AFC Rumors: Stills, Siemian, Revis, Texans
Kenny Stills may have had another contract proposal from at least one other club before re-signing with the Dolphins, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. The Bears and Eagles were the two known teams with interest in Stills, but it’s entirely possible other clubs also pursued him. Ultimately, Stills re-upped with Miami at a cost of $32MM over four years.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- If the Broncos end up signing the recently-released Tony Romo, they could end up discussing a Trevor Siemian trade with the Jets, opines Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). To be clear, this is only speculation on the part of Pelissero, but it’s an interesting thought experiment to imagine potential destinations for Siemian if Romo lands in Denver. Siemian isn’t the only semi-starting quarterback that could be affected by a Romo pursuit: if the Texans ink Romo, some executives think Houston will trade Tom Savage to the 49ers.
- Former Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis showed evident signs of decline last season, and a developing legal issue led to the Jets ultimately cutting the veteran. One general manager recently told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News he wouldn’t pursue the veteran cornerback even if he was willing to play “for free.” Another executive told Mehta that “you respect the body of work throughout his career, but all good things come to an end.”
- The Texans re-signed kicker Nick Novak last night, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) has the details on the new pact. Novak’s one-year deal is worth $1.15MM and includes a $250K signing bonus.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Free Agency Rumors: Vikings, Okung, Bills
Rounding up the latest free agency news:
- The Vikings are expected to express interest in offensive tackle Russell Okung when free agency starts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. This doesn’t come as a big surprise since Okung has been previously linked to Minnesota.
- The Bills were in play for Brian Hoyer, but he will not be signing with Buffalo after the team retained Tyrod Taylor, sources tell ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (Twitter link). The Jets and 49ers have strong interest in the veteran QB.
- The 49ers are now among the teams in the mix for fullback Kyle Juszczyk, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. The Ravens would like to keep him, but they are expecting to get outbid for the former fourth-round pick. The Bills are said to be in the lead for him and the Browns are also in pursuit.
- The Raiders working hard today on bringing back right tackle Menelik Watson, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. If he reaches the open market, however, the Broncos are among the teams that will pursue him, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets.
- The Raiders are trying to get a new deal done with inside linebacker Perry Riley, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
Broncos Interested In Retaining Sly Williams
- Although previous reports have indicated Sylvester Williams is not only likely to test the market, but leave the Broncos altogether, Denver does have “some interest” in retaining the former first-round defensive lineman, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Williams hasn’t lived up to his draft billing, but does offer 48 games of starting experience. The Broncos declined his 2018 fifth-year option last summer.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/7/17
Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:
RFAs:
Tendered:
- Bengals — G T.J. Johnson (via Jim Owczarski of the Enquirer)
- Bills — C Ryan Groy (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
- Buccaneers — DE Jacquies Smith (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Giants — DE Kerry Wynn (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com)
- Patriots — T Cameron Fleming (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
- Rams — DT Dominique Easley (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
- Ravens – S Marqueston Huff (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com); WR Michael Campanaro, T James Hurst, RB Terrance West (via Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun)
Non-Tendered:
- Bills — DE IK Enemkpali, P Colton Schmidt
- Broncos — OL Sam Brenner (via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)
- Chargers — WR Jeremy Butler (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk)
- Seahawks — LB Brock Coyle, CB DeShawn Shead (via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com)
ERFAs:
Tendered:
- Broncos — LB Zaire Anderson, OLB Shaquil Barrett, RB Kapri Bibbs, C James Ferentz, WR Bennie Fowler, LS Casey Kreiter, C Matt Paradis, WR Jordan Taylor (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post)
- Cardinals — QB Zac Dysert, DT Olsen Pierre, G/T John Wetzel (via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com)
- Jaguars — S Peyton Thompson (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
- Lions — DE Brandon Copeland (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Packers — LB Joe Thomas (via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Panthers — C Tyler Larsen, P Michael Palardy
- Patriots — CB Justin Coleman (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald), TE Matt Lengel (via Kevin Duffy of MassLive)
- Saints — WR Brandon Coleman (via Nick Underhill of the Advocate)
Non-Tendered:
- Buccaneers — DE Howard Jones (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
Broncos Working To Re-Up Ware, Okung
Although DeMarcus Ware is eyeing a return to Dallas, where he spent the first nine years of his illustrious career, Denver isn’t giving up on re-signing the pass rusher. Broncos general manager John Elway has met with Ware regarding a new deal, tweets Troy Renck of Denver 7. However, Ware is likely to test the market, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link).
Ware, who will turn 35 in July, is coming off a career-low 10-game season, which came on the heels of a then-worst 11-game showing in 2015. The 12-year veteran has remained productive, though, as he managed eight starts and four sacks in 2016. All told, Ware has piled up 21.5 sacks in three years as a Bronco, giving him 138.5 for his career. He’s now eighth on the all-time sack list and figures to vault up the list at least a couple more spots in 2017 – perhaps in a different uniform.
Meanwhile, Elway has also discussed a return with left tackle Russell Okung, per James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link). The Broncos elected in late February to decline his option, but that’s not necessarily going to lead to a divorce. Picking up that option would have triggered the remainder of the four-year, $48MM deal (including $20.5MM in guarantees) an agent-less Okung signed with the Broncos last offseason. Okung then proceeded to notch the first 16-start year of his career, though Pro Football Focus ranked his performance a mediocre 38th among 78 qualified tackles.
Since the Broncos (briefly?) cut ties with Okung, several other teams have come up as potential suitors. Because he’s still representing himself, Okung is not allowed to speak with teams during the legal tampering period.
Jags, Patrick Omameh Agree To Deal
The Jaguars have agreed to re-sign guard Patrick Omameh, his agency, Schwartz & Feinsod, announced (Twitter link). It’ll be a one-year, $775K deal with a $100K signing bonus, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
Since breaking into the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2014, Omameh has amassed 40 appearances and 32 starts. The 27-year-old spent 2015 in Chicago and is coming off his first year in Jacksonville, where he started in seven of 10 appearances before going on injured reserve in late November.
Omameh graded a respectable 31st among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualifying guards in 2016 and would have drawn interest from at least one other team – the Broncos, per Troy Renck of Denver 7 (Twitter link) – had the Jaguars not kept him off the market. PFR’s Zach Links ranked Omameh as the eighth-best unsigned guard on the market Monday.
Re-upping Omameh likely means the Jags will move on from Luke Joeckel, tweets Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com. The free agent hasn’t lived up to his status as the second overall pick in the 2013 draft, though he has started in all 39 career appearances. Joeckel missed all but four games last year on account of a knee injury.
Broncos Place Tender On Brandon McManus
The Broncos have placed a hefty second-round tender on restricted free agent kicker Brandon McManus, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). A second-round tender is valued at $2.746MM.
The Broncos now have the opportunity to match any offer sheet to the kicker, and they’ll be compensated with a second-round pick if the veteran signs elsewhere.
After losing the starting job, McManus served mostly as a kickoff specialist during his first season in the league. However, he has handled full-time kicking duties over the past two years. The 25-year-old has made at least 85-percent of his field goals since 2015, and he’s connected on 8-of-13 field goals beyond 50 yards. The former undrafted free agent has only missed two extra point attempts over the past two seasons.
Mike Klis of 9News reports (via Twitter) that inside linebacker Todd Davis also received a second-round tender from the Broncos. In 15 starts last season, the 24-year-old collected 64 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
We’ve been collecting the rest of today’s tenders here.
Broncos Interested In Danny Woodhead
Danny Woodhead is far enough along in his ACL recovery that he’s already getting some bites in free agency, according to Alex Marvez of The Sporting News (on Twitter). The Broncos are among the clubs with interest. 
I ranked Woodhead, 32, as one of the ten best running backs available this month. Typically a pass-catching machine, Woodhead missed the majority of the 2016 season due to injury. In the year prior, Woodhead had a career-high 80 receptions for 755 yards and six touchdowns (also a career high).
Woodhead is no spring chicken, but he could be a valuable addition to another team’s backfield. The Broncos could slot him in behind projected starter C.J. Anderson. Devontae Booker, Juwan Thompson, and Kapri Bibbs (ERFA) are also on the RB depth chart.
Calais Campbell, Chris Baker Generating Interest
The Jaguars are in the Calais Campbell market, while the Broncos, Buccaneers, and Colts are contenders for fellow free agent defensive lineman Chris Baker, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter link) and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Anderson adds that a Redskins return is still in the cards for Baker and he hopes to sign “quick” (link).
[RELATED: Top 50 NFL Free Agents]
Campbell, the best interior defender on the market in the estimation of PFR, should be in high demand this week, and the Cardinals are expecting to lose him to another club as a result. The Jaguars boast $60MM more in cap space than does Arizona, meaning Jacksonville would likely be able to outbid the Cards and many other suitors. Campbell, fresh off his ninth solid campaign in the desert, would add an All Pro presence to a Jaguars defense that has accrued veteran talent in recent offseasons.
Baker, meanwhile, is expecting an offer from the Redskins, but that doesn’t mean the 29-year-old won’t test free agency. Baker started all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2016, and graded as one of the league’s best interior defenders. The Broncos are expected to target defensive line help after struggling against the run last season, while Baker would give the Buccaneers another talented lineman to pair with Gerald McCoy.
Broncos To Address Lines
- Adding reinforcements along the lines will be the primary objective of the Broncos this offseason, as Troy Renck of Denver7 reports in a pair of articles. On offense, Denver is expected to be especially aggressive in signing a right guard, while the club will give Max Garcia another chance to lock down left guard. On defense, the Broncos will likely target mid-range options. Although they missed out on Earl Mitchell, the Broncos were linked to free agent Chris Baker earlier tonight.