Minor NFL Transactions: 1/19/16
Here are today’s minor NFL moves, with a focus on reserve/futures contracts:
- The Colts have signed defensive lineman Ricky Lumpkin to a reserve/futures deal, according to Wilson (Twitter link). Lumpkin, who has NFL experience with both the Cardinals and Raiders, worked out for Indianapolis in mid-December.
Earlier updates:
- The Steelers confirmed 10 reserve/futures signings today, including a pair – defensive end Caushaud Lyons and safety Ray Vinopal – that weren’t on Monday’s transactions report. Pittsburgh also extended the contracts of offensive lineman Chris Hubbard and fullback Roosevelt Nix. Both players, who had been eligible for exclusive rights free agency this winter, got one-year deals.
- The Jets have now signed 17 players to reserve/futures contracts, announcing today in a press release that offensive lineman Sean Hickey and running back Dominique Williams are the latest recipients.
- The Dolphins have signed quarterback Zac Dysert and tight end Dominique Jones to reserve/futures deals, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Both players spent time with the Broncos as recently as 2014, when new Miami head coach Adam Gase was the offensive coordinator in Denver.
- The Packers and Seahawks each signed a player who finished the season on the team’s practice squad injured reserve list, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, respectively (Twitter links). Green Bay signed defensive end B.J. McBryde, while Seattle signed offensive lineman Terry Poole. Both contracts are reserve/futures deals.
Coach Rumors: Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Bucs
After showing interest in Jim Schwartz before he was named the Eagles’ new defensive coordinator, the Jaguars have turned their attention in another direction as they search for a defensive play-caller. Jacksonville is today interviewing Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson for their DC vacancy, reports Albert Breer of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Longtime NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is “involved in [the Jaguars’] process” of finding a defensive coordinator to replace the fired Bob Babich, but he is not in line for a formal coaching position with the club, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter links).
Henderson, 46, has been in high demand this offseason, and even interviewed for a head coaching position (Browns) earlier this month. Dallas’ defensive backs coach since 2012, Henderson, who also has a background in player development, was also linked to jobs on Miami’s new staff.
Let’s look at some news from the coaching front:
- New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly is likely to keep one offensive coach, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (via Twitter) that running backs coach Tom Rathman is expected to remain on staff. Meanwhile, both incumbent special teams coach Thomas McGaughey and assistant Richard Hightower are in contention for San Francisco’s ST coordinator position, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
- Eagles head coach Doug Pederson announced during his introductory press conference that running backs coach Duce Staley — who interviewed for Philadelphia’s top job — will be retained, Neil Hartman of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
- The Packers have shuffled their offensive staff, firing both running backs coach Sam Gash (per Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Twitter) and tight ends coach Jerry Fontenot (per Tom Silverstein of MJS on Twitter).
- Confirming four previously-reported hires, the Buccaneers announced that special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor, secondary coach Jon Hoke, defensive line coach Jay Hayes, and linebackers coach Mark Duffner have been added to the club’s staff.
Cole’s Latest: Lynch, Carroll, Chargers, Lacy
In a series of videos today for Bleacher Report, Jason Cole tackled a handful of notable topics from around the NFL. Here’s the latest from Cole:
- The Seahawks would like to bring back running back Marshawn Lynch in 2016, since the team feels he’s still capable of big-time production. However, Seattle isn’t interested in retaining Beast Mode at his current $9MM base salary and $11.5MM cap hit, says Cole (video link). The club will explore the possibility of a pay cut – perhaps lowering Lynch’s base salary and adding incentives to his deal – but if the two sides aren’t making much progress, Seattle may eventually have to cut the standout running back.
- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is currently signed through 2016, but it’s unclear what his future holds after that. If Carroll wants to continue his coaching career, I’d expect Seattle to try to keep him around, but Cole suggests that the Rams – and the Chargers, if they move to L.A. – could make a play for the former USC head coach (video link).
- Speaking of those Chargers, they’re still a little apprehensive about dealing with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, but the NFL has been encouraging Dean Spanos‘s franchise to take advantage of the opportunity to move to Los Angeles, according to Cole (video link). The league believes that the basic deal it has outlined for the Chargers would allow the team to make more money in L.A. than it would if it remained in San Diego.
- Not that we needed to be told, but Cole cites Packers sources who say running back Eddie Lacy looked “sluggish” during his 61-yard run against Arizona, adding that the team was disappointed with Lacy’s lack of development and fitness level this season. There’s major uncertainty surrounding Lacy’s future with the franchise, says Cole (video link).
West Notes: Berry, Hali, Seahawks, Rams
As expected, Andy Reid didn’t do much prioritizing when it came to pinpointing which of the Chiefs‘ free agents will return, but he did single out the one likely residing at the top of the itinerary.
“I think he wants to be here. We want him to be here. The agents and our people need to get with him, they’ll deal with all that, work through all that. But I like Eric Berry. I can tell you, I love Eric Berry,” Reid told media, including Dave Skretta of the Associated Press.
Berry will be the top safety on the market and one of the top players available as an unrestricted free agent. The Pro Bowl safety played out his entire rookie contract, a six-year deal worth $60MM, from the old CBA that was much friendlier to first-round selections.
“Obviously,” Berry told media, when asked if he wants to return to the Chiefs. “This is family. At the same time, we’ll sit down and talk about it when we talk about it. But right now I’m just thankful for my teammates, my coaches and everybody that has something to do with me being back on the field this year. This is something special.”
The Chiefs could have their franchise tag ready if talks with the 27-year-old cancer survivor stall. The remainder of the Chiefs’ free agent class includes a number of expiring deals from their top-flight defense. Sean Smith, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Jaye Howard are free agents.
Kansas City possess $31.62MM in salary cap space, according to OverTheCap.
Here is the latest coming out of the Western divisions.
- Hali’s path may lead to retirement or back to Kansas City, with Skretta noting it’s unlikely the 32-year-old outside linebacker will head elsewhere. The former first-round pick and career Chief told media after the Chiefs’ loss to the Patriots he would contemplate his future after spending most of this season not practicing due to knee trouble. Hali renegotiated his deal last season to help Kansas City with its cap. Of course, with the Chiefs having some lucrative free agents to consider retaining in hopes of keeping that strong defense intact, Hali’s third Chiefs contract won’t be nearly as hefty as the five year, $60MM deal he signed in 2011. Though Hali, a Pro Bowler this season and a top-10 edge player as graded by Pro Football Focus, could still command a reasonable accord on the open market if he sought such a path. “I know some of these (free agents) are going to return. That’s how it rolls. Which ones and how it works into the (salary) cap and all that, that’s (GM John) Dorsey‘s baby there,” Reid said.
- The Chiefs will have their lowest first-round pick in 20 years after their 11-5 season ended in the divisional playoffs. They will pick 28th, lowest of the teams eliminated this weekend, according to Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. The Steelers, Seahawks and Packers will pick 25th, 26th and 27th, respectively, based on a schedule strength tiebreaker.
- Bruce Irvin told media, including Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, he will take less money on his second contract to stay with the Seahawks. Irvin said both John Schneider and Pete Carroll asked him if he’d accept a below-market deal Monday. “Pete and John asked me that when I met with them today. If it came to that, I would definitely come back. $3, $4 million? $3, $4, $5 million? I would definitely come back because I’m established here,” Irvin said. The Seahawks did not pick up Irvin’s fifth-year option last year, making the edge-rusher an unrestricted free agent. The January gesture may not hold a lot of weight come March, per Joel Corry of CBSSports.com, who tweets Irvin’s agent, Joel Segal, won’t be interested in seeing Irvin take a hometown discount after he pushed the Chiefs to give Justin Houston a record deal last summer. Russell Okung, Jeremy Lane and Jermaine Kearse are among the Seahawks’ notable UFAs, with Marshawn Lynch‘s $6.5MM in cap savings likely to benefit toward this cause as well.
- Carroll told media, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, he’d like to bring back Christine Michael, a UFA who bounced around this year before re-signing with Seattle. Michael averaged 4.9 yards per carry with the Seahawks and 3.4 per rush with the Cowboys this season.
- Stan Kroenke is borrowing approximately $1 billion from JPMorgan Chase for his new Inglewood stadium, Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Daily tweets. The stadium’s expected to cost a record $2.7 billion, and Kroenke’s $1 billion loan would represent one of the largest ever taken for a stadium, according to Elyse Glickman of the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Packers Notes: Lacy, Matthews, McCarthy
In his end-of-season press conference, Mike McCarthy gave Eddie Lacy an ultimatum of sorts after the third-year running back endured his worst season.
“Eddie Lacy, he’s got a lot of work to do. His offseason last year was not good enough, and he never recovered from it,” McCarthy told media, including ESPN.com’s Jason Wilde. “He cannot play at the weight he was at this year.”
Lacy’s yardage total decreased considerably from two upper-echelon campaigns in 2013-14, with the former second-round pick rushing for 758 yards (4.1 per carry) on 187 totes — 59 fewer than last season and 97 fewer than his offensive rookie of the year slate.
2015 also brought three games where Lacy came off the bench, once as a result of missing curfew in Detroit and being outright demoted in favor of James Starks earlier.
Here are some more takeaways from the Packers coach’s presser.
- Green Bay will look to move Clay Matthews back to outside linebacker after spending more than a season inside, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com reports. Matthews spent the entire season on the inside of the Packers’ 3-4 look after moving there due to thinning talent at the position in 2014. “My goal with Clay is to play outside linebacker,” McCarthy said. “The matchup part of it was really always my goal. There’s things he does at that position that he’ll continue to do. He’s an outside linebacker and we need to get back to him playing there and just playing inside when needed.” Matthews’ sack total plummeted to 6.5 after the former All-Pro accrued 10+ sacks in four separate seasons as an outside backer. Playing 16 games, Matthews graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 39th-best inside linebacker, which was still a Packers-best but well below his usual strata. Outside backers Mike Neal and Nick Perry are free agents.
- McCarthy also won’t be delegating play-calling responsibilities like he did for most of this season, the 10th-year coach announced, via Wilde. He also plans to retain assistant head coach Tom Clements, who was given play-calling autonomy this year before McCarthy reclaimed it. “That was a big change. Different kind of change. The structure was different offensively,” McCarthy said. “What I was trying to accomplish, being balanced, that part was accomplished with special teams and defense. Offensively, the structure was part of the failure on offense.”
- Jeff Janis did not see the field for most of the season due to early-season struggles, necessitating a meeting with McCarthy, via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The former Division II wide receiver caught seven passes for 145 yards against the Cardinals after hauling in just two all season. “Look for them to take a big jump second year. Jeff and Jared Abbrederis need to earn their opportunities to get on the field,” McCarthy said.
Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/16
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL:
Green Bay Packers
- Carl Bradford, LB (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- William Campbell, DT
- Mitchell Henry, TE
- Jamel Johnson, WR
- Christian Ringo, DT
- Jeremy Vujnovich, T
- Ed Williams, WR
Kansas City Chiefs
- Tyrell Adams, LB (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Da’Ron Brown, WR (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Reid Fragel, T
- Laurence Gibson, T
- Mike Liedtke, G
- Darrin Reaves, RB
- Jimmy Staten, DE
- Ross Travis, TE
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Jordan Dangerfield, S (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Matt Feiler, T
- B.J. Finney, C
- Isaiah Frey, CB (Twitter link via Dov Kleiman of RantSports)
- Xavier Grimble, TE
- Rajion Neal, RB (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- Shakim Phillips, WR
- Abou Toure, RB
Seattle Seahawks
- Brandon Cottom, FB (Twitter links via Dov Kleiman of RantSports)
- George Farmer, CB
- DeShon Foxx, WR
- Antwan Goodley, WR
- Justin Hamilton, DT
- Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB
- Douglas McNeil, WR
- Drew Nowak, C
- Will Pericak, C
- Trovon Reed, DB
- Robert Smith, S
- DeAngelo Tyson, DE
King’s Latest: Chiefs, Steelers, Packers, Lynch
In the wake of the weekend’s divisional playoff games, Peter King of TheMMQB.com takes a look at what’s next for the four teams eliminated from the postseason, and passes along several notable tidbits. Here are the highlights:
- Odds are that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will promote quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy to replace Doug Pederson as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, says King. Brad Childress has been viewed as a candidate for that job as well.
- With Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali eligible for free agency, King expects the Chiefs to retain one of those two players, at most — the team is more likely to spend on its free agent defensive backs, Sean Smith and Eric Berry.
- Michael Vick doesn’t appear to be in the Steelers‘ plans going forward, so the team should bring in a backup quarterback to challenge Landry Jones, King suggests. The MMQB scribe would also like to see Pittsburgh use a high draft choice on a tight end.
- With Jordy Nelson back next year and the Packers developing some promising young receivers, James Jones may be a luxury that GM Ted Thompson decides he can’t afford. King writes that Green Bay also needs to invest in a pass rusher and perhaps draft Eddie Lacy‘s replacement.
- “Even the most ardent Marshawn Lynch fan has to see it’s over for him,” according to King, who suggests that the Seahawks are likely to cut their longtime running back to create cap room for other core players.
NFL/Reserve Future Contracts: 1/17/16
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.
Green Bay Packers
- OL Matt Rotheram (Twitter link via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Kansas City Chiefs
- OT Laurence Gibson (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star)
- DL Jimmy Staten (per Paylor, via Twitter)
- WR Fred Williams (according to Paylor, on Twitter)
Injury Updates: Allen, Okung, Cobb
Some big names have suffered injuries during this weekend’s NFL playoff action. Here’s the latest:
- Panthers defensive end Jared Allen injured his foot during the team’s Sunday win over the Seahawks and and is likely to require season-ending surgery, tweets Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com conflicts Jones’ report, tweeting that Allen plans to continue playing. Allen broke a small bone in his foot, per Rapoport. The 12th-year man is scheduled to undergo an X-ray Monday, according to Jones (Twitter link), which should clarify his status.
- Not only did the Seahawks’ season end in Carolina, but left tackle Russell Okung‘s career with the team may have concluded with an injury. The one-time Pro Bowler and pending free agent dislocated his shoulder, reports The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta (on Twitter). The terrible timing of the injury could have a negative effect on Okung’s market this offseason, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link). On Saturday, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Okung, 28, as the ninth-best free agent in the upcoming class.
- Packers receiver Randall Cobb left Saturday’s loss to Arizona early with a bruised lung, but he tweeted Sunday that he was discharged from the hospital and feels “much better.”
Sunday Roundup: Manziel, Forsett, Jags
As the Panthers have their way with the Seahawks in the early going of this afternoon’s Divisional Round matchup, let’s take a look at some news and notes from around the league:
- We heard just a few days ago that new Browns head coach Hue Jackson was prepared to move on from Johnny Manziel, and the comments he made during a Bleacher Report interview this morning reaffirmed that sentiment. Per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jackson told Bleacher Report that if Manziel was, in fact, in Las Vegas during the season finale, that would indicate to him that Manziel is not starter material. Jackson then went on to say, “I do believe that this team does need a quarterback.”
- Although it’s certainly not a lock, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com believes the Ravens will bring back Justin Forsett next season. The team would gain only $900K of salary cap space by cutting Forsett, and although the other backs on the team’s depth chart have shown some promise, they have significant flaws and are largely unproven.
- Packers WR Randall Cobb suffered a bruised lung in last night’s heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Jason Wilde of ESPN.com tweets that the team does not yet have an update on Cobb.
- Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley has finally begun his search for a new defensive coordinator in earnest, bringing in Marquand Manuel and Lou Anarumo for interviews last week. Per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, Bradley hopes to have the search wrapped up by January 25, and Manuel and/or Anarumo could join the Jacksonville coaching staff even if they don’t land the coordinator position. O’Halloran adds that current defensive line coach Todd Wash could still be promoted to DC.
- In a separate piece, O’Halloran looks at the issues facing the Jaguars‘ new DC, whoever it may be, including what to do with Jonathan Cyprien and whether the team should pursue an elite corner like Prince Amukamara or Greg Toler in free agency or if it can afford to look for a second-tier option.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com offers his breakdown of the Titans‘ cap situation and free agency outlook.
- Mark Maske of the Washington Post observes that the teams looking for a new head coach this offseason were thinking offensively. Of the seven new hires, five were offensive coordinators, and the other two (Mike Mularkey and Chip Kelly) are of course offensive-minded.