NFC East Notes: Washington, Bradford, Eagles
After rounding up a few items out of the AFC East this morning, we’ll shift our attention to the other East division, moving over to the NFC. Let’s dive in….
- Washington is reportedly discussing a new contract with left tackle Trent Williams, and the team is believed to have some interest in extending running back Alfred Morris as well. However, there’s nothing imminent for either player on the extension front, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com.
- Despite reports that Sam Bradford and the Eagles are discussing a possible short-term extension, it remains unlikely that the two sides will get something done anytime soon, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As McLane observes, it might make more sense for Bradford and the Eagles to finalize a new deal later in the season, if the veteran quarterback is healthy and productive.
- After Eagles linebacker Travis Long tore his ACL, Chip Kelly confirmed that he’ll “look around” for an outside linebacker, tweets Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. It’s not clear if that player will come from outside of the organization, or if an inside linebacker will move over, but the team doesn’t plan to move newly-acquired Kiko Alonso outside, per Kelly.
- With Brandon Boykin having been sent to Pittsburgh, the Eagles will be looking for someone new to step up at the slot cornerback position. McLane examines the possibilities in a separate piece for the Inquirer.
- Appearing on KRLD-FM 105.3 in Dallas, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones suggests that the team’s pass rush may have cost Dallas a shot at the Super Bowl last year (link via Dallas Morning News). The Cowboys were aggressive in attempting to upgrade their pass rush in the offseason, signing Greg Hardy and drafting Randy Gregory.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/15
Today’s minor moves and signings in the NFL..
- Cowboys linebackers Justin Anderson and guard Reshod Fortenberry were waived/injured, Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram tweets. Linebackers Jonathan Brown and Ka’Lial Glaud were signed.
- The Patriots have agreed to bring back second-year linebacker Cameron Gordon to address some depth concerns, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The Patriots also announced that they have claimed guard Harland Gunn off waivers from the Falcons.
- The Chiefs announced that they have signed former Missouri wide receiver L’Damian Washington.
- The Patriots waived-injured Kevin Hughes and cut Vince Taylor with a failed physical designation, Wilson tweets.
- The Packers announced that they have signed wide receiver Ed Williams.
- The Cowboys waived-injured Justin Jackson, who tore his ACL over the weekend, Wilson tweets.
- The Broncos signed wideout Corbin Louks, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets. Louks, who was cut by the Chiefs in May, will fill the roster spot previously filled by Kyle Williams, who has hit the IR.
- The Chargers signed former Packers defensive tackle Luther Robinson, Wilson tweets.
- The Browns announced that they have signed running backs Timothy Flanders and Jalen Parmele and waived wide receiver Kevin Cone and defensive back Brandon Stephens, Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal tweets.
- The Bills have signed free agent cornerback Merrill Noel, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter). Noel was released by Buffalo back in June.
Earlier Updates:
- The Chiefs waived backup defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, as Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star tweets. Worthy signed a futures deal with KC back in December. Worthy, a 2012 second-round pick out of Michigan State, tore his ACL in the final game of the 2012 season and played only 12 snaps in 2013. Worthy was traded from the Packers to the Pats in August of 2014 but he did not get on the field last season.
- The Eagles signed rookie free agent wide receiver Mike Johnson, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The Delaware product participated in the Eagles rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis and, apparently, he impressed the right people.
- Linebacker/defensive end Austen Lane, who had stints with the Jaguars, Lions, and Bears, took to Twitter to announce his retirement.
Hardy, NFLPA Could Still Challenge Suspension
Greg Hardy is still in discussions with the NFLPA to determine whether they’ll challenge his four-game suspension, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. We heard in mid-July that decision would be coming “any time now,” but more than two weeks later, things are still up in the air.
On July 10th, arbitrator Harold Henderson upheld Hardy’s suspension but slashed it from 10 games to four games. Early on in the process, we heard that Hardy and the NFLPA would fight a suspension of anything beyond two games, so it’s not a shock to hear that they’re considering further action. Hardy, they would likely reason, has already sat out a significant amount of time. The defensive end missed all but one game of the 2014 season with the Panthers.
For now, assuming Hardy accepts the four-game suspension, he’ll have the potential to earn up to about $10.628MM this season. The 26-year-old’s contract has a modest base salary, but features up to $9.25MM in per-game roster bonuses and about $1.8MM in incentives. By getting his penalty reduced from 10 games to four games, Hardy will have the opportunity to earn nearly $3.5MM in extra per-game roster bonuses.
As a refresher, Hardy allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder in May of 2014. After being found guilty by a judge, Hardy was scheduled to get a jury trial, but due to a lack of cooperation by Holder, the charges against the defensive end were ultimately dismissed, as he reached a civil settlement with his accuser. While the case played out, Hardy spent the 2014 season on the commissioner’s exempt list for the Panthers, missing all but one game. The Cowboys signed Hardy earlier this offseason before word of his suspension broke, and a four-game ban is about what the team had initially expected.
Jeremy Mincey Ends Holdout With Reworked Deal
Jeremy Mincey ended his holdout today, as expected, and while he doesn’t have a contract extension to show off, Mincey and the Cowboys have agreed to rework his contract for the 2015 season.
The renegotiated deal hasn’t been fully reported yet, but it will include at least an extra $500K in new money, which will bump up Mincey’s pay grade beyond $2MM for the upcoming season, according to Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram.
Head coach Jason Garrett spoke very highly of his defensive veteran, and is happy to have him back with the team.
“I think that contributed to taking the ball away 31 times, second-most in the National Football League,” said Garrett. “That positively impacted the games that we played, and I think Mince was a big part of that, establishing that identity, that toughness, that relentlessness.”
As Zach Links wrote when discussing Mincey’s holdout, the veteran narrowly missed a $500K bonus based on snap count last season, despite coming up with a team high six sacks in 2014. The 31-year old had one of his best all-around seasons last year, and will be increasingly valuable to the team early on with Greg Hardy suspended for the first four games of the regular season.
The team’s second-round pick, Randy Gregory, also shows promise, but is undersized and could struggle to impact games early on. When the three hit their stride during the middle and hopefully towards the end of the season, the Cowboys could have a newfound strength on the defense.
“I think Jeremy has been a good player in this league for a number of years,” Garrett said. “He’s physically tough, and he plays hard. You want that on your football team.”
Mincey had sat out the last four days, hoping to work out out a contract extension with the team.
East Notes: Cowboys, Kelly, Mathis
Jeremy Mincey is expected to end his holdout pending a meeting with Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones and head coach Jason Garrett today, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter). Per Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News, Mincey arrived in Oxnard on Saturday night and will discuss a new two-year deal with the club. If the two sides strike a deal, Mincey can join his teammates later today for the fourth day of training camp practices.
Now let’s take a look at some more links from the league’s east divisions:
- The Cowboys will be on the lookout for more linebacker depth, as Justin Jackson tore his ACL in a special teams walkthrough (Twitter link to ESPN’s Todd Archer).
- Brandon Boykin, who was dealt from the Eagles to the Steelers last night, is the latest to take a racially-related jab at Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Per Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, Boykin said Kelly is “uncomfortable around grown men of our culture…He can’t relate and that makes him uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn’t been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.” Former Eagles LeSean McCoy and Tra Thomas have made similar comments about Kelly in the past, and although there is plenty of evidence to suggest that sentiments like those expressed by Boykin are a bit misguided, it will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this will have on Kelly’s control of his locker room.
- Mychal Kendricks, who was rumored to be on the trading block, will likely remain with the Eagles as an insurance policy for DeMeco Ryans, according to Andy Schwartz of CSNPhilly.com.
- Citing GM Jerry Reese, Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News tweets that Giants left tackle Will Beatty will return at some point this season, and the team has not closed the door on free agent tackle Jake Long.
- The Jets, who have a hole at right guard, have spoken with free agent Evan Mathis, per Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News. However, Mathis’ asking price appears to be out of New York’s range at the moment.
- We learned several days ago that Jets rookie wideout Devin Smith suffered broken ribs in Friday’s practice, and Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Smith also has a partially punctured lung. Smith will be sidelined for four to six weeks.
- Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets that Bills head coach Rex Ryan has declared Richie Incognito the team’s starting left guard and Cordy Glenn the team’s starting left tackle.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/2015
Here are Saturday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:
- Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who was cut by the Bengals earlier this week to make room for Greg Little, was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Miami waived another wideout, Kai De La Cruz, just three days after signing him in order to clear room on the roster for Hamilton.
- The Giants created two roster openings today by waiving two players with injury designations. Per Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), tight end Matt LaCosse (hamstring) and defensive end Brad Harrah (quad) were cut.
- The Vikings have a full roster again after signing wide receiver Ryan Whalen, a former sixth-round pick, tweets Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune.
- The Jets cut fullback J.C. Copeland today after a poor showing in practice, according to Connor Hughes of the Journal Inquirer and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- A sixth running back is coming to the Eagles, with rookie free agent Kevin Monangai signing with the team, per Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. Monangai starred at Villanova, scoring 29 career touchdowns in four years with the Division I-FCS Wildcats.
- The Patriots‘ roster stands at 87 players following the cutting of cornerback Justin Green and linebacker D.J. Lynch, reports WEEI’s Mike Petraglia. Green signed with New England as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing in two games since, with practice squad time in between. Lynch came to the Pats this offseason as a rookie free agent from Bowling Green.
- The Bills‘ roster now sits at 89 players after the team claimed Terren Jones off waivers from the Titans, ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak reports, on Twitter. An undrafted free agent who signed with the Falcons in 2013, the 6-foot-7, 341-pound Jones becomes the fifth offensive tackle on Buffalo’s roster. He’s spent time with the Titans, Ravens and Washington, playing in one game in two seasons.
- To clear space for wideout Trent Steelman, the Ravens cut quarterback Jerry Lovelocke, according to CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown (Twitter link). Levelocke came to the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in May from Prairie View A&M. A former Army quarterback, Steelman will vie for a roster or practice squad spot at wide receiver. Eligible for the 2013 draft and a participant in the Ravens’ rookie minicamp that year, Steelman was released from active duty in Dec. 2014 in order to pursue an NFL career.
- The Falcons swapped out one offensive lineman for another, in signing Pierce Burton and waiving Harland Gunn, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The Vikings originally signed Burton as an undrafted free agent last offseason, while Gunn played in 13 games for Atlanta from 2012-14 after signing there as an undrafted rookie in 2012.
- Washington signed rookie cornerback Deshazor Everett and released fellow first-year player Dasman McCullum, a linebacker, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Everett is an undrafted product from Texas A&M and will serve as secondary depth while Bashaud Breeland recovers from a torn MCL.
- The Cowboys signed Will Smith, a linebacker taken by the team in the seventh round of the 2014 draft before spending his rookie campaign on Dallas’ practice squad, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).
NFC Links: Eagles, Mincey, Claiborne, 49ers
There have been a number of instances where Eagles coach Chip Kelly and agent Drew Rosenhaus haven’t necessarily seen eye to eye. It started when the organization shipped out Rosenhaus-client LeSean McCoy, and the Eagles followed that by releasing Evan Mathis. Later, Frank Gore, another of Rosenhaus’ players, spurned Philly to sign with the Colts.
Still, the agent told Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com that he’s not at odds with Kelly or the Eagles organization.
“I get along fine with Chip,” Rosenhaus said. “We’ve had a real good line of communication. LeSean, I had nothing to do with their decision to trade him. That was their call. That was contract-related. The notion that he traded LeSean because of me is, that’s just ridiculous. There was no friction. LeSean was a football decision that he explained fairly well.”
Kelly echoed that sentiment.
“I don’t really deal with agents. We have a real good relationship with Drew, I can tell you that,” Kelly said. “I think Drew has been very professional, very detailed. I think he gets a bad rap to be honest with you in my dealings with him.
“I think he’s been above board, straight ahead, detail-oriented, very organized and you know exactly where you stand. I think anybody will tell you that when you deal with Drew you know exactly where you stand. Wish more people acted like that to be honest with you.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…
- As defensive end Jeremy Mincey holds out for a new contract, the Cowboys have continued to fine him, writes David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. “There have been some discussions back and forth,” said coach Jason Garrett. “I don’t want to share much about them…We’re focused on the players that we have here in camp and trying to build our football team.”
- Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News believes that Morris Claiborne will make the Cowboys roster, but 2015 will likely be the cornerback’s final season with the organization. George adds that the 25-year-old will have to produce if he has any hope of staying in Dallas.
- Vernon Davis told Janie McCauley of the Associated Press that he fired an advisor who urged the tight end to get pushy with the 49ers regarding a new contract.“Last year I had a lot of people in my ear, particularly an adviser who kept telling me, ‘Hey, you should try to get another contract,'” Davis said. “As my fiduciary, he was right about a lot of things, so I listened to him, I took his advice. But during the course of that season, I had a chance to really think about it, like: ‘What am I doing? I don’t play this game for money. That’s not why I play.’ It’s good, it’s good to have that, to get rewarded and things, but what am I doing?”
NFC Notes: Mincey, Eli, Bennett, Saints, Pack
Here’s a look at the latest from around the NFC:
- Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said the team and defensive end Jeremy Mincey, who is holding out from training camp over a contract dispute, have had some back and forth regarding a new deal, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). The 31-year-old Mincey started all 16 games last season and totaled 46 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He’s due to earn $1.5MM this year.
- Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who is entering the final year of his contract, hasn’t set a deadline on getting an extension done, tweeted the New York Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano.
- Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said in June that he’s “always working on a new contract,” but he changed his tune Thursday, per ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson. “I’m not even worried about a contract right now,” he said. “It’s just business. I have no hard feelings against anybody.” Bennett, who caught 90 passes and made his first Pro Bowl trip in 2014, has two years left on his contract and is set to earn a base salary of $4.9 million this season.
- The NFL suspended Saints tight end Orson Charles for one game without pay for violating its personal conduct policy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The league’s discipline process is confidential, meaning it’s unclear what Charles was suspended for, but Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com wrote that Charles received diversion in February for a 2014 “road rage” incident. The 24-year-old has appeared in 29 NFL games, all with the Bengals (none since 2013), and caught nine passes.
- Friday was rough for Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland: The league suspended him one game for a past incident involving marijuana possession and he suffered an apparent right leg injury during practice. ESPN’s John Keim reports (via Twitter) that it’s an MCL injury and Breeland will miss 4-6 weeks.
- The Packers worked out ex-Sacred Heart running back Keshaudas Spence on Friday, according to Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette (via Twitter).
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/15
Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:
- Ravens: Signed former Army quarterback Trent Steelman, who tried out as a receiver this week, and cut rookie QB Jerry Lovelocke (Twitter links via Aaron Wilson).
- Bears: Signed G Tyler Moore (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
- Cardinals: Signed CB Shaquille Richardson (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com).
- Chiefs: Signed DT Hebron Fangupo and RB LaVance Taylor; waived RB Keshawn Hill (Twitter links). Taylor was signed after tweeting his highlight reel to the team.
- Cowboys: Re-signed LB Keith Smith (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today). Smith, who played 10 games for the Cowboys last season, was cut by the team in May.
- Giants: Waived WR Ben Edwards and T Troy Kropog (Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Both players received a failed physical designation.
- Seahawks: Signed S Tyrequek Zimmerman (Twitter link via Wilson).
- Titans: Signed WR Tebucky Jones, waived T Terren Jones, and placed TE Dorin Dickerson on injured reserve (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com; link via AP).
Cowboys Notes: S. Jackson, Tryouts, Dez
Notable free agent running backs like Ray Rice and Chris Johnson have been linked to the Cowboys in recent weeks, but it appears those rumors are coming from the players’ side rather than from the team, as executive VP Stephen Jones said yesterday that the club has no plans to add a veteran back.
That didn’t stop another veteran free agent, Steven Jackson, from publicly lobbying the team for an opportunity though. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk details, Jackson made use of Photoshop and Twitter in trying to get the Cowboys’ attention.
It’s no surprise that Dallas looks like a desirable destination for free agent running backs, considering the team has one of the league’s best offensive lines and no clear-cut candidate to carry the workload now that DeMarco Murray is an Eagle. But for now at least, it appears the Cowboys want to get a good look at the backs on their roster in training camp before they make any changes at the position.
Here’s more out of Dallas:
- With Keith Rivers having retired and Rolando McClain not available for the start of the season, the Cowboys are perusing the free agent market for linebackers. According to Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (via Twitter), the club is bringing in Keith Smith, Lawrence Wilson, and Ashlee Palmer for workouts. Tight end Gator Hoskins is also auditioning for Dallas, notes Archer.
- Dez Bryant‘s new $70MM contract isn’t going to change the way he plays, as Archer writes in a piece for ESPN.com. “It’s no pressure. That deal don’t make me,” Bryant said. “I play this game because I love this game. I don’t give a damn about none of that. It’s not going to change the way I play. It’s not going to change the way I act.”
- Over two weeks ago, we heard that Greg Hardy would make a decision “any time now” on whether or not to take the NFL to court over his suspension. Based on how quiet it’s been on the Hardy front, it seems increasingly likely that the defensive end will simply accept his four-game ban, and Cowboys radio analyst Babe Laufenberg thinks the team would be in favor of that decision (link via Dallas Morning News).