least another year or two, so the team’s top two signal-callers will remain very affordable as a duo for the next couple seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brice McCain To Visit Buccaneers
Free agent cornerback Brice McCain is scheduled to a pay a visit to the Buccaneers today, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Because McCain was cut last week by the Dolphins, he’s eligible to sign with another team right away, rather than having to wait for the 2016 league year to begin.
[RELATED: Buccaneers wary of spending big in free agency]
Although it appears the Buccaneers will get the first look at McCain, Tampa Bay isn’t the only team with interest in the veteran corner. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), the Steelers also want to bring in McCain for a visit, though it may not happen until March. Rand Getlin of the NFL Network adds (via Twitter) that the Titans would also like to host McCain sometime after next week’s draft combine.
McCain, 29, signed with the Dolphins last March after spending five seasons in Houston and one in Pittsburgh. However, he lasted just one season with the team, as Miami opted to part ways with him last week in order to create $2.5MM in cap savings. McCain started 10 games and played 735 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2015, picking up an interception to go along with 39 tackles.
Since the Steelers previously employed McCain, their interest makes some sense, as does the Titans’ interest, since former Steelers DC Dick LeBeau is currently running Tennessee’s defense. There’s no obvious coaching connection for the veteran cornerback in Tampa Bay – though new linebackers coach Mark Duffner was on the Dolphins’ staff last year – but the club could use some help in the secondary, as we detailed in our Bucs offseason preview earlier this week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Kirk Cousins Contract Talks
8:30pm: Cousins and Washington have not stopped discussing a contract, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT. The source, Florio writes, was “adamant” that discussions are still active.
1:54pm: Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who reported over the weekend that Washington and Cousins were nowhere close to an agreement, tweets that they still need to bridge that gap in negotiations. However, he hears that conversations between the two sides are ongoing.
1:15pm: Washington and quarterback Kirk Cousins have broken off negotiations on a new contract for the signal-caller, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who tweets that no further discussions are currently scheduled. Schefter’s update comes on the heels of a weekend report which suggested the two sides were “nowhere near” reaching an agreement.
While it may be true that no further talks are presently on the docket for Cousins and Washington, that doesn’t mean that the two sides won’t talk again sometime before March 9th, when the new league year opens, or even March 1st, the franchise-tag deadline. It’s more likely that this is a negotiating tactic by one side or the other, rather than an insurmountable roadblock.
With the window for teams to use their franchise tag on players opening today, it’s possible Cousins’ camp has broken off talks in an effort to encourage the club to tag the quarterback. Reports late in the 2015 season suggested that Washington intended to retain Cousins by any means necessary, and the franchise tag wouldn’t be a bad outcome for the player.
Based on a projected salary cap of $154MM for 2016, the non-exclusive franchise tag for quarterbacks this year would be worth nearly $20MM, and that salary becomes fully guaranteed if and when a player signs the franchise tender. Locking in a guarantee of nearly $20MM for one year and setting a baseline for a longer-term extension could help improve Cousins’ leverage in contract talks. And of course, if Washington doesn’t use its franchise tag to lock him up, he would potentially have the opportunity to reach the open market, where multiple lucrative offers would likely be waiting for him.
Perhaps no player in the league did more over the last four weeks of the regular season to help his stock than Cousins, who completed 74% of his passes for nearly 1,200 yards, while posting a 12:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio to go along with a 134.0 quarterback rating. For the season, Cousins thew 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, led the league in completion percentage (69.8%), and helped Washington win its first division title since 2012.
We ranked Cousins third overall in our most recent free agent power rankings, and identified him earlier this week as one of 2016’s top franchise-tag candidates.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/16/16
Here are the latest minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:
- The Cardinals announced a pair of signings today in a press release, confirming that they’ve re-signed safety Chris Clemons and added Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson. A former starter in the Dolphins’ secondary, Clemons hasn’t seen much playing time since joining the Cardinals in 2014, but the team likes him enough to bring him back for a third season. As for Wilkinson, he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Jarryd Hayne, who earned a spot on the 49ers’ roster last year after coming over from Australia. Wilkinson will play cornerback.
- The Steelers signed long snapper Matt Dooley and defensive tackle Lavon Hooks while cutting tight end Rob Blanchflower and offensive tackles Kelvin Palmer and Mitchell Van Dyk, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
- The Falcons announced on Monday that they have waived cornerback Travis Howard and fullback Collin Mooney, two players who spent the 2015 season on the injured reserve list. Mooney last saw the field during a regular-season contest in 2013, when he appeared in 12 games for the Titans. Howard has spent time with the Patriots and Giants, but has never seen regular-season action.
- Cornerback Chance Casey, who spent more than half of the 2015 season on the Browns’ practice squad, has signed with the Jaguars, per team PR rep Tad Dickman (Twitter link). Casey was on the Colts’ roster last summer before being waived during roster cutdowns in September.
West Notes: Osweiler, 49ers, Chargers, Rams
Will the Broncos retain Brock Osweiler and install him as the team’s new starting QB in 2016, in the event that Peyton Manning retires? Running back Ronnie Hillman thinks so.
“It’s not my decision, but letting him go would not be too smart,” Hillman told SiriusXM NFL Radio (via Twitter).
Of course, Hillman himself might not be back in 2016, considering he’s also approaching free agency. The 24-year-old is coming off his best season, but he has been up and down during his four years in Denver, and he didn’t make a real impact in the playoffs — he ran for just 54 yards on 32 postseason carries, including zero yards on five attempts in the Super Bowl.
Here’s more from out of the NFL’s West divisions:
- In a pair of pieces for the Sacramento Bee, Matt Barrows previews the decisions facing the 49ers in their offensive backfield this offseason, as the team looks to address its quarterback and running back situations. According to Barrows, the draft combine will provide a prime opportunity for the Niners to assess the QBs set to hit the market, along with potential draft targets.
- Mark Whicker of the Los Angeles Daily News is extremely skeptical that the Chargers will get the votes they need from the city of San Diego to approve a new stadium.
- The Seahawks, Chiefs, and Broncos are among the teams in great position to pick up extra picks for the 2017 draft, as Nick Konte of Over the Cap explains in his early look at next year’s compensatory picks.
- Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com wonders if Robert Griffin III might be a good fit in Los Angeles. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said last year that he likes the idea of having a mobile quarterback who can extend plays, which seems to apply to RGIII’s skill set.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Roger Goodell Earned $34MM+ For 2014
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell received $34.1MM in compensation for the 2014 NFL season, reports Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. According to Rovell, that $34.1MM figure is the amount listed on a tax filing that the league submitted today.
While Goodell’s base salary was a relatively modest $3.5MM, he also received a bonus of $26.5MM, $3.7MM in pension, along with other deferred benefits and “reported compensation.”
The $34MM+ compensation figure applies to the 2014 calendar year. During that time, Goodell dealt with – and arguably botched – a pair of off-field incidents involving running backs Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson.
Despite the blemishes on his résumé, Goodell didn’t see his salary take a significant hit from what he earned in previous years. The NFL commissioner earned just over $35MM for 2013, as we detailed last February. The year before that, Goodell was paid $44.2MM, though that figure included more than $9MM in deferred pay, meaning his salary was once again in the $35MM range.
Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, who pegs Goodell’s 2014 compensation at $34.2MM, notes (via Twitter) that much of the commissioner’s pay for that year was set in 2013, prior to 2014’s domestic violence scandals. Kaplan also points out (via Twitter) that this will be the last time the NFL has to publicly disclose Goodell’s salary, since the league surrendered its tax-exempt status in 2015.
As Rovell tweets, Goodell has now earned more than $180MM in total compensation during his first nine years as the NFL’s commissioner.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants, Ben McAdoo Finalize Coaching Staff
New Giants head coach Ben McAdoo has officially finalized the team’s new coaching staff, which features 20 assistants, the club announced today in a press release. There are no real surprises on the staff, which features 12 coaches from Tom Coughlin‘s staff, though McAdoo stressed that “this is a new staff.”
“Nobody was retained, there were no holdovers; everyone was hired,” McAdoo said. “When I sat down with everybody on the staff, that was one thing I wanted to make clear. No one was retained, no one was a holdover. Everyone was hired here as part of a new staff.”
Although one could make the case that assistants like defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and special teams coordinator Tom Quinn are technically holdovers from last year’s staff, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News suggests (via Twitter) that McAdoo probably means those coaches – and others – had to re-interview for their positions.
One of the 12 assistants who will return to the Giants this year is Mike Sullivan, who received a promotion from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, as previously reported. Sullivan, of course, steps in for McAdoo, who was elevated from OC to head coach after Coughlin resigned.
Quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti and offensive line coach Mike Solari are among the new additions to McAdoo’s staff whose hirings were previously reported. Adam Henry (WRs coach), Patrick Graham (DL coach), Jeff Zgonina (assistant DL coach), Bill McGovern (LBs coach), Dwayne Stukes (assistant special teams coach), and Aaron Wellman (strength and conditioning) round out the group of new coaches.
For the full list, be sure to check out the Giants’ press release.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Malik Jackson Talks Free Agency, Broncos’ QBs
With noteworthy Broncos players like quarterback Brock Osweiler and outside linebacker Von Miller also eligible for free agency this winter, defensive end Malik Jackson may be a little overlooked around the NFL as the new league year approaches. However, he’s a priority in Denver, with a weekend report suggesting that the team is “negotiating in earnest” in an effort to retain Jackson.
As those discussions continue, Jackson appeared on the NFL Network on Monday to discuss his contract situation and the Broncos’ outlook at quarterback. Via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, who recapped the defensive lineman’s comments in a pair of stories, here are a few of the highlights from Jackson during that conversation:
On the possibility of testing the free agent market:
“In talking to my agent, I got a pretty good idea of what my worth is. But I would like to see — because you never know — just to see the numbers. But if Denver came with quality numbers close to what we feel I deserve, then I would stay.”
On staying with a contending team vs. seeking out the best possible contract offer:
“I think it’s 50-50. That’s what makes it so hard, because you want to get paid. That’s your dream, to get paid and take care of your family. But you still want to win, too.“
On the possibility of Osweiler returning as the Broncos’ starting quarterback:
“He’s definitely someone who’s proven. He’s been underpaid for four years, quietly waiting. When he got his chance to go, he really outperformed himself. I think with the defense they have in Denver, you could put Brock back there and he’ll definitely win some games with them.”
On Manning’s potential retirement:
“To be honest with you, I think throughout the whole year I think it’s kind of been hard, getting hurt and everything, I think you can kinda see it take a toll throughout the season. I think when he talked to the team going into the game Saturday night you could kind of feel like the way he was talking, he was getting a little emotional. I don’t know if that was his last speech before a team, but you could definitely tell maybe it was getting closer. He kind of felt an extra type of why about this game to really want to go out there and win.”
NFC East Notes: Bradford, Giants, Cowboys
Earlier this month, an ESPN report indicated that the Eagles were not expected to use their franchise tag to lock up quarterback Sam Bradford. At the time, Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News said the team had yet to make a decision on Bradford. However, with the franchise-tag window opening today, Bowen now agrees that the Eagles “don’t seem wed” to the QB to the extent that they’d dedicate nearly $20MM in 2016 cap space to him via the franchise or transition tag.
While the Eagles appear unwilling to use their franchise tag on Bradford, they still may re-sign him. If the two sides don’t work out a new deal prior to March 9th, the former first overall pick will hit the open market, and Philadelphia may have to address its quarterback situation with a free agent or a draft pick — or both.
Here’s more from around the NFC East:
- Like their division rivals in Philadelphia, the Giants aren’t particularly likely to use the franchise tag. If they do, the top candidate will probably be kicker Josh Brown, as James Kratch of NJ.com outlines. Still, Kratch thinks the club can find a middle ground between Brown’s $1MM 2015 salary, and the projected franchise salary for kickers (around $4.5MM).
- The Cowboys need a cornerback, but David Moore of The Dallas Morning News isn’t so sure that they should use their No. 4 pick to fill that hole. For starters, Dallas has used a first-round pick on a cornerback twice in the last eight years, selecting Mike Jenkins and Morris Claiborne, and those picks haven’t worked out. Beyond that, Moore points to elite corners like Chris Harris and Josh Norman as evidence that plenty of top CBs can be found in the later rounds.
- The Giants are taking a look at two players from overseas, according to NFL Draft Diamonds, which reports that tight end Harry Innis and wide receiver Anthony Dablé are working out for New York. Per NFL Draft Diamonds, both players – who have excelled in European leagues – have drawn NFL interest from multiple teams.
Zach Links contributed to this post.