Extra Points: Hartline, Murray, Browner, Bush
The latest from around the league…
- Brian Hartline‘s decision ultimately came down to the Browns and the Patriots, the receiver tells Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal (Twitter link). Hartline ended up signing a two-year pact with Cleveland yesterday.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says the club wants to re-sign DeMarco Murray, emphasizing that Dallas is still in negotiations with its free agent running back (Twitter links via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
- The Panthers don’t seem to be showing much interest in edge rusher Derrick Morgan, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
- The Titans have interest in cornerback Brandon Browner, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). Browner isn’t expected to take a pay cut to remain in New England. Browner is receiving a lot of interest around the league, but he could still return to the Patriots, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
- Jahri Evans is still a candidate for release in New Orleans, and if the Saints do cut him, expect the Bills to be in on the veteran guard, says Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Most observers expected free agent receiver Michael Crabtree to depart San Francisco, but the 49ers do have interest in re-signing him, according to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 (via Twitter).
- Having been cut by the Lions earlier in the offseason, running back Reggie Bush is considering a return to the Saints, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. According to Rapoport, the Patriots and Eagles are among the other teams in play for Bush.
Latest On Antonio Cromartie
Free agent cornerback Antonio Cromartie told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he’s down to the Cowboys, Jets, and Cardinals, according to Dom Consentino of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter). Cromartie has been almost exclusively linked to the Jets, but there’s no agreement in place between the two sides.
Earlier this morning it was reported that the Cards were unlikely to retain Cromartie, but now it seems that they’re one of the finalists for him. The veteran cornerback enjoyed something of a career resurgence in Arizona last season but his former sensei, Todd Bowles, has gone from the Cards’ defensive coordinator to taking the Jets’ head coaching job.
Last month, when asked about the possibility of rejoining the Jets, whom he spent the 2010-13 seasons with before they released him last year, Cromartie said, “It would be an easy choice, if the opportunity presented itself.”
Still, in an interview on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday, Cromartie explained that he would be a good addition in Dallas as well.
“They’re only missing one key piece and that’s the piece in the secondary,” Cromartie said, according to Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. “I feel like I can be that piece to help and go in and win a championship and get the Dallas Cowboys back where they’re supposed to be.”
NFC FA Rumors: Irving, Cowboys, Falcons
The Cardinals are expected to lock up former Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon to a new contract once free agency opens, but the team has interest in adding two free agent linebackers, not just one, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport reports that Nate Irving could be that second linebacker, as the former Bronco is likely to visit Arizona this week.
- The Cowboys have some interest in free agent cornerback Antonio Cromartie, tweets Rapoport. Cromartie has been almost exclusively linked to the Jets, but there’s no agreement in place between the two sides yet.
- Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets that he has been told “repeatedly” that the Falcons aren’t real players for Brian Orakpo. However, Jones adds that Atlanta does appear to have interest in another Washington free agent, wide receiver Leonard Hankerson.
- Running back Antone Smith has yet to hear a whole lot about his free agent status, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, who says (via Twitter) that the Falcons would like to bring him back. Smith has also reportedly drawn some interest from the Giants.
- In the wake of the Saints‘ release of Curtis Lofton, there’s mutual interest between the team and Ramon Humber in getting a deal done to help bolster the inside linebacker spot, tweets Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com.
- No longer a free agent, Randall Cobb told reporters today, including Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link) that he had five other offers when he decided to return to the Packers, and got a sixth after he had made his decision.
- After offering him a contract, the Vikings remain in contact with quarterback Shaun Hill, who has yet to make a decision, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.
NFC East Rumors: Graham, Cousins, Allen
The Giants‘ offer to Brandon Graham was only for one year, source tell Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. The Eagles and Giants were the final two teams in the running for his services. Ultimately, Graham signed a four-year, $26MM deal to stay in Philly. More from the NFC East..
- In an interview on 106.7 The Fan, Washington president Bruce Allen said nobody has called to inquire about a trade for quarterback Kirk Cousins, Zac Boyer of The Washington Times tweets.
- Allen also said Washington has “had conversations” with the agents for Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Williams about long-term contract extensions (link).
- The Giants have “sniffed around” free agent safety Da’Norris Searcy, tweets Nick Powell of NJ.com. Searcy should have no shortage of suitors, having also been linked to the Bears, Colts, Texans, Raiders and Dolphins.
- A source tells Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star Telegram (on Twitter) not to expect any action from the Cowboys on the first day of free agency. In fact, his exact words were, “y’all are going to get bored waiting on us.“
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Cards, Jags, Bucs In Mix For DeMarco Murray?
The NFL’s rushing leader could officially hit the open market in about five and a half hours, and there are a handful of suitors expected to be in the mix for DeMarco Murray. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), the Cardinals and Jaguars appear to have interest in Murray, and the Buccaneers may be in play as well.
Since Rapoport’s report, however, a pair of local reporters have weighed in, with Kent Somers of Arizona Republic suggesting (via Twitter) that the Cards don’t have real interest in Murray. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Tribune adds (via Twitter) that Tampa Bay has discussed the possibility of signing Murray, but says he has been told Bucs fans shouldn’t get “overly excited” about the possibility.
That leaves the Jaguars, who look like perhaps the strongest outside suitor for Murray, and of course the Cowboys. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported earlier today that the team hadn’t contacted its running back since last week, but Schefter’s ESPN colleague Todd Archer tweets that executive VP Stephen Jones was in touch last night.
Rapoport confirms (via Twitter) that Jones and Murray spoke, with the team making a final push to re-sign him. Archer says it’s not clear what the tenor of the discussion was, or how long it lasted, but the fact that the running back apparently removed all mention of the Cowboys from his Twitter account after the conversation doesn’t seem like a great sign for Dallas.
Latest On DeMarco Murray, Cowboys
When I checked in yesterday on where things stood for this year’s top free agents, running back DeMarco Murray was the highest-ranked player whose destination was still very much up in the air. That remains the case for the NFL’s leading rusher, but it appears a reunion with the Cowboys is becoming less and less likely.
Late last night, Murray deleted all references to the Cowboys from his Twitter profile. On its own, the move wouldn’t necessary be a sign that he doesn’t expect to return to Dallas, but Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports tweets that in this case, it’s a signal of Murray’s frustration — the veteran back wants to re-sign with the Cowboys, but the team isn’t interested in paying big money for him. One source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the club hasn’t even called Murray since last week.
If returning to the Cowboys isn’t a viable option for Murray, he could conceivably take his time to choose his next destination. We heard on Monday that he’s approaching the process slowly and carefully rather than rushing into anything, and that makes sense, considering he’s by far the top player on the market.
Monday’s report also indicated that Murray’s camp is confident about landing an offer worth around $8MM per year. Which team might be willing to pay that kind of money for him? The Jaguars may be one candidate. Even after reaching tentative agreements with Julius Thomas, Jermey Parnell, Jared Odrick, and Dan Skuta, the Jags still have plenty of cap flexibility, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter) classifies their interest in Murray as “strong to quite strong.”
Cowboys, Tyron Smith Restructure Contract
9:01pm: The Cowboys didn’t bring Smith’s base salary all the way down to the minimum, tweets Todd Archer of ESPN.com, meaning they only converted $10MM into a signing bonus.
7:03pm: Save for the Saints, the Cowboys were set to have the least amount of cap space in the NFL when the new league year begins tomorrow. As they attempt to make moves during free agency to shore up areas of need, they’ve agreed to a contract restructure with left tackle Tyron Smith that will free up more than $8MM in cap room, according to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News.
Per George, Dallas used a built-in restructuring mechanism attached to Smith’s contract, converting $10.2MM of his $11.039MM 2015 base salary into a signing bonus, creating a savings of $8.16MM. As such, the Cowboys will now have more than $11MM to work with when free agency starts tomorrow afternoon. Smith is in the midst of an eight-year, $109MM extension that contained $40MM guaranteed.
As George writes, the Cowboys could create an additional $12.8MM in space if they chose to restructure quarterback Tony Romo‘s contract. However, the club has already done so in the past, and would prefer not to tweak Romo’s deal again.
Vikings Notes: Murray, Peterson, McCourty
The latest on the Vikings..
- If the Cowboys let DeMarco Murray walk, Adrian Peterson would be interested in going there, provided that Dallas would guarantee at least $25MM on a deal that amounts to a three-year pact, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets. Robinson adds (link) that if the Cowboys won’t pay Murray $8MM per year and guarantee $25MM+, they’re unlikely to deal for Peterson and do the same thing.
- The Vikings were in on Devin McCourty until the bidding reached $7MM per year, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. That could be an indication of how far they’re willing to go on free agent safeties.
- The Vikings have also inquired about linebacker Brooks Reed, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The Cardinals, Jets, Raiders, and Bears are interested in Reed but he’s reportedly leaning towards signing with the Falcons.
- You can count the Vikings among the teams that are interested in cornerback Davon House, Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune tweets.
- The Vikings will likely host cornerback Brice McCain for a visit, Andrew Krammer of 1500 ESPN tweets.
- The Vikings have inquired on free agent linebacker Andrew Gachkar and may bring him in for a visit later in the week, Wolfson tweets.
- The Vikings have checked on guys like Bradley Fletcher and Sterling Moore, but everything is still preliminary with both, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets.
FA Rumors: Murray, Raiders, Orakpo, Hill
While DeMarco Murray may not land an eight-digit annual salary, his camp sounds confident that there are teams willing to pay $8MM per year for his services, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports. However, as Getlin notes it’s not clear yet whether the Cowboys are one of those teams. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Murray is willing to move on from Dallas if a better opportunity presents itself, but the running back is approaching free agency slowly and methodically rather than rushing into any decision.
While we wait to see if Jerry Jones opens up his check book for the NFL’s leading rusher before Murray hits free agency tomorrow, let’s check in on some few other free agent news….
- The Raiders are “hot after” Mike Iupati, widely considered to be the top free agent guard available this winter, reports Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Oakland figures to be up against the Bills and Jets, among other teams, in the bidding for Iupati. Landing the 49ers veteran after agreeing to terms with center Rodney Hudson would certainly help the Raiders solidify their offensive line.
- The Falcons were mentioned a week ago as a potential favorite for Brian Orakpo, and it doesn’t appear that’s changed. Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 Washington tweets that she’s hearing Atlanta is the current frontrunner for the free agent pass rusher.
- The Titans are still in play for Derrick Morgan, but so are about a half-dozen other teams, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
- According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the Cowboys and Raiders are among the teams showing interest in quarterback Shaun Hill, who also has reportedly has an offer on the table from the Vikings.
- The Steelers have no immediate plans to re-sign veteran outside linebacker James Harrison, who could potentially be a late-summer addition for the club, tweets Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- We can add the Chiefs to the growing list of teams that has inquired on free agent cornerback Cary Williams, tweets Nick Jacobs of TWC SportsChannel in Kansas City.
- Washington hasn’t been in contract with wide receiver Leonard Hankerson, but the free-agent-to-be has heard from a few other teams, says John Keim of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Market For Davon House Heating Up
The market for Packers cornerback Davon House, who is eligible to sign with a new team in a little over 24 hours, is “heating up,” according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Getlin identifies the Packers, Jets, Jaguars, Seahawks, Bears, and Cowboys as teams in play for House.
House, 25, is one of two Packers cornerbacks eligible for free agency tomorrow, along with Tramon Williams. Williams was one of Green Bay’s starters in 2014, while House saw part-time action in nickel and dime packages, but the younger player of the duo could end up doing better on the free agent market.
When I ranked this year’s top 50 free agents, I listed House 34th, four spots ahead of Williams. As I noted in that piece, quarterbacks only completed 46.8% of their passes into House’s coverage last season, per Pro Football Focus, which placed him fourth among all qualified cornerbacks.
While House probably won’t match the $8-10MM annual salaries landed by players like Kareem Jackson, Brandon Flowers, and Byron Maxwell, a $6MM-per-year offer appears within reach for a player who is poised to become a full-time contributor.