Andrew Luck Does Not Commit To Playing Week 1
Last week, Colts GM Chris Ballard said Andrew Luck was on target to come off of the PUP list in time for the season opener, but as Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets, Luck himself is not ready to commit to that date. Luck spoke to the media yesterday morning, and while he said he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, he wanted to take a wait-and-see approach with respect to his short-term availability.
Luck said, “There’s no reason to freak out. I’ll be better coming out of this than I was going into this. We’re doing this right, I know we are. We’re not rushing it just to rush it” (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, citing Zak Keefer of IndyStarSports).
Luck has been a regular at the Colts’ facility after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, but as spring turned to summer, it became increasingly clear that he would not be ready for the start of training camp, and that he may be held out for the entirety of the team’s preseason slate. Although it would be preferable for him to get in at least some work this summer, there is no reason for the Colts to rush him given his experience and his long-term importance to the team.
Scott Tolzien will take first-team reps in Luck’s stead, and the fact that Ballard did not bring in a more established quarterback this offseason to compete with Tolzien can be taken as a sign of optimism for Luck’s health.
Last year, Luck completed 63.5% of his passes, accumulated 4,240 yards through the air, and threw for 31 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. It was a nice bounce back for the 27-year-old after an injury-plagued 2015. This year, the hope is that he’ll revert to his Pro Bowl form and lead the Colts to the playoffs.
Rob Ninkovich To Retire
Longtime Patriots stalwart Rob Ninkovich, 33, is expected to announce his retirement this afternoon, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Just last week, we heard that Ninkovich, who was entering a contract season, would not play for anyone other than New England. Now, it seems, he will play for no one at all.
Ninkovich was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2006 draft and spent several years with the Dolphins, but his career did not blossom until he signed with the Pats in 2009. Since 2010, he has posted at least four sacks per season as a versatile defensive end/linebacker, including three consecutive eight-sack seasons from 2012-14.
All in all, Ninkovich piled up 423 tackles and 46 sacks during his tenure with the Patriots. He appeared in 17 playoff games, including 16 starts, and was a key member of two Super Bowl-winning teams. A classic overachiever, Ninkovich was also a team leader, serving as a captain in 2013 and 2015.
As Reiss observes, Ninkovich appeared in only 44.3% of the team’s defensive snaps in the 2016 regular season, though that was due in large part to the fact that he served a four-game suspension to open the season after testing positive for a banned substance. But in the Pats’ most critical games at the end of the year, Ninkovich’s snap count spiked, underscoring his importance to the club. The last game of his career, of course, will be a Super Bowl triumph.
The team was counting on another solid season from the Purdue product in 2017. The Pats will turn first to Kony Ealy — who was acquired in a trade with the Panthers this offseason — to replace Ninkovich’s production. Michael Lombardi of The Ringer tweets that Deatrich Wise, Jr., whom New England selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft, is also a player to watch. The Patriots will need someone like Wise or fellow rookie Derek Rivers to step up in a big way, as Doug Kyed of NESN.com writes, because New England’s pass rush without Ninkovich looks rather thin.
Vikings, Xavier Rhodes Close On Extension
The Vikings are close to finalizing an extension with cornerback Xavier Rhodes, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
A source informed Tomasson the deal is expected to be in the five-year, $70MM vicinity. That would tie Rhodes to the Vikings through the 2022 season. The cornerback is set to make just more than $8MM on a fifth-year option this season.
We heard earlier this week the Vikings made a “nice offer” to the 27-year-old cornerback, who is entering his contract year. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported the team is willing to make him one of the league’s highest-paid corners.
An assistant coach at Florida State during Rhodes’ time there and a former NFL corner, Terrell Buckley serves as a mentor to Rhodes. He told Tomasson there was a “high probability” Rhodes will sign an extension by the end of the week but is attempting to get a couple of things “squared away” with this Vikes proposal. Buckley added Rhodes “loves” playing for Mike Zimmer and secondary coach Jerry Gray, further pointing to a long Rhodes stay in Minneapolis.
At $14MM annually, that would match Rhodes with Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson as the third-highest-paid corner. Only Josh Norman makes more than that annually, although Trumaine Johnson‘s franchise tag ($16.742MM) has him as the league’s highest-paid corner for 2017.
In addition to Rhodes, the Vikings want to lock down key members of their defense, Tomasson reports. They are internally discussing extensions for Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and Linval Joseph, per Tomasson. The team just signed Everson Griffen to a $57.9MM extension.
The Vikings rode their defense to a dominant start in 2016, jumping out to a 5-0 mark. Minnesota finished third defensively last season. Barr became extension-eligible after last season, but Kendricks — as a 2015 second-round pick — isn’t yet allowed to sign one until after this season. Joseph has delivered dominant football to the Vikings after they signed him as a UFA from the Giants. He has two years remaining on the five-year, $31.25MM deal he signed in 2014. Joseph is set to make $6.85MM in each of the next two seasons.
Donald Penn Seeking Top 10 LT Money
Currently 21st among left tackles in yearly contract value, the Raiders’ Donald Penn is holding out in hopes of landing a raise. Now, thanks to retired linebacker and current NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest, there’s some clarity on Penn’s demands.
Penn spoke to McGinest about his asking price, and McGinest relayed (via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle, on Twitter) that the lineman “wants to be paid in the top 10. He’s not looking to be the top paid.”
To break into the top 10 among left tackles in annual pay, Penn would need upward of the $11.25MM per season that the Rams’ Andrew Whitworth is earning on the three-year pact he signed in free agency. Penn, 34, is a year younger than Whitworth, and there’s a strong case to be made that the former deserves similar money. Like Whitworth, who has appeared in 168 of a possible 176 regular-season games and been extremely effective in the process, Penn has been an eminently durable stalwart.
An injury kept Penn out of the Raiders’ wild-card round loss to the Texans last January, but he otherwise hasn’t missed a game since entering the league with the Buccaneers in 2007. That was also the only year Penn hasn’t started in all 16 contests, as he served as a reserve in four of them. Dating back to his second year, Penn has started 156 consecutive games. He has also consistently earned quality grades from Pro Football Focus, which ranked his performance 12th among 76 qualified tackles in 2016.
“(Penn) just wants the respect for what he’s done on the field,” explained McGinest. “Stop looking at his age, look at his production”
Age isn’t on Penn’s side, as McGinest implied, but it’s hard to find a problem with his on-field output. With the Raiders and their high-octane offense aiming for a Super Bowl this year, general manager Reggie McKenzie may look to find common ground with Penn and appease one of the team’s premier linemen. Penn, guards Kelechi Osemele and Gabe Jackson and center Rodney Hudson are among the best players in the league at their positions, and the Raiders surely want that alignment in place for all 16 games this season.
Ben Roethlisberger Could Retire After 2017
The Steelers and their fans should savor the 2017 season because it could prove to be the end of the line for Ben Roethlisberger. The future Hall of Fame quarterback told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette that he may retire after the season. Roethlisberger also revealed that his wife wants him to call it a career sooner than later.
“I feel if I commit to anything past right now, I’m cheating now,” he said. “I’m looking forward to this season, and I’m going to give it everything I have and afterwards we’ll sit down and do some [thinking] again.”
The 35-year-old Roethlisberger mulled retirement after last season, so it’s not surprising that it’s on the table for 2018. Interestingly, though, it seems a recent study heavily linking football players to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is influencing the 14th-year man’s thinking.
Roethlisberger noted that “being healthy” and “being able to play catch with my kids,” are important, adding, “I feel good mentally, I know this new study that came out that 90 percent [of NFL] players’ brains who were studied had CTE.”
The study actually found CTE in 99 percent of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated to scientific research, which played a part in former Ravens center John Urschel‘s decision to hang up his cleats Thursday at the age of 26.
If Roethlisberger joins Urschel in retirement next year, it would mark the end of a fruitful era of Steelers football. Since using a first-round pick on Roethlisberger in 2004, the Steelers have made nine trips to the playoffs and racked up three Super Bowl appearances, two of which ended with them raising the Lombardi Trophy. Roethlisberger has been the driving force behind that success, and he’s now coming off a season in which he earned his fifth Pro Bowl nod. Overall, he appeared in 14 games for the 11-win club last year and threw 29 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. The Steelers made it to their fifth AFC title game of Roethlisberger’s tenure, but the Patriots vanquished them, 36-17.
Rams’ Aaron Donald To Hold Out
Rams players were required to check in for training camp by Friday at 11am Pacific time, but star defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a no-show, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Donald will hold out with the goal of landing a lucrative extension, reports Alden Gonzlez of ESPN.com.
“He’s a great player,” said head coach Sean McVay. “We knew this was a potential possibility for us, and we’re constantly going through trying to get a solution to this.”
Los Angeles had indeed discussed a new deal for Donald, but “little progress” has been made in negotiations, per Rapoport. Asking price is almost assuredly an issue in talks, but the Rams’ level of team control over Donald means the club has little incentive to rush discussions. Donald is under contract through 2018 at a total cost of roughly $10MM thanks to the fifth-year option, and the Rams can then deploy the franchise tag in 2019.
That’s not to presume that Donald hasn’t outplayed his contact, a fact with which the Rams agree. Donald, 26, has been absolutely dominant since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2014. A two-time All-Pro, Donald has managed 28 sacks during his three years in the NFL, an astonishing total for a defensive tackle. Donald, who played 828 snaps a season ago, graded as the league’s No. 1 interior defender, according to Pro Football Focus, which awarded him a 99.0 mark for his pass-rushing prowess.
Donald is slated to earn $1.802MM in 2017 before his salary rises to $6.892MM in 2018.
Broncos’ Shane Ray Out 6-8 Weeks
The Broncos have lost pass rusher Shane Ray for six to eight weeks on account of a torn ligament in his left wrist, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post was among those to report (on Twitter). Ray will undergo surgery Saturday.
The 24-year-old Ray is the second notable Broncos linebacker to land on the shelf, joining Shaquil Barrett, who has been dealing with a hip injury since the spring. Having to go without Ray will be a bigger blow to the Broncos’ defense than Barrett’s absence, though, as the former emerged as one of the team’s top rushing threats last season.
As a second-year pro, Ray broke out with 48 tackles and eight sacks across 16 games (eight starts) and 664 snaps. Only two Broncos linebackers – Von Miller and Todd Davis – saw more action than Ray, who ranked an above-average 45th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified edge defenders.
Now that they’re facing the prospect of going without both Ray and Barrett to begin the regular season, Broncos general manager John Elway and head coach Vance Joseph will consider adding outside help at linebacker, tweets Jhabvala. The best edge-rushing options remaining in free agency include Dwight Freeney, Mario Williams, Paul Kruger and Trent Cole, as PFR’s Dallas Robinson wrote last month. It’s possible the Broncos would have had interest in Erik Walden, who posted 11 sacks last year with the Colts, but they missed out on him when he signed with the Titans on Thursday.
Thanks to both the injuries to Ray and Barrett and the retirement of DeMarcus Ware, the Broncos are down to the untested Vontarrius Dora opposite Miller, as Roster Resource shows. Dora went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech last year and only played in one of Denver’s games.
Raiders, Gareon Conley Agree To Deal
The Raiders and first-round cornerback Gareon Conley have agreed to a deal, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
Conley took longer than you’d expect the 24th overall pick to sign, largely because of his troubling off-field situation. The ex-Ohio State star was accused of sexual assault prior to the draft. Conley has maintained his innocence throughout the process, but a grand jury hasn’t yet weighed in on the matter. The Raiders, for their part, cleared Conley of any wrongdoing months ago as part of their own investigation, though they still took a sizable risk in drafting him.
Ironically, before the accusation cropped up, Conley was regarded as one of the safest prospects in this year’s class. The 6-foot, 195-pounder had a terrific career as a member of the Buckeyes, with whom he played extensively over the previous three years. Conley, who racked up a personal-best four interceptions last season, compares favorably to excellent Broncos corner Aqib Talib, per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com,
Now that Conley’s under contract, the Raiders are left to hope he’ll be exonerated and contribute to a defense that also added second-round safety Obi Melifonwu in the draft. Those two are the newcomers in a secondary that also boasts Sean Smith, David Amerson, Reggie Nelson and Karl Joseph.
Conley’s deal leaves Titans first-round wide receiver Corey Davis, the fifth selection, as the only unsigned player in the 2017 rookie class.
Titans Extend Jurrell Casey
The Titans and defensive lineman Jurrell Casey have agreed to a whopper of an extension – a four-year, $60.4MM deal – according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). The contract includes $40MM in guarantees and, per Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter), will run through the 2022 season.
This is the second large contract Casey has signed with the Titans, who used a third-round pick on him in 2011. The ex-USC standout previously inked a four-year, $36MM extension with $13MM guaranteed back in 2014. There were still two years left on that pact, but given that Casey has continued to serve as a stalwart since then, the Titans elected to lock up the two-time Pro Bowler for the foreseeable future.
The 27-year-old Casey has started in 92 of 94 appearances during his six NFL seasons, and is coming off his fourth straight campaign with at least five sacks. He also tallied 44 tackles last year and finished 10th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 125 qualified interior defensive linemen. He ranked in a similar vicinity to several defensive stars who have recently inked big deals, including Calais Campbell, Kawann Short, Fletcher Cox, Damon Harrison and Mike Daniels. Among those players, Casey’s deal is closest to the four-year, $60MM pact ($30MM guaranteed) that the Jaguars gave Campbell in free agency this year.
Casey led all Titans defensive linemen in snaps last season (724) and will continue to act as the unit’s centerpiece in 2017 and beyond. He joins cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Adoree Jackson, safety Jonathan Cyprien, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and nose tackle Sylvester Williams as Titans defensive starters who are under team control for at least the next three years.
Raiders OT Donald Penn Holding Out
Veteran left tackle Donald Penn is holding out for a new contract from the Raiders, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Penn didn’t report for Oakland’s training camp today, and the Raiders are aware that he wants to rework his deal, per Rapoport.
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In 2017, Penn is scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.8MM and a workout bonus of $300K as part of a two-year extension he signed last March. That workout incentive could reportedly be voided due to a holdout, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. Penn’s yearly contract value of $6.25MM ranks just 21st among NFL left tackles, as he’s sandwiched between the Cardinals’ Jared Veldheer (who’s being shifted to the right side) and former No. 2 draft pick Greg Robinson.
Part of Penn’s argument for a new contract appears to revolve around him playing against the NFL’s best pass-rushers — including Von Miller, Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Joey Bosa — in the AFC West, per Rapoport. He’s also been remarkably durable, as the 34-year-old Penn hasn’t missed a single game during his decade-long career. Last year, Penn ranked as the NFL’s No. 12 offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Raiders have continually invested in their offensive line, which ranked first in adjusted sack rate last season, per Football Outsiders. Oakland recently reached a long-term extension with right guard Gabe Jackson, and has signed left guard Kelechi Osemele and center Rodney Hudson to hefty free agent contracts in recent years.