AFC East Notes: Brady, Brown, Dolphins, Vick
Negotiating with Tom Brady makes commissioner Roger Goodell look soft, Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com opines. Tanguay believes that news of the talks was leaked by the Patriots quarterback’s camp in an attempt to force Goodell to fold and wipe Brady’s suspension to zero games. Goodell is reportedly being pushed by “a small handful of influential owners” to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension, but attorney Gregg Levy, who participated in the appeal as a legal consultant to Goodell, has been warning the commissioner that it will be hard to make a suspension stick in court. Here’s more from the AFC East..
- Mike Reiss of ESPN.com gives his full endorsement to the Patriots’ signing of cornerback Tarell Brown. If healthy, Reiss believes that Brown can compete for a starting job or, at the very least, he can provide the Pats with veteran depth. Brown broke his foot last December and landed on season-ending injured reserve.
- James Walker of ESPN.com looked at the best values on the Dolphins‘ defense. Linebacker Jelani Jenkins, earning $585K this year, tops the list after he came out of nowhere in 2014, replaced injured linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, and led the Dolphins with 110 tackles. Defensive end Olivier Vernon, making $1.552MM with 21.5 sacks in three seasons, is rated as the second-best value. Cornerback Jamar Taylor, who could wind up as a starter, comes in at No. 3 with his meager salary of $734K.
- Free agent quarterback Michael Vick took to Twitter this week to let teams know that he’s ready to go. The veteran has said that he wants to play for three more seasons, but it’s telling that he remains unsigned in late July. There is reportedly some skepticism around the league that Vick is ready to accept a backup role and to put in the work necessary even when he doesn’t expect to play. The former No. 1 overall pick supposedly didn’t study up on the Jets‘ playbook last season and yielded many of his practice reps to Matt Simms.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/15
Today’s minor moves..
- The Giants will re-sign undrafted rookie safety Justin Currie, a source tells Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. Currie, a Western Michigan product, was released last week when the Giants signed veteran safety Jeromy Miles. Currie’s release came as a surprise to some as he shined during OTAs and minicamp.
- Washington announced that running back Michael Hill has been released from the 90-man roster, according to Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Washington’s roster now stands at 89 players.
- The Patriots re-signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Zach D’Orazio, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Akron product, who is effective out of the slot, was with the team from May 26th through June 11th.
- The Dolphins announced that undrafted rookie offensive tackle Mickey Baucus will retire, as Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.
Patriots To Sign Tarell Brown
The Patriots have reached an agreement with free agent cornerback Tarell Brown, according to Dianna Marie Russini and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, but I’d imagine it’s a modest, short-term contract that will give Brown a chance to compete for a regular-season roster spot.
Brown, 30, made multiple visits to the Patriots earlier in the offseason, first in March and again in May. The veteran cornerback, who spent most of his career with the 49ers before joining the Raiders last year, didn’t receive much interest from Oakland when he became eligible for free agency this winter, as the Raiders opted to go younger at the cornerback spot.
Having started 14 games for the Raiders in 2014, Brown logged exactly 1,000 snaps for the team before he was shut down with a foot injury. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Brown’s -4.6 grade placed him 75th out of 108 qualified cornerbacks, though he only allowed one passing touchdown on 67 passes thrown into his coverage.
For the Patriots, Brown will provide some much-needed veteran cornerback depth for training camp and the preseason, and perhaps the regular season as well. While Darrelle Revis‘ departure for the division-rival Jets was the most notable shake-up in the Patriots’ secondary, and will have the biggest impact on the group for 2015, Brandon Browner also departed in free agency, signing with the Saints, and the club cut Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard as well.
Latest On Tom Brady’s Appeal
A month ago today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell served as the arbitrator for Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing, at which point the Patriots quarterback and the NFLPA made a case for why Brady’s four-game suspension should be rescinded. With no official timeline in place for a decision, it’s no surprise that Goodell has yet to make an announcement — it took arbitrator Harold Henderson more than six weeks to announce a ruling on Greg Hardy‘s appeal.
While we wait to see if Brady’s penalty is upheld, reduced, or wiped away entirely, let’s round up the latest updates on the case….
- Settlement discussions for Brady have occurred between the NFL and the Players Association, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, no progress has been made between the two sides, and it would be unexpected if they found common ground and worked something out.
- According to that same source, Goodell is being pushed by “a small handful of influential owners” to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension, writes Florio.
- However, there’s some concern that, if Goodell were to stand firm on Brady’s ban, the penalty would eventually be overturned by a federal court. According to Florio, attorney Gregg Levy, who participated in the appeal as a legal consultant to Goodell, has been warning the commissioner that it will be hard to make a suspension stick in court.
- A source tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com that the NFLPA made a settlement offer to the league last week, but that proposal was met with “silence” by the NFL. According to Graziano, it is believed that Brady will continue to fight any suspension, even a reduced penalty, but would consider accepting a fine.
- Yesterday, NFLA president Eric Winston indicated that the union is prepared to take the next step on behalf of Brady if he’s not exonerated.
East Notes: Brady, Cooley, Washington
As of Thursday, a month will have passed since Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing, and with no timeline in place for a ruling from Roger Goodell, it’s not clear if that announcement will come this week, next week, or sometime after that. According to NFLPA president Eric Winston, it’s “not even worth trying to guess” when Goodell will make his decision. However, Winston hopes Brady is exonerated, adding that if he’s not, the union is prepared to take the next step (Twitter links via Rob Guerrera of NBC Sports Radio).
Ultimately, the decision on whether or not to continue fighting the NFL if Brady’s suspension isn’t wiped away will be up to the Patriots quarterback himself, but Winston’s comments confirm that the NFLPA is ready to take the league to court on Brady’s behalf, if necessary.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:
- Chris Cooley spent his first nine NFL seasons in Washington, but the team hasn’t had any discussions about bringing back the tight end, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The Cardinals are said to be kicking the tires on Cooley, who is contemplating a comeback.
- Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com debate whether Brandon Scherff was the right pick for Washington at No. 5 overall in this year’s draft. El-Bashir writes that Scherff fits all of Scot McCloughan’s prerequisites and even though the lineman could have been plucked later in the draft, he doesn’t really find fault with Washington jumping at the chance to get him at No. 5. On the other hand, Tandler isn’t wild about Scherff’s value that high in the draft.
- After Mike Sando of ESPN.com grouped the NFL’s starting quarterbacks into tiers based on talent, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap examines how each QB’s salary matches up to his placement on Sando’s list. Unsurprisingly, Brady is the major outlier, with Sando placing the Patriots quarterback near the top of his list, despite the fact that he has a fourth-tier salary.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (audio link), agent Tom Condon discussed one client who just signed an extension (Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant) and another client who looks like a good bet to sign a new deal in the near future (Giants quarterback Eli Manning).
Goodell: No Timeline For Brady Decision
It has been nearly a month since Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing concluded, and the quarterback’s camp reportedly expects Roger Goodell to announce a decision this week. However, the commissioner himself, who served as the arbitrator for Brady’s appeal, tells Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that there’s no strict timeline for a ruling.
“We are focused on it,” Goodell said. “We are obviously being very thorough and want to make sure we consider all aspects of his appeal. We will make a decision as quickly as possible.”
As we continue to wait for a formal announcement from Goodell, here a couple more items related to Brady’s appeal and DeflateGate:
- While it hasn’t been viewed as a probable outcome, a negotiated settlement remains a possibility for Brady, in theory, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Of course, any compromise would likely fall somewhere in between the maximum punishment and a full exoneration, and Brady continues to seek the latter.
- Appearing on FOX Sports Radio, Saints head coach Sean Payton was asked about similarities between the Patriots’ DeflateGate situation and his own team’s bounty-related saga. As Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune writes, Payton pointed out that he was in a much different situation than Brady, since he didn’t have the NFL Players Association to back him.
Latest On Reggie Wayne
Last week, Reggie Wayne reiterated that he wants to play at least one more season in the NFL, suggesting that a few teams had been in touch with him this offseason. At the time, Dave Furst of WRTV-6 in Indianapolis tweeted that the Patriots, Ravens, Texans, and Packers were showing some interest in the veteran wideout, with the Broncos having backed off.
A pair of reports today, however, have reduced that list of potential suitors by half. According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens are not expected to pursue Wayne, given his age and the presence of another 36-year-old wideout – Steve Smith Sr. – on the roster. Baltimore doesn’t appear to be in the market for receiving help in general, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, who tweets that the club also isn’t likely to go after the recently-waived Ace Sanders.
Meanwhile, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) reports that the Texans aren’t interested in Wayne either. Houston lost its longtime No. 1 receiver Andre Johnson to the Colts earlier this offseason, so it would be somewhat fitting for the Texans to land Wayne, but it doesn’t appear that will happen.
Wayne has said he’s healthy after playing through a triceps injury last year, and his 2014 numbers indicate he can still be productive. But the deep wide receiver draft classes in 2014 and 2015 have dampened interest around the league in veterans like Wayne, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. In Robinson’s view, the former Colt will likely have to wait for players to start getting hurt in training camp before he signs somewhere.
Extra Points: Rivers, Browner, Brady, Lions
The next year might be a time of major transition for the Chargers, who will be able to break their lease at season’s end and leave San Diego – their home since 1961 – potentially for Carson, Calif. Further, 11-year Charger and six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers is entering the final season of his contract and could conceivably be under center for another organization 12 months from now. Rivers has started every Chargers game since 2006, playoffs included, and been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks during that span. However, the 33-year-old hasn’t shown much urgency in getting a long-term deal done with the Bolts, writes the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Michael Gehlken. Regardless of what happens with the Chargers, then, Rivers’ days as a San Diego institution may be winding down.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Former Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner said Sunday at Richard Sherman‘s celebrity softball game that he’d like to return to Seattle when his contract is up, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). If Browner was serious, the timing of his comment is odd, as he recently joined the Saints on a three-year deal during free agency. Browner, who spent 2011-13 with the Seahawks, was a member of the Super Bowl-winning Patriots last season.
- It’s been almost a month since Tom Brady‘s Deflategate appeal hearing, yet no ruling has come down. If Brady’s four-game suspension isn’t overturned, it could lead to a lawsuit against the league. However, there may be behind-the-scenes negotiations going on in hopes of preventing that, per Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “I do think they’re negotiating,” said Jodi Balsam, who was the league’s counsel for operations and litigation from 1994-2002 and its counsel for football operations from 2002-2007. “They may be back-channel conversations, but what the NFL wants is to get an implicit agreement from Brady’s people that a reduction in the number of suspended games would resolve the issue and put the brakes on any further litigation.”
- The Lions’ offense is getting to work prior to training camp, tweets ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, who deduced from tight end Joseph Fauria‘s Instagram that he and some teammates are gathering in Atlanta to run routes. Quarterback Matthew Stafford said during the spring that members of Detroit’s offense would look to get some pre-camp work in, according to Rothstein (Twitter link), and it appears to be happening.
Tom Brady’s Camp Expects Ruling This Week
Tom Brady and his team expect a decision regarding his suspension appeal to be made this week, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Commissioner Roger Goodell has had post-hearing briefs from both the league and the union for more than two weeks, writes Florio, and with training camp right around the corner, anticipation is building for a ruling.
Per Florio’s source, the decision is expected to be a “sham” — such wording not only indicates that Brady’s four-game suspension is either not expected to be reduced or not reduced enough (in the eyes of Brady), but that Florio’s source is likely someone on the Brady team. Once the ruling is handed down, Brady and the NFLPA are expected to file suit, and as Florio adds, the question then becomes whether Brady will seek a temporary injunction, which would allow him to play against the Steelers opening night, even if he ends up serving a suspension at some point.
In a separate post, Florio outlines what a Brady lawsuit would look like, explaining that challenges to arbitration are made on narrow bases, so the entire process should play out pretty quickly. In fact, the goal of such a suit would be that a final decision is reached before Week 1.
East Notes: Brady, Coughlin, Brooks
We still do not know what will come of the Tom Brady saga, but as we await Roger Goodell‘s final decision on Brady’s suspension, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe provides something of a different perspective on the story. Although it has been widely assumed that Brady would file a lawsuit against the NFL and seek an injunction to stay his suspension unless it is completely wiped out, that decision could be harder than it appears.
After all, although a lawsuit carries little legal risk for Brady–he would not have to share any evidence like text messages or emails, and any sworn statements he makes would likely replicate what he has already said–the on-field ramifications could be a different matter. On the one hand, a lawsuit could delay the process so long that Brady ends up playing the entire 2015 season, but he could also lose in court and be forced to serve the suspension later in the 2015 campaign when the Patriots are fighting for playoff positioning. A loss, of course, would also lend a great deal of validation to Brady’s critics and would cast a pall over his career. Plus, even if he were able to get the suspension lifted, the NFL could appeal and potentially have the suspension restored later in the season.
Brady will have a lot to mull over when Goodell finally hands down his decision, and out of everyone who Brady may consult as he decides how to proceed, it is difficult to find a truly impartial adviser. As Volin writes, “Realistically, only one person can truly decide what’s best for Tom Brady — the man himself. Hopefully, he understands that.”
Now let’s take a look at some more links from the team’s east divisions:
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com writes that Giants head coach Tom Coughlin needs to get his team into the playoffs this year if he wants to keep his job. Owner John Mara said after the 2014 season that 2015 is a win-or-else year for a lot of people in the organization, and that includes Coughlin.
- Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com examines whether Jason Pierre-Paul would have reached a long-term deal with the Giants if not for the well-publicized fireworks accident that cost JPP his right index finger.
- Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News details Ron Brooks‘ attempts to establish himself as a starting-caliber corner for the Bills as the former fourth-round pick enters the fourth and final year of his rookie deal.
- Benjamin Hochman and Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post debate whether the Cowboys or Broncos got more bang for their buck in the recent extensions of Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas.