AFC East Notes: Jets, Fitzpatrick, Dolphins
The Jets should call Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s bluff, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines. Some fear that Fitzpatrick could take a lesser offer from another team on principle, but Florio says that no one is going to offer the veteran anything of significance here in late May. While the Jets haven’t offered enough to entice Fitzpatrick to sign, he feels that they have accurately read the market for his services because no one else has even come close.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- James Walker of ESPN.com wonders where Dion Jordan would fit in the Dolphins‘ defense. The defensive end will file for reinstatement on Wednesday and it sounds like he’s going to make a strong case to the league office. The Dolphins are open to Jordan returning, but Walker notes that the team approached free agency without the former No.3 overall pick in mind. Miami signed three veteran defensive ends this offseason in Mario Williams, Andre Branch, and Jason Jones, to go along with Cameron Wake. It’s possible then that Jordan could get a look at outside linebacker, which is not as deep of a group.
- The Dolphins have Ole Miss product Laremy Tunsil in the mix, but Branden Albert assured reporters today that he is “the left tackle of this team,” ESPN.com’s James Walker writes. Shortly after the draft, Miami assured Albert that he’ll remain at his current position while Tunsil will be worked in at guard. Albert will carry a $10.6MM cap number in 2016. In 2017, $6MM of his $8.245MM base salary is now guaranteed.
- On Tuesday morning, the Bills agreed to sign linebacker Jamari Lattimore.
Walter Thurmond To Retire
Cornerback Walter Thurmond is set to announce his retirement, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The news doesn’t come as a major surprise since it is quite late in the offseason and the veteran has reportedly turned down offers of $4MM+ per year. 
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Thurmond has spent six seasons in the NFL with the Eagles, Giants, and Seahawks. The defensive back is only 28 years old, but he has decided to walk away from the game. Thurmond, who joined the Eagles a year ago as a cornerback, ended up starting 16 games for the first time in his career while also playing safety for the first time. He excelled at the new position, picking up 71 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus’ grades backed up his solid stat line, as he ranked 26th out of 88 qualified safeties.
Thurmond has interests outside of football – including filmmaking – and has talked in the past about having to reconsider his NFL future if he suffers another serious injury. Now, he will have plenty of time to pursue his non-football related passions.
The Eagles moved on from Thurmond rather quickly this spring, having signed Rodney McLeod to pair with the recently-extended Malcolm Jenkins at safety. Heading into the offseason, we ranked Thurmond as the No. 6 safety on the free agent market behind George Iloka, Eric Weddle, McLeod, Tashaun Gipson, and Reggie Nelson.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Raiders, Potential Las Vegas Move
There are still some hurdles in the way, but things are looking good for the Raiders’ potential move to Las Vegas as far as league approval goes. To date, no NFL owners have publicly said that they’ll try and block the relocation due to gambling concerns, as Mike Florio of PFT notes. The current thinking in league circles, he adds, is that the gambling concerns won’t be generate enough “no” votes to keep the Raiders out of Vegas when all is said and done. 
In the past week, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) has surveyed 23 NFL owners and come to the same conclusion. For 21 of those owners, he writes that “gambling is not a factor.” It’s also not immediately clear if the two owners with concerns about gambling are even leaning towards a no vote. Ultimately, the strength of the market will determine whether league owners sign off on Las Vegas, he adds.
It’s possible that some owners do have reservations about putting a team in Las Vegas but are keeping quiet out of a desire to put pressure on Oakland to pony up money for a new stadium. Who could those naysayers be? One source with knowledge of ownership dynamics recently speculated that Giants co-owner John Mara, Bears chairman George McCaskey, and Bengals owner Mike Brown would vote no on a Las Vegas move, due to gambling, Florio writes. Florio also threw out Steelers owner Art Rooney as someone who could oppose the move because of gambling, though that would be quite hypocritical since the Rooney family has had extensive gambling interests over the years. Again, that’s all speculative and none of those owners have publicly expressed any concerns.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Jets have a multi-year offer on the table to Ryan Fitzpatrick, but they’re worried that he could instead accept less money to play with another team, sources tell Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. That fear is apparently shared by both team personnel and some players. 
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Recently, we learned that the Jets have offered Fitzpatrick a three-year, $24MM deal could potentially be worth as much as $36MM with incentives. The deal would pay the veteran $12MM in year one and give him more than $15MM guaranteed. That’s certainly not chump change, but it’s also not the type of money you’d expect for one of the league’s top quarterbacks in 2015. Mehta writes that the performance bonuses are “fugazi,” though it’s not clear if that comes from direct knowledge of the offer. In any event, the 33-year-old (34 in November) is probably seeking more in the way of guarantees on his deal.
Last year, Fitzpatrick surprised the football world by helping the Jets to a 10-6 record while throwing for almost 4,000 yards and 31 touchdowns. Fitzpatrick has indicated that he’d like to re-sign with Gang Green, but he is clearly frustrated with the team at this juncture. It remains to be seen whether Fitzpatrick would actually accept a lesser offer elsewhere out of spite.
In related news, wide receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall are back at practice after reportedly abstaining due to the Fitzpatrick saga (Twitter link via Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday). It doesn’t sound like their return is a sign of progress in the contract talks, however.
PFR recently ranked Fitzpatrick as the No. 1 available free agent left on the board, placing him ahead of Anquan Boldin, Arian Foster, and others.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bills Sign Jamari Lattimore
The Bills have signed linebacker Jamari Lattimore, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. Lattimore played for the Jets in 2015 after spending the previous four seasons with the Packers. 
Lattimore will likely to compete for a spot on special teams, as Rodak writes. For his career, Lattimore has appeared in 64 career games (nine starts) and has 68 tackles, two sacks, and one interception to his credit. Lattimore will need to outperform players like Eric Striker, Max Valles, and even Randell Johnson if he wants to make Buffalo’s 53-man cut, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW writes. Buscaglia seems to think that Lattimore can be used for more than special teams, though he will be hard pressed to make the roster if he cannot flash his ability in that area.
In other Bills news, tackle Seantrel Henderson has been cleared to practice and is expected to report to the team today. Henderson started all 16 games in his rookie season in Buffalo, and had started 10 games for the team in 2015 before he was sidelined with Crohn’s disease. Right now, the Bills are using Jordan Mills as their first-team right tackle in practice while hoping that that 2014 second-rounder Cyrus Kouandjio can get back to full health and win the starting job. It remains to be seen how Henderson will fit into that picture.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Panthers, Lions, Eagles, Saints
Panthers free safety Tre Boston wishes that Josh Norman was still with the team, but he also understands the nature of the NFL.
“Of course, I miss my boy Josh,” Boston said, according to ESPN.com’s David Newton. “But it’s a business. You can’t miss guys too long, because the next thing you know, it lingers onto the team. That’s what we can’t have. We’ve got to move on.”
As the Panthers adjust to life without one of the league’s top corners, let’s take a look around the NFC:
- So far in OTAs, Eagles rookie Carson Wentz seems to have a better understanding of Doug Pederson’s offense than veteran Sam Bradford, Matt Lombardo of NJ.com opines. That’s a surprising take given that Bradford is entering seventh NFL season (or, his sixth NFL season, if you exclude his lost 2014). It is rare for rookies to fully grasp a new offense so quickly, but it sounds like Wentz may be an exception. The expectation – for now – is that veteran Sam Bradford will at least begin the 2016 season as the Eagles’ starter.
- At the outset of the offseason, the Lions were concerned about their depth along the defensive line. Since then, however, they have addressed the issue by re-signing starters Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker and drafting Alabama’s A’Shawn Robinson in the second round. Robinson could be the future of the position group, with Ngata now 32 years old and Walker playing on a one-year deal, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes.
- The Saints made a surprising change during OTAs when they shifted second-year defensive tackle Kaleb Eulls to the other side of the ball, as ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett writes. Eulls is currently slotted in as the team’s backup left guard behind Senio Kelemete. “We think he’s got a lot of the attributes that you need,” Payton said of the UDFA out of Mississippi State. “He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s got the size that you’re looking for. … We spent some time in the offseason talking with him and going through that decision. Obviously it’s a big learning curve for him, but I think he’ll handle it.“
Dion Jordan To Apply For Reinstatement
This week, Dion Jordan will take the first step towards making his return to football. The Dolphins defensive end will apply for reinstatement to the NFL on Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports. 
Jordan is eligible for reinstatement this year following multiple violations of the league’s substance policy. The Dolphins could theoretically cut the former No. 3 overall pick without being on the hook for what would have previously been guaranteed money, but they’d first like to see if Jordan can fulfill his vast potential. For his part, Jordan says that he’s not going to squander that opportunity if it is given to him.
“I’m not about to waste it. I can’t waste it. And I (expletive) love doing it,” Jordan said. “Who doesn’t love running out in front of 30,000-plus fans and you get that rush? But it’s also things that you can get that rush from that can be very satisfying and can carry you on to a successful life after football…I just turned 26 years old, so life starts to hit you in the face. Who are you outside of those shoulder pads and helmet? And it’s weird, but I feel like it’s a blessing for me at this point in time to think about it, instead of waiting ‘til they really tell me I can’t play football no more.”
Of course, Jordan is not the only notable name to run afoul of the league’s policy on substance abuse. In recent years, Josh Gordon, Justin Blackmon, Martavis Bryant, Aldon Smith, and Daryl Washington have all been sidelined by the NFL and as Jordan has witnessed, those missteps can sometimes be career threatening or ending. The 26-year-old needs to prove that he can stay on the straight and narrow. He also needs to prove that he can produce on the field. Through 26 games in 2013 and 2014, Jordan registered only 46 tackles and three sacks.
Jordan’s reinstatement into the league is not guaranteed, but he seems to have said all of the right things in his conversation with Pelissero. His future with the Dolphins is also uncertain, though the team is reportedly open to giving him another chance because he is talented and, generally, not a bad guy, despite his past mistakes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Raiders, Las Vegas, Rams
Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB spoke with various NFL owners to get their take on the Raiders‘ potential move to Las Vegas. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie expressed some concerns about the idea, though he did not cite gambling as a major problem.
“I’d be open to it. My only question is, is it a really good NFL market?,” Lurie said. “I’m not totally worried about a lot of other things. I am more worried, is it a great market for the NFL? I don’t know enough about that. I never thought about it much before. It has to support 70,000 every weekend. It is not an NBA team, like say the Thunder, which does an incredible job of supporting their smaller market. We have got to make sure it really will support a team if a team goes there, but I am open to it.”
Here’s more from the AFC and NFC West:
- The Rams believe they have in-house options to replace cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, and defensive end Chris Long, but it remains to be seen whether they can get the job done, as ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner writes. Now, Los Angeles is hoping for big performances out of the likes of cornerback E.J. Gaines, safety Maurice Alexander, linebacker Alec Ogletree, and defensive end William Hayes to help fill the void.
- Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com believes that the Chargers, ideally, would like to bring Manti Te’o back on a multi-year deal when his contract expires after the 2016 season. However, the linebacker will have to prove that he can stay healthy. The 25-year-old missed 13 games in his first three years because of various foot and ankle ailments. In 2015, the Notre Dame product emerged as a team leader on defense and finished with a team-high 83 tackles. If he can stay on the field, the Chargers would like to have him and Denzel Perryman as their main players at inside linebacker.
- After a surprisingly productive season with the Cardinals, Dwight Freeney remains on the open market as we turn the calendar to June. Over the weekend, PFR’s Rory Parks asked readers to weigh in on where the multiple-time Pro Bowler could wind up.
Rex Ryan On Rumored Playoff Ultimatum
In January, Bills owner Terry Pegula announced that head coach Rex Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley would be returning to the team for the 2016 season. However, according to one report, Pegula also told the duo that they would be let go after the 2016 season if they were unable to guide Buffalo into the playoffs. 
Soon after, the Bills locked up both Ryan and Whaley on multi-year extensions that could keep them in Buffalo through the 2019 season. While those deals would seem to be pretty solid endorsement of both men, it’s far from a guarantee of their long-term job security. The Pegulas spent $1.4 billion to purchase the franchise in 2014, so they probably wouldn’t worry about eating a few million dollars to replace a GM and/or head coach if they felt it was necessary.
Today, Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB released a bit of material that was left on the cutting room floor of her recent interview with Rex and Rob Ryan. During their lengthy chat, Rex dismissed the notion of their being a hard and fast postseason ultimatum for 2016.
“The media looks at it [like], Well, we have to win this year,” the Bills head coach said. “Or what? Oh, I am going to be fired? I don’t think so. I’m not going to worry about it, because we are going to win anyway. But it’s like, that is an ultimatum. No.”
On a related note, Rex also indicated during the interview that the business staff Buffalo might not be big fans of his. Some speculated that he was referring to team president Russ Brandon, but Vrentas notes that the two men have a solid relationship. Instead, she believes that Ryan was “simply picking a department in the building that he doesn’t interact with on a daily basis, and making the point that they might not buy in because they don’t know him well.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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