Latest On Jets’ Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Hackenberg
Not many teams have much attention devoted to their third-, fourth-, and fifth-string quarterbacks, but then again, not many teams have had a quarterback situation quite like that of the Jets in recent years. Now that Gang Green has Josh McCown and Sam Darnold entrenched as its top two signal-callers — and now that Bryce Petty is no longer in the picture — there is some intrigue as to what the team will do with Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Hackenberg.
Both players, of course, come with plenty of uncertainty. The biggest question mark surrounding Bridgewater is his health, and Brian Costello of the New York Post calls Bridgewater’s ability to be a full participant in the team’s OTAs that begin on May 22 “the biggest mystery of the spring.” When asked what the former Viking will be able to do in OTAs, head coach Todd Bowles said, “I can’t give you 100 percent. I’ll see when it gets to that. Then I’ll be able to tell you.”
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, reading between the lines, says the odds are that Bridgewater will be limited in some fashion. Indeed, when asked if Bridgewater has been running with teammates in conditioning drills, Bowles said simply, “[h]e’s been working out.”
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, though, says that even if Bridegwater is not able to fully participate in OTAs, it should not be cause for concern. Mehta tweets that Bridgewater is on schedule in his recovery from the catastrophic knee injury he suffered in 2016, and he may even be a little ahead of schedule.
If that’s the case, that could spell the end of Hackenberg’s time in New York. As Cimini indicates, Hackenberg’s days appear numbered, though the Penn State product would stand a better chance of sticking around if Bridgewater’s health remains in doubt. In an effort to jumpstart his career, Hackenberg — who has not taken a regular season snap in his first two seasons in the league — has recently revamped his throwing motion.
Even more interesting is the fact that Hackenberg made the change without consulting the team first, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv. As Bowles said, “[Hackenberg] hasn’t talked to me about it. He’s just worked on it and I learned about it after the fact.” Bowles also did not give a definitive answer as to whether the change in mechanics would help, or why Hackenberg waited to long to make the change.
Given Hackenberg’s pedigree — and perhaps his new mechanics, which he has worked on with quarterback guru Jeff Christiensen — he will certainly generate some interest if and when the Jets give him his walking papers. But it’s still a little too early to say whether he or Bridgewater will be the odd man out.
Texans Fire Jimmy Raye III, Other Scouting Personnel
The Texans just completed their first draft under new GM Brian Gaine, and now the team is shaking up its scouting department. Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the team has dismissed assistant GM Jimmy Raye III, director of college scouting Jon Carr, assistant director of college scouting Mike Martin, college scouting coordinator Matt Jansen, and college scout Seth Turner.
As Wilson observes, Martin was credited for uncovering UDFA gems like Arian Foster and A.J. Bouye, but the biggest name on that list is Raye, who actually replaced Gaine in Houston last season when Gaine went to Buffalo as the Bills’ vice president of player personnel. After 17 years as a scout and executive with the Chargers, Raye served as vice president of player operations with the Colts and has been a GM candidate for several clubs (including the Texans) in recent years.
All of the dismissed personnel were hired by former GM Rick Smith, and it is not unusual for an overhaul like this when a new general manager or head coach comes aboard. However, Carr and Martin had been with the team for over a decade, and both have a solid track record.
As of yet, there is no word on any potential replacements.
NFC Notes: Bulaga, Foles, Cowboys
Given that the Packers could save nearly $5MM by releasing RT Bryan Bulaga, and given Bulaga’s recent injury history, there was some chatter that Green Bay could part ways with the ninth-year pro (especially since Bulaga is not even guaranteed to be ready for the start of the 2018 season after tearing his ACL on November 6). But we recently heard that Bulaga remains in the team’s 2018 plans, and head coach Mike McCarthy said Bulaga’s rehab is ahead of schedule (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). Therefore, it certainly sounds as if Bulaga will be back for the fourth year of the five-year pact he signed prior to the 2015 season.
- In a series of tweets, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com passes along more details on Nick Foles‘ reworked deal. Foles’ cap number is now $9.6MM, fourth-highest on the Eagles, but if the team were to trade him after June 1, it would save $7MM in cap space, more than it would have saved prior to the restructure. As such, the restructure looks like a win-win in that Foles gets more money and incentives and it’s easier for the Eagles to deal him if someone comes along with a great offer. Shorr-Parks, though, still does not expect Foles to be traded.
- The Cowboys selected Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White in the fifth round of this year’s draft, which marked just the sixth time Dallas has drafted a QB since Jerry Jones purchased the franchise in 1989. White is expected to compete with Cooper Rush for the backup job, though Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News writes that executive vice president Stephen Jones is open to carrying three signal-callers in 2018.
- Per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Saints head coach Sean Payton does not know if the team will bring in a fourth QB to compete with Tom Savage and Taysom Hill. Payton said the Saints considered drafting a signal-caller this weekend, but they are anxious to see what Savage and Hill can do.
- Brady Henderson of ESPN.com says the Seahawks see Shaquem Griffin, whom they selected in the fifth round of this weekend’s draft, as a weak-side LB at the next level, and he also reports that Seattle viewed fourth-round pick Will Dissly as the best blocking tight end in the class (Twitter links).
- The Lions apparently disappointed at least a couple of teams in this weekend’s draft. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Detroit selected Auburn RB Kerryon Johnson one pick before the Redskins were prepared to take him, and the Panthers were going to take UL-Lafayette CB Tracy Walker with the No. 85 overall pick, but the Lions nabbed him with their No. 82 pick.
Latest On Julio Jones, Falcons
Star Falcons wideout Julio Jones created some waves last week when he made his Twitter account private and scrubbed his Instagram profile of pictures of him in Falcons gear, though multiple reports later indicated that was simply because he wanted to create a fresh start for his social media profiles (per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). The Twitter account has since returned, but Jones has also been absent from the team’s voluntary offseason program, leading some to wonder whether he is unhappy about his current contract situation.
Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports that GM Thomas Dimitroff is not worried about any of that and believes that the relationship between player and team is in a good place. Jones has not made any public comments about his contract, though his average salary of $14.25MM is now sixth in the league. He signed a five-year, $71.25MM extension in August 2015 that made him the second-highest paid wideout in the NFL at the time — behind only Calvin Johnson — so he is under club control for another three seasons.
Dimitroff said, “Julio and the organization are doing very well. I’m not concerned one bit about any of the social media. I think we’re in a great spot. He had very good discussions with [head coach] Dan [Quinn]. And we’re in a great spot.” With respect to Jones’ absence from team workouts, Dimitroff said, “They’re voluntary, of course. Again, we feel very comfortable with where we are with Julio and how he perceives everything.”
It is unclear as to when Jones plans to rejoin his teammates, but as McClure observes, if Jones does not report for the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp in June, then there will be cause for concern. For now, however, Atlanta brass does not seem too worried, and Jones is expected to mentor the team’s newest addition to an excellent wide receiving corps, Calvin Ridley.
Jones was brilliant again in 2017, posting 88 catches for 1,444 yards (though he did manage just three scores). That marked the fourth consecutive year he cracked 1,400 received yards, and he has been named to five Pro Bowls in his seven-year career, including two first-team All-Pro nods. If he wants to talk contract, one has to imagine the Falcons will listen.
AFC East Notes: J. Allen, Dez, Jets, Pats
Former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, whom the Bills selected with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, is believed by many to have the highest upside of any rookie QB in the 2018 class. However, he is also considered quite raw, and given that Buffalo acquired A.J. McCarron — who does not have much NFL game experience, but who has at least been in the league for a few years — this offseason, the general belief is that Allen will be McCarron’s backup before he gets a chance to establish himself.
But Buffalo GM Brandon Beane is not willing to relegate Allen to the No. 2 job just yet. Beane said (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, citing NewYorkUpstate.com), “We’re not going to rush him, but you know if he somehow wins the job, he wins it…There will be 52 other players out there and if they see that he’s clearly the best, I don’t think we could [not start him]. We wouldn’t do that at any other position, so we’ll let it go. But he’s got a lot of catching up to do, that’s the thing.”
Now for more AFC East items, starting with another note out of Buffalo:
- The Bills could use another quality wideout behind starters Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones. They added two receivers with their last two picks of the draft (Ray-Ray McCloud with the No. 187 pick and Austin Proehl with the No. 255 pick), but neither player figures to make an immediate impact. However, the team is not interested in free agent Dez Bryant. Beane said, per Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com, “We have looked at Dez on tape, but I wouldn’t take it any further and I don’t know where that would go. We’re looking to get better at all positions and receiver is one, so if we thought that was the right fit for us we would potentially pursue it.”
- The Jets currently have five QBs on the roster, and teams have been in contact with Gang Green about the possibility of trading for one of those five signal-callers, Bryce Petty. Per Calvin Watkins of Newsday.com (via Twitter), GM Mike Maccagnan essentially confirmed as much, and while he did not mention any names, he sounded hopeful that he could find trading partners for all of his QB surplus (which also includes Christian Hackenberg). When asked if he will need to cut a quarterback, Maccagnan said, “We’ll see how that unfolds going forward. There’s always conversations you have with teams and we’ll see how that unfolds in [a] little bit of time.”
- There are plenty of mixed feelings on the Patriots‘ 2018 draft class, but as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com observes, the team has a bevy of early picks in the 2019 draft (six selections in the first three rounds). While some have wondered why New England did not draft a signal-caller who could be the heir apparent to Tom Brady, Reiss says the Pats were very aggressive in scouting this year’s crop of QBs but ultimately felt the starting-caliber options did not fall far enough to pursue and did not want to overdraft a backup-type. Reiss, though, believes New England could use their 2019 draft haul to land its QB of the future.
Latest On Derrius Guice
Former LSU running back Derrius Guice, widely regarded as the second-best back in this year’s class behind Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, slipped to the bottom of the second round before the Redskins snapped him up with the No. 59 overall selection. The slide was not especially surprising in light of reports of personality concerns that emerged earlier this month, and yesterday we heard that his visits with NFL clubs did not go well.
There are now a few more details on that front. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, said that Guice’s meeting with the Eagles — who were certainly in the market for a running back in the draft, though they ultimately did not select one — ultimately devolved into a “shouting match.” One unnamed source called it the worst meeting Philadelphia ever had with a player.
Florio had the opportunity to speak with Guice prior to the draft, and when he asked Guice to comment on the conflicting stories he told as to certain questions he claimed NFL teams asked him, Guice chose to simply avoid the topic. He has been described as “immature” and “high-maintenance,” and one executive from a club that had several opportunities to draft him said that, unless he matures quickly, he will wear out his welcome in Washington in a couple of years.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman, though, has downplayed any talk of an altercation between his team and his new division rival. Per John Keim of ESPN.com, Roseman said, “There was no altercation. When you hear the word ‘altercation,’ it sounds like fisticuffs or something, or yelling or screaming. I don’t know I’ve ever been in a room where a player has yelled at anyone. Sometimes you can’t believe everything you read or hear.”
For his part, Guice is prepared to put his negative publicity behind him and move on. He said, “Everything that is behind me is behind me. This is a fresh, clean slate. I’m just ready to get to work.”
Not being picked in the first round will hurt Guice’s earnings on his rookie contract, but he is still expected to be the Redskins’ starting running back.
Raiders To Overhaul Personnel Department
When the draft wraps up in any given year, a rash of pink slips are handed out to scouts around the league, who suddenly find themselves without work after helping make the draft a reality. But in addition to the usual scouting spring cleaning, the Raiders plan to make dramatic changes to the upper levels of their personnel department, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. 
Per Marvez, Oakland is expected to add at least one new personnel executive to the front office, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets that Ed Marynowitz and Brian Heimerdinger are potential candidates for the job. Marvez also hears that player personnel director Joey Clinkscales could be on his way out. Clinkscales, who previously worked as Vice President of College Scouting for the Jets and who has been a GM candidate twice in his career, has been with the Raiders since 2012, but Marvez suggests that he might be headed to the Browns‘ front office.
Clinkscales joined the Raiders in 2012, and his longstanding relationship with Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie may have made the team a good fit for both men. But head coach Jon Gruden, who rejoined the silver-and-black this offseason, apparently wants to shake things up a bit throughout the department, which is not an uncommon development when a new head coach or GM comes on board.
Gruden now has final say on roster decisions, usurping a bit of McKenzie’s power, but McKenzie and Gruden both say that they are working well together. McKenzie said, “I got a feel for coach Gruden. We like the same type of players.”
A Raiders spokesman decline comment as to whether major changes are forthcoming.
East Notes: Foles, Giants, Breeland
The Eagles and reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles just agreed to a reworked contract that gives Foles a $2MM raise for 2018, plus a whole host of incentives. The deal also includes a mutual option for 2019, though if Foles were to decline the option, he would have to give back the $2MM he just received.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com examines why Philadelphia, which is tight against the cap this year and will be again in 2019, made the move. The reworked deal probably had little to nothing to do with the Eagles’ wanting to reward Foles for his postseason heroics, so Shorr-Parks speculates that Foles and his camp could have put some pressure on the team, and he also suggests the new contract may come with a lower cap hit.
The chances that the Eagles exercise the 2019 option are very slim, as Foles would be owed a $20MM salary under that scenario. But, if the two sides want to continue their relationship beyond 2018, this gesture will certainly buy the Eagles some goodwill when it comes time to negotiate again. It also guarantees that Philadelphia, which already had the best QB insurance policy in the game, will keep that policy perfectly content this season, and even if Carson Wentz cannot stay healthy, the team has given itself a chance to deploy a capable signal-caller for at least the next two years.
Now let’s take a quick swing around a few other east division clubs:
- Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com says the Giants could look to trade offensive tackle Ereck Flowers during the draft, though that will probably be a difficult trick to pull off. Raanan also says Big Blue has done a lot of pre-draft work on punters this year, and he believes the team could bring in a UDFA punter to compete with Riley Dixon. Dixon was recently acquired from Denver for a conditional seventh-round pick, so if he does not make the club, the Giants will likely not need to surrender the pick.
- Former Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland was set to sign a three-year, $24MM pact with the Panthers last month, but Carolina scuttled the deal due to a “non-football incident” in which Breeland cut his foot. The foot became infected, and at the time, it was reported that Breeland was a few months away from being able to pass a physical. He will surely garner some interest this summer once he is healed, but JP Finlay of NBCSports.com says Washington is not expected to bring Breeland back into the fold. Indeed, Breeland himself indicated on Instagram that the Redskins never had interest in retaining his services.
- The Patriots are in the unique position of having three fifth-year options to either exercise or decline before May 3, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the team will almost certainly exercise those options on defensive tackles Danny Shelton and Malcom Brown (at a little over $7MM apiece). However, the team is unsurprisingly not expected to exercise the $9.387MM option for receiver Phillip Dorsett.
- The Cowboys are expected to exercise Byron Jones‘ fifth-year option.
Draft Notes: Giants, Eagles, Lamar Jackson
There are plenty who believe that the Giants would be foolish to pass up one of the top QBs in this year’s draft to select Saquon Barkley, regardless of how good Barkley is. But Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com wonders if the presence of Davis Webb, whom the Giants selected in the third round of last year’s draft, is impacting New York’s decision-making. Webb has impressed with his work ethic and preparation, and while it is unclear how highly the new regime values Webb, it could be that the Giants feel better about their short- and long-term QB situation than those outside the organization (plus, Webb still has a major supporter within the front office in president of player evaluation Chris Mara). Therefore, maybe it would not be much of a surprise to see Big Blue pull the trigger on a non-QB with their No. 2 overall pick.
Now for a roundup of more draft-related rumors, starting with another note on the Giants:
- The Giants could also trade their No. 2 overall pick to a team who really does want to snag one of this year’s top QB prospects, but as Raanan notes, New York is going to ask for a major haul in exchange for that selection — including multiple first-round picks — and clubs that want to move up may be better served in making a deal with the Broncos or Colts (who hold the Nos. 5 and 6 overall picks, respectively). Raanan points out that Denver and Indianapolis have been talking to teams about the possibility of moving down, which hurts the Giants’ leverage.
- The Eagles do not have many holes that need to be filled for the 2018 season, but there are plenty of questions they need to answer for 2019 and beyond, so as Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the team may be drafting for future needs this week. For instance, the Eagles know they currently have a few young players on expiring contracts that will be in line for richer deals soon — most notably Carson Wentz — so they will need to find talent that can contribute on a rookie contract for a few years. Running back, offensive line, and safety are three positions that are at least somewhat unsettled beyond 2018, so Berman suggests the Eagles could target those positions this week.
- In his latest mailbag, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com takes a look at two of the pass rushers that have been frequently connected to the Lions — Boston College’s Harold Landry and UTEP’s Marcus Davenport — and opines that Davenport would be the better fit. However, as we learned yesterday, Detroit could be looking to trade down from its No. 20 overall pick, and Rothstein notes that remains a possibility.
- It’s unclear whether the Dolphins will be targeting a QB with their No. 11 overall pick — or if they will trade up to land a signal-caller — but Florida Football Insiders offers its view as to why Miami should pick Louisville QB Lamar Jackson with its first-round selection.
- Speaking of Jackson, NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock (article via Edward Lewis of NFL.com) believes the former Heisman Trophy winner will not only be a first-round pick, but that he could go in the top-10 (he also believes a team could trade up into that territory to land him). But if Jackson is not selected in the first 20 picks, Mayock says the Saints and Patriots would be two clubs that could target him, as they have the offensive minds to harness Jackson’s talent.
- With more available data than ever before, a “handful of teams,” including the Rams, are using analytics to help them locate hidden gems and special teams contributors/reserve types on Day 3 of the draft, as Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes. Volin writes, “[i]n addition to comparing 40 times and broad jumps, teams find different ways to track a player’s health, his productivity at various positions and alignments, his performance in the fourth quarter, and so on.” So while old-school scouting and face-to-face meetings are still the most important tools with respect to early-round picks, potential late-round selections are increasingly being scouted with advanced metrics.
Raiders To Exercise Amari Cooper’s Option
As expected, the Raiders plan to exercise Amari Cooper‘s fifth-year option, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson (via Twitter). The move will keep Cooper under club control through 2019 and will lock Cooper into a $13.924MM salary — guaranteed for injury only — for the 2019 campaign.
However, as we learned just a couple of days ago, the Raiders have begun discussing a long-term contract with Cooper’s agent, and if the two sides come to terms, Oakland will need to pony up more than the fifth-year option amount on an average annual basis. The high-priced deals signed by this year’s free agent receivers, as well as the mega-extension for Bucs wideout Mike Evans, will only boost Cooper’s leverage in talks.
Coooper, who doesn’t turn 24 until June, has compiled more than 2,900 receiving yards over the past three years. He positioned himself as one of the league’s best receivers right out of the gate as a rookie when he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015. He earned Pro Bowl honors once again in 2016, catching 83 passes for 1,153 yards and five scores.
However, Cooper’s numbers were less impressive last year, as he posted just 680 yards and saw a sizable dip in targets (though he did play in only 14 games after suiting up for all 16 contests in his first two seasons in the league). He’ll look to get back on track under new head coach Jon Gruden and will hope that opposing defenses will be paying some attention to new WR2 Jordy Nelson, though it’s debatable as to whether Nelson is a bigger threat than former Raider Michael Crabtree.
In any event, we can expect to see the former Alabama standout and No. 4 overall pick in black-and-silver for the foreseeable future.