Bills Rumors: Draft, Beane, Jones
Bills GM Brandon Beane addressed reporters on Monday morning and discussed the team’s mindset heading into the draft as well as the status of wide receiver Zay Jones. Here’s a look at the highlights:
- When asked if he would give up a first-round pick in 2019 to trade up in the 2018 draft, Beane said, “If it makes us a lot better, and if it’s a player that would be worthy of that, yes. We’ll do anything we can to make our roster better. I’m not locked in that I would or I wouldn’t. It would have to make sense and be a player that we really felt strongly about to do that,” (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
- Don’t expect an intra-divisional trade between the Jets and Bills. At least, that’s what Beane says. “I don’t think [No.] 3 would be available if we were ever going to move up. I’m sure the Jets are happy there. Again, we’re just focused on 12. I don’t know the motivation for their move. You would have to ask them. Our focus is on 12 right now, and all the other picks we have, we’re excited about what we’re going to be able to get done,” (Twitter link via Rodak).
- Beane said Zay Jones’ future with the Bills will not be by his bizarre incident from earlier this month (Twitter link via Rodak). In a strange event caught on camera, Jones was fully naked and acting erratically while his brother —Cayleb Jones of the Vikings — attempted to restrain him. Eventually, Jones kicked a hole through a glass window in Cayleb’s girlfriend’s apartment. The receiver was arrested, but the Los Angeles district attorney does not plan to file vandalism charges.
Rams Sign Ndamukong Suh
The Rams have agreed to sign Ndamukong Suh, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year, $14MM deal for the defensive tackle. The team has also confirmed the deal via press release. 
“We are excited have Ndamukong as a part of the Los Angeles Rams,” general manager Les Snead said in a statement. “He’s been an outstanding player in this league and we are looking forward to him being a part of our defense.”
Suh has long been regarded as one of the game’s best interior pass rushers. Now, he is slated to join defensive tackle Aaron Donald and defensive lineman Michael Brockers on the front line of Wade Phillips’ 3-4 scheme. Then again, given their aggressiveness in recent weeks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams listen to trade offers for Brockers rather than moving him permanently to the outside. Brockers is slated to carry an $11MM cap charge this season and the Rams could perhaps use that extra flexibility and draft capital to add an impact wide receiver.
After being released by the Dolphins earlier this month, at least five teams got in on the chase for Suh, including the Titans, Saints, and Jets. The Jets reportedly more money that everyone else but, in the end, he took a little bit less to play in sunny Los Angeles with a chance to win a Super Bowl ring. Suh was also scheduled to meet with Jon Gruden‘s Raiders, but that visit was called off.
Suh has racked up 51.5 sacks and four forced fumbles over the course of his career. The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro has also been remarkably durable, missing only two games in eight years.
Suh also hasn’t slowed much with age. He is now 31 years old, but he still managed 20.5 pressures and and 4.5 sacks from the interior last year while grading as the league’s No. 5 defensive tackle in 2017, per Pro Football Focus. Last season, Suh played on 883 snaps for Miami, the second-most of any defensive tackle in the league.
[RELATED: Rams Depth Chart]
Giants Aren’t Shopping Odell Beckham Jr.
Despite some rumors to the contrary, it sounds like Odell Beckham Jr. is staying put. The Giants are not shopping the wide receiver, according to a source who spoke with Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Rams To Sign Ndamukong Suh]
On Monday, a report from the New York Daily News indicated that there have been trade talks between the Giants and the Rams regarding Beckham Jr.. However, the Giants know that they are better off with a healthy OBJ and a trade “probably won’t happen,” the source tells Jones.
The 25-year-old (26 in November) lost most of this past season to injury, but outside of that, he has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2016, OBJ had 101 catches for 1,367 yards and ten touchdowns en route to his third career Pro Bowl selection. Beckham Jr. is reportedly considering a holdout if he does get a contract extension, but the Giants plan on working things out with him in one fashion or another rather than trading him.
The Rams have already shaken things up on the defensive side by adding Ndamukong Suh, trading for cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and signing corner Sam Shields. They also completed one trade with the Giants already when they shipped linebacker Alec Ogletree out east. The Rams have Dave Gettleman’s number saved, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be pulling off a second deal to land one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers.
Contract Details: Richardson, Fluker, Pats
Some details on recent free agent deals:
- Sheldon Richardson, DT (Vikings): One year, $7MM deal. $7.8MM guaranteed ($5.8MM base + $2MM signing bonus). $200K workout bonus. Incentives up to $3MM, but categorized as Not Likely To Be Earned (NLBTE) for cap purposes (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune).
- D.J. Fluker, OL (Seahawks): One year, $1.5MM deal. $300K guaranteed. Cap charge of $1.37MM (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
- Marquis Flowers, LB (Patriots): One year, $2.55MM deal. $1.05MM base salary. $200K signing bonus. Up to $400K in roster bonuses plus $50K workout bonus. Incentives package: $100K for playing 30% of the defensive snaps, $300K for 40%, $550K for 50%, and $800K for 60% (In 2017, Flowers played 26 percent of the defensive snaps) (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).
Jets Called Browns About No. 1 Pick
The Jets moved up to the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, but not before aiming for the top selection on the board. Jets GM Mike Maccagnan says that he called the Browns about potentially acquiring the No. 1 pick as a part of due diligence (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini). 
[RELATED: Jets Offered Ndamukong Suh One-Year Deal]
Meanwhile, Maccagnan did not call the Giants about potentially landing the second overall pick. Reading between the lines, it seems that the Jets were unwilling to surrender next year’s first round pick to the Browns and had extra reservations about making such a deal with the rival Giants.
It is widely believed that the Jets are targeting a quarterback with the third pick, but it’s not clear which one(s) they are eyeing. In theory, they could open up their options by trading up again with the Giants at No. 2, but it seems unlikely that they’ll go down that road since they did not engage with them before pulling off the Colts deal.
Browns/Seahawks C.J. Smith Trade Cancelled
C.J. Smith won’t be going to the Seahawks after all. Seattle acquired the cornerback in a trade earlier this week, but that swap has been nullified, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Smith failed a physical upon arriving in Seattle, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. The trade saw only a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft going to Cleveland, so it’s not a major loss for the Browns.
Smith, 25 in May, spent most of the year on the Browns’ practice squad. Towards the end of the year, he earned a promotion to the varsity squad and was on the roster for the final three regular season games.
The Seahawks were in need of some depth at cornerback after releasing Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane, prompting the Smith trade. The cancelled deal may push the Seahawks to re-sign Byron Maxwell, who is still a free agent.
Raiders Re-Sign QB E.J. Manuel
The Raiders have re-signed backup quarterback EJ Manuel, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but his spot on Jon Gruden‘s 53-man roster may not be a lock. 
The Raiders still have 2016 fourth-round pick Connor Cook under contract and they added free agent Josh Johnson earlier this month. Only two of those three QBs can stick around to play behind Derek Carr and there’s still the possibility that Oakland will draft a signal caller in April.
Last year, Manuel appeared in two games for the Raiders in Carr’s absence. He completed just 24 of 43 throws with one touchdown against one interception. The Raiders lost both of those games and Carr returned to action in Week 6.
Latest On 49ers S Eric Reid
So far, there has been no known interest in Eric Reid, despite the fact that he is among the most talented safeties available in this year’s free agent crop. Reid has speculated that the lack of buzz has been due to his kneeling during the national anthem in the past, but he indicated on Thursday that he will no longer participate in anthem protests. 
[RELATED: 49ers Meet With CB Ladarius Gunter]
“From the beginning, Colin [Kaepernick] has been flexible,” Reid said (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). “He started by sitting. He changed it up. We decided to kneel. And we understand that you got to change with the times. So I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active, because I won’t. I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country to improve on. I don’t think it’ll be in the form of protesting during the anthem. And I said ‘during’ because it’s crazy to me that the narrative got changed to we were protesting the anthem, because that wasn’t the case. But I think we’re going to take a different approach to how to be active.”
Reid’s participation in anthem protests are likely one reason for his continued unemployment, but it has also been a slow moving market for safeties in general. It took Tyrann Mathieu a little while to find his deal after being released by Arizona and other notables such as Kenny Vaccaro and Tre Boston continue to look for work. We’re also just eight days into the official free agency period (side note: can you believe that it has been only eight days?), so it stands to reason that Reid is still likely to find a quality deal.
Reid says that he has yet to receive an offer from a team, but 49ers GM John Lynch said “never say never” when asked about the prospect of a return to the 49ers. Although no visit has been scheduled, Reid’s agent has been in contact with clubs, tweets Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
49ers Meet With CB Ladarius Gunter
The 49ers met with Panthers free agent cornerback Ladarius Gunter on Thursday, GM John Lynch said (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). The Panthers did not extend a restricted free agent tender to Gunter earlier this month, but they are said to have interest in a reunion at a lesser rate.
Gunter, 26 in May, had the most defensive snaps of any Packers cornerback in 2016. Last September, the Panthers picked him up after he slid down Green Bay’s depth chart and was released after just one game. His playing time didn’t improve much from there – he appeared in just four games for Carolina last year and did not record an official statistic.
After signing running back Jerick McKinnon, center Weston Richburg, and cornerback Richard Sherman, the 49ers have stayed relatively quiet in free agency. Their most recent move of note was signing guard Jonathan Cooper to a one-year deal.
Raiders Sign OT Breno Giacomini
The Raiders have signed tackle Breno Giacomini. The club confirmed the signing, but the length and value of the deal are not yet known. 
Giacomini is entering his eleventh NFL season after spending time with the Packers, Seahawks, Jets, and Texans. He has appeared in 94 career games with 86 starts, including 53 starts over the last four campaigns.
Last season, the Jets bailed on Giacomini’s multi-year deal in the midst of cutting a number of other veterans. The Texans scooped him up on one-year deal with a non-guaranteed $1MM base, $750K signing bonus, and up to $1MM in active roster bonuses. Giacomini graded out as one of the worst tackles in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, so he did not exactly outperform the deal. For what it’s worth, however, he did start in all 16 games for Houston while playing nearly 1,100 snaps.