2015 NFL Compensatory Draft Picks
The NFL has officially announced the 32 compensatory draft picks for 2015 that have been handed out to teams who had the most significant losses in free agency a year ago. These picks, which can’t be traded, are determined by a formula that accounts for salary, playing time, and postseason honors. Teams can’t receive more than four picks each, and this year’s selections were divided up among 14 clubs.
Here’s the list of 2015 compensatory picks by team, with the round and overall selection number included:
- 49ers: 4th (132), 7th (254)
- Bears: None
- Bengals: 3rd (99), 4th (135)
- Bills: None
- Broncos: 4th (133), 6th (208), 7th (250), 7th (251)
- Browns: None
- Buccaneers: None
- Cardinals: 7th (256)
- Chargers: None
- Chiefs: 3rd (98), 5th (172), 5th (173), 6th (217)
- Colts: 7th (255)
- Cowboys: None
- Dolphins: None
- Eagles: None
- Falcons: None
- Giants: None
- Jaguars: None
- Jets: None
- Lions: None
- Packers: 6th (210), 6th (212)
- Panthers: 5th (169), 6th (213)
- Patriots: 3rd (97), 7th (253)
- Raiders: None
- Rams: 6th (215)
- Ravens: 4th (136), 5th (171) , 5th (175)
- Saints: None
- Seahawks: 4th (134), 5th (170), 6th (209), 6th (214)
- Steelers: 7th (252)
- Texans: 5th (174), 6th (211), 6th (216)
- Titans: None
- Vikings: None
- Washington: None
NFC Notes: Bennett, Lions, Rams, Jennings
Speaking to reporters in Arizona today, Seahawks general manager John Schneider said that defensive end Michael Bennett hasn’t requested a trade and is happy in Seattle, tweets Terry Blount of ESPN.com.
A report last week indicated that Bennett wanted a new contract, and perhaps a trade to Dan Quinn‘s Falcons, but even if that’s the case, it doesn’t look like the Seahawks have any plans to move him. For what it’s worth, Schneider appeared to dodge the issue of whether the defensive end wants his contract reworked, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets.
Schneider also confirmed that defensive lineman Jesse Williams will be re-added to the Seahawks’ roster soon, indicating that Williams was only waived as a procedural transaction (Twitter link via Condotta).
Here’s more out of the NFC:
- Lions GM Martin Mayhew confirmed today to reporters, including Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News (Twitter link), that his team is in talks with free agent guard Rob Sims about a new deal.
- The Rams are keeping their eye on free agent offensive linemen like Joe Barksdale, Stefen Wisniewski, and Justin Blalock, but the club isn’t expected to sign any of those players this week, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- While the Cowboys aren’t likely to make any other noteworthy free agent investments, Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com suggests the club could go bargain shopping, identifying offensive tackle, safety, and return man as three potential areas of need.
- Panthers owner Jerry Richardson took responsibility for the organization’s decision to not re-sign embattled defensive end Greg Hardy. “Whose call would you think that would be?” Richardson asked ESPN.com’s David Newton. When asked about the owner’s logic, Richardson replied that the Panthers “do the right things.”
- When wideout Greg Jennings left the Packers for the Vikings in 2013, the veteran displayed some animosity towards the organization. However, Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson made it clear that those kinds of comments wouldn’t dissuade his team from pursuing the 31-year-old. “We’re not that sensitive about things like that,” Thompson said (via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com). “Players are players. Players say things. Sometimes we make mistakes [too].”
Latest On Los Angeles Relocation
At the league meetings this week in Phoenix, the subject of Los Angeles is expected to come to the forefront, with NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman set to report the league’s findings on relocation possibilities to owners this morning.
“This will be the first time that I’ll have the opportunity to give specific answers,” Grubman said on Sunday evening, per Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. “Up until now, I’ve had to walk a tight rope of giving a briefing without parting with any information that was confidential. No teams were out in the open. No sites were out in the open. Now we have a lot more to work with.”
As we wait to hear what Grubman and the league have to say, here are a few notes on the possibility of L.A. relocation, via the Twitter account of Albert Breer of the NFL Network (unless otherwise indicated):
- The Rams, Chargers, and Raiders will be free to answer questions today about their potential Los Angeles plans, but it’s more likely that those clubs will address questions about their current home markets, with the league handling L.A. inquiries.
- The Rams appear to have the strongest plan for relocation to L.A., but by the league’s criteria they’re the least qualified of the three teams to move there, which complicates the issue.
- The likely outcome when the dust settles is two teams in Southern California, whether that means two in Los Angeles, or one in L.A. and one in San Diego. While there are many scenarios in play, one interesting one is the Rams moving to L.A. and the Raiders moving to St. Louis, with the Chargers staying put. That would leave Oakland out in the cold, and as Grubman noted in Bair previously-linked piece, Oakland has yet to get “specific” or “aggressive” in its plan to keep the Raiders.
- The NFL is doing its own market assessment on San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis, and is planning on making April visits to each city.
- Giants co-owner John Mara predicted that at least one team will be in Los Angeles in 2016, and Breer agrees with that assessment, noting that the three-team competition makes for better projects. However, we likely won’t get any concrete answers this week — we should know more by October or November.
Latest On Kroenke’s Inglewood Proposal
The March NFL owners meetings begin tomorrow in Phoenix, and as Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times writes, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is bringing finished schematic plans for his proposed Inglewood stadium with him. Kroenke’s proposal would put a futuristic, highly-interactive and highly-integrated stadium in Los Angeles, which has not hosted an NFL franchise in 21 years.
Of course, the assumption is that Kroenke, if he were able to build his $1.86 billion palace, would bring the Rams to LA. But there are complications. For one, as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, there are some in the league who want to “make returning football to Los Angeles a California solution — involving the Chargers and/or Raiders. Not the Rams.” The Chargers and Raiders joined forces last month and announced their plan to share a stadium in Carson.
Meanwhile, there has been progress in the efforts to build a new stadium on the riverfront in St. Louis, but as Thomas notes, the land acquisition and financing necessary for those plans to come to fruition are yet to be done. Kroenke, on the other hand, has already purchased the land in Inglewood, and while he is not quite ready to put a shovel in the ground, Farmer writes that the major pieces of the project are now fully drawn. It would take less than three years to build the stadium, and any team that relocates to Los Angeles could play in the Coliseum or Rose Bowl in the meantime.
One of the more interesting aspects about Kroenke’s proposal is that it is “two-team compliant.” Although Kroenke has enough money to fund the project on his own and does not need to partner with another franchise, the NFL believes Los Angeles is a two-team market and would like any stadium built in the area to be capable of hosting two clubs. Kroenke undoubtedly does not wish to share the wealth generated by a project for which he is assuming the risk by himself, but it is nonetheless an interesting twist in an already fascinating saga.
The league has said that no team would be allowed to relocate before the 2016 season, and it is unlikely that any vote to move a franchise–such a move would require support from three-quarters of the league’s 32 owners–would take place before the fall. But this week, what we have known for months will become even more clear: Los Angeles is primed to get an NFL team for the first time in over two decades, and while San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis have all made progress in their efforts to keep the Rams out of Hollywood, Kroenke continues to lead the race.
L.A. Stadium Notes: Carson, Oakland, Coliseum City
The Rams, Raiders, and Chargers are still the three teams being thrown around in rumors surrounding a relocation to the Los Angeles market. Last we checked in, Raiders owner Mark Davis mentioned that other cities would be involved as possible relocation destinations, including St. Louis should the Rams move to California.
Here are some recent updates surrounding the cities attempting to find a new team:
- A proposal to build a new stadium in Carson that would be home to both the Chargers and Raiders took the next step today as a petition with 14,000 signatures was submitted in support of the initiative, reports Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. That is more than twice the signatures needed to move forward, but less than the 22,000 a rival stadium proposal in Inglewood was able to gather earlier this year.
- The City of Oakland and Alameda County will work together to keep the Raiders in Oakland, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. San Diego-based developer Floyd Kephart is trying to finance a project to redevelop the Coliseum complex, and with cooperation from the city, county, and ultimately the Raiders, the grounds could eventually include a new football stadium.
- For more information about Kephart’s plan for “Coliseum City” including his personal credentials and his vision for keeping the Raiders in town, Matthew Arts of InsideBayArea.com profiles the project and the man who has become the driving force behind it.
NFC Notes: Vikings, Mays, Ireland, Saints
In addition to stressing once again that the Vikings want Adrian Peterson back for the 2015 season, GM Rick Spielman addressed the Mike Wallace trade in a conversation with Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune, calling it “a great deal for both teams.”
“We had to take on the contract, which plays a part in it,” Spielman said. “But we felt, from a draft compensation standpoint, we didn’t lose any picks. We had two fifth-round picks because of the move we made with Buffalo [the Matt Cassel trade], so that’s why you have to keep as many draft picks as possible, and even on draft day, because that gives you the ability to move around on draft day. It gives you the ability to do the move we were able to get accomplished.”
Here are a few more end-of-week items from around the NFC:
- Free agent safety Taylor Mays left Winter Park without a deal with the Vikings, as Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune writes. Mays, who played for coach Mike Zimmer with the Bengals, arrived in town on Wednesday and checked out the team’s facility on Thursday. In five NFL seasons with two teams, the 27-year-old made 98 tackles, recorded one sack and forced one fumble.
- It was initially believed that former Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland was hired to be the head of college scouting for the Saints, but it turns out that he’s actually serving as the team’s assistant GM, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- While Sam Bradford said earlier this month that he suspected for a few weeks that he might be traded, Nick Foles tells Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com that he didn’t have an inkling he wouldn’t be with the Eagles until the second he got the phone call from Chip Kelly informing him of the deal with the Rams.
- The Buccaneers worked out long snapper Avery Rigg on Thursday but did not sign him, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Rigg could join the team after the draft and rookie minicamp, however.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Contract Details: Shorts, Lewis, Cadet
Here are some details on a few of the contracts agreed to or signed within the last few days:
- Cecil Shorts, WR (Texans): Two years, $6MM base value. $1MM signing bonus. $750K of $1MM 2015 base salary fully guaranteed (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun).
- Kendrick Lewis, S (Ravens): Three years, $5.4MM. $1.4MM signing bonus (link via Wilson).
- Garrett Reynolds, OL (Rams): Two years, $2.2MM base value. $250K roster bonus for 2015. Up to $1MM annually in playing-time and team-related incentives (Twitter links via Wilson).
- Travaris Cadet, RB (Patriots): Two years, $1.75MM. $65K signing bonus. Various roster bonuses (Twitter links via Wilson).
- Bradley Fletcher, CB (Patriots): One year, $1.5MM base value. $100K signing bonus. $250K of $800K base salary guaranteed. Up to $1MM in incentives (Twitter link via Wilson).
Draft Notes: Winston, Borland, Visits
Some assorted draft notes from around the league…
- Jameis Winston‘s decision to skip out on the NFL draft may have been based on pressure from the league. According to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, the NFL may have been fearing “protests” regarding Winston’s selection in the draft, with the league advising the prospect to keep a “low profile.”
- Following the surprise retirement of Chris Borland, Cole says teams are becoming cautious of players who are “too smart for football.” Specifically, players who have future careers outside of football may be less desirable than players who are “desperate” to become professional athletes.
- Georgia running back Todd Gurley told reporters that he’s set to meet with the Panthers after having already met with the Lions, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Gurley revealed that he’s also meeting with five other teams.
- Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon is scheduled to meet with the Ravens, according to Yahoo’s Rand Getlin (via Twitter).
- Meanwhile, Getlin reports (on Twitter) that Duke wideout Jamison Crowder is gaining some interest, as the player has workouts planned with the Patriots, Buccaneers, Panthers and Texans.
- Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes told ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein that he’s set to meet with the Vikings and Jaguars in April (Twitter link). Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets that the defensive back also has private workouts scheduled with the Titans and Panthers.
- According to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.com (via Twitter), Boise State running back Jay Ajayi had dinner with the Chargers brass on Tuesday night.
- The Jets have scheduled a one-on-one meeting with Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, according to Pauline (on Twitter).
- Purdue tight end Gabe Holmes had a private workout today with the Cardinals, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The session went well, as Wilson says Holmes “caught everything.”
- Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty has visits set up with the Cowboys, Chargers and Rams, according to Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez (via Twitter).
Rams Sign Garrett Reynolds
4:54pm: Reynolds’ new deal with the Rams is a two-year pact worth $2.2MM, a source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The contract has a max value of $4.2MM.
3:46pm: The Rams have officially signed Reynolds, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the club continues to consider other linemen, including Tim Barnes, who isn’t out of the picture in St. Louis quite yet.
3:18pm: After hosting him for a free agent visit, the Rams are expected to finalized a deal with offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). It was Caplan who first reported earlier today that Reynolds was headed to St. Louis.
Reynolds, who started 10 games for the Falcons in 2013, lost his starting job late in the 2013 season, despite grading as Pro Football Focus’ 32nd overall guard (subscription required). The 27-year-old was subsequently cut by Atlanta and picked up by Detroit, where he spent the 2014 season as an occasional starter at right guard and right tackle for the Lions.
Reynolds’ ability to play both guard and tackle could come in handy for the Rams, who are in need of players at both spots. Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold figure to man left tackle and left guard respectively, but Jake Long and Scott Wells were cut by the club, and Joe Barksdale and Davin Joseph are free agents, so center, right guard, and right tackle are still up in the air. Reynolds may not be penciled in as a starter, but he should have the opportunity to compete for a regular job.
FA Rumors: Moore, Rubin, Jennings, Selvie
If Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News were in charge of the Cowboys, he would have tendered a contract offer to cornerback Sterling Moore. Cowboys coaches didn’t see enough from Moore in 2014 to want him back, apparently, but at a cost of $1.542MM, he could have given them inexpensive depth at the position. Moore, who visited the Steelers earlier this week, is in San Francisco today meeting with the 49ers, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Here’s more on a handful of free agents around the NFL:
- The Seahawks are still in the market for defensive line help and they’ll host Browns free agent defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin today, Rapoport tweets. Back in December, Rubin said that he wanted to stay in Cleveland for life. So far, nothing like that has materialized.
- Wide receiver Greg Jennings told Stephen A. Smith on Sirius XM/Mad Dog Sports Radio that he’d be open to a reunion with the Packers, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Jennings said that he’d never “tear down” a bridge, but Demovsky notes that Jennings might have done that already with some harsh comments towards the Packers and Aaron Rodgers upon joining the Vikings.
- We heard earlier this week that the Vikings have interest in defensive end George Selvie, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that Minnesota appears to have backed off a little, while the Buccaneers are now “very much” in the mix for Selvie.
- Free agent offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds is paying a visit to the Rams, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). St. Louis has holes at multiple spots on its offensive line, and Reynolds is capable of playing both guard and tackle.
- Washington, the Vikings, and the Bengals are all vying to sign free agent safety Taylor Mays, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A source tells Tomasson that Cincinnati “desperately” wants to re-sign Mays, who is considering his options.
- The Ravens have maintained interest in potentially re-signing defensive lineman Lawrence Guy, who is visiting the Jets tomorrow, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- Former Dolphins defensive end Rakim Cox has been invited to the veterans combine, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
Zach Links contributed to this post.