Lions Notes: Orlovsky, Washington, Carter
Well-traveled backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky re-signed with the Lions this offseason after spending 2015 as the team’s No. 2 signal-caller behind Matthew Stafford. However, the Lions drafted Michigan’s Jake Rudock in the sixth round of this year’s draft–the first time Detroit has drafted a QB since selecting Stafford himself in 2009–and that selection immediately put Orlovsky’s job in jeopardy. After all, new GM Bob Quinn was raised in a Patriots system that typically keeps just two quarterbacks, and rarely has the backup been a veteran.
But Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press writes that both head coach Jim Caldwell and OC Jim Bob Cooter sang Orlovsky’s praises after the conclusion of OTAs on Thursday, and as Rudock is a fairly raw prospect, the Lions may wind up keeping three quarterbacks in 2016, or even trying to stash Rudock on the practice squad. In any event, it is far too early to count Orlovsky out of the picture.
Now for more from the Motor City:
- Detroit selected running back Dwayne Washington in the seventh round of this year’s draft, but because NFL policy prohibits college players from practicing with their new teams until their academic year is over, Washington’s first OTA practice on Thursday was the team’s last OTA practice, which puts him at a major disadvantage. However, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes, Washington’s speed was on full display on Thursday, and Washington himself indicated that the practice went as well as could be expected.
- Speaking of Washington, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com says the former University of Washington Husky could insert himself into the team’s running back equation, but if he had to handicap the RB race right now, Rothstein believes Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Stevan Ridley, and Zach Zenner would make the club (although Ridley’s and Zenner’s spots are certainly up for grabs).
- In the same piece, Rothstein says Alex Carter, last year’s third-round selection, is expected to be a significant part of the Lions’ cornerback rotation. Carter suffered an ankle injury during the early stages of training camp last season and did not play a single snap for Detroit, but Rothstein pegs him as the team’s No. 4 corner behind Darius Slay, Quandre Diggs, and Nevin Lawson.
- We learned several days ago that Stephen Tulloch is still unsure as to whether he will be on the team in 2016, and we also learned that the Lions waived wideout Corey Washington with an injury designation.
East Notes: Wilkerson, Eagles, Giants
Last month, our Zach Links observed that Jets standout defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson could hurt his leverage for a long-term deal if he were to report to the club prior to July 15, the deadline for signing his franchise tag tender. However, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that Wilkerson was spotted in the team’s locker room last week, and his appearances at One Jets Drive have not been infrequent. Of course, we learned yesterday that Wilkerson is not expected to draw a long-term offer from the Jets anytime soon, so it could be that the 2015 Pro Bowler simply does not see any harm in making use of the team facility and staying in touch with his teammates.
Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- The top of the Eagles‘ depth chart at defensive tackle looks pretty good, with Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan stabilizing the interior of the team’s D-line. But beyond that, Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com says the picture gets pretty murky, as players like Beau Allen and Taylor Hart appear better-suited to a 3-4 defensive front, and new acquisition Derrick Lott was unable to stick with Tampa Bay last season. As Zangaro observes, that means that at least one of the Eagles’ three undrafted free agent DTs–Aziz Shittu, Destiny Vaeao, and Connor Wujciak–have a real shot at cracking the club’s roster. Vaeao and Wujciak were very impressive in spring workouts, Zangaro notes.
- Eagles rookie cornerback Jalen Mills fell to the seventh round of this year’s draft due to injury and maturity concerns, but thus far, he is making the case for significant regular season playing time. As Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com writes, Mills has impressed coaches and teammates alike with his excellent performance in offseason workouts, and there is a real chance he could wind up as the team’s primary nickel corner.
- John Munson of NJ.com offers 10 takeaways from Giants OTAs as the team prepares for minicamp. For instance, he says that Andre Williams performed surprisingly well during OTAs after transforming his body in the offseason, but Munson believes the team will have major pass rush concerns despite the splashy addition of Olivier Vernon.
- Earlier today, we learned that the Dolphins have contingency plans just in case Reshad Jones makes the surprising decision to hold out.
Latest on Reshad Jones, Dolphins
If Reshad Jones were to make good on his threat to hold out for the entire 2016 season, the Dolphins would of course be worse off for it. But just how realistic is Jones’ threat? According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, not very.
Jackson himself said it would be surprising if Jones were to extend his contract protest into the season, but Jackson adds that even a source close to Jones concedes that Miami has no incentive to re-do a deal that pays the Georgia product $7.2MM and $7.1MM over the next two seasons. That contract makes him the highest-paid strong safety in the NFL, but does not place him among the five highest-paid safeties overall.
If the worst-case scenario comes to fruition and Jones does not report to the team, Jackson says that free agents Antrel Rolle and Louis Delmas are on the Dolphins’ list of contingency plans. Neither option, however, is exactly ideal. Delmas, of course, has been with Miami for each of the past two seasons, and in 2014 he started 12 games for the Fins, racking up 60 tackles and an interception (which he returned for a touchdown), and ranking as a league-average safety per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. But he tore his right ACL towards the end of the 2014 campaign, and he tore that same ACL during practice last August, thereby ending his 2015 season before it even began. Delmas has always shown high-level talent, but his inability to stay healthy throughout his career and the severity of his most recent injuries have left the 29-year-old unemployed for the time being.
Rolle, meanwhile, spent the 2015 season with the Bears after spending the first five years of his career with the Cardinals and the next five with the Giants. Per PFF, he graded out as the 39th-best safety in the league last season (out of 89 qualifiers), and the biggest knock against him at this point is his age. He is now 33, and he played in only seven games last season after suffering a knee injury during a November practice. He has had a long and productive career, however, and the rangy safety–whom our Dallas Robinson lists as the eighth-best defensive free agent still on the market–could be a nice fit in Miami.
Needless to say, though, the Dolphins would rather have Jones, who set new career-highs in tackles (135), passes defended (10), and interceptions (five), last season. PFF ranked Jones as the 13th-best safety in the NFL in 2015, and of the 89 qualified safeties, only two received higher grades as run defenders than Jones did. As of right now, it seems that Jones will report to the club rather than hold out, but the Dolphins do have a Plan B just in case.
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AFC Notes: T-Rich, Manziel, Dolphins
Trent Richardson may be down to his last chance to continue his NFL career, and he may be firmly on the Ravens‘ roster bubble, but one still has to give him credit for dreaming big. In an interview with Comcast SportsNet, Richardson said he would end his NFL story by “Putting on a yellow jacket. People wrote him off, he came back and did some amazing things. He always had the pedigree. He just had to get back to the guy that we know” (link via Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com). T-Rich, the former No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 draft, has a career average of just 3.3 yards per carry, and he has struggled with injuries and weight throughout the course of his once-promising career. Just 25, Richardson realizes there will probably not be another opportunity for him if he fails to make Baltimore’s roster, but as he fights to carve out a place for himself on the Ravens–who are well-stocked at the running back position–a little self-confidence can’t hurt.
Now for a few more links from the AFC:
- Johnny Manziel‘s attorney, Jim Darnell, says his client is preparing as though he will play in the NFL in 2016, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes. Per Fowler, Darnell concedes that a return to the league in 2017 is more realistic, but it would take a confluence of positive outcomes for even that to happen. Manziel’s pending assault charge, for which he has a status hearing on June 24, would have to be resolved in his favor, he would have to weather whatever punishments the league levies upon him, and he would have to find a team willing to gamble on him and his fledgling football abilities.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL has not yet contacted Dolphins rookie left tackle Laremy Tunsil about the now-infamous bong video that precipitated Tunsil’s fall in April’s draft. As Florio notes, however, the league could come calling any day.
- The top of the Dolphins‘ wide receiver depth chart is largely settled, but there is some intrigue among a few of the less-heralded players on the roster, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Barring injury, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, and Leonte Carroo will be the club’s top four wideouts, but rookie Jakeem Grant, despite being a raw route-runner, has flashed in OTAs, and players like Griff Whalen and Matt Hazel also have their supporters among the Dolphins’ coaching staff.
- New Jets left tackle Ryan Clady still has a chip on his shoulder as a result of the unceremonious end to his tenure with the Broncos several months ago, and he is determined to prove he is still the same player he was during his peak years in Denver, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes.
- Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida-Times Union takes a look at six returning Jaguars who could be on the roster bubble, a list headlined by Tyson Alualu and Dwayne Gratz.
AFC Notes: RGIII, J. Cameron, Forte
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the AFC:
- In response to a reader wondering when Browns head coach Hue Jackson would officially name Robert Griffin III Cleveland’s starting quarterback, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer said that the formal designation would probably come after the preseason games begin. Per Cabot, Jackson wants Griffin to earn the job, and RGIII is getting a strong push from Josh McCown—who looks ready to start tomorrow—and rookie Cody Kessler, who is handling his learning curve nicely.
- When deciding whether he should accept a paycut this offseason or risk being released, Dolphins TE Jordan Cameron spoke with a number of people, including current Jaguars TE Julius Thomas, as James Walker of ESPN.com writes. Per Cameron, Thomas “called me immediately and said you have to play for [new Dolphins head coach Adam Gase]. I’ve had a lot of conversations about [Gase] and what he can do. It was kind of the things I heard about Coach Gase (that helped make my decision).” Gase was Thomas’ offensive coordinator in Denver, and he is well-known for having success with tight ends. In the end, of course, Cameron agreed to take the paycut.
- One of the primary reasons Matt Forte signed with the Jets, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com, is New York’s training room. The 30-year-old back, who has been burdened by a heavy workload in his career, said, “That was one of the reasons for me wanting to come here, because the training room is so good. At this point in your career, health is so important. You’re not as young as you used to be, or recover as fast as you used to. But if you get the right [trainers] in there and work with them, you can turn back the time.”
- The Jaguars‘ Peyton Thompson has been cut six times by four different teams since he entered the league in 2013, but after making the switch from cornerback to safety, Thompson feels as though this year marks the best chance he has had to make a Week 1 roster, as Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union writes. Thompson appeared in 15 games for Jacksonville last season, and he will compete this year to be a key special-teamer and backup to newly-signed safety Tashaun Gipson. Thompson says, “The amount of special teams I can play and being somebody [the team] can interchange from from cornerback to nickel to safety and know the whole defense no matter where I am, that definitely gives me the upper hand.”
- Earlier today, we learned that the Dolphins would not be pursuing veteran corners like Leon Hall and Antonio Cromartie at this time.
Dolphins Not Pursuing Hall, Cromartie At This Time
The Dolphins traded for Byron Maxwell earlier this offseason just two days after releasing Brent Grimes, and given Maxwell’s disappointing 2015 campaign in Philadelphia–combined with Miami’s largely inexperienced cornerback corps–one would think that the Fins might be one of the primary suitors for veteran corners Antonio Cromartie and Leon Hall. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, however, that is not the case. Jackson says that both Hall and Cromartie are on the Dolphins’ radar should the team suffer injuries at the cornerback position or if its young corners do not develop as expected, but so far, the Dolphins are pleased with their young guns and want them to continue taking as many meaningful reps as possible.
Hall, the longtime Bengal, is currently rated as PFR’s second-best defensive player still on the market, while Cromartie received an honorable mention (Brandon Boykin and Chris Culliver, two other veteran corners that the Dolphins could theoretically bring in, rated as the fifth- and seventh-best free agent defenders, respectively). Hall is not the the boundary defender he used to be, but the 31-year-old still figures to be productive in the slot, and his veteran presence and high football IQ would surely be welcome in South Beach. Indeed, the Cowboys, Cardinals, Giants, and Falcons have all expressed varying levels of interest in Hall, suggesting that his services are at least somewhat in demand.
However, he has been plagued by health issues throughout his career, and an offseason back procedure will not alleviate clubs’ concerns about his injury history. Plus, the Dolphins think highly of second-year player Bobby McCain and would like to see him start in the slot (which would also help explain Miami’s apparent lack of interest in Boykin).
Cromartie, meanwhile, has not garnered much, if any, interest from other teams after he was released by the Jets back in February. He had earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2012 to 2014, earning him a four-year, $32MM deal with the Jets last March, but he was not as effective as usual during his first season back in New York after a one-year stint in Arizona (Pro Football Focus ranked him 86th out of 111 qualified cornerbacks). He has frequently struggled with getting burned by opposing receivers, but he has largely been able to compensate for those problems with a high level of playmaking ability. As he gets older, though, the interceptions will likely diminish while his coverage deficiencies will be further exploited, so if the Dolphins were to pursue a veteran corner, Cromartie is probably not the best option.
Miami’s present stance on free agent corners may also be influenced by Maxwell’s performance in the early stages of the offseason. As James Walker of ESPN.com wrote several days ago, Maxwell has been one of the most impressive players in the Dolphins’ early workouts, and this morning Walker tabbed Maxwell as one of the team’s two standout players in OTAs (Twitter link). If Miami can get a bounceback year from Maxwell, and if players like McCain, Xavien Howard, and Tony Lippett progress as hoped, the club could have a strong stable of defensive backs.
Nonetheless, that is a lot of “ifs,” and given the importance of strong cornerback play in the NFL, it would not be surprising to see Miami change course and sign a veteran CB or two in the near future (the Dolphins did bring in Greg Toler for a workout several months ago, though that was before they selected Howard in this year’s draft). But for the time being, the team’s young corners will apparently get ample opportunity to prove their worth.
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Patriots Notes: Butler, FAs, Sheard
Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the extension that Allen Hurns signed with the Jaguars a few days ago could serve as a useful blueprint for the Patriots in their efforts to deal with the contract situations of three of the club’s top defenders: Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, and Malcolm Butler. Collins and Hightower are eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2016 season, whereas Butler is set to become a restricted free agent.
Hurns, like Butler, came into the league as an undrafted free agent, and like Butler, he was set to make $600K in 2016 before becoming a RFA in March 2017. But as Reiss points out, the four-year, $40MM deal Hurns inked with the Jags was tacked on to the final year of his UDFA contract, so Hurns is now effectively playing under a five-year, $40.6MM pact, which sounds a lot more reasonable for a player who enjoyed a successful 2015 campaign but who does not have a long track record of success or an impressive draft pedigree. Such an arrangement would seem to make a great deal of sense for Butler in particular, though Reiss says that an extension for any of the Butler/Collins/Hightower trio would likely be similar in concept and would benefit both sides, as the player gets coveted financial security while the team stays ahead of a rising market by being willing to strike a deal a year early.
Now let’s take a look at more on the Patriots:
- In the same piece, Reiss says the Patriots did try to follow a similar contractual model with Devin McCourty as he entered the final year of his contract two seasons ago, but their offer was not enticing enough for McCourty. As a result, New England ended up having to pay McCourty at a market value that was higher than the club anticipated. Reiss therefore believes the Pats will be more proactive in their approach with their biggest free agents-to-be this time around.
- Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald echoes the sentiments put forth by former NFL agent Joey Corry last week, saying that Butler needs to understand his contract will take a backseat for the time being given that he will only become a RFA when the 2017 league year begins and can be retained for 2017 for a relatively modest $4MM or so. In addition to Collins and Hightower, Guregian also mentioned Jabaal Sheard as a pending unrestricted free agent whose contract the team may try to address before Butler’s.
- Christopher Price of WEEI.com offers an early 53-man roster projection for the Patriots.
Sunday Roundup: Lynch, Fitzpatrick, Leary
Whether Marshawn Lynch opts to continue his football career in 2016 and whether he will play for the Seahawks if he does suit up this season are two very different questions, as Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com writes. Lynch, 30, may well be having second thoughts about his decision to retire, but while Kapadia would not be surprised if Lynch chooses to return to the league, the ESPN scribe would be stunned if the Seahawks are the team to welcome him back.
Although Seattle controls Lynch’s rights through 2017, he is due $9MM in 2016, is coming off an injury-plagued season, and is at the point in his career when most running backs begin to wear down anyway. Plus, the club’s running game looked perfectly capable without Beast Mode in 2015. Theoretically, the team could trade him or negotiate a pay cut, but it is more likely that the Seahawks would simply release Lynch if he ultimately decides he is not done playing.
Now let’s take a look at some more notes from around the league:
- Rich Cimini of ESPN.com and Brian Costello of The New York Post echo the common sense point that Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk made several days ago: we now know that the Jets have offered Ryan Fitzpatrick a three-year deal that includes $12MM in the first year, but until we know what the second and third years of the offer look like, we cannot say which side is being overly obstinate. Cimini “gets the sense” that it is a three-year, $24MM contract, which would mean that if Fitzpatrick plays well this season and retains his starting job, he would be significantly underpaid in 2017. Similarly, Costello believes that it is not a three-year, $36MM deal unless Fitzpatrick hits incentives, some of which are surely unrealistic.
- Cowboys left guard Ronald Leary has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be traded, but as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Leary lost almost all of his leverage when he chose to sign his restricted free agent tender last month. Now that he has signed the $2.55MM tender, Leary can be fined if he misses mandatory minicamp or training camp, so Dallas will be perfectly content to either wait for a good return from another club seeking an interior lineman, or for Leary to give in and report to the team.
- Former Baylor wideout Jay Lee, overshadowed by teammate Corey Coleman–the Browns’ first-round selection in this year’s draft–in the Baylor offense, had a productive collegiate career in his own right, and he turned down offers from five other clubs to join the Lions as a UDFA, as Justin Rogers of MLive.com writes. Lee said, “[Detroit] is a better fit for me. I had a relationship with the coaches. I got to do a private workout with them, got to come up here and visit and I just felt at home.”
- Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com looks at five of the Lions‘ biggest roster competitions this summer. The competition at defensive tackle, the club’s deepest unit, could be particularly fierce.
- Instead of hitting the open market this offseason, Steelers guard Ramon Foster and cornerback William Gay turned down the chance at a bigger payday elsewhere to remain in Pittsburgh, as Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Gay, who signed a two-year, $3.2MM contract with the Cardinals in 2012 after spending the first five years of his career with the Steelers, never saw the second year of that deal after Arizona’s coaching staff told him he no longer fit in their plans, and he had no interest in seeing the dark side of free agency again. Foster, meanwhile, said, “[Pittsburgh] is where it’s at. We’re chasing that ring. The chance for the Super Bowl ring is more important than those extra [millions].”
- Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta has looked good in the team’s offseason workouts, Don Markus of The Baltimore Sun writes. Pitta, looking to make his way back from a second major hip fracture, is not showing any lingering effects of his injuries, although training camp will present an entirely different test. Pitta could face an uphill battle to make the roster, as the team recently signed veteran free agent Ben Watson and also has intriguing young talents in Crockett Gillmore and Maxx Williams on the tight end depth chart.
- In an Insider-only piece, Field Yates of ESPN.com lists the biggest roster decisions that each of the league’s 32 clubs will have to make over the coming months.
Poll: Where Will Dwight Freeney Sign?
Free agent linebacker/defensive end Dwight Freeney is still available, and he still wants to play. Now 36, Freeney has continued to be effective at getting to the quarterback in the twilight years of his career, and he proved in 2015 that he still has enough gas left in the tank to be a viable situational pass rusher. In just 11 games for the Cardinals last season–Freeney did not sign with Arizona until the second week of October–the surefire Hall-of-Famer picked up eight sacks and three forced fumbles, grading out as the 51st-best edge rusher in the NFL out of 110 qualified players per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) despite being on the field for just 317 regular season snaps.
His 2015 performance was consistent with what he displayed in his 2014 campaign, his only full season with the Chargers. In 2014, Freeney amassed just 3.5 sacks, but he placed third among qualifying 3-4 OLBs with 40 quarterback hurries, and 14th with nine QB hits. In today’s NFL, one would think that there is plenty of demand for that type of production.
But Freeney, our fourth-best defensive free agent still on the board, is yet to find a new home. He visited and took a physical with the Bengals a few days ago but left Cincinnati without a contract, and he is set to visit the Falcons this week. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh brought up Freeney’s name unprompted when speaking with reporters during March’s owners meetings, but Baltimore ultimately selected three young pass rushers in the draft and already have aging veterans Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil at outside linebacker.
On the surface, the Cowboys appear to be a perfect fit for Freeney–they are a contender with an obvious need for an experienced pass rusher–but Dallas has professed to have no interest in the Syracuse alumnus. It could be that Freeney’s contract demands are too rich at the moment, though there have been no real reports as to his asking price, and he did ink a veteran’s minimum deal with Arizona last season, so the fact that Freeney remains unsigned probably has nothing to do with financial considerations.
Freeney’s preference is to return to the Cardinals, though he has described a possible stint with the Patriots as a “win-win” for both sides, and he appears to be open to playing for any contending club. But there has been no movement on the Arizona front, and New England is fairly well-stocked with edge rushers, so he may need to look elsewhere.
With all of that said, where do you think Freeney will land? Will it be one of the teams mentioned above, or someone else entirely? Indeed, our own Dallas Robinson, in compiling the above-referenced list of top defensive free agents still available, also listed the Panthers, Jets, Lions, Chiefs, and Bills as possible destinations. Or, maybe you think Freeney will have a change of heart and hang up the cleats, thereby setting his Hall of Fame countdown in motion.
Cast your vote below, and feel free to discuss in the comment section.
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Malcolm Butler Seeking New Contract
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler is one of 17 New England players that did not participate in this week’s voluntary OTAs, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com suggests that Butler’s absence is contract-related. Per Reiss, Butler has told teammates and friends he plans to push for an adjustment to his contract before the 2016 season, as he is slated to earn just $600K this year before being eligible for restricted free agency prior to the 2017 campaign. Butler’s agent, Derek Simpson, did not return Reiss’ calls or emails seeking comment.
However, because of his low price tag this year, and the fact that New England can probably control him fairly inexpensively for 2017 with a RFA tender, the team holds the leverage at the moment. Plus, as Reiss points out, linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower are eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2016 season, and the Patriots may view new deals for them as more of a priority for the time being.
All three players, though, are deserving of lucrative extensions, and the dilemma that their contract status has created is one of the reasons New England traded Chandler Jones–who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end–earlier this year. Butler’s absence from OTAs is the one way he can signal to the club that he is unhappy with his present deal, but it may not result in a new contract for him this season. If he performs in 2016 the way he performed in 2015, though, he will get his big payday sooner rather than later.
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