Bears Interested In Jarvis Landry
The Dolphins are working in concert with Jarvis Landry to find a suitable trade and already one potential suitor has emerged. The Bears have interest in acquiring the slot receiver, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Allow Landry To Seek Trade]
The Bears have a clear need at wide receiver this offseason and they also have the cap space to take on Landry’s one-year, $16.2MM tender. Presumably, the Bears would reach agreement on a long-term extension before acquiring Landry, giving them true value rather than a one-year rental.
Recently, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald‘s reported that the return for Landry will likely be a third-round pick, a late second-round pick, or a player. For what it’s worth, the Bears have seven picks in this year’s draft, but do not own a third-round choice. Their second-round pick is rather high (No. 39 overall) and their next pick doesn’t come until the fourth round (No. 105). Of course, that’s only a minor obstacle for a trade and there are other ways for the Bears to convey the value of a third rounder if that is the mutually agreed upon valuation.
Over the last four years, Landry has hauled in 400 passes for 4,038 yards and 22 touchdowns for Miami.
Ohio State OL Billy Price Believed To Have Torn Pec
Ohio State offensive line prospect Billy Price is believed to have suffered a torn pectoral while bench pressing during the scouting combine today, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).
Price is considered one of the best interior line prospects available in the 2017 draft, and was expected to be selected in the first round. His stock doesn’t necessarily have to slip, especially since a torn pectoral’s recovery time is typically five-to-six months, meaning Price could still be ready for the start of the regular season in September. But it would be surprising if Price didn’t experience a slight drop, possibly into Day 2.
Price, who started 55 games for the Buckeyes, has “freaky strength and explosiveness,” per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. He was named as the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2017, and earned All-Big Ten and/or All-American honors in each year from 2015-17.
Dolphins Allow Jarvis Landry To Seek Trade
Reports had already indicated the Dolphins are shopping franchise-tagged wide receiver Jarvis Landry, but they’re now involving the slot weapon in the process. Miami has given Landry and his agent permission to “seek and facilitate” a trade, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Landry has already spoken with two unidentified teams, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN.com, and he’s expected to sign his tender soon to further move discussions along, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
The Dolphins always seemed likely to allow Landry to speak with other clubs, if for no other reason than to work out a new contract that would be amendable to both him and his new team. Landry is set to earn $16.228MM salary thanks to the franchise tender, which Miami assigned last week. An acquiring club likely wouldn’t want Landry at that expensive one-year cost, and will be expected to negotiate a fresh contract.
Miami’s decision to tag Landry has been widely viewed as a negotiating tactic, and few believe the Dolphins actually want him on their roster at that salary. Other clubs likely realize that lack of leverage on the part of Miami, which would help explain Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald‘s recent report that the return for Landry will likely be a third-round pick, a late second-round pick, or a player.
Landry, 25, is thought to be seeking a $14MM annual salary and $30MM in guarantees, but whether he’ll be able to reach that level of compensation while attempting to discuss both a contract and a trade is unclear. Although he led the league in receptions in 2017, Landry managed only 8.8 yards per catch, which is the lowest average for any 100-catch receiver in NFL history.
Dion Lewis Expected To Draw Interest From 6-7 Teams
Patriots free agent running back Dion Lewis is expected to draw significant interest on the free agent market, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Lewis, who is reportedly seeking a $6MM annual salary, is likely to draw the eye of the Jets, Texans, 49ers, Raiders, and Colts, per Florio. New York, San Francisco, and Indianapolis are each facing vacancies in their backfields, but a Lewis addition in Houston or Oakland would presumably lead to the release of Lamar Miller or Marshawn Lynch, respectively.
The Patriots had a cavalcade of running backs on their roster in 2017, but Lewis was the best of the bunch. The 27-year-old Lewis posted the most outstanding season of his career in 2017, toting the ball 180 times for 896 yards (both team highs), managing 214 yards on 32 receptions, and scoring 10 total touchdowns (including one in the return game). Lewis ranked first in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR metric, sixth in broken tackles, and sixth in Pro Football Focus‘ pass-blocking grades.
Lewis isn’t the only free agent running back about whom New England needs to worry. Rex Burkhead is also scheduled to hit the open market later this month, so while the Patriots still employ James White, Brandon Bolden, and Mike Gillislee they could see a great deal of turnover in their backfield over the coming weeks.
Seahawks Shopping DL Michael Bennett
The Seahawks are shopping veteran defensive lineman Michael Bennett, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com.
Bennett, 32, is still one of the better — and more versatile — lineman in the NFL, as he ranked inside the top 20 in quarterback pressures a season ago. Capable of lining up along the interior or on the edge, Bennett appeared in 16 games for Seattle in 2017, managing eight sacks and grading as the No. 38 interior defender among 108 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
But the Seahawks are undergoing something of a makeover on the defensive side of the ball: not only does the club have a new coordinator in Ken Norton Jr., but Seattle could move on from veterans such as Cliff Avril, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Kam Chancellor. If the Seahawks are aiming to get younger on defense, Bennett would make sense as another candidate to to be shipped out.
Bennett is due a $3MM roster bonus on March 18 (the fourth day of the 2018 league year), so Seattle would likely want to deal Bennett before that date in order to avoid that expenditure. The three-time Pro Bowler is signed through 2020 at affordable rates, and wouldn’t cost an acquiring club more than $8.5MM in any of the next three seasons.
A number of clubs around the league are currently running Seahawks-esque schemes, and could speculatively be in play for Bennett. The Falcons, hypothetically, could be one team with interest, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets, while the 49ers, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Chargers all employ former Seattle defensive coaches.
Redskins HC: We’re Not Trading Cravens
Trade talk surrounding Su’a Cravens came to a boil this week with reports that the Broncos were deep in discussions to acquire him. However, Redskins coach Jay Gruden says that Cravens isn’t going anywhere.
[RELATED: Redskins, Broncos Discuss Cravens Trade]
“We’re not trading him,” Gruden said (via Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post). “I just saw that on the ticker. He’s still a member of this football team and we have every intention of seeing where he’s at. I’ll have to talk to him and see where he’s at mentally. Physically, I know he’s going to be in great shape. The big thing is, is this something that he wants to do? He has to commit to it full time. He’s a good football player, there’s no doubt about it. He’s a great kid. I’m sure it will work out for him.”
Cravens hasn’t taken the field since his rookie year in 2016. His retirement flip-flop last year which resulted in the team placing him on the reserve/left squad list drew the of both the Redskins front office and the locker room. A trade would make sense for all parties involved, but, if Gruden is to be believed, Cravens remains in the team’s plans for 2018.
Playing both linebacker and safety, Cravens notched 33 tackles in 2016.
Rams To Cut Or Trade Tavon Austin
The Rams will either trade or release wide receiver Tavon Austin before the start of the league year, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Given Austin’s lack of production to date, a release seems more likely. 
In 2013, GM Les Snead used the No. 8 overall pick to take Austin, a speedy wide receiver out of West Virginia. The selection was viewed as a reach at the time and his lack of consistent production made it clear to most that the Rams had erred with that pick. After catching 52 passes for 473 yards and five scores in 2015, the Rams inked Austin to a hefty four-year, $42MM extension which, at the time, made him the 12th-highest paid receiver in the NFL. Less than two years later, the Rams are bailing on that deal and probably eating money in order to break free.
Austin, 26, will earn a fully guaranteed $5MM roster bonus this year whether or not he’s on the Rams’ roster. By cutting him before March 16, the team gets to save $3MM against the cap. The good news for L.A. is that Austin’s contract contains offsets, meaning the Rams will save money if and when Austin lands a new contract. However, it’s hard to see Austin earning much more than the league minimum after the year he had in 2017.
The diminutive Austin had just 13 receptions for 47 yards in 2017. He played only 230 snaps in total. By most measures, 2016 was his best season to date as he had 58 catches for 509 yards and three touchdowns.
Top 3 Offseason Needs: Jacksonville Jaguars
In advance of March 14, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished with a 10-6 record before advancing to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in more than 20 years.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Arrelious Benn, WR
- Aaron Colvin, CB
- Tyler Gaffney, RB (RFA)
- Corey Grant, RB (RFA)
- Chad Henne, QB
- Ben Koyack, TE (ERFA)
- Marqise Lee, WR
- Lerentee McCray, LB
- Patrick Omameh, G
- Matt Overton, LS
- William Poehls, T (ERFA)
- Paul Posluszny, LB
- Chris Reed, G (ERFA)
- Mychal Rivera, TE
- Allen Robinson, WR
- Peyton Thompson, S (RFA)
- Shane Wynn, WR (ERFA)
Top 10 Cap Hits for 2018:
- Calais Campbell, DL: $17,500,000
- Malik Jackson, DT: $15,500,000
- A.J. Bouye, CB: $15,500,000
- Telvin Smith, LB: $11,810,235
- Marcell Dareus, DT: $10,175,000
- Blake Bortles, QB: $10,000,000
- Brandon Linder, C: $9,406,250
- Dante Fowler Jr.: $7,474,167
- Tashaun Gipson, S: $7,050,000
- Allen Hurns, WR: $7,000,000
Other:
- Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $29,848,410
- 29th pick in draft
- Must exercise or decline 2019 fifth-year option for DE Dante Fowler Jr.
Three Needs:
1) Add competition for Blake Bortles: The Jaguars will run it back in 2018 — instead of exploring a quarterback upgrade via the free agent market, where they could have gone after Kirk Cousins or Case Keenum, the Jags will stick with Blake Bortles after agreeing to a new three-year, $54MM deal that contains $26.5MM in guarantees. Bortles was already under contract for more than $19MM in 2018 thanks to Jacksonville exercising his fifth-year option. That option is guaranteed for injury only, but given that Bortles is recovering from wrist surgery and likely wouldn’t have been able to pass a physical, the $19MM+ figure could be considered effectively fully guaranteed.
Under the terms of Bortles’ new contract, his cap charge will be reduced to just $10MM, giving the Jaguars about $9MM in additional cap space. The pact will add a partially guaranteed base salary in 2019 ($6.5MM of $16MM is fully guaranteed), which will make it difficult for Jacksonville to part ways with Bortles: a $16.5MM dead money charge would accelerate onto the club’s salary cap if it releases Bortles next offseason. That number might not be as scary given that Bortles’ contract now contains offset language (meaning the Jaguars will be off the hook for whatever salary Bortles theoretically earns with a new team), but there’s no doubt Jacksonville has committed to keeping some form of Bortles — either the flesh-and-blood player, or simply the remnants of his salary — on its 2019 books.
But the move to extend Bortles wasn’t about the 2019 campaign — no, it was about the upcoming season, when the Jaguars clearly feel they can once again compete for the AFC championship and a Super Bowl title. Once it became clear Bortles and his $19MM salary would stick due to injury, Jacksonville didn’t have a ton of other options. So decision makers Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell opted to double down on 2018, create cap space to solidify other parts of the Jaguars roster, keep Bortles in place as the team’s starting quarterback, and worry about 2019 when the time comes.
However, Bortles’ new contract shouldn’t preclude the Jaguars from adding long-term competition under center, and while that will likely need to occur in the draft, there is one free agent signal-caller who could make sense for Jacksonville. Teddy Bridgewater will officially hit the free agent market after five seasons with the Vikings, and while all the tea leaves point to him returning to Minnesota, the former first-round pick could be interested in moving on, especially if the Vikes bring in Kirk Cousins.
Bridgewater, of course, hasn’t played a full season since 2015 while recovering from a gruesome knee injury, but he’s still only 25 years old. Perhaps he’ll want to land with a team that will allow a clearer shot at a starting job, but I question whether NFL clubs will trust Bridgewater’s health. Jacksonville, though, could promise Bridgewater the chance to start later in the 2018 season if Bortles fails, and might be able to ink him to a contract that would keep him in town through 2019 or 2020.
In the draft, the Jaguars aren’t likely to get a shot at Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, or Josh Allen, but Louisville’s Lamar Jackson could be available at pick No. 29. Jackson, the 2016 Heisman winner, would be fascinating entrant as Bortles’ backup in 2018 and a future starter in 2019 and beyond. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com calls Jackson a “maestro of improv who is Second City worthy,” and Jackson would be deadly utilizing run-pass options in Jacksonville’s offense. He needs work — Zierlein says Jackson needs to improve his accuracy on the run and his pocket awareness — but the former Cardinal seems like a high-risk, high-reward option that would mesh with the rest of the Jaguars’ roster.
2) Bolster the offensive line: Jacksonville invested in its offensive line in 2017, using the 34th overall selection on Alabama tackle Cam Robinson. Although he started 15 games on the blindside during his rookie campaign, Robinson graded as a bottom-five tackle in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, seemingly confirming pre-draft concerns that he was a right tackle or guard. Ideally, the Jaguars would add new left tackle, shift Robinson to the right side, and release incumbent right tackle Jermey Parnell, but the utter lack of left tackles in both free agency and the draft makes that strategy untenable.
Instead, the Jags will likely give Robinson another shot on the blindside and seek upgrades on the interior. Center Brandon Linder is an excellent pivot and under contract through 2022, so he’s not going anywhere, but Jacksonville should pursue improvement at guard. Patrick Omameh and A.J. Cann finished 36th and 37th, respectively, among 77 PFF qualifiers, so the Jags can certainly aim for more production. Additionally, neither Omameh or Cann is signed to a long-term deal: Omameh, in fact, is scheduled to hit free agency next month, while Cann has one year left on his rookie contract.Read more
Cardinals Undecided On Tyrann Mathieu’s 2018 Option
The Cardinals are evaluating the contract status of defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, general manager Steve Keim told reporters today, but the Arizona decision-maker sounded “very non-committal” about picking up Mathieu’s 2018 option, tweets Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.
Mathieu, 25, inked a five-year, $62.5MM extension with the Cardinals prior to the 2016 campaign. That deal, on its face, locked the former third-round pick in Arizona through 2021, but the deal contains a roster bonus that will determine Mathieu’s fate with the club. Mathieu will collect a $5MM bonus if he’s on the Arizona roster on March 14. Not only that, but Mathieu’s entire 2018 base salary ($5.75MM) and $8MM of his $10.75MM 2019 base salary would become fully guaranteed.
The Cardinals could release Mathieu before mid-March and not be forced to make those payments, but the club would still be on the hook for $9.3MM in dead money. Arizona would create $4.8MM in cap space by cutting Mathieu, but it’s possible the two sides could work out a pay reduction or contract restructuring, allowing Mathieu to stay in the desert while the Cardinals save cash and cap space.
Mathieu was a Pro Bowler and one of the NFL’s best defensive backs as recently as 2015, but he’s struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness over the past two seasons. Last year, Mathieu managed to start all 16 games, but only graded as the league’s No. 61 cornerback among 121 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
Redskins, Broncos Discussing Cravens Trade
Su’a Cravens could be on the move. The Broncos and the Redskins are discussing a trade to send the safety to the Denver, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). No deal is done yet, but the Broncos are showing the most interest of any team and appear to be the most likely landing spot for the former second-round pick. 
Cravens decided late in the 2016 offseason to retire from football. The news caught the Redskins completely off guard as they were banking on Cravens to start at one of their safety spots. The youngster reversed his decision hours later, but the Redskins were still skeptical about his desire to continue playing. After a short stay on the NFI list, the Redskins parked him on the reserve/left squad list, barring him from playing in 2017.
The versatile defender was diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome, according to a statement released by his agent late last year, but he is now “asymptomatic and cleared to return back to all things football.”
The Broncos currently project to start some combination of Darian Stewart, Will Parks, and Justin Simmons at safety. Cravens could step in as a first-stringer while also contributing at outside linebacker. In his first season, the Redskins used Cravens at multiple positions, though they were planning on having him focus on safety in his sophomore campaign.