Justin Gilbert Suspended For One Year
Former top ten pick Justin Gilbert has been suspended for one year by commissioner Roger Goodell, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Gilbert, a free agent cornerback, was already facing suspension for the first four weeks of the regular season. 
Gilbert’s initial one month ban stemmed from a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. It’s not clear what the new suspension is for, but it seems likely that he has been suspended for a longer term as a repeat offender under the same policy.
This is yet another setback for Gilbert who has yet to do much in his NFL career. After being selected No. 8 by the Browns in 2014, Gilbert struggled totaled just three starts and one interception in 23 games. Later, he drew criticism from owner Jimmy Haslam for his lack of maturity.
The Browns gave up on Gilbert prior to the 2016 season, sending him to the AFC North rival Steelers for a 2018 sixth-round draft pick. Gilbert also failed to realize his potential in Pittsburgh, though, as he played just 11 defensive snaps in 12 games. The Steelers cut Gilbert in February and the only time he’s appeared on the pages of Pro Football Rumors since has been regarding his two suspensions.
At this rate, it will be an uphill battle for Gilbert to get back into football and realize his potential.
Lions DT Khyri Thornton Hit With Suspension
Lions defensive tackle Khyri Thornton has been handed a six game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s policy and program for substance abuse. The news was announced by Detroit on Tuesday afternoon. 
[RELATED: Lions “Confident” About Matthew Stafford Talks]
Thornton, 28 in November, entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Packers in 2014. It wasn’t until the next year when he finally saw live NFL action with the Lions. Last year, Thornton made 13 appearances for Detroit, including six starts. Thornton registered his first career sack and racked up 19 tackles, leading the Lions to re-sign him to a two-year, $3.3MM deal.
After appearing in 29.9 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps last year, Thornton was being counted upon as depth for Detroit on the D-Line. The Lions still have Akeem Spence as a backup DT and they’ll also use free agent pickup Jordan Hill a bit more than initially planned. Haloti Ngata, who plans to return for his age-33 campaign, and A’Shawn Robinson figure to start.
Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with Thornton in 2016, ranking him 121st among 126 qualified interior D-linemen last year.
Dolphins’ Jarvis Landry Sets Deadline
Jarvis Landry won’t hold out in an effort to get a new deal, but he is drawing a line somewhere. The agent for the Dolphins wide receiver says that he will not engage in contract talks after the season opener. 
“We want to respect the Dolphins. When the season kicks off, we want to continue to respect that,” agent Damarius Bilbo told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “We don’t want every game to be about a new contract. This is not a tactic; that is not an approach. This is who Jarvis is and what he wants out of the upcoming season.”
Bilbo added that Landry would love to spend the rest of his career as a Dolphin. And, while he would like to sign an extension this summer, he “understands the business aspect” and won’t rock the boat if he doesn’t get what he wants on the timeline that he wants.
At the moment, it sounds like the two sides have a long way to go before a new deal can get hammered out. While the Dolphins have internally discussed the idea of extending Landry, Bilbo says that he has not discussed money with team brass yet. As of this writing, Landry is slated to play out the 2017 season for less than $894K.
Jackson speculates that Bilbo may seek a deal that puts him in the top 10-12 range for wide receivers in the NFL, though the agent did not say that personally. That range would give Landry an average annual salary above $11MM.
No NFL player in league history has caught more passes in his first three years in the league than Landry. The 24-year-old (25 in November) caught 288 passes from 2014-16.
Devonta Freeman Willing To Wait For Deal
It’s no secret that running back Devonta Freeman wants a new, long-term deal with the Falcons. However, he’s also making it known that he just won’t sign anything. Freeman says that he is comfortable with playing out his current contract and picking up talks next spring. 
[RELATED: Dwight Freeney Wants To Play In 2017]
“I would love to get a contract done before the season, but I want it to be right,” Freeman told SiriusXM (Twitter links). “If I had to play the whole season I’m down for that.”
Freeman also expressed confidence in a multi-year deal getting done, but he stressed that both sides will have to be comfortable in order for it to work. It’s not immediately clear what it will take for Freeman to feel comfortable with an offer, particularly after his agent said earlier this year that he wants “elite” running back money. Something like LeSean McCoy‘s $8MM-per-year deal could be a target for Freeman and his reps may also see a potential new Le’Veon Bell contract as something that is within reach. Given his age and talent level, he should be able to at least top Doug Martin‘s five-year, $35.75MM contract with the Bucs, a deal which included $15MM in guarantees.
Recently, GM Thomas Dimitroff expressed confidence in an extension being on the horizon. And even though Freeman’s camp made waves during the playoffs last year, the running back is not planning to hold out. It remains to be seen whether a new deal can get signed this summer, but the good news is that the relationship between the team and player seems to be on solid ground.
49ers Notes: Shanahan, Lynch, Taylor
The 49ers earned a “B” grade for their offseason in the eyes of ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. The offseason, of course, saw the Niners hire a new GM in John Lynch and a new head coach in offensive guru Kyle Shanahan, two major moves that could put the organization in the right direction. Wagoner liked the fact that the Niners didn’t sell the farm to try and get a quarterback, opting instead to stockpile picks and resources for 2018. However, he wasn’t crazy about everything that went down in SF, including the five-year, $26.5MM deal for linebacker Malcolm Smith, a pact which included $11.5MM guaranteed at signing.
Here’s more on the 49ers:
- 49ers draft pick Trent Taylor was Shanahan’s favorite player in the draft, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. That’s high praise considering that the Niners grabbed the small wide receiver in the fifth round at a time when some analysts believed he’d go undrafted. Taylor’s former college offensive coordinator, Tony Franklin, also sees Taylor making a mark in SF. “A lot of times you hear people say, ‘This guy is the next Wes Welker,’” said Franklin. “Every small, white kid’s been Wes Welker since Wes Welker became a star. I’m telling you, Trent Taylor really is.”
- The 49ers announced a host of promotions within the team’s personnel department. Chip Flanagan, RJ Gillen, Jacob Nierob, John Stevenson, and Josh Williams have all been elevated to new roles, as outlined in the team’s press release.
- Good news for the 49ers as linebacker Reuben Foster could be a full participant in training camp.
Jets Sign WR Marquess Wilson
The Jets have signed wide receiver Marquess Wilson, according to a tweet from his agents. Prior to today’s deal, Wilson had spent his entire career with the Bears. 
[RELATED: What Will Be The Jets’ Long-Term QB Solution?]
Wilson, a seventh round pick in the 2013 draft, showed flashes of promise in Chicago. In an admittedly small sample size, he averaged 16.6 yards per reception in the 2015 season. That campaign marked career highs in targets (51), catches (28), and receiving yards (464). It remains to be seen what he is capable of doing with further opportunity. Given the way that the Jets have stripped the team, it’s possible that he could get more chances to show his stuff this year.
Wilson was activated off of the physically unable to perform list in mid-November last year. After his return, he recorded just nine receptions in three games before suffering a season-ending foot fracture. That marked the third time in his career that he broke his left foot.
Following the release of Eric Decker, the Jets’ most notable receivers are Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. After that, their best WRs are arguably third round pick ArDarius Stewart and fourth round pick Chad Hansen. Given the lack of depth at the position, wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wilson begin the year as the Jets’ No. 3 option at receiver.
Lions “Confident” About Matthew Stafford Talks
As he enters his contract year, the Lions badly want to get a new deal done with Matthew Stafford. Things are in the “early stages” still, but GM Bob Quinn says he’s “confident” about an extension. 
“Always have positive thinking,” Quinn told SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio (transcript via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “But I’ve said this a bunch of times. It takes two sides to do a deal and I feel confident that we’ll get something done.”
Quinn’s comments are not dissimilar to remarks he made in early May. Although it doesn’t sound like negotiations have progressed a ton in the last six weeks, the Lions GM is still optimistic about something coming together in the late summer.
A new deal for Stafford could call for making him the highest paid player in the NFL with an average annual salary $25MM+ per season. Stafford has indicated a desire to stay in Detroit, but his team is likely waiting on potential new deals for Kirk Cousins and Derek Carr before agreeing to a new contract.
Last year, Stafford was among the best QBs in the league as he threw for 4,327 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He had the tenth-best completion percentage in the league (65.3%) amongst qualified QBs and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 9 signal caller. Stafford may not be the best QB in the NFL, but contracts are all about timing, and he is poised to cash in as the league’s highest-paid player.
Anquan Boldin Willing To Wait For Deal
Last year, it took until late July for Anquan Boldin to find his NFL home. This year, the wide receiver says that he’s okay with things playing out in similar fashion. In an interview with Bertrand Berry and Mike Jurecki on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM (audio link), Boldin preached patience. 
[RELATED: Lions Wrap Up Draft Class]
“I look at the offseason as something that’s for younger guys,” Boldin said (transcript via PFT). “If you’re a younger guy, it’s necessary for you to get in there to learn a new system, to learn your coaches, learn a new environment. For veteran guys, I don’t think it’s as necessary, personally. I like to spend that time with my family. … For me, training camp is a necessary evil. I think that’s the only way you can get prepared for a season. So I prefer to sign right before training camp to make sure I get in, learn the new system, learn my teammates, get all the mistakes out of the way, get hit a couple times to make sure that when that first game comes I feel fully prepared.”
Last week, it was reported that Boldin’s preference might be to play near his home in Florida. However, as he explained to Berry and Jurecki, playing in or around the Sunshine State is not necessarily a must.
“For me, it’s just finding the right situation and that’s to make sure I’m comfortable and my family is comfortable wherever I am. So finding that right situation is the best way to put it,” Boldin said.
Boldin, 37 in October, is 14th all time in career receiving yards. Last year, he showed that he still has something left in the tank by notching 67 receptions for 584 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s no longer a WR1 type, but a team in need of a savvy veteran could call on him later this summer. Ultimately, a door may not open for Boldin until a team loses an important wide receiver to injury in training camp.
NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Church, Giants
The Cowboys‘ biggest miss this offseason was losing safety Barry Church to free agency, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer opines. Jeff Heath has shown some promise in a limited window, but Church had four straight seasons with at least 100 tackles and his production will be hard to replace. In retrospect, Archer writes that the Cowboys should have gone to him before the start of the 2016 season with an offer or made a stronger pitch to keep him before the market opened in March. While the Cowboys made some other smart moves on defense, Archer seems to think that Dallas will regret letting Church get away.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- There were some mixed views on the Giants re-signing Jason Pierre-Paul, but ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan was a fan of the move. The G-Men gave JPP $40MM guaranteed, but Raanan argues that good pass rushers are hard to find and that scarcity makes the deal a savvy one. The Giants’ need for JPP, he argued, was only underscored by the team’s awful pass rush against the Packers in the postseason when they were without him.
- It sounds like third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld has a good chance of making the Redskins‘ final cut. When asked about the 2016 sixth-round pick, senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams was effusive in his praise. “Sudfeld’s one of my favorites,” Williams said (via Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post). “You know, he was one of the guys, when we drafted him, when we sat in the room [and] we talked about drafting a quarterback, I was a Sudfeld guy. You know, none of [the prospects] took snaps up under the center; they all stood back in the shotgun. He was at Indiana, but when you watched him and the guys at a couple more schools, there was something about him that you liked. And I think he’s learned how to take the snap from under center; he gets the ball out of his hands.” Sudfeld did not see the field last season.
- The Eagles recently announced some changes to the scouting department.
Eric Decker Had Interest From 5-6 Teams
Over the weekend, the Titans signed Eric Decker to a one-year deal. Before the wide receiver inked his contract in Nashville, he says that he drew interest from five or six teams and had other visits initially scheduled for this week (link via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online). 
[RELATED: Titans Sign Eric Decker]
“Mulling over some of my options, I just felt like this was the right fit,’’ Decker said. “Just looking at the roster, and the progress they’ve made over the last few years, and meeting with Jon (Robinson) and Mike (Mularkey), I have a lot of respect for where they came from, their philosophy, how they do things, and that’s something I want to be a part of. “And I am excited about Marcus Mariota and the young talent he is.”
Decker has owned a home in Tennessee since 2012 and says that he used to joke with his wife about how perfect it would be to play for the Titans. When the Jets made the surprising decision to cut Decker, that opened up the door for him to turn the running joke into a reality. He’ll now get to be closer to his family while wife Jessie James Decker, a country singer, continues to pursue her career in Music City.
The Ravens and Browns were connected to Decker, but it’s not clear how serious their level of interest was. The Broncos and Eagles, despite some speculation about their interest in the receiver, were not in pursuit. It’s not clear what other clubs had interest in Decker, but based on what the 30-year-old has said, it sounds like there were at least two more in the mix.