Cardinals Had Interest In Alex Smith
The Cardinals were among a handful of teams interested in trading for Alex Smith, Kent Somers of AZCentral Sports tweets. However, the Chiefs wound up trading the quarterback to the Redskins on Tuesday night in a deal that netted them cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round draft choice. 
[RELATED: Browns Tried To Trade For QB Alex Smith]
It’s no surprise that the Cardinals expressed interest in Smith given their own murky quarterback situation. In the wake of Carson Palmer‘s retirement, the Cardinals have zero quarterbacks under contract with Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert, and Matt Barkley all scheduled for unrestricted free agency.
Smith is now off the table for Arizona, but the trade means that Kirk Cousins will be in play for the Cardinals and other QB-needy teams. Even if Arizona can’t clear enough cap room to put themselves in the mix for Cousins, that could be good news for the Cardinals. If another team in need of a QB like the Browns (picking at No. 4 in the draft), Broncos (No. 4) or the Jets (No. 6) signs Cousins, it will open up possibilities for the Cardinals, who own the 15th overall pick.
AFC East Notes: Gronk, Jets, Lawrence
Good news for the Patriots as Rob Gronkowski was able to go full tilt in practice on Sunday and Monday (Twitter link via Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald). days in practice. Gronk also gave Pats fans extra reason to believe yesterday when he posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, “Locked in, ready to roll. Minnesota we here [sic].”
Gronkowski, a focal point of the Patriots’ offense, had a team-high 69 receptions for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns this year. Barring a setback, it sounds like the tight end is on pace to clear concussion protocol in time for the Super Bowl.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Demarcus Lawrence should be a free agent target of the Jets, Connor Hughes of NJ.com opines. The Cowboys defender would be a perfect complement to Leonard Williams and the Jets have the cap room to get a deal done. However, the Cowboys badly want to keep Lawrence and may franchise-tag him to prevent him from reaching the open market. If Lawrence is not in play, Hughes suggests edge rusher Ezekiel Ansah as something of a consolation prize. Recently, PFR sized up the Jets’ top offseason needs and discussed edge rusher as an area of focus.
- Hughes compared the three drafts of Mike Maccagnan to the two of predecessor John Idzik, and the current Jets decision-maker is faring better in the early rounds. Selections of Jamal Adams and Williams outflank Idzik’s work in the marquee draft round, which includes Sheldon Richardson, Dee Milliner and Calvin Pryor. Neither decision-maker has taken much advantage of the second round, with only Marcus Maye looking like a long-term contributor of a group that included Geno Smith, Jace Amaro, Devin Smith and Christian Hackenberg. While Idzik found some talent in the later rounds, Maccagnan’s Robby Anderson UDFA add gave him the edge in that department as well.
- The Dolphins have not yet presented Jarvis Landry with another offer after his representation made a counter-offer in mid-December.
- Bills center Eric Wood is retiring, but he is putting the paperwork on hold for cap reasons.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Jason Peters Plans To Play In 2018
Jason Peters won’t be on the field this Sunday, but he does plan on getting back out there in the fall. The Eagles tackle says he intends to continue his career next season, though that might not take place in Philadelphia. 
“They hadn’t asked me, but I’m going to be back,” Peters said when asked if he’s had any conversations with Eagles brass about his future (via Jeff McLane of the Daily News). “Step out on a limb, if they don’t want me, I’m still [going] somewhere.”
Peters, 36, suffered a torn ACL and MCL in October, ending his season prematurely. Although he is considered to be among the best at his position, the Eagles might not bring him back. Per the terms of his extension, he is slated to carry an $11,67MM salary cap number in 2018 and $10.67MM number in 2019. Alternatively, the Eagles could eat $6.3MM of his salary and release or trade him.
Under the terms of his one-year extension inked in June, Peters has a $4.5MM injury guarantee that becomes fully guaranteed in March. If Peters likely cannot pass a physical before the start of the 2018 league year, he’ll collect on that sum.
At the time of his injury in the fall, Pro Football Focus had Peters ranked as the third-best tackle in the entire NFL with a solid 86.4 overall score. The highly decorated lineman has nine career Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections on his resume. If not for the ACL tear, Peters likely would have made his tenth career Pro Bowl trip.
Titans Hire Matt LaFleur As OC
The Titans announced that they have hired Matt LaFleur as their new offensive coordinator. LaFleur previously served as the Rams’ offensive coordinator. 
Technically, this represents a lateral move for LaFleur, though he did not call plays in Los Angeles when he worked under head coach Sean McVay. Serving under a defensive-minded coach in Mike Vrabel, LaFleur should have flexibility to do things his way.
LaFleur is inexperienced as an OC, having served just one season in the role. In his favor, LaFleur did guide Matt Ryan to an MVP campaign just a year ago as quarterbacks coach in Atlanta. Then, last year, Jared Goff excelled under LaFleur’s tutelage. Given the 38-year-old’s QB acumen, the Titans are hopeful that he can get the most out of Marcus Mariota.
On Tuesday morning, the Titans also made the hiring of Dean Pees as defensive coordinator official.
League Disapproves Saints’ Deals With WR Josh Huff, LB Jayrone Elliott
The Saints’ contracts for linebacker Jayrone Elliott and wide receiver Josh Huff were disapproved by the league, according to the league’s transactions wire. It’s not immediately clear why the deals were voided, but Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayne (Twitter link) notes that the Saints were at the 90-man roster maximum before agreeing to deals with both players. It’s possible that the Saints just have to make a pair of roster moves before bringing both players back. 
The Saints plan on bringing Huff back, Teope hears (on Twitter), but we have no word on Elliott one way or another just yet. The pair signed futures deals with New Orleans last week but are now considered free agents.
The Saints now must address their roster issue and refile with the league if it intends to bring one or both players back.
Huff entered the league in 2014 as a third-round pick with the Eagles. He has tallied 51 catches for 523 yards and four touchdowns. Signed by the Buccaneers down the stretch in 2016, Huff was cut heading into 2017. He worked out for the Saints on two occasions during the season.
Undrafted in 2014, Elliott spent three seasons with the Packers before joining the Cowboys in 2017. He has posted four sacks and an interception in 39 career games.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Talib, Patriots, Belichick
Should the Jets trade for Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib? He’s rumored to be on the block, but there are pros and cons to acquiring the veteran, as Darryl Slater of NJ.com writes.
Talib has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past five seasons and has been a part of two very successful teams (Patriots and Broncos). However, he turns 32 in February and has two years left on his expensive contract. Talib stands to make $11MM in 2018 and $8MM in 2019, so the Jets might not want to sacrifice serious draft capital to acquire him. There are also off-the-field concerns with Talib, given his past arrest for beating up a taxi driver and 2016 incident in which he shot himself in the leg outside of a Dallas strip club.
Still, there’s no denying that Talib would represent a major upgrade for the Jets’ secondary. Last year, Talib graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 15 ranked cornerback. The highest-ranked Jets CB was Darryl Roberts, who placed 76th in the NFL.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- With the No. 6 pick, the Jets may consider moving up in the draft to take a quarterback. However, that doesn’t always work out, as Connor Hughes of NJ.com details. The Rams and Eagles are glad they moved up to take Jared Goff and Carson Wentz in the 2016 draft, but many other teams have struck out. The Broncos moved up to draft Tim Tebow in 2010 (No. 25) and Paxton Lynch in 2016 (No. 22). The Browns moved up to take Brady Quinn in 2007 (No. 22) and Johnny Manziel in 2014 (No. 22). The Jaguars dealt to pick Blaine Gabbert in 2011 (No. 10), the Redskins Robert Griffin III in 2012 (No. 2), and the Vikings Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 (No. 32). The Jets also have first-hand experience in this regard – they traded up to select Mark Sanchez in 2009 (No. 5), the same year the Bucs erred by moving up for Josh Freeman (No. 17).
- The Patriots’ dynasty was built from the ashes of Bill Belichick’s failure with the Browns, Kent Babb of The Washington Post writes. Belichick went 36-44 in his five years as the Browns’ head coach in the 90s and reached the playoffs just once.
Top 3 Offseason Needs: New York Giants
In advance of March 14, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the New York Giants, who are looking to rebound from a disastrous 2017 season:
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Akeem Ayers, LB
- Nick Becton, T
- Nat Berhe, S
- Adam Bisnowaty, T (ERFA)
- Jay Bromley, DT
- Jonathan Casillas, LB
- Ross Cockrell, CB
- Orleans Darkwa, RB
- D.J. Fluker, G
- Curtis Grant, LB (ERFA)
- John Greco, G
- Jon Halapio, G (ERFA)
- Mark Herzlich, LB
- Brett Jones, C (RFA)
- Devon Kennard, LB
- Tavarres King, WR
- Darryl Morris, CB
- Ryan O’Malley, TE (ERFA)
- Justin Pugh, G
- Weston Richburg, C
- Keenan Robinson, LB
- Travis Rudolph, WR (ERFA)
- Kelvin Sheppard, LB
- Deontae Skinner, LB (RFA)
- Geno Smith, QB
- Robert Thomas, DT (ERFA)
- Shane Vereen, RB
- Kerry Wynn, DE
Top 10 Cap Hits for 2018:
- Eli Manning, QB: $22,200,000
- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE: $17,500,000
- Olivier Vernon, DE: $17,000,000
- Janoris Jenkins, CB: $13,000,000
- Damon Harrison, DT: $9,600,000
- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB: $8,500,000
- Odell Beckham Jr., WR: $8,459,000
- Brandon Marshall, WR: $6,156,250
- Ereck Flowers, T: $4,579,219
- Eli Apple, CB: $4,132,436
Other:
- Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $22,955,068
- Second pick in draft
- Must exercise or decline 2019 fifth-year option for T Ereck Flowers
Three Needs:
1. Identify the quarterback of the future. Not long ago, it seemed like a sure thing that Eli Manning was a goner in New York. But, things move quickly in the greater NYC area. Owner John Mara wants Manning back in the fold. Manning wants to stay too, despite his temporary demotion late in the season. New GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur have also said that they intend to have Eli under center in 2018. All signs are pointing to the two-time Super Bowl champ being back in blue, but the Giants surely know that this is the beginning of the end for Manning. 
This year’s free agent quarterback market is stronger than any in recent memory, but the Giants will not be among the teams to make a play for Kirk Cousins, nor will they try and coax Drew Brees to leave New Orleans (it’s not likely that Brees will hit the open market anyway). Manning will eat up $22MM of the salary cap and there’s no realistic scenario in which the Giants can keep him on board as an extraordinarily expensive backup. Even if they could swing it somehow, Manning would object and the Giants faithful would burn the Meadowlands to the ground.
The Giants are expected to use the No. 2 overall pick on one of this year’s top quarterbacks. Unless the Browns go all-in and sign Kirk Cousins in free agency, they’ll probably see one of those QBs come off the board before they are called to the podium.
Although new Browns GM John Dorsey says that he’ll be considering a pool of four or five players at No. 1, most believe that Cleveland will select either USC star Sam Darnold or UCLA standout Josh Rosen. As most mock drafts will tell you, the common belief is that the Browns will take Darnold, who is believed to be the safer choice despite throwing 13 interceptions in 2017.
Does that mean the Giants will take Rosen? Probably, but that’s far from definite. Rosen’s outspoken personality would work better in New York than in most markets, but he too had some ill-timed interceptions and the shoulder injury that shut him down in 2016 is still a concern. How about Wyoming’s Josh Allen? Allen’s decision making and accuracy has been questioned, but he’s an impressive athlete for a 6’5″ QB and his arm strength is top notch. You may also hear some Baker Mayfield talk between now and April, but we’d be surprised if the Giants reached for him this early.
2. Remake the offensive line. The Giants offense struggled in large part because of the rash of injuries to its wide receiver core and, perhaps, some iffy performances from Manning, but the offensive line was downright porous. In fact, it was a desire to fix the Giants’ Swiss cheese O-Line that broke the ice between Shurmur and Gettleman. 
“As soon as he said, ‘Everything starts with the offensive line,’“said Shurmur when asked when the conversation between him and the GM really clicked (via NJ.com). “There’s a great example of that: What we went through in Minnesota. We didn’t change the oil; we changed the transmission. We got two free agent offensive linemen, we drafted a center that played like a veteran, and we transformed the offensive line that helped us do the things (to) win 14 games.”
That offensive line transformation in Minnesota helped turn Case Keenum from a career journeyman to a top 10 quarterback in an instant. It started in free agency when the Vikings signed Riley Reiff (five-year, $58.75MM deal with $26.3MM guaranteed) and Mike Remmers (five-year, $30MM deal with $10.5MM guaranteed). Then, in the draft, they traded up in the third round to land eventual starting center Pat Elflein. The revamp didn’t come easy or cheap, but it made a world of difference for the Vikings.
Last year, the Giants’ were 21st in the NFL in sacks allowed (34) and 26th in rushing yards per game (86.6). They must improve in both areas, and that can only be achieved with a serious shakeup.
Gettleman already got the party started in December when he cut starting right tackle Bobby Hart. You can expect much more turnover, particularly with a pair of injury-prone linemen – center Weston Richburg and swing tackle Justin Pugh – headed towards free agency. Former first-round pick Ereck Flowers figures to remain, but the Giants probably won’t bank on him being their starting left tackle after another iffy season.
This year’s free agent tackle class is headlined by a trio of tackles from the AFC East: Ju’Wuan James (Dolphins), Nate Solder (Patriots), and Cameron Fleming (Patriots). After that, there’s a noticeable dip in quality. Steelers lineman Chris Hubbard may be the only other starting quality available tackle.
If the Giants want to hit a home run on the interior line, they could make a run at Panthers free agent Andrew Norwell. The guard, 27 in October, is coming off of a career year in which he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 ranked guard, putting him ahead of big names such as Josh Sitton, Joel Bitonio, Rodger Saffold, Ron Leary, Kevin Zeitler, and Richie Incognito. Only Zack Martin and David DeCastro placed ahead of Norwell, and that may give you an idea of the kind of money the Giants would have to shell out for him on the open market. Gettleman, who originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent when he was the Panthers’ GM, could break the bank to make it happen. When it comes to the top linemen, they’ll be competing with other clubs in win-now mode looking for offensive line help, including the Cardinals and Bengals.
There’s virtually no chance of the Giants using their No. 2 overall pick on a lineman (see: offseason need #1), but gems could be found in the later rounds. Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson and Texas tackle Connor Williams will long gone by the time the Giants’ next turn comes up at No. 34 overall, but tackles Mike McGlinchey (Notre Dame), Orlando Brown (Oklahoma), Chukwuma Okorafor (Western Michigan), and Kolton Miller (UCLA) could be in play.
3. Add a running back. Orleans Darkwa was the Giants’ lead rusher this year and you may be surprised to learn that he had career highs in yards per carry (4.4), catches (19), and receiving yards (116). But, the soon-to-be 26-year-old is scheduled for free agency and there’s no guarantee that the new regime will look to keep him. Ditto for third down back Shane Vereen. Darkwa seems more likely to stay on board than Vereen, but either way there’s little chance of both returning. That opens up the door for a new tailback and there are a few interesting ones who could be available.
Patriots tailback Dion Lewis stayed healthy in 2017 and averaged 5.0 yards per carry with 32 catches for 214 yards.
Isaiah Crowell and Carlos Hyde both played well last year despite being a part of atrocious offenses. Father time is undefeated, but the Giants could sign Frank Core to a front-loaded deal to see if he can continue his remarkable run past his 35th birthday. Jerick McKinnon could add some serious athleticism and pass-catching acumen to the backfield, but the Giants will have to find someone else to tote the rock ~13 times per game.
If the Giants go QB at No. 2 like we expect, Penn State star Saquon Barkley won’t be an option for them. Derrius Guice (LSU), Ronald Jones II (USC), and Damien Harris (Alabama) all seem slated for the first round, but Kerryon Johnson (Auburn) could slip to them at No. 34, depending on how the combines shake out. A few weeks ago, we would have mentioned Georgia running back Sony Michel as a diamond in the rough, but he has gone from an under-the-radar find to a first round prospect, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports recently detailed.
East Notes: Dolphins, Landry, ODB
Th Dolphins have not yet presented Jarvis Landry with another offer after his representation made a counter-offer in mid-December, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The wide receiver has already told people close to him that he doesn’t expect to return to Miami, but Jackson cautions that a lot can happen between now and mid-March. As it stands, there is a sizable gap between the two sides.
Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East:
- Giants owner John Mara says that he will not engage in contract talks with Odell Beckham Jr. until he sits down to speak with new head coach Pat Shurmur. “We will deal with that at the appropriate time,” Mara said (via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com). “I’ve said before many times that he wants to be a Giant. We’ll get something done at some point. I want first Pat to sit down with him.” Shurmur says that a meeting is on the horizon, though Eli Manning is the only player he has met with as of this writing.
- It might make sense for the Jets to trade a fourth-rounder or maybe even a third-rounder for Alex Smith while giving a rookie quarterback time to learn the ropes, Manish Mehta of the Daily News opines. However, he doesn’t think it makes sense to sacrifice a second-round choice for a 34-year-old with just one year left on his contract. The Jets are armed with more than $70MM in cap room, which could make them a player for Kirk Cousins and other top free agent QBs, but teams like the Browns and 49ers could top them with upwards of $100MM to work with. Trading for a veteran QB and grooming a young signal caller be the way to go if the Jets want to plan for the future while remaining competitive in ’18.
- On Friday, the Jets hired ex-Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to be their new offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Jets To Hire Ex-Bills OC Rick Dennison
The Jets are expected to hire former Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison as their new run-game coordinator/offensive line coach, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News first reported the Jets’ interest in hiring Dennison. 
Dennison was canned by Buffalo earlier this month after just one season as the team’s OC. The Bills’ offense was inconsistent, but Dennison inherited a pretty rocky situation at quarterback. On the plus side, the Bills did finish sixth in rushing yards per game (126.1).
The Jets see Dennison as the answer for their run game woes, but the team’s backfield figures to look pretty different in 2018. Technically speaking, Matt Forte is under contract for another year, but the team can save $3MM and eat just $1MM of dead money if he is released. Bilal Powell should be back, but the Jets will need at least one fleet-footed rusher to pair with him. Dennison also has his work cut out for him on the O-Line – the Jets ranked just 27th in adjusted sack rate and 29th in adjusted line yards last year.
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