NFC East Notes: Mathis, JPP, Cowboys
Former Giants running back David Wilson significantly improved his performance in the triple jump but still fell short of the qualifying standard for the U.S. championships, as The Associated Press writes. The former first-round draft pick had to retire from the NFL after two seasons due to a neck injury but is now trying to reinvent himself as a track and field athlete. While he has fallen short of nationals on this go ’round, he could still have future opportunities as he’s only 24 years of age. Here’s a glance at the NFC East..
NFC South Notes: Glennon, Saints, Baker
The Buccaneers grabbed Tim Wright with their No. 1 waiver priority, but they were far from the only team to put a claim in on him. It turns out that nine other teams also submitted claims for the former Patriot. Besides Tampa Bay, the Jets, Bears, Falcons, Browns, Saints, Dolphins, Chiefs, Steelers, and Lions all tried to land the Rutgers product. In the end, however, the Bucs were able to add a player who roughly one-third of the league apparently covets. Here’s tonight’s glance at the NFC South..
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Matt Williamson identifies five teams that he thinks should consider trading for Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon, identifying the Cardinals, Bears, Bengals, Browns, and Giants as potential fits.
- A report from ESPN’s Outside The Lines alleged that Saints outside linebacker Ronald Powell was allowed to skate after two interactions with police, including one where traces of cocaine were found in the car he was driving. Meanwhile, agent Peter Schaffer told Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune that it is absurd to believe that police let Powell go after finding cocaine in his car and trashed the report. “As Ronald Powell‘s agent, I’ve had extensive conversations with him, and the ESPN report is a gross mischaracterization of facts and example of an absolute witch hunt,” Schaffer said.
- The Falcons corrected one of their biggest contract mistakes when they released Sam Baker, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. While the contract did not carry guarantees, there was an virtual or effective guarantee, which meant that little could be recouped by releasing him. Fitzgerald initially expected Atlanta to try and negotiate Baker’s salary down, but they instead chose to cut him outright.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
East Notes: Hardy, Manning, Bills, Dolphins
It’s been a busy day of news around the NFL, as most teams around the league prepare to begin their mandatory June minicamps. However, we don’t want to let any odds and ends slip through the cracks, so let’s turn our attention to the two East divisions and round up the latest items….
- As of this morning, arbitrator Harold Henderson had yet to officially make a decision on Greg Hardy‘s appeal of his 10-game suspension, tweets Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The hearing for the Cowboys defensive end took place way back on May 28, so an announcement should come any day now.
- Eli Manning has yet to sign a contract extension with the Giants, but Dan Graziano of ESPN.com believes that a significant injury is the only thing that would creating a parting of ways between the two-time Super Bowl MVP and the team after the 2015 season.
- With the Bills having been mentioned as a potential suitor for free agent guard Evan Mathis, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com takes a look at how much cap room the team could clear by parting ways with guard Chris Williams.
- Stepping in this week for Peter King, Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com examines Mike Tannenbaum‘s first offseason with the Dolphins, writing that the team’s new executive VP of football operations hasn’t been afraid to keep his foot down on the gas pedal.
Dez, Houston, JPP Won’t Be At Minicamp
When the Broncos held their mandatory June minicamp last week, franchised wide receiver Demaryius Thomas wasn’t in attendance. Thomas is one of four players who received the franchise tag but have yet to sign their tenders, and the other three appears set to follow his lead this week. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Dez Bryant, Justin Houston, and Jason Pierre-Paul won’t report to their respective clubs’ minicamp on Tuesday.
Houston’s anticipated absence from the Chiefs’ minicamp is perhaps the least surprising of the three. Head coach Andy Reid indicated last week that the NFL’s reigning sack leader “probably” wouldn’t be in attendance this week. After Ndamukong Suh signed a record-setting deal with the Dolphins in March, Houston’s asking price likely increased, and there’s no indication yet that he and the Chiefs are anywhere close to an agreement.
Bryant, meanwhile, made a brief cameo at the Cowboys’ OTAs, a hint that perhaps he’d report sooner rather than later. However, a Friday report suggested that he was shifting to a more hard-line negotiating stance, threatening to sit out Dallas’ regular season opener if he and the club haven’t agreed to a multiyear extension by that point.
As for Pierre-Paul, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had stressed in recent weeks that he expected the veteran pass rusher to attend the team’s June minicamp, but it looks like Coughlin’s prediction won’t come to fruition. The fact that JPP – like Thomas, Houston, and Bryant – has yet to sign his franchise tender means he isn’t subject to fines for missing this week’s supposedly “mandatory” minicamp, since he isn’t technically under contract.
All four franchise-tag players have a month to work out long-term extensions with their respective teams. If a franchised player doesn’t have a multiyear deal in place by July 15, he’ll have to play the 2015 season on a one-year contract, if he plays at all.
NFC East Notes: Mathis, Pot Roast, Cowboys
Evan Mathis is likely to interest several clubs in the coming weeks/days, but don’t expect the Giants to be among them, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. It’s not that New York couldn’t use help at guard, according to Raanan, but that Big Blue won’t fork over the kind of financial commitment that Mathis will likely be looking for. After signing their two remaining unsigned draft picks, the Giants will have less than $5MM in cap space to use, meaning Mathis is probably out of their price range.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- Calling himself the biggest steal in free agency, Washington defensive tackle Terrance Knighton plans to score big on the open market after his current one-year deal expires. “…I’ve always bet on myself,” Knighton told Don Banks of Sports Illustrated. “I consider myself a premier player in this league, and I’ve got a lot of football left. This will be my seventh season, so when I hit the table again, there won’t be any excuses next time.”
- More Mathis: Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines the veteran guard’s release, arguing that the move was just the latest transaction proving that Chip Kelly is remaking the Eagles as he sees fit.
- In his latest mailbag at ESPN.com, Todd Archer answers several Cowboys-related queries, including whether Dallas will aim to improve the interior of its defensive line, the potential impact of Terrance Williams, and the club’s depth chart at receiver.
NFC Notes: Mathis, Flowers, Rams
Offensive lineman don’t always make the most headlines, but when a high-profile blocker like Evan Mathis gets released everyone starts to pay attention.
Aside from fans, analysts, and general managers, the NFLPA has also taken interest in the All-Pro guard’s release, according to Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com (via Twitter). The Association is currently in the “information-gathering” phase of the process.
The NFLPA could be investigating whether the team’s decision to cut Mathis was a direct result of his absence at voluntary offseason workouts, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The more likely explanation for the investigation, writes Florio, that the Eagles cut him after reports that the team removed an offer to rework his contract because Howie Roseman was no longer the team’s general manager.
Here are a few more nots regarding offensive linemen in the NFC:
- With Mathis and Todd Herremans no longer on the team, the Eagles will have a tall task to replace both starting guards from 2014. Zach Berman of Philly.com lists all of the teams options, including a number of names already on the roster and a few free agent options, like Davin Joseph and Dan Connolly.
- Giants’ first-round pick Ereck Flowers is one of the last unsigned draft picks left, which is notable because he is also one of the few rookies who has elected not to hire an agent. However, he still is confident that he will get a deal done, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, saying that negotiations are “going good.”
- With Scott Wells out of the picture, the Rams will have three players competing to start at center, writes Joe Lyons of STLToday.com. Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, and Demetrius Rhaney are battling for the job, and all three are still in the running to start. “We’re not going to make a decision real early,” said head coach Jeff Fisher. “We’ll let them all play. We’re rotating them. They’re all getting opportunities to work with (new quarterback Nick Foles), so he’s familiar, not only with the exchanges, but also the communication. We’ll make that decision when somebody shows us he’s earned the job.”
WR Rumors: Welker, D. Thomas, J. Jones
Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and James Jones spent the 2014 season playing in the AFC West, but now all three receivers are free agents. Thomas, of course, isn’t on the unrestricted market like Welker and Jones, but he has yet to sign his one-year franchise tender, meaning he’s not yet officially under contract with the Broncos.
Here’s the latest on the trio of wideouts:
- A general manager tells Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that his team strongly considered signing Welker, but “there was great concern” about his history of concussions. As Freeman writes, teams familiar with Welker’s medical history say they think the ex-Bronco has sustained at least six concussions during his NFL career.
- Despite the concern about Welker’s head injuries, which will keep many suitors away, there are still teams interested in adding him. According to Freeman, the Patriots and Broncos aren’t interested in a reunion with Welker, but the Ravens and Dolphins could be good fits.
- Thomas, Welker’s old Denver teammate, has until July 15 to sign a long-term contract with the Broncos, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says Thomas may not report to training camp if the two sides don’t strike a deal.
- While the Broncos consider Thomas’ asking price too high, some league executives have suggested to Rapoport that Thomas deserves a Calvin Johnson-esque deal, based on Thomas’ recent production and the salary cap increases over the last couple years. When Johnson inked his eight-year, $130MM extension in 2012, the cap was $120.6MM. Three years later, it’s up to $143.28MM.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) today, Jones identified the Jaguars as a potential fit for him. He also mentioned the Chiefs, Giants, and Seahawks, three teams that reportedly inquired on him when he became a free agent last month.
Minor Moves: Thursday
Today’s minor moves..
- The Jets announced (via Twitter) that they have released tackle Sean Hooey. Hooey, a former member of the Rams, stands at 6’9″ and 300+ pounds.
- The Giants announced that the have added rookie linebacker Tony Johnson while dropping fellow rookie linebacker Ryan Jones. Johnson, who played two seasons at Louisiana Tech after transferring from a community college, played in 12 games as a senior and finished third on the team with 69 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
- The Patriots announced that they have signed three rookie free agents in linebacker D.J. Lynch (Bowling Green), tight end Jimmay Mundine (Kansas) and tight end Logan Stokes (Louisiana State). To make room, wide receiver Zach D’Orazio has been let go.
Poll: Which QB Will Sign Extension Next?
A pair of starting quarterbacks signed long-term extensions with their clubs in recent weeks, as the Dolphins and Panthers locked up Ryan Tannehill and Cam Newton respectively. With Ben Roethlisberger signing a multiyear deal of his own with the Steelers back in March, a few of the signal-callers we expected to see extended this offseason have already taken care of business.
Several more notable quarterbacks are still without new deals though, and are seemingly preparing to enter the final year of their respective contracts without an extension in place. Of course, we still have about three months until the regular season gets underway, so there’s plenty of time between now and then for these QBs to work out agreements with their teams.
Sam Bradford and Nick Foles are among the quarterbacks whose contracts expire after the 2015 season, but neither player is a top-tier NFL starter, and both Bradford and Foles are coming off significant injuries that shortened their 2014 seasons. So while they may sign extensions at some point, we’re not including them in this discussion, since they’re not quite in the same class as a few other contract-year QBs.
We’ll also remove Andrew Luck from this conversation, since the Colts have explicitly stated that they don’t intend to negotiate an extension with the former No. 1 pick until 2016. Like Tannehill, Luck was a first-round pick in 2012, which makes him eligible for an extension now, but since Indianapolis holds a fifth-year option for the ’16 season, there’s no rush for the team to get something done.
That leaves us with three top quarterbacks entering contract years: Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, and Eli Manning. Like Roethlisberger, Rivers and Manning are each in the final year of a veteran contract. However, Rivers seems somewhat hesitant about re-upping with the Chargers given the uncertain future of the franchise, which resulted in some trade rumors earlier in the offseason. It doesn’t appear that Rivers is going anywhere, but the two sides don’t seem to be close to an extension either, despite some optimism from the Bolts.
As for Manning, we heard earlier this week that contract talks between the two-time Super Bowl MVP and the Giants haven’t begun yet, and he’s not sure when they will. The latest report on the situation suggests that the club may be willing to wait until after the season, with Manning using the 2015 campaign to prove his worth once more.
Wilson, meanwhile, is coming off a rookie contract, which perhaps makes his situation the trickiest of the three. Having built a talented roster around Wilson, the Seahawks are now facing the possibility of their quarterback’s cap hit jumping from the $1MM range to something much, much higher. So far, the two sides are at an impasse, and by all accounts, Wilson is willing to play out the 2015 season and force Seattle to use the franchise tag if he feels like he’s being low-balled by the team in extension discussions.
It’s possible that all three of these quarterbacks will head into the 2015 regular season without having signed new contracts, but I’d be surprised if that were the case. What do you think? Which of these three Pro Bowl quarterbacks will extend his contract with his current team first?
Which QB will sign an extension with his team first?
-
Russell Wilson (Seahawks) 51% (212)
-
Eli Manning (Giants) 19% (79)
-
None of them will sign extensions in 2015 17% (69)
-
Philip Rivers (Chargers) 13% (56)
Total votes: 416
Seahawks, Others Inquired On James Jones
We haven’t heard many rumors about James Jones since he was released by the Raiders following the draft, but the veteran wideout wants to continue his career, telling Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he’s not retiring. “If you need a wide receiver, come get me,” Jones tells Anderson.
According to Jones’ agent, the Seahawks, Giants, and Chiefs all made preliminary inquiries after the wide receiver his the open market last month, tweets Anderson. The 31-year-old has yet to make any free agent visits, however.
After spending seven seasons in Green Bay, Jones established a new career high in 2014 with 73 receptions in Oakland, easily the most catches for any player currently available. Given the conservative nature of the Raiders’ offense though, Jones averaged just 9.1 yards per catch, significantly below his career mark, for a total of only 666 yards.
While Jones caught balls from rookie Derek Carr last year, teams like the Seahawks, Giants, and Chiefs all have established signal-callers at the helm, and Jones wouldn’t be relied upon to be a primary option for any of those clubs. I’d be a little surprised if the former third-round pick doesn’t find a new home by the time the regular season begins.