NFC Mailbags: Garrett, Panthers, Prater
It’s Saturday morning, and ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting notes from the NFC…
- The Cowboys have been one of the surprise teams in the NFL this season, and head coach Jason Garrett has gone from all but fired to a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate. Todd Archer believes he has done enough this season to keep his job even if they miss the playoffs, but notes that nothing is set in stone with three games to go.
- If the Panthers do not comeback to win the division, they will likely be staring at a very high draft pick this offseason, and David Newton believes that offensive tackle would be a top priority. However, if Alabama’s Amari Cooper falls to them, the team would have to consider taking him and putting him opposite Kelvin Benjamin to make a scary young pair of wideouts.
- Ben Goessling looks at what positions the Vikings will target in the 2015 NFL Draft, and believes the team could focus on defense. He writes that they could benefit from an inside linebacker to play alongside Anthony Barr and Gerald Hodges, or a versatile safety to pair with Harrison Smith. They could also look for another cornerback, or even a running back or offensive lineman.
- Washington has a number of problems in addition to their volatile quarterback situation, and John Keim believes the team will come into 2015 with two new starting safeties. He writes they should try to find a veteran free agent and also draft a safety capable of coming in and playing.
- While the main focus of the Packers‘ mailbag is the chances of a rematch of their week one loss to the Seahawks, this time at Lambeau Field, Rob Demovsky also takes time to explain why the team is consistently signing players to the active roster but not activating for gameday. He notes that most of these signings go hand in hand with key players who are questionable with injuries.
- The Lions have a number of decisions to make this offseason, but whether or not to re-sign Matt Prater will be one of the smaller yet no less significant choices. Mike Rothstein believes the team should try to keep Prater on a long-term deal.
East Notes: Eagles, Mariota, Philbin, Cowboys
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the Eagles should take a shot at Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. There’s uncertainty at the position with Mark Sanchez hitting the open market and coach Chip Kelly obviously has an affinity for Oregon players. Even if Philadelphia takes a liking to Mariota, however, the asking price to move up in the draft could be high, ala the ill-fated Robert Griffin III trade. More from the East divisions..
- Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) feels that Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is coaching for his job over the next few weeks. Philbin, he notes, is 10-11 in games decided by 6 points or less, so things could be very different for the Miami coach with a few breaks going his way.
- It’s time for the Cowboys‘ major investment in the offensive line to pay off, writes Jarrett Bell of USA Today Sports. Dallas has invested three first-round picks within the last five years on this offensive line and for much of the season it has shown. Recently, though, they’ve hit some road blocks, and Bell says it’s time for them to turn it back on.
- The Giants need help on the offensive line and finding that help in the draft could be tougher than most expect, writes Jordan Raanan of the Newark Star-Ledger. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is not high on this year’s crop and Raanan notes that of the nine lineman drafted in the top 11 of the past two drafts, only two (Lane Johnson of the Eagles and Taylor Lewan of the Titans) have positive Pro Football Focus grades this year. The good news, however, is that Big Blue will basically be adding veteran guard Geoff Schwartz again next year after he barely played in 2014.
- Jets linebacker Calvin Pace doesn’t seem to think that Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, or anyone else at the top of the 2015 draft can be a savior for the team, writes Seth Walder of the Daily News. “One draft pick isn’t going to change things,” Pace said. “If you end up with a high draft pick, that guy still has to get seasoned and become a pro. Very few times you see guys come in and change a franchise with one guy.”
NFC East Notes: Sanchez, JPP, Giants
It was once unthinkable, but Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez will be the top free agent at his position this offseason, as Jason Fitzgerald of The Sporting News writes. Sanchez, who was uncerimoneously booted from New York, is still young and some teams will still see the upside that made him a high draft pick in 2009. He also boasts a history of playoff success, having won four of six games. The team that signs Sanchez might not be doing cartwheels afterwards, but the free agent pool gets rather beak after the USC product. More out of the NFC East..
- When the Giants let Justin Tuck walk last offseason, they proved that they won’t let emotion lead them to an irresponsible financial decision. This time around, Jordan Raanaan of the Newark Star-Ledger expects more of the same when it comes to Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP is younger, of course, but Big Blue will only go so far to keep him if the bidding gets out of hand. Right now, it’s hard to say how much he’ll collect. He was a star in the making in 2011 when he had 16.5 sacks, but he hasn’t replicated that since. “He’s not that guy right now,” said former NFL agent and current salary cap expert Joel Corry. “I just don’t see him breaking the bank in free agency.”
- Washington worked out Michael Hill, Justin Jackson, and Loucheiz Purifoy, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).
- The Cowboys tried out outside linebacker Lawrence Sidbury, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
Cowboys Likely To Extend Jason Garrett
Given the stiff competition at the top of the NFC standings, the 9-4 Cowboys are still a long way from securing a playoff berth. However, VP Stephen Jones believes the club has seen enough from head coach Jason Garrett this season to be happy moving forward with him in 2015 and beyond, writes David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
“I think Jason has grown leaps and bounds,” Jones said during a radio appearance on The Ticket in Dallas. “We are so comfortable – you know, comfortable can be a bad word, you want to be on edge too – but I really think Jason is the right guy for this job. … I know Jerry thinks the same thing. I certainly see Jason being a big part of our future.”
Although he acknowledged that there’s a “a lot of ball left to be played,” Jones indicated that he believes it’s in the Cowboys’ best interests to lock up Garrett to another contract once this season concludes. Since Garrett wasn’t extended before entering the final year of his deal, there was speculation that he would be fired if the team didn’t improve on its seemingly-perpetual 8-8 record. With three games left in the season, Dallas has already exceeded Garrett’s previous career high of eight wins, despite entering the year projected by many pundits to finish below .500.
A loss this week in Philadelphia would significantly derail the Cowboys’ postseason chances, but with a home game against the Colts and a road game in Washington still on the slate, Garrett’s club looks like a good bet to finish with at least 10 or 11 victories. Even without a playoff berth, that would likely be enough to earn the head coach a new contract.
Minor Moves: Wednesday
As NFL teams get their 53-man rosters in order for Week 15’s slate of games, we’ll round up Wednesday’s minor transactions in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Seahawks have signed defensive end David King from the Bengals practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. The defensive end, who was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2013 draft, was signed by Cincinnati in August.
Earlier updates:
- The Cowboys continue to shuffle pieces to and from their roster and practice squad, with team executive Stephen Jones indicating that defensive end Kenneth Boatright is the latest taxi squad player to receive a promotion, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Dallas now has a full 53-man squad.
- The Panthers have released quarterback Matt Blanchard from their injured reserve list, now that he’s been deemed healthy, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. As Person adds in a second tweet, Blanchard sustained a severe concussion during a preseason game and wasn’t cleared for more than two months.
- Having waived defensive back Roc Carmichael yesterday, the Eagles filled the opening on their roster today by adding another player to their secondary. The team announced (via Twitter) that it has signed safety Jerome Couplin from off the Lions‘ practice squad. Couplin originally signed with Detroit back in May as an undrafted free agent out of William and Mary.
- Like the Eagles, the Vikings have also poached a player from another club’s practice squad, plucking offensive tackle Carter Bykowski away from the 49ers, per a team release. To make room for the incoming signee, Minnesota has placed linebacker Michael Mauti on the injured reserve list.
- Washington completed a series of roster moves on Tuesday that left the team with an open spot on its 53-man roster, and the club has now signed cornerback Justin Rogers to once again max out the squad (Twitter link). Rogers was one of several players to work out for Washington earlier this week.
Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Raiders announced that they have filled their two open practice squad spots, signing wide receiver Kenny Shaw and tight end Evan Wilson. Shaw, a former standout at Florida State, briefly spent time with the Browns and Jaguars. Wilson was among the Dolphins final cuts in August, and he had workouts with the Patriots and Giants earlier this season.
- The Seahawks have signed linebacker Mike Zimmer, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. Zimmer (no relation to the coach) played with the Vikings during the preseason.
Earlier updates:
- Cornerback Kennard Cox has signed with the Seahawks‘ taxi squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Cox last played in the NFL with Seattle in 2011.
- The 49ers have filled the last opening on their practice squad by signing offensive tackle Chris Martin, per Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).
- According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter), the two openings on the Lions’ practice squad have now been filled, as the team added wide receiver Skye Dawson and linebacker Jerrell Harris.
- The Cowboys have made a change to their practice squad, replacing defensive end Lavar Edwards with cornerback Micah Pellerin, says Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Edwards lands on the team’s practice squad IR list.
- The Panthers have re-signed running back Tauren Poole to their practice squad, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Poole had a very brief stint on the active roster earlier this season when Carolina was dealing with several injuries in the backfield.
- Wide receiver Alec Lemon, a former local high school standout, has joined the Ravens‘ taxi squad, filling the 10th and final spot, according to a team release.
- The Broncos have filled the lone opening on their practice squad by adding defensive end Gerald Rivers back to the unit, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold (via Twitter). Rivers, who tried out for the Giants this week, was cut last week from Denver’s 53-man roster.
- The Buccaneers have removed tight end Taylor Sloat from their practice squad, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link), who says the move may indicate improving health for the team’s tight ends. Linebacker Ka’Lial Glaud has replaced Sloat on the squad.
- With outside linebacker Jason Ankrah having been promoted to the Texans‘ active roster, former Clemson defensive end Kourtnei Brown has been added to Houston’s practice squad to replace Ankrah, tweets Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
Minor Moves: Monday
Here are Monday’s minor transactions, including practice squad signings and cuts, from around the NFL:
- As Cowboys defensive back Tyler Patmon continues to improve from a sprained knee, the team has parted ways with another cornerback. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com writes that the Cowboys have waived Micah Pellerin. The 26-year-old has appeared in three games this season with Dallas.
- The Chargers placed offensive lineman Ryan Miller on their reserve/non-football injury list last week, but the team changed course today. Miller was moved to the injured reserve list and subsequently waived with an injury settlement, tweets Howard Balzer.
- Less than a week after he joined the Dolphins practice squad, linebacker Jake Knott has been promoted to the team’s active roster, the 24-year-old announced on Twitter. Knott previously spent time with the Eagles, where he made 12 appearances last season.
- Even though running back Marcus Lattimore announced his retirement last month, the 49ers continued to keep him on their non-football-injury list. That ended today, as Aaron Wilson tweets that the team has cut the former fourth-rounder.
- The Broncos have signed returner Isaiah Burse to their practice squad, tweets Mike Klis of the Denver Post. To make room, Denver waived guard Mark Asper. Burse, who has returned 29 of the team’s 30 punt returns this season, was waived on Saturday to make room for kicker Brandon McManus.
Earlier updates:
- After being cut last week by the Panthers, veteran linebacker Jason Williams has a new home, catching on with another NFC South team. The Buccaneers announced that they’ve signed Williams, placing fellow linebacker Brandon Magee on injured reserve in order to accommodate the new signing.
- The Packers have signed defensive tackle Bruce Gaston from off the Cardinals‘ practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. To make room for Gaston, the club placed rookie defensive tackle Luther Robinson, who sustained a calf injury, on the injured reserve list.
- The Chargers have parted ways with a pair of players, releasing center Jeff Baca from their 53-man roster and cutting cornerback Kendall James from their practice squad, tweets Eric Williams of ESPN.com.
- Having lost wide receiver Deonte Thompson off their practice squad to the Bills earlier today, the Ravens filled the opening by re-signing tight end Allen Reisner to the unit, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Wideout Rashad Ross has signed to Washington‘s taxi squad, the club announced today (Twitter link).
East Notes: Revis, Briles, Cowboys
The Patriots will have a big decision to make regarding the future of star cornerback Darrelle Revis this offseason, and Tom Curran and Mike Giardi of CSNNewEngland.com discuss in a video piece what that decision will entail. Although Revis has stated that he does not need to be the highest paid cornerback in the league to be happy, Curran and Giardi note that Revis is a shrewd businessman and that it will take a fair (read: highly-lucrative) offer to get a deal done.
Let’s take a look at a few more items from the league’s east divisions:
- In the same piece, Curran and Giardi examine how the Patriots might negotiate with injured linebacker Jerod Mayo. They note that New England may approach Mayo with an incentive-laden offer based upon health, which was the team’s strategy when negotiating with Vince Wilfork.
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes that losing Aaron Dobson for the season serves as yet another reminder of how difficult it has been for the Patriots to draft and develop quality receiving talent under Bill Belichick (though Belichick has usually done more than enough to compensate for that deficiency in other ways).
- In a piece that will probably surprise no one, ESPN’s Adam Schefter writes that Jets GM John Idzik has alienated members of his coaching staff and front office, further fueling the belief that the team’s administration will undergo a complete overhaul in the offseason.
- Jason Cole of Bleacher Report notes (via Twitter) that if Washington fires first-year head coach Jay Gruden after the 2014 season (as PFR’s Rob DiRe discussed last night), the team should pursue current Baylor University head coach Art Briles, whose offense would mesh well with Robert Griffin III‘s skillset. Albert Breer of the NFL Network, however, tweets that it would be a “shocker” if Briles were to leave Texas.
- Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com describes how the Cowboys might go about manipulating their salary cap in order to create enough room to retain Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, and Rolando McClain, but he notes that the player Dallas should really focus on is right tackle Doug Free.
Extra Points: Webb, Peterson, Cowboys
While everyone was watching the college football crown its conference champions, a few NFL stories trickled through worth mentioning. To take a break from arguing TCU, Baylor, and Ohio State, here a few stories from around the NFL this Saturday night:
- Ravens‘ cornerback Lardarius Webb has not had his best season in 2014, which could lead to a difficult decision for the team this offseason. Given his poor performance, it will be not be easy to swallow his $8MM salary next season, writes Jamison Hensley of ESPN. He is the sixth highest paid corner in the league next year, and with his injury history the team would prefer to see if Webb would accept a pay cut to stay with the team going forward.The team has already reworked the Webb’s contract to clear up cap space this past offseason, The Ravens biggest weakness has been among its cornerbacks, and losing Webb for nothing would only save the team $2MM in cap space and leave them thin in the defensive backfield.
- Adrian Peterson has stated that he believes he will continuing playing in his extended prime for five or six more years. At $13MM in 2015, the Vikings might not be the place where Peterson finishes his career, but he will have his choice of landing spots writes Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. Wesseling writes that Peterson proved doubters wrong when he returned from a torn ACL to have his best year as a pro, and could be the outlier who continues his success later in his career.
- If the Vikings do move on from Peterson, the obvious suitor for his services would be the Cowboys, writes Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The team has treated DeMarco Murray like a “rented mule” according to Souhan, and all indications are that the team is going to use up Murray in the last year of his contract before looking for a bigger name back like Peterson via trade or free agency this offseason.
Extra Points: Peterson, Rice, Bears, Cowboys
As of this morning, the NFL had not offered a settlement proposal to embattled Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, who also confirms Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s earlier report that a ruling in Peterson’s appeal case could come next week. Arbitrator Harold Henderson has encouraged the two parties to reach an agreement that would preclude the need for him to issue a formal decision, but it sounds like that hasn’t happened yet. Here’s more from around the league…
- More from Pelissero, who tweets the league and the union are working to schedule the grievance hearing between Ray Rice and the Ravens. Rice, of course, already won his reinstatement to the NFL after appealing his suspension. Succeeding against the Ravens would entitle him to roughly $3.5MM in lost salary.
- After suffering a 41-28 loss at the hands of the Cowboys on Thursday night, Bears head coach Marc Trestman told reporters, including Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, that the club won’t make any coaching changes at this time. Trestman mad a similar declaration in November after the Bears were dominated by the Packers. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is taking the brunt of the criticism in Chicago, as his defense ranks dead last in point per game allowed and 27th in DVOA.
- The Cowboys will be up against the cap again in 2015 — currently, they have just over $1.2MM available in cap space for next season. As Rick Gosselin of the the Dallas Morning News writes, the club has several decisions to make regarding its offensive stars — namely Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray — but it will need cap relief in order to fix its defense. Dallas’ only impact defender, per Gosselin, is linebacker Rolando McClain, also a free agent this offseason. I would guess that Jerry Jones & Co. will attempt to restructure Tony Romo‘s contract in order to create the cap room needed to retain at least a few free agents.
- Amid reports of turmoil along the Jets’ coaching staff, Rex Ryan denied that he considered firing offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. As Smith writes, the point is probably moot, as Ryan and the rest of the coaching staff will likely be let go at the end of the season.