NFC West Notes: Rams, Boldin, Cardinals
Before he threw a single regular-season pass for the Rams, Nick Foles signed a two-year extension that ensured he wouldn’t be eligible for free agency this winter. Although Foles is sticking around, he won’t be handed the starting quarterback job in 2016, according to Rams general manager Les Snead.
Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio from the Senior Bowl, Snead told Mark Dominik and Alex Marvez that he expects Foles, Case Keenum, Sean Mannion, and any other offseason QB additions to battle for the No. 1 job this summer (link via Marvez at FOX Sports). “If I learned one thing last year, we should have let the quarterbacks have a competition from the start and the best man win instead of just passing the torch to Nick,” Snead said.
The Rams are paying Foles like the starter, as the former Eagles will count for $8.75MM against the cap in ’16. By comparison, Mannion will have a cap hit under $1MM, while Keenum – a restricted free agent – likely won’t make more than $2-3MM. Still, it sounds like Foles’ higher price tag won’t guarantee him anything.
Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFC West…
- 49ers wideout Anquan Boldin, who is eligible for free agency this winter, spoke briefly to Chip Kelly after the new head coach joined the team, but said today that he has yet to engage in negotiations with anyone from the Niners’ front office about a new contract. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle has the details, along with Boldin’s quotes.
- Former Missouri edge defender Michael Sam plans to take “one more shot” at making an NFL roster this year, he tweeted on Tuesday. Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted when he was selected by the Rams in 2014.
- After bringing him in for a workout last month, the Cardinals have tried out defensive back Joel Wilkinson again, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
- Earlier today, veteran Cardinals long snapper Mike Leach announced his retirement. Our full story can be found right here.
Bills Notes: QBs, Glenn, Incognito, Defense
Bills GM Doug Whaley says he would “absolutely” consider drafting a quarterback early on, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News writes. Tyrod Taylor exceeded all expectations in his first year as a starter, but the Bills won’t close the door in taking another promising signal caller, since there’s no guarantee Taylor will remain in Buffalo for years to come.
“We’ll do it because if you look at it, unfortunately we have two quarterbacks on the roster and both of them are entering the last year of their contract,” Whaley said, referring to Taylor and EJ Manuel. “If it presents itself, it makes sense and it’s a guy we like, and we believe in, absolutely.”
Taylor completed 63.7% of his passes last season for 3,035 yards, 20 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also set a new record for Bills quarterbacks with 568 rushing yards on the season. On the other hand, the former Raven had a hard time staying healthy, and detractors have noted his reluctance to throw over the middle of the field.
Here’s more out of Buffalo:
- While he may consider drafting a quarterback this spring, Whaley isn’t convinced anyone in this year’s group is ready to step in and contribute immediately: “I think it’s a deep crop and I think it’s a crop that’s going to need some time. Now, it depends on their situation, who takes them and what they do. But I would say it’s not as top-heavy as last year where those top two guys would still be the top two guys. How quickly these guys can matriculate into the league, I think it’s going to take a little bit of time. Maybe a year, maybe a half of a year.”
- Jim Overdorf, the Bills’ cap specialist, is expected to reach out to the agents for potential free agents Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito soon, Dunne writes in a piece for The Buffalo News. One in-the-know source at the Senior Bowl tells Dunne that the floor for a new deal for Glenn could be about $10MM per year, so the franchise tag will be a viable option for the Bills’ left tackle.
- Despite receiving a contract extension earlier this month, Whaley knows that there’s some urgency in Buffalo to make the Bills a contender in the near future. Still, as Dunne details in another column, the GM is confident that the club is headed in the right direction.
- Despite the problems the Bills had in defense in 2015, the team doesn’t think it needs three or four new starters on that side of the ball, tweets Dunne. “I don’t think we need a major overhaul like we did last year with the offense,” Whaley said.
Cardinals LS Mike Leach Announces Retirement
After spending 16 seasons in the NFL, veteran long snapper Mike Leach has decided to end his playing career. Leach announced his retirement in a Twitter post this morning, thanking the Titans, Broncos, and Cardinals for the time he spent with each franchise.
“Every journey, no matter how great, must eventually come to an end,” Leach wrote. “Today, I’ve reached the end of my journal as a player in the National Football League. It is rare in our profession that a player gets to choose when it’s over and to go out on his terms. I am making that choice before waning abilities – or worse, an injury – make it for me.”
Leach, an undrafted free agent back in 2000, spent his first two seasons with the Titans before joining the Broncos for the 2002 campaign. Since 2003, he has not missed a single game. In total, he played 235 regular-season contests, including 112 for the Cardinals over the last seven seasons.
Leach, 39, had been on a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract with Arizona in 2015, so his deal was set to expire this winter. As such, the Cards won’t carry any dead money on their 2016 cap now that Leach has decided to call it a career, though the team will have to find a new long snapper for the first time since 2009.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jaguars Rumors: Defense, Joeckel, Draft
The Jaguars are getting a first-hand look at talent in this week’s Senior Bowl, Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union writes. Jacksonville will likely end up taking an underclassmen with its first-round pick, but the club’s coaching staff could definitely be working with its future second-, third-, or fourth-round picks this week.
“When you’re there and you’re coaching it, it’s unbelievable,” coach Gus Bradley said. “You find some things about guys that you really like and then you find some things out that you say, I think you have to be careful that you don’t jump to conclusions. It’s just a piece of the puzzle. There’s a lot of good information. We get a chance to visit with both teams. To me, who does it help? It helps all of us. … We can knock out 80 guys or 90 guys or however many it is. That part is great.”
Here’s more on the Jags:
- According to Carlyon, it would be surprising if Jacksonville doesn’t use at least six of its draft picks this spring on defensive players to help improve 2015’s unit. In a separate Times-Union piece, Carlyon quotes Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on the subject. “We feel good about the offense right now,” Caldwell said. “We still have a ways to go and aren’t done by any means, but we’ll really focus on the defensive side of the ball. Getting [Dante] Fowler and [Sen’Derrick] Marks back will help us, then we have cap space and eight draft picks to fix the rest of the needs.”
- Adding pass-rushing help will be a priority for the Jaguars this offseason, per Caldwell (via Carlyon). “We have a need there, whether it’s two more or three more,” the GM said. “You can never have enough pass rushers. There were a handful of games we were winning in the fourth quarter. If we had some pass rush, we could have closed half of them out. If we had, we’d been playing in January.”
- Caldwell says the club has not yet begun discussions about re-signing any of its free agents or exercising the fifth-year option for left tackle Luke Joeckel, as ESPN.com’s Mike DiRocco writes. Joeckel, a former No. 2 overall pick, started 14 games in 2015.
- Caldwell also said he doesn’t see the Jaguars trading up in the first round (Twitter link via DiRocco). The Jags, who finished 5-11, currently hold the No. 5 pick in the 2016 draft.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/26/16
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL, including the Cardinals signing their entire practice squad to new deals for 2016:
Arizona Cardinals
- Carrington Byndom, CB (press release via team)
- Rob Crisp, T
- Durell Eskridge, S
- Marion Grice, RB
- Robert Hughes, RB
- Antoine McClain, G
- Quayshawn Nealy, LB
- Olsen Pierre, DT
- Jaxon Shipley, WR
- John Wetzel, T
- Kevin White, CB
Carolina Panthers
- Donald Hawkins, T (press release via team)
New England Patriots
- James Vaughters, LB (press release via team)
North Notes: Megatron, Packers, Haslam
There’s no decision yet, and no exact timetable, for Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson as he considers whether or not to continue his playing career, agent Bus Cook tells Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Shortly after the regular season ended, Megatron issued a statement indicating he was considering retirement, but Lions fans will have to wait at least a little longer before finding out what the wideout’s future plans are.
“Nothing to report,” said Cook, who is currently in Mobile, Alabam for the Senior Bowl. “Have to wait and see. He has to think about what he’s going to do and then go from there.”
As we wait to find out what Johnson decides, let’s check out a few more items from out of the NFL’s North divisions….
- After a weekend report suggested that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was frustrated by the team’s lack of free agent spending, general manager Ted Thompson said on Monday that there’s no problem between him and McCarthy, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, Cole suggests there may be “growing tension” in Green Bay after McCarthy’s latest postseason loss.
- Cole also has an update on the Browns (video link), reporting that team owner Jimmy Haslam is in Mobile for Senior Bowl practices, in an effort to take on a more “hands-on approach” as the head of the franchise. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link) confirms Haslam’s attendance, but says the Browns owner plans to leave today after having dinner with scouts on Monday night.
- The Browns have added Ken Delgado to their coaching staff as an assistant defensive line coach and former Titans assistant Cannon Matthews as an assistant defensive backs coach, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
- The Bears announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve named Richard Hightower their new assistant special teams coach. Hightower replaces Derius Swinton, who joined the 49ers last week.
- Justin Tucker‘s impressive track record when it comes to clutch kicks should give him some leverage when he and the Ravens discuss a new contract this winter, writes Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
Falcons Hire Phil Emery, Ruston Webster
2:34pm: The Falcons have officially confirmed that they’ve hired Emery and Webster as national scouts.
1:07pm: The Falcons appear set to add a pair of former general managers to their front office, according to reports. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Falcons will add former Bears general manager Phil Emery to their scouting and personnel department, while a Pro Football Talk tweet suggests ex-Titans GM Ruston Webster will join the team as well.
[RELATED: Falcons to retain general manager Thomas Dimitroff]
Earlier this month, in announcing that head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff would return to the Falcons for the 2016 season, owner Arthur Blank indicated that the front office would undergo a bit of a shake-up this winter.
“We are going to make a number of changes to our pro personnel and college scouting departments and that process began this week,” Blank said at the time. “It will take some time, but we will be adding talent on the pro personnel side and re-organizing both of these groups to best align with the shared vision of Coach Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff. I expect these changes will produce positive results for our team.”
Since then, the Falcons parted ways with director of player personnel Lionel Vital, and now it appears that the team will add a pair of notable names to its front office. With Emery and Webster set to join a group that already features Dimitroff, Rich McKay, former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, and former Rams general manager Billy Devaney, the Falcons’ front office will include several executives with GM experience.
Emery was let go by the Bears at the end of the 2014 season along with head coach Marc Trestman, while the Titans opted not to retain Webster at the end of the 2015 campaign, when his contract expired.
Brent Celek, Eagles Agree To Extension
1:07pm: According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Celek’s new deal is three years in total, so he’ll be locked up through the 2018 season.
12:01pm: For the second time in as many days, the Eagles have struck a deal on a contract extension for a tight end. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Eagles and Brent Celek have agreed on a three-year, $13MM contract that features $6MM in guaranteed money. The agreement comes on the heels of Monday’s five-year extension for top tight end Zach Ertz.
After averaging nearly 60 receptions per season from 2009 to 2012, Celek, who turned 31 on Monday, has seen his production dip in recent years. During Chip Kelly‘s tenure with the Eagles, and since the arrival or Ertz, Celek never caught more than 32 balls in a season, averaging about 413 yards per year.
Still, with Kelly out of the picture, the new Eagles decision-makers valued Celek enough to keep him around, adding guaranteed money to an expiring deal that no longer featured any. The former fifth-round pick had been set to earn a base salary of $4.925MM in 2016, the final year of his contract. However, Philadelphia could have cut him without carrying any dead money.
Instead, the Eagles will lock up Celek through at least 2018 – it’s not clear yet whether the extension is for three new years, or three total years – and almost certainly will reduce his cap number for 2016. It’s not clear how much of Celek’s $6MM guarantee is fully guaranteed, so the new deal probably doesn’t assure him of a roster spot beyond ’16, but he has some extra security for at least one more year.
According to Caplan (Twitter links), Eagles ownership and Howie Roseman recognized Celek’s value to the team and liked the way he has transitioned from a pass-catching tight end to one who is also a solid blocker. The Eagles would like the veteran tight end to finish his career in Philadelphia, so he may stick around for a few more years yet.
Celek’s new contract looks somewhat similar to the three-year, $12.3MM pact signed by Browns tight end Gary Barnidge in December. Barnidge, who is a year younger than Celek, hauled in 79 passes in 2015, but had only 44 receptions during the first seven years of his NFL career. Both deals currently crack the top 20 annual salaries for tight ends, though that might not last long, with young players like Travis Kelce, Jordan Reed, and Coby Fleener eligible for extensions.
A report last week indicated that the Eagles were also interested in getting contract extensions done for tackle Lane Johnson and defensive end Vinny Curry, so negotiations for those players figure to be ongoing in the coming days and weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFC West Notes: Cardinals, 49ers, Graham
The Cardinals will have a handful of key contributors eligible for free agency this offseason, and if you ask the players on the roster which of those free-agents-to-be is the most important to re-sign, you won’t necessarily get the same answer. While one Cardinals player suggested to Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic that locking up safety Rashad Johnson should be the team’s top priority, another gave his vote to an offensive tackle.
“Bobby [Massie],” the player said. “I thought he had a great year. Whether he stays here or whether he doesn’t, he’s going to get paid a lot of money.”
As we wait to see how the Cardinals approach their offseason, let’s check in on a few more items from out of the NFC West….
- The Cardinals may have a few notable players eligible for free agency, but head coach Bruce Arians remains excited about how the roster looks for 2016, writes Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com. “Looking at the team that’s coming back versus where we were this time last year, very few holes to fill,” Arians said. “[GM] Steve [Keim]’s already off starting to do it and this offseason already has begun.”
- While Chip Kelly should have the final say on who the 49ers‘ starting quarterback will be in 2016, team management would like to see Colin Kaepernick get another opportunity, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Cole indicates that the 49ers front office views Kaepernick’s $11.9MM base salary as reasonable for a starting quarterback, and believes he has the potential to bounce back under Kelly.
- Kelly didn’t use a fullback during his three seasons as the head coach in Philadelphia. What does that mean for 49ers fullback Bruce Miller? Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com examines the issue, suggesting it’s not a lock that Miller will be looking for a new home this offseason.
- Following up on John Schneider‘s comments about the Seahawks planning to bring back tight end Jimmy Graham next season, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com breaks down why it makes sense to take the GM at his word.
Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL
The NFL is a league of relative parity, one where a perennial contender can bottom out practically overnight and a team expected to finish at the bottom of its division can win it. As such, it’s probably not a surprise that NFL head coaches’ jobs are rarely safe, with most coaches around the league just one or two underachieving seasons away from being replaced.
Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, as is the case in New England, where Bill Belichick just completed his 16th season as head coach of the Patriots. However, while there are several long-tenured coaches across the NFL, most men in the position are relative newcomers. Over a third of the league’s 32 coaches have coached no more than one season with their respective teams, and only 11 have been with their current teams for more than three years.
A coach like Belichick has such a proven track record that a poor 2016 season wouldn’t jeopardize his position. But as is the case every year, there are likely several names on the list below who won’t still have their jobs by next January. Even longer-tenured head coaches aren’t always safe — Tom Coughlin had been with the Giants since 2004, placing him third on this list, before the two sides parted ways earlier this month.
Here’s the list of the current head coaches in the NFL, ordered by tenure, along with the month and year in which they assumed the role:
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
- Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals): January 14, 2003
- Mike McCarthy (Green Bay Packers): January 12, 2006
- Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 22, 2007
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010
- Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys): November 8, 2010 (interim; permanent since January 2011)
- Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers): January 11, 2011
- Jeff Fisher (Los Angeles Rams): January 13, 2012
- Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis Colts): January 25, 2012
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
- Mike McCoy (San Diego Chargers): January 15, 2013
- Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals): January 17, 2013
- Gus Bradley (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 17, 2013
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
- Jay Gruden (Washington): January 9, 2014
- Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2014
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
- Rex Ryan (Buffalo Bills): January 12, 2015
- Todd Bowles (New York Jets): January 14, 2015
- Jack Del Rio (Oakland Raiders): January 15, 2015
- John Fox (Chicago Bears): January 16, 2015
- Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos): January 19, 2015
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): February 2, 2015
- Mike Mularkey (Tennessee Titans): November 3, 2015 (interim; permanent since January 2016)
- Adam Gase (Miami Dolphins): January 9, 2016
- Hue Jackson (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2016
- Chip Kelly (San Francisco 49ers): January 14, 2016
- Dirk Koetter (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 15, 2016
- Ben McAdoo (New York Giants): January 15, 2016
- Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles): January 18, 2016