Latest On DeSean Jackson
For months now, there has been speculation about DeSean Jackson returning to the Eagles via free agency this offseason. The wide receiver hasn’t done much to stop that talk with his latest comments to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (audio link). 
“It definitely is a great story or ending, I guess you could say,” Jackson said (via PFT). “Starting your career somewhere then going to a division rival team [and] having the possibility of maybe going back. You just kind of think about all of that when you start somewhere maybe you could finish it. There is just a lot of speculation of a lot of thoughts. It all sounds good, but you really never know until the final decision is made. I’m just a firm believer that if you work hard, you put in the work, continuously go out there and show everybody what you’re capable of [then] the sky’s the limit.”
Jackson is reportedly eyeing a return to the Eagles, though he is also on the record as saying that he wants to stay with the Redskins. Jackson, 30, could be on the verge of losing his trademark speed, but he was still productive last year as he hauled in 56 catches for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns. There will be a healthy market waiting for Jackson in March and the Eagles won’t be the only team pursuing him. That group of suitors could include the Buccaneers. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears the Bucs could be a possible destination for DJax and his relationship with quarterback Jameis Winston could help to facilitate a deal.
Jets, 3 Teams Offer Deals To K’Waun Williams
The Jets have offered a contract to free agent cornerback K’Waun Williams, a league source tells Darryl Slater of NJ.com. The same source says that Williams also has contract offers from three other teams. Williams is expected to choose one of the offers later this week. 
In addition to the Jets, Williams has also drawn interest from the Lions, 49ers, Vikings, and Dolphins. At this time, it’s not clear which of those teams have put contracts on the table. Williams, 26 this summer, could be drawn to the Jets because he grew up in Paterson, New Jersey and played at Montvale’s Saint Joseph Regional High. Ultimately, however, he’ll probably base his decision on playing time and lean towards any team willing to give him a partial guarantee on his deal.
Last summer, the slot corner was embroiled in a high-profile spat with the Browns organization. The Browns suspended Williams for “conduct detrimental to the team” when he independently decided that he could not play in the team’s first preseason game because of his ankle condition. Later, Williams had to have an operation to remove painful bone spurs and he is now pushing for the team to reimburse him for his 2016 $600K salary.
RB Trent Richardson Arrested
Trent Richardson‘s latent dream of reaching the Hall of Fame has hit another roadblock. The running back was arrested Thursday night in Alabama on a domestic violence charge, as Carol Robinson of AL.com writes. 
Upon responding to a 911 call from a hotel, police found Richardson and an adult female in a loud, heated argument. After interviewing both parties, cops ascertained that the dispute began at a local Walmart and eventually turned physical. The female involved had scratches and bruises on her face.
Richardson, 26, was “cooperative” and “arrested without incident,” according to police, but he potentially faces a world of legal trouble, not to mention sanctions from the NFL. Even if he avoids legal/league punishment, he has tipped his risk/reward ratio so far that it’s hard to imagine any team going near him this year. Although he was the No. 3 pick in the 2012 draft, he has never produced at the NFL level. He appeared in 46 games for the Browns and Colts, but he has not seen NFL action since 2014.
Last summer, Richardson was in camp with the Ravens before undergoing arthroscopic surgery. Months after his release, he had a fruitless audition with the Chiefs. Today’s unfortunate news is the first we’ve heard from Richardson since November.
Patriots’ Michael Floyd Pleads Guilty To DUI
Wide receiver Michael Floyd has pleaded guilty to extreme DUI relating to his December arrest, Jonathan Roy of FOX 10 tweets. As part of the deal, six other charges against Floyd have been dropped. The Patriots receiver will serve 120 days in jail with 24 of those days in a Maricopa County facility. The other 96 days will be done under house arrest. He’ll also have to do 30 hours of community service and pay a $5K fine. 
Floyd’s blood alcohol content level was remarkably high when he was arrested late last year in Arizona, putting him into the state’s “Super Extreme DUI” territory. That level of DUI typically calls for 180 days in jail. Soon after the incident, the Cardinals cut ties with Floyd. The Patriots, seeing an opportunity to add a once-promising receiver for relatively little, claimed Floyd. The Pats were 11-2 at the time and were tied for the best record in the NFL, meaning that just about every other team in the league passed on the troubled talent.
Next up for Floyd, in all likelihood, will be discipline from the league. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets that Floyd will face a potential two-game suspension in 2017, or possibly longer. The smart money is on Floyd serving a longer ban given that this is his second arrest for driving under the influence.
Floyd will be eligible for free agency in March. There is mutual interest in a return to New England, but it’s noteworthy that Floyd was a healthy scratch for Super Bowl 51, meaning that the team opted to have just four receivers in uniform.
Cards’ Tony Jefferson To Test Free Agency
The Cardinals have been in serious negotiations with the representative for safety Tony Jefferson, according to an NFL source who spoke with Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic. However, according to a pair of reports, it won’t be enough to keep Jefferson from exploring the free agent waters in March. 
Jefferson will hit the free agent market, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. League sources indicate to him that he’ll be in line for $7MM+ per season on his next deal. Furthermore, a return to Arizona is not in the cards, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). La Canfora speculates that Jefferson will be the second-highest paid safety in free agency after Eric Berry.
The timing of these reports does not seem coincidental. I would speculate that Somers was informed of the ongoing contract talks from Cardinals sources. Moments later (Note: still speculating), Jefferson’s reps likely got on the horn with a pair of national reporters to let them know that the two sides are still very far apart.
With that said, deadlines tend to spur action and things can always change between now and March 9.
Panthers Sign G Amini Silatolu
The Panthers announced they have re-signed guard Amini Silatolu. It’ll be a one-year deal for Carolina and the former second-round pick. 
After being selected early in 2012, Silatolu started 15 games during his rookie season and looked the part of a future cog for the Panthers. Unfortunately, injuries have slowed him ever since. He suffered torn ACLs which ended both his 2013 and 2015 seasons and calf and knee injuries plagued him in 2014. Silatolu slid down the depth chart and the team showed little (if any) interest in re-signing him after the 2015 season. He hooked on with the Bears prior to the 2016 season, but he was cut before Week 1.
Now, he returns to the Panthers to try and recapture the spark he had in 2012.
Dolphins, Jags Nearing Branden Albert Trade
On Thursday, the Dolphins decided to release tackle Branden Albert. That is, until at least one team phoned them with trade interest. For now, Albert remains on the roster as the Dolphins explore trade possibilities. Apparently, it didn’t take long for serious talks to materialize. The Jaguars and Dolphins have talked trade, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. A source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) that the Jaguars are the “primary destination” for Albert at this time. 
The Jaguars are in need of a starting left tackle after declining Kelvin Beachum‘s contract option on Thursday. At this time, Salguero writes that the Jaguars could be the only team to have expressed interest in an Albert trade. In addition to an agreement of terms between the two Florida teams, the Jaguars will presumably want the blessing of Albert. Albert may not have explicit no-trade rights, but there’s little sense in bringing him on board if he does not want to be there. Albert will turn 33 in November and he might not be gung-ho about joining a team that went 3-13 in 2016.
The Dolphins want draft compensation, though it won’t necessarily have to be an early pick, Salguero writes. Miami will want a pick in the 2017 draft but Jacksonville might push it to be a conditional 2018 pick based on Albert’s performance. If they can’t agree on proper draft considerations, Salguero writes that the two teams might move on to players.
One player who might not figure into the Jags’ plans for 2017 is tight end Julius Thomas and Salguero raises him as a trade candidate, though it’s not clear whether that is speculative or based on direct knowledge. The versatile Thomas would fill a need for Miami and a trade would allow the Jags to get off the hook for the remaining three years of his deal, including his guaranteed base salary. The Dolphins willingly absorbed Byron Maxwell’s contract this time last year, but I’m skeptical as to whether they’d do the same with Thomas after two disappointing years.
Can Jets Get Out Of Revis’ Contract?
We don’t know exactly what transpired this weekend with regards to Darrelle Revis‘ incident, but we do know that he’s facing a whole heap of legal trouble. The Jets cornerback is being charged with a litany of charges including four felonies, one of which is for making a “terroristic threat.” This all comes at a time when the Jets are set to make a critical decision regarding his future with the team. 
Revis’ contract calls for him to carry a $15.3MM cap number in 2017. In a perfect world, based on performance alone, the Jets would like to rid themselves of the entire commitment and release him. However, as a part of his five-year, $70MM deal with $39MM fully guaranteed at signing, he is owed a fully guaranteed $6MM for the coming year. Could the Jets wriggle out of their commitment after Revis’ bizarre weekend in Pittsburgh?
The cornerback’s contract does not contain specific language allowing the team to terminate the deal as a result of a felony charge, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com. However, it does state that Revis could be in default of his contract if he is “fined or suspended by the NFL or Club for Conduct Detrimental” or “fined or suspended for violation of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy” or “engages in personal conduct reasonably judged by Club to adversely affect or reflect on Club.”
A four-felony fight would seem to fit the bill for those terms, but it ultimately comes down to a matter of timing. No punishment will be levied against Revis between now and the start of the league year on March 9, nor on March 10 when he is due a $2MM roster bonus. If the Jets were to cut Revis before any league sanctions, they’ll be on the hook for that guaranteed $6MM regardless.
In theory, one option for the Jets could hold on to Revis beyond March 9th and 10th and wait for the league to come down on Revis. At that point, the Jets could recoup the $6MM in salary and $2MM bonus. But, as Slater notes, the Jets can’t be 100% certain that Revis will be found guilty of the aforementioned charges or that he’ll be suspended by the NFL. If Revis is let off the hook by the legal system and league office, the Jets will only be compounding their problem.
I believe the Jets will play it safe and drop Revis at the start of the new league year, but for what it’s worth, Mike Florio of PFT feels the Jets could be encouraged to roll the dice if the NFL places Revis on leave while everything gets sorted out. If the league doesn’t place Revis on leave, he’ll be able to participate in the offseason program and if he gets hurt during that, his ~$15MM salary would become fully guaranteed. Again, I have a hard time seeing the Jets taking such an enormous gamble.
Cutting Revis in advance of March 9 is also not an option for the Jets. As Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap explained last fall, the league treats dead money from a salary guarantee differently than dead money from a bonus. If Revis were to be released before 3/9, the dead money would count against the 2016 cap rather than the 2017 cap. The Jets do not have enough room under the ’16 cap to complete that transaction.
In summation: the Jets can maybe possibly somehow someway avoid paying Revis his guaranteed $6MM, but it would require a gargantuan risk by team ownership.
Jets’ Austin Seferian-Jenkins Avoids Jail
The Jets have seemingly been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. Here’s the latest item: tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has cut a plea deal in his DUI case from last year, according to TMZ. Under the terms of the agreement, he will not spend any time in jail. Instead, he will have one year of probation and commit 50 hours of community service. He’ll also attend DUI classes and pay a $500 fine.
[RELATED: Jets’ Darrelle Revis Facing Four Felony Charges]
Of course, the agreement with prosecutors does not mean that Seferian-Jenkins is out of the woods in terms of punishment from the league office. Because this was his second DUI arrest, it seems likely that the tight end is in store for a multi-game suspension.
As it stands, Seferian-Jenkins is under contract with the Jets through the 2017 season with a $1.061MM base salary and $1.136MM cap number. None of that cash is guaranteed, however, so the Jets could cut him without any fiscal penalty.
Seferian-Jenkins, 24, hauled in 21 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. In 2015, he had a similar stat line across seven games as he caught 21 balls for 338 yards and four scores. This year, he recorded three catches and one touchdown for the Buccaneers before he was thrown overboard. With the Jets, he had 10 catches for 110 yards in seven games.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Jets’ Darrelle Revis Facing Charges
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was injured in an weekend altercation, and is now being formally charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of robbery, one count of conspiracy – aggravated assault, and one count of terroristic threat, the former four of which are felonies. A warrant has been issued for Revis’ arrest, and the 31-year-old is set to turn himself into police.
[RELATED: Jets To Push Nick Mangold To Take Pay Cut?]
Revis’ lawyer indicated his client was assaulted by a group of five people, but the police report states Revis and a partner may have instigated the violence. The account claims Revis was approached by a tandem of men who questioned whether Revis was an NFL player, and began to video him. Revis reportedly grabbed the men’s phone, at which point the altercation began.
Revis, at one time, was considered to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He returned to the Jets prior to the 2015 season and while he earned a Pro Bowl nod in his first year back, his 2016 season turned out to be a disaster. The Jets have been expected to either restructure Revis’ deal this offseason or release him entirely. If Revis was badly injured in this brawl, it could impact his future with the team and in football as a whole.
Additionally, Revis could face a suspension and/or see his guaranteed 2017 salary voided as a result of this incident. Already expected to be a candidate for release this offseason, Revis is now more likely than ever to be cut and could end up retiring, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links).
Last year, Revis appeared in 15 games for the Jets and totaled 53 tackles and one interception. Pro Football Focus ranked Revis as just the 66th best cornerback in the NFL out of 112 qualified players. His 72.1 overall score was a career-low and not at all in line with his monster contract.
KDKA-TV offered one account of the incident, while WTAE provided another. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reported Revis was formally facing charges and would turn himself into police.