Bears To Cut QB Mike Glennon
The Bears will release Mike Glennon this offseason, GM Ryan Pace told reporters on Wednesday morning. By cutting Glennon, the Bears will save $11.5MM against the cap with $4.5MM in dead money remaining. 
The Bears were widely criticized last offseason when they signed Glennon to a three-year, $45MM contract. Despite entering the league in 2013, Glennon had limited on-field experience. As a rookie, Glennon started 13 games for the Bucs, completing 59.4% of his passes for 2,608 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. But, between 2015 and 2016, Glennon threw just eleven passes as Jameis Winston’s understudy. Glennon got his big money deal with a 5-13 record as a starting QB.
Glennon’s second run as a starting QB did not last long either. Six weeks after signing Glennon, the Bears shocked the world by trading up to draft UNC signal caller Mitch Trubisky. One month into the season, Glennon got the hook in favor of the No. 2 overall pick. Glennon will once again be a free agent, this time with a 6-16 career record as a starter.
Glennon, 28, earned $18.5MM for his four starts in Chicago. The deal was a bust in retrospect, but to the Bears’ credit, they did structure the deal to give themselves an easy out after one season.
Chiefs Notes: Peters, Smith, Rams
New Rams cornerback Marcus Peters appeared on NFL Network (Facebook link) to make his first comments since the big trade from Kansas City. When asked about whether he agrees with the Chiefs’ decision to trade Alex Smith earlier in the offseason, he did not mince words.
“No. Man, Alex, Alex don’t get enough respect,” Peters said. “And they need to start putting some respect on that man’s name. Because I’ve seen that man get thrown in with not the best team at times and he took it as a man. And he never complained about it. He don’t turn over the ball. And he knows how to win. That was our fault for messing up the playoffs. That was our fault.”
Of course, the Chiefs’ trade of Smith was less of a referendum on his talent and more of a vote of confidence for rising sophomore Patrick Mahomes. Between the trades of Smith and Peters, the Chiefs are armed with additional flexibility and draft capital this offseason, making them one of the most interesting teams to keep an eye on.
Here’s more out of KC:
- The Chiefs called every team in the league about Peters and 28 teams either passed or did not make an offer of value, Peter King of The MMQB reports. One unknown team offered a mid-round pick (King guesses that it was the Browns or Colts) and only the Rams and Niners were in on him at the end. The Rams’ offer of second- and fourth-round picks, with a sixth-round choice going from KC to L.A., was apparently better than San Francisco’s.
- Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com (Twitter link) gives the Chiefs a C grade for their end of the trade. Even without devaluing the 2019 second-round pick for time, Barnwell can’t wrap his head around that return for a young former All-Pro. Meanwhile, he gives the Rams a B+ for scoring a major bargain, despite Peters’ red flags.
- The Chiefs will part ways with safety Ron Parker this offseason.
Packers Won’t Recoup Bennett’s Bonus
An arbitrator has ruled against the Packers in their effort to recoup a portion of Martellus Bennett‘s $6.3MM signing bonus, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. Because the Packers waived Bennett and his contract was assumed by another team (the Patriots), the arbitrator deemed that Green Bay is unable to recover the money given to the tight end at the time of signing. 
The Packers, with the support of the league office, argued that Bennett should refund his signing bonus because he had not disclosed a pre-existing shoulder injury to the team last year. Even Bennett did keep his rotator cuff tear under wraps, the Packers did not have a clear path to get their money back after the Pats assumed his deal.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what the Patriots will do with the contract that they hold with Bennett. The veteran only played in two games for the Patriots before landing on IR, but he is reportedly intent on playing in 2018. His contract calls for a $6.2MM cap hit this year and the Patriots must pay him a $2MM roster bonus if he’s still on the team on March 14.
49ers, OL Garry Gilliam Agree To Extension
The 49ers have signed offensive lineman Garry Gilliam to a two-year extension worth $8MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes nearly $4M guaranteed. 
Gilliam went from the Seahawks to the Niners last April when Seattle declined to match his offer sheet. After earning $2.2MM last season, the 27-year-old is receiving yet another pay bump.
Gilliam’s payday is the latest indicator that there is a serious dearth of offensive tackle talent in the NFL. He had just 38 total snaps for the Niners last season and landed on season-ending IR in late October. Before that, he earned poor grades in all three of his seasons with the Seahawks. Gilliam is not what you would call a quality starting option, but the Niners are flush with cash and apparently do not see lots of talent on the horizon in March or in April’s draft.
Lions Franchise Tag DE Ziggy Ansah
The Lions announced that they have designated defensive end Ezekiel Ansah as their franchise player. The tag will prevent him from testing free agency by holding him in place with a one-year tender worth roughly $17.52MM. 
It’s a high price to pay, but the Lions did not want to risk losing one of their top defenders to free agency. The team is likely hoping that the deal will give them a starting point for fruitful long-term contract negotiations that will bring him down to a lesser cap number for 2018.
Ansah finished the 2017 season with 12 sacks, 44 total tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. His 44 career sacks rank fifth all-time in Lions history, an impressive feat with just five NFL season under his belt.
Ansah’s sack total last year was bested by only seven players: Chandler Jones, Calais Campbell, Demarcus Lawrence, Everson Griffen, Cameron Jordan, Ryan Kerrigan, and Joey Bosa. Most of those players are already playing under high-priced contracts or are well on their way to top-tier deals. It makes sense that Ansah is now joining the club, despite some health concerns.
Over the last two seasons, Ansah has spent 25 of a possible 32 weeks on the injury report. For the most part, he managed to play through the pain, missing only five games since the start of the 2016 season. When the 28-year-old (29 in May) is healthy, he’s one of the game’s most fearsome D-Linemen.
Teams like the 49ers, Colts, Jets, and others were expected to express interest in Ansah had he been allowed to reach unrestricted free agency. Ansah’s removal from the UFA market should benefit fellow defensive end Sheldon Richardson, who many feel will not be tagged by the Seahawks.
Details On Vontae Davis’ Deal With Bills
On Monday, the Bills agreed to sign Vontae Davis to a one-year contract. We now know the terms of the deal, and it appears to be a favorable one for the cornerback. 
The one-year deal comes with a $5MM base salary and $3.5MM of that sum is guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. With incentives, Davis can max out the value of the deal at $8MM.
Details on Davis’ potential bonuses have not surfaced yet, but it’s notable that he’ll have an opportunity to nearly match the average annual value of his previous four-year, $36MM contract with the Colts. Even before considering the incentives, it’s a solid payday for a player who has not performed at a high level over the last two seasons.
The Bills are taking a bit of a gamble with Davis, but they believe that he has more quality football in the tank. The value of the deal may also give some insight into their plans regarding E.J. Gaines. With a base of $5MM, the Bills probably intend to start Davis at cornerback opposite rising sophomore Tre’Davious White. Gaines edges Davis in both talent and youth, but he is in line for a big payday as one of the best free agent CBs on the board. The Bills have only $29.5MM in cap space and much of that will be dedicated to filling other needs as well as signing their rookie class, so they are taking an economical approach over committing to Gaines on a long-term deal.
Last season, Gaines ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 13 ranked cornerback. Davis, meanwhile, ranked near the bottom in 2016 and would have done the same in 2017 if he logged enough snaps to qualify.
Cowboys Rumors: Irving, Gregory, Jones
The latest out of Dallas:
- Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones confirmed that the Cowboys will tender restricted free agent defensive lineman David Irving (Twitter link via Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram). However, Jones says the team has not decided if it will be first or second round tender. Extending an RFA tender to Irving is a no-brainer, but the call on whether to make it a first- or second-round tender is a tougher decision. This year, the second-round tender will likely be in the $2.85MM-$2.95MM range. Meanwhile, the first round tender will probably be upwards of $4.1MM. The second-round tender should be enough to ward off interested teams, but the Cowboys could play it safe by assigning the first-round tender to Irving.
- Jones said the team is taking a “worst case scenario” approach to the potential reinstatement of defensive end Randy Gregory (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer). The former second-round pick has missed all but two games over the last two seasons because of a suspension, so the Cowboys aren’t expecting to have him back, nor do they know what he can offer them at this point. On a positive note, Gregory passed drug tests in the fall.
- On Tuesday, Jones indicated that the Cowboys will be moving on from cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
Cowboys To Cut Or Trade Orlando Scandrick
One way or another, it sounds like Orlando Scandrick‘s time in Dallas is about to come to an end. Team CEO Stephen Jones says the cornerback will likely be cut or traded, as Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram tweets. 
The Cowboys dangled Scandrick on the trade block during last year’s draft, but ultimately did not come to terms on a trade with the Saints that would have brought safety Kenny Vaccaro to Dallas. Scandrick stayed on board for his ninth season in Dallas, but he was dogged by injuries and landed on IR in December. Around that time, the 31-year-old acknowledged that he might not return to the only NFL team he’s ever known.
“I’m prepared for whatever,” Scandrick said. “I’m still going to play football. I’m still a good football player when I’m healthy. We’ll see what happens. … I’m not at the point of my career where I’m willing to just be an inactive guy or a guy that’s not a part of what’s going on and can’t help the team win. I just want to play somewhere I can finish things out the right way.”
Scandrick is scheduled to carry a $5.28MM cap hit in the coming year, but the team will probably part ways with him and eat $3.88MM in dead money in order to save $1.4MM against the cap.
In 2017, Scandrick registered just 38 total tackles and graded out as one of the ten worst qualified cornerbacks in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. It’s possible that he could draw some trade interest, but it would be surprising if the Cowboys got a significant return for him.
Salary Cap Rollover For All 32 NFL Teams
This week, the NFLPA updated its salary cap report to include the rollover amounts for all 32 teams in the NFL. The Browns, as expected, lead the league in $58.9MM in cap space rolled over from the previous season. Here is the full rundown of each team’s rollover amounts:
After the Browns, the 49ers ($56MM), Titans ($30.3MM), Jaguars ($27.8MM), and Jets ($17.3MM) boast the highest rollover amounts in the league. The Dolphins ($69K), Saints ($287K), Giants ($365K), Eagles ($514K), and the Seahawks ($547K) have the least amount of rollover. In total, teams carried over nearly $340MM from last season, good for an average of $10.6MM per club.
Chris Ivory Visits Browns
This is shaping up to be a busy week for running back Chris Ivory. The free agent is visiting with the Browns on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
News of Ivory’s trip to Cleveland comes on the heels of word that he met with the Bills on Monday. He plans to take a “few visits,” so it sounds like he’ll explore his options fully before signing anywhere.
The Browns don’t have many noteworthy free agents this year, but running back Isaiah Crowell is among them. After two down years in Jacksonville, Ivory wouldn’t exactly be a great one-for-one replacement for Crowell, but the cash-flush Browns may see the veteran as a solid reserve.
From the sound of it, teams are eager to speak with Ivory even though he is not among this year’s top tailbacks. Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, Crowell, and Jerick McKinnon figure to draw some of the highest offers in this year’s free agent RB crop. Other running backs near the top include Rex Burkhead, Doug Martin, Alfred Morris, Jeremy Hill, LeGarrette Blount, and Orleans Darkwa.