Giants Notes: McAdoo, Coughlin, Pierre-Paul
There’s been speculation this could be Tom Coughlin’s last season with the Giants, and if that’s the case, the club could have a head coaching candidate on its current staff in the form of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. “I had calls this off-season from teams looking for head coaches, asking me about…McAdoo,” ESPN’s Andrew Brandt told Armen and Levack on 104.5 The Team in New York. “He’s got a bright future.” McAdoo, 37, was on the Packers’ coaching staff when Brandt worked in Green Bay’s front office. Last night, Rob DiRe included McAdoo when asking which coordinator is most ready to make the transition to head coach. Here’s more from New York.
- Though he’s only posted 3.5 sacks, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has had an excellent season, grading as the fifth-best 4-3 DE in the league according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He’s a free agent after the season, leading Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News to wonder if JPP is worthy of the ~$100MM contracts signed by the likes of J.J. Watt and Gerald McCoy. For his part, Pierre-Paul seems ambivalent about remaining in New York. “If I’m here, I’m here. If I’m not, I’m not,” said the 2010 first-round pick. “There’s been ups and downs, but I love it here. But we’ve got to wait and see what happens at the end of the season.”
- In his latest mailbag at ESPN.com, Dan Graziano tackles the McAdoo scenario and examines which Giants 2014 free agent signings will be around for the long-term. Like Vacchiano, he also looks at a potential Pierre-Paul extension, and opines that New York won’t be afraid to move on if JPP asks for too much money.
- Earlier this afternoon, we learned the Giants have placed running back Peyton Hillis on season-ending injured reserve.
Giants Place Peyton Hillis On IR
The Giants will receive an offensive boost on Sunday when running back Rashad Jennings returns from an knee injury that forced him to miss four games. However, they’ll be without another veteran ball-carrier, as the club has placed Peyton Hillis on injured reserve (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports). Hillis suffered a concussion during last Sunday’s game against the Seahawks and hasn’t practiced since, and New York evidently felt his symptoms were severe enough to end his season. To replace Hillis on the 53-man roster, the Giants have promoted linebacker Justin Anderson from the practice squad, according to Jordan Raanan of the NJ.com (via Twitter).
Hillis, 29 in January, signed with the Giants in October 2013. Prior to his arrival in New York, the 2008 seventh-round pick had spent time with the Broncos, Browns, Chiefs, and Buccaneers. His most notable season was 2010, when he rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding 61 receptions for another 477 yards. This season, Hillis had seen 115 offensive snaps as he teamed with Andre Williams to fill in for Jennings. He’s due $870K in base salary in 2015, and with bonuses pushing his cap figure to $945K, it’s no guarantee he’ll return to the Giants next season.
Meanwhile, Anderson will add depth to a linebacking unit that will be without injured weak-side starter Jacquian Williams on Sunday. Even after adding Anderson, the Giants will field only five healthy LBs for tomorrow’s game, so presuming he’s active, there’s a chance Anderson sees a handful of snaps, at least on special teams. The rookie out of Louisiana-Lafayette has been on New York’s practice squad since late October.
Free Agency Notes: Suh, Bryant, Pierre-Paul
Many NFL teams are focused on making the playoffs during the home stretch of the season, but many of their top players are also worried about their impending free agency. Field Yates of ESPN.com put together a list of five players who are set to receive huge contracts this offseason (subscription required).
The headliner of that list is Lions‘ defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who may be leaving Detroit this offseason for a contract in the range of what J.J. Watt received this past offseason. Dez Bryant, Justin Houston, Demaryius Thomas, and Randall Cobb also made the list of players set up to be paid after the season.
Here are some other notes on player movement this offseason:
- Along with the list of players who are ready to get big contracts, Yates also listed five players who have seen their stocks soar since the beginning of the season. Much like the five top free agents, the five soaring stocks all come from potential playoff teams. Yates points to DeMarco Murray, Jeremy Maclin, Brian Hoyer, Mark Ingram, and Chris Harris Jr..
- Bryant appears on Yates’ list of players set up for big contracts, but Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com expects the superstar wide receiver to remain with the Cowboys for at least two more seasons (via Twitter). Archer writes that the Cowboys always keep a player they want, and won’t lose Bryant if they want to keep him (via Twitter).
- One big name player who doesn’t appear on Yates’ list is Giants‘ defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Pierre-Paul has been inconsistent since his breakout 2011 season when he recorded 16.5 sacks. The embattled Giant is ambivalent about returning to the team next year, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (via Twitter). “Hey, if I’m here, I’m here,” said Pierre-Paul. “If I’m not, I’m not.”
Giants Place Michael Cox On IR, Sign Darkwa
The Giants have made a change to their 53-man roster, placing running back Michael Cox on injured reserve and signing another running back, Orleans Darkwa, off the Dolphins’ practice squad to replace Cox, the team announced today in a press release. Cox suffered a fractured lower leg during the fourth quarter of the Giants’ loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.
Cox, who turns 25 this week, joined the Giants in 2013 as a seventh-round draft pick out of Massachusetts. In his year and a half with in New York, Cox has 26 rush attempts for 76 yards, five receptions for 21 yards, and has occasionally handled kick returns for the club as well. As for Darkwa, he has spent time on both the Dolphins’ active roster and practice squad this season after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane.
The Giants also updated their practice squad, announcing the release of safety Kyle Sebetic, which was first reported yesterday. Cornerback Josh Victorian, who worked out for the team this week, has been added to the unit to fill the 10th and final slot.
Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday
In addition to tweaking their 53-man rosters in preparation for Week 11’s games, teams around the NFL are also making changes to their practice squads. Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts:
- The Browns signed defensive lineman Jamie Meder to their taxi squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal (on Twitter). Meder, an Ohio native, was recently cut from the Ravens’ practice squad.
- Brian McIntyre (on Twitter) has the goods on the Seahawks‘ latest taxi squad moves. Seattle has signed defensive end Ryan Robinson and running back Cierre Wood while placing running back Demitrius Bronson and defensive tackle Julius Warmsley on the IR. Linebacker L.J. Fort, who was being looked at as a possible fullback option, has been released.
- The Giants released safety Kyle Sebetic from the practice squad, tweets Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger.
- The Packers have re-signed wideout Alex Gillett to their taxi squad, releasing Jordan McCray in a corresponding move, a source tells Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Confirming a Monday report, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets that center Darren Keyton has formally been added to the Lions‘ practice squad, replacing linebacker Jerrell Harris.
Earlier updates:
- After placing linebacker Patrick Willis on injured reserve today, the 49ers signed another linebacker, Shayne Skov, to their practice squad, the team announced (via Twitter). Skov, who spent the summer with the Niners, was cut from the Buccaneers’ taxi squad last month.
- Looking to add depth at the tight end position, the Chiefs not only added Phillip Supernaw to their active roster today, but also signed tight end Adam Schiltz to their practice squad, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Schiltz takes the spot vacated by running back Charcandrick West, who was promoted to the 53-man roster today.
- The Browns have released defensive lineman Jacobbi McDaniel from their practice squad, leaving an opening on the unit, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
- Linebacker Denicos Allen has been cut from the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link).
- Amidst a flurry of other roster moves, the Jaguars released cornerback Lou Young from their practice squad today, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
New York Notes: Workouts, Coughlin, Harvin
Cornerback Derek Cox was among the free agents to work out for the Giants today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), but Cox was far from the only veteran in for an audition. Per Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, the Giants looked at 13 players in total. Here’s the full list, along with a few other notes on the NFL’s two New York teams:
- The full list of players who tried out for the Giants today, in addition to Cox, via Raanan: Defensive backs Jalil Brown, Kanorris Davis, Thomas Gordon, Robert Steeples, Brandon Taylor, and Josh Victorian; quarterback Dominique Davis; wideouts Lee Doss and Chris Matthews; defensive tackle Clifton Geathers; linebacker Uani Unga, and tight end Evan Wilson.
- As the Giants stumble toward the finish line in another disappointing season, head coach Tom Coughlin should make this his last year, announcing his retirement at season’s end before the team has a chance to ask him to “retire,” argues Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. Of course, we’ve seen Coughlin’s Giants squads make surprising late-season runs before, but it’s unlikely that this year’s team gets back into playoff contention.
- Many players wouldn’t be happy making the move from the defending champions to a 2-8 club, but wideout Percy Harvin is “at peace” with the Jets, as he tells Danny Knobler of ESPNNewYork.com.
- After watching Mark Sanchez light up the Panthers in Philadelphia last night, Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post writes that the only way the Sanchez saga could get stranger is if he somehow made his way back to the Jets. Of course, as Hubbuch points out, the Jets figure to be in the market for a quarterback this offseason, and Sanchez will be eligible for free agency. A reunion seems awfully unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
- George Willis of the New York Post outlines a handful of reasons why the Jets shouldn’t tank in the hopes of landing the No. 1 pick and quarterback Marcus Mariota.
NFC Notes: Peterson, 49ers, Palmer, Cox
The Vikings front office has become very sensitive about bringing back running back Adrian Peterson following his prolonged legal saga, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who adds that there are “no guarantees” the club would welcome him back if he’s reinstated by the NFL. Citing multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, La Canfora writes that the Vikings harbor “serious concerns” about Peterson’s physical and mental state — while the running back accepted a no-contest plea, the team isn’t sure he recognized the seriousness of the charges he was facing. La Canfora also hears from sources that Peterson isn’t currently in game shape.
As we wait to see what the NFL and the Vikings decide to do with the former All-Pro running back, let’s check in on several other items from around the league….
- The Vikings should cut Peterson and let another team deal with the circus surrounding his return, argues Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- 49ers nose tackle Ian Williams suffered what head coach Jim Harbaugh called a “small fracture” in his left leg today, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle details. The team’s regular nose tackle, Glenn Dorsey, is on track to return soon from off the injured reserve list, but if he’s not quite ready yet, Quinton Dial figures to get the start next week.
- According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), Carson Palmer‘s new extension features $10MM in guaranteed signing and roster bonuses, as well as a $10.5MM salary for 2015 that’s guaranteed for injury. So even though he may have torn his ACL today, the Cardinals quarterback has secured $20.5MM in guarantees over the course of this year and next year.
- Giants running back Michael Cox was in a wheelchair with what appeared to be a serious leg injury following the team’s loss in Seattle today, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, who tweets that the club is likely to add a replacement running back this week. The Giants confirmed tonight that Cox fractured the lower part of his left leg, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
- Lions offensive lineman Larry Warford doesn’t have an ACL injury, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Warford will undergo further tests to determine the severity of his knee injury.
- Jeremy Maclin bet big on himself when he turned down a multiyear contract offer from the Eagles in the offseason to sign a one-year deal, and that decision is paying off, writes Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
East Notes: Cowboys, Jets, McAdoo
Less than two weeks ago, the Cowboys were 6-1 and sitting pretty atop the NFC East. Then, late in a Week 8 loss to the Redskins, Tony Romo went down with a back injury that will hinder him for the rest of the season, and Dallas went on to drop last week’s contest to the Cardinals to fall to second place in the division. Although the Cowboys have a good chance to right the ship today against the 1-8 Jaguars, all is apparently not well in Big D.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that 20 Cowboys players missed curfew on Friday night, and that the club’s coaches and veteran players are “frustrated.” Furthermore, Rapoport notes in a series of tweets that Dallas harbors off-the-field concerns with star receiver Dez Bryant, who is due for a massive contract extension. Rapoport notes that DeSoto City Police have been called to Bryant’s home six times in four years, for a variety of reasons, and that explains why the Cowboys were only willing to guarantee $20MM of the 10-year, $114MM extension they offered to Bryant. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe believes, justifiably, that this “news” regarding the frequent police activity at Bryant’s house is simply an attempt for the Cowboys to gain leverage in negotiations with Bryant. As Volin tweets, “the annual ‘smear Dez Bryant’s reputation’ campaign is here.”
In any event, the Cowboys must find some way to quickly subdue their bubbling inner turmoil lest a once-promising season gives way to another winter nightmare.
Now for some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- The Jets, who also find themselves in disarray, recently employed what Rapoport (via Twitter) termed an “egregious example of heavy-handed coaching.” According to Rapoport, before Geno Smith threw one of three interceptions in the team’s Week 8 loss to Buffalo, the Jets coaching staff told Smith to throw the ball to Percy Harvin. Apparently, this was not a way to get the team’s new wideout more involved in the game, it was a way to try and simplify the game for Smith by dictating his reads. Looking for some way to improve Smith’s performance, an increasingly desperate coaching staff tried to play the game for him, and it predictably backfired.
- Nonetheless, Manish Metha of the New York Daily News believes a bye week coaching change would make very little sense for the Jets and that Rex Ryan has earned the right to fight with his team to the end of the season.
- There are rumors that this could be Tom Coughlin‘s last year with the Giants, and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News writes that New York sees a future head coach in current offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com describes how the Patriots caught a break with Akeem Ayers and Ryan Wendell this season.
Teams With Most Salary On Injured Reserve
On Friday, we took a look at the league’s highest-paid players to land on season-ending injured reserve. As I explained in that post, teams have control over how they use their cap space, but have little control over players’ injuries, so if highly-paid players end up on injured reserve, clubs may have limited flexibility to adequately replace them.
The next logical step then is to examine which teams have been the hit the hardest overall by season-ending injuries this year. Of course, a player’s cap number doesn’t necessarily reflect his importance – many of the league’s best players are underpaid – but when clubs devote significant chunks of their cap room to certain players, having those guys go down with injuries can be hard to overcome.
Listed below are the 14 teams who currently have more than $10MM in player salaries on season-ending injured reserve. Players who received the designation to return when they were placed on IR aren’t taken into account here, since those players could still contribute this season. Additionally, players on practice squad IR lists aren’t included, and cap numbers rather than base salaries are considered when adding up a team’s total IR cap hit. Here’s the top 14:
- St. Louis Rams: $30,605,636 (seven players)
- New York Giants: $22,033,726 (12)
- Oakland Raiders: $21,844,733 (8)
- Washington: $15,984,975 (7)
- Tennessee Titans: $15,202,696 (7)
- Atlanta Falcons: $14,885,479 (7)
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $14,617,538 (10)
- Arizona Cardinals: $14,230,500 (4)
- Philadelphia Eagles: $12,858,000 (5)
- Miami Dolphins: $12,567,956 (8)
- Chicago Bears: $11,210,500 (4)
- Cleveland Browns: $11,147,375 (4)
- Dallas Cowboys: $11,121,121 (7)
- San Diego Chargers: $10,316,892 (7)
So is there any correlation between a team’s “dead money” on the injured reserve list and its record? On the whole, the 13 clubs on this list combine for a 52-65 record thus far, which isn’t great. However, it gets a whole lot worse when we separate the top half from the bottom half — the first seven teams on this list have combined for an incredibly dismal 14-44 record.
Would some of those teams have been cellar-dwellers even without injury problems? Most likely. It’s hard to imagine a team like the Raiders, for instance, as even a .500 squad if they’d stayed completely healthy. Still, a few of those clubs were expected to compete for playoff spots, and the fact that they’ve fallen well out of contention likely has at least something to do with how much of their cap space is currently being devoted to players who aren’t actually playing.
Information from Over The Cap was used in the creation of this post.
New York Notes: Coughlin, McAdoo, Ryan
Already having combined for a 4-13 record this season, the Giants and Jets will face challenges once again this weekend as they look to pick up victories. Eli Manning and the Giants will head to Seattle to try to knock off the reigning Super Bowl champs, while Rex Ryan‘s Jets will try to slow down the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger, who was tossed 12 touchdowns passes in the last two weeks. As we look forward to seeing whether either team can pull off the upset, here are a few Saturday items out of New York:
- The Giants‘ ideal scenario would see head coach Tom Coughlin eventually decide on his own to retire, with current offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo sliding into the head coaching role at that point, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, who describes McAdoo as “Coughlin Light.” Of course, if this season continues to go south, that transition may not be possible, but Giants management is confident in McAdoo’s ability to fix the team’s offense, as well as his future head coaching potential.
- In the view of Gary Myers of the New York Daily News, “the fire is gone” for Coughlin and Ryan, both of whom could be gone at the end of this season. As Myers notes, if the Giants and Jets both decide to make coaching changes, they’ll be in direct competition as they scour the market for candidates.
- While Jets owner Woody Johnson would be justified in moving on from Ryan after the season, the head coach has earned the right to finish the year, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
- Earlier today, we rounded up a few more Jets notes.