Draft Rumors: Bishop, Webster, Archer, Carr
Northern Illinois defensive tackle Ken Bishop is set to work out for the Dolphins, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Bishop, an All-Mid-American conference selection projected as a later-round draft pick, had 59 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, and an interception last season. Here’s the latest draft news..
- The Lions are hosting defensive end Larry Webster for a pre-draft visit today, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Webster, who stands at 6’6″, 252 pounds, had 12.5 sacks for Bloomsburg University in 2013 and boasts a 4.58 second 40-yard-dash time.
- Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal (on Twitter) spoke with Kent State running back Dri Archer, who says that he has workouts scheduled with the Dolphins, Patriots, Cardinals, and Colts.
- Fresno State standout quarterback Derek Carr has met with Raiders, Titans, Vikings, and Browns since last night, tweets Marek Warszawski of the Fresno Bee (on Twitter).
- Stanford safety Ed Reynolds has meetings scheduled with the Lions and Falcons, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Reynolds has a 38-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.41 second 40-yard-dash earlier today at his pro day.
- The Giants will work out Maine outside linebacker/defensive end Michael Cole on April 10th, a league source tells Aaron Wilson. Cole had eight sacks last season and finished his career with 29 sacks, making him the all-time sack leader for the Black Bears.
- One scouting director gave Albert Breer of NFL Network (Twitter link) a rundown of what he was looking for from Michael Sam today at the linebacker’s Pro Day. “He needs to show good movement in linebacker drills — Bend quickness and good feet and quickness in pass rush drills. Hopefully he is staying in good shape and not letting that go.”
FA Rumors: De La Puente, Harrison, Murphy
Brian De La Puente is arguably the best center still available in free agency, and it sounds as if he’s drawing interest from plenty of potential suitors. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports that the Saints, Giants, Broncos, and Patriots remain possibilities for De La Puente, who is scheduled to visit with the Redskins. Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) adds that if there’s no agreement in place when the veteran center leaves Washington, more visits are expected.
Here’s more on some of the free agents still on the market:
- We already heard this week that veteran free agent James Harrison is interested in returning to the Steelers, and according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that interest is mutual.
- Having visited for two days with the Buccaneers, wide receiver Louis Murphy is scheduled to meet with the Bengals tomorrow, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- The Giants will host free agent offensive lineman Charles Brown, tweets Adam Caplan.
- After leaving his visit with the Rams without an agreement in place, free agent quarterback Shaun Hill appears to be considering both the Rams and Lions, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Bengals confirmed (via Twitter) that free agent defensive end Robert Ayers visited with them today, which means he left that meeting without an agreement in place.
- Ravens safety Brynden Trawick is no longer an exclusive rights free agent, having signed his $495K tender from the team, tweets Aaron Wilson.
NFC East Notes: Allen, Cowboys, Schwartz
We heard yesterday that free agent defensive end Jared Allen was unlikely to sign with the Cowboys after visiting the team, and his asking price may be contributing to that fact. Ed Werder of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Allen is seeking an annual salary close to $10MM, in the neighborhood of what DeMarcus Ware and Julius Peppers received. Of course, the guaranteed money on Ware’s and Pepper’s deals varies significantly, but either way, the Cowboys may not have the flexibility to fit Allen into their 2014 cap.
Here’s more on the Cowboys and one of their NFC East rivals:
- Now that the official numbers are out on Ware’s contract with the Broncos are out, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders why the Cowboys weren’t more aggressive about trying to trade the veteran pass rusher before releasing him. Considering he didn’t end up taking a huge pay cut, Ware could have had some trade value, particularly if he’d been willing to rework his previous contract. However, a league source says the Cowboys didn’t attempt to trade Ware to Denver, and Florio suggests it doesn’t seem like Dallas tried to trade the 31-year-old to any team.
- Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com wonders if the terms agreed to by the Cowboys and Henry Melton could provide a road map for a deal for Anthony Spencer.
- In an interesting piece for Bleacher Report, Geoff Schwartz shares a first-person account of his experience in free agency, which fell on the calendar during the same week as his wedding. The veteran offensive guard ultimately signed with the Giants.
Jaguars Sign Tandon Doss
3:34pm: Doss’ two-year contract features base salaries worth the minimum, and includes a $65K signing bonus along with $25K annual workout bonuses, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
10:24am: The Jaguars have signed wide receiver Tandon Doss, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). Doss had been eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, but the Ravens decided not to extend an RFA tender to him.
After seeing very limited action in his first two NFL seasons, Doss earned a bit of an expanded role in 2013. In 15 games with the Ravens, The 24-year-old grabbed 19 balls for 305 yards, and also returned 23 punts, averaging a league-best 15.6 yards per return and recording a TD.
Doss figures to provide Jacksonville some depth at receiver and could handle punt return duties as well, depending on whether the team prefers him to Ace Sanders. According to O’Halloran (via Twitter), Doss also drew interest from the Giants, Steelers, and Falcons before agreeing to terms with the Jaguars.
Contract Details: DRC, Hauschka, Edelman
We’ve got plenty more contract details to round up, so let’s dive right in….
- Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun and Albert Breer of the NFL Network pass along several key details on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie‘s contract with the Giants, which seems to include $12MM in fully guaranteed money, and a little more in salary guaranteed for injury only. Here are the relevant Twitter links to read up on all the specifics.
- Wilson also shares the specifics on Steven Hauschka‘s three-year contract with the Seahawks (Twitter link), Walter Thurmond‘s one-year deal with the Giants (Twitter link), and Dane Fletcher‘s one-year deal with the Bucs (Twitter link).
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com has been doing a great job all week getting finalized contract details up in his database, and he passed along several new entries today. Among them: The Raiders‘ two-year deals for LaMarr Woodley and Justin Tuck, the Eagles‘ extension for Darren Sproles, and the Saints‘ five-year pact with Zach Strief.
- Julian Edelman received a $5MM signing bonus from the Patriots on his new contract, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.
- John Keim of ESPN.com has the details on Santana Moss‘ minimum salary benefit contract and Clifton Geathers‘ two-year deal with the Redskins.
- Although Michael Oher‘s four-year deal with the Titans was initially reported as including $9.5MM in guaranteed money, it’s actually a little less than that, and only $6MM is fully guaranteed, with another $3.35MM guaranteed for injury only. Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com has the details.
- Emmanuel Sanders‘ three-year, $15MM contract with the Broncos features $6MM in guaranteed money and cap hits of $6MM (2014), $4MM (2015), and $5MM (2016), tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network.
- Updating his earlier report on Charles Tillman‘s contract with the Bears, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that the deal includes $150K in performance incentives (based on total interceptions), so it could max out at $3.4MM instead of $3.25MM.
- Frank Zombo‘s two-year deal with the Chiefs is worth $1.6MM and includes a $100K signing bonus, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. A minimum-salary deal for Zombo with a $100K bonus would work out to $1.575MM, so either that $1.6MM figure is rounded up, or the linebacker received slightly more than the minimum.
Giants Sign Trindon Holliday
TUESDAY, 2:38pm: Holliday’s one-year pact with the Giants, which has been made official (Twitter link), includes a $570K base salary, a $100K signing bonus, and a $30K workout bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
MONDAY, 6:31pm: The Giants have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with kick returner Trindon Holliday, according to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter).
Holliday, who turns 28 next month, is a diminutive speedster who spent the last two seasons with the Broncos. In his 31-game career, he’s averaged 27.1 yards per kickoff return and 9.4 yards per punt return. He has the ability to break games open, as evidenced by his four career return scores (two kickoffs, two punts), but has also fumbled 11 times.
Giants Sign Mario Manningham
2:35pm: The Giants have officially announced the Manningham signing.
11:32am: The Giants have reached an agreement to bring wide receiver Mario Manningham back to New York, according to Pro Football Talk. Manningham will return to the Giants on a one-year contract.
After putting up 944 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2010, then playing a key role on the Giants’ offense during their Super Bowl run in the 2011 season, Manningham inked a two-year deal with the 49ers. However, he never really put it all together in San Francisco, and a knee injury limited his playing time in late 2012 and 2013. The former third-round pick, who turns 28 in May, will return to a Giants receiving corps that lost Hakeem Nicks to the Colts but still features Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, among others.
Raiders Sign Kevin Boothe
TUESDAY, 1:28pm: The base value of Boothe’s two-year deal is $2.625MM, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). That includes a $300K roster bonus for this year, $125K annual workout bonuses, and base salaries of $900K (2014) and $1.175MM (2015).
MONDAY, 9:35pm: Boothe gets $3.4MM over two years, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
7:27pm: The Raiders have signed Giants offensive lineman Kevin Boothe to a two-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Boothe was drafted by the Raiders in 2006 when he started 14 games before being waived and picked up by the Giants the following year. The 30-year-old started all 16 games last season, beginning the year at left guard before shifting to center when David Baas was lost to injury. Boothe rated near the bottom of the league’s centers according to Pro Football Focus, finishing the season with a -6.4 rating.
Extra Points: DRC, Miller, Sanders, Saffold
Following up on a piece he wrote about Jets GM John Idzik‘s deliberate – and perhaps questionable – approach to free agency, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets that, after an initial low-ball offer, the Jets made an “11th hour” pitch to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. However, the Giants had essentially locked up the free agent cornerback by that point.
Here are a few more Tuesday updates from around the NFL:
- In a series of tweets, Tom Pelissero of USA Today breaks down the details on Zach Miller‘s pay cut with the Seahawks, which will reduce the tight end’s 2014 compensation by $3MM and his 2015 pay by $2MM.
- After missing out on Emmanuel Sanders, the Chiefs continue to target younger wide receivers in free agency, which rules out some of the older veterans on the market, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
- Speaking of Sanders, his agents issued a lengthy statement suggesting that there was never an agreement in place with the Chiefs before the receiver agreed to sign with the Broncos, as Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post details.
- In the wake of the Sanders controversy, former agent Joel Corry points out in a piece for CBSSports.com that both agents and teams can be guilty of reneging on deals.
- Aaron Wilson (Twitter links) passes along the specifics of the Rodger Saffold contract with the Rams, which includes a $5MM signing bonus, a $3MM roster bonus for 2015, and a $3MM guaranteed base salary in 2014. As Joel Corry tweets, the Raiders‘ decision to void their agreement with Saffold will cost the offensive lineman a significant sum.
- Daryl Smith‘s contract with the Ravens includes a $3.5MM signing bonus, and that appears to be the only guaranteed money in the deal, as Aaron Wilson details in a pair of tweets. According to Wilson, the four-year pact can be worth up to $16.1MM, as initially reported, but it has a base value of just $13.6MM.
- Jack Bechta of the National Football Post identifies the Colts‘ signing of Hakeem Nicks and the Buccaneers‘ deal with Alterraun Verner as two of the best bargains in free agency so far. Among our top 25 free agents of 2014, Nicks and Verner are two who will earn markedly less than I anticipated.
NFC Notes: Kiwanuka, Melton, Peppers, Rams
A short while after the Giants signed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, it was learned Mathias Kiwanuka took a pay cut, as reported by Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Kiwanuka sees his base salary decrease from $4.38MM to $1.5MM (with $700k roster bonus and $125k worth of incentives) and the team nets just over $2MM in cap space, according to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The finagling created flexibility to add Rodgers-Cromartie, says NJ.com’s Jordan Rannan, who points out Kiwanuka signed a deal in 2012, restructured in 2013 and took a pay cut in 2014.
Other NFC news and notes:
- Bears free agent defensive tackle Henry Melton, visiting with the Cowboys today, is seeking a short-term, “prove-it” deal, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Packers free agent acquisition Julius Peppers was a shell of himself last season and looked like an unmotivated player, according to anonymous evaluators quoted by Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Rams free agent safety Darian Stewart visited the Panthers on Monday, according to St Louis Post-Dispatch beat writer Jim Thomas (via Twitter). However, Stewart was not offered a contract, says Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
- The Rams will not receive a compensatory pick for Cortland Finnegan signing with the Dolphins, but they will save $3MM in cap space, writes ESPN.com Rams reporter Nick Wagoner.
- The Lions interviewed Colorado WR Paul Richardson at the Combine and sent a personnel executive to his pro day in Boulder, according to MLive.com’s Kyle Meinke.