AFC Notes: Foster, Hilton, Bills, Raiders
Texans running back Arian Foster is headed to Philadelphia to get a second opinion on his groin injury, according to Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the second opinion will come on Friday from Dr. William Myers, an expert on sports hernias. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com goes one step further, tweeting that Foster won’t just be in Philadelphia for Myers’ assessment — he’ll also undergo surgery on Friday.
With Foster expected to miss the start of the regular season, the Texans wanted to sign Pierre Thomas, but the two sides couldn’t agree to terms today after the ex-Saint worked out for Houston. Now that they failed to lock up Thomas, the Texans may not sign a veteran, since they like their young backs and want to get them reps, tweets Rapoport.
Even if the Texans do continue to explore the free agent market, Ray Rice probably won’t be considered, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who says owner Bob McNair likely wouldn’t approve such a move. Rice may not be an appealing on-field option anyway — one GM tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that his most recent game tape “isn’t get enough to get excited about.”
Let’s check in on a few more items from around the AFC….
- Agent Drew Rosenhaus left Indianapolis today, despite the fact that he and the Colts have yet to work out an extension for wideout T.Y. Hilton. However, talks are ongoing, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.
- Appearing on WGR 550 in Buffalo today (Twitter link), GM Doug Whaley admitted that the Bills are in “quarterback purgatory,” since the team doesn’t have a clear long-term answer at the position, and doesn’t expect to pick near the top of the draft within the next couple years.
- The Raiders have likely made contract with defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, who was released on the weekend by the Seahawks, writes Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group. GM Reggie McKenzie said “there’s a chance” Oakland could bring in the veteran, who has a history with new Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
- In the wake of reports suggesting they tipped off the Colts about the Patriots deflating footballs, the Ravens issued a strong denial of their involvement today, via a team release.
- Bills running back Boobie Dixon, who isn’t considered a lock to make the team’s roster, is expected to miss several weeks with a calf injury, writes Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.
AFC Notes: Brady, Patriots, Hunter, Texans
Earlier today, a mammoth 457-page transcript of Tom Brady‘s testimony was released. As Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press writes, the Patriots quarterback denied under oath to Roger Goodell that he tampered with footballs before the AFC title game. Meanwhile, investigator Ted Wells apparently never warned the Brady he would be punished if he didn’t turn over his cellphone. Brady denied discussing air level with the ballboys or even thinking about how inflated the footballs were when he selected them. He also said he’s never asked anyone from the Patriots to tamper with footballs. While we wait to see how that all shakes out, here’s more out of the AFC..
- The transcript also contains confirmation that the Ravens tipped off the Colts on the Patriots‘ alleged doctoring of footballs, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets.
- The NFLPA filed its counterclaim and amended answer in federal court in Manhattan today, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. As a part of the counterclaim, the union brought forth the Brady appeal transcript, which led it it becoming public.
- Titans receiver Justin Hunter is facing a felonious assault charge following a bar fight last month, but his attorney is confident that the case will “end will” for Hunter, as John Glennon of The Tennessean writes. “I can tell you I’m confident that Justin didn’t do what he’s been charged with and that I have significant concerns about the credibility of the accuser,” attorney Toby Vick said. The NFL is also looking into the incident, and will likely wait for resolution in court before deciding on possible discipline for the wideout.
- Former University of Texas wide receiver Mike Davis recently worked out for the Chiefs and has also worked out for the Panthers, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
- Arian Foster‘s groin issue isn’t the only bad injury news the Texans received today. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), sixth-round rookie OLB Reshard Cliett went down with a knee injury in the club’s first practice, and is expected to be sidelined for the year.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On T.Y. Hilton Extension Talks
The Colts and T.Y. Hilton are working “diligently” on a contract extension, but there’s no definitive timeline for a deal in place, Rand Getlin of NFL Network reported on Monday (Twitter link). Agent Drew Rosenhaus, appearing today at Colts camp to discuss Hilton’s deal in person, offered a possible timeline of his own, suggesting that the two sides would like to get something done by Labor Day, tweets Mike Wells of ESPN.com.
“It’s one of those things where we’ve made some progress and we’re working hard at it,” Rosenhaus told reporters, including Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com. “What the time frame is . . . all we can do is give it our best effort, which both sides are doing.”
Rosenhaus appeared optimistic about the Hilton negotiations, telling reporters that the wide receiver “wants to be here for his career” (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Colts owner Jim Irsay also seemed hopeful about locking up Hilton when he discussed the topic last week, indicating he didn’t see any reason why the two sides couldn’t work something out within the next several weeks.
For an agreement to be reached, the Colts and Rosenhaus will have to reach a compromise on Hilton’s value. The agent will undoubtedly be seeking the same sort of five-year, $70MM deal signed by Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas last month, making the case that his client is the Colts’ No. 1 receiver, having racked up over 160 receptions and 2,400 yards over the last two years.
On the other hand, the Colts could make the case that the 5’10” Hilton isn’t an elite No. 1 receiver or a red-zone threat like Bryant or Thomas, pointing to Randall Cobb as a more apt comparison — Cobb, who hauled in 91 balls and scored 12 touchdowns in 2014, signed a four-year, $40MM deal with the Packers earlier this year.
If the two sides do reach an agreement, I’d expect Hilton’s annual salary to fall somewhere in between the Cobb contract and the Bryant/Thomas deals, perhaps leaning more toward $14MM per year than $10MM per year. As Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap observes (via Twitter), the initial figures reported on any contract may be a little inflated as well, since Rosenhaus often negotiates incentives that would make a extension’s maximum value exceed its base value.
Colts, Anthony Castonzo Talking Extension
Left tackle Anthony Castonzo confirmed that he’s discussing a new deal with the Colts, as Zak Keefer of the Indy Star writes. Recently, team owner Jim Irsay expressed optimism about getting a new deal done with the tackle, so it’s not a big surprise to hear that the two sides have started on contract talks.
“We have a little time with trying to work on a few extensions,” Irsay said. “There’s no reason Anthony Castonzo and T.Y. Hilton can’t get done. Look for us to keep core players and our top players. I don’t think it’ll be a distraction. I can’t see why we can’t get something done before Labor Day with T.Y. and Anthony.”
As a former first-round pick with a fifth-year option, Castonzo will earn a $7.438MM salary this season if he doesn’t agree to a new deal. Castonzo, who turns 27 on Sunday, took over the Colts’ left tackle job on a full-time basis shortly after being selected by the club in the first round of the 2011 draft. In 2013, he ranked 27th out of 76 qualified offensive tackles, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). In 2014, he placed 12th out of 84 qualified tackles, likely increasing his value even further. For his part, Castonzo isn’t sweating a new deal.
“If you play well, you get taken care of, that’s sort of the way I see it,” Castonzo said Monday morning.
AFC South Notes: Colts, Hunter, Clemons
In his look at the Colts‘ top five priorities for training camp, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star suggests the team needs to solidify its offensive line and attempt to work out some contract extensions within the next few weeks. Although the Colts have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Evan Mathis, they have no plans to sign him, preferring instead to work on developing their long-term pieces on the line, says Holder. He also notes that extension discussions between T.Y. Hilton and the Colts have re-opened, which could be a promising soon as the wide receiver enters a contract year.
Here’s more on the Colts and their division rivals:
- Hilton, left tackle Anthony Castonzo, and a pair of tight ends top the list of the Colts‘ most important expiring contracts, writes Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. Castonzo is another player that Indianapolis would like to lock up before the season, if possible.
- Speaking to the media today, Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter said he has yet to hear from the NFL following his arrest on a felonious assault charge, writes Terry McCormick of 247Sports.com. “Right now, it’s in the hands of my attorneys and I’m just focused on football,” Hunter said of his legal situation.
- Jaguars pass rusher Chris Clemons, who missed the team’s OTAs this spring, reported to training camp today, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. Clemons was placed on the non-football injury list and won’t practice right away.
Irsay Optimistic About Hilton, Castonzo Deals
The Colts don’t intend to negotiate a new contract with quarterback Andrew Luck until 2016, and head coach Chuck Pagano also isn’t expected to have his contract extended before the season. However, team owner Jim Irsay believes there’s a good chance Indianapolis can lock up wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and left tackle Anthony Castonzo to new deals within the next few weeks, as he tells Mike Wells of ESPN.com.
“We have a little time with trying to work on a few extensions,” Irsay said. “There’s no reason Anthony Castonzo and T.Y. Hilton can’t get done. Look for us to keep core players and our top players. I don’t think it’ll be a distraction. I can’t see why we can’t get something done before Labor Day with T.Y. and Anthony.”
Both Hilton and Castonzo are entering the final year of their respective contracts — as a former first-round pick with a fifth-year option, Castonzo will earn a $7.438MM salary this season if he doesn’t agree to a new deal, while Hilton will get a more modest $1.542MM base salary.
There have been conflicting reports on Hilton’s contract situation recently, with Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writing earlier this week that Luck’s eventual extension could make it tricky for Indianapolis to lock up Hilton to a big-money deal of his own. However, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated that the Colts are currently engaged in extension negotiations with Hilton, adding that there’s a decent chance the two sides work something out within the next few weeks. Irsay’s comments seem to support that report.
As for Pagano, the Colts head coach reportedly turned down a one-year extension offer from the team earlier in the offseason, opting to coach the final year of his current deal instead. Despite the lack of an agreement, Irsay is confident that things will eventually work out with Pagano.
“With Chuck’s situation, we’ve had conversations and it’s all been friendly,” Irsay said. “He understands where I’m coming from. I understand where he’s coming from. My hope is we’re going to have a great season and Chuck will end up eventually signing an extension. Chuck is really motivated and he’s excited about this year.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/15
Here are today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL…
AFC:
- The Browns have re-signed undrafted rookie defensive back Landon Feichter, as Nate Ulrich of the Beacon-Journal writes. The 5’11”, 201-pound Feichter originally signed with the Browns on May 11 after participating in the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. He was waived on June 22. Feichter appeared in 45 games as a safety at Purdue University and tallied 234 career tackles, 10 interceptions and eight passes defensed.
- The Steelers have removed linebacker Shawn Lemon from their roster, waiving him from the PUP list and signing defensive back Jordan Sullen to take his place, tweets PR man Burt Lauten.
- The Ravens have waived undrafted rookie wide receiver Cam Worthy and signed Tom Nelson, who is converting from safety to wide receiver, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Colts have signed cornerback Raymon Taylor, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Taylor played collegiately at Michigan.
- The Chiefs have parted ways with running back Cyrus Gray, who finished last season on the team’s injured reserve list, tweets Wilson.
- The Dolphins have signed defensive tackle Calvin Barnett, wide receiver Kai De La Cruz, offensive tackle Chris Martin, and waived defensive lineman Ellis McCarthy, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
- Fullback James Develin, who received an exclusive rights qualifying offer from the Patriots way back in March, has finally signed it today, according to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
- After clearing waivers, wide receiver James Wright has been placed on the IR by the Bengals, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
NFC:
- The Falcons have signed offensive lineman Demarcus Love, bringing the roster up to 90 players, the team announced today in a press release. Love, who finished last season on the Broncos’ practice squad, worked out for the Browns yesterday, and inked a two-year deal with Atlanta, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
- The Buccaneers, entering the day with one open roster spot, created two more openings by cutting defensive backs Deshazor Everett and Derrick Wells, according to a team release. To get back up to 90 players, the Bucs added rookie defensive backs Jude Adjei-Barimah and Al-Hajj Shabazz and free agent safety Kimario McFadden, who spent time on the Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Carolina practice squads in 2014
- The Bears announced that guard Chad Hamilton, who missed a lot of time in the spring, is retiring from football, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Hamilton has been placed on the reserve/retired list.
- The Saints have signed long snapper Chris Highland, according to Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune (on Twitter).
- Having cleared waivers, Cameron Lawrence, and offensive lineman Ryan Miller have been placed on the Cowboys‘ injured reserve list, per Wilson (Twitter link).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
AFC Notes: Brady, Pettine, Broncos, Chargers
After Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti denied that he was among those pushing commissioner Roger Goodell to keep Tom Brady‘s full four-game suspension, Colts owner Jim Irsay issued a similar denial today.
“That’s not true at all,” Irsay told Zak Keefer of The Star when asked about a recent assertion made by ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “I haven’t talked to Roger Goodell about DeflateGate since late January. Not true. That’s not the way things work involving someone else’s business and someone else’s team. It’s not something I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around ownership (in the NFL) for half a century.”
Irsay claims his last interaction with Goodell regarding the Deflategate controversy came months before the results of Ted Wells’ investigation were released in May. Here’s more out of the AFC..
- Despite a recent report to the contrary, Browns coach Mike Pettine swears he’s on good terms with GM Ray Farmer, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. “I think it was that late summer slow news day,” Pettine said. “The unfortunate thing is this: When you don’t win, when you have the history, or not so recent history of the Browns, to me, there’s not much credibility there. You can take an individual event and extrapolate that out to it has a negative connotation to it. That was the disappointing part of that.”
- If the status of Antonio Smith‘s case doesn’t change, he could report to Broncos training camp on Thursday, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post writes. Denver excused Smith from voluntary offseason workouts to tend to his personal matters but the club has remained in contact with him over the past two months and is expected to determine his status soon. If the Broncos decide they need more time to make a decision on Smith he cannot be fined for his absence from camp. Smith is being investigated following a complaint of sexual child abuse.
- NFL executive Eric Grubman will visit San Diego again on Tuesday to get a briefing from the Chargers and local government officals on the progress of the stadium initiative, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/15
Today’s minor NFL moves and signings..
- The Jets are signing former University of Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Hill participated in both the Jets’ and Raiders’ rookie minicamp. Hill initially signed with the Seahawks as a UDFA this year but he did not pass his physical.
- The Browns cut undrafted former West Georgia defensive lineman Tory Slater, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. After healing up from a hamstring injury, Slater was cut from a Browns team that has several defensive linemen ahead of him on the depth chart.
- Washington announced the signing of undrafted free agent running back Mack Brown, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Brown appeared in 49 career games at Florida across the 2010-14 seasons, gaining 805 career yards on 210 rushing attempts with four rushing touchdowns. Last season, he appeared in all 12 games for Florida and served as a key member of the Gators’ special teams unit.
- The Colts announced that they have signed offensive tackle Matt Hall and waived guard Will Corbin. Hall, 6-9, 326 pounds, re-joins the Colts after spending the 2014 season on Indianapolis’ IR list.
- The Eagles waived running back Matthew Tucker with a non-football injury designation, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Tucker originally signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and spent the 2014 season on the taxi squad.
- The Bears are signing Arena League wide receiver/kick returner A.J. Cruz, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). The Brown product previously played for the Arizona Rattlers.
- The Dolphins announced that they have waived wide receiver Nigel King, according to James Walker of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
WR Rumors: Hilton, Jones, Green, Hunter
Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that some executives around the league believe that the price tag on Andrew Luck‘s eventual extension could make it tricky for the Colts to commit $12MM or so annually to T.Y. Hilton as well. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), however, the team is currently engaged in extension discussions with the wideout.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Cole that the Colts and Hilton are unlikely to reach any sort of agreement before training camp begins, but Cole appears confident that the two sides could work something out within the next several weeks. He also adds that Hilton is expected to seek upwards of $14MM annually on a new deal.
Hilton is a very productive player, but he’s not the sort of prototypical No. 1 receiver that guys like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas are, so I’d be pretty shocked if the Colts inked him to an extension in that neighborhood. If the two sides do get something done before the season begins, something closer to Randall Cobb‘s four-year, $40MM pact makes more sense to me.
Here are a few more notes on wide receivers from around the league:
- Those Bryant and Thomas contracts figure to have more of an impact on A.J. Green and Julio Jones. According to Cole (video link), the Bengals‘ and Falcons‘ stars will look to exceed the $14MM average salaries landed by Bryant and Thomas, and get something in the neighborhood of $15MM per year. Both Green and Jones have missed time with injuries, but that’s not expected to be a huge roadblock in either contract negotiation, says Cole.
- Justin Hunter‘s arrest is currently “under review” by the NFL, writes Terry McCormick of 247Sports.com. It will likely be some time before the NFL announces any discipline for the Titans receiver, who was charged with felonious assault for allegedly breaking a man’s jaw in a bar fight.
- In search of some wide receiver depth, the Jets worked out former second-round pick Greg Little, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Little, who played three seasons for the Browns, spent most of last season with Cincinnati.