Minor Moves: Tuesday
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL, with any additional transactions added to the top of the list throughout the evening:
- The Colts signed free agent defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton, according to their official website. The 31-year-old has been a member of the Colts organization since 2013, when he last appeared in a game. He missed all of last season because of a knee injury.
- Offensive guard Cole Manhart – whom the Eagles waived Monday – passed through waivers unclaimed, reports Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Eagles signed Manhart as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska-Kearney earlier this year.
AFC Mailbags: McGloin, Richardson, Bengals, Jets
It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s start the day with some notes from the AFC…
- Considering the presence of Derek Carr and Christian Ponder, Bill Williamson believes the Raiders could shop quarterback Matt McGloin. If he ends up having a good preseason, another team could look to acquire the 25-year-old.
- Regardless of the play of Raiders running back Latavius Murray, Williamson believes Trent Richardson will make the team’s opening day roster.
- Coley Harvey would prefer to “wait and see” how the Bengals receivers perform before declaring that they need more depth at the position.
- Rich Cimini guesses that four running backs will make the Jets roster, an indication that Zac Stacy will be safe. As the writer points out, the team surrendered a draft pick for Stacy, so the organization will try to make it work.
- If Henry Anderson ends up starting on the defensive line for the Colts, Mike Wells says we can point to Kendall Langford‘s contract as a mistake.
Sunday Roundup: Kelly, Beachum, Fauria
Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer says that coaches like the Eagles‘ Chip Kelly, who exercise control over both the football and business side of a team’s operations, frequently succumb to the pressures and difficulties of absolute power. Bill Belichick has managed to make it work in New England, but he is the exception to the rule.
Philadelphia’s recent saga with Evan Mathis demonstrates just how difficult Kelly’s position can be. As McLane writes, “Kelly received nothing in return for a Pro Bowl guard who had little leverage and claimed that he was prepared to report and perform without being a disruption – as he did last year.” And if the decision to release Mathis turns out to be a poor one, Kelly will have no higher authority to share the blame.
Although players will typically side with their teammates when asked about contract difficulties, the responses to Mathis’ release suggest that Kelly is still commanding respect in the locker room even as he takes full control of the team’s personnel affairs. McLane says that Mathis’ former teammates offered “vociferous support of management” after Mathis was cut, and tight end Zach Ertz had this to say: “I understand where [Mathis is] coming from. In his mind he thinks he’s underpaid, so he’s got to do what he thinks is best. But we want people here that are going to trust the process.”
Of course, there will be many more difficult personnel decisions to be made, decisions that will truly test whether Kelly can first construct a talented roster and then get that roster to win football games. It is a decidedly tall task, and one that most have been unable to meet.
Now let’s take a look at some links from around the league:
- One of Kelly’s acquisitions this offseason was Miles Austin, who signed a one-year, $2.3MM deal with the club. Austin might not be getting a lot of attention from those outside the Eagles locker room, but Kelly himself is pleased with what he has seen from the one-time star, writes Connor Orr of NFL.com. “He’s got really, really good range,” Kelly said. “Catches the ball extremely well. Intelligent. Kind of knows the subtleties of the exact route running, kind of exactly where to maybe place his elbow to get separation in terms of pushing off the hip and things like that. And he’s imparted that on the younger guys, which I think has really helped us to have that true veteran route runner in there, and I think he’s been really good at doing that.”
- The Colts have four locks to make the team at wide receiver in T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, and first-round pick Phillip Dorsett, writes Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. After that, they have three players competing for either one or two spots in Vincent Brown, Duron Carter, and Griff Whalen.
- David Newton of ESPN.com says Jerricho Cotchery is likely to make the Panthers‘ final roster due to his leadership abilities, but Newton does not see him making a significant on-field contribution considering the talent ahead of him on the depth chart.
- In the same piece, Newton says he does not see the Panthers making any significant additions along the offensive line unless there is a major injury in training camp, even if a player like the newly-acquired Michael Oher struggles.
- The Steelers have not spoken with tackle Kelvin Beachum, who is entering the final year of his contract, about a new deal, tweets Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com. Beachum though, says he is not sweating his contract situation and is fully focused on the 2015 season.
- Tashaun Gipson is the talk of the town in Tony Grossi’s latest mailbag for ESPN.com, and Grossi writes that the recent contract drama surrounding Gipson has created a bad vibe between player and team. He also addresses whether the Browns could keep Johnny Manziel inactive all year during his recovery.
- Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com is somewhat surprised by how limited Lions tight end Joseph Fauria was in the spring, and the fact that the team signed David Ausberry and attempted to claim Tim Wright off waivers suggests that Detroit is at least considering contingency plans. That said, Fauria is expected to be ready for training camp, and the Lions continue to be impressed by his upside.
Rob DiRe contributed to this post.
AFC Mailbags: Bills, Raiders, Jets, Colts
It’s a June Saturday, so that means a full dose of mailbags from the NFL beat writers. We’ll start with some Bills thoughts.
- Walk-year left tackle Cordy Glenn could be the odd man out when it comes to contract re-ups next offseason, writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. The fourth-year starter’s put together a solid body of work, particularly in 2013 where Pro Football Focus slotted the 2012 second-round pick as its 13th-best tackle. But with Marcell Dareus‘ massive second payday forthcoming, Glenn’s next deal may come from elsewhere, since Carucci doesn’t believe the Bills view him as a certainty to play up to the kind of contract a quality left tackle commands in free agency.
- Showing up late for minicamp may cost right tackle Seantrel Henderson his starting job, with 2014 second-rounder Cyrus Kouandjio stepping in as a result. This could just be for minicamp as Buffalo assesses its front-line talent, but Carucci notes that with Glenn potentially in his last season with the team, they may need to see what they have in Kouandjio.
- Third-round pick Clive Walford has a chance to beat out incumbent Mychal Rivera for the Raiders‘ starting tight end job if he keeps up the play he showed during minicamp, notes ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson. The ESPN scribe already views Walford, a 6-foot-4 Miami product, as a more dynamic playmaker than Rivera, who despite being a quality garbage-time fantasy option, rated as Pro Football Focus’ second-worst tight end (subscription required) in 2014.
- Jets ESPN.com reporter Rich Cimini thinks re-signing both Muhammad Wilkerson and, eventually, Sheldon Richardson will be difficult, with the possibility of defensive linemen making as much as $30MM per year in 2017. That eye-popping figure may be a bit high considering J.J. Watt and Ndamukong Suh don’t average $20MM per season. The Jets do allocate a league-high $34.4MM to their offensive front, and renegotiations there could help keep together what could be the best defensive line in the game. But Cimini expects the Jets to take a hard-line stance with Wilkerson after drafting Leonard Williams at No. 6.
- After alternating snaps in minicamp, Lance Louis and Hugh Thornton are the Colts‘ top candidates to start at right guard if Jack Mewhort moves to right tackle, writes ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. The oft-injured Donald Thomas is an outside candidate to reclaim that spot after multiple season-ending injuries, although he didn’t participate in minicamp.
AFC South Notes: Titans, Colts, Hilton
While the Titans had planned to hire a new president/CEO, that search has been put on hold, and interim president Steve Underwood will continue to hold the position through the 2015 season, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
“We had applications from a number of people that I have known for many years who have been presidents of NFL clubs, who were highly qualified, and they’d be good leaders,” Underwood said. “But we didn’t interview any of them; we never got that far along in the process. I just think our ownership group, as the weeks went by, they got a better and better comfort level in the direction we’re heading and they decided they’d rather put that off if I would decide to stay and get us through the season.“
As the Titans’ ownership group and front office has done repeatedly in recent months and years, Underwood also reiterated today that the franchise is not for sale, according to Wyatt.
“There is no talk of selling. The owners haven’t entertained it,” Underwood said. “The people who suggest a sale are guessing and I don’t have to guess — I know there is not a sale underway. They are not entertaining offers for a sale. There is no ‘for sale’ sign in our yard.“
Here’s more from out of the AFC South:
- Shonn Greene wasn’t cut today by the Titans because he was out of shape or injured — according to head coach Ken Whisenhunt, the running back passed a physical before he was released, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
- The Colts aren’t pursuing Evan Mathis, and it appears unlikely that the team will reconsider that stance, a source tells Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.
- Mike Chappell of Indy Sports Central looks at T.Y. Hilton‘s resume in an attempt to assess his value, noting that it’s far from a given that Hilton will get an extension. Colts owner Jim Irsay has rarely signed any player to an extension, including Peyton Manning, who played out his contracts before signing new ones. The Colts also have rookie Phillip Dorsett in the fold, which could give them a fallback option if Hilton is not retained in the long term.
- Trent Cole‘s best years are almost certainly behind him, but he told reporters this week, including Mike Wells of ESPN.com, that he feels “rejuvenated” after joining the Colts this offseason.
AFC Links: Browns, Broncos, Wilkerson, Pagano
While the loss of Josh Gordon will be a huge hit to the Browns‘ receiving corps, rookie Vince Mayle acknowledged to Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal that the team’s wideouts aren’t focused on the loss of their leader.
“It’s just going to be a team effort,” Mayle said. “We’re not really worried about replacing Josh Gordon. We’re focusing on the guys in the room. We’d love to have him, but right now we’re working with what we’ve got. There’s a great group of guys. They all have really good strengths, and they’re all really good to learn from. I’m really happy to be in a room with these guys because they’re all really helpful.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes out of the AFC…
- No team is wasting less money than the Broncos, argues Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. The team has only $1.2MM in dead money (the second-lowest total in the league), and they have only $6.9MM in cap space (the fourth-lowest total in the league). According to Klis, only the Jets approach the Broncos in their “dollar-per-active player allocation,” as New York has $5.28MM in cap room and $3.4MM in dead money.
- ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini examines the many outcomes of the Jets/Muhammad Wilkerson situation. The writer ultimately predicts that the defensive lineman with report to training camp, play the 2015 season under his current contract, and be slapped with the franchise tag following the season. Based on the comments made by Wilkerson’s agent (which indicated the his player is “willing to put the team ahead of his own contractual status”), Cimini surmises that the 25-year-old won’t be holding out.
- Cimini writes that right guard is a major concern for the Jets, and he believes the organization should be on the phone with representatives for Evan Mathis. The writer suggests a two-year, $6MM deal.
- Despite Jim Irsay and the Colts‘ one-year contract offer to head coach Chuck Pagano, ESPN.com’s Mike Wells doesn’t believe the situation will turn into a distraction. If the Colts perform up to expectations, Wells believes Pagano can expect to be paid a “nice lucrative deal” by either the Colts or another franchise.
Extra Points: Bills, Mathis, Hilton, Gregory
After adding a pair of potential starters in free agent Richie Incognito and third-round pick John Miller earlier this offseason, Bills head coach Rex Ryan is content with his offensive guards. However, that won’t necessarily stop the team from trying to improve at the position. That improvement could come in the form of 10-year veteran Evan Mathis, whom the Eagles cut earlier this week.
“I think he’s a good football player; there’s no doubt,” Ryan said of Mathis, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak. “We’ll do our due diligence, so to speak, but I’m pretty happy with our guards.”
If the Bills do pursue Mathis, their cap situation ($6.1MM in space, not including practice-squad signings and in-season injury replacements) could serve as a hindrance, Rodak notes.
More from around the NFL…
- Colts star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is entering the final year of his contract, but he isn’t concerned about his long-term future. “If they want to pay me, they’ll pay me,” said Hilton, per Blake Schuster of the Indianapolis Star. “It takes both sides to come to an agreement. I leave that up to my agent and just go out there and have fun.” The 25-year-old Hilton, who has back-to-back seasons of 80-plus catches and 1,000-plus yards, will cash in soon with either the Colts or another club.
- Don’t expect the Cowboys to use second-round pick Randy Gregory as more than a pass-rushing defensive end, writes Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. The Cowboys don’t want Gregory dropping into coverage, per Machota, who also notes that Gregory will have to continue adding bulk in order to hold up against the run.
- Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns went from undrafted free agent to solid contributor last year partly because he was able to capitalize on injuries to his fellow Jags wideouts. With Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Bryan Walters and Damien Copeland slowed by injuries during organized team activities, Hurns once again took advantage of his situation as a healthy member of the Jags’ offense, according to Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. The fact that Hurns has been on the field learning new coordinator Greg Olson’s system could give him a leg up as he competes with his teammates for playing time. “I just feel really good in this system,” said Hurns. “[Greg Olson] has done a great job of opening things up to letting us run different routes. It’s a fun offense to play in.”
AFC South Notes: Orakpo, Luck, Hilton
Prized Titans offseason acquisition Brian Orakpo is still being held out of practice, but Whisenhunt says it’s more precautionary than anything, as Glennon writes.
“I think probably right know he could go,” the coach said. “But we’re holding him back, just because we want to make sure we don’t do anything now and we’ve got him when we get rolling in (training) camp.”
While we wait for Orakpo’s practice debut, here’s more out of the AFC South..
- Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters, including Mike Chappell of the Indy Star (on Twitter), that quarterback Andrew Luck will be in Indianapolis “for a very long time.” Irsay has repeatedly expressed confidence that he will eventually lock his franchise QB up for the long term.
- After listening to Colts GM Ryan Grigson talk today, Mike Chappell of CBS4 (on Twitter) is convinced that T.Y. Hilton will wait until the end of the season for a new deal. On Wednesday, Irsay gave reporters the impression that he could get a new pact done with Hilton before the start of the year.
- The Colts would be smart to make Luck a big offer now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines. Waiting to get a deal done with Luck, he argues, will only increase the quarterback’s leverage. The odds of Luck suffering a career-threatening injury that would diminish his value go down the closer he gets to completing his contract. The Colts could capitalize on that fear now and convince Luck to take a deal that will give him security against something catastrophic, just as the Dolphins did with Ryan Tannehill.
Colts Open To New Deals For Hilton, Pagano
Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t close the door on the possibility of deals getting done for both wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and coach Chuck Pagano, Mike Wells of ESPN.com tweets. Irsay also made it clear that “it takes two parties” to get a deal done, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star tweets.
Back in February, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the Colts were expected to be proactive when it comes to locking up members of their 2012 draft class. Hilton, he said, would likely be the first player addressed, but others from that class include tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen and – of course – star quarterback Andrew Luck. Hilton, 25, enjoyed his best season to date in 2014, hauling in 82 catches for 1,345 yards and seven touchdowns. That performance earned him his first career Pro Bowl selection. Hilton still has a year to go on his third-round rookie contract.
Pagano, meanwhile, has has been the Colts’ head coach for the last three seasons. In each campaign, Pagano has led the Colts to a 11-5 regular season mark and a playoff appearance. Last year, the Colts made it to the AFC Championship Game but succumbed to the Patriots.
Minor Moves: Tuesday
Today’s minor moves..
- The Colts cut kicker Taylor Pontius, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Pontius was a member of the Colts’ rookie minicamp as a tryout player in May and signed a contract soon after.
- The Patriots announced that they have released rookie defensive back Eric Patterson. Patterson, 22, was signed by the Pats as a UDFA back in May. The Ball State product started in 28 of 41 games during his collegiate career and finished with 135 total tackles and six interceptions.
- The Vikings announced that they have signed free agent defensive tackle Chrishon Rose. Rose, who comes out of East Carolina, played in 13 games as a senior, posting 41 total tackles including 14 solo stops. Rose’s defensive unit held 18 opponents to 100 or less rushing yards in his four seasons at ECU.
- The Packers have signed tackle Vince Kowalski, a UDFA from Villanova, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The signing brings Green Bay to the full 90-man roster limit. Kowalski started all four seasons at Villanova and was named first-team in his conference last season.
- Rams sixth-round pick Bud Sasser went unclaimed off waivers and is now a free agent, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets.
- Washington has signed tackle Bryce Quigley and cut quarterback Hutson Mason, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Mason was serving as an extra arm behind Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, and Kirk Cousins in camp.
- Former Northern Arizona punter Andy Wilder, who went undrafted last spring, has been cut by the Buccaneers, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
- The Panthers will sign former Raiders tight end Scott Simonson to a one-year deal, a source tells Wilson (on Twitter).