Latest On Matthew Stafford, Lions
The Lions are set to kick off the 2016 season against the Colts this afternoon, but lost in the excitement only Week 1 can bring is the fact that Detroit is rapidly approaching a crossroads in franchise history. Quarterback Matthew Stafford‘s contract is set to expire after the 2017 season, and, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com observes, teams rarely let a franchise quarterback reach the final year of his deal without a contract extension.
Rothstein sets forth the three options that the Lions have relative to Stafford’s future with the club: keep Stafford as their quarterback for the rest of his career at a high price; let him play out the final year of his contract, realizing he may choose to test free agency after that season no matter what; or decide to move on from him and choose a quarterback high in next year’s draft. All three options, of course, are fraught with risk.
The complicating factor in all of this is that while Stafford has done as much as could be expected of him from a statistical standpoint, the Lions have been mediocre at best with him under center, and Stafford has made just two playoff appearances in his seven-year career (although, to be fair, mediocrity is in many ways an improvement over the pre-Stafford era). That is perhaps why the team has not engaged Stafford’s representatives in extension talks as of yet. Indeed, team president Rod Wood told Bill Shea of Crain’s Detroit Business that while he has talked with ownership about Stafford’s future, he has not yet talked to Stafford’s camp. As Wood said, “When the time is right, we’ll talk to his representatives about it. We’ve made long-term plans in terms of what that means to the team’s budget.”
Needless to say, Stafford’s play this year will go a long way towards determining his future in the Motor City. The good news is that Stafford improved greatly once the Lions switched offensive coordinators to Jim Bob Cooter in the middle of last season, but the bad news is that this will be Stafford’s first season without Calvin Johnson. But Stafford still has a reasonable amount of talent at the skill positions, and he is now the undisputed face of the franchise. As Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press points out, logic suggests that the Lions will try to sign Stafford to a third contract next off-season, a deal which could top Andrew Luck’s five-year, $123MM extension in terms of value and which could briefly make Stafford the highest-paid player in league history.
But before that happens, GM Bob Quinn wants to see a couple of things.
First, Quinn wants Stafford, “to kind of take that next step, take the team, put them on his shoulders and kind of lead us to that improvement that we’ve talked about.”
Quinn continued, “I love Matthew. I said it in my opening press conference what I thought about him, so I’ll stand by that comment. But the other hand, I haven’t been in this seat with him playing the game and I’m getting to know him as a person.”
Finally, Quinn said, “He’s a great guy. He’s a good leader. He’s really taken that and just listening to the people that have been here before, he’s definitely taken a step in terms of the leadership and being more outgoing now that some of the older guys aren’t here anymore. He’s definitely taken that presence. So I’m looking forward to watching him play, watching him develop as a leader and when that stuff comes it will work itself out.”
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Recapping Cutdown Day Madness
As always, this year’s cutdown day was accompanied by a few surprise cuts and one or two seemingly out-of-the-blue transactions. Let’s recap some of yesterday’s biggest stories before another flurry of activity begins this afternoon:
Bradford heads north. After losing starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a season-ending ACL tear earlier this week, the Vikings decided that they did not want to put their playoff hopes in the hands of longtime backup Shaun Hill. Instead, they send a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for Sam Bradford. That fourth-rounder would become a third-round choice if Minnesota advances to the NFC Championship Game, and a second-round selection if the club wins the Super Bowl, a problem the Vikings would surely be quite happy to have. Bradford is not a world-beater by any means, but he is a capable signal-caller who performed very well down the stretch in 2015 and who gives Minnesota some credibility under center. Bradford, who signed a two-year deal with Philadelphia earlier this year, will be under club control through 2017, when Bridgewater will presumably be ready to return, but he could provide some insurance in case Bridgewater is not fully recovered or he could find himself traded elsewhere, which would give the Vikings a chance to recoup some of what they sent to the Eagles. Whether Bradford will have time to pick up the offense with less than a week to go before the season opener remains to be seen.
The Wentz era begins…now. Of course, Bradford’s departure left the Eagles without their presumptive starting quarterback, which opened the door for speculation as to whether Philadelphia would open the season with Chase Daniel under center or if this year’s No. 2 overall selection, Carson Wentz, would be thrust into the spotlight. That speculation was quickly put to bed when Philadelphia announced that, as long as Wentz has recovered from his rib injury by Week 1, he’ll start the Eagles’ opener against the Browns. The original plan was for Wentz, a North Dakota State product, to redshirt his rookie season and learn the professional game behind Bradford and Daniel, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans…
On the road again. After naming Trevor Siemian their starting quarterback, it was common knowledge that the Broncos were attempting to trade Mark Sanchez, whom the team acquired from Philadelphia earlier this year to compete for a starting job but who consistently underwhelmed in the preseason. They were unsuccessful in their trade efforts, prompting them to release Sanchez shortly before the cutdown deadline, and the Cowboys were quick to pounce. In need of a veteran backup for rookie starter Dak Prescott, who is expected to hold down the fort until Tony Romo returns from his latest injury, Dallas inked Sanchez to a one-year deal with a base value of $2MM and a max value of $5.375MM, with playing time and team performance incentives.
More Broncos on the move? Sanchez was dispatched from Denver, and the Broncos also parted ways with running back Ronnie Hillman, their 2012 third-round selection. But perhaps the biggest news was that the Broncos have reportedly put star cornerback and enigmatic personality Aqib Talib on the trading block. Talib has made the Pro Bowl in each of his two seasons with the Broncos, and he was an integral part of their Super Bowl-winning squad last season. However, he once again found his name in the headlines for the wrong reasons earlier this summer, when he suffered a gunshot wound either at a Dallas nightclub or at a park during the early morning hours of June 5 (Talib told police he was “too intoxicated” to remember how he was shot). Because of the off-field issues that have plagued his career, it is unclear what sort of return the Broncos could get for Talib, but there would surely be plenty of interest in a 3o-year-old corner with his ability. For what it’s worth, GM John Elway denied the report that Talib is on the trading block.
Surprising (and not so surprising) cuts. A couple of big names surprisingly found themselves on the wrong side of The Turk, including the Ravens‘ Justin Forsett and the Packers‘ Josh Sitton. The Forsett cut ostensibly signaled that the Ravens were ready to roll with a largely unproven stable of running backs, including Terrance West, Buck Allen, and Kenneth Dixon (who is currently injured). However, while there is a good chance Baltimore will in fact bring Forsett back into the fold, the same cannot be said for Green Bay and Sitton. The 30-year-old has established himself as one of the best guards in the league, and while no one was willing to assume his $6.15MM base salary in a trade, he has already garnered a great deal of interest on the open market and has at least one visit (with the former division rival Bears) lined up. And, while it hardly qualifies as a surprise, the Jets waived former first-round pick Dee Milliner with an injury designation, thereby signaling the end (probably) of Milliner’s highly disappointing tenure with Gang Green.
Extensions and more. While cutdown day is, appropriately enough, usually newsworthy for its cuts, that doesn’t mean new contracts can’t be handed out as well. In addition to setting up a visit with the newly-released Sitton, the Bears also solidified their O-line for the long haul by signing Kyle Long to a four-year, $40MM extension. Long, 27, has been a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons since entering the league, starting all but one game for the Bears over that time, and he is expected to shift back to his familiar right guard spot in 2016 after spending 2015 as the club’s right tackle. Meanwhile, after trading Andy Lee earlier this week, the Browns found themselves a new punter in Britton Colquitt, whom they signed to a one-year deal.
Miscellaneous. While it has felt like a foregone conclusion for some time now, the 49ers officially named Blaine Gabbert the team’s starting quarterback, and the Texans activated J.J. Watt, who has made a speedy recovery from surgery to repair a herniated disk and will apparently not miss any regular season games, as was initially feared. Meanwhile, the Browns traded cornerback Justin Gilbert, who never came close to living up to his status as a first-round draft pick, to the division-rival Steelers, who are in real need of secondary reinforcements. Cleveland will receive a 2018 sixth-round selection in the exchange.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eagles’ Roster At 53
The Eagles have cut the following four players in advance of today’s deadline:
- QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Caplan)
- LB Myke Tavarres (Twitter link via Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com)
- DE Jake Metz (Twitter link via Shorr-Parks)
- DT Aziz Shittu (Twitter link via Shorr-Parks)
- LB Quentin Gause (Twitter link via Shorr-Parks)
- WR David Watford (Twitter link via Shorr-Parks)
- CB Blake Countess (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- RB Byron Marshall (Twitter link via Shorr-Parks)
- S Ed Reynolds (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
- LB Don Cherry
- DT Bruce Gaston
- LB Najee Goode
- G Darrell Greene
- WR Marcus Johnson
- C Barrett Jones
- WR Cayleb Jones
- TE M.J. McFarland
- RB Cedric O’Neal
- TE Chris Pantale
- K Cody Parkey
- CB JaCorey Shepherd
- WR David Watford
Philadelphia just signed Metz, a former Arena League standout, several days ago. Bethel-Thompson, meanwhile, will seek to continue what has been a nomadic professional career.
As Shorr-Parks observes, Gause’s release indicates that the club is prepared to open the season with only five linebackers, unless a trade is in the works.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Ravens Get Roster To 53
The Ravens have announced the moves that take their roster to 53:
- CB/S Julian Wilson (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun)
- DE Victor Ochi (Twitter link via Brown)
- DL Kapron Lewis-Moore (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun)
- OT Blaine Clausell (Twitter link via Zrebiec)
- WR Jeremy Butler (Twitter link via ProFootballTalk)
- WR Michael Campanaro (Twitter link via Zrebiec)
- TE Daniel Brown (Twitter link via Zrebiec)
- S Terrence Brooks (Twitter link via Rand Getlin)
- RB Justin Forsett (story)
- QB Josh Johnson
- OG Vladimir Ducasse
- LB Arthur Brown
- S Terrence Brooks
- LB Brennen Beyer
- RB Stephen Houston
- LB Patrick Onwausor
- WR Keenan Reynolds (story)
- C Matt Skura
Placed On IR:
- WR Michael Campanaro
- WR Chris Matthews
- OT De’Ondre Wesley
- DB Carrington Byndom (waived/injured)
Lewis-Moore, the Ravens’ sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2013, had a tough beginning to his professional career, landing on IR in each of his first two seasons with the club. He finally made cracked the 53-man roster last year, appearing in five games for the Ravens. Baltimore has always liked his upside as a pass rusher, but he found himself squeezed out of a deep defensive line group this season.
Cutting Brooks was a bit of a surprise, as the former third-rounder was playing well early in the preseason. There was some optimism that Brooks would be able to leapfrog former first-rounder Matt Elam on the depth chart, but the 25-year-old was unable to carve out a role during his two years (plus preseason) on the team.
Zach Links contributed to this post
Latest On Colts’ Jack Mewhort
2:04pm: Great news for the Colts, as owner Jim Irsay tweets that Mewhort will only be sidelined for two-to-four weeks, and will not require surgery, according to initial test results.
9:58am: Colts left guard Jack Mewhort is believed to have suffered a torn ACL during Saturday night’s preseason contest against Philadelphia, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Stephen Holder of The Indianapolis Star tweets that Mewhort will have an MRI today to confirm. If it is, in fact, a torn ACL, Mewhort’s season would likely be over.
This comes as a crushing blow to an offensive line that was already a major cause of concern, especially since Mewhort was the most reliable member of that unit. The third-year pro started all 16 games for the Colts last season, grading out as the ninth-best guard in the league out of 81 eligible players, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Even head coach Chuck Pagano was at a loss for words Saturday, as Holder observed that Pagano “looked like he [had] seen a ghost”during last night’s press conference and admitted that he did not have a “clear picture” of his team because of the rampant injuries it has faced (Twitter links). Mewhort joins Vontae Davis, Kendall Langford, Clayton Geathers, and Henry Anderson as players who, at the very least, may not be ready for the start of the regular season. Pagano could not give a definite answer on when his injured players will return to the practice field full-time.
ESPN’s Mike Wells observes that rookie Joe Haeg would likely be in line to start at left guard if Mewhort’s season is over, but Haeg is out with an ankle injury. That means Jonotthan Harrison, who is also the backup center, could end up starting at left guard. As Wells writes, “The Colts have to ride the right arm of Andrew Luck to have any chance this season. That’ll be hard to do if the offensive line can’t protect the franchise player.”
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Colts Sign Stevan Ridley
The Colts have signed free agent running back Stevan Ridley, which Kevin Bowen of Colts.com first reported via Twitter. The signing has since been confirmed by multiple sources.
[RELATED: Jack Mewhort Believed To Have Torn ACL]
Ridley was cut by the Lions just a few days ago, and he could be a quality backup for starter Frank Gore. The Colts have spoken at length about their plan to preserve Gore and keep him on a pitch count. Last year, Gore wound up carrying the ball 260 times and Indianapolis wants to dial that number down so that the veteran can be fresh late in the season. Before the Ridley signing, Robert Turbin was listed as the Colts’ No. 2 back with Jordan Todman, undrafted rookie Josh Ferguson, and Trey Williams also on the depth chart.
It remains to be see how many backs the Colts will carry, but the team could certainly use a player with Ridley’s upside in the backfield. A former third-round pick, Ridley averaged 5.1 yards per carry in limited action during his rookie season in 2011, then exploded for 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012. However, fumbling issues landed him on the bench in New England, and a devastating ACL/MCL injury limited him in both 2014 and 2015.
After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Patriots, Ridley signed with the Jets last season, but didn’t see the field all that much after coming off the PUP list. With Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell handling the majority of the workload out of the backfield, Ridley took over for Zac Stacy as the No. 3 back and earned just 36 carries, totaling only 90 yards for a career-worst 2.5 yards per attempt. His stint with Indianapolis could represent his best opportunity to reestablish himself as a quality back.
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Latest On Tony Romo, Dak Prescott
The injury that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered Thursday night is a compression fracture of the L1 vertebra, and while it will not require surgery, Romo could miss six to 10 weeks, as ESPN.com’s Todd Archer reports. Despite the injury, and despite his age (36), Romo is not considering retirement and has no doubt that he will return to the field this season, as ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets.
Rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott, who has been impressive in training camp and in preseason action, will get the nod in Romo’s absence. And there are those who believe the job should not simply be handed back to Romo upon his return. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, for instance, concedes that Romo’s contract–which makes him virtually uncuttable through 2017–and his history with the club mean that he will likely be reinserted in the starting lineup when he is healthy. However, Robinson also notes that Dallas is getting very little return on Romo’s six-year, $108 million contract extension, and if Prescott performs as well in the regular season as he has in the preseason–a big “if” to be sure–the club should think twice about yanking Prescott, especially since the team should only be thinking about Romo in terms of weeks and months, and not years, at this point.
Joel Corry of CBS Sports believes Romo may be an ideal candidate for short-term injured reserve. The Cowboys could place him on IR now, and although only one player on injured reserve may return to the active roster in any given year, Dallas does not have to designate who that player will be right away. As Corry writes, “Putting Romo on IR would remove the temptation for Dallas to rush him back on the field before he has sufficiently recovered, especially if Prescott falters, when the risk of re-injury would be greater.” Plus, even though Romo would be ineligible to return before Week 9 if the Cowboys go that route, that would not be a major concern in this case. As Corry points out, “Considering that Dallas’ bye is in Week 7, Romo would only be missing one game, the Week 8 contest [against Philadelphia], over the most optimistic estimated return time by going on IR.”
Corry also explores free agent quarterbacks that Dallas could pursue. The potential options in that regard are predictably less than intriguing, with names like Josh Freeman and Michael Vick topping the list (the team could also seek a reunion with Brandon Weeden if he is ultimately cut by the Texans). Alternatively, Dallas could look to trade for a player like Cleveland’s Josh McCown, Denver’s Mark Sanchez, or the Jets’ Geno Smith. It should not cost more than a late-round 2017 or 2018 draft pick to acquire a quarterback of that caliber, and instead of giving up a pick, the Cowboys could also look to deal a player from a position of strength (Darren McFadden and Ronald Leary are two names that jump immediately to mind).
In any event, the Cowboys appear to be approaching a crossroad in franchise history, and Prescott’s performance over the first half of the season will go a long way in dictating which path the team will take.
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AFC Notes: Patriots, Broncos, Woodhead
The Patriots signed Terrance Knighton to a one-year, $4.5MM deal this offseason to serve as a key cog in the interior of the club’s defensive front, but now Pot Roast is in danger of being cut, as Kevin Duffy of MassLive.com writes. Knighton struggled in the team’s second preseason game against Chicago, and he did not log a single defensive snap during New England’s third preseason contest against Carolina on Friday night.
Knighton, who insisted that he is completely healthy, expressed his frustration afterwards. He said, “It’s disappointing just because, you know, I’ve played a lot of ball in this league, seen a lot of things. I’m not going to make too much of it. It is what it is. Whatever happens, happens. If I’m here, I’m here. If I’m not, I’m not. I’m just taking it a day at a time.”
If Knighton does indeed receive his walking papers, he should be able to find work with a club looking for a dependable and durable run-stuffer.
Now for some more notes from the AFC:
- It’s looking more and more like Patriots WR Danny Amendola will stay on the PUP list and miss at least the first six games of the regular season, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.
- The Patriots had assigned rookie corner Cyrus Jones the same grade as several other players who were still available when the club was set to make its first draft pick (No. 60 overall) this year. As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, the team selected Jones because of his dynamic return ability, which he demonstrated in a big way with a 60-yard punt return Friday night. Reiss points out that Jones taking over the role could help preserve 30-year old returners Julian Edelman and Amendola from taking additional pounding.
- Trevor Siemian likely cemented his status as the Broncos‘ starting quarterback after turning in a solid performance during last night’s preseason victory over Los Angeles, Mike Klis of 9News.com writes. At this point Klis would be surprised if the Broncos didn’t release Mark Sanchez, a move that would save the team $4.5MM and a seventh-round pick.
- Troy Renck of Denver7 believes that Tavon Austin‘s new four-year, $42MM deal with Los Angeles will set the floor in Emmanuel Sanders‘ contract negotiations with the Broncos (Twitter link). As Renck observes, Sanders is older than Austin, but his production level has thus far been superior.
- Danny Woodhead is entering the final year of the two-year extension he signed with the Chargers in 2014, and he would like to remain with the club long-term, as Michael Gehlken of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes. However, contract talks between team and player prior to training camp were unproductive, with the Chargers determining it was not in position to extend Woodhead for a variety of cited factors, including cash committed to other contracts this year. Woodhead, though, will not publicly comment on his contract situation, and simply indicated a desire to focus on the 2016 season.
Steelers Trim Roster To 79
The Steelers have placed rookie OT Jerald Hawkins on the reserved/injured list and have waived/injured quarterback Dustin Vaughan, as Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Per Fittipaldo, the club has also cut the following players:
- LB Jordan Zumwalt
- LB Mike Reilly
- WR Levi Norwood
- WR Isaac Blakeney
- TE Michael Cooper
- DE Giorgio Newberry
- DT K.K. Mosley-Smith
- CB Julian Whigham
Zumwalt, the Steelers‘ sixth-round pick in 2014, spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons on injured reserve with a hip injury, and the hip surgery that ended his 2015 campaign before it started took over five hours to complete and included a brutal recovery/rehabilitation period. Zumwalt had been working exclusively at inside linebacker in offseason workouts, but he did not do enough to survive the first round of cuts.
The Steelers now have79 players on their roster and must get down to 75 by Tuesday at 4pm.
Falcons Sign Dashon Goldson
After bringing him in for a workout yesterday, the Falcons have agreed to sign veteran safety Dashon Goldson, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that it is a “done deal.” Terms of the deal are not yet known, but it would be a surprise if it were anything other than a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract.
We learned several days ago that promising rookie safety Keanu Neal is expected to miss three to four weeks with a knee injury, which sent Atlanta in search of a free agent reinforcement like Goldson. As Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes, however, Goldson will have to content himself with a reserve role upon Neal’s return. Per McClure, Neal will be the starting strong safety upon his return, and Kemal Ishmael will serve as his backup once Ishmael returns from his shoulder injury (Ishmael is expected to return to practice this afternoon on a limited basis).
After having played for the 49ers for six seasons, Goldson has bounced around a bit recently. The 31-year-old has played for three teams over the past four seasons, but he’s only missed six games during that span. The veteran actually had one of his most productive seasons in 2015 with the Redskins, compiling a career-high 110 tackles, although Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Goldson as the fourth-worst safety out of 89 qualified players. The two-time Pro Bowler has averaged nearly two interceptions and one forced fumble per season throughout his nine-year career. Goldson was released by Washington in March, and he garnered some interest from the Rams.
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