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Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

AFC Notes: Raiders, Hamilton, Jets, Browns

November 7th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We learned earlier today that Raiders owner Mark Davis was meeting with a San Antonio contingent, including ex-mayor Henry Cisneros, to discuss the possibility of moving his franchise to south Texas. Davis confirmed the visit to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter), but predictably wasn’t forthcoming about the details of the meeting. “Henry Cisneros said their job was to present San Antonio’s assets in the strongest light,” Davis told McDonald (Twitter link). “And they did that.” Here’s more from the AFC.

  • Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will be the most sought-after head coaching candidate during the offseason, league sources tell Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. Hamilton, who’s led an Indianapolis offense that ranks fifth in DVOA, could be an option for the 49ers if Jim Harbaugh leaves, or the Giants if Tom Coughlin is let go. One rival GM on Hamilton: “He is almost as good a head coaching prospect as [Andrew] Luck was a quarterback prospect coming out of Stanford.”
  • The Jets are set to face the Steelers and breakout rookie receiver Martavis Bryant on Sunday, leading Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News to examine general manager John Idzik’s failure to draft a pass-catcher who was able to contribute in 2014. Gang Green did select Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans, and Quincy Enuwa, but they’ve been waived, injured, and sent to the practice squad, respectively.
  • While admitting than hindsight is 20/20, Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie would have definitely opted to keep Carson Palmer in Oakland had he known how costly (and poor) future acquisitions Matt Flynn and Matt Schaub would be.
  • Browns linebacker Craig Robertson is playing well in limited snaps this season, and he even picked off an Andy Dalton pass during last night’s game. But as Alex Marvez of Fox Sports details (Twitter links), Robertson almost didn’t make it to the NFL. The only team to call the North Texas product after he went undrafted in 2012 was the Jaguars, and they were only making sure they had the correct phone number. In fact, Robertson was set to head down under to play Australian rules football when he was contacted by Cleveland.

AFC South Notes: Mallett, Jaguars, Brazill

November 5th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Texans are going to give former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett his first career start when the team comes back from their bye week on Sunday, November 16th. If Mallett can hold on to the job for the rest of the season, the draft pick the Texans will have to give the Patriots figures to increase from a seventh-rounder to a sixth-rounder, reports Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. Mallett needs to play only 40% of the snaps in order to meet this threshold, meaning he needs only 350 snaps (just under 52 snaps a game).

Here are some other notes from around the AFC South:

  • The Jaguars are playing out the season conservatively, focused on not sacrificing long-term health to pad their win total in 2014, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. By protecting their better players and refusing to push them during this losing season, the team could struggle to find many more wins down the stretch, and end up with a very high draft pick.
  • While the Colts are pushing for the top overall seed in the AFC, and the Texans looking to make the playoffs, the AFC South has not one but two teams in contention for the number one overall pick. Alex Marvez of Fox Sports One wrote a reverse Power Rankings, trying to figure out which teams would have the best shot of landing that top selection. Both the Jaguars and the Titans are both projected by Marvez to pick in the top five based on their play thus far and their schedule over the rest of the season.
  • Former Colts receiver LaVon Brazill was released from the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).

Colts Activate Landry, Nixon; Cut Three

November 4th, 2014 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Colts have announced a series of roster moves today, making changes to both their 53-man roster and practice squad. Per a team release, here are Tuesday’s transactions out of Indianapolis:

Activated:

Cut:

Signed to practice squad:

  • WR Eric Thomas

Cut from practice squad:

  • WR Chandler Jones

Landry, who served a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, opened the season as a starter in the Colts’ secondary, but Sergio Brown has played well in his absence, so it will be interesting to see how the team divides the playing time with Landry back on the active roster. It’s worth noting that the team could have activated Landry for Week 9’s contest, but chose to take full advantage of a roster exemption, delaying the decision until it absolutely had to be made.

As for Nixon, he was placed on IR with the designation to return prior to Week 1 due to a knee injury. He figures to take over the swing tackle role held by Meredith, and shouldn’t see frequent action unless someone in front of him gets hurt.

Extra Points: Welker, Spiller, Concussions

November 3rd, 2014 at 10:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While they’re surely focused on the regular season after losing 43-21 to the Patriots yesterday, the Broncos are going to have to make several difficult decisions during the offseason. Most importantly, Denver will need to figure out how to retain both Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas, meaning that fellow pass-catcher Wes Welker‘s impending free agency might be put on the back burner. A team source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that Welker is the odd man out in regards to a new contract, and that the 33-year-old will likely be playing somewhere else in 2015. Welker, working under the final year of a two-year, $12MM deal, has just 22 receptions for 212 yards and one touchdown this season. Though he currently earns $6MM per year, Cole speculates that Welker will be lucky to find $2-3MM on the open market.

  • Despite being placed on IR-DTR after breaking his collarbone, C.J. Spiller tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he isn’t worried about his free agent stock. “I think I’ve laid a great foundation,” says the Bills running back, who will be part of a free agent running back class that could include DeMarco Murray, Mark Ingram, Shane Vereen, and Frank Gore.
  • 220 former NFL players have opted out of the proposed concussion agreement, per an ESPN report. The league has agreed to pay in excess of $765MM in order to cover health risks associated with concussions. The retired players, or their families, who opted out of the settlement have the option of suing the NFL individually.
  • Colts defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois has hired Drew Rosenhaus as his new agent, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). It’s probably not a signal that the 27-year-old is looking for a new contract, as he signed a four-year, $22MM deal with Indianapolis just last year. He’ll count $6.125MM against the cap in 2015, and though the club could save $4.875MM by cutting him, it’s presumably pleased with his production, as he graded out positively, especially against the run, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

AFC Notes: Rice, Colts, Broncos, Gipson

October 31st, 2014 at 6:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

There’s been no indication that a settlement is close in Ray Rice‘s appeal of his indefinite suspension, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The appeal hearing, set to get underway on November 5, will involve the interrogation of commissioner Roger Goodell, so a settlement could give the appearance that Goodell is wary of answering questions under oath, surmises Florio. Additionally, even if Rice is reinstated, the ex-Raven would likely want to compensated for the income he lost during his ban. Ultimately, a settlement appears unlikely, per Florio, though it would be the best outcome for both parties involved. Here’s more from the AFC.

  • The Colts held a workout for linebacker Carlos Fields, according to Aaron Wilson of Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Fields, 24, was cut from the Giants’ practice squad three days ago, and given that New York and Indianapolis play on Sunday, it’s possible the Colts attempted to glean some strategical information from Fields. Additionally, Indianapolis listed three LBs on its latest injury report, so Fields could add some depth to a banged up position if signed.
  • The Broncos’ next opponent, the Patriots, feature a left-footed punter in Ryan Allen. As such, in what was likely an attempt to practice against a lefty in advance of Sunday’s game, Denver auditioned fellow left-footed punter Michael Palardy, per Wilson (via Twitter).
  • Browns safety Tashaun Gipson, the NFL’s current interception leader, is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and as he tells Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, he’d like to remain with in Cleveland.” I’d love to finish my career playing in this city,” said Gipson. “This is the first organization to give me my opportunity, the first one that took a chance on me, an unheralded guy coming out of Wyoming that nobody wanted to take a chance on.”

Extra Points: Lewan, Adams, Crimson Tide

October 30th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at some assorted notes from around the league…

  • Titans first-round pick Taylor Lewan pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of disturbing the peace and being drunk and disorderly, writes Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. The writer notes that Lewan is not expected to be disciplined by the NFL.
  • Stephen Holder of the Indy Star details Colts safety Mike Adams long journey to the NFL. Among the notable anecdotes was Adams reaction to a $2,500 signing bonus as a rookie with the 49ers. “Man, they gave me $2,500,” Adams said. “I was thinking, ‘Don’t you mean $25,000? I mean, this is the NFL, right?’ Man, I had to work for that $2,500. And people are calling me from back home asking me for money. Man, I was broke!”
  • Following the trade of Mark Barron, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole sat down with Stephen Nelson and discussed the recent lack of success for former Crimson Tide players. The writer believes that Alabama players are “overworked” and subsequently “overvalued” in NFL drafts.

AFC Links: Colts, Titans, Raiders

October 30th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Colts general manager Ryan Grigson spoke to the media on Thursday and addressed a number of subjects, including the return of owner Jim Irsay, who had been suspended six games for an OWI conviction. Via ESPN.com’s Mike Wells…

“With Jim gone, things are pretty well structured. Jim is always there for input, but he never forces anything down our throats. Just his presence, it’s great to see. Got alumni back. Taking a team picture, and everyone’s walking over, everyone’s walking over to talk to him. that’s something you can’t fake. These guys are beaming at seeing him, and hugging him, and he was the same way. Great for our players to see. That relationship goes back years and years, because that’s real. If you play for the horseshoe, you’re family.”

Let’s see what else is happening around the AFC…

  • Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean examines the Titans recent drafts, and attributes the team’s lack of success to their inability to pick good players. Wyatt notes that only two of the team’s 20 draft picks from the 2009-2010 draft are still with the team.
  • Meanwhile, Josh Glennon of The Tennessean opines that the Titans have not been getting their money’s worth from their free agent signings. The writer is particularly displeased with the performance of Dexter McCluster, Michael Oher and Shaun Phillips.
  • Kenbrell Thompkins is making the most of his opportunity with the Raiders after he was waived by the Patriots. ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson attributes the wideout’s determination to being released, and the 26-year-old is making sure that never happens again. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Thompkins said. “But it happened and I have to learn from it. Hard working and becoming a big part of this team is what I’m focused on.”

Extra Points: Bradshaw, Brown, Cameron, Smith

October 29th, 2014 at 11:16pm CST by Rob DiRe

Colts‘ running back Ahmad Bradshaw is in his second season with the team, but still feels the pain after being released from the Giants after the 2012 season, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. “It didn’t take me long to get over it,” said Bradshaw. “But it hurt me because I felt that was my family, that I was a big part of that time and I still felt I had a lot of football left.” Bradshaw, along with Hakeem Nicks, will return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since leaving the team.

  • The NFL has lifted the suspension of another former Giant, free agent running back Andre Brown, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Brown received an eight-game ban prior to the season, so even though he hasn’t been on a roster since then, he has been reinstated after eight weeks.
  • The Browns are planning to be without star tight end Jordan Cameron for a while, writes Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. With three concussions in a two-year span, the team expects him to miss at least two games.
  • Jets‘ quarterback Geno Smith might have lost his starting job, but he will not be content being regulated to the bench permanently, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. “I don’t think this is the last of me playing,” Smith said. Cimini writes that the best way to salvage the season would be to salvage Smith.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com wrote that while Jeremy Maclin has already proven to teams he is worth a big contract in free agency, there are a number of players who need a strong second half to justify a high level deal. Among the players at the top of that list are Ravens‘ receiver Torrey Smith, 49ers‘ receiver Michael Crabtree, and Giants‘ defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday

October 28th, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

They may not be the sort of deadline-day transactions we’re hoping for, but some teams around the league are making roster moves, adding and subtracting players from their respective practice squads. We’ll track the latest updates below:

  • The Broncos have added receiver Douglas McNeil to their practice squad, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. An Arena League standout, the 26-year-old McNeil caught 66 balls for 858 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games for the Portland Thunder. He takes the practice squad spot of John Boyett, who was released last week following his arrest for assault.
  • The Colts announced receiver Chandler Jones was signed to their practice squad at the expense of running back Jeff Demps. This will be Jones’ second stint with the Colts this season, while Demps’ stay with the team lasted just a week. Jones is an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State, where he is the school’s all-time leading receiver.
  • The Giants have cut linebacker Carlos Fields from their practice squad, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
  • Running back Ben Malena has replaced cornerback Kendall James on the Texans‘ practice squad, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Rams have signed offensive tackle Steven Baker to their taxi squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club had plenty of space to add Baker without cutting a player, but released quarterback Garrett Gilbert from the practice squad nonetheless, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
  • Wideout Tavarres King has signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, says Caplan (via Twitter). The team doesn’t have any openings on its PS, but after today’s trades, there are two spots available on the active roster, so I imagine at least one player is in line for a promotion.

Earlier updates:

  • The Dolphins performed a bit of an overhaul on their practice squad today, adding tight end Evan Wilson, tight end Gerell Robinson, and cornerback Rashaan Melvin to replace quarterback Seth Lobato, tight end Jake Murphy, and defensive back Rod Sweeting, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
  • With backup running back Stepfan Taylor expected to be sidelined for the near future, the Cardinals have added some backfield insurance via their practice squad, signing running back Zach Bauman, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Cornerback Anthony Gaitor has been waived to make room for the new addition.
  • Wide receiver Jace Davis, who was with the Ravens during training camp and the preseason, has re-signed with the team’s practice squad, according to a press release. Davis takes the 10th and final spot, which had been vacated after tight end Phillip Supernaw was promoted to the active roster on the weekend.

Monday Roundup: Cutler, Trades, Landry

October 27th, 2014 at 8:54pm CST by Rory Parks

Our Zach Links wrote earlier that Bears GM Phil Emery is not currently thinking about parting ways with head coach Marc Trestman, and Emery and Trestman both reaffirmed their support for embattled quarterback Jay Cutler one day after Chicago’s embarrassing Week 8 loss to the Patriots. As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes, Emery and Trestman remain committed to Cutler, attempting to accentuate the positives in their signal caller’s performances while acknowledging the struggles.

Emery claimed that his club’s decision to stick with Cutler has nothing to do with Cutler’s salary, but ESPN’s John Clayton is understandably skeptical. In his “Clayton Minute” video segment, Clayton says that, given the Bear’s $18MM annual commitment to Cutler, Chicago simply has no other choice than to hope that Cutler can right the ship.

  • Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times writes that Emery has been approached with “two or three interesting” trade proposals, but nothing that helps the Bears win in 2014. As Emery stated that the team is far from giving up hope on this season.
  • Derek Carr is showing tremendous promise and the Browns have to be second-guessing their decision to target Johnny Manziel in the draft instead of him, writes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer.
  • Browns head coach Mike Pettine says that the team’s phones are ringing but cautions that the deadline brings few trades in comparison to the amount of talk that happens, tweets Nate Urlich of the Akron Beacon-Journal.
  • Citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, CSNBaltimore.com staff reports that the league has levied a $1.4MM salary cap charge on the Ravens as a result of Ray Rice‘s grievance against the club. According to Schefter, it is normal practice for the NFL to make such a move when a grievance is pending. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that the cap charge reduces the Ravens’ cap room to about $4.1MM. Baltimore may need to utilize some of that room, as star cornerback Jimmy Smith is expected to miss “a few weeks” with a left foot sprain, according to Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com.
  • Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that his club is unlikely to make any more trades,according to Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (via Twitter).
  • The Colts are in no hurry to bring back LaRon Landry after his four-game PED suspension, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at how Jon Beason‘s salary, and the Giants‘ salary cap, will be affected by Beason’s season-ending injury.

 

Zach Links contributed to this post

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