Richard Sherman Acting As His Own Agent
Richard Sherman says he expects to be back with the Seahawks in 2018, as Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes. The cornerback also revealed that he has been acting as his own agent for at least a year, which is a gutsy move since he is at a pivotal point in his career. 
“I’m sure we’ll have some communication,” Sherman said in reference to him and the Seahawks. “I’m representing myself. The whole agent thing is really overrated at this point. So any conversations we have, we’ll do that, but the cap situation is already kind of weird, so we’ll see what happens.”
Left tackle Russell Okung opted to work without an agent when his Seahawks contract expired in 2016, which yielded mixed results. In that offseason, he signed a free agent deal with the Broncos that effectively gave him one-year, $5MM deal with no guarantees at the time of signing plus a team option to trigger a four-year, $48MM deal with $20.5MM guaranteed afterwards. It’s unlikely that an agent would have advised him to take that risk and the gamble backfired when he turned in a so-so season. After the Broncos cut him, however, he inked a four-year, $53MM deal with the Chargers, including $25MM in effective guarantees.
Even without officially employing an agent, Okung leaned on former agent Jimmy Halsell as an advisor. If Sherman is asked to take a pay cut or is ultimately released, he would be wise to consult with a professional rather than forging out on his own.
Sherman is coming off of Achilles surgery and entering the final year of his deal. His $11MM base salary for 2018 is non-guaranteed, so the Seahawks are expected to consider moving on from their longtime star. It may be hard to picture Sherman in a uniform other that Seattle’s, but before last year’s draft, the Seahawks explored trades for Sherman and even dropped their asking price to a 2017 first-round pick plus a conditional mid-round choice in 2018.
For his part, Sherman says he isn’t worried about the prospect of parting ways with the only franchise he’s ever known.
“Not in my mind,” he said. “We’re going to try to get everything back on track, get healthy and try to get back after it. Hopefully everybody heals up the way they’re supposed to. I hope Kam [Chancellor] can play and it works out however it needs to for him. But obviously, [the roster is] going to look different either way.”
Coaching Rumors: Ravens, Lions, Steelers
Dean Pees‘ retirement from the Ravens didn’t last long as he became the Titans’ defensive coordinator less than a month later. The about-face took Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti by surprise.
“I’m a little shocked,” Bisciotti said (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). “He’s 68 years old. It’s hard to give it up, I guess.”
Bisciotti didn’t come right out and say it, but it sounds like Pees went to the Titans in part because they were willing to employ his son, Matt Pees, as a quality control coach.
“I wish Dean all the luck,” Bisciotti said. “I understand he got his son in; I think that was a big point of his. We have a nepotism rule that may have prohibited that from happening in the last few years.”
Here’s more from the coaching world:
- Following Carnell Lake‘s resignation from the position of Steelers secondary coach, Pittsburgh’s brass reached into the college ranks to fill the post. UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will leave Los Angeles to become the Steelers’ new DBs boss, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Bradley is a Pennsylvania native who spent 33 seasons on Joe Paterno’s staff — from 1979-2011. He coached the Bruins’ defense for the past three years. The 61-year-old Bradley will be on an NFL sideline for the first time come 2018.
- In addition to formally announcing former Boston College defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni as their new defensive coordinator and keeping Jim Bob Cooter on as offensive coordinator, the Lions have also named several other members of new head coach Matt Patricia‘s staff. Chris White has been hired as Detroit’s tight ends coach, while former Miami head coach Al Golden will remain on staff as the club’s linebackers coach (he’d previously coached tight ends). Most of White’s experience has come at the collegiate level, but he did serve as the Vikings’ assistant special teams coach from 2009-12. The Lions also officially announced several other coaching hires that had been previously reported, including George Godsey (quarterbacks), Jeff Davidson (offensive line), and Brian Stewart (defensive backs), plus one that hadn’t in David Corrao (director of football research).
- A 49ers defensive assistant for the past three years, former NFL DC Jason Tarver will become a coach outside of California for the first time in his 20-plus-year career. Tarver agreed to take the defensive coordinator job at Vanderbilt, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. The Raiders’ DC from 2012-14, Tarver enjoyed two stints with the 49ers — the first from 2001-10. He coached alongside current Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason in 2011 at Stanford.
- Speaking of the Commodores, the SEC program also announced former Browns assistant Shawn Mennenga will oversee Vandy’s special teams units in 2018 (Twitter link). The Browns let Menneaga walk after he served seven seasons under previous ST coordinator Chris Tabor.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Chiefs Cut Darrelle Revis
The Chiefs announced that they have released Darrelle Revis. The cornerback would have been guaranteed $8.8MM if he were still on the Chiefs’ roster on March 19, so the move comes as no surprise. 
The Chiefs signed Revis in November with the hope that he could help bolster their secondary. The results were not great – Revis’ overall score from Pro Football Focus was a below-average 57.2. If he had enough snaps to qualify, he would have been outside of PFF’s top 90 cornerbacks for the year. In his final year with the Jets, Revis’ graded out as PFF’s No. 64 corner in 2016, which would place him right at the tail end of acceptable play. Clearly, Revis is on the backend of his career and it might just be over given the questions about his work ethic and motivation.
In five games with KC, Revis totaled two passes defensed and eleven tackles. His last season as an elite cornerback came with the Patriots in 2014 when he started in all 16 games and tallied five interceptions en-route to a Pro Bowl nod and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Between the trade of Alex Smith and release of Revis, the Chiefs have created roughly $21.5MM in cap space. There are still holes to fill, but the Chiefs have positioned themselves well for what lies ahead in March.
With Revis out of the picture, the Chiefs may move the newly-acquired Kendall Fuller to the outside, pairing him with Marcus Peters as a starting cornerback with Steven Nelson handling the slot. Alternatively, the Chiefs could still go shopping for a CB2, which would allow Fuller to continue at nickel.
Jets Notes: Seferian-Jenkins, Foles, Cousins
Austin Seferian-Jenkins figures to be one of the hotter tight ends on the free agent market, but he might not be available by the time things open up in March, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com hears. ASJ has been vocal about his desire to stay with Gang Green and the team has already reached out to open up contract talks, Pauline hears.
Seferian-Jenkins overcame substance abuse issues to post the best season of his career in 2017 by posting 50 receptions for 357 yards and three scores. However, he did tail off towards the end of the year (he had only 11 receptions for 69 yards over New York’s final five games) and it has been said that the Jets will not overextend themselves to lock him up.
Here’s more on the Jets:
- Should the Jets trade for Eagles quarterback Nick Foles? Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says yes, but he would not part with anything higher than a third-round pick since he has only one year remaining on his contract ($7MM). But, considering that Foles is the reigning Super Bowl MVP and that there are still questions about Carson Wentz‘s surgically-repaired knee, it’s hard to see Philly taking that deal. One thing to keep in mind is that the Jets are armed with two second-round draft picks thanks to last year’s Sheldon Richardson trade. The later pick, acquired from the Seahawks, is at No. 49 overall. That might be a reasonable price to pay for Foles if the Jets do not see themselves landing a top QB at No. 6 overall or signing prized free agent Kirk Cousins.
- To Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.com, Foles feels like another Neil O’Donnell – a quarterback the Jets overspent on back in 1997, who was good, but never great. While Foles was excellent in 2013 and 2017, there was a lot of mediocre football in between. Of course, value will be a big determining factor in the Jets’ future plans. Cousins is highly preferable, but he’ll likely cost ~$30MM per year while Foles’ 2018 salary comes in at less than one-quarter of the price.
Nick Mangold Not Considering Politics
Nick Mangold is not closing the door on his football career but he is saying no to a political career for the time being. Despite speculation to the contrary, the former Jets says he is not mulling a run for a congressional seat (Twitter link). 
“I am not running for Congress,” Mangold wrote. “While it would be an amazing opportunity and honor to serve the people of New Jersey’s District 11, I am not at a place where I could commit to that.”
On Thursday, Essex County Republican Chairman Al Barlas told Matt Friedman of Politico that a career in politics was in consideration for Mangold.
“I had a conversation with him. He’s intrigued by the idea. He has to think it over and talk with his wife,” Barlas said. “After an 11-year playing career and a college career, he’s enjoying being at home with his wife and kids.“
Mangold, 34, played for the Jets from 2006 through 2016. In March of 2017, the Jets released him in the midst of a house-cleaning that saw several high-priced vets bounced out of New York. He spent all of last year out of football as he healed up from a foot injury and he is probably in better position to play today than he was six months ago. At the same time, he has made upwards of $20MM over the course of his playing career, so he could comfortably walk away from the NFL if he wants.
49ers Sign Jimmy Garoppolo To Extension
The 49ers and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo have agreed to a five-year, $137.5MM contract, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Full financial details of the deal have yet to leak out, but this stands as the largest deal in league history on an average annual value basis. Matthew Stafford set the bar with his five-year, $135MM ($27MM/season) deal last August. Garoppolo now has the new watermark with an average of $27.5MM per year.
Garoppolo signed the deal Thursday night, the team confirmed.
The Niners acquired Garoppolo during the season from the Patriots in exchange for a second-round choice. Based on the early results, the deal may go down as one of the greatest all-time heists in NFL history. Once the young QB was inserted into the Niners’ starting lineup, SF rallied from an ugly 1-10 start to finish out the year on a five-game winning streak. The sample size is small, but Jimmy G owns a career 7-0 record as a starting QB.
At the Senior Bowl, 49ers GM John Lynch sounded optimistic about a deal coming together soon:
“When you find the right guy at that position, it’s really good for your franchise. We believe we’ve found the right guy. Now the challenge is getting Jimmy signed. We’re working hard towards that. We’ll see. I think he wants to be with us and we want him there. I think it makes too much sense not to happen. So it’s just a matter of getting it done.”
Technically speaking, Garoppolo was due for unrestricted free agency in March. However, there was zero chance of Garoppolo reaching the open market as the Niners were fully prepared to use the franchise tag on the 26-year-old (27 in November).
The Patriots, in theory, could have kept Garoppolo and groomed him to be the successor to Tom Brady, who turns 41 in August. Depending on who you ask, his status in New England may or may not have caused a triangular rift between Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and owner Robert Kraft. It’s not hard to imagine the Patriots kicking themselves behind closed doors for the trade, particularly after the way Garoppolo performed in the second half of the 2017 season.
Then again, the Patriots did offer up four-year contract extensions for Garoppolo in the $17MM-$18MM per year range plus increases for if/when he succeeded Brady. Garoppolo, who was no doubt advised that he could crack $25MM per season on his next deal, declined the deal, opting to wait for an opportunity to run a team of his own.
Garoppolo’s position as the league’s highest-paid player might not last all that long. If Kirk Cousins reaches unrestricted free agency, he could very well top Garoppolo’s AAV, despite being three years older. Cousins himself might not stay atop the mountain for long with Matt Ryan entering his walk year and Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Ben Roethlisberger being two years away from the open market.
Bears Questioned McDaniels Leaving Pats
Before Josh McDaniels flip-flopped on the Colts, he was in the running for other head coaching gigs, including the Bears. The Bears ultimately settled on Matt Nagy as their HC, in part because the team questioned whether McDaniels was actually willing to leave the Patriots, Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. 
[RELATED: Bears Meet With CB David Amerson]
Before the Super Bowl, McDaniels spoke glowingly of the Bears and Ryan Pace, using adjectives like ‘‘tremendous’’ and ‘‘very well-prepared’’ to describe the GM. However, it seems that Pace & Co. picked up on McDaniels’ very real trepidation in leaving New England. The Colts had a funny feeling about McDaniels waffling days before they announced his hire, but they surely wish that they had a sense for his cold feet before settling on him and passing on runner-up Mike Vrabel.
Now that Vrabel and other top names are off the board, the Colts will be forced to start from square one with a whole new cast of candidates. As of this writing, the team has interviews scheduled with Saints assistant Dan Campbell and Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich while an interview request has been put in for Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub may also be in consideration.
Latest On Giants’ Offensive Coordinator Vacancy
Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski is the Giants’ top target for their offensive coordinator vacancy, a source tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. Trouble is, the Vikings will not allow him to walk unless they are able to lure quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo away from the Eagles. If the Vikings block the Giants from hiring Stefanski, they’ll likely turn to Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley, who Marvez characterizes as “the frontrunner” for New York’s OC vacancy. 
DeFilippo could come off the table for the Vikings completely if he is promoted to the Eagles’ own OC job. The Eagles already have Frank Reich in that role, but Reich is up for the Colts’ head coaching position and could be moving on. Apparently, that’s the outcome the Eagles are rooting for – Philly would reportedly like to move DeFilippo into Reich’s position, but they’re not about to fire Reich days after the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory.
In an indirect way, Josh McDaniels flaking on the Colts could cost the Giants their top choice for OC.
Colts Request Interview With Leslie Frazier
The Colts have officially requested an interview with Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier for their vacant head coaching position, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rapoport hears that owner Jim Irsay is a big fan and he is of the belief that Frazier might restore normalcy in Indianapolis following the bizarre chain of events that have taken place. 
Frazier is now the third confirmed candidate for the Colts’ head coaching job. On Wednesday, the Colts lined up interviews with Saints assistant Dan Campbell and Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Campbell will interview with the team on Thursday while Reich’s meeting will take place on Friday.
Frazier previously served as the Vikings’ head coach and just wrapped up his first season as the Bills’ defensive coordinator. He also offers familiarity with the organization thanks to two years as a Colts staffer.
The Bills’ D didn’t light the world on fire, but the unit did okay considering that they traded away core players such as cornerback Ronald Darby and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus.
Vikings To Interview John DeFilippo
The Vikings officially requested permission to interview Eagles’ quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo about their offensive coordinator job, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Minnesota will meet with DeFilippo on Thursday, according to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link).
It has been reported that DeFilippo is likely to stay in Philadelphia for a third season, but the Vikings will find out soon enough. If he stays, DeFilippo will probably earn a raise and possibly an elevated title, but he’d be unlikely to make OC money as a QB coach. Meanwhile, he’s blocked from ascending the ranks in a meaningful way thanks to the presence of OC Frank Reich. However, Reich is in the mix for the Colts’ head coaching position, so that could be an opportunity for DeFilippo to take the next step.
To date, the Vikings have interviewed four candidates to fill the position Pat Shurmur vacated.