FA Notes: Cowboys, Houston, Suh, Rams
Tony Romo and the Cowboys had two of the league’s most dynamic offensive weapons at their disposal in 2014, with Dez Bryant leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns and DeMarco Murray running away with the rushing title. However, both players are eligible for free agency this offseason, and owner Jerry Jones acknowledged yesterday that it’s unlikely both of them return to the team.
“Is it possible [to re-sign both players]? Yes,” Jones said, per DallasCowboys.com. “But if you just look at it from the standpoint of dollars and cents, it probably doesn’t look reasonable.”
Considering Jones has stated in the past that the Cowboys intend to keep Bryant around by any means necessary, including the franchise tag, that doesn’t bode particularly well for Murray’s future with in Dallas. We heard earlier this week that the league’s leading rusher appeared likely to reach the open market.
Here’s more on this year’s free-agents-to-be:
- There have been “zero talks” between the Chiefs and outside linebacker Justin Houston on a new contract since the regular season ended, a source tells Herbie Teope of ChiefsDigest.com. If Houston and the Chiefs don’t work out a long-term deal within the next few weeks, the franchise tag looks like a very realistic possibility for the NFL’s sack leader.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Field Yates examines Ndamukong Suh’s potential free agency, identifying the Raiders, Browns, and Bengals as the best non-Lions fits for the star defensive tackle.
- In his preview of the Rams‘ offseason, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com identifies tackle Joe Barksdale, quarterback Shaun Hill, and wide receiver Kenny Britt as a few potential free agents the team should consider re-signing.
- Ravens quarterback Tyrod Taylor sees his rookie contract expire this winter, making him eligible for unrestricted free agency. He spoke to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun about the next step in his career, suggesting that returning to the Ravens or signing with another club could both be “good options.”
- The NFL will introduce a veteran free agent combine this March, scheduled for a couple weeks after free agency opens, writes Conor Orr of NFL.com, passing along a report from colleague Ian Rapoport. According to a memo sent out by the league, the combine will “serve to isolate and consolidate veteran free-agent talent for more focused evaluation on a comparative basis.”
Coach Notes: Broncos, Gase, Tarver, 49ers
While not all teams are overly transparent during the process of searching for a new head coach, the Broncos were willing to announce their first formal interview before it was even finished today, tweeting that offensive coordinator Adam Gase was interviewing for the position. Word of Gase’s afternoon meeting with the Broncos was first reported by Mike Klis of the Denver Post, who adds that the club will talk to Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Friday and still hopes to hear back from Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
Here’s the rest of our latest round-up of coaching-related updates:
- The Broncos will interview Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph for their head coach opening, according to Mike Klis of The Denver Post. While most head coaching candidates make the step from the coordinator position, it is not unprecedented for position coaches to be hired as head coaches, as Klis notes. Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Andy Reid, and, most recently, Jim Tomsula, all got their first head coaching gigs directly from position coach.
- There’s still a very good probability that Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell end up with Washington, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Former Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver, whose contract expired this week, is expected to join Jim Tomsula‘s staff, though his role with the 49ers hasn’t been determined and nothing’s official yet, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
- After losing Bill Callahan to Washington, the Cowboys named Frank Pollack their new offensive line coach, per Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link).
- Meanwhile, the offensive line coach Callahan replaced in Washington, Chris Foerster, is headed to the 49ers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Minor Moves: Ford, Gates, Hill
Today’s minor moves..
- The Titans signed wide receivers Jacoby Ford and Clyde Gates to futures contracts, according to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Ford, a former fourth round choice, spent 2010-2013 with the Raiders. Gates, a former member of the Jets, worked out for the Raiders in December.
- The Panthers announced (on Twitter) that they have signed wide receiver Stephen Hill to a futures deal. The Panthers’ other nine taxi squad players officially signed on Tuesday. Hill, the former second-round pick of the Jets, has yet to produce at the NFL level. Gang Green released Hill in 2014 despite having a thin receiving corps.
- The Broncos will sign safety Ross Madison to a futures contract, according to Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post. Madison, 6-foot, 205 pounds, is a former Toledo standout. He went to camp with Washington last summer before landing in the Fall Experimental Football League.
- The Bengals announced on Twitter that they have signed running back James Wilder Jr. to a futures deal.
Minor Moves: Friday
Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including a new deal for a would-be exclusive right free agent, a few reserve/futures signings, and a practice squad change….
- Washington has signed fullback Jordan Campbell to a reserve/futures contract, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. Campbell spent some time on the Chiefs’ practice squad earlier in the season and worked out for Washington last month.
Earlier updates:
- The Bengals have re-signed tight end Kevin Brock to a new contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brock, who joined the team in September after injuries to Tyler Eifert and Alex Smith, had been on track to become an exclusive rights free agent.
- Since being eliminated from the postseason, the Steelers have been adding to their offseason roster, inking seven players to reserve/futures contracts on Monday and signing a couple more yesterday. Pittsburgh continued to bring players aboard today, per PR man Burt Lauten, who tweets that the team has signed linebacker Terence Garvin, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, defensive end Matt Conrath, safety Alden Darby, tight end Michael Egnew, and linebacker Roosevelt Nix.
- The 49ers are re-signing linebacker Shayne Skov, who finished the season on the team’s practice squad, to a reserve/futures deal, a source tells Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The team has now locked up everyone who finished the season on the taxi squad.
- The Lions signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo to a futures contract today, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. When it appeared last week that Detroit might be without Ndamukong Suh for Sunday’s playoff game, the team brought Cudjo in for a workout.
- The Seahawks made a small change to their taxi squad today, re-signing defensive tackle Jimmy Staten and releasing linebacker Mike Zimmer, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). As Condotta points out in a second tweet, Seattle had signed Zimmer and cut Staten just yesterday, so the club is frequently shuffling the two players on and off the unit at this point.
AFC North Notes: Harbaugh, Browns, Maualuga
When John Harbaugh was originally interviewing for the Ravens head coaching position, he received a bit of help from one of his colleagues. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave owner Steve Bisciotti a call, endorsing the former Eagles special teams coach for the opening. Harbaugh eventually got the job, and as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun writes, the coach still appreciates the recommendation from his upcoming playoff opponent:
“It meant everything. As far as probably getting the job, it didn’t hurt. You have to ask Steve and Ozzie [Newsome] if it made the difference or not. But the fact that he was willing to do that at the time, I was stunned when I heard the story much later.
“I would describe the relationship as very good, great admiration for coach. I’ve never worked with him, specifically, but for whatever reason he has been always willing to kind of take me under his wing in a way and give me time and insight and things like that.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC North…
- Former Bears quarterback coach Matt Cavanaugh is on the Browns “radar” for the offensive coordinator opening, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Cavanaugh previously worked with coach Mike Pettine at the University of Pittsburgh, and they reunited again in the NFL with the Ravens and Jets.
- Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com takes a look at some other potential candidates for the Browns offensive coordinator opening. His list includes Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, former college coach/NFL coordinator Charlie Weis, former Bears coach Marc Trestman and Cowboys offensive coordinator Bill Callahan.
- Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther believes upcoming free agent linebacker Rey Maualuga will ultimately return to the Bengals. “I believe he does,” Guenther said (via ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey). “You saw when he came back the effect he had on us.”
- Harvey also focuses on five major questions surrounding the Bengals entering the offseason, including the future of tight end Jermaine Gresham.
Bengals, Shiloh Keo Agree To Terms
The Bengals have agreed to terms on a deal with safety Shiloh Keo, a source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It figures to be a reserve/futures contract for Keo, who didn’t finish the season on an NFL roster.
Keo, 26, racked up 63 tackles in Houston’s secondary in 2013, also defending six passes and snagging an interception. However, the former fifth-round pick’s injury woes and unspectacular play saw him surpassed on the depth chart early in 2014 by Kendrick Lewis and Danieal Manning. Keo was cut by Houston about a month into the season, after battling a calf injury for the first few weeks.
News of Keo’s agreement with the Bengals comes on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that Cincinnati had signed seven players off its practice squad to futures contracts.
Extra Points: Newman, McCloughan, Bradham
As Terence Newman nears potential free agency, the veteran cornerback will have to decide whether or not he’ll continue his playing career, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. While Newman would love a chance to compete for a Super Bowl, there’s also some appeal in going out on his own terms, as he explains.
“I think Barry Sanders did it best,” Newman said. “He just said, ‘Hey, this isn’t for me anymore.’ He was probably one of the only people that ever went out on his own terms; he wasn’t forced out age-wise or whatever. He just called it quits because he wanted to. He’s probably the only person I can think of that ever did that.”
Assuming Newman does decide to continue playing, another year with the Bengals is a possibility. The cornerback says he expects to be in contact with the team, adding “[we’ll] see what happens.” Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The draft order has been set for picks 21 through 24 this year, as Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk details. Based on record and strength-of-schedule tiebreakers, it’ll be the Bengals at No. 21, followed by the Steelers, Lions, and Cardinals, respectively.
- We heard on Monday morning that Washington has interest in hiring former 49ers GM Scot McCloughan to a front office role, and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) reports that McCloughan actually has offers from at least three teams for prominent front office positions. McCloughan is “relishing” being his own boss at the moment, but may seriously consider taking a role with an NFL team, says La Canfora. Meanwhile, Michael Silver of NFL.com (Twitter links) says the Raiders courted McCloughan, but were unwilling to give GM Reggie McKenzie‘s decision-making power to McCloughan, who would only have been interested in the role if he were running the team’s football department.
- Greg Roman, who is expected to land with another team as an offensive coordinator, definitely won’t be back with the 49ers, says Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who identifies a few possible candidates to oversee San Francisco’s offense in 2015.
- After reporting on Monday morning that the Bills were interested in negotiating a new deal for newly-extension-eligible linebacker Nigel Bradham, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Bradham has hired agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him.
- Addressing his team’s defensive line and its inability to create a consistent pass rush, Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said today, “We need to improve the guys who are coming back here next year and continue to improve, and we need to infuse some new players, to be honest with you” (link via Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
- Nick Fairley‘s NFL future is largely tied to that of Ndamukong Suh, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, who explains that the Lions won’t have the ability to keep both defensive tackles this offseason.
- In response to a report that Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles, St. Louis officials released a statement today indicating that the city is “ready to demonstrate our commitment” to keeping the franchise in Missouri, per Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (TwitLonger link).
Bengals Sign Seven To Reserve Deals
Following the conclusion of their 2014 season on Sunday, the Bengals have begun to move on to 2015 business. As such, the team announced today (Twitter links) that it has signed seven players to reserve/futures contracts for the coming season. All seven players finished the year on Cincinnati’s practice squad. Here’s the full list:
- L.J. Fort, LB
- Dan France, T
- Kwame Geathers, DT
- Onterio McCalebb, CB
- Jake Murphy, TE
- Tevin Reese, WR
- Eric Ward, WR
Of the 10 players who finished the season on the Bengals’ taxi squad, three have yet to sign new deals — offensive linemen Emmett Cleary, running back James Wilder, and defensive end Sam Montgomery.
Coaching Rumors: Sunday
We will keep you apprised of any new coaching rumors right here over the course of the day:
- Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will be a busy man over the next few weeks, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that he will be interviewing with the Jets, 49ers, Falcons, and Raiders (via Twitter). As we learned earlier, the Bears are also expected to be on that list.
- Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 confirms that Bowles will meet with all five of those organizations, and notes that he will likely begin his interviews on Tuesday or Wednesday (via Twitter).
- The Bears and Jets have both asked permission to interview Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, but the former Texans head coach has decided not to pursue openings until his season is over, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter).
- Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis hopes to return to the team in 2015, but knows that is not guaranteed after another dismal playoff performance, writes Coley Harvey of ESPN. “Tomorrow’s not promised for anyone,” Lewis said. “That’s part of life in the NFL and the finality of losing when you lose in the playoffs.”
- Despite both teams losing this Wild Card weekend, Cardinals defensive coordinator Bowles and Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have impressed D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). He notes that Austin’s ability to create pressue should have him moving up the Falcons’ list of candidates (via Twitter).
- Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich will interview for the Jets’ open head coaching position on Wednesday, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter).
- In addition to Reich and Bowles, the Jets will interview Dolphins director of college scouting Chris Grier in the coming days, reports Kimberly Martin of Newsday (via Twitter).
Earlier updates:
- We’ve previously heard that every team with a coaching vacancy had contacted the Cardinals about defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 tweets that official request for interviews have come from the Falcons, Bears and Jets.
- Current Bengals offensive coordinator (and former Oakland head coach) Hue Jackson has at least one fan in former Raiders CEO Amy Trask. “There is a misconception … that Hue is difficult to work with,” said Trask (via Twitter of Contra Costa Times Steve Corkran). “He is delightful…Hue Jackson is one of the most brilliant offensive minds I have ever had the privilege and pleasure of working with…He does what you hope a coach will do, which is put his players in the best position to win.”
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the Raiders have requested permission to interview Cowboys passing game coordinator Scott Linehan. Linehan compiled an 11-25 record as head coach of the Rams from 2006-2008, but his subsequent work as the Lions‘ offensive coordinator and as Dallas’ passing game coordinator–a position that includes play-calling duties–has revived his reputation as a top offensive mind.
- Schefter also tweets that the Bills have requested permission to interview Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. Buffalo, which will be interviewing Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn today, has cast a very wide net as it seeks to replace Doug Marrone.
Front Office Notes: Bills, Jets, Bengals, Bears
The Lions success this season has resulted in defensive coordinator Teryl Austin becoming one of the most sought after head coaching candidates in the league. While he isn’t eligible to talk with teams until next week, Austin already has a line of suitors, including the Falcons, 49ers and Bills.
Of course, there’s a chance that Austin may be too busy to interview for a job if his team advances to the next round of the playoffs. Regardless, the 49-year-old is already preparing for a hectic upcoming week:
“The way I think the brackets are set up, we’d play on Saturday next week and it’d be a short week, so a lot of it would have to do, if our team here is ready,” Austin said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “If I think I need the time to get our team ready here, then I won’t interview. But if I feel I’ve got our team and everything that we have in here so that we can go play a quality game then I would.”
Meanwhile, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell believes his defensive coordinator would be a wonderful addition to any organization:
“For all of us, for him, I think, and his family, I think he’s deserving of it and I think he’s going to get one,” Caldwell said. “I think if, once they get an opportunity to see him and listen to him and watch what he’s been able to do, I think it’ll happen for him and I think it’ll be absolutely outstanding.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the NFL’s front offices…
- One factor that may have contributed to Doug Marrone‘s exit from the Bills was his disagreement with the organization’s draft strategy. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports that the former head coach was not happy with the team sending a pair of first-rounders to the Browns in exchange for the opportunity to select wideout Sammy Watkins.
- The Jets could do better than Marrone as their next head coach, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The writer cites people within the Bills organization who describe the former coach as a “control freak,” and Mehta notes that Marrone may be too thin-skinned and ornery for the gig. “It’s about power and control,” a source told Mehta. “That is what drives Doug Marrone. That’s why he is a very dangerous person to have inside the building.”
- Despite the Bengals playoff loss this afternoon, a variety of NFL writers would be shocked if the team dismissed head coach Marvin Lewis. Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that Lewis will be back next season, but his future could be reevaluated following that. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal tweets that a firing would be “stunning,” while Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes that Lewis is still the right man for the job.
- The previously reported GM interview between the Bears and Chiefs executive Chris Ballard will take place on Wednesday, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.