Mike Tice Could Be Fired This Offseason
- Given that the Raiders were one of this season’s greatest disappointments, the club will likely make coaching staff alterations over the next few months, and one such change could be the removal of offensive line coach Mike Tice, per Breer. Tice, a longtime OL instructor and former head coach of the Vikings, is a close friend of Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio, but he’s also considered a “polarizing presence,” says Breer.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/21/17
Today’s practice squad moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: FB Joe Kerridge
Houston Texans
- Signed: OT Jake Rodgers, DT Marcus Hardison
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DB Tracy Howard
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Shakir Soto
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Kache Palacio
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: FB Austin Johnson, OL Avery Young
Sean Smith Case Set For Trial
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday there is enough evidence to take Raiders cornerback Sean Smith to trial for the alleged incident that occurred on July 4 involving Smith and his sister’s then-boyfriend, Nathan Feeno of the Los Angeles Times reports. The preliminary hearing featured two witnesses saying a man identified as Smith “stomped” the head of Christopher Woods in an incident on a street corner in Pasadena, Calif. Woods underwent surgery to repair five facial fractures, he said while in court. Both of his eyes were damaged, and Woods said he tore an ACL in the alleged beating. The 30-year-old Smith will be arraigned on Jan. 3. If convicted on this assault charge, Smith faces seven years in prison.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/20/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed: LB Jeremy Cash
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: C James Stone
- Waived: LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
Notable 2018 Pro Bowl Incentives/Escalators
The NFL announced the 2018 Pro Bowl rosters earlier tonight, and aside from determining which players will spend a week in Orlando early next year, the rosters also dictate several important bonuses and/or contract escalators for individual players. Former NFL agent and current CBSSports.com contributor Joel Corry has rounded up the notable incentives earned tonight, and we’ll pass those along below. As Corry notes (Twitter link), only first ballot Pro Bowlers who actually participate in the game (unless injured or playing in the Super Bowl) are in bonuses, which are typically paid out by the end of March.
Here are the notable Pro Bowl bonuses and escalators that were preliminarily netted this evening (all links to Corry’s Twitter):
Bonuses
- Ravens S Eric Weddle, $1MM; requires Baltimore in playoffs (link): Still playing like one of the league’s best coverage safeties at the age of 32, Weddle needs the Ravens to land one of the AFC Wild Card slots in order to earn his incentive. Baltimore appears to on course to do just that, as FiveThirtyEight gives the club an 87% of earning a postseason berth. That playoff appearance will be largely due to the Ravens’ defense, which ranks second only to Jacksonville in DVOA.
- Bills S Micah Hyde, $400K (link): Sean McDermott can coach defensive backs. After spending years finding gems at safety for the Eagles and Panthers, the Bills head coach has helped Hyde transform into a top-notch DB. Hyde, who inked a five-year, $30.5MM contract with Buffalo in the spring, ranked a respectable 53rd in Pro Football Focus‘ safety grades a year ago. This season? He’s ninth.
- Raiders G Kelechi Osemele, $300K (link): Under general manager Reggie McKenzie, the Raiders have employed what is often referred to as an “all cash” salary cap management system, wherein prorated signing bonuses are rarely used while base salary guarantees, roster bonuses, and — as evidenced by the number of Oakland players on this list — incentive clauses are heavily employed. Osemele, the league’s highest-paid interior offensive lineman, is signed through 2020 with cap charges north of $10MM in each season.
- Rams K Greg Zuerlein, $250K (link): While the Los Angeles offense garners the most headlines, the club’s special teams unit has maintained its dominance under coordinator John Fassel, who briefly took over as the Rams’ interim head coach in 2016. Fassel, Zuerlein, & Co. have managed a No. 2 ranking in special teams DVOA, while Zuerlein himself has been worth 15.1 points of field position (second in the NFL).
- Raiders T Donald Penn, $200K (link): Penn’s summer holdout lead to extra guarantees in the future, but didn’t end with a change to his 2017 salary, meaning this bonus part of his original deal. The 34-year-old Penn is currently on injured reserve, and will miss his first game since 2007 on Sunday. Still, his renegotiated contract now contains a $3MM guarantee for 2018, meaning he’s likely part of the Raiders’ plans.
- Patriots ST Matthew Slater, $150K (link): Slater has now earned a Pro Bowl berth in every season since 2011. At some point, it’s fair to wonder if Slater is skating by on reputation, as he played only a quarter of the Patriots’ special teams snaps this year. Slater missed more special teams tackles than he made prior to his 2016 berth, tweets Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus.
- Raiders C Rodney Hudson, $100K (link): For all of Oakland’s problems this season, the Raiders have continued to boast some of the NFL’s best pass-blocking offensive lineman. Hudson is the best pass-blocking center in the league by a wide margin, meaning he’s eminently affordable at $8.9MM annually.
Escalators
- Lions CB Darius Slay, $550K base salary increase in 2018 (link): As Corry reports, Slay had three ways to earn this heft escalator — post five or more interceptions (he sits at seven), play on 80% or more of Detroit’s defensive snaps (he’s at 97.6%), or earn a Pro Bowl berth. Slay managed all three in what has become the best season of an increasingly impressive five-year career.
- Eagles T Lane Johnson, $250K base salary increase each season from 2018-21 (link): Depending on Jason Peters‘ health and the Eagles’ plans, Johnson could very well be playing left tackle as soon as 2018. Even with his base salary set to increase, Johnson won’t have a cap charge north of $13.5MM over the life of his contract.
- Eagles G Brandon Brooks, $250K base salary increase each season from 2018-20 (link): General manager Howie Roseman zeroed in on Brooks at the outset of the 2016 free agent period, and the 28-year-old has quickly proved to be one of the best free agent signings in recent memory. Brooks will earn an $8.5MM base salary — the largest during his five-year deal — in 2018.
- Eagles TE Zach Ertz, $250K base salary increase from 2019-21 (link): Per Corry, Ertz also picked up a $100K bonus for 2017. Ertz has already set a career-high in touchdowns (eight) and has a shot to set new marks in receptions and yards even though he missed two games with injury. A former second-round pick, Ertz ranks among the top-five tight ends in catches, yards, and scores.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Vontarrius Dora, WR Rashad Ross
- Waived: LB Kevin Snyder
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OL Javarius Leamon, OL Oni Omoile
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Trevon Hartfield
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Adairius Barnes
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: QB Jerod Evans
Houston Texans
- Signed: TE Zach Conque
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Arthur Miley
- Waived: DT Jeremy Liggins
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB James Onwualu
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Bernard Reedy
- Waived: DL Marcus Hardison
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: S Stefan McClure
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: S Alex Carter, DE Noble Nwachukwu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Johnny Maxey
- Waived: TE Jerome Cunningham
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Tavaris Barnes
Raiders’ Donald Penn Done For Season
Raiders left tackle Donald Penn will have season-ending foot surgery on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The Raiders will place Penn on injured reserve, ruling him out for the final two games of the season. 
The injury means that Penn will miss his first game since 2007. Although things did not work out as planned for the 6-8 Raiders this year, it was a decent season for Penn on a personal level. He currently ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 23 ranked tackle, placing him ahead of guys like Russell Okung and Alejandro Villanueva. Last year, he finished No. 12 amongst all tackles in the NFL, per PFF.
Penn had some offseason contract drama with the Raiders, but the two sides smoothed things out in time for the start of the season. In September, they agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension that could keep him in place through 2019. The new deal calls for a $8.35MM cap number in 2018 ($3MM guarantee) and a $10.35MM cap figure in ’19 (non-guaranteed).
The Raiders fell to 6-8 with their loss to Dallas on Sunday. They can still finish with a .500 record if they are able to beat the Eagles and Chargers in their final two games.
Raiders Place DB Obi Melifonwu On IR
The Raiders have activated cornerback Antonio Hamilton from injured reserve and placed safety Obi Melifonwu on IR, the club announced today.
Melifonwu, whom Oakland selected earlier this year with the 56th overall pick, will now see his lost rookie campaign come to an end. The former UConn Huskie underwent knee surgery in August and missed eight weeks, and has now had an operation on his hip, as head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters, including Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link).
While the Raiders had hoped Melifonwu would aid a pass defense which ranks dead last in DVOA, he ended up playing only 34 defensive snaps over five games. Oakland will need Melifonwu at full health in 2018, as the club is likely counting on him to step into the starting lineup given that veteran safety Reggie Nelson will hit free agency.
Hamilton, who went undrafted out of South Carolina State in 2016, has appeared in eight total games during his two-year NFL career. The 24-year-old will likely see most of his action on special teams as the season comes to a close, but he’ll also serve as a reserve cornerback behind T.J. Carrie, Sean Smith, and David Amerson.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/14/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Green Bay Packers
- DB Alex Carter (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- TEs Sam Cotton, Steve Donatell (link)
New England Patriots
- LB Kacy Rodgers; DBs Chandler Fenner, Jonathon Mincy (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Johnny Maxey, Arthur Miley; DT Toby Johnson (link)
Raiders Could Lose Fadol Brown
- The Browns, Patriots, and Texans have all expressed interest in Raiders practice squad offensive lineman Fadol Brown, per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, who first reported Wednesday that numerous clubs were reaching out to Brown. “I don’t think I’m going to be here next week, to be honest,” Brown said. An undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss, Brown has spent the entirety of the 2017 campaign on Oakland’s practice squad. In a predraft profile, Lance Zierlein of NFL.comsaid Brown “sets a strong edge” in the run game but is a poor pass rusher due to “lazy” hands.