Bills Sign Jarrett Boykin, Greg Little
JANUARY 12: In addition to confirming the signing of Boykin, the Bills also announced today that they’ve signed former second-round pick Greg Little to a reserve/futures contract. Both wideouts worked out for Buffalo in December.
Little racked up 61 catches in his rookie season, but has seen his production decline sharply since then. He caught six balls with the Bengals in 2014 and didn’t record a single reception in 2015, having been cut by Cincinnati in October.
JANUARY 6: The Bills have signed wide receiver Jarrett Boykin, according to agent Blake Baratz (Twitter link). Because Buffalo’s season is over, the deal will be a reserve/futures contract, which goes into effect once the new league year begins.
Boykin, 26, had a productive run during the 2013 season when Green Bay’s receiving depth was hit hard by injuries. Subbing in for Randall Cobb and other sidelined players, Boykin accumulated 49 receptions for 681 yards and three touchdowns. However, he returned to a very part-time role in 2014, catching just three balls on the year.
The Panthers picked up Boykin as an unrestricted free agent last March, but opted not to carry the young wideout on its regular-season roster, cutting him in September. Since then, Boykin has gone an AFC East tour of sorts, working out for the Patriots, Jets, and Bills at various times this season.
Given the upside he showed in 2013, Boykin figures to get the opportunity to earn a spot on the Bills’ regular-season roster next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coach Rumors: Hue, Giants, Saban, Campbell
Hue Jackson, who has received legit interest from the 49ers and Browns, will fly to New York this week and will meet with the Giants no later than Thursday morning, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Giants, who will talk to Jackson once the owners meetings in Houston conclude, are “serious” about the Bengals offensive coordinator, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
Here are a few more Tuesday morning coaching updates:
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Nick Saban will be any more open to an NFL return after adding another NCAA championship win to his résumé on Monday night. For what it’s worth, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Buccaneers are considering almost every head coaching possibility, including Saban.
- Former Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell is free to seek other job opportunities, and has received inquiries from the Vikings, Cowboys, and Chargers, league sources tell Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. A Monday report indicated that Campbell is likely to move on from the Dolphins.
- For now, the Eagles aren’t planning any more head coaching interviews, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who tweets that the club will regroup and assess its options after this week’s owners meetings. La Canfora and ESPN’s Bill Williamson (Twitter link) both identify Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as a strong candidate for the job.
- The Colts are interviewing former Bears defensive backs coach Jon Hoke today, after having spoken to Bills DBs coach Donnie Henderson on Monday, per Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter links). While Henderson may not end up in Indianapolis, he won’t return to the Bills, a source tells Marvez.
East Notes: RGIII, Cousins, Jets, Bills, Eagles
Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III made it through the 2015 season healthy, which means his 2016 salary – currently guaranteed for injury only – won’t become fully guaranteed. As such, it’s probably just a matter of time until the team releases the former second overall pick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets and Jason Reid of ESPN.com writes.
The RGIII era in Washington is set to come to an end, having overlapped with the start of the Kirk Cousins era, and it remains to be seen what sort of long-term future Cousins has in Washington. For now though, all signs (and reports) point to the club aiming to lock up its new starting quarterback via a multiyear contract or the franchise tag this offseason.
Following Washington’s Wild Card loss to the Packers, Cousins was asked about his future and replied, “I want to be where I am wanted,” per John Keim of ESPN.com. For now, that will almost certainly mean staying in D.C.
Here’s more from across the NFL’s East divisions:
- Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News has 10 suggestions for offseason roster moves for Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan. Among them? Re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bilal Powell, extending Damon Harrison, drafting a quarterback and edge rusher, and trading Muhammad Wilkerson.
- With the Bills not expected to be major players in free agency, the team will have to explore different avenues to find contributors for 2016. As Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News suggests, that means that a few of the 14 players signed by the team in December could end up being in the mix for roster spots next season.
- Zach Berman of the Philadephia Inquirer takes an early look at some upcoming offseason decisions for the Eagles, identifying the club’s biggest needs and most important free agents.
Bills Hire Rob Ryan As Defensive Assistant
9:34pm: The Bills announced the hiring that will put Rex and Rob Ryan on the same staff. Rob Ryan’s official title is assistant head coach/defense, per a team press release (via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW, on Twitter).
This move will give Rob Ryan a fair amount of power and not officially come as a career step backward for the veteran coordinator.
“I’m excited to have Rob join our staff, and I think he will be a great asset for our defense,” Rex Ryan said in the release. “He has a tremendous working knowledge of our schemes, and I look forward to his input. On a personal note, it’s been a number of years since we worked together, so we are both really excited about this opportunity.”
8:11pm: Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan will reportedly be reunited on the sidelines next season, according to Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez (on Twitter).
The former Saints defensive coordinator will work under his brother with the Bills in 2016 as a defensive assistant, per Marvez, who doesn’t note in what capacity.
Dennis Thurman is currently the Bills’ DC, being hired on last January.
Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News confirms Marvez’s report (Twitter link).
The gregarious 53-year-old twin brothers haven’t worked as full-time coaches alongside one another since doing so under their father, Buddy Ryan, with the Cardinals in 1994-95. Rob Ryan coached the defensive backs on those teams, with Rex Ryan having front-seven responsibilities. Those jobs represented the Ryan twins’ first NFL positions.
Fired from the Saints this season, Rob Ryan’s served as defensive coordinator for the Browns, Raiders, Cowboys and Saints since 2004. Rob Ryan’s defense was giving up 424.7 yards per game when the Saints fired Ryan and replaced him with Dennis Allen in mid-November, and that total would rank second-worst all-time in terms of per-game yardage.
The Saints ranked 31st in DVOA in 2014 and ranked last in Football Outsiders’ top metric prior to Rob Ryan’s dismissal this season.
Under Rex Ryan and Thurman, the Bills boasted the 14th-ranked defense in 2015.
Rob Ryan hasn’t been a position coach since serving as the 2003 Patriots’ linebackers coach.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Bills Extend GM Doug Whaley
4:01pm: The extension will align Whaley’s contract with that of Ryan’s, meaning both men are now locked up though 2019, according to Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
3:25pm: It’s a multi-year extension for Whaley, not a one-year “band-aid,” reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
3:03pm: The Bills have agreed to an extension with general manager Doug Whaley, team owner Kim Pegula announced today (via Twitter). Reports indicated last week that the two sides were working on a deal that would keep Whaley in Buffalo beyond 2016, and it appears that a contract did ultimately come together.
[RELATED: Bills plan to cut Mario Williams in offseason]
Whaley had just one year left on his contract before today’s agreement, and a report last week that owner Terry Pegula had issued an ultimatum to both Whaley and head coach Rex Ryan — win in 2016, or find new employment. That report was later refuted by other scribes and sources, but there’s no doubting that both the front office and coaching staff is under pressure to succeed next season. As PFR’s Luke Adams noted in the post linked above, the Pegulas spent $1.4 billion to purchase the franchise in 2014, so they probably wouldn’t worry about eating a few million dollars to replace a GM and/or head coach.
Whaley, who has been Buffalo’s GM since 2013, will certainly have his hands full during the upcoming offseason. He’ll need to consider extensions for offensive lineman Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito, and perhaps most importantly, decide if his club will go forward with Tyrod Taylor as its starting quarterback.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Dolphins, M. Smith, Coughlin
In a fascinating post from Armando Salguero this morning, the Miami Herald scribe dives into the Dolphins‘ front office drama that the team hopes will come to an end in the Adam Gase era. In 2013, Salguero writes that the relationship between then-Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin and then-GM Jeff Ireland was on the rocks, and owner Stephen Ross ultimately chose to fire Ireland. Ross also debated firing then-offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, and in order to save his assistant and friend, Philbin privately blamed the team’s offensive struggles on quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Although Philbin continued to toe the company line publicly, reaffirming his faith in Tannehill on numerous occasions–with one or two notable exceptions–his internal discussions had a much different tone. Philbin urged the team to draft Derek Carr in the first round of the 2014 draft, and even after Tannehill enjoyed a relatively successful 2014 campaign, Philbin continued to take out his frustrations on Tannehill, a trend that continued into the team’s difficult start to the 2015 season. Ultimately, that situation was one of the factors that led the Dolphins to hire Gase, who they expect to forge a relationship with the quarterback they’ve committed to and to make him the best player he can be.
Now let’s dive into a few more notes from the league’s east divisions, beginning with more out of South Beach.
- James Walker of ESPN.com affirms that Dan Campbell‘s future with the Dolphins will be determined by Gase, but Walker does add that Ross would like to keep Campbell on the team’s coaching staff. In a separate piece, Walker writes that Gase will be calling the team’s offensive plays.
- Mike Smith will interview with the Giants for their head coaching vacancy tomorrow, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
- Mike Garafolo of FOXSports tweets that there were “rumblings” that the Giants would interview Hue Jackson for their head coaching job, but they may not get that chance, as there are multiple reports suggesting that the 49ers could hire Jackson as early as today.
- Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer says former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin will meet with the Eagles tomorrow to discuss their head coaching vacancy. Interestingly, Berman calls the meeting an “interview,” and not a “feeling-out” as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggested yesterday.
- Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News compiles an offseason to-d0 list for the Bills, a list topped by an extension for GM Doug Whaley and a release of Mario Williams.
- David Moore of the Dallas Morning News looks into why the Cowboys have been unable to land an adequate backup quarterback for Tony Romo, and Moore says head coach Jason Garrett should bear as much responsibility for that failing as owner Jerry Jones.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/9/16
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Bills agreed to one-year deals with running back Mike Gillislee, cornerback Mario Butler and punter Colton Schmidt, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. The trio will be restricted free agents after the 2016 season. A 2013 fifth-round pick, Gillislee figures to be an intriguing part of the LeSean McCoy-led Buffalo backfield after he averaged 5.7 yards per carry in five games down the stretch, doing so following two nondescript seasons with the Dolphins.
East Notes: Dolphins, Marrone, Bills, Jets
Here are some notes from the Eastern divisions as the playoffs begin.
- Dan Campbell did not react well when told the Dolphins were hiring Adam Gase, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Although the interim coach who guided the Dolphins to a 5-7 mark, per Salguero (on Twitter), finished second to Gase after a “great” interview (Twitter link), the team will wait a few days before contacting him again after the way the 39-year-old coach took the news. Campbell’s future in the organization will be up to Gase, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
- The Dolphins studied Tom Coughlin‘s work from this past season and had a long conversation about the viability of the 69-year-old coach but opted against (Twitter links, per Salguero).
- Doug Marrone officially interviewed with the Giants today, Michael Eisen of Giants.com reports. The Jaguars assistant and former Bills coach is the fifth coach Big Blue’s visited with about the possibility of succeeding Tom Coughlin. That list will expand to six soon, with Mike Smith set to interview for the position. Thus far, however, Marrone and Steve Spagnuolo are the only former head coaches the Giants have interviewed, and neither enjoyed notable success. Spagnuolo went 10-38 in St. Louis, and Marrone went 15-17 with the Bills after guiding Syracuse to two winning seasons from 2009-12. The Jags new offensive assistant did help the team score 127 more points than it did in 2014, however.
- Bills offensive line assistant coach Kurt Anderson will leave his Buffalo post after agreeing to become the offensive line coach at Arkansas, according to a FootballScoop.com report. A member of the Bills’ staff from 2013-15, Anderson served under both Marrone and Rex Ryan.
- According to OverTheCap, the Bills are $373K+ over the projected salary cap. Although the official number for the 2016 cap hasn’t been released, the Bills likely won’t be big spenders during free agency, Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News reports. Skurski notes it’s a matter of if, not when in terms of Mario Williams‘ impending release. He also lists Corey Graham, Kyle Williams and Leodis McKelvin as potential salary cap casualties.
- Re-signing Damon Harrison needs to be a priority for the Jets, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Mehta projects the Jets’ nose tackle’s AAV will be around $4MM-$5MM per year. The New York scribe also advises the Jets to rework D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s contract, which will count $14.1MM against the ’16 cap at present. Considering Ferguson’s declining play, that’s an untenable number for Gang Green. The longtime left tackle has two years remaining on an eight-year, $73.6MM accord, and Mehta estimates the team will attempt to reduce his 2016 number by nearly $8MM.
FA Rumors: Brooks, JPP, Gates, James Jones
Bills cornerback Ron Brooks is eligible for free agency this offseason, but he technically remains under contract with the team until the new league year begins in March. Perhaps he was reminded of that this afternoon.
Earlier today, Brooks published a tweet that read, “Preciate everybody with the @Buffalobills and the great fans of WNY!!! It’s been a good ride. Sad to leave but business is business.” He has since deleted the tweet.
It’s not clear whether Brooks plans or expects to leave the Bills, or he was just a little premature in assuming his free agency. Either way, with the tweet deleted, we may have to wait until March to find out the fate of the defensive back and special-teamer.
Here are some other Friday updates on players eligible for free agency this winter:
- Appearing on The Michael Kay Show, Giants co-owner John Mara confirmed that he’d like to see his team bring back Jason Pierre-Paul. However, he cautioned that it will depend on the price, adding that the Giants “have to see more before [Pierre-Paul] gets paid like the top free agents in this league” (Twitter links via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News). A report last week suggested there’s mutual interest between JPP and the Giants in having the veteran defensive end re-sign with the team.
- Antonio Gates has previously indicated he’ll likely return for at least one more season in 2016, and if he does, the Chargers would love to have him back, general manager Tom Telesco said today, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
- Another veteran pass catcher, Packers wideout James Jones, says he’d love to stay in Green Bay and finish his career with the team. However, as Jason Wilde of ESPN.com details, Jones acknowledges that he wasn’t necessarily counting on a multiyear stint when he re-signed with the Packers in 2015. “I kind of felt, ‘You’re here on a one-year deal; Jordy [Nelson] comes back next year; they’ve got a bright young star in Davante [Adams], drafted Ty [Montgomery], got Randall [Cobb],’ so my expectation was not to really fight for a contract here,” Jones said. “I’d love to finish it out, but at the same time, we’ll see.”
49ers Meet With Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn
The 49ers’ head coaching search is underway, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has interviewed Bills assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn about the position. Maiocco adds (via Twitter) that the Niners have also met with former Eagles coach Chip Kelly to discuss the job.
Based on Maiocco’s wording, it’s not clear if San Francisco conducted a formal interview with Kelly for the team’s head coaching vacancy. But either way, it appears there’s some mutual interest between the two sides. Kelly reportedly reached out to the Niners earlier this week to express interest in the job, while Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets that the club begin considering Kelly before officially parting ways with Jim Tomsula.
[RELATED: 49ers to interview Mike Shanahan]
There has been some speculation that Kelly would be a good fit in San Francisco to help Colin Kaepernick bounce back, based on his past success with mobile quarterbacks. Of course, if the Niners were to seriously pursue the ex-Eagles head coach, the club would have to confident he could comfortably co-exist with general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York. Kelly’s departure from Philadelphia stemmed in part from him wearing out his welcome within the organization, having been at odds with former Eagles GM Howie Roseman.
As for Lynn, the Niners’ job is one of two head coaching positions he has interviewed for this week. The Buffalo assistant also spoke to the Dolphins about their head coaching job.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.