Redskins Notes: Rebuilding, Orakpo, Safeties
It was already reported that the Redskins may be looking at wholesale changes in the interior of their offensive line, given the departure of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and his zone-blocking scheme. New head coach Jay Gruden, who ran more of a power-blocking scheme while in Cincinnati, did say that he liked the effectiveness of Washington’s running game last year, so the fates of Kory Lichtensteiger, Will Montgomery, and Chris Chester remain in flux. Here are some more notes from the nation’s capital:
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington believes that the Redskins are in full-fledged rebuilding mode. They are coming off a 3-13 record, have a new head coach, 20 of last year’s players are set to become free agents, and GM Bruce Allen expects to have 20 new players on the roster in 2014. However, given that the team has $30MM in cap space and a viable answer at quarterback, Tandler believes the rebuild could see results sooner rather than later.
- Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington examines the Redskins’ outlook at outside linebacker, one of the few position groups that had consistent success in 2013. However, Washington faces a difficult decision with free agent OLB Brian Orakpo. Orakpo rebounded well from his injury-plagued 2012 campaign, in which he played only two games due to injury. He fared well against the run, showed improvement in coverage, and once again showed why he is considered one of the better pass rushers in the league, collecting 10 sacks. El-Bashir, though, thinks Orakpo belongs in the second tier of outside linebackers, and that the Redskins would do well to sign him to a contract befitting that status: somewhere in the $6.7MM-$9MM range. If the Redskins can’t get him for that price, El-Bashir believes they should part ways.
- Tandler, meanwhile, thinks the Redskins should put the franchise tag on Orakpo. The tag would cost just under $11MM, and if Orakpo performs poorly or is injured again, the Redskins can simply walk away after 2014. But if Orakpo has another terrific season, they could put the tag on him again. The projected $13MM cost of the 2015 franchise tag for outside linebackers would be a bargain for Orakpo at that point.
- In a separate piece, Tandler looks at some of the Redskins’ potential targets at the safety position. Since safety Brandon Meriweather‘s contract voids five days after the Super Bowl, the team may have a big hole in the middle of their defense in 2014. Tandler thinks Washington will almost certainly pursue a safety in May’s draft, perhaps as high the second round. Tandler points to Jimmie Ward, Vinnie Sunseri, Ed Reynolds, Terrence Brooks, and Deone Bucannon as viable options.
Dolphins Hire Dennis Hickey As GM
4:43pm: The Dolphins have issued a statement on the hire on their team website.
4:14pm: The Dolphins will introduce Hickey at a press conference on Tuesday, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
10:24am: The Dolphins have finally settled on a new general manager, hiring former Tampa Bay director of player personnel Dennis Hickey, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. The Dolphins’ search for a GM has been widely-discussed among national and local writers, particularly after Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio turned down the job earlier this week. James Walker, who covers the Dolphins for ESPN.com, tweeted yesterday that Miami completely botched the GM search, and he tweeted today that Hickey was probably not even the Dolphins’ fifth or sixth choice when this process began.
Walker may well be correct in his assessment. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that, not long before they hired Hickey, the Dolphins offered the job to Titans Vice President of Football Operations Lake Dawson. Dawson turned down the job as well, and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets that Dawson released a statement saying that Miami was not an “ideal fit” and that “details of the offer didn’t align with my vision.” Adding to the curiosity of the situation is that the Buccaneers, who recently hired Jason Licht as their GM, did not even interview Hickey for that role.
Hickey worked for the Buccaneers for 18 years, and served as the director of player personnel for the last three seasons. He was an important part of Tampa Bay’s major splashes over the past couple of years, as the team signed Pro Bowl safety Dashon Goldson and traded for All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis before the 2013 season and signed Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson prior to the 2012 season. The 2012 draft may have been the highlight of Hickey’s career with the Bucs. That year’s class included highly-regarded players like safety Mark Barron, running back Doug Martin, and linebacker Lavonte David.
Hickey takes over for Jeff Ireland, who had been the Dolphins’ GM since 2008. Ireland and the Dolphins “mutually agreed” to part ways several weeks ago, setting off Miami’s unusual search for a replacement that culminated with Hickey’s acceptance earlier today. Hickey does not inherit a bare cupboard by any means, as the Dolphins narrowly missed the playoffs this season and have solid talent on both sides of the ball. Nonetheless, the fact that at least two candidates turned down such a high-profile position does lead to speculation regarding the stability of the front office. Attempting to read between the lines of Dawson’s rejection, Volin tweeted simply, “that place is a mess.”
More On Dolphins’ Front Office
3:07pm: Several Dolphins players have expressed an interest in leaving the team, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. The unidentified Dolphins are likely frustrated by the public dysfunction exhibited by ownership regarding the GM search and control over roster decisions.
1:55pm: Hickey was likely going to be fired by the Buccaneers after the draft, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Additionally, many candidates for the Miami GM job may have turned down the position due to a lack of personnel control, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It appears as though head coach Joe Philbin has gained more sway during the Dolphins power struggle, as Salugero also tweets that Philbin will have “some say” over personnel.
12:56pm: Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine is not likely to stay with the team long-term, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Gaine was one of the candidates brought in for a second interview for the Dolphin’s general manager job, which was given to Dennis Hickey earlier today. Although the Dolphins would like to keep Gaine on board, Salguero further tweeted that Gaine understands he has no real chance of advancement with Miami.
Miami’s search for a GM would have certainly left Gaine with that impression, as the job was offered to several candidates who turned it down before Hickey accepted. As Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com tweets, Gaine did not have a chance to be Miami’s GM unless everyone declined it. A source told Marvez that Gaine is too connected with recently-departed GM Jeff Ireland.
CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora believes that whoever accepted the Dolphins GM job may not have that position for very long anyway. La Canfora tweets that, if the Dolphins stumble in 2014, it is believed that owner Stephen Ross will likely renew his pursuit of a big-name head coach. If he is able to land such a coach, the entire front office will probably be purged.
Patriots Notes: Amendola, Edelman, McCourty
The Patriots may cut Danny Amendola this offseason, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The Patriots are facing a difficult cap situation, with $127MM already committed to the team’s top 51 players, not to mention the dead money created by players that have already been cut. In order to alleviate some of their financial constraints, the Pats may elect to designate Amendola as a post-June 1 cut. If the team were to cut Amendola before June 1, the team would immediately take a $4.8MM cap hit. However, if they made Amendola a post-June 1 cut, they would take a $1.2MM hit in 2014, and a $3.6MM hit in 2015.
New England could then use some of the money they save on Amendola to pay free agent Julian Edelman, who emerged as quarterback Tom Brady‘s favorite target after the departure of Wes Welker and in the absence of tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Amendola has had difficulty staying healthy throughout the course of his career, but he was able to parlay his flashes of excellence with the Rams into a five-year, $28.5MM free agent contract with the Patriots last March. Despite his continued injury problems in his first season with New England, he would generate significant interest if the Pats were to cut him. Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times tweets that the Ravens would likely take a good look at Amendola should he hit the open market again.
New England might also look to extend safety Devin McCourty to free up some more cap room. Christopher Price of WEEI.com notes that McCourty’s salary is due to take a significant hike for the 2014 season, from $920K to about $3.92MM. His cap hit would be an even larger $5.115MM. As such, Price writes that the Pats would do well do extend McCourty, whose strong ball skills and leadership in the secondary make him a valuable part of the team’s success. McCourty is entering the final year of his rookie contract and would be a free agent at season’s end.
Browns To Seek QB In First Round
All signs point to the Browns drafting a quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. As new head coach Mike Pettine sets out to return his team to relevancy in the AFC North, he and the rest of Cleveland’s front office must decide whether a collegiate star like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, or Blake Bortles can become the Brown’s long-coveted savior under center. Citing unnamed sources, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora recently wrote that the Browns would be willing to trade up in the draft to grab Manziel if necessary, but Browns CEO Joe Banner said that although he is by no means taking the Texas A&M star off the board, it is far too early to make such a determination.
Of course, the Browns do have Brian Hoyer on the roster, who impressed in limited action in the 2013 season. Hoyer won the two games that he started last season before tearing his ACL in the first quarter of his third start against the Bills. Ulrich notes that Hoyer is expected to be ready for organized team activities in May, but given the severity of the injury, nothing is certain in that regard.
Hoyer does have Pettine’s endorsement on his side. Shortly after being hired by the Browns, Pettine called Hoyer a “winner” with “off the charts” intangibles (link). However, it may be difficult for the Browns to pass on a talent like Manziel or Bridgewater, especially since they have two first-round picks to work with (Nos. 4 and 26 overall). If La Canfora’s sources are accurate and the Browns are indeed targeting Manziel, they may well have to move up to get him. ESPN Insider Mel Kiper recently predicted Manziel would be taken by the Texans with the first overall selection.
Coaching Notes: Browns, Redskins, Jets, Giants
The Browns would like to hire Bills linebackers coach Jim O’Neil as their new defensive coordinator, but if the Bills should block O’Neil from interviewing with Cleveland, the Browns will pursue Ravens inside linebackers coach Don “Wink” Martindale, tweets NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Martindale served as the Broncos defensive coordinator in 2010 before joining the Ravens, and was the Raiders linebackers coach from 2004 to 2008.
Although their tenures with Baltimore never overlapped, new Browns head coach Mike Pettine worked as the Ravens outside linebackers coach in 2008 under John Harbaugh. According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, if Harbaugh vouches for Martindale, Pettine will value Harbaugh’s endorsement.
- Newly-extended Jets head coach Rex Ryan is looking to fill out his coaching staff, and LSU special teams coach Thomas McGaughey has become a leading candidate to replace Ben Kotwica as New York’s special-teams coordinator, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. Kotwica recently left the Jets to become the Redskins special-teams coordinator.
- Speaking of the Redskins, Washington has hired Randy Jordan to be its new running backs coach. Jordan beat out former Redskins running back and coach Ernest Byner for the post, and his hire fills the last vacant position coach job on Jay Gruden‘s staff.
- The Giants, meanwhile, continue the overhaul of their offensive coaching staff by hiring Oregon State offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf as their new quarterbacks coach. Along with fellow new hires Ben McAdoo and Craig Johnson, Langsdorf will try to help turn around a Giants offense that struggled mightily in 2013 under the shaky hand of quarterback Eli Manning.