North Notes: Peterson, T. Taylor, Steelers
We learned yesterday that at least a few GMs are concerned about how much Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has left and whether or not he’d be willing to accept a contract commensurate with a running back on the downside of his career. The Giants are one team that Peterson has indicated he would like to play for if he does not remain in Minnesota, but as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes, Big Blue has expressed no interest in acquiring the former league MVP (although the Giants have not indicated that they are uninterested either, Peterson just does not appear to fit from a schematic standpoint). Of course, the more teams that drop out of the Peterson race, or decline to enter the race at all, the more likely it is that he will stay with the Vikings on a lesser salary.
Now for more notes from the league’s north divisions:
- Speaking of Peterson, Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune lays out a list of teams that the long-time Vikings star is most likely to play for next season, and the Buccaneers are at the top of the list.
- The Lions signed tight end Cole Wick as a UDFA last offseason, and he managed to stick on the team’s 53-man roster, catching two passes in sporadic playing time over six regular-season games before spending the final two months on IR. But as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes, Wick could find himself with a more significant role in 2017, as he and Eric Ebron are the only tight ends under contract who played a down for Detroit last year.
- The Bears are expected to hire Derius Swinton as the club’s assistant special teams coach, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Swinton previously served in that capacity with Chicago in 2015 but became the 49ers’ special teams coordinator last season.
- Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the chances of the Browns‘ acquiring Tyrod Taylor increased when the club hired his former Bills quarterbacks coach, David Lee, two weeks ago. However, Cabot believes Cleveland would still prefer to swing a trade for Patriots backup signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo. If they cannot land Garoppolo, the Browns will look to Taylor, Mike Glennon, etc., but even if they acquire one of those players, Cabot believes the team should still draft UNC’s Mitch Trubisky with the No. 1 overall selection.
- The Steelers have a lot of question marks at the wide receiver position beyond Antonio Brown, as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Indeed, Martavis Bryant needs to be reinstated by the league following his season-long suspension, Markus Wheaton will probably be let go in free agency, and Sammie Coates was dogged by injuries to his finger and groin and could be facing knee surgery. As such, Dulac believes the team could spend at least one early-round selection on a wideout. John Ross and JuJu Smith-Schuster are two prospects who could be available when the Steelers are on the clock for the first time.
East Notes: D-Jax, Jets, Hightower
We recently heard that Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason, could command an annual salary of at least $10MM on his next contract, despite the fact that he is a 30-year-old receiver whose game is predicated on speed. Today, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk lends more support to those rumblings, reporting that Jackson will be generating strong interest as free agency approaches. Of course, Jackson has expressed interest in re-signing with Washington and in returning to Philadelphia, but he would likely have to take a lesser salary to stay with the Redskins and he seems to be a little resentful about the way things ended with the Eagles. But as Florio observes, it seems as if Jackson’s choice will not be limited to two clubs.
Now for more from the league’s east divisions:
- Regardless of what the Jets choose to do with Darrelle Revis, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that the team is exploring the upper end of the free agent cornerback market and could make a quick splash once free agency opens. A.J. Bouye, Stephon Gilmore, Trumaine Johnson and Logan Ryan are all options for Gang Green.
- If the Patriots use a tag on impending free agent Dont’a Hightower, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes it will be the $11MM transition tag rather than the $14.5-15MM franchise tag. The transition tag allows New England the right of first refusal on any offer Hightower receives in free agency, although it does not allow the Pats to recoup any draft pick compensation if they choose to not match such an offer.
- In the same piece, Reiss reports that Patriots receiver Danny Amendola will not be back on his current contract, which is scheduled to pay him $6MM in 2017. However, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes that New England values what Amendola can contribute on offense and on special teams, so the club would like him to have him back at a reduced salary. Given that Amendola has agreed to a restructure in each of the last two offseasons, and given that he posted only 23 catches for 243 yards in 2016, it seems likely that the two sides will be able to work something out.
- In his latest chat with fans, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News says that he expects the Cowboys to select a defensive end with one of their first two picks in this year’s draft. The 2017 class has a fair amount of talent at the edge rushing positions, so Dallas should be able to land a quality prospect even though they are picking near the end of each round.
- Yesterday, the Dolphins inked defensive end Cameron Wake to an extension that will keep him in Miami through 2018.
Jacob Tamme Wants To Return To Falcons; 49ers In Play
Jacob Tamme, who was an important piece of the Falcons’ league-leading offense in 2016 before his season was cut short by a shoulder injury, is one of 17 Falcons eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason. Tamme posted a career-high 657 receiving yards in 2015, his first year in Atlanta, and he was the Falcons’ leading receiver after the first three games of 2016, with 14 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.
He is roughly three months into his recovery for the shoulder surgery that he underwent in November, a process that is expected to take another two or three months. But despite the injury, and despite the fact that he will turn 32 on March 15, there will be some competition for his services. Indeed, it is difficult to see the Colts allowing Jack Doyle to depart in free agency, and outside of Doyle and Martellus Bennett –whom the Patriots will likely do their best to retain — this year’s tight end market is fairly thin.
As Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes, Tamme would like to stay in Atlanta. Tamme said, “I love being a Falcon, love my teammates, love what we have going on here in this organization. I’m interested to see what the future holds.”
GM Thomas Dimitroff has said the Falcons’ primary objective is locking up their own players, and Tamme is surely a player that Dimitroff would like to have back. The team did select Austin Hooper in the third-round of the 2016 draft, and Hooper showed some promise as the season wore on, including a touchdown grab in the Super Bowl. But the tight end depth chart is currently pretty bare beyond the youthful Hooper, as Levine Toilolo is also set to become an unrestricted free agent (though it should be noted that the Falcons do have hope for Joshua Perkins, a 2016 UDFA who played for new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian when Sarkisian was at the University of Washington). Given Tamme’s experience and his apparent rapport with Matt Ryan, the Falcons would probably be wise to re-sign him.
But if they don’t, McClure’s sources indicate that the 49ers could be in play for the Kentucky product. Of course, former Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan is now the head coach in San Francisco, and per McClure, Shanahan would love to have a cerebral player such as Tamme on board to help implement his offense, even though the 49ers just signed tight end Vance McDonald to a five-year contract extension in December.
Tamme first made a name for himself as a favored receiver in Peyton Manning‘s Colts offense. Later, he reunited with Manning on the Broncos, but he saw his role reduced as he battled for playing time with Julius Thomas and Virgil Green. He signed a two-year, $3.2MM base value deal with the Falcons before the 2015 season.
Cardinals To Be Aggressive In Free Agency
The Cardinals entered the 2016 campaign as a popular Super Bowl pick, but they ultimately stumbled to a 7-8-1 record, easily the worst mark of the Bruce Arians era. Although their on-field performance was troubling enough, the fact that two of the franchise’s cornerstones, Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald, are approaching the ends of their careers has only intensified the concerns in the desert.
Although both Palmer and Fitzgerald will be back for the 2017 season, it is clear that Arizona needs to start planning for life without them. Nonetheless, the Cardinals still have a talented roster, so it makes sense for them to try and stay aggressive while their championship window is still open. And, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes, GM Steve Keim plans to do exactly that.
During a recent interview, Keim discussed whether or not his club would make a “splash” move in free agency, saying, “I don’t know what you would consider ‘splash,’ but we’ll certainly be aggressive and keep our foot on the gas pedal, try to keep pushing this thing in the right direction. There’s no doubt we took a step back last year. We’ve got to pick up the pieces and make some good decisions this offseason.”
Arizona does have roughly $38MM in projected cap room, and Chandler Jones could eat up a chunk of that room if the Cardinals put the franchise tag on him or sign him to a long-term deal — Keim reiterated that the tag was a real possibility — but outside of him, the club does not have many of its own free agents that they must re-sign (Calais Campbell will get a lucrative payday, but given his age, he probably won’t be out of the Cardinals’ price range if they choose to bring him back).
In addition to being aggressive in free agency, Keim did note that the team has to carefully balance long- and short-term goals, as he never wants to enter a true rebuilding phase. He said, “It’s a tough double-edged sword for me. There are guys like [Palmer] and [Fitzgerald] where you know the end is sooner rather than later. So you have to try and build around them and, so to speak, go for it now.
“But that’s our mindset every year. We’re never in a rebuilding phase. To me, you owe it to your fanbase to go for it every year, to be aggressive either in free agency or the draft. But you also have to keep in mind that you are going to do the right thing for the organization for the long-term. That’s the biggest challenge.”
So who might the Cardinals pursue on the open market? Our Dallas Robinson recently took a look at the team’s top three offseason needs, and while it will be difficult to address two of those three needs — a true No. 1 receiver and a long-term quarterback solution — in free agency, the club will certainly be able to spend money on a cornerback or two to provide Patrick Peterson with a much-needed running mate.
But as Keim said, “There isn’t any position, if we feel we can significantly upgrade that spot, that we won’t either draft a player or sign a player in free agency.”
Extra Points: Cowboys, Lacy, Seahawks
As Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes, the Cowboys are $11-$13MM over the projected 2017 salary cap, but it will be fairly easy for them to clear space and to give themselves enough room to conduct their offseason business and sign a free agent or three. For instance, they could restructure the deals of Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick, and given the relative youth of those two players, such restructures should not hamstring the club in the long run. Dallas could also save a fair amount of money by restructuring Sean Lee‘s deal and giving Jason Witten an extension, and obviously the impending departure of Tony Romo will be a boon to the team’s cap situation. As such, the notion that the Cowboys are in “cap hell” and will be forced to be bystanders in free agency is more of a myth than reality.
Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from around the league:
- It will be tempting for the Packers to let Eddie Lacy walk in free agency, but as Pete Dougherty of USA Today writes, one agent expects Lacy to get no more than a one-year, $2MM pact on the open market. Even if such a contract were loaded with incentives, it would still represent a small risk for Green Bay with the potential for a high reward, and Dougherty believes the team should make that gamble.
- Six Seahawks players saw their 2017 base salaries become guaranteed on Saturday, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. Those players form a major part of Seattle’s foundation: Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett, and Jeremy Lane. As Condotta observes, the only player on that list about whom there might have been some intrigue is Lane, who signed a four-year, $23MM deal last offseason but who failed to meet expectations in 2016.
- Last offseason, Prince Amukamara bet on himself and took a one-year deal with the Jaguars in an attempt to prove that he could stay healthy and productive over the course of a full season. He was largely successful, as he appeared in 14 games (12 starts) and graded out as an above-average corner per Pro Football Focus. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union believes Amukamara thinks he should be paid as a No. 1 or 1A cornerback (an average of $8-9MM per year), but as he would be the No. 2 corner in Jacksonville behind Jalen Ramsey, it is unclear whether the Jags will meet his demands, even though they have the resources to do so.
- Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer spoke to one high-level NFL personnel executive who believes that Mitch Trubisky has more upside than Carson Wentz and that the Browns would be wise to select him with the No. 1 overall pick. The Browns also hold this year’s No. 12 overall choice, but Trubisky will not fall that far, so if Cleveland wants him, they will need to make him the top choice in the draft.
- Former UVA standout Ausar Walcott, who was signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 draft, is resuming the pursuit of his NFL dream, as Dan Duggan of NJ.com writes. Walcott was charged with attempted murder in June 2013, and was subsequently cut by Cleveland. The charge was eventually dropped to aggravated assault, and while Walcott was free on bail, he was certainly not going to be signed by an NFL club while he was embroiled in a legal battle. But he was acquitted by a jury a few months ago, and the 27-year-old hopes to at least catch on with a CFL team as he tries to work his way back to the NFL.
AFC East Notes: Fitzpatrick, Dolphins, Pats
The Ryan Fitzpatrick era may be over in New York, but as Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post points out, the Jets are still feeling the after-effects. Per Cannizzaro, Fitzpatrick’s contract automatically voided on Friday, per the scheduled clause that called for such action five days after the Super Bowl. But, because of the way his two-year deal was structured, New York will carry $5MM in dead money on the 2017 salary cap. Fitzpatrick almost assuredly will not return to Gang Green, and Geno Smith is a free agent as well, which means that the Jets now have two quarterbacks under contract — Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg — that are both severely lacking in NFL experience. As a result, the Jets have been speculatively connected to some of the better quarterback prospects in this year’s draft as well as veteran options that could become available.
Now for some more notes from the AFC East:
- Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, who missed the last 10 games of the 2016 season after a significant shoulder injury, has made a full recovery, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. Jones, who is entering the final year of his contract, indicated that he will be physically able to participate in the Dolphins’ offseason schedule.
- In the same piece, Beasley writes that Dolphins offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod, who will be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins in March, will return for an 11th NFL season if he gets the right offer. Bushrod played for the Saints for six years before joining the Bears prior to the 2013 campaign. The 2016 season was Bushrod’s first in Miami, and though he started all 16 regular season games plus the team’s one playoff contest, he largely struggled, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-worst guard out of 72 eligible players (subscription required).
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe provides a list of 10 things he believes the Patriots should do this offseason, and he suggests that trading Jimmy Garoppolo should be one of New England’s top priorities. With Tom Brady showing no signs of aging, Volin believes the Pats need to do continue surrounding their starting quarterback with top-flight talent, and one way to do that is by acquiring at least one significant draft asset in exchange for Garoppolo.
- Another thing Volin thinks the Patriots should do is to re-sign running back LeGarrette Blount to a one-year, incentive-laden deal. After all, that approach worked well for both parties in 2016, as Blount turned his $760K salary into $1.75MM after hitting every incentive in his contract. He tallied career bests of 1,161 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, and as Christopher Price of WEEI.com reports, the 30-year-old Blount would love to be back with the team in 2017, though he does not know what the future holds.
Latest On Sheldon Adelson’s Withdrawal From Raiders’ Vegas Plan
We learned yesterday that the Raiders were still optimistic about a potential move to Las Vegas, a move that recently encountered several major hurdles when casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew his $650MM pledge for a potential $1.9B, 65,000-seat stadium in Sin City, and investment firm Goldman Sachs declared that it would not help the Raiders finance a stadium without Adelson’s involvement.
But while the Raiders still believe they can make a relocation work, it appears that the bridge with Adelson has been burned for good. Last night, Richard N. Velotta of the Las Vegas Review-Journal passed along a series of comments from Andy Abboud, vice president of government relations and community affairs for casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a spokesman for the Adelson family. Abboud’s statements are the first from either party regarding stadium development negotiations.
The entire piece is worth a read, but Abboud said Raiders executives changed their minds about certain issues in mid-negotiation, which precipitated Adelson’s decision. Per Abboud, the last straw was the Raiders’ decision to take a proposed stadium lease agreement to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority without telling or involving the Adelsons. Adelson withdrew his support four days after the agreement was presented to the Stadium Authority.
Abboud said of the lease, “The concern that we had and the concern that everybody has in hindsight is the 117-page proposed lease agreement that did not reflect the commitments that the Adelson family made to the Raiders and that the Raiders had made to the Adelson family. It did not reflect the commitments that were made to UNLV. It did not make the commitments that were promised to the community, and it was in no way reflective of the months of [Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee] meetings and reflective of what it took to get the members of the Legislature to vote for the funding.”
Abboud added that the two sides negotiated over such issues as stadium naming rights, sponsorships, revenue from stadium contractors, parking, signage, and use by UNLV, but whenever Adelson’s team believed they had struck an accord, the Raiders would change their minds again.
Abboud said the team was demanding more and more as the negotiations wore on, and that Adelson “was willing to share revenues and make it financially mutually beneficial, but [the Raiders] were picking his pocket. I think that they felt they were asking to be entitled to revenue streams and things that simply made the deal unworkable. It was never about the financial return for the Adelsons, but the Adelson family wasn’t going to have their pocket picked, by the Raiders or by the NFL or anybody.”
Needless to say, this report presents just one side of the story, as Raiders President Marc Badain told Velotta several days ago that the team would not comment on the negotiations. Further, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is owned by Adelson’s family, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, it does provide an interesting glimpse into the negotiations that once seemed destined to bring the NFL to Las Vegas but that now appear to be completely dead.
Dan Orlovsky Done In Detroit?
The Dan Orlovsky era may be over in Detroit, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Orlovsky sent out a fairly cryptic tweet yesterday in which he wrote, “Detroit Vs Everybody. It’ll always be where it started for me. It’ll always have a piece of my heart.”
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Orlovsky, of course, spent the last three seasons as Matthew Stafford‘s backup, but with his contract set to expire next month, he is considered a long shot to return to the Motor City.
After all, the Lions promoted Jake Rudock, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, to the active roster in November in an effort to prevent him from signing with the division-rival Bears. Although Rudock was considered too raw to serve as a primary backup in his rookie campaign, he did put together an impressive showing last preseason, and the team envisions him as Stafford’s next backup.
The 33-year-old Orlovsky did not appear in a game last season, and since entering the league as a fifth-round selection in 2005, he has started just 12 games, compiling a miserable 2-10 record in the process (seven of those losses came during the Lions’ infamous 0-16 season in 2008). Like fellow career backup Josh McCown — who has started 60 games in his 14-year career — Orlovsky has expressed a desire to coach in some capacity once his playing days are done. However, when he made those comments towards the end of the 2016 campaign, he indicated that he was not ready to hang up the cleats just yet.
Orlovsky said at that time, “I don’t want to hang them up anytime soon. I’ve been around football since I was 8 so I don’t know if I can get away from it. I don’t want to get away from it. What my wife wants to do will have a say in it as well.”
Extra Points: Patriots, Ryan, Browns, 49ers
The Patriots ultimately traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Browns in late October for a third-round pick, but the Pats initially had their sights set much higher. We learned back in December that New England tried to deal Collins to New Orleans for receiver Brandin Cooks, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com wrote today that the Patriots also tried to trade Collins to the Texans for DeAndre Hopkins. Unsurprisingly, Houston was unwilling to entertain that offer, but New England also attempted to pry Johnathan Joseph from the Texans in exchange for Collins. Houston was more intrigued by that proposal but valued Joseph too highly to pull the trigger.
Now let’s take a look at a few more links from around the league:
- On the subject of seminal trades, the Ravens were ready to part with their entire 2008 draft class in order to trade up to take Matt Ryan at No. 2 that year, Rapoport reports. The Ravens held the No. 8 pick and offered their entire ’08 picks stockpile to the Rams, who held the No. 2 choice. St. Louis also wanted Baltimore’s second-round pick in 2009, which ended up being Paul Kruger, to clinch that deal, per Rapoport. The Rams ended up taking Chris Long at No. 2, with the Ravens trading down to No. 18 and selecting Joe Flacco. In the ’08 draft, Baltimore acquired Ray Rice in the second round but largely whiffed on its other picks. However, the Ravens ended up making 10 selections. The Falcons selected Ryan at No. 3 overall.
- More trades: we learned in recent weeks that the team is willing to deal backup Jimmy Garoppolo and that the 49ers, Browns, and Bears could be among the teams with interest. In her latest mailbag, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes the Browns would be willing to part with their No. 12 overall selection as part of a Garoppolo deal if that’s what it takes to land the young signal-caller.
- John Lynch isn’t completely devoid of scouting experience, with Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com noting the former Buccaneers and Broncos safety joining recently hired 49ers exec Adam Peters in Broncos meetings and prospect evaluations, eventually accompanying Denver’s contingent to the 2013 Combine. John Elway also put Lynch on some special assignments in recent offseasons, per Maiocco, dispatching the eventual Hall of Fame finalist to evaluate draft-eligible safeties.
- In an expansive breakdown of today’s Super Bowl teams’ financial distribution, CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry writes the Patriots using the franchise tag on Martellus Bennett isn’t out of the question due to Rob Gronkowski‘s inability to stay healthy. Corry projects the tight end tag number to come in at $9.894MM. The Patriots have Dont’a Hightower as their apparent top tag candidate, but the linebacker’s tag is slated to be $14.754MM, which could lead the Patriots to proceed with caution despite having already traded Collins and Chandler Jones.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report
Aldon Smith To Be Reinstated In March
As long as he does not suffer any further setbacks in the league’s drug program, Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith will be reinstated in March, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Of course, Smith was eligible to be reinstated from his latest suspension back in November, but the league deferred his request in December, opting to table its decision until the early part of the 2017 league year. Smith is under Raiders’ control through the 2017 season, so he will have the opportunity to put his off-field struggles behind him, reestablish himself as a pass rusher, and set himself up for a nice payday in 2018.
But that will be a tall order for a player who, for all his talent, has been largely unable to keep himself out of trouble. Indeed, Smith’s most recent suspension, a one-year ban, stemmed from his August 2015 arrest on drunken driving, hit and run, and vandalism charges. That was the fifth time Smith had been arrested since he entered the league as the seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft. The 49ers, who drafted Smith and who reaped the benefits of his fearsome pass rush ability for several seasons, had simply had enough at that point, and they cut Smith shortly after the arrest.
He was subsequently scooped up by the Raiders, and he posted 3.5 sacks for Oakland in nine games during the 2015 season before being hit with the one-year suspension (he also served a nine-game ban in 2013 for violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies). Despite that, Oakland handed Smith a two-year, $11.5MM deal last spring, and GM Reggie McKenzie has repeatedly expressed support for the troubled young talent.
In just 59 career games, Smith has racked up 47.5 sacks, so if he is able to stay on the field in 2017, he and newly-minted Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack could give opposing quarterbacks fits next season.