East Notes: E. Manning, Cowboys, Dolphins
Eli Manning is entering the final year of his contract with the Giants, and there have been no discussions about an extension, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. However, the lack of negotiations has not phased the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
“I haven’t made a big deal about it,” Manning said. “[It] is not something I’m going to argue about or make a fuss about.”
Of course, Manning did receive a six-year, $97.5MM deal from the Giants back in 2010, a contract he is going to play out, so he has reason to be patient as his next contract negotiations approach. One would think that he is in line for one more big payday, even though he will be 35 when he hits unrestricted free agency next winter. New York could put the franchise tag on him if it comes down to it, though it is difficult to imagine Manning finishing his career on anything other than a multi-year deal with Big Blue.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News believes there is only one direction for the Giants to go with the No. 9 overall pick in the draft: offensive line. Even if an elite wide receiver prospect like Amari Cooper or Kevin White falls to New York, Vacchiano believes the team should resist temptation and grab one of the top offensive linemen like Brandon Scherff or Ereck Flowers.
- Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News looks at the top priorities for the Cowboys heading into the draft. He lists cornerback and defensive line as the two positions the team absolutely must address.
- For a number of reasons, the Cowboys have been pretty successful in the draft under head coach Jason Garrett. Garrett and assistant director of player personnel Will McClay have a good eye for talent, executive VP Stephen Jones has wielded a “firm and disciplined hand,” and owner Jerry Jones is meddling a little less. As David Moore of The Dallas Morning News writes, the one drawback to success in the draft is that other teams want to poach the successful team’s players, which has happened with the Cowboys this offseason. Running back DeMarco Murray, linebacker Bruce Carter, and special teams ace Dwayne Harris were all part of Garrett’s first draft class and all left in free agency, so the team must now deal with the unique challenge that drafting well presents: not only adding talent to the nucleus of the roster, but replacing lost talent in the most cost-effective manner possible, which includes mining hidden gems in the lower rounds. Dallas must show they are up to that task if they are to repeat as NFC East champions.
- John Keim of ESPN.com takes a look at a number of Robert Griffin III-related questions in his latest mailbag, including the ramifications of Washington‘s decision to either exercise or not exercise RGIII’s fifth-year option.
- In a couple of Dolphins-related items, James Walker of ESPN.com examines whether Miami would really be willing to roll the dice on Georgia RB Todd Gurley and what the holdup is in exercising Ryan Tannehill‘s fifth-year option.
- In Bill Belichick‘s 15 drafts with the Patriots, the team has traded up 17 times and traded down 17 times. As Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald writes, New England is one of two teams holding five of the top 101 picks in this year’s draft, so you can expect more wheeling and dealing from the Pats this week.
- Despite the buzz surrounding Marcus Mariota and the disappointment surrounding Geno Smith, Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News believes the Jets should go with the “strategically smart” decision and trade down from their No. 6 overall pick to select Stanford OT Andrus Peat.
North Notes: Browns, A. Brown, Vikings
The Browns have drafted a quarterback in the first round in two of the past three seasons, and by the time their first pick in this week’s draft rolls around–they hold the N0. 12 overall selection–the top two quarterbacks in the class, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, will be long gone. After those two signal-callers, the general consensus is that the drop-off to the next tier of QBs is pretty steep.
But Cleveland needs a quarterback. They’ve needed one since they rejoined the league in 1999. Which is why, despite their recent investments at the quarterback position, investments that can only be classified as abject failures at this point, they may consider moving up in the draft to nab Mariota. Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Browns’ interest in Mariota is “very real,” but whether they decide to pull the trigger and trade up would of course depend on the price. Trading up to the No. 2 overall pick–which they may have to do, since the Titans, who currently hold that selection, are reportedly more interested in Mariota than many originally believed–would probably be too cost-prohibitive.
But if Mariota slides past Tennessee, than the Browns may be tempted. In addition to the No. 12 overall pick, they also hold the No. 19 selection, so they have the ammunition to move up. Given the team’s series of missteps at quarterback, such a move would certainly make Browns fans nervous, but until Cleveland gets a franchise player under center, they will continue to stare up at the other three teams in their division. Despite his shortcomings, Mariota has the chance to be that player if the system, and the price, is right.
Now for some more notes from the league’s north divisions:
- Antonio Brown, who is coming off a magnificent 2014 campaign, is reportedly trying to renegotiate his current contract with the Steelers. But as Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, Pittsburgh holds all the cards at the moment. Brown would suffer significant fines, signing bonus give-backs, and lost wages if he were to hold out beyond voluntary workouts and OTAs this spring, and the Steelers simply do not renegotiate this early in a player’s contract (Brown still has three years left on his current deal).
- Matt Vensel of The Star Tribune looks at a few key positions the Vikings might target in the first round of the 2015 draft and makes an argument for each. Ultimately, he concludes that trading back might represent the team’s best option.
- Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says all signs point to the Vikings selecting Michigan State corner Trae Waynes in Thursday’s first round.
- Although Matt Forte‘s decision to skip the opening phase of the Bears‘ offseason program was reported, Martellus Bennett‘s decision to do the same thing went unannounced. Bennett is coming off a career year, but the average annual salary of his current deal ($5.1MM) puts him fairly low on the list of the league’s highest-paid tight ends. As ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson writes, the team has a three-day voluntary minicamp scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday of the coming week, and the Bears will have a better idea of Forte’s and Bennett’s offseason intentions at that time.
- Kyle Meinke of MLive.com ranks the Lions‘ pre-draft needs, with the guard position topping the list.
NFC Notes: Bucs, Peterson, Washington
We rounded up some AFC links earlier this morning, so let’s have a look at a few notes from the NFC.
- Although the Glazer family has never meddled in the Buccaneers‘ personnel decisions to the same degree Jerry Jones has meddled with the Cowboys, Tampa Bay’s ownership has a tradition of assuming a powerful role in the team’s football operations at key moments. According to Ira Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, the Glazers have been very active in deciding what the Bucs should do with their No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
- The Vikings would want at least a second-rounder and a late-round pick for Adrian Peterson, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.com, who does not expect the team to lower its asking price just to move Peterson.
- The Lions will likely wait until after the draft to address their left guard spot, and when they do, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com expects the team to add a veteran at the position.
- John Mullin of CSNChicago.com writes that, with each signing the Bears make, the job security of those already on the roster becomes more uncertain. That is especially true on the defensive side of the ball, where Chicago has added two linebackers and is moving a 2014 defensive end back to outside linebacker. That means the three Game 16 starters of last season, Jonathan Bostic, Christian Jones, and Shea McClellin, are competing for one vacancy.
- Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Rams will select a quarterback in this year’s draft, noting that if they do, they better strike early.
- Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com examine Washington‘s depth chart at quarterback. El-Bashir believes the team will draft a signal-caller, which will leave Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins fighting for one job.
- John Keim of ESPN.com does not believe Washington will bring back Tyler Polumbus or Brandon Meriweather, and he would not be surprised if the team drafted Marcus Mariota if the former Oregon signal-caller is still available when Washington is on the clock.
- Dan Graziano of ESPNNewYork.com writes that, in a perfect world, there would be a clear-cut option at pass-rusher for the Giants to select with their No. 9 overall pick. The problem is that most of the premium pass rushers, outside of perhaps Bud Dupree, look more like 3-4 outside linebackers than 4-3 defensive ends. As such, the team may end up with one of this year’s top offensive lineman, like Brandon Scherff or Ereck Flowers.
Draft Notes: Sunday
As we inch ever closer to the draft, we will continue to round up rumors on various prospects and the teams they visit. We will update this post throughout the day as more notes roll in:
- Wilson writes that Troy WR Chandler Worthy is “drawing interest” from the Rams, Texans, and Falcons.
- Several weeks ago, PFR’s Zach Links wrote that Maryland DT Darus Kilgo had met with the Packers, Patriots, and Dolphins, and Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun reports today that Kilgo has also visited with Washington and the Bills.
Rivers Rumors Just A “Mating Dance”?
One prominent NFL scribe has already offered his take on the Philip Rivers-to-Tennessee rumors this morning, and now Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk provides his opinion on the matter. Expanding on a piece he wrote earlier this month, Florio points out that all of the chatter surrounding the Chargers’ alleged desire to trade Rivers, whose contract expires at the end of the year, is largely just a “mating dance” between two parties who actually have mutual interest in extending their relationship beyond 2015.
For his part, Rivers knows that his value to the team–which is already quite high given his durability and the caliber of his play–could potentially increase dramatically should the team move to Los Angeles, as the Chargers will be hungry to make a good first impression in the nation’s No. 2 market. The Chargers know he is right, but that does not mean they want to pay Rivers any more than fair market value for a quarterback of his age and abilities.
Furthermore, outside of the Titans, no real suitors for Rivers have emerged over the past month or so. And there’s not much chance that one will. As Florio writes, if the Chargers were intent on trading up to the No. 2 overall selection, it would have happened by now. The fact that these rumors have been swirling for over a month without any substantial progress being made–like the parameters of a new contract between Rivers and the Titans–suggest that these rumblings are mostly predicated on contract leverage.
After all, it is hard to believe that the Chargers would want to start anew with an unproven rookie when Rivers may well have four or five good years left, and it is equally hard to believe that Rivers would want to go to a team that, even with him under center, would be unlikely to compete for a playoff spot. Any team trading for Rivers without a multi-year deal in place would be getting a one-year rental, and those teams that would want to make a deal for Rivers are generally not destinations that he would be willing to commit to long-term. So as the tango continues, it looks more and more like Rivers will be staying put; the only question is what it will cost the Chargers to keep him in San Diego (or LA).
AFC Notes: Hightower, Broncos, Titans
In addition to putting the finishing touches on their big board, the Patriots have a number of personnel decisions to make before draft day, writes Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald. Specifically, New England needs to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year options on linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive end Chandler Jones (the deadline for teams to exercise that option is May 3, one day after the conclusion of the draft).
The fifth-year option would prevent both players from becoming free agents after the 2015 season, so on the surface it appears like an easy decision. And for Hightower, Guregian believes it is. She says not only should the Patriots exercise the option, they should lock Hightower up long-term. Guregian points to Hightower’s critical role in the team’s Super Bowl run last season, which included establishing himself as a playmaker, a leader, and a play-caller in Jerod Mayo‘s absence.
Although Jones represents something of a more difficult decision, as injuries and his struggles against the run tip the scales towards the one-year option rather than a multi-year extension, Guregian writes that Hightower, along with Jamie Collins, are the future of the New England’s defense and should be treated accordingly.
Let’s take a look at a few more notes from the AFC:
- The Dolphins will have an official visit with LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins next week, writes Omar Kelly of The Sun-Sentinel. One league source pegs Collins as the frontrunner for Miami’s first-round pick, No. 14 overall, if he is still available when the Dolphins are on the clock.
- Mike Klis of The Denver Post expects the Broncos to trade up from their No. 28 overall pick, noting that the team has 10 picks but is in win-now mode and does not have 10 available roster spots.
- In the wake of the persistent Philip Rivers-to-Tennessee rumors, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe offers his two cents, asserting his belief that a trade will not happen. For one, although Rivers is by no means a young man relative to other professional athletes, his durability and consistent level of play suggest it is far to soon to worry about his performance taking a sudden downturn. Furthermore, Marcus Mariota, who the Chargers would presumably draft to replace Rivers, is by no means a surefire prospect, which suggests San Diego should stay put at the No. 17 overall pick in the draft and continue to roll with Rivers.
- Similarly, Volin believes the Titans‘ statements regarding how much they like second-year quarterback Zach Mettenberger are not a ruse. Given the stalled progress of passers like Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick, Volin believes Tennessee did not make those statements in an effort to disguise their desire to draft Mariota.
Jaguars Give Posluszny One-Year Extension
THURSDAY, 3:46pm: The Jaguars officially announced Posluszny’s extension, reports Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com on Twitter. If the middle linebacker’s cap charge for 2015 is now $5MM, the Jags will have a league-high $39.5MM of cap space, according to Ryan O’Halloran and Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union. This could create another busy offseason in Jacksonville next year.
THURSDAY, 12:27pm: According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Posluszny will now earn $15MM — or as much as $18MM, depending on whether he meets incentives — over the next three years. He had previously been slated to earn $7.5MM annually over the next two years.
WEDNESDAY, 11:20pm: Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny, who had been under club control for two more seasons, has agreed to a one-year extension with the team, according to Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com (via Twitter).
Posluszny, 30, signed a six-year, $42MM deal with Jacksonville in 2011 after excelling in his first few years in the league with the Bills, who selected the Penn State product in the second round of the 2007 draft. He has received somewhat mixed reviews from Pro Football Focus, sometimes being included in or near the top 10 middle linebackers in the league and other times being ranked closer to the bottom of the list of qualified players. However, he has consistently posted strong tackle numbers, and he has put up 12 sacks, 11 interceptions, and eight forced fumbles over the course of his career.
He has also been durable, as last season marked the first time since his rookie campaign that Posluszny had missed any significant action due to injury. He tore his pectoral muscle in the team’s seventh game of the season and was placed on IR shortly thereafter. He was coming off his first Pro Bowl nod, having recorded 162 tackles to go along with three sacks, two interceptions, and nine passes defended in 2013.
PFR’s Luke Adams wrote back in December that Posluszny would be open to reducing his $9.5MM cap number for 2015 in exchange for another year added to his contract, and this extension will presumably accomplish just that.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Hakeem Nicks
After Michael Crabtree signed with the Raiders earlier this week, Hakeem Nicks suddenly became the most intriguing free-agent wide receiver still on the market. Greg Jennings might have something to say about that, but in terms of potential upside, Nicks presents the best opportunity for a low-risk investment to pay significant dividends.
At just 27, Nicks already has a fairly impressive resume. In the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the former 29th-overall pick averaged 78 receptions for more than 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns for the Giants. He was also a major contributor to New York’s Super Bowl title in 2011, averaging seven receptions and 111 yards per game over the team’s four-game playoff run (including a 10-catch, 109-yard performance in Super Bowl XLVI). He also grabbed four touchdowns during that stretch. Combined with Victor Cruz’s breakout 2011 season, it appeared as if Eli Manning would have one of the most dynamic pair of receivers in the league at his disposal for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, the injury bug struck Nicks as the Giants prepared to defend their title. During OTAs in May 2012, Nicks fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot and was forced to undergo surgery. As a result, he missed valuable training camp time, and even when he returned to the field, he had to play through pain. He landed hard on his right knee during the Giants’ Week 2 contest that year, and he ultimately missed three consecutive games due to knee swelling.
Although he suited up on game days the rest of the season, he was rarely able to practice with the team, and it was clear that the injuries had sapped a great deal of his explosiveness and playmaking ability. His numbers—and the Giants’ offense—suffered as a result. In the last two games of the season, Nicks failed to record a single catch, playing just one snap in the finale.
The former North Carolina standout enjoyed a statistical uptick in 2013, but he failed to crack 900 receiving yards and did not catch a single touchdown despite playing in 15 games. He therefore signed a one-year “prove it” deal with the Colts last season, but he was unable to prove much of anything. Nicks was lost in the shuffle of an otherwise explosive aerial attack led by Andrew Luck, who favored Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, and Coby Fleener. Nicks recorded a mere 38 catches for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and he was targeted just 68 times after receiving over 100 targets in each of his previous four years with the Giants.
The once-promising wideout is consequently looking for another team to offer him the same opportunity the Colts did. Nicks has visited with both the 49ers and Titans, but has otherwise failed to generate a great deal of interest. It is somewhat telling that the Dolphins, who are known to be in the market for a veteran receiver, were apparently more interested in Crabtree, Jennings, and Wes Welker.
Nicks may not be able to recapture his 2011 form, but given his relative youth and record of productivity, one would have to think there is some truth to his assertion that he is “nowhere near finished.” Perhaps on a team like Tennessee or Miami, which feature several talented but young receivers, Nicks would be able to succeed. But if San Francisco is still interested, the 49ers may represent the best opportunity for him. He offers some of the downfield ability of Torrey Smith but is more akin to Anquan Boldin in terms of his route-running and good hands, and is therefore a quality complement to both. Guided by a capable quarterback in Colin Kaepernick, Nicks could thrive in the Bay Area.
But regardless of where he lands, it would be a surprise for him to get much more than the one-year, $3MM deal that Crabtree just signed. And if his 2015 numbers do not show a marked improvement over what he compiled in 2014, he may, in fact, be finished, as the promise of 2011 gets pushed further into the rear-view mirror.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Carson Stadium Project Takes Step Forward
The Carson stadium project took a big step forward today, as the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office has certified the signatures obtained in support of the project, according to Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The Carson proposal is the brainchild of the Chargers and Raiders, who are planning a shared, $1.7 billion stadium in Carson–which is on the edge of Los Angeles–if both teams are unable to get new stadiums in their current cities.
Of course, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is hoping to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, roughly 10 miles from downtown LA, and we heard just a few weeks ago that Kroenke, whose proposal was approved by the Inglewood City Council back in February, was farther along in the process than the Carson group. However, the verification of signatures in support of the Carson project is an important milestone, as ESPN’s Adam Caplan notes. Caplan writes, “The proposal will go to the City Council, which could vote as soon as Tuesday to schedule an election or consider the plan without sending it to local voters.”
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reiterates, there will not be two stadiums in Los Angeles; either the Carson project or the Inglewood project will win out (assuming, of course, that all teams currently in the mix to move to LA do not stay put, which is looking increasingly unlikely). Meanwhile, Florio writes that the project that would keep the Chargers in San Diego is lagging far behind both LA proposals, as it “lacks a stadium design, specific funding sources, or support from the Chargers.” The Carson government is capitalizing on that lack of progress, and in so doing, it might have gained a little ground on Kroenke.
Sunday Roundup: NFC North, ‘Fins, 49ers
Golf takes its yearly ascent to the forefront of many sports fans’ minds today, but before the battle for the Green Jacket begins, let’s take a look at some links from around the NFL:
- The Packers are one of the teams that do not announce which prospects they will bring in for their allotted 30 pre-draft visits, but Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com provides a list of players–compiled by ESPN and other outlets–that have visited, or will visit, with Green Bay.
- The Lions need a new tailback after losing Reggie Bush to free agency, but Kyle Meinke of MLive.com says the team is not targeting a specific type of runner; speed, power, and hybrid backs are all on the table.
- Dan Wiederer of The Chicago Tribune examines the pros and cons of drafting one of this year’s elite wide receiver prospects, which the Bears have the opportunity to do with the No. 7 overall selection.
- There is a deep class of cornerbacks for the Ravens to choose from in this year’s draft, writes Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. In addition to wide receiver, the secondary is a major area of concern for Baltimore.
- James Walker of ESPN.com wonders if the Dolphins should trade up from their No. 14 overall pick in the draft to land one of this year’s elite receivers or linebackers, and he lists the costs and benefits of such a move. Walker ultimately notes (via Twitter) that Miami has too many holes and too few draft picks to consider trading into the top 10.
- After acquiring Jeron Johnson and Dashon Goldson over the past couple of weeks, Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com wonder if Washington should nonetheless invest an early-round pick in a safety, which has been a weakness for the team in recent seasons.
- The Eagles brought in Penn State offensive tackle Donovan Smith for a visit, writes Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
- Despite losing Frank Gore to free agency, the 49ers have a talented pair of running backs in Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush, and as Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News observes, Kendall Hunter will return to the field following an ACL tear that ended his 2014 season before it started. San Francisco’s roster also includes Jarryd Hayne, a former Australian rugby star who is trying to “convert” to American football and is expected to compete as a return specialist and possibly a backup running back. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk writes, all of the team’s rushing talent suggests that the 49ers will continue to be among the league leaders in rushing attempts, as they have been in each of the past four seasons.