Patriots To Release Steve Gregory
The Patriots will release safety Steve Gregory today, according to his agent David Canter of DEC Management (Twitter link). Gregory had been set to enter the final year of his contract, but instead will hit the free agent market early.
Gregory, 31, started 23 games at safety over the last two seasons for New England, but missed some time due to injuries in 2013, and was replaced adequately by rookie Duron Harmon, who is significantly younger and cheaper. By cutting Gregory, the Pats will create $2.85MM in 2014 savings, reducing his cap number from about $3.683MM to just $833K in dead money.
While he’s a cap casualty in New England, Gregory should be able to find work with another NFL team. He has ranked among the league’s top 30 safeties in each of the last two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required).
Patriots Notes: McCourty, Gronkowski, Talib
Last we heard, the Patriots have yet to enter negotiations with free agent center Ryan Wendell about a new deal or talk to Logan Mankins about an extension to reduce his cap number. If the Pats do come to the table, however, both are expected to be receptive. The latest out of Foxboro..
- It seems likely that the Patriots will approach defensive back Devin McCourty about working out a new contract, but he’s not concerned about it either way, writes the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe. McCourty has a year remaining on his rookie deal, which saw his 2014 cap number skyrocket to $5.115MM. The Pats could reduce that cap hit by about $2MM by shuffling around some money through a new deal.
- Rob Gronkowski signed a lucrative contract extension with the Pats to give him a total deal of $55MM+ over eight years, keeping him off the open market. But, with Jimmy Graham perhaps on the brink of a record-breaking deal, Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com wonders what Gronk would get if he were a free agent.
- Adam Lefkoe and Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald (video link) looked at the Patriots’ situation with cornerback Aqib Talib and whether they’ll be able to sign him to a long-term contract. Howe doesn’t believe that New England will hit him with the franchise tag if they can’t hammer out a new deal.
Extra Points: Titans, Roos, Harbaugh, Browns
Although the Titans are currently prioritizing this year’s pending free agents and potential cap casualties, the team shouldn’t forget about players like left tackle Michael Roos and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, whose contracts are up after the 2014 season, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. In Wyatt’s view, Tennessee can afford to wait to see how Casey fits in a changing defense, but the team would be wise to try to lock up Roos to an extension as soon as possible.
Here are a few more miscellaneous Monday links from around the NFL:
- Former Octagon agents Doug Hendrickson and C.J. LaBoy have joined Relativity Sports, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). Mullen adds in a second tweet that the duo will work with and report to Relativity’s football CEO, Eugene Parker.
- If Jim Harbaugh doesn’t receive a contract extension this offseason and the 49ers don’t win the Super Bowl next season, expect the Dolphins to be among the teams pursing the head coach next year, tweets Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.
- Before he was removed from his role as CEO of the team, Joe Banner had the Browns‘ offensive and defensive coordinators reporting directly to him, reports Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com. As agent Mike McCartney observes (via Twitter), if Kirwan’s report is accurate, it’s not hard to understand why head coaching candidates would’ve been reluctant to accept the Cleveland job.
- Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had a stellar performance at the combine, met with nine teams, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link): The Cowboys, Ravens, Bears, Bengals, Vikings, Texans, Lions, Buccaneers, and Rams.
- The Packers, Patriots, and Seahawks met with Rutgers receiver Brandon Coleman, who also had an informal meeting with the Redskins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
AFC East Rumors: Jets, Wilfork, Dolphins
It’s been a fairly busy day at the Jets rumor mill. We learned earlier that the team is eyeing veteran QB Josh McCown, and they are also looking at RBs Ben Tate and Donald Brown, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York. More quick notes from the AFC East:
- Given defensive tackle Vince Wilfork‘s age, his recent Achilles tear, and the fact that his contract is up at the end of the 2014 season, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald writes that the time is now for the Patriots to draft Wilfork’s replacement. Guregian notes that the Pats should target a big defensive tackle early in the draft, and although Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan and Notre Dame’s Louis Nix will likely be gone by the time New England picks with the No. 29 overall selection, there will be some quality options available. Such options include Minnesota’s Ra’Shede Hageman, Pittsburgh’s Aaron Donald, and Penn State’s DaQuan Jones.
- James Walker of ESPN.com notes that the Dolphins‘ bleak offseason could improve dramatically in the coming weeks. For the second consecutive year, the Dolphins will have a great deal of money to spend in free agency. With the salary cap expected to increase to $130MM, Miami could have up to $36MM in cap space, enough room to target their weaknesses on the O-line and in the secondary, and to re-sign some of their own free agents.
- Speaking of the Miami secondary, Walker does not see re-signing Chris Clemons as a priority. He notes that the Dolphins would like a more dynamic playmaker to pair with Reshad Jones.
- We rounded up some Buffalo Bills rumors here earlier today.
Combine Updates: Orakpo, Talib, Welker
Redskins GM Bruce Allen is a big fan of Brian Orakpo and will to talk to his agent this weekend, but there’s no guarantee that the free agent linebacker will be back in 2014, writes the Washington Times’ Zac Boyer.
“We like Brian,” Allen said. “There’s no doubt we like Brian, as well as a number of other players. If we were just one player short, that would be an easy question, but we have several [needs] that we’re looking to fill.”
Orakpo, 27, is considered among the best pass rushers available and is expected to command an average salary in the neighborhood of $10MM per season. Here’s more from the second day of the 2014 combine:
- The Patriots are set to meet with Aqib Talib in Indianapolis to discuss a new deal, writes Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. As Howe notes, it’s a buyer’s market at the cornerback position with Alterraun Verner, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Charles Tillman, Vontae Davis and Brent Grimes also set to become available.
- Broncos GM John Elway expects wide receiver Wes Welker to be back with the team in 2014 for the final year of his contract, tweets Howe.
- Ken Harris, Jared Allen‘s agent, tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) that he had a “constructive” meeting with the Vikings on Thursday.
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said he anticipates getting two to three compensatory draft picks, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
- In Ron Rivera’s view, the Panthers don’t have a successor to Steve Smith on their roster, which is something the head coach believes the club could address this offseason, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
- According to GM Martin Mayhew, the Lions have no plans to try to re-sign wide receiver Nate Burleson or safety Louis Delmas, who were released earlier this month. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has the details.
- Johnny Manziel wants to endear himself to NFL GMs, so naturally, he decided to refer to himself in third person at the combine today when talking to reporters. “Johnny Manziel is a small-town kid. People make me out to be a Hollywood type,” the quarterback said, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Patriots Hire Michael Lombardi
After a tumultuous one-year tenure with the Browns, Michael Lombardi was on his way out of Cleveland.
He’s on his way to a reunion of sorts in New England, according to a release by the team.
The Patriots say Lombardi has been hired as an assistant to the coaching staff, “bringing 23 years of NFL experience as a front office executive.” Five years of experience was with Bill Belichick in Cleveland, with Belichick as head coach and Lombardi as pro personnel director and director of player personnel.
Lombardi went on to personnel positions with the Eagles and Raiders before working as an analyst and reporter, then joined the Browns last season.
Belichick was asked at the combine what Lombardi will be doing for the team, and the always-loquacious head coach gave another one of his trademark non-answers.
“Mike’s got a lot of experience. He’s done a lot of things in his career in the NFL. I’m sure he’ll be doing many of those things for us. We’ll see how it goes.”
NFC Notes: Nelson, Tuck, Fitzgerald, Mangini
We’ve already published posts on the Vikings, Bears, and Cowboys so far today, but even after rounding up a few team-centric updates, there are still several more notes to pass along on NFC teams. Here’s the latest:
- While there will be plenty of items on the Packers‘ to-do list this offseason, locking up wide receiver Jordy Nelson to an extension is expected to be near the top of that list, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
- There are plenty of notable names among this year’s free agent class of defensive ends, but Justin Tuck’s agent tells Jordan Raanan of NJ.com that he believes his client is the best all-around player of the bunch. “Justin is by far the most complete d-end in the class,” agent Doug Hendrickson said of the longtime Giant. “He can play the 4-3, he can play the 3-4. He obviously had an incredible season last year with every stat he had with the tackles, tackles for loss, the hurries and the sacks. They were up there with the upper-echelon defensive linemen.”
- Asked about a report last month that suggested the Patriots were mulling a Larry Fitzgerald trade last year, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said of the rumor, “I was looking for someone to fire because [the Patriots] never called me” (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). That initial report suggested that the Pats’ talks didn’t get very far, so it sounds like they were just internal discussions.
- Former defensive specialist Eric Mangini will be the 49ers’ tight ends coach in 2014, the team confirmed today. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee was the first to report Mangini’s new role.
- Cornerback figures to be one of the most important positions for the Eagles to address this offseason, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, exploring some potential options for the team.
- Offensive lineman Gabe Carimi, who was released by the Buccaneers earlier this month, admitted in an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio that he was surprised by the move. However, the early cut gave Carimi to test the market ahead of the free agent period. While he had planned to work out for the Bengals and some other teams, the ex-Bear landed with the Falcons this week (Twitter links via Alex Marvez of FOX Sports).
AFC East Notes: Wendell, Mankins, Dolphins
As Thursday’s slate of head coach and general manager press conferences gets underway at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, let’s check in on a few updates out of the AFC East, including a certain Dolphins head coach finally breaking his silence on the Ted Wells report….
- The Patriots have yet to enter negotiations with free agent center Ryan Wendell about a new deal or talk to Logan Mankins about an extension to reduce his cap number, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Volin adds in a second tweet that both players would likely be receptive to those talks.
- Speaking to reporters at the combine today, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin indicated that no decisions have been made yet on whether the team will bring back players like Richie Incognito, John Jerry, and Mike Pouncey (Twitter link via Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe). While that may be true, it seems pretty clear that Incognito and Jerry, who are eligible for free agency, won’t be back.
- Philbin also told reporters, including Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has reached out to Jonathan Martin and will meet with him. Philbin was noncommittal on Martin’s future with the club.
AFC Notes: Monroe, Texans, Jaguars, Talib
As we heard earlier this week, re-signing offensive tackle Eugene Monroe will be a priority for the Ravens this offseason. However, the team shouldn’t expect to bring back Monroe at a discount. As Chris Wesseling of NFL.com details, Monroe recently told WNST-AM in Baltimore that he intends to maximize his value — either on the open market in March, or before that, if he and the Ravens can reach an agreement.
“Everyone in the business should understand – even coaches when they’re going through their deals negotiating contracts – you have to get the absolute best because you put forth your best effort all the time, every single day in this league,” Monroe said. “So there are definitely no discounts, and you have to have you and your family’s best interests at heart in terms of negotiating these deals.”
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- League sources “increasingly believe” that the Texans are leaning toward Johnny Manziel with the first overall pick, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, who hears that the team has been “quietly falling in lust” with the Texas A&M signal-caller. With over two and a half months still to go until the draft though, nothing is close to being set in stone yet.
- Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com spoke extensively to Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell about his team’s future, and the piece produced several noteworthy quotes from the Jacksonville GM. Among them: Caldwell suggested he’d rather deal with the backlash for not drafting a quarterback third overall in May than pick the wrong guy.
- While it’s still possible that the Redskins will make a play for free-agent-to-be Aqib Talib, their new contract agreement with DeAngelo Hall reduces their need for a cornerback, which could be good news for the Patriots, as Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune explores whether Eric Decker might be for a fit for the Chargers, but concludes that the free agent receiver figures to be too expensive for San Diego.
- In an open letter to Joe Philbin, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald questions why the Dolphins’ head coach has been silent throughout the offseason, even since the publication of the Ted Wells report.
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Jerry, Jones
On Saturday we took a look at how the Wells Report would hurt the four Dolphins‘ players involved, and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald believes the NFL will come in with fines and suspensions at some point this offseason. While Richie Incognito could get off easy because he was already suspended last season. Mike Pouncey could still be suspended a few games, and Salguero guesses that offensive line coach Jim Turner could be sidelined for the season due to his involvement.
- While Salguero doesn’t mention whether or not Dolphins‘ guard John Jerry will be suspended, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald writes that he may not have a job in 2014 either way. Jerry has struggled with weight issues and poor play in his NFL career, and being implicated in the report could be enough to keep him off an NFL roster this season.
- We already passed along ideas of how the Patriots could bolster their pass rush, and Paul Kenyon of the Providence Journal gives some other options along the defensive line. Kenyon sees Chandler Jones‘ older brother Arthur Jones as being at the top of the Patriots’ wish list.
- The Patriots were never a lock to use the franchise tag this offseason, even though Julian Edelman and Aqib Talib were the two most likely candidates. Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald still believes there is a better chance that the team does not use the tag at all.
- The Jets are also unlikely to use the franchise tag this offseason, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. The only players who would make sense are right tackle Austin Howard and kicker Nick Folk. In either case, the price would be too significant for the positions, although Folk is much more likely.