Jabaal Sheard To Visit Colts
Jabaal Sheard is scheduled to visit the Colts, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. It was reported earlier this week that the team could pursue the pass rusher.
After the late Thursday/early Friday trade between the Rams and Dolphins, the Colts could be the de facto leading suitor for Sheard. The Dolphins acquired a quality defensive end in William Hayes and that could take them out of the Sheard chase. Miami met with Sheard on Thursday afternoon, but Sheard would be redundant for him as they have Cameron Wake, Andre Branch, and Hayes on the DE depth chart. Hayes was accustomed to starting in L.A., so it’s hard to see Miami trying to sell him on even less playing time by bringing in Sheard.
Meanwhile, the Colts could certainly use some assistance at defensive end. Sheard could bump either Hassan Ridgeway or Henry Anderson from the starting lineup, and the move could also result in one of Arthur Jones or Kristjan Sokoli not making the roster. The Colts finished with an underwhelming 33 sacks last season, and the defensive line allowed 1,926 rushing yards (eighth-most in NFL).
Sheard would certainly help with these deficiencies. Despite getting benched midway through the season, the defensive end still had a productive year for the Patriots in 2016. The 27-year-old finished the campaign with 33 tackles and five sacks, adding on to the eight sacks he collected with New England in 2015.
Contract Details: Garcon, Baker, Klein, Jones
Let’s take a look at some details of the free agent contracts signed today:
- Chris Baker, DL (Buccaneers): Three years, $15.75MM. $9MM guaranteed. $1MM in sack incentives each season (Twitter link via Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post).
- Jack Crawford, DL (Falcons): Three years, $10.3MM. $3.75MM in 2017 (Twitter link via Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com).
- Pierre Garcon, WR (49ers): Two years, $23MM. $17MM guaranteed. Options for 2019 ($6MM), 2020 ($8.9MM), and 2021 ($9.6MM) (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
- Landry Jones, QB (Steelers): Two years, $4.4MM. $600K signing bonus (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com).
- A.J. Klein, LB (Saints): Four years, $24MM. $4MM signing bonus. $9.4MM guaranteed. 2020 season will void Klein is on Saints roster on last day of 2019 league year (via Nick Underhill of the Advocate).
- Jeff Locke, P (Colts): Two years, $3.45MM. $1.25MM guaranteed (Twitter links via Ben Goessling of ESPN.com and Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star).
- Ryan Mallett, QB (Ravens): One year, $2MM. $1MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Pelissero).
- Akeem Spence, DL (Lions): Three years, $9MM. $3.5MM guaranteed. $1MM available via escalators (Twitter link via Peliserro).
- D.J. Swearinger, S (Redskins): Three years, $13.5MM. $9MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Kinkhabwala).
Colts To Sign Barkevious Mingo
The Colts lost out on some marquee free agents on Day 1 of the NFL’s player-movement period but agreed to sign an auxiliary pass-rusher in Barkevious Mingo. The deal is for one year and $2.5MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets that the deal includes $500K in guaranteed money.
Indianapolis entered free agency with a glaring need at the edge-rushing spots, with much of its 2016 sack total associated with UFAs or players that retired. Mingo will join the Colts as a former first-round pick but one who hasn’t lived up to his potential. Mingo registered seven sacks with the Browns in 2013-14 but none since, and the Patriots acquired him for a 2017 fifth-round pick.
Trent Cole and Erik Walden entered free agency, and Robert Mathis retired after the 2016 season. Those three were responsible for 18 Colts sacks last season. Mingo figures to play a depth role in Indy as he attempts to recapture some of the promise that made him the No. 6 pick in 2013.
Colts, Jeff Locke Agree To Deal
The Colts have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent punter Jeff Locke, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The 27-year-old Locke spent the first four seasons of his career with the Vikings, who had interest in re-signing him, according to Tomasson. He’ll instead take over for the retired Pat McAfee in Indianapolis. While McAfee was among the NFL top punters last year, Locke finished toward the bottom of the league in yards per punt and net average. However, he did rank fifth overall when it came to pinning opposing teams inside their 20-yard line.
PFR’s Dallas Robinson rated Locke as the top punter in a thin free agent class.
Patriots Acquire TE Dwayne Allen From Colts
The Patriots are trading for Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Patriots will be sending a fourth-rounder to the Colts in exchange for Allen and a sixth-round pick, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The deal has been confirmed by the Colts via press release.
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The deal, which had no prior buildup, comes as a complete surprise. The Patriots have now added one of the league’s best offensive tight ends and that presumably spells the end of Martellus Bennett‘s time with the team.
During his only season in New England, Bennett hauled in 55 catches for 701 yards and seven touchdowns. Considering Allen’s catching ability, he should be able to easily slide in as the number-two tight end behind Rob Gronkowski. Of course, the team also heavily relies on two tight end-sets, so Allen should get plenty of looks, especially in the red zone. The team is also rostering tight end Matt Lengel.
Allen was ranked 41st on Pro Football Focus‘ listing of tight ends (Bennett, meanwhile, was ranked 10th). The veteran performed better in the receiving game, but he struggled in both run and pass catching.
Allen signed a four-year, $29.4MM deal with the Colts one year ago today. Now, he’s slated to serve out the rest of that deal in New England. Allen is set to carry a $5.937MM cap number in 2017, which shouldn’t be too much of a burden on the Pats given the amount of space they presently have to work with. The Colts will free up $2.9MM in cap space, but they’ll also be left with $3MM in dead money.
The Colts re-signed fellow tight end Jack Doyle this week, making Allen somewhat expendable. The team will presumably be seeking a third tight end, as Erik Swoope is currently slotted as the backup.
Now, Indianapolis can redirect that money elsewhere. They have serious needs on the defensive line and they also have free agents of their own to still address, including versatile defensive back Darius Butler.
Photo via PFR on Instagram.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/17
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:
- Buccaneers: QB Ryan Griffin (via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)
- Chargers: WR Dontrelle Inman, ILB Korey Toomer (via Michael Gehlken)
- Dolphins: S Michael Thomas (via Tom Pelissero of USA Today)
- Lions: T Cornelius Lucas (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
- Ravens: CB Jumal Rolle (via Jamison Hensely of ESPN.com)
- Seahawks: T Garry Gilliam (via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com)
Non-Tendered:
- Cardinals: K Chandler Catanzaro, TE Darren Fells (via Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com)
- Chargers: RB Branden Oliver, DE Tenny Palepoi (Twitter links via Gehlken)
- Jets: TE Brandon Bostick, DT Mike Pennel (via Rich Cimini of ESPN)
- Packers: OLB Jayrone Elliott (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN), LB Jordan Tripp (per Demovsky)
- Seahawks: CB Mohammed Seisay, S Steven Terrell (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
ERFAs:
Tendered:
- Colts: WR Quan Brady (via Stephen Holder of the Indy Star)
- Seahawks: S Dewey McDonald, RB Troymaine Pope (Twitter links via Condotta)
Non-Tendered:
- Packers: RB John Crockett (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Alshon Jeffery Leaning Toward Signing With Eagles
Alshon Jeffery is leaning toward choosing the Eagles when free agency starts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. At last check, both the Colts and Eagles were making “strong pushes” to sign the wide receiver. Now, he could be Philly bound, leaving the Colts and Bears to look elsewhere.
The Eagles found a deep threat receiver on Thursday morning when they agreed to sign Torrey Smith. After that, we got word that they were easing up on their pursuit of a Brandin Cooks trade. Ultimately, a Cooks trade would have cost the Eagles a boatload of draft compensation on top of having to work out a new deal with Cooks at some point in the next two years. If they can sign Jeffery and Smith, they will have given two serious weapons to Carson Wentz without hurting their draft situation.
Remaining in these wideout pursuits despite having one of the worst cap situations in the league, the Eagles would be in a better place offensively by signing Jeffery. With the Bears in 2013 and ’14, the big target surpassed 1,100 yards — going for 1,421 in a Pro Bowl ’13 slate — before injuries and a suspension limited him the past two seasons.
Jeffery rated as PFR’s No. 2 overall free agent. The Eagles showed interest in DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Kenny Stills and Kenny Britt. By adding Smith and Jeffery, they could possibly put Jordan Matthews in the slot full-time and have a layered passing attack, one that also includes Zach Ertz.
Latest On Alshon Jeffery
While the Bears are still discussing a possible re-up with Alshon Jeffery‘s representatives, the market’s top wide receiver is drawing aggressive interest from elsewhere. Both the Colts and Eagles are making “strong pushes” to add the sixth-year wideout, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport notes (on Twitter) Jeffery continues to discuss a deal to stay in Chicago but is weighing multiple other offers.
The Eagles have been connected to just about every marquee receiver on the market but have watched DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Kenny Stills and Kenny Britt agree to sign with other teams. A Jeffery addition would salvage what’s been a wideout-geared offseason for the Eagles thus far.
Indianapolis has more than $47MM in cap space, much more than Philadelphia, but doesn’t have as big of a need at wideout. T.Y. Hilton profiles as a different type of receiver than does Jeffery, but he still led the league in receiving in 2016. The Colts also employ solid No. 2 man Donte Moncrief and drafted Phillip Dorsett in the first round two years ago.
Some trepidation from teams regarding Jeffery’s availability history may be affecting his market, and Jeffery’s best two seasons came in 2013 and ’14 as a No. 2 wideout. But the previously franchise-tagged target figures to cash in, probably for more than $10MM per year based on this layered interest. The Bears, though, would be hit hard if Jeffery left, considering Kevin White has not proven to be reliable. The former first-round pick has missed almost every game during the first two years of his career.
Colts Could Pursue Jabaal Sheard
With a boatload of cap space at their disposal, the Colts are in position to act aggressively on the open market this year. Already linked to high-end free agents-to-be like A.J. Bouye, Dontari Poe, Nick Perry and Kevin Zeitler, the club also has genuine interest in pass rusher Jabaal Sheard, tweets Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.
[RELATED: Colts Trade Dwayne Allen To Pats]
Sheard, whom PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranks as the second-best edge defender in the 2017 free agent class (behind Perry), has served as a more-than-capable rusher in both Cleveland and New England during his six-year career. All told, Sheard has piled up 36 sacks, including 13 over the past two seasons with the Patriots.
Despite ranking 22nd in the NFL in quarterback hurries in 2016, Sheard endured a somewhat rocky year with the Super Bowl champions. In the midst of following an eight-sack, four-forced fumble 2015 with a five-sack, zero-forced fumble campaign, Sheard was a healthy scratch for the Patriots’ Week 11 win over San Francisco. Head coach Bill Belichick sat Sheard for performance-related reasons, though he did end up partaking in the rest of the Pats’ regular-season games and their playoff run.
Sheard is now on the verge of hitting free agency for the second time since 2015, when he landed a two-year, $11MM deal. In Indianapolis, he’d figure to bolster a pass rush that tied for 19th in the league in sacks and finished dead last in hurries in 2016.
Latest on Colts Offseason
Colts general manager Chris Ballard has been very busy during his first offseason on the job. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the executive has been very active in free agency. The Colts are particularly interested in retaining safety Darius Butler and running back Robert Turbin. Meanwhile, the team is also exploring top defensive free agents like linebacker Nick Perry and defensive tackle Dontari Poe.
Butler has established himself as one of the Colts’ most reliable defensive backs since joining the team in 2012. Last season, the 30-year-old finished with 33 tackles, seven passes defended, and three interceptions. Butler was listed fourth in our rankings of the best free agent safeties.
Turbin had one of his most productive NFL seasons in 2016, running for 164 yards and seven touchdowns. The 27-year-old also collected a career-high 26 receptions to go along with 179 yards and one score. The Colts could certainly use some reinforcement at the position, as the team is only rostering two running backs in Frank Gore and Josh Ferguson.
Perry was listed as our best available edge defender, while Poe was ranked fourth among interior defensive lineman. The Colts could use some help on the defensive line, as Hassan Ridgeway, T.Y. McGill, and Henry Anderson are currently slotted in as the starters.