Bucs Start Contract Talks With Gerald McCoy
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht has contacted Ben Dogra, the agent for DT Gerald McCoy, in the hopes of initiating long-term contract talks, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. McCoy, who is set to become a free agent after the 2014 season, has established himself as one of the more dominant defensive linemen since he was drafted by the Bucs with the third overall pick of the 2010 draft.
Tampa Bay head coach Lovie Smith has deemed a new contract with McCoy a “priority.” Geno Atkins‘ new five-year, $55MM deal with the Bengals has set the bar high for top defensive tackles like McCoy.
Extension Candidate: Jimmy Smith
The Ravens had high hopes for Jimmy Smith when they selected him with the 27th overall pick of the 2011 draft. Labeled by some as the most “pro-ready” cornerback in that draft class, Smith’s stock took a hit because of perceived character issues stemming from several failed drug tests and an aggravated assault charge. The Ravens, noting that those incidents came early in his collegiate career, rolled the dice on Smith, hoping he and Lardarius Webb might combine to form a fearsome duo in the secondary.
Although Smith has had no off-field troubles since entering the league, his career got off to an inauspicious start when he suffered an ankle injury covering the Ravens’ first kickoff of the first regular season game of 2011. Smith returned to the field a few weeks later and showed flashes of his elite skill throughout the rest of the season, including an interception of Tom Brady in the 2011 AFC Championship Game.
In 2012, however, Smith battled through health and performance problems, missing five games due to a sports hernia injury and struggling with his consistency when he did see the field. But in Super Bowl XLVII, Smith played an integral role in the Ravens’ goal-line stand that denied the 49ers’ attempts to take the lead in the closing minutes, and that effort appeared to catapult him into 2013.
Smith started all 16 games in 2013, recording two interceptions and finally displaying on a consistent basis the blend of athleticism and technical skill that made him so appealing to Baltimore in 2011. As such, it was a foregone conclusion that the Ravens would pick up his fifth-year option, which they did in April of this year, keeping him in Baltimore through the end of the 2015 campaign.
Nonetheless, the team has expressed interest in extending its budding star. As our Luke Adams pointed out in his piece on the extension possibilities for the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson, extensions for top cornerbacks are becoming more and more lucrative. Richard Sherman‘s new deal with the Seahawks averages $14MM annually, while Joe Haden‘s extension with Cleveland includes a $22MM guarantee. Those contracts represent a sizable increase from the already hefty free agent deals handed out to 2014 free agents Darrelle Revis, Aqib Talib, and Vontae Davis.
Admittedly, Smith is not yet in the same conversation as Sherman, Haden, and Peterson. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) ranked all three players among the top 20 cornerbacks in the league, whereas Smith checked in at No. 36. Of course, Peterson’s value is further enhanced by his return skills, and although Smith was a reliable special teams contributor earlier in his career, his value as a shutdown corner far outweighs his value as a gunner.
The Ravens, however, would stand to benefit from extending Smith sooner rather than later. A cornerback with his abilities is an increasingly critical component of a championship formula, and there is no reason to believe his 2013 successes were a fluke. If he repeats his 2013 performance in 2014, he will have officially established himself as one of the top corners in the league, and he will be justified in asking for a contract similar to Sherman’s and Haden’s. Although Smith’s second contract will probably not quite reach that level of lucrativeness, the longer the Ravens wait, the more expensive he will be.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sunday Roundup: Pats, Jags, Browns
With the increasing importance of tight ends in today’s game–the current average for tight ends on a roster is 5.5–it is not surprising that the Patriots have brought in veteran free agent TEs Dustin Keller, Ben Hartsock, and Nate Byham for tryouts over the past couple of weeks, writes Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. The team has two open spots on its 90-man roster, and would like to add more depth to the tight end position with Rob Gronkowski currently unavailable to practice. If the Patriots do decide to pull the trigger on any of those players, Reiss expects it will be after June 1, so they can protect their compensatory picks.
Now for some more notes around the league on this Sunday morning:
- In the same piece, Reiss says that if the Patriots are looking to add a veteran linebacker, James Anderson might be their guy. He was in for a tryout last week, and he offers solid coverage abilities. Again, if New England were to sign him, it would be after June 1.
- Finally, Reiss takes a look at the players the Dolphins drafted with the picks they received in the Brandon Marshall trade and comes to an obvious conclusion: the Bears got the better end of the deal.
- Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union examines UDFA Allen Hurns‘ path to the Jaguars‘ roster and what attracted the team to Toby Gerhart, who currently tops the Jacksonville’s depth chart at running back.
- Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com offers his early projections as to how the Bears‘ final roster might shake out, with the caveat that injuries and veteran additions will inevitably happen.
- Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com looks at a number of Browns-related topics in his weekly mailbag, including several clarifications on the Josh Gordon saga and an early look at the right tackle position battle.
- Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee offers an early take on the 49ers‘ roster battle at inside linebacker.
Suh Attending OTAs This Week
TUESDAY, 5:52pm: Pictures on the Lions’ website confirm that Suh is in attendance for OTA and participating in drills.
SUNDAY, 1:01pm: Lions head coach Jim Caldwell expects Ndamukong Suh to participate at OTAs this week, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Birkett notes in a separate tweet that, if Suh indeed shows up, it would be in keeping with his normal offseason routine.
Suh did not attend the team’s voluntary minicamp in April, and shortly thereafter rumors began to circulate that the Lions may be willing to trade Suh, though common sense indicated that, even if those rumors were true, it would be virtually impossible for Detroit to pull off such a trade. Suh carries an exoribitant $22.4MM cap hit in 2014, which had led to preliminary extension talks between Suh’s camp and the Lions’ brass.
As our Luke Adams noted last month, and as Birkett indicated above, Suh’s absence from early offseason workouts and his participation in May’s programs is par for the course for him, and so Caldwell’s statements are not surprising. It may, however, come as a relief to Lions fans that Suh is going about business as usual and presumably does not plan to hold out for an extension. It will be interesting to keep tabs on whether or not extension talks do indeed resume and if they progress beyond the preliminary stage.
Minor Moves: Sunday
We will keep an eye on any minor transactions from today and update this post with news of any such transactions (most recent news on top).
- The Patriots have signed sixth-round cornerback Jemea Thomas, tweets his agency, Universal Sports Management. Thomas played college football at Georgia Tech.
- The Saints will sign edge player Cheta Ozougwu, who spent the past two seasons with the Bears before being waived about a month ago, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link).
Earlier Updates:
- The Colts have waived WR Greg Moore and signed WR Ryan Lankford, tweets Craig Kelley of Colts.com.
- The Bears will release punter Drew Butler, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The release was confirmed via Twitter by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The release leaves the door open for new draftee Pat O’Donnell to become the team’s punter.
Sunday Roundup: Garoppolo, Steelers, Boyd
It’s been a fairly slow Sunday morning as beat writers continue to evaluate how new draftees are faring in rookie minicamps, but let’s take a look at some other noteworthy tidbits from around the league:
- Mike Jones of the Washington Post writes that, of all the undrafted rookies the Redskins signed, BYU WR Cody Hoffman might be the one to watch.
- Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com looks at the Eagles‘ depth chart at wide receiver behind the top four of Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, and Josh Huff. Spadaro also notes that there is no news on potential roster additions at this time.
- John Glennon of The Tennessean looks at four undrafted wide receivers that could make an impact on the Titans this season.
- The Jaguars are the only team that has just one quarterback with regular season experience on its roster, but Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union expects the club to add a quarterback with some such experience before the end of offseason workouts.
- Although Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo as a possible successor to Tom Brady down the road, he believes “Garoppolo’s presence is closer to 80 percent about filling the No. 2 role set to be vacated by Ryan Mallett (likely in 2015) at more manageable rookie financial rates, with the other 20 percent or so tied to possible succession plans.“
- Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, meanwhile, thinks the Patriots definitely had Brady’s heir apparent in mind when they drafted Garoppolo, and Volin examines the similarities in the skillsets of the two quarterbacks.
- Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that, although it wasn’t that along ago that even top draft picks were not expected to make an immediate impact on the Steelers‘ defense, new draftees Ryan Shazier and Stephon Tuitt might be expected to inject their blend of speed and athleticism on the team’s defensive unit right away.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes that the Jets may use newly-drafted Tajh Boyd as a running back or in the Wildcat, a prospect that does not enthuse Boyd. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that rumors concerning Boyd’s move to another position is “premature.”
Volin On Roster Crunches: Roos, Hardy, Hali
The more successful franchises in the league always have an eye towards the so-called “second wave” of free agency when they construct their draft boards and begin drafting players. They can determine the potential cap casualties and the players who might be released from another squad simply because of a roster crunch, and they can identify which of those players might fill a need on their club that was not necessarily addressed via the draft. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe takes a look and those players whose security with their current club took a hit after last week’s draft. Some of the highlights:
- Michael Roos: Roos is perhaps the most obvious name of the group, given that the Titans signed Michael Oher in free agency and selected Taylor Lewan in the first round of the draft. That’s not to mention Roos’ $6.62MM salary cap number and the fact that Tennessee would not take on any dead money by releasing him.
- Matt Forte: Forte’s inclusion on this list is somewhat surprising, and although Volin notes he will almost certainly remain with the Bears this season, Volin goes on to say that the tread on Forte’s tires, along with his $8.8MM 2015 cap number and the team’s drafting of Ka’Deem Carey, could lead to Forte’s release after the season.
- Jeremy Maclin: “The writing is on the wall for Maclin,” as Volin points out that the Eagles gave Riley Cooper the long-term deal while handing out a one-year contract to Maclin, and then went on to draft Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff on the second day of the draft.
- Tamba Hali: Hali is another player who will remain with the only team he has ever known in 2014, but the Chiefs drafted Dee Ford in the first round of the draft and Hali has a $12MM cap number in 2015 (his contract expires at the end of 2015).
- Greg Hardy: obviously Hardy is safe for 2014, having signed the franchise tender worth over $13MM, but Volin writes the Panthers will have to reevaluate the future of their star defensive end considering his legal troubles this offseason and the selection of Kony Ealy in the second round of the draft.
Monday Roundup: Keisel, More Draft Notes
It might come as a bit of a shock, but there is one piece of non-draft news to pass along tonight. According to ESPN.com’s Scott Brown, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has not ruled out a possible reunion with DE Brett Keisel. Tomlin added that the team has to add to its defensive line (Twitter link).
Now let’s round up some more draft-related rumors for the final post of the evening and gear up for another day of draft nuggets tomorrow.
- More and more teams are trying to mimic the examples set by master draft manipulators like Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome and New England’s Bill Belichick, and so there has been a great deal of speculation regarding what teams might want to move up or down in the 2014 draft, particularly in the first round. The defending AFC champions are no exception. Broncos GM John Elway says he is open to trading up or down, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, and although the team could use a cornerback, the top CB prospects are likely to be gone before Denver’s No. 31 overall selection. Linebacker and offensive lineman are also first-round possibilities for the club.
- ESPN.com’s Mike Sando has compiled a list of the top eight questions to consider heading into Thursday’s first round. The whole article is worth a read, but the highlights include Sando’s belief that Khalil Mack could be the top prospect to have an Aaron Rodgers-like fall in the draft, and his insight that Odell Beckham, Jr., not Mike Evans, could be directly behind Sammy Watkins as the No. 2 wideout on some teams’ boards.
- Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Michael Sam, despite the positive publicity he has garnered over the past few months, is widely regarded as a “non-entity” by many top executives.
- Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net writes that the Ravens‘ top target is TE Eric Ebron, who may or may not be around when the Ravens pick at No. 17 overall. According to Pauline, the Giants may be souring on Ebron, though if Baltimore does not trade up, the Steelers are also considered a top suitor for Ebron’s services.
- ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky looks at some potential targets for the Titans if they choose to trade down.
- ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco makes a case for the Jaguars to draft Teddy Bridgewater.
- NFL.com’s Albert Breer tweets that the Chiefs could be a surprise team in the market for a first-round QB, as negotiations with Alex Smith are not progressing well.
More Draft Rumors: La Canfora, Bryant
As the draft season has evolved, more and more pundits have come to believe that Jadeveon Clowney will be the first player taken in the draft. CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora lends his support to that theory, adding that although the Texans would love to trade down from their No. 1 overall pick, they will find it hard to do so. If they do manage to find a trade partner, the most likely scenario, La Canfora writes, is a team like the Falcons moving up to take Clowney. Of course, someone like Greg Robinson could be the target in such a move, but Clowney is still the top prize in this year’s class.
La Canfora goes on to describe in detail the options available to the teams holding the first five picks in the draft. For instance, he notes that the Rams are “wheeler-dealers” and have been entertaining calls for the No. 2 overall selection, although those conversations have not intensified as of yet. La Canfora believes that, if the Rams stay put and Clowney is somehow still on the board, they will go with Clowney. If Clowney has been taken, then Robinson would be the answer, though Jake Matthews would get some consideration as well. If, however, the Rams do find a trade partner and move down in the draft, then the Johnny Manziel-to-St. Louis rumors that have already been circulating in full force would gain even more traction.
Now let’s continue to clean out the draft notebook:
- Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta says that there are three elite prospects in the draft: Clowney, Robinson, and Khalil Mack, according to Jim Corbett of USA Today Sports. There has been enough chatter surrounding each of those players to at least keep them in the conversation surrounding the first overall pick.
- Like a lot of wide receivers in this year’s class, Clemson’s Martavis Bryant, despite being a first-round talent, will probably end up being a Day 2 selection, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. Marvez cites Bryant’s college coach, Dabo Sweeney, who adds that Bryant would have benefited from one more year at Clemson.
- As we learned yesterday, it is more difficult to draft a wide receiver than almost any other position. The 49ers know that better than anybody, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Since 1990, the 49ers have drafted 10 wideouts in the first three rounds of the draft, and only three of those players logged more than 78 career receptions. San Fransisco is, as Branch notes, expected to dip its toe into the pool of early-round receivers yet again this year, and GM Trent Baalke acknowledges the difficulty of the task.
- NFL.com’s Albert Breer tweets that Odell Beckham, Jr. and Ryan Shazier are two players who could go a little higher than expected. We learned earlier tonight that at least one team above the Jets’ No. 18 overall pick loves Beckham, and Shazier has put himself alongside C.J. Mosley as the second-best LB in the draft outside of Mack.
- Unfortunately for Mosley, middle linebackers are becoming more and more of an afterthought, write Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune.
Draft Notes: Caplan, Safeties, Beckham
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Caplan held a Q&A on Twitter Monday evening, and that session contained a few interesting nuggets. All links, of course, go to Twitter:
- Caplan does not believe Johnny Manziel will make it past pick No. 7, but his absolute floor is No. 13.
- He also does not think Manziel’s former teammate, Mike Evans, will make it out of the top 10.
- Caplan tweets that TE Jace Amaro could go in the first round, but is more likely a 2nd-round prospect, along with Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
- Caplan believes another high-riser, DT Aaron Donald, has turned himself into a top-10 selection.
- As he has been saying all offseason, Caplan thinks the Vikings will bolster their defense with the No. 8 overall selection.
And as beat writers and national analysts continue to churn out draft tidbits like so much butter, let’s dive into some more draft-related links:
- Barring a trade, the Colts will not pick until deep into Day 2, as their first selection is No. 59 overall. When they finally do send a draft card to the podium, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star writes that the team will take a “long look” at safeties. Which is understandable given how thin they currently are at the position.
- However, this year’s safety class is fairly weak, and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Eagles, another team that needs safety help, will find slim pickings even in the first round. As Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman says, “I don’t think it’s a good group overall.“
- ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini tweets that if the Jets really want LSU wideout Odell Beckham, Jr., they will have to trade up to get him. At least one team above the Jet’s No. 18 overall selection is said to be in love with Beckham.
- Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle tweets that seven teams called Baylor CB Demetri Goodson today, and that the Titans expressed strong interest.
- The Bears and Ravens both have mid-first round picks, and both are set at the quarterback position. As such, a run on QBs early in the first would benefit both teams by allowing talent at other positions to fall, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. Biggs believe that such a run will, in fact, happen.
- In the same piece, Brown writes that the Ravens could also stand to benefit even if there is no early run on quarterbacks, as their No. 17 overall selection would be more appealing to teams in search of a top QB prospect. Although Baltimore has been widely expected to take an offensive lineman or wide receiver in the first round, Brown believes they could “pull a surprise” and take a cornerback first if someone like Justin Gilbert or Darqueze Dennard should fall.