Impending FA Darius Butler Prepared To Switch To Safety
- Impending Colts free agent defensive back Darius Butler told Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) he’s ready to transition full time to safety. Butler finished the season with 27 tackles, three interceptions, and one forced fumble.
[SOURCE LINK]
2017 NFL Draft Order
The Browns almost blew it yesterday. In the regular season finale, the Browns took the Steelers to overtime before ultimately losing 27-24. Had they won, the Browns would have been picking at No. 2 instead of the top position. Meanwhile, the Jaguars nearly slipped to No. 5, but they held their ground in the draft order when they lost 24-20 to the Colts. Phew.
The playoffs will help determine the bottom 12 picks, but the draft order has now been set for most of the NFL. Here is the list, with ties being broken by strength of schedule:
1. Browns (1-15)
2. 49ers (2-14)
3. Bears (3-13)
4. Jaguars (3-13)
5. Titans (via the 4-12 Rams)
6. Jets (5-11)
7. Chargers (5-11)
8. Panthers (6-10)
9. Bengals (6-9-1)
10. Bills (7-9)
11. Saints (7-9)
12. Browns (via the 7-9 Eagles)
13. Cardinals (7-8-1)
T-14. Eagles (via the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings)
T-14. Colts (8-8) (Note: The Vikings and Colts have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broke by coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 14 and the other team getting the No. 15 pick.)
16. Ravens (8-8)
17. Redskins (8-7-1)
18. Titans (9-7)
19. Buccaneers (9-7)
20. Broncos (9-7)
Coaching/GM Notes, Pt. 1: Pagano, Payton, Kelly
We heard earlier today that Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is likely to step down while the Bears are expected to retain head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace. Let’s take a look at some other coaching and GM rumors from around the league, which are so abundant that we will split this post into two parts. Part 2 can be found here.
- Colts owner Jim Irsay has attempted to downplay the notion that head coach Chuck Pagano and/or GM Ryan Grigson are on the hot seat, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Irsay has been “very unhappy” with his team’s performance, and coaches within the organization believe that change is coming. It appears as if Pagano’s job is certainly in jeopardy, although it remains unclear whether Grigson could be fired as well. Irsay could not be reached for comment.
- There is “mutual interest” between the Rams and Saints head coach Sean Payton, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports that the ball is in New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis‘ court. If Loomis decides he’s willing to part with Payton for moderate compensation, Payton would be the clear front-runner to take over in Los Angeles. And if the Saints do move on from Payton, Jaguars interim head coach Doug Marrone would be a strong candidate to replace him in New Orleans, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Marrone could also take over the Jacksonville job on a permanent basis.
- The Jaguars will not, however, consider Chip Kelly, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
- La Canfora tweets out a list of names who could be in contention for the 49ers‘ GM job, a list that includes Louis Riddick, Scott Pioli, and George Paton. Meanwhile, San Francisco is said to be high on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Dolphins DC Vance Joseph as head coaching candidates.
- Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com tweets that Panthers DC Sean McDermott is lined up for multiple head coaching interviews.
Colts’ Robert Mathis To Retire
Colts defensive end Robert Mathis has announced that he will retire after the 2016 season. That means Sunday’s contest against the Jaguars will be his final NFL game. 
[RELATED: Jim Harbaugh A Match For The Colts?]
Mathis, 35, has spent his entire career with the Colts since being selected in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. Across his 14 years (13 seasons) with the Colts, Mathis earned five Pro Bowl nods and one First-Team All-Pro selection. The defensive end will go down as an all-time Colts great, particularly for the first ten years of his career in which he averaged 10.0 sacks per season. In 2013, Mathis led the entire NFL with 19.5 sacks.
Mathis has four sacks and 17 total tackles in 13 games played this season. He also has two forced fumbles and one fumble recovered for a touchdown. The advanced metrics indicate that Mathis has lost a step or three and that this is probably a good time for him to step away from the game. Pro Football Focus ranks Mathis as one of the ten worst qualified edge defenders in the NFL this season.
We here at Pro Football Rumors wish No. 98 nothing but the best in retirement.
RELATED:
Colts Work Out Two Defenders
- The Colts worked out linebacker Dezman Moses and safety L.J. McCray on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links). Moses is easily the more experienced of the pair, having appeared in 46 games to McCray’s 22, and has been available since the Chiefs cut him Oct. 7. McCray hasn’t caught on anywhere since the 49ers waived him Sept. 5.
Colts Try Out Rob Housler
- Tight end Rob Housler showcased himself to the Colts, relays Caplan (Twitter link). The five-year veteran has 109 catches, nearly all of which (105) came with Arizona from 2011-14.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 16
This weekend, the Browns got the best of both worlds when they won their first game of the 2016 season while the 49ers also found their way to victory. Now, the 1-14 Browns remain in the top spot as we head into the final week of the NFL season.
Here’s where we stand through Week 16. (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
- Browns 1-14
- 49ers 2-13
- Bears 3-12
- Jaguars 3-12
- Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-11
- Jets 4-11
- Chargers 5-10
- Bengals 5-9-1
- Panthers 6-9
- Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 6-9
- Cardinals 6-8-1
- Bills 7-8
- Colts 7-8
- Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-8
- Saints 7-8
- Titans 8-7
- Ravens 8-7
- Buccaneers 8-7
- Broncos 8-7
- Redskins 8-6-1
Jim Harbaugh A Match For The Colts?
- Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh won’t be returning to the NFL in 2017, but he could eventually be back, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (link via PFT). If and when he goes back to the NFL, Rapoport says he could be a match for the Bears. Meanwhile, some league insiders have speculated to PFT that Harbaugh could eventually coach the Colts, reuniting him with Andrew Luck.
Sean Payton Refused Pay Cut To Join Colts
- Sean Payton could have been the Colts coach this season, reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Ultimately, the current Saints head coach didn’t want to take a pay cut from $10MM per year to $8MM per year.
[SOURCE LINK]
Colts Tried To Sign Brian Price
Brian Price is a wanted man and the Packers are unwilling to lose him. Green Bay has raised the defensive tackle’s practice squad salary to $26,470/week, well above the league required minimum salary of $6,900/week, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets. Price’s pay now comes out to an annual salary of $449,900, whereas the minimum comes out to $117,300 per year. 
[RELATED: Packers Promote QB Joe Callahan]
The pay bump was precipitated by the Colts trying to sign Price this week (Twitter link). Although that would have given him an opportunity to make the 53-man roster straight away, Price opted to stay with the Packers. A “few” teams have tried to sign him this year, Demovsky says.
Price, a product of University of Texas-San Antonio, made headlines for the wrong reasons in college. In the second-to-last game of the 2014 season, Price shoved an official to the ground in a fit of rage. In May, Price admitted to Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel that the incident probably cost him an opportunity to hear his name called in the 2016 draft.
“I think it was definitely a red flag,” Price said. “You know, in football, tempers flare, emotions run high. It was the heat of the moment. I didn’t know it was a ref beside me, I kind of side-swiped him and it happened to be a ref and I was like, oh, I knew I messed up. I definitely feel NFL teams took note of that.”
Now that two years have passed without further incident, teams are eager to give Price a chance on the main roster.