NFC Notes: J. Jones, Long, Cruz, Workouts
Week 1 couldn’t have gone much better for Packers wide receiver James Jones, who re-signed with Green Bay less than two weeks ago and caught a pair of touchdown balls from Aaron Rodgers during his first game back with the team.
In an interview with Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com, Jones discussed the Raiders‘ and Giants‘ decisions to release him earlier this year, suggesting that Oakland simply wanted to “go younger,” while New York let him go out of respect, since he wouldn’t have been a big part of the Giants’ offense. Jones has no hard feelings toward either organization, but being cut twice in the span of a few months figures to motivate him this season.
“I’m extremely, extremely motivated, more than I have ever been, right now,” Jones said. “Not only to show the teams that released me that I have a lot of football left, but to show myself, that you still have a lot to give and you have a lot of football left. That’s my main motivation right now, to show people that I can still play this game at a very high level and still can help a ball club win.”
So far, so good for Jones and the Packers. Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Field Yates of ESPN.com provides a few more details on Jake Long‘s one-year contract with the Falcons, tweeting that while there’s a base value of $1.17MM, the deal has a strong “play-and-pay structure.” Long can earn up to $400K in per-game roster bonuses and another $1MM in incentives.
- Victor Cruz, who is continuing to deal with lingering calf problems, will miss the Giants‘ Week 2 game, but thinks he’ll be back on the field for the team within the next couple weeks, as Bart Hubbuch and Kyle Schnitzer of the New York Post write. The Giants, who have yet to use their IR-DTR slot, obviously felt confident heading into the season that Cruz wouldn’t be sidelined for a significant chunk of time, since it doesn’t seem as if the club ever seriously considered using that designation on the veteran wideout.
- In addition to their workouts which we passed along yesterday, the Eagles also auditioned offensive lineman Austin Reiter and running back Dreamius Smith this week, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- According to Wilson (via Twitter), offensive lineman Pierce Burton had a workout for the Panthers this week. Burton was initially waived by the Falcons during their cutdown to 53 players, then was cut from Atlanta’s practice squad earlier this week.
Panthers To Sign Fernando Velasco
9:32am: In a related move, the Panthers replaced offensive lineman Nate Chandler (knee) on IR, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
8:29am: The Panthers will sign center Fernando Velasco, a source tells Rand Getlin of NFL.com (via Twitter). Velasco recently became a free agent when he was among the Titans’ final cuts before dropping down to a 53-man roster. The veteran will provide depth in Carolina as rookie Daryl Williams is sidelined for 2-to-4 weeks with a sprained knee.
Velasco came to the Panthers as a free agent prior to the 2014 season and while he’s listed as a center, he spent the bulk of 2014 as a guard, playing 407 overall offensive snaps. The 30-year-old wasn’t a core piece of Carolina’s offensive line, but he was a useful part-time player, appearing in multiple games at both right guard and left guard, and not allowing a quarterback sack all year.
In Tennessee, Velasco was expected to challenge for playing time at center, where Brian Schwenke was the favorite to start, but things didn’t work out that way. Velasco, who began his career with the Titans and started all 16 games at center in 2012, boasts 37 starts overall for his career. In 2013 with the Steelers he filled in for injured center Maurkice Pouncey and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him as the team’s fourth-best lineman.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/15/15
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Carolina Panthers
- To be signed: C Eric Kush (via Greg Auman on Twitter)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: QB Matt Blanchard (via press release)
- Cut: OL Erle Ladson (via press release)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: RB Zurlon Tipton and OL Robert Myers (via press release)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OT Patrick Miller (via Mike DiRocco on Twitter)
- Cut: DT Toby Johnson (via press release)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Deon Long (via Jason La Canfora on Twitter), QB Logan Thomas (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
New England Patriots
- To be signed: LB Eric Martin (Twitter link via Mike Reiss)
New Orleans Saints
- To be signed: OT Sean Hickey, WR R.J. Harris and TE Blake Annen (Twitter link via Mike Triplett)
New York Giants
- To be signed: CB Tramain Jacobs (via transactions wire)
- To be cut: QB G.J. Kinne (link via Jordan Raanan)
Philadelphia Eagles
- To be signed: RB Kevin Monangai and NT Travis Raciti (via team website)
- To be cut: TE Andrew Gleichert
St. Louis Rams
- To be signed: CB Brandon McGee (via Howard Balzer on Twitter)
- To be cut: S Jacob Hagen
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- To be signed: LB Julian Stanford
- To be cut: TE Cameron Brate, WR Kaelin Clay, G Martin Wallace (via press release)
Washington
- To be signed: CB Dashaun Phillips (Twitter link via Mike Jones)
- To be cut: FB Ray Agnew
Extra Points: Ravens, Patriots, Clay, Bush
With Terrell Suggs lost for the season, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes his team has the internal options to fill the void. However, he acknowledges that the club is also looking at external options and could add somebody soon (Twitter links via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun). Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com scans the free agent market and identifies a few possible targets for Baltimore.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Patriots employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally won’t face further discipline from the NFL for their possible involvement in DeflateGate, and will meet with the league soon to discuss new roles with the team, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Neither Jastremski nor McNally will be involved in the preparation, handling, or supervision of game balls going forward.
- According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, new Bills tight end Charles Clay had his knee drained at least a half-dozen times last season while he was a Dolphin. Clay’s knees were a source of concern for suitors in free agency, and specifically for the Dolphins, who declined to match Buffalo’s huge offer sheet to Clay back in March. As Schefter explains, there are some who wonder how much longer Clay will be able to play.
- The Saints received some bad news on the injury front, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that safety Rafael Bush tore his pectoral muscle during Sunday’s loss in Arizona.
- Elsewhere in the NFC South, the Panthers will be without offensive tackle Daryl Williams for two to four weeks after he sprained his right MCL, as David Newton of ESPN.com details.
Panthers Sign Luke Kuechly To Extension
SUNDAY, 10:45am: Former NFL agent Joel Corry passes along a few notes on Kuechly’s new deal in a series of tweets. The exact average annual value of the contract is $12,359,059, an homage to Kuechly’s No. 59 jersey number. The deal includes over $34MM of guarantees, of which $26MM is fully guaranteed ($6MM of that $26MM figure is an option bonus that isn’t technically guaranteed, but Kuechly’s receipt of that bonus money is certain).
THURSDAY, 5:56pm: It’s official – the Panthers have announced the deal in a press release.
THURSDAY, 1:42pm: A pair of local Panthers reporters, Steve Reed of The Associated Press and Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links), indicate that the deal isn’t quite done, with Person reporting that the two sides are “hammering out [the] final details.” It sounds to me like the Panthers and Kuechly have agreed to the general parameters of a contract, but the linebacker has yet to put pen to paper. We’ll keep you posted on the latest as it breaks.
THURSDAY, 11:36am: After reporting yesterday that the Panthers and Luke Kuechly were nearing a new deal, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports says today (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement. The star linebacker will get a five-year, $62MM contract, according to Getlin. That makes Kuechly the NFL’s highest-paid inside linebacker, as he surpasses Bobby Wagner‘s $10.75MM annual salary.
Kuechly, 24, has established himself as one of the game’s best defenders since entering the league in 2012. The Boston College product has started all 48 regular season contests during his three-year career, averaging 167 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and 10 passes defended per season. The former ninth overall pick has received his fair share of accolades, winning the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He’s also been named to a pair of Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams.
Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required) confirms Kuechly’s dominance. After ranking seventh in his rookie season and eighth in 2013, Kuechly placed first among all qualified inside linebackers last season, with a +28.4 overall grade. That grade was buoyed by a strong performance against the pass, as he easily ranked as the league’s best coverage inside linebacker, per PFF.
Despite his impressive résumé, Kuechly was never in line for the sort of megadeal that the league’s best quarterbacks or pass rushers can land. However, as I wrote last month when a report suggested extension talks between the two sides were heating up, Kuechly had a strong case to land an average annual salary of $12MM, after Wagner set a new standard for inside linebackers earlier this year. The new deal will pay the Panthers’ star $12.4MM per year.
It’s not yet clear how long the Panthers have now locked up Kuechly — he still had two years remaining on his rookie contract, including a fifth-year option worth $11.058MM in 2016, so five new years would take him through the 2021 season. However, that ’16 year may be included in the initial reports on his new deal. We’ll wait for further word to find out for sure.
In any case, it’s the latest contract extension in an offseason full of them for the Panthers. So far this year, the team has also locked up quarterback Cam Newton, tight end Greg Olsen, and Kuechly’s fellow linebacker Thomas Davis. GM Dave Gettleman had indicated earlier this year that this offseason would be less about bringing in outside players and more about Carolina securing its core pieces for the future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Panthers, Chargers, Browns
The Panthers locked up star linebacker Luke Kuechly to a long-term deal Thursday, but it doesn’t appear that teammate and fellow defensive linchpin Josh Norman will receive similar treatment. Negotiations between the Panthers and the cornerback stalled this week, reports Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer. Because general manager Dave Gettleman doesn’t negotiate new deals during the season, Norman looks poised to play out 2015 as a contract year.
Norman, whom the Panthers took in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, is coming off a season in which he totaled 48 tackles and a career-best two interceptions. More impressively, Norman held opposing quarterbacks to a paltry 53.2 rating when they attacked him, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That ranked fourth out of the 70 corners who played at least 50 percent of their teams’ defensive snaps in 2014.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer set a Friday deadline for the city and the Chargers to agree on a new stadium that would keep the team from heading to Los Angeles next year. The two sides failed to meet it, according to Elliot Spagat of The Associated Press. That means there won’t be time for a measure to be put to voters on a Jan. 12 ballot, which Faulconer wanted. It seems, then, that the Chargers’ potential relocation to L.A. is becoming likelier.
- The Browns finished last season in a tie for the league’s third-lowest yards-per-carry average, and they’re still without an obvious solution at running back. Current starter Isiah Crowell, who averaged 4.1 per carry and scored eight touchdowns in 2014, thinks he can fill the role. “I’m ready,” he said, according to Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com. “I always knew I had what it takes.” Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo added, “Nothing has shown to me that Crow can’t be that workhorse for us.”
- Like Cleveland, the Cowboys also lack a top-end running back. They had the league’s rushing champion last season in DeMarco Murray, but he signed with Philadelphia in the offseason. So, Dallas will try to replace him with a committee consisting of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar and Christine Michael. Owner Jerry Jones is optimistic about the quartet. “If they are healthy, I will take the skill and what they can bring to our offense,” he said, per Eric Prisbell of USA Today.
- Rookie free agent quarterback Phillip Sims will work out for the Seahawks on Monday, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Simms, whom NFC West rival Arizona released last week, went undrafted out of Winston-Salem State this year.
Extra Points: Los Angeles, Raiders, Wilkerson
As the Rams, Raiders, and Chargers jockey to get into Los Angeles, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter links) hears that the NFL could look to put one team in L.A. in 2016 and another in 2017 and delay the opening of new stadium to 2019 so that the second team has sufficient time to market. Meanwhile, if the Raiders are the team that gets squeezed out, some have floated the idea of them relocating to San Diego while the Bolts and Rams to go Inglewood.
Here’s more from around the NFL..
- Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) hears that there is no Sunday deadline for the Jets and Muhammad Wilkerson to hammer out a contract. If necessary, he hears that the Jets and Wilkerson will continue discussions into the season. On Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the two sides are “nowhere close on a deal.” He also heard from a source that Wilkerson will not negotiate during the season.
- The Panthers will work out former Giants defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Ellis, who was released on Sunday in favor of Louis Nix, spent four seasons with the Jets before signing with Big Blue in March.
- Texans starting inside linebacker Mike Mohamed is out two to four weeks with a calf injury, according to sources who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
NFC Notes: Eli, C. Jordan, Saints, Ellis
Reports this week have indicated that Eli Manning and the Giants are making progress toward a new contract extension, and it looks increasingly possible that a deal could be reached before New York’s Week 1 opener against the Cowboys. Adam Schefter of ESPN is the latest to express optimism, suggesting today on NFL Live that Manning will likely have an extension in place by Sunday that pays him north of $20MM annually (Twitter link).
As we wait to see whether the Giants and Manning can get something finalized this week, let’s round up a few more NFC items….
- Not long after parting ways with their top pass rusher, Junior Galette, due to ongoing off-field incidents, the Saints are potentially dealing with another legal situation involving a key defensive player. As Mike Triplett of ESPN.com details, New Orleans police are investigating a nightclub altercation from his past weekend that allegedly involves Cameron Jordan. So far, no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made, and Jordan’s attorneys call the allegations “ridiculous,” as Jonathan Bullington of the Times-Picayune writes. Still, it’s the last thing the Saints wanted to be dealing with as the regular season gets underway.
- Former Jets and Giants defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis was in Carolina today to pay a visit to the Panthers, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- The Saints are bringing in former Dolphins guard Mike Liedtke for a look on Monday, per agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link). After being cut by Miami, Liedtke visited the Jets on Tuesday.
- Addressing the Kam Chancellor holdout in Seattle, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports notes (via Twitter) that it would send the wrong message for the Seahawks to meet Chancellor’s demands when Michael Bennett, who is also unhappy with his contract, was in attendance for the team’s entire training camp.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News weigh in with some thoughts on Jason Pierre-Paul‘s situation, with Vacchiano writing that the Giants can’t count on JPP being a real contributor this year.
Panthers, Luke Kuechly Nearing Extension
THURSDAY, 11:28am: The Panthers and Kuechly are expected to have an agreement in place within the next 24 hours, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Panthers and linebacker Luke Kuechly are closing in on an extension, according to Rand Getlin of NFL Network (on Twitter). The two sides have reportedly been in serious discussions for about a month now.
Kuechly, 24, has established himself as one of the NFL’s best defenders since entering the league in 2012. The Boston College product has started all 48 regular season contests during his three-year career, averaging 167 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and 10 passes defended per season. The former ninth overall pick has received his fair share of accolades, winning the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He’s also been named to a pair of Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams.
For the Panthers, there’s no real rush to get something finalized with Kuechly, since he remains under contract through the 2016 season. However, his cap hit for ’16 is $11.058MM, the value of his fifth-year option. By hammering out an extension, Carolina can reduce that figure.
Kuechly’s floor was likely set in August, when Bobby Wagner signed a new four-year, $43MM contract with the Seahawks. Wagner’s deal made him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL, surpassing Lawrence Timmons‘ $9.56MM annual salary, and Kuechly figures to set a new standard when he signs, since he has been even more productive than Wagner. A new-money, per-year salary in the ballpark of $12MM doesn’t seem out of reach for the Panthers linebacker.
Workout Notes: 9/9/15
Former Falcons center Joe Hawley is visiting the Buccaneers today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hawley could be a fit with Tampa Bay as he has a history with offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter from their time together in Atlanta. Hawley, 27 in October, was on his way to returning from the ACL surgery that ended his 2014 season prematurely when he was cut loose by the Falcons earlier this week.
Here are more of the latest workouts and free agent meetings (All links are from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle via Twitter, unless noted otherwise)..
- The Vikings auditioned defensive backs Ri’Shard Anderson and C.J. Roberts, tight end Brian Leonhardt, and linebacker Jordan Tripp, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Cowboys tried out offensive tackle Charles Brown today, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Current Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith backed up Brown when both players attended USC.
- The Titans worked out safety Shaquille Richardson (link).
- Keavon Milton visited the Panthers (link). The offensive lineman spent time on the Seahawks’ taxi squad in 2014 before being promoted to the 53-man roster in December.
- Former Arena Football League wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw visited the Lions (link).
- The Buccaneers worked out linebacker Julian Stanford and linebacker Tyrell Adams (link).
- The Giants auditioned safety Shiloh Keo, linebacker Nico Johnson, cornerback Tramain Jacobs, ex-Jets wide receiver Shaq Evans, safety Durell Eskridge, and cornerback Dwight Bentley (link). The Giants also tried out Joe Looney, Nick Moody, Henoc Muamba, Quayshawn Nealy, Xavier Proctor, and Alameda Ta’amu (link).
- The Colts tried out offensive lineman Travis Bond, wide receiver Marquez Clark, linebacker Edwin Jackson, and defensive tackle Derrick Lott (link).
- The Jaguars tried out Rasheed Bailey, Matt Blanchard, and Cody Fajardo (link).