Veteran Browns Scouts Preferred Wentz
Only one full week of the 2016 season is in the books, but Browns fans, eminently familiar with pain and suffering, are already finding more evidence to prove that their team is cursed. Cleveland, of course, passed on the chance to draft Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, instead choosing to trade the selection and to roll with Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown under center. But Wentz excelled in his professional debut against the Browns last week and RGIII found himself on IR again, so it is easy to understand the frustrations coming from the Dawg Pound.
But that may not be the worst of it. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Browns parted with several of their more seasoned scouts and evaluators prior to the draft–an usual time for such dismissals–and a number of those men actually preferred Wentz to Jared Goff and considered the North Dakota State product to be the more promising prospect. Of course, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, along with head coach Hue Jackson and OC Pep Hamilton, preferred Goff, and at the time the pro-Wentz scouts were dismissed, the club was already shopping its second-overall pick to other teams, since it became clear that the Rams were going to use the No. 1 overall pick on Goff.
It is not uncommon, of course, for there to be disagreement among a team’s talent evaluators, and the fact that some Cleveland scouts preferred Wentz would not ordinarily be newsworthy. But the fact that a pro-Wentz group that included former general managers and personnel directors was let go at such a strange time–even if they were going to be dismissed anyway during the team’s efforts to downsize later on in 2016–is only going to add fuel to the fire of the organization’s detractors.
If the Browns again find themselves near the top of the draft board in 2017, La Canfora believes they will almost have to take a quarterback, with Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson currently heading the list of signal-callers expected to be available.
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Latest On Bills’ Coaching Staff
After the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman earlier this week, it was natural to wonder if head coach Rex Ryan would also receive his walking papers sooner rather than later, especially in the wake of Buffalo’s disappointing start to the 2016 season. However, we learned shortly after Roman’s dismissal that Ryan’s job is safe for the time being, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms that ownership is not presently considering any other staff changes.
La Canfora reports that “it would take a fairly epic collapse to initiate more firings in-season,” although team owners Terry and Kim Pegula are more than willing to make sweeping changes in the offseason if the Bills do not demonstrate marked improvement. One of the problems, though, is that the team’s brass is hardly presenting a united front to its players. For instance, GM Doug Whaley clashed with former head coach Doug Marrone and Roman over the usage of skill players like Sammy Watkins that Whaley brought in, and now Ian Rapoport of NFL.com paints an even more damning picture of the club’s internal divide.
According to Rapoport, the Pegulas held private meetings Friday morning with several offensive standouts–like quarterback Tyrod Taylor–to discuss the offense and potential solutions thereto. Ryan, however, was not present for those meetings, even though he publicly stated the decision to fire Roman was entirely his own. One of Rapoport’s sources indicates that the Pegulas simply used the meetings to confirm that Ryan was considering getting rid of Roman after the Bills’ Week 1 loss and that the Bills remain “Rex’s team.” But other sources believe the move to fire Roman was spurred by the Pegulas’ meeting with players, and that the suggestion was subsequently brought to Ryan.
Either way, Ryan is reportedly unhappy that ownership would hold a meeting with players without him, and even though the Pegulas will apparently give Ryan a chance to right the ship, there is clearly something rotten in upstate New York.
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AFC East Notes: Revis, Ajayi, Forte
Let’s take a look at some notes from the AFC East before the early slate of Week 2 games get underway:
- Considering Darrelle Revis‘ much-discussed struggles over the first two weeks of the 2016 season, the Patriots‘ decision not to get into a bidding war over his services after the 2014 campaign is looking especially shrewd, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. New England was never going to come close to the five-year, $70MM pact Revis received from New York, as the Pats favored a contract with option bonuses that protected them financially in the event that Revis had a sharp decline. But the Patriots did receive a lot of criticism for not making more of an effort to re-sign Revis, and although it is far too early to say Revis will never regain any of his past form, New England’s approach is pretty tough to criticize right now.
- Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi was left off the travel list for the team’s Week 1 matchup in Seattle, and Miami head coach Adam Gase reportedly made that decision to send a message to Ajayi about the second-year back’s lack of professionalism. Now, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), that message has been received and Ajayi will be active for today’s game. However, as the third running back on the Dolphins’ depth chart (per Roster Resource), it remains to be seen how much playing time Ajayi will actually receive.
- The Jets need to be mindful of Matt Forte‘s workload, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com opines. Through two weeks, Forte has 52 rushing attempts, which puts him on pace for 416 at season’s end. As Cimini notes, 416 is the league record, which was set by a 26-year-old Larry Johnson in 2006. Forte, however, is 30, and New York would do well to protect its investment a bit better, especially since the team saw firsthand how Chris Ivory‘s heavy workload early in the 2015 season reduced his effectiveness down the stretch.
- Although it’s never a good sign when a coach is fired after the second game of a season, we learned yesterday that Bills‘ players are generally excited about what the dismissal of OC Greg Roman could mean for the team’s offense.
Patriots Extend Ninkovich, Restructure McCourty
The Patriots have signed suspended and injured defensive end Rob Ninkovich to a one-year extension, as Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets. Ninkovich is now effectively playing on a two-year, $4.27MM deal, and the extension will save him approximately $117K in suspension-related fines. Ninkovich, already slated to miss several weeks to start the season after suffering a torn triceps injury, was suspended four games earlier this month for a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Ninkovich has been a boon to the New England pass rush during his tenure with the club, racking up at least 6.5 sacks per year since the 2011 season. The extension therefore helps the club ease some of the financial strains Ninkovich will face as a result of his suspension while keeping one of its more important defensive players under club control for 2017 at a reasonable rate.
The Patriots also restructured Devin McCourty‘s contract on Friday, according to Volin (via Twitter). The team converted $3.74MM of McCourty’s base salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $2.8MM of cap space in 2016. As a result, Volin tweets, the team adds a fairly palatable $935K to McCourty’s cap number for each of the 2017-19 seasons.
McCourty signed a five-year $47.5MM deal last March as the top safety on the free agent market, but he started his professional career as a corner. The Rutgers product excelled at that position in 2010, his rookie season, grading as the league’s seventh-best CB that year, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. However, even though he remained effective against the run in 2011, his coverage grade lagged and he dropped to 57th on PFF’s cornerback rankings.
In 2012, therefore, he began splitting his snaps between corner and safety, and he was named an All-Pro safety in 2013. He has remained a stalwart at that position ever since. Prior to reworking the contract, the Patriots had a little more than $6.5MM in cap room (per OverTheCap.com), so they did not necessarily need to create more space, but the move does give the club a bit more of an operating budget for 2016.
Ninkovich will have a cap hit of $4.77MM this season after this new deal, giving the experienced Patriot a $367K increase from the previous ’16 figure, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports. As for 2017, Ninkovich’s cap hit will be $2.25MM ($1MM base salary). The deal includes a $400K roster bonus ($25K per game), according to Howe. Ninkovich’s $1MM base for 2017 is guaranteed.
All in all, Ninkovich can earn up to $3.5MM in new money as a result of this extension, which Howe reports was signed on Monday. He’ll receive a $1.5MM signing bonus as well.
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Major Injury Notes: D. Thomas, Bosa, Ivory
Week 1 is always a time for optimism, but it invariably brings the heartache of injury as well. We will keep track of some of the more significant injuries (or, in some cases, illnesses) right here over the course of the day.
- Potentially bad news for Broncos fans, courtesy of ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter tweets that star wideout Demaryius Thomas, who suffered a hip injury during Thursday night’s contest against Carolina, underwent an MRI on Friday that will now be sent for a second opinion. There is no word on what the first opinion was.
- Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa is week-to-week with a Grade 1 strained hamstring, as Schefter tweets. Per Schefter, Bosa has still not practiced in pads, so it could be awhile before he suits up for a regular season game.
- Jaguars RB Chris Ivory was admitted to the hospital for an undisclosed issue last night, which is why he was deactivated for the team’s game today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport also tweets that Ivory will be reevaluated for this issue later this week, and his Week 2 status will hinge on that evaluation. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report adds (via Twitter) that Ivory is undergoing tests and observation in the hospital.
- Schefter tweets that Dolphins center Mike Pouncey has a small fracture in his hip and is scheduled to undergo a CT scan later this week. Schefter adds that Pouncey could miss another week or two.
“Growing Sense” That Ray Rice Plays In 2016
There is a “growing sense” that embattled running back Ray Rice, who has not appeared in a game since December 2013, will get another chance to suit up for an NFL club, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Schefter’s sources further indicate that such an opportunity could come sometime later this season.
At this point, it is unnecessary to rehash the events that precipitated Rice’s suspension, which precipitated his release from the Ravens, which precipitated his being blackballed by the league. It is fair to believe that, if Rice’s last season in the league had been up to his usual standards, his exile may have ended fairly quickly. However, in 2013, Rice was running behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league and was also battling some injury problems, and he ended up posting just a 3.1 yards per carry average, easily the lowest mark in his career.
Rice has remained patient over the course of the past several years, and he has repeatedly expressed remorse while remaining steadfast in his belief that he will get another chance to play. He has been on the speaking circuit as he attempts to keep his name on the front burner and as he attempts to reach as many young athletes as possible. He was recently asked to speak to the Rutgers football team, and he also shared his lessons with the Ravens’ 2016 rookie class. He even stated back in July that if a team is willing to take a chance on him, he will donate every game check to charities working to combat domestic violence.
Schefter added during his appearance on Sunday NFL Countdown that Rice has been staying in shape and has the league’s backing. In fact, the NFL is also considering Rice for a role in the league office once his playing career is officially over (which, if Schefter’s sources are right, may not be anytime soon).
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La Canfora’s Latest: Brees, Romo, Cam
Let’s take a look at some of the latest news and notes from CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora:
- Drew Brees and the Saints agreed to an extension just a few days ago, but negotiations had stalled for months earlier this year prior to both sides finally striking an accord. During that time, Brees’ representatives began exploring potential suitors for 2017, and the Cardinals were the top team on their list (this was before Arizona inked Carson Palmer to his own extension). La Canfora’s sources also indicated that the Jets would have been interested in Brees had he hit the open market in 2017.
- There is good news for Cowboys fans on the Tony Romo front, as La Canfora reports that Romo is making good progress from the fractured vertebrae he suffered in his back during the team’s third preseason game, and he is on track to play in Week 7. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) suggests that even if Romo is ready to go, he may not have a job to come back to. After speaking with team sources, Rapoport reports that the door is open, albeit slightly, for rookie Dak Prescott to impress enough to pull a Lou Gehrig and take Romo’s job on a permanent basis.
- The NFLPA has asked for a formal investigation into the handling of the helmet-to-helmet hit that Panthers QB Cam Newton took on Thursday night’s season opener. The investigation will be conducted jointly by the NFL and NFLPA, and if the Association’s findings conflict with the league’s findings, the Association can appeal to a neutral arbitrator, who has the authority to discipline the Panthers and others who were responsible for Newton’s well-being (potential consequences include fines and loss of draft picks). The fact that an investigation has been initiated does not mean that that the league’s concussion protocol was applied improperly, it simply reflects an obligation to ensure the health and safety of the league’s players. This marks the first time the enforcement element of the protocol has been exercised (all links go to Twitter).
- Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston, who signed a massive contract extension prior to the 2015 season, is still recovering from a significant knee injury and will not be back until November at the earliest, according to a team source. That source believes Week 9 is the earliest Houston could return to the field, though the team will reevaluate during its Week 5 bye.
Larry Fitzgerald Expects To Retire After Season
Longtime face of the Cardinals’ franchise and surefire Hall-of-Fame wideout Larry Fitzgerald is expected to retire at the end of the 2016 season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport reports that Fitzgerald has told people close to him that he believes this year will be his last.
Just last month, Fitzgerald signed an extension that keeps him under club control through the 2017 campaign, though his $11MM salary for 2017 is guaranteed for injury only, making it little more than a “free disability policy” for Fitz while helping Arizona avoid the distraction of having one of the best players in club history play out the season on an expiring contract. As such, the extension never really ensured that the 33-year-old would suit up for the Cardinals in 2017.
Since being selected by Arizona in the first round of the 2004 draft, Fitzgerald has been selected to a whopping nine Pro Bowls. The quarterback situation has been largely unsettled during Fitzgerald’s tenure with the club, and he has caught passes from top-tier signal callers, the dregs of the quarterbacking world, and everything in between.
Through it all, the former Pittsburgh Panther has done nothing but produce, catching over 1,000 passes for over 13,000 yards and 98 touchdowns, which make him a top-15 all-time receiver in each category. He has saved some of his best work for the playoffs, racking up almost 1,000 receiving yards and 10 TDs in nine playoff games, including a dazzling performance in Super Bowl XLIII that nearly lifted the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl championship.
The Cardinals, of course, enter the 2016 season on the short list of legitimate Super Bowl contenders, so he should have a real chance of adding that elusive ring to a career that has been otherwise flawless both on and off the field.
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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.
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