NFC South Notes: Weatherspoon, Newton, Bucs
A quick look at the NFC South..
- Poor Sean Weatherspoon. The Falcons linebacker has missed 12 games over the past two years and today he learned that he’ll miss 16 more in 2014. The team announced today that Weatherspoon ruptured his Achilles tendon and will have to miss all of the 2014 season. “During Sean’s run today with our medical staff, he suffered an injury,” head coach Mike Smith said. “We sent Sean to the doctor for some additional testing and evaluation and unfortunately the results showed that he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Sean had been working extremely hard to get back on the field, but regrettably he will miss the entire 2014 season. He will have a procedure done in the near future and we expect him to make a full recovery.”
- Talks between Cam Newton and the Panthers on a deal still have yet to get underway, but there’s a fear that teams will look to impose the Colin Kaepernick structure moving forward, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. However, a deal for Newton may be for a higher average annual value and, as one source told Rapoport (link), guaranteed money is what really matters.
- Buccaneers rookie Kadeem Edwards is looking to make an immediate impact, writes Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. The guard was taken in the fifth round out of I-AA Tennessee State.
Extra Points: 49ers, Browns, Panthers, Rams
When Colin Kaepernick‘s new contract extension was announced, the 49ers signal-caller suggested that he inked a team-friendly contract in part because he hoped it would help San Francisco lock up some of its other key players. But the fact that Kaepernick accepted such a modest guarantee could complicate matters for the Niners when it comes to extending players like Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati, says Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
As Maiocco writes, the Niners aren’t in the business of handing out huge guarantees to outside free agents or their own players, so Crabtree and Iupati may have to make some concessions if they want to remain in San Francisco. Both players could potentially earn a larger guarantee on the open market than the Niners will be willing to pay.
Let’s round up several more Monday odds and ends from around the NFL….
- Veteran edge defender Edgar Jones worked out for the Browns today, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Jones, who has played for the Ravens, Chiefs, and Cowboys, has appeared in 64 regular season contests, but has never started a game or played a significant defensive role.
- The new Browns’ decision-makers, led by GM Ray Farmer, have made about 40 player transactions since taking control of roster decisions in February, so Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com decides to take stock of the additions and subtractions made by the club.
- There hasn’t really been a market set for second-tier quarterbacks, so the Bengals and Chiefs will have tough decisions ahead of them as they decide what to do with Andy Dalton and Alex Smith, respectively. Albert Breer of the NFL Network takes a look at the limited options for the two clubs, proposing one “radical” alternative to signing their QBs to lucrative extensions.
- Given the lack of reliable veteran options on the Panthers’ wide receiving corps, there could be an opening or two for an unheralded player to earn a roster spot. One such player may be Wofford’s Brenton Bersin, who has earned some praise from head coach Ron Rivera, as David Newton of ESPN.com details.
- After signing with the Rams as a free agent this offseason, wide receiver Kenny Britt is enjoying his fresh start in St. Louis, writes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Following DeSean Jackson‘s latest allegations against agent Drew Rosenhaus, the NFLPA issued a memo to all agents vowing to double the penalties for any infractions, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
Extra Points: Tannehill, Burnett, Panthers
Here are some assorted NFL notes on this Saturday evening…
- The evidence says that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill isn’t a $100MM player, but ESPN.com’s James Walker wonders how much his value will increase if Tannehill guides Miami to the playoffs. Walker adds that the team is in a good position since they can potentially push off negotiations for two years.
- Having spent his first four years with the Cowboys, Kevin Burnett would be a good fit with his former team says ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez. With the Raiders drafting of Khalil Mack and the presence of Sio Moore, Burnett seems to be the odd man out in Oakland.
- Even with veterans Jason Avant, Jerricho Cotchery and Tiquan Underwood, Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer says the wideouts that have stood out the most during Panthers OTAs are Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt. None of the 11 receivers on the team’s roster caught a pass with the Panthers last season.
NFC South Notes: Panthers WRs, Saints TEs
Chalk this up as one of the more amazing tidbits with respect to NFL team’s rosters, as written by The Charlotte Observer’s Joseph Person: none of the 11 wide receivers on the Panthers roster this spring caught a pass for the team last season.
The Panthers went wide receiver in the first round of the draft, selecting 6-foot-5, 240-pound Kelvin Benjamin from Florida State No. 28 overall. He’ll be looking to replace departed receiver Steve Smith, as will fellow young wideouts Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt, who have been rotating through the first-, second- and third-team offenses in organized team activities.
“One thing we’re trying to make sure is everybody’s getting a lot of reps right now,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “Because when we get to training camp, we want to make sure everybody’s up to speed. We’ve made an emphasis that we’re rotating a lot of players, as much as possible. Wide receiver’s one of those positions.”
As Person notes in his column, both King and McNutt have impressive collegiate résumés, starring at Georgia and Iowa, respectively. They’ll be competing for the starting receiver spots with Benjamin and three free-agent acquisitions: Jerricho Cotchery, Tiquan Underwood and Jason Avant.
Check out more from the NFC South in the links below…
- De’Andre Presley was the answer from Rivera when asked if a player has distinguished himself after Wednesday’s OTA, writes The Observer’s Tom Sorensen. Presley, a quarterback in college at Appalachian State, switched to cornerback upon signing with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent, and is now trying to make the Panthers roster at wide receiver.
- The Panthers went defensive tackle back-to-back in the 2013 NFL Draft with the selections of Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short in the first and second rounds, respectively, but Short is still in a fight for a starting position, writes Jonathan Jones of The Observer.
- Six tight ends combine for 20 years of experience on the Panthers roster, and Rivera loves the versatility they bring, ESPN.com’s David Newton reports.
- While there is no replacing the immense talent of Jimmy Graham, Saints tight ends Ben Watson and Josh Hill are doing what is asked of them at OTAs, including everything Graham would be doing, per The Times-Picayune’s Christopher Dabe.
- First-round pick receiver Brandin Cooks will be back for the final week of Saints OTAs, believes ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett.
- Despite suffering two concussions in his rookie season, Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said he won’t slow down nor change his reckless ways, Triplett writes.
- With a defensive-heavy draft, notes ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure, the Falcons surely made defensive coordinator Mike Nolan a happy man. Nolan touched on each of the seven defensive players drafted, including a glowing review of Dez Southward, the former Wisconsin safety whom Atlanta selected in the third round: “He’s got really good size and is fast. He’s an intelligent guy. He doesn’t have as much football in his background as other guys because he played late in high school. But he’ll listen, as opposed to somebody that didn’t learn much and then they think that they have all the answers.”
Cam Newton Guarantees To Be Ready
Cam Newton assures Panthers’ fans that he will be ready to play come the start of the season. “I guarantee you that,” said Newton according to the team’s official Twitter page.
Newton has been campaigning to be the cover athlete of the upcoming Madden, battling, and eventually losing out to Seahawks’ cornerback and Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman (via Twitter).
Newton’s status has been in question this offseason as he has been recovering from surgery he had to repair his ankle, an injury that has plagued him throughout last season.
The Panthers have been under pressure as Newton approaches his next contract. Newton is coming off his best year as a pro, leading the Panthers to capture the second seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye. However, the team was unable to retain key pieces this offseason, nor replace them with quality players. The team has serious question marks at receiver, left tackle, and in the secondary.
The team will have to fight regression to get back in the playoffs, and Newton will have to match or even outperform his 2013 season if he wants a contract extension close to what Colin Kaepernick got, Andrew Luck is soon to get, or one of the other top flight young quarterbacks in the NFL.
NFC Notes: Giants, Cassel, 49ers, Eagles
A former Packers tight end will work out for the Giants next week, but it’s not the player voted the best remaining free agent by PFR readers last month. Tom Crabtree, not Jermichael Finley, will audition for the Giants, a source tells Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger. Crabtree’s stint with the Buccaneers came to a premature end after an injury-plaged 2013 season, but the tight end is healthy now, according to Orr’s source. While the 28-year-old has never provided consistent production as a pass-catcher, he did make several big plays for the Packers in 2012, racking up 203 receiving yards and three TDs on just eight receptions.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- When Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner held the same job with the Browns a year ago, he wanted Cleveland to sign Matt Cassel. The Browns ultimately went with the cheaper Jason Campbell instead, but Turner will get his chance to work with Cassel in Minnesota this season, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- In the view of Joel Corry of CBSSports.com, Colin Kaepernick‘s extension shouldn’t prevent the 49ers from locking up other key players, but it may create less margin for error in the club’s roster decisions.
- In taking an in-depth look at the Eagles‘ quarterback situation, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer explores how much Nick Foles may get paid on his next contract and suggests Mark Sanchez looks like the favorite for the No. 2 job over Matt Barkley.
- Based on pre-draft assurances from head coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, Sam Bradford was able to brush off the Johnny Manziel rumors surrounding the Rams last month, as the quarterback tells Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Mike Tanier of Sports on Earth tries to make sense of the Panthers‘ moves over the last several months in his piece breaking down the team’s offseason.
Extra Points: Newton, Foles, Romo, Bills
Good news for Los Angeles, Chicago, and Madison Square Garden landlord James Dolan: they’re all finalists to host the 2015 NFL Draft, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Radio City Music Hall has informed the NFL that it will not be available to host the NFL draft in April or May, because the Rockettes are more important, apparently. Here’s more from around the league…
- Cam Newton‘s next contract with the Panthers is unlikely to mirror Colin Kaepernick‘s new deal with the 49ers, writes Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. “I’m sure the Carolina Panthers will go, ‘Hey, we’ll give you Kaepernick’s structure,’” said Joel Corry, a former NFL agent. “But (Newton’s agent) Bus Cook is not going to be too receptive to that.” Newton, selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 draft in which Kaepernick was picked in the second round, is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal. In April, the Panthers picked up the club option on Newton for 2015 at $14.67MM.
- Eagles quarterback Nick Foles will set his own market, not Kaepernick, writes Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. For now, Foles stands as the biggest QB bargain in the NFL, save for the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, but the Eagles will have to give him big bucks after this season to wrap him up long term. For his career, Foles has thrown 33 touchdown passes and seven interceptions (27 TDs and two interceptions last year), completing 364 of 582 passes (62.5%) for 4,590 yards.
- The relationship between Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and quarterback Tony Romo could wind up saving Garrett’s job, writes Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News. The Cowboys have bent over backwards to accommodate Romo and keeping Garrett would continue that trend.
- Former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano confirmed today that he has interest in bidding on the Bills when they are put up for sale, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “Everybody has a degree of reasonableness,” Golisano said. “If it costs way more than I’m willing to pay, then I won’t feel bad if I don’t get them. I’ll only feel bad if they move out of Western New York. If they get moved out of Western New York, I’m not going to feel very good about it. I might even feel partially responsible. Not totally, but partially responsible.”
- While the deal seems hefty on the surface, Kaepernick’s new deal with the 49ers is actually quite team-friendly, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Branch, like Person, checked in with Corry for his take on the deal and he says that while the contract works in SF’s favor, the QB’s agents at XAM Sports didn’t necessarily get taken advantage of. It’s very possible that Kaepernick, as others have suggested, specifically wanted an under-value deal in order to make new deals possible for others on the roster.
Steve Smith Had Planned To Retire As Panther After 2014
Shortly after Carolina was eliminated from the postseason by the 49ers in January, wide receiver Steve Smith decided that 2014 would be his last season with the Panthers and as an NFL player, according to Don Banks of SI.com. Smith planned to play one more year, then retire as a Panther, the veteran confirmed.
“I finally decided and made the commitment to my family,” Smith said. “I told them, ‘I’m done. I don’t think I can do it much longer.’ My knee was sore and I knew all the work I had put into my career and what it would take. I came to terms with it, that this year was going to be my last year ever playing football.”
However, when he was released by the Panthers in the offseason, Smith received an unexpected jolt, and is now motivated to continue his career beyond the coming season. The 35-year-old signed a three-year pact with the Ravens and hopes to play out that contract before retiring.
“After this contract with the Baltimore Ravens, I am done,” Smith said. “I’m going to be stay-at-home dad, and I’m going to get on with the rest of my life’s work. I know sometimes there are people saying, ‘Oh, he needs to just let it go.’ Believe me, I will. I’m going to let it go. But I’m going to take a few people down with me. Not in spite, but just fun. I’m going to enjoy playing ball again. I’m going to have fun here.”
Of course, the modest $3.5MM signing bonus on Smith’s deal means that the Ravens could create cap savings by cutting ties with Smith in 2015 or 2016 if the new marriage doesn’t work out as well as anticipated. For now though, it appears a newly-motivated Smith is committed to playing multiple seasons before calling it a career.
NFC Notes: Zimmer, Newton, Kaepernick
A report yesterday quoted Vikings coach Mike Zimmer as saying that he almost didn’t show up for his second interview for the job. Today he clarified that story for reporters, including Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. The coach didn’t consider bailing on the Vikings interview because he wasn’t enthused for the position; he says he was just disappointed about not getting the Titans’ gig and didn’t think he had a great chance anywhere else. Here’s more out of the NFC..
- A lot of people are surprised by Colin Kaepernick‘s hefty new contract, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk argues that salary cap spikes could drive the quarterback market even higher. Because of that, he says that the Panthers need to move quickly on a new deal for QB Cam Newton. Soon, he says, the high-water mark for an elite QB will be $25MM per year and, eventually, $30MM per season. With another strong year or two, Newton could push the ceiling sky-high.
- The 49ers spent 15 hours straight negotiating with Kaepernick’s representatives, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The 49ers knew that the QB would play out his rookie deal rather than accepting anything with an average annual value under $20MM.
- The Falcons are counting on free agent pickup Dwight Lowery to fill their free safety hole, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After starting eight of 27 games for the Jets in 2009 and 2010, Lowery was a full-time starter for the Jaguars over the past three seasons. However, his season ended after just three games in 2013 after he suffered a bad concussion and went on injured reserve.
- There might not be an opportunity at present, but after signing a three-year extension with the Eagles yesterday, guard Allen Barbre says he would like to start, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Of course, the Eagles value his versatility off the bench as he has filled in admirably at both guard and tackle.
- Brian McNally of The Washington Times wonders if Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson can fill the void left by the retirement of London Fletcher.
- The Cardinals signed undrafted rookie free agent running back Damien Thigpen, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. To make room, the Cards dropped wide receiver Kevin Smith. Thigpen was in rookie minicamp a couple of weeks ago with Arizona and apparently made quite an ipression. The 5’8″, 180 pound tailback tore his ACL late in his junior year and also missed part of his senior season.
Panthers Sign Kelvin Benjamin, Trai Turner
The Panthers have become the 11th team in the NFL to lock up their entire 2014 draft class, announcing today (via Twitter) that first-round receiver Kelvin Benjamin and third-round guard Trai Turner have signed their rookie contracts. The club had previously locked up second-rounder Kony Ealy and its three other late-round draftees.
As the 28th overall pick in the draft, Benjamin is in line for a signing bonus worth $3.894MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. Benjamin, a former Florida State standout, will also have a fifth-year option on his deal which the team can exercise for the 2018 season. As for Turner, per Fitzgerald’s numbers, his signing bonus is a more modest $540K, with an overall four-year value of about $2.796MM on this deal.
As I noted this morning, coming into today, only 52 draft picks remained unsigned. With Benjamin and Turner now under contract, only 50 more still need to put pen to paper. You can follow the progress with our tracker.