Extra Points: Graham, Seahawks, Packers
Some have criticized Jimmy Graham for his contract wrangling with the Saints this offseason, but those people should consider his history before judging him in any fashion, writes Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. Duncan outlines Graham’s childhood history which included being abandoned by his mother and stepfather before landing in a less-than-desirable foster care situation. “Obviously I know where I came from, and I know how hard it was to get here and so I’m going to cherish every moment of it and do everything in my power to never go back,” Graham said. More from around the NFL..
- As the Seahawks prepared for the 2014 draft, their execs considered game tape, player statistics, and all the typical barometers of future success. But they also studied players’ backgrounds, looking deep into the DNA of each young man’s character, writes Dan Pompei of Sports On Earth. True to their word, each of the first six players the team chose in the draft overcame adversity in some manner, though some was of their own doing. “If people have had a lot of adversity and have proven they can overcome that adversity, the chances for them to have success at the next level are going to be better,” General Manager John Schneider said. “It’s important to us to find guys who have a chip on their shoulder and feel they have something to prove.” Second-round choice Paul Richardson was arrested for stealing a backpack as a UCLA freshman, and was subsequently dismissed from the school. He later transferred to Colorado to start over, but he missed his junior year after tearing his ACL before coming back to have a very productive senior season. Like Richardson, fellow second-round pick Justin Britt tore his ACL in 2012 but also bounced back strong.
- The Packers have had the fortune of employing some legendary GMs, writes Martin Hendricks for the Journal Sentinel. Current GM Ted Thompson ranks No. 4 on the list while the great Vince Lombardi occupies the top spot.
- While Browns rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert is finding his niche at his position, it’s been a bit of a rougher road for fellow rookie Pierre Desir, the team’s fourth-round selection this year, writes George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal. Desir finds himself listed third at one corner spot behind Joe Haden and Isaiah Trufant on the recently released depth chart.
NFC North Notes: Vikings, Packers, Lions
After starting 35 games for the Vikings over the last three seasons, Christian Ponder heads into the 2014 preseason as the No. 3 quarterback on the team’s depth chart, behind Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater. However, he’s trying not to let his precarious situation in Minnesota bother him — according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Ponder recognizes that he has to “be prepared” despite not getting as many reps this summer as Cassel and Bridgewater, and adds that he doesn’t expect to be traded before the regular season gets underway.
Here’s more from around the NFC North:
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) has heard there’s been a little dialogue between the Vikings and Brandon Fusco‘s camp about a contract extension for the offensive lineman. However, according to Fusco himself, nothing is imminent at this point. Minnesota’s starting right guard is heading into the final year of his rookie deal.
- With swing tackle Don Barclay expected to be placed on injured reserve, Packers GM Ted Thompson doesn’t expect his club to be in the market for a veteran offensive lineman, says Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- As we heard last night, the Lions‘ waiver claim of former 49ers wideout Jonathan Baldwin has yet to be finalized, while the team evaluates his medical situation. According to Carlos Monarrez and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Baldwin took his physical on Tuesday, but there are some concerns about his knee. “I’m not sure exactly the timetable on when we have to (make a decision),” head coach Jim Caldwell said. “(GM) Martin (Mayhew) and those guys stay on top of those kind of stuff, but we’re evaluating him right now.”
- One of the Lions‘ offseason coaching changes involved bringing in a new defensive coordinator, and as Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News writes, newcomer Teryl Austin likes what he has seen from the unit so far.
NFC Notes: Romo, Falcons, Packers, Patton
Bad news for the Cowboys: quarterback Tony Romo‘s recent back surgery is affecting his deep ball, writes Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram. “It’s been OK. I think the deeper the ball goes down the field, it’s a little bit more inconsistent,” quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said. “He’s thrown all the intermediates — the fours and the seven routes and the deep outs – have been fine. It’s just the nine routes and the deep posts. Those things have been a little inconsistent. I think that’s all due to his back.” More from the NFC East..
- Tyrell Johnson‘s deal with the Falcons is a one-year, $730K deal with a cap hit of just $570K, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Johnson, 29, was a second-round draft choice by the Vikings in 2008, and started 27 games with the team. The concussion suffered by Dwight Lowery on Friday created a need in the secondary for Atlanta.
- There was some speculation about former NFL tight end Randy McMichael and the Falcons since he was at their facility today, but he confirmed via Twitter that he was just visiting there with his little league team. McMichael, 35, last appeared with the Chargers in 2012 where he made ten starts but hauled in just nine receptions.
- Packers swing tackle Don Barclay could be out for the season after suffering a torn ACL during this afternoon’s practice, a league source tells Weston Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media. Barclay was carted off the practice field after falling awkwardly on his right knee. After starting all 14 games at right tackle for the Packers last season in place of an injured Bryan Bulaga, he was positioned to be the primary backup at both guard spots and right tackle.
- Quinton Patton is working to fight through the 49ers‘ logjam at wide receiver, writes Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. Patton had some bad luck in his rookie season, suffering a broken finger in training camp and a broken foot during the season that sidelined him for ten games. He’ll be duking it out with Brandon Lloyd, rookie Bruce Ellington, and others for his place.
- LeSean McCoy‘s praise of Eagles rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews continues, as Tim McManus of Philadelphia Magazine writes. “That rookie we got, Matthews, is looking real good. There’s been a lot of talk about this draft class being deep at wide receivers, but I’m real confident in this one being the best of the class,” McCoy said. “It’s still early, you got to go through the season and see how he does, but he looks amazing.”
NFC North Notes: Wilson, Lyerla, Lions
Bears second-year receiver Marquess Wilson will be sidelined indefinitely after he suffered a fractured clavicle on Monday. A second-year pro, Wilson had the inside track on the Bears’ No. 3 receiver job prior to going down. Josh Bellamy was listed behind Wilson on the Bears’ unofficial preseason depth chart, but the team is expected to sign another receiver in Wilson’s absence.
Here’s a few more NFC North news and notes:
- There’s a legitimate chance 34-year-old safety Adrian Wilson doesn’t make the Bears if he’s not a starter, says Chicago Sun-Times writer Adam Jahns, who lists five Bears with something to prove.
- Packers rookie tight end Colt Lyerla suffered a knee injury which will keep him out for ‘weeks,’ according to head coach Mike McCarthy (Twitter link). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel beat writer Tyler Dunne spoke with Lyerla’s agent, who said surgery doesn’t look necessary (Twitter link). While the injury throws cold water on one of the more interesting story lines in Packers camp, it could be a blessing in disguise if the team is able to stash the talented undrafted free agent on IR.
- Adding Jonathan Baldwin to the mix is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Lions, opines ESPN’s Michael Rothstein: “The Lions are always on the search for tall wide receivers, hoping the work ethic and professionalism Calvin Johnson provides can potentially rub off on one of them.”
- The Lions drafted Nate Freese with the thinking he would take over the team’s kicking duties, but he has not impressed, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, Italian-born Giorgio Tavecchio is pushing hard for the job, and Justin Rogers of Mlive.com says Freese’s status as a draft pick will not preclude the team does not guarantee anything.
- “The Vikings are being built the right way, a model that could lead to sustained success if — and this should be written in bold capital letters because it looms over everything else — rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater can develop into their franchise quarterback,” writes Chip Scroggins in the Star Tribune. Scroggins adds the team has 17 “core players,” excluding rookies.
North Links: Gordon, Packers, Bears, Ravens
Browns receiver Josh Gordon‘s appeal hearing in New York today lasted from 9:30am to 7:00pm, and is expected to continue on Monday, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The 23-year-old Gordon is seeking to overturn his proposed one-year ban for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Earlier today, Florio indicated that there is a “slight chance” a compromise is reached in the negotiations; any such deal would presumably allow Gordon to serve a sentence less than one year. If that’s the case, it makes sense that the ongoing deliberations are taking a decent amount of time.
More from the NFL’s two North divisions:
- The Packers fear that fifth-round receiver Jared Abbrederis has a torn ACL, a source told Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Abbrederis, a Wisconsin product, was expected to contribute in the return game.
- Adrian Wilson is already working with the Bears’ first-team defense, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. Roles in training camp are often inconsequential, but this report suggests that Wilson, who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, is healthy enough to dominate safety snaps at Chicago’s practice sessions.
- Browns rookie guard Garrett Gilkey believes he’s a legitimate candidate to start, writes Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Gilkey, a seventh-round pick in May’s draft, has been rotating at right guard with John Greco. “He’s shown to us in our practices he is a caliber of guy that is ready to be right in the starting mix,” said offensive line coach Andy Moeller. “…By no means has he arrived, but he’s certainly taking great strides to get there.”
- Following the release of veteran Vonta Leach, second-year man Kyle Juszczyk is slated to be the Ravens’ starting fullback, and he’s made great strides heading into his sophomore campaign, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Lions, McCarthy, Wilson
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie sees head coach Chip Kelly being with the team for a long time, writes NFL.com’s Albert Breer. “I got the feeling he was capable of that,” Lurie said. “People will learn about themselves. Coaches will learn. Do they want to stay in the same place? Do they want to move around? You can’t control that. But he has the ability to develop a program that was already successful, and make it even better. They were successful (at Oregon). We had all that success (with Andy Reid). But we want to be better than we were, not stay the same.” More from the NFC..
- Rashean Mathis says that the Lions don’t need an upgrade to their secondary, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. Detroit didn’t make any significant upgrades at cornerback this offseason, despite ranking 23rd against the pass last year. In 2013, Mathis was the only Lions corner to rank among the top 90 by Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
- There has been a lot of talk that after extending GM Ted Thompson, coach Mike McCarthy is next up on the Packers‘ agenda. However, the coach says that he’s not thinking about a new deal, writes Tyler Dunne of the Journal-Sentinel. “To me,” McCarthy said, “everybody that works here has a business part of their place here. That’s just part of it. I’m focused on training camp; there’s a process in place that will take its course. I’ve never sweated it. I love it here. I’m not worried about it.”
- In an interview on ESPN Radio, Giants owner John Mara explained that while the team is disappointed to see David Wilson suffer a neck burner in his first week back, the club was prepared for a season without him, writes Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger. “I think given what he went through, the surgery he went through, it would have been foolish not to be (prepared),” Mara said. “We signed Rashad Jennings, we drafted Andre Williams, we signed Peyton Hillis again, so we do have some depth there. We have Michael Cox there, so someone is going to have to step up and do it now.”
- Eagles running back LeSean McCoy is feeding the hype behind rookie receiver Jordan Matthews, writes Zach Berman of The Inquirer. The Eagles sure hope that McCoy is right about Matthews after an offseason in which they released DeSean Jackson.
NFC Notes: Falcons, Bryant, Finley, Nelson
In the wake of Sean Weatherspoon‘s season-ending Achilles injury, the Falcons added a pair of veteran free agent linebackers, signing Pat Angerer and Tim Dobbins to minimum salary contracts. However, the team hasn’t ruled the possibility of making further changes, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, who reports that former Packer Nick Barnett remains on Atlanta’s radar.
Per McClure, the Falcons were impressed with Barnett’s workout earlier in the offseason, but opted to sign Angerer and Dobbins instead. After Angerer left Tuesday’s practice complaining of headaches though, there was concern he may have sustained a concussion, which may prompt the Falcons to turn to Barnett.
As we wait to see whether the Falcons make any roster moves, let’s check in on a few other NFC teams….
- Having extended Tyron Smith, the Cowboys will now have the franchise tag available next year for Dez Bryant, but team executive vice president Stephen Jones said today that Dallas is “totally committed” to locking up the star receiver for the long term (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Ed Werder).
- After Anthony McCoy suffered an apparent torn Achilles tendon in practice earlier this week, the Seahawks may be looking for some tight end depth, but the team won’t be revisiting the possibility of signing Jermichael Finley, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (link via PFT’s Curtis Crabtree).
- Florio also has the full breakdown of Jordy Nelson’s new extension with the Packers, suggesting that the deal should secure the wideout’s place on the roster through at least 2016.
- Insider linebacker will be a position to watch for the Eagles this year, after the club didn’t really address the position in free agency or the draft, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- A federal court hearing will take place in California this Monday to determine whether Redskins wideout DeSean Jackson will have to repay agent Drew Rosenhaus $516K+, as an NFLPA arbitrator previously ruled, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
North Notes: Thompson, McCarthy, Bengals
For Packers GM Ted Thompson, signing an extension was a no-brainer, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “The more you think about it, the more you think how nuts are you that you’d walk away from something like this,” Thompson said. “It’s important to me. It’s not my family, but I’ve got a lot of really good friends here and co-workers that I enjoy coming to work with every day.” The 61-year-old is the seventh-longest-tenured GM in the NFL and there was some speculation that he would consider retirement.
- Next on the Packers‘ agenda, Demovsky writes, should be hammering out an extension for head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy, whose current contract runs through the 2015 season, has been getting along rather well with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers lately and is on the same page with Thompson, which was not the case with his predecessor Mike Sherman. Together, McCarthy and Thompson have an 88-50-1 overall record, including playoffs.
- Cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris has been suspended two games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Lewis-Harris has played a little for the Bengals in the last two seasons, shuttling back and forth from the practice squad, but there’s no guarantee he’ll earn a roster spot now that he’s facing a suspension.
- The Browns will be Johnny Manziel‘s team at some point, maybe even soon, but it’s clear it’s Brian Hoyer‘s team for now, writes Don Banks of Sports Illustrated. Hoyer, 28, is not deluding himself when it comes to the realities of his situation in Cleveland, but for now, the blinders are on and he’s determined to remain the starter.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Wednesday
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- Quarterback Kory Faulkner, waived Tuesday by the 49ers, cleared waivers and is now free to sign with any team, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Guard Fou Fonoti cleared waivers as well and now reverts to SF’s injured reserve.
- The Browns have signed offensive lineman Ryan Lee, the team announced today (via Twitter). By our count, Cleveland had three openings on its roster, so the club won’t need to waive anyone.
- Wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard, who spent most of last season the Ravens’ practice squad, was claimed off waivers by the Packers today after being cut by Baltimore, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Green Bay had an open spot on its 90-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
- In order to make room for McDonough, whose signing is noted below, the Redskins have waived-injured former Hampton cornerback Courtney Bridget, Jay Gruden confirmed today (Twitter link via Zac Boyer of the Washington Times).
Earlier updates:
- Defensive linemen Cody Larsen and Will Pericak have signed with the Broncos, the team announced today (link via the Denver Post). Both players’ NFL experience is limited to preseason action and time spent on practice squads. The moves increase Denver’s roster count to 89, leaving one additional opening.
- With a couple defensive backs banged up in camp, the Buccaneers have added some depth by signing cornerback Kip Edwards, who went undrafted in 2013 and has spent time with the Browns, Bills, and Vikings (Twitter link via Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com). The club used the spot vacated by recently released guard Carl Nicks to fit Edwards onto the 90-man roster.
- The Redskins have signed defensive tackle Jake McDonough, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. So far, the move has been confirmed by McDonough’s agent, but not the team — when it becomes official, Washington should have to cut a player to make room.
Packers Extend GM Ted Thompson
General manager Ted Thompson has signed a new multiyear contract extension with the Packers, the team announced today in a press release. While the release didn’t include details on how long Thompson’s new deal runs, it appears the GM will remain in Green Bay for the foreseeable future, considering he already had two years left on his previous contract.
“I’m pleased that we were able to enter into this contract extension with Ted,” said Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy. “His outstanding work has been the key factor in the success that we’ve enjoyed in recent years. I have tremendous respect for Ted, and am confident that we will continue to contend for championships under his leadership.”
The seventh-longest-tenured general manager in the NFL, Thompson is entering his 10th season at the helm of the franchise. During his stint in Green Bay, the team has earned six playoff berths and only had a losing record twice. Of course, the club also won the Super Bowl following the 2010 season.
While there had been some speculation that Thompson could opt to retire soon, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier this week that he didn’t envision the GM leaving the Packers anytime soon.