AFC Notes: Worilds, Gilbert, Bray, Pats
Linebacker Jason Worilds turned down an extension offer from the Steelers, reports Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The proposal, which was made to Worilds “a while ago,” is apparently the Steelers’ final offer. Worilds has no plans to accept the deal, however, and will likely play out the 2014 season under the franchise tag, which will pay him $9.754MM.
- Within the same piece, Bouchette writes that Steelers didn’t fret over losing cornerback Keenan Lewis after 2012 because they believed Cortez Allen was the better player. Now that Allen has yet to be offered an extension, Bouchette wonders if their evaluation of the 25-year-old defensive back has changed.
- Browns rookie Justin Gilbert, the ninth overall pick in last month’s draft, is optimistic that he will flourish in Cleveland’s new defensive scheme (per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). “If you don’t have confidence playing press man in the NFL, I’m sure you’re going to get beat a lot,” said Gilbert. “So you’ve got to have a lot of confidence. … Confidence is where it’s at, and I have all the confidence in the world.”
- Second-year quarterback Tyler Bray feels much more comfortable in the Chiefs’ West Coast offense, writes Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Bray’s development could be instrumental in Kansas City, as Alex Smith‘s contract expires after 2014.
- Brandon Gilman, who played along the defensive line in college, made the transition to outside linebacker with the Ravens last season, and is now moving inside with the Titans, according to Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times.
- Young players often make the biggest leap in productivity between their first and second seasons in the league, and with that in mind, Chistopher Price of WEEI lists Jamie Collins and Aaron Dobson among several Patriots who could improve in 2014.
Extra Points: Gratz, Boswell, Massie
Let’s round up some assorted links from around the league:
- Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union looks at five players who finished the 2013 season with the Jaguars but who might be on the bubble of Jacksonville’s improved roster this season.
- In a separate piece, O’Halloran describes the strong performance that Jaguars cornerback Dwayne Gratz had at the end of OTAs, and he notes that the Jags need Gratz to win a the starting corner spot opposite Alan Ball.
- Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer provides a detailed piece on the new additions to the Panthers‘ secondary and writes that the Panthers hope the patchwork unit they assembled this season will have as much success as the makeshift group of 2013.
- In a video piece on HoustonTexans.com, Texans undrafted rookie kicker Chris Boswell describes the kicking competition this offseason with incumbent Randy Bullock.
- Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News describes the players that performed well and those that struggled in the Lions‘ offseason program and how those performances might carry over to training camp in July.
- Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com writes that Bobby Massie is currently the clubhouse leader for the Cardinals‘ starting right tackle spot, but the fact that the team tried to sign Tyson Clabo demonstrates how the team feels about Massie and Bradley Sowell. Weinfuss adds that depending on how Massie and Sowell look early in training camp, the Cardinals may yet choose to look outside the organization. Eric Winston remains an option.
- Adam Teicher of ESPN.com believes the Chiefs need to make a move at cornerback now after the release of Brandon Flowers, and he adds that Donnie Avery appears locked in at the team’s No. 2 receiver.
- Charley Walters of TwinCities.com writes that Vikings are not likely to release quarterback Christian Ponder but hope to trade him. Although Ponder would only fetch, at best, a late-round draft pick, the team would save $1.8MM by dealing him.
Brandon Flowers Notes: Jets, Panthers
Since Brandon Flowers was released by the Chiefs yesterday afternoon, rumors began to fly about what teams could be interested in the Pro Bowl cornerback. The Falcons were established as one of the frontrunners for his services, and a number of other teams have been linked to the former Chief.
- The Jets, Falcons, Texans, Lions, and Eagles are all still potential landing spots for Flowers’ services, writes Lorenzo Reyes of USAToday.com. The Jets need secondary help in general, as do the Eagles. The Texans and Falcons have personnel connections with defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli, respectively. The Lions make sense after the release of veteran corner Chris Houston.
- The Jets certainly could use an upgrade in the secondary, but Rich Cimini has held firm that he would not expect the team to reach out to Flowers. He reports that the team has not expressed interest yet (via Twitter), and reiterated that he would be surprised if they do.
- The Panthers could also be in the mix, despite signing former first-round pick Antoine Cason this offseason, writes Reid Foster of Cover32.com. The team has just over $5MM in cap space to work with, and a need in the secondary. Foster also writes that making a run at Flowers could keep him away from one of their rivals in the NFC South, the Falcons.
- The Raiders have a need at corner, that has only been magnified after 2013 first-round selection D.J. Hayden went down with an ankle injury, according to Justin Smith of BleacherReport.com. With Hayden hurt, the team is looking to a pair of 49er castoffs Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers to play big roles this upcoming season.
- The Vikings corners were bad in 2013, and Flowers could provide an upgrade their as well writes Christopher Gates of DailyNorseman.com. Although Flowers measured poorly according to Pro Football Focus’ numbers last season, he still performed better than Marcus Sherels, Josh Robinson, and Chris Cook and would provide a higher upside than all three.
Chiefs Cut Brandon Flowers
On the heels of Chris Houston‘s release in Detroit, another veteran cornerback has been cut. The Chiefs have parted ways with Brandon Flowers, according to Rachel Santschi of KCChiefs.com (Twitter link). Flowers himself hinted at the news earlier this afternoon on his Twitter account.
“Just want to say thanks to the Hunt family for the six years in Kansas City,” Flowers tweeted. “Thanks to the fans and my teammates for some great years.”
While Flowers, who accrued one interception and 65 tackles in 13 games last season, was selected as a Pro Bowler, advanced metrics suggested he was anything but — his -5.9 Pro Football Focus grade (subscription required) ranked him as just the 87th-best CB in the league last year, among 110 qualified players. However, PFF rated Flowers as a top-seven corner in both 2011 and 2012, so perhaps he was a poor fit in new Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s scheme, as had been speculated.
Whether or not Flowers fit the team’s new defensive scheme, his release comes as a bit of a surprise. The Chiefs had reportedly been considering a trade of the veteran cornerback, as our Dallas Robinson outlined earlier this month. Given his down season and the fact that most teams have finished making major offseason moves, Kansas City would have been hard-pressed to extract a ton of value, but Flowers’ relatively modest base salary ($5.25MM in 2014) still appeared movable.
Instead, the 28-year-old will hit the unrestricted free agent market, where he’ll have the opportunity to sign with any team, and I expect he’ll draw plenty of interest. As for the Chiefs, they reduce Flowers’ $10.5MM 2014 cap hit to just $3MM. The remaining $4MM in dead money on the corner’s deal will apply to Kansas City’s 2015 cap.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Poll: Should Chiefs, Bengals Extend Their QBs?
With Colin Kaepernick now under 49ers control through 2020, only two notable starting quarterbacks on 2013 playoff teams lack long-term security — the contracts for Alex Smith of the Chiefs and Andy Dalton of the Bengals are set to expire after the 2014 season, if they don’t receive extensions before that point.
As Albert Breer of the NFL Network wrote yesterday, the Chiefs and Bengals are in tough spots, since neither Smith nor Dalton has had the regular season or postseason success to consider them among the league’s elite quarterbacks. However, with no real second-tier market for starting quarterbacks, Smith and Dalton figure to pursue contracts in the same range as those signed by Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, and other signal-callers whose resumés don’t include a Super Bowl win. That means something in the neighborhood of $17-18MM per year.
On the surface, committing anything close to $18MM annually to Smith or Dalton seems like it’d be a mistake for their respective teams. Avoiding having to pay that sort of money to their quarterbacks is one reason the Chiefs and Bengals have been able to put together such talented rosters. Signing those QBs to lucrative extensions now would compromise the clubs’ ability to continue adding talent at other positions.
On the other hand, productive starting quarterbacks aren’t easy to find. There are fewer reliable options around the league than there are teams, and deciding to move on from Smith or Dalton could leave the Chiefs or Bengals with a glaring hole at the most important position on the field. Perhaps Chase Daniel or Aaron Murray could provide a close approximation to what Smith contributes to the Chiefs, and maybe A.J. McCarron could develop into a solid starting option in Cincinnati. However, there are certainly no guarantees in either case.
I expect we’ll see Smith and Dalton sign extensions at some point before the season gets underway, but there are a number of directions in which their team could go. Playing out the season and then perhaps using the franchise tag for 2015 – which figures to be around $17MM – is another option if the Chiefs or Bengals aren’t prepared to make a long-term commitment to their respective quarterbacks quite yet.
What do you think? What should Kansas City and Cincinnati do?
Extra Points: 49ers, Browns, Panthers, Rams
When Colin Kaepernick‘s new contract extension was announced, the 49ers signal-caller suggested that he inked a team-friendly contract in part because he hoped it would help San Francisco lock up some of its other key players. But the fact that Kaepernick accepted such a modest guarantee could complicate matters for the Niners when it comes to extending players like Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati, says Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
As Maiocco writes, the Niners aren’t in the business of handing out huge guarantees to outside free agents or their own players, so Crabtree and Iupati may have to make some concessions if they want to remain in San Francisco. Both players could potentially earn a larger guarantee on the open market than the Niners will be willing to pay.
Let’s round up several more Monday odds and ends from around the NFL….
- Veteran edge defender Edgar Jones worked out for the Browns today, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Jones, who has played for the Ravens, Chiefs, and Cowboys, has appeared in 64 regular season contests, but has never started a game or played a significant defensive role.
- The new Browns’ decision-makers, led by GM Ray Farmer, have made about 40 player transactions since taking control of roster decisions in February, so Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com decides to take stock of the additions and subtractions made by the club.
- There hasn’t really been a market set for second-tier quarterbacks, so the Bengals and Chiefs will have tough decisions ahead of them as they decide what to do with Andy Dalton and Alex Smith, respectively. Albert Breer of the NFL Network takes a look at the limited options for the two clubs, proposing one “radical” alternative to signing their QBs to lucrative extensions.
- Given the lack of reliable veteran options on the Panthers’ wide receiving corps, there could be an opening or two for an unheralded player to earn a roster spot. One such player may be Wofford’s Brenton Bersin, who has earned some praise from head coach Ron Rivera, as David Newton of ESPN.com details.
- After signing with the Rams as a free agent this offseason, wide receiver Kenny Britt is enjoying his fresh start in St. Louis, writes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Following DeSean Jackson‘s latest allegations against agent Drew Rosenhaus, the NFLPA issued a memo to all agents vowing to double the penalties for any infractions, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
Minor Moves: Silva, Broussard, Waivers
The Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson is always a reliable source on NFL transactions. Earlier, he tweeted out some minor moves from around the league. Let’s check them out…
- The Bills have cut safety Mana Silva (Twitter link). The defensive back played ten games for the Bills and Cowboys in 2012.
- Chiefs defensive tackle Risean Broussard has cleared waivers (Twitter). Wilson adds that the player will be placed on injured reserve. The Chiefs had signed Broussard as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 draft, but released him soon after. The team signed him again in late January.
- Wilson also tweeted out a list of players who have cleared waivers: Trevor Gillette (Jaguars), Stephen Goodin (Giants), Jared Green, Joel Grigsby, Daniel Zychlinski (Raiders).
AFC Notes: Louis, Dareus, Thomas, Taylor
With Donald Thomas injured, Lance Louis, who hasn’t played since November 2012 because of a torn ACL injury, is working as the Colts’ first-team left guard, shares ESPN’s Mike Wells. Louis appeared to be an emerging talent in 2012 when he started the first 11 games for the Bears, and Colts GM Ryan Grigson took notice: “I was sitting watching the Bears (on tape) with Tom Telesco when we were preparing for them. I look at the tape and I said, ‘Who’s No. 60?’ I look him up in the system and the guy ran a 4.72 (40-yard dash) at 309 (pounds) coming out of San Diego State. He was faster than some of the receivers who are going to go in the second round this year. So, we’re watching that and we’re thinking, in free agency, this guy is going to break the bank because he’s the best player on their line. He gets his knee blown out and things change. We stayed on him all (last) year and the knee’s fine now and we have him here for two years. Hopefully he gets back to that level of play where he’s a good starter. He’s a guy who is completely off the radar who we’re optimistic about.”
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- A pair of off-season arrests for Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus has thrown his long-term stability into question, prompting Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio (highlighted on the web by Pro Football Talk) to ask head coach Doug Marrone if Dareus “gets it.” The coach’s response? “That’s a good question.”
- Steelers 6-4, 330-pound defensive lineman Cam Thomas, who signed a two-year, $4MM deal in March, is working at nose tackle and five-technique, writes Mark Kaboly of Triblive.com.
- Dolphins cornerback Jamar Taylor, a 2013 second-rounder, played just 40 snaps as a rookie after a pre-draft kidney ailment and subsequent sports hernia affected him. He’s healthy now and competing with Cortland Finnegan and Will Davis for available playing time between the No. 2 corner and nickel back jobs, writes ESPN’s James Walker, who also notes the Dolphins got just 1,126 snaps by their rookies last year, third-fewest in the league.
- It was a tale of two seasons for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper in 2013, writes ESPN’s Adam Teicher, who identifies Cooper as a young player who must improve. A seventh-rounder claimed on waivers, Cooper immediately “looked like he belonged,” earned the third cornerback job and “played better than either of the two starters for the first half of the season,” according to Teicher. However, Cooper’s play deteriorated during the second half of the season and he was demoted. At 6-2, 192 pounds, Cooper has the dimensions and physical tools the Chiefs desire, but the team needs more consistency out of him.
- Because of free-agent departures, there’s competition for jobs up and down the Chiefs roster, details AP writer Dave Skretta.
- MarQueis Gray, an undrafted college quarterback out of Minnesota, converted to tight end and stuck with the Browns last season, appearing in 12 games (two starts). The team is again tapping into his versatility, this time trying him at fullback, according to George M. Thomas in the Beacon Journal.
Extra Points: Kaepernick, Chiefs, Adams, Hill
Speaking to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star, former NFL agent Joel Corry suggests that he thinks the Chiefs could push for a similar structure to Colin Kaepernick’s deal when they try to extend Alex Smith, though he doubts agent Tom Condon would go for it. “If you ask me to take my agent hat off, I don’t think this deal is going to have any real impact on Alex Smith’s negotiation,” Corry said of Kaepernick’s extension. “It’s two different (situations). The problem is, the Chiefs still aren’t going to want to want to pay him in that Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler range.”
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap (Twitter links) posits that the bottom line on Kaepernick’s deal is that he would have put himself in line for the Joe Flacco extension if he had a big walk year but he instead protected himself against injury.
- Wide receiver Joe Adams, who was drafted by the Panthers in the fourth round in 2012, has been released by the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- There was some speculation that an undated press release from the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers indicated that former Giants safety Will Hill had signed with the AFL club. However, Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger says that’s not the case, suggesting that perhaps Hill was activated off the AFL’s suspension list, creating some confusion.
Minor Moves: Browns, Titans, Chiefs, Giants
We can expect plenty more transactions throughout the day as teams continue to sign draft picks and shuffle players around at the backs of their rosters, but we already have a handful of minor moves to round up this morning, so let’s dive right in….
- In addition to cutting edge rusher Quentin Groves, as we noted earlier today, the Browns have also cut linebacker Larry Grant, the team announced (via Twitter). The Ohio State product, who has spent time with the Rams, Niners, and Bears, just signed with the Browns about two weeks ago, so his stint in Cleveland didn’t last long.
- Wide receiver Josh Stewart, who was waived by the Titans earlier this week, received the waived-injured designation at the time, and has now been transferred to the club’s injured reserve list, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- When the Chiefs parted ways with defensive lineman Risean Broussard yesterday, it was with the waived-injured designation, tweets Wilson. As such, we can probably expect the 22-year-old to land on Kansas City’s IR.
- Offensive lineman Stephen Goodin, who hit the Giants‘ IR after being waived last week, has been removed from the list with an injury settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter). Goodin, who had spent two seasons with the club, is now an unrestricted free agent.