AFC West Notes: Chargers, Broncos, Raiders
Dean Spanos and San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer were scheduled to meet today in Spanos’ home, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Acee also reports the Chargers hired Fred Maas as a special adviser to Spanos, with the new hire being brought on to help the Chargers and San Diego place a measure on the November ballot regarding public funding for a new Chargers stadium.
Spanos wanted Maas to serve as the city’s liaison for stadium negotiations in 2014. After Maas withdrew his name from consideration, the Chargers’ chairman perhaps not coincidentally, expressed doubt to sources of Acee about a Chargers stadium solution in San Diego.
Special counsel Mark Fabiani will remain a part of these talks, Acee reports.
Here’s the latest coming out of the AFC West, starting with the Super Bowl champions.
- As father Bum Phillips would say, son Wade Phillips has finally “kicked down the door” with his Super Bowl win. The Broncos defensive coordinator helped to lead one of the league’s most fearsome defenses in 2015, but it’s a union that almost didn’t happen. Head coach Gary Kubiak‘s first choice for the job was actually Vance Joseph, formerly a Bengals assistant who recently left Cincinnati to become the Dolphins’ DC. In fact, John Clayton of ESPN.com hears there is a clause in Phillips’ current contract that could have made him a consultant if Joseph would have joined the team as coordinator in 2016.
- Von Miller is expected to receive the franchise tag, and Broncos GM John Elway is confident the sides can work out an extension agreement, Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press reports. “You never know, but we don’t want him to [leave]. We want Von to stay in Denver and we’re going to do everything we can to work it out,” Elway told media, including Stapleton. Miller, who will be 27 before next season, could command a deal potentially well north of the six-year, $101MM pact Justin Houston signed with the Chiefs last season. Houston’s negotiations became contentious at times. Super Bowl 50’s MVP told media, including Stapleton, he expects “peaceful” talks with the Broncos.
- Although Roger Goodell told media the league was working to help Oakland and San Diego find stadium solutions to remain in their markets, league executive VP Eric Grubman told the San Jose Mercury News (via Mark Purdy) he had not met with Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf and doesn’t have plans to do so. Purdy took Goodell’s brevity regarding Oakland the commissioner does not hold the Raiders‘ current troubles in high regard. Mark Davis confirmed the Raiders are negotiating another one-year lease at O.co Coliseum, but the Raiders are a bit behind the Chargers at this point in terms of finding a long-term solution in their city.
Zach Links contributed to this report
Raiders’ Mark Davis On Las Vegas, Santa Clara
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that the league wants to keep the Raiders in Oakland, but that isn’t stopping owner Mark Davis from exploring other options. The Raiders, of course, are in a standoff with Oakland regarding a new stadium, and Davis is looking around at other cities. He met late last month with Nevada businessman Sheldon Adelson about the possibility of moving the Raiders to Las Vegas. Adelson’s development company, Las Vegas Sands, subsequently tweeted that he and Davis “had a great visit.”
On Friday, Davis spoke highly of Vegas as an NFL-caliber city, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. 
“It’s absolutely an NFL city,” he said. “It’s an international city, it’s a global city. The Raiders are a global brand, so it’s got potential.”
On the other hand, Davis shot down the notion of relocating the Raiders to Santa Clara, where they’d share Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers.
“Again, I just don’t think it fits the Raiders,” he said. “The Raiders on game day, if you’re around our stadium, if you see our parking lot before the game, the tailgating, it’s probably the largest non-denominational gathering on a Sunday morning that you’ll ever find, and I’m not going to give that up. That’s just part of the Raider game day experience. I just can’t give that up.”
Before his death in 2011, former Raiders owner Al Davis – Mark’s father – participated in discussions about joining the 49ers in Levi’s Stadium, which was built with the capability of housing two NFL teams, Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews told USA Today last week. Mark Davis doesn’t seem willing to mimic his father in entertaining Levi’s Stadium as an option, so – barring a drastic change of heart – his club won’t be headed there.
For now, the Raiders’ lease at O.co Coliseum in Oakland expires on Feb. 17 and they’re in talks to extend it for another year, McCauley writes.
In response to Goodell’s stated desire for the Raiders to stay in Oakland, Davis said, “I believe he’s going to do whatever he can. I’d love to. We’re the Oakland Raiders right now, that’s where it’s at.”
While it appears Davis’ franchise will remain in Oakland this year, Los Angeles and Las Vegas are both potential landing spots beyond that. Whether the Raiders end up in LA will depend largely on what happens with the Chargers, who will spend the next year trying to work out a stadium deal with San Diego. If that proves successful, it could open the door for the Raiders to follow in the Rams’ footsteps and return to LA, where the Raiders played from 1982-1994. Should the Bolts’ bid to stay in San Diego fail, they’ll be the ones teaming up the Rams and it’s unclear what that would mean for the Raiders.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Donald Penn Wants To Talk Contract With Raiders
Raiders left tackle Donald Penn will see his two-year deal with the team expire next month, making him a free agent if he doesn’t have a new extension in place by then. Rather than reaching the open market, Penn would prefer to get something done with Oakland, but he has yet to hear from the team regarding contract negotiations, according to Scott Bair of CSNCalifornia.com.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m a little disappointed in the Oakland Raiders right now,” Penn said. “That’s just me being honest. I don’t talk to my agent about deals during the season because I like to focus on my play. But, going into the offseason we talked and my agent said he talked to the team and they said they want me back. That’s what they told me before I left, but I haven’t heard from them since the season ended.”
The Raiders and Penn still have a few more weeks to open negotiations and try to finalize a new contract for the veteran tackle, and general manager Reggie McKenzie said this week that there’s still plenty of time for that to happen. Nonetheless, Penn is getting anxious, and is starting to consider the possibility that he may have other suitors in March.
“I’m really disappointed, and I’m starting to look at other opportunities,” Penn said. “As man and a player, we have to start looking at other things. Me and my agent are starting to put together a group of teams that need a left tackle and things like that.”
Despite the fact that he has been one of the most reliable left tackles in the NFL over the last two seasons, Penn hasn’t been paid like it, since his two-year pact with the Raiders earned him just over $10MM in total. The Utah State product isn’t getting any younger – he’ll turn 33 in April – but he should still be in line for a nice raise, whether he re-signs with the Raiders or joins a new team. So while he’d like to be back in Oakland, Penn isn’t losing sight of that fact.
“We’ll see what happens next,” Penn said. “I did everything I could. I had two great seasons, two of the best of my career. You know, it’s a great time to be a free agent for me.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Goodell, Raiders, Jags, London
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conducted his usual pre-Super Bowl press conference today, and even though he took questions from reporters for nearly 45 minutes, he didn’t provide many noteworthy updates. Goodell did drop the occasional interesting nugget, announcing that the Raiders and Texans will play in Mexico City on November 21, and revealing that he has recommended to the competition committee that a player who commits two person fouls in a game is automatically ejected.
When it came to questions about the NFL’s PSI study, stadium plans for San Diego and Oakland, potential changes to the league’s drug policy, and the NFL’s investigation into Al Jazeera’s HGH allegations, Goodell declined to get into specifics, offering only general answers. According to Goodell, the PSI checks didn’t turn up any violations, the NFL wants to keep the Chargers and Raiders where they are, the league doesn’t expect any marijuana-related policy changes, and the HGH-allegation investigation (in conjunction with WADA and other leagues) is ongoing.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:
- NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the union will reach a resolution with the NFL over a change in Goodell’s role in player discipline, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. The commissioner was characteristically evasive today when asked about that issue.
- Smith also projected another $10MM boost for the league’s salary cap in 2016 (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of Indianapolis Star), and and singled out the Raiders and Jaguars as two teams that are well below the 89% cash spending floor. According to Smith (link via Barry Wilner of The Associated Press), Oakland is $41MM below the threshold and Jacksonville is $28MM below. Those teams could be active in free agency this offseason to get to the necessary level, but they don’t have to be in compliance until March 2017, so extensions next winter for 2014 draftees like Derek Carr and Khalil Mack (Raiders) or Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson (Jaguars) could do the trick.
- Sheldon Adelson, the new owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has installed Craig Moon as the paper’s publisher, and Moon’s early editorial decisions have had an impact on stories about Las Vegas’ proposed stadium, according to Politco’s Ken Doctor. With Adelson hoping to lure the Raiders or another NFL team to the proposed stadium, the Review-Journal has been forced to edit or kill stories about what could turn out to be a $600MM public investment.
- The NFL came close, in recent weeks, to adding a fourth London game to its 2016 schedule, a source tells Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links). However, scheduling conflicts – not to mention the challenge of finding a fourth team willing to give up a home team – forced the league to put that plan on hold.
Latest On DeMarco Murray, Eagles
The Eagles have overhauled their coaching staff and restructured their front office hierarchy in the last month, but DeMarco Murray‘s situation in Philadelphia remains relatively unchanged, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. According to Rapoport, the Eagles and Murray “appear headed toward a stare-down” regarding his future with the team.
Rapoport explains that there are doubts within the Eagles organization that Murray can bounce back and have a big year for the team in 2016. However, it’s not clear if the team is willing to stomach the $13MM charge on the cap that would apply if Murray is released and not designated as a post-June 1 cut.
Meanwhile, it’s probably fair to say that Murray wouldn’t strongly oppose a change of scenery after posting a career-worst 3.6 yards per carry during his first season as an Eagle. However, the former third-round pick, who will turn 28 next Friday, is saying all the right things publicly — per Jamie Apody of WPVI TV (Twitter link), Murray told ESPN today that he wants to return to Philadelphia, since last season’s performance isn’t the lasting impression he wants to leave on the city.
According to Rapoport, the former NFL rushing leader hasn’t asked to be traded or released, and so far the Eagles haven’t shown any real interest in cutting him. Some bridge-building may be necessary though, after a disastrous 2015 — if the two sides aren’t confident that the relationship can work going forward, the odds increase that the situation “could explode,” writes Rapoport.
For now, with his $7MM base salary guaranteed for 2016, Murray and his his $8MM cap number seem likely to return to Philadelphia for 2016. However, if things take a turn and Murray is cut, teams like the Seahawks, the Raiders, and – of course – the Cowboys would have interest, says Rapoport. Those clubs all had varying levels of interest in Murray a year ago when he was a free agent.
If Murray and the Eagles decide that things won’t work for the running back in Philadelphia, the two sides could also explore a potential reworking of his contract that would make a trade a more viable possibility.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC South Notes: Colts, Titans, D. Robinson
After spending big on veteran free agents last offseason, Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t expect to take the same approach this time around. While Indianapolis will delve into free agency a little if there’s a good fit, Irsay wants to recommit to building the roster through the draft, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com details.
“The draft is where we’re really going to get better,” Irsay said. “I think over the next two drafts, continue to identify guys, particularly defensively, that are going to be key guys going forward.”
Let’s check in on the rest of the teams in the AFC South…
- According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, NFL personnel executives say there’s a real chance that the Titans will select Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil with the first overall pick in this year’s draft, assuming the team keeps the pick and doesn’t trade down. Having drafted Marcus Mariota a year ago, Tennessee doesn’t need a quarterback, so Tunsil or Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa look like the most logical targets for the club.
- Jaguars running back Denard Robinson is extension-eligible for the first time this offseason, and tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com that he “definitely” wants to stay in Jacksonville. “It’s a great place and I enjoy it, enjoy the coaches and everything,” Robinson said. Still, the former fifth-round pick acknowledged that there have been no discussions with the Jags about a new deal so far.
- The NFL has been tentatively planning to play a game in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium in 2016, and it appears that game will feature the Texans and Raiders, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. The Raiders are a logical candidate to be the “home” team since they’re currently without a stadium lease, while the Texans have a growing fan base in Mexico and have expressed interest in being a part of the league’s international series.
Raiders Expect To Play In Oakland In 2016
The Rams officially left St. Louis last month, but it appears the other two teams involved in Los Angeles talks will stay put for at least one more season. In the wake of the Chargers’ announcement that they’ll spend the 2016 season in San Diego, Raiders owner Mark Davis said he expects his club to remain in Oakland for 2016.
Barring a “dramatic breakdown” in negotiations with government officials, the Raiders will play the 2016 season in O.Co Coliseum, writes Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. The franchise doesn’t currently have a lease to play in the Coliseum, but Davis expects to get a short-term solution worked out sometime soon, as he said on Kawakami’s podcast.
“As of today, right now, we are in the process of trying to negotiate a one-year extension at the Oakland Coliseum to play the 2016 season there,” Davis said. “After we get that done, we’ll sit down and try to figure out where the future of the Raiders lies.”
When the Chargers decided to try to make things work in San Diego, it likely shut the door on the Raiders’ only other potentially viable 2016 home. Although Davis and the Raiders have engaged in discussions with city leaders and potential investors in San Antonio and Las Vegas, those cities are considered potential long-term options for the Raiders, and were always unlikely to be ready immediately.
Ultimately, the Raiders’ most plausible long-term landing spots are probably in California, which means the franchise is unlikely to make any major decisions on its future until the Chargers make their decision. If Chargers owner Dean Spanos decides to keep his team in San Diego, there’s a very real chance Davis and the Raiders would join the Rams in Los Angeles. If Spanos heads to L.A., Davis would likely to take a long look at San Diego, as he confirmed to Kawakami.
“I think San Diego’s a phenomenal place,” Davis said. “For the Raiders, it would be great because we have a very large Hispanic market; we think that’s something we could tap into down there…. That’s just looking at it from a bird’s eye view. I don’t have any idea of what kind of negotiations Dean has going on there. I’m hoping he gets something done because I know that the fans there would love to keep them.”
Of course, Oakland is still a possibility for the Raiders, and Mayor Libby Schaaf has recently made comments about wanting to move forward on negotiations for a new stadium solution in the city. Bringing the team back to O.co Coliseum for 2016 is a good first step in the interim, but for the Raiders to have a realistic shot at remaining in Oakland for the long term, the team and the city will have to make significant progress in stadium talks, after the NFL ruled that the most recent proposal was not viable.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Tailgate: Where Will Raiders Play?
As the NFL offseason nears, there are plenty of topics and storylines to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those stories. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. We’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.
Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.
As we enter February, two of the three NFL franchises that faced major uncertainty last month have some sort of resolution for at least the short term. The Rams are heading to Los Angeles immediately and will play at the Coliseum until their brand-new Inglewood stadium is ready in a few years. The Chargers will play the 2016 season in San Diego before making a final decision on their long-term future.
The only team without any short-term certainty is the Raiders, who appear likely to return to Oakland for at least one more year, but don’t have an agreement in place to play at O.co Coliseum at this point. The stadium, which the Raiders share with MLB’s Oakland Athletics, isn’t exactly the NFL’s most impressive venue, but it’s fine as an interim home, and I expect the Raiders to play there in 2016 while the franchise considers its long-term options.
Owner Mark Davis is in the process of considering those options as we speak — Davis paid a visit to Las Vegas last Friday to meet with a group of investors proposing to build a $1 billion domed stadium near UNLV. Additionally, ideas such as the Raiders building an NFL stadium in San Antonio or sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers have resurfaced in recent weeks as the Raiders mull their next move.
Of course, there are as many cons as pros for most of the Raiders’ potential homes. There’s major skepticism that the NFL would allow a team to relocate to Las Vegas, America’s gambling capital, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Texans owner Bob McNair would likely push hard to keep the Raiders out of Texas. As for sharing a stadium with the Niners, Davis has shown no interest in such a partnership.
Los Angeles is a possibility for the Raiders, but only if the Chargers ultimately decide to pass on a partnership with the Rams, and Davis would still have to reach his own agreement with Stan Kroenke in that scenario. If the Chargers head to L.A. in 2017, San Diego could be in play for the Raiders, though there’s some uncertainty about how the NFL and Chargers owner Dean Spanos would feel about that possibility.
London and Toronto have frequently been cited as potential homes for NFL franchises as well, though there’s no indication that Davis has explored international options yet. St. Louis, having just lost the Rams, would appear on the surface to be a logical match, but Davis has said he’s not considering St. Louis, and mayor Francis Slay doesn’t appear interested in pursing another team.
Oakland may be the best home for the Raiders in both the short- and long-term — Mayor Libby Schaaf expressed optimism for that outcome during an appearance on KTVU on Sunday night, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details.
According to Florio, Schaaf hopes to secure a renewal of the Raiders’ lease at O.co Coliseum and then move on to negotiations on a “permanent, beautiful home for those Raiders.” That’s easier said than done though, and so far none of the discussions between the Raiders and the city of Oakland have resulted in any sort of viable stadium plan. It’s not clear whether the NFL committing an extra $100MM to the project will change that.
What do you think? Should the Raiders do everything they can to make it work in Oakland, or is there another city that makes more sense for them? Where do you think the Raiders will ultimately end up, and where do you think they should end up?
Extra Points: Manning, Hayne, Raiders, Eagles
The 49ers tried to lean on then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s familiarity with Peyton Manning as a recruitment tool when they, the Titans and Broncos were finalists for the then-free agent’s services, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Fangio, the Bears’ current DC and then the 49ers’ defensive boss, was the Colts’ defensive coordinator under Jim Mora from 1999-01 and recalled the back-and-forths he had with the wunderkind quarterback during their time in Indianapolis. The two would verbally jostle in practices if Manning felt the defense was playing the wrong coverage, and Fangio would counter that the practices weren’t geared only to Manning success.
Fangio thought a 49ers talented defense that had the team on the cusp of Super Bowl XLVI the season prior would be the then-36-year-old quarterback’s ticket to another championship.
“When we were talking to him about coming to the 49ers,” Fangio told Branch, “I told him we’d let him win in practice if he signed.”
Manning will play in the 49ers’ stadium Sunday, doing so in a non-preseason setting for the first time since since joining the Broncos.
Here’s the latest from around the league as the Pro Bowl’s conclusion leaves just one game remaining in the 2015 season.
- Trent Baalke still sees a place for ex-rugby standout Jarryd Hayne on the 49ers even after a regime change, Michael Chammas of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald reports. “[Chip Kelly is] excited to get his hands on him, the whole coaching staff is. We’ll find out in short order who fits and who doesn’t fit,” Baalke told Chammas. The Sydney-based reporter notes Hayne’s 2016 season will determine if he returns to the National Rugby League after that, with the 28-year-old being waived by the 49ers last season and re-signed to the team’s practice squad. “I think that there were enough signs that he was still ways away in respect to development, that we felt there was a good chance he would make it through waivers and we’d be able to put him on our practice,” Baalke said of the soon-to-be-28-year-old running back.
- Ryan Clady earlier today said he’d be willing to rework his contract to help the Broncos, which would increase his chances of being on the team for a ninth season. Entering his age-30 campaign off of two season-ending injuries in three seasons, Clady intimated to Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press he’s ready for offseason work after undergoing surgery in June 2015, but said the Broncos may want him to skip OTAs to be ready for training camp. A former first-team All-Pro, Clady tore his ACL during OTAs last season, prompting the Broncos to sign current left tackle Ryan Harris as an emergency replacement.
- The NFL doesn’t see Oakland coming up with a viable stadium plan in the near future, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets. The Raiders are scouring the Pacific Time Zone for other avenues and haven’t discussed a new stadium since the owners’ meetings Jan. 12.
- Sam Bradford faces a complex decision on whether to return to the Eagles, and the Texans will be their primary competition, should the seventh-year former No. 1 overall pick reach free agency, the Philadelphia Daily News writes. Paul Domowitch writes the Kelly trade target will depart due to the Texans having a superior defense and Doug Pederson‘s arrival negating the familiarity edge for the Eagles, while John Smallwood notes the Broncos could be in play, should they decide Brock Osweiler won’t be enough to keep them in the Super Bowl conversation. Overall, 11 of the 19 Daily News staffers polled, however, indicated Bradford would be back on the Eagles in ’16.
Levi’s Stadium An Option For Raiders?
The Raiders participated in discussions about sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, but when former owner Al Davis died in 2011, the notion to have both Bay Area teams as tenants halted.
But experts and stakeholders told Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today reports now would be the time to reconsider this idea, with the Raiders pushing hard for a new stadium in Oakland, or entertaining discussions with Las Vegas, San Diego, and waiting on the Chargers to officially decide on Los Angeles.
“It certainly was not (Davis’) first choice, but he did understand the economic efficiency of sharing a building,” former Raiders chief executive Amy Trask told Schrotenboer. “… Al was not as adamantly against it as is current ownership. My conversations with Al went something like this: I would update him on my discussions with the 49ers, and he would immediately say, ‘Hey, I’m not sharing that stadium.’ And then after a beat or two, he would say, ‘Show me the numbers.'”
Mark Davis and the Raiders’ current power structure do not share Al Davis’ pragmatism when it comes to sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, but the NFL financially supported the $1.2 billion stadium that’s set to host Super
Bowl 50 on the basis that two teams would play there, USA Today reports. The NFL confirmed it allotted $200MM to assist with Levi’s Stadium’s cost on this condition.
“Levi’s Stadium was built to accommodate two home teams,” Jamie Matthews, mayor of Santa Clara and chairman of the public stadium authority that owns the stadium, told USA Today. “We already have the locker rooms built for two home teams. We set up the LED lighting so they could change the whole feel of the stadium with the flick of a switch. All the environmental work on it has been completed, and all the work permits. If we had a second team, they could move in tomorrow.”
This would seem a logical solution for the Raiders, who this week discussed playing 2016 on another one-year lease at 50-year-old O.co Coliseum as they’ve done for the past two years. But Mark Davis remains vehemently opposed to sharing the new stadium with the 49ers, and the lack of progress between these two sides led the Raiders to enter the Carson, Calif.-based project with the Chargers, USA Today notes. With that no longer being a viable avenue, waiting out the Chargers seems to be the franchise’s next step.
One sticking point are the stadium’s red seats, but that’s a negotiable item, Schrotenboer writes. Another is the Raiders being a subtenant of the 49ers’, which would also be the case in Inglewood.
A second team joining the 49ers would mean the teams splitting the stadium’s rent, which is set to increase from only $24MM to $25MM for this coming season, USA Today reports. City records also note the 49ers collected more than $83MM in revenue, with only 10% of that going to the stadium authority to assist with the structure’s cost, per Schrotenboer.
“I think the Raiders really want to do their own thing,” sports consultant Mark Ganis told USA Today. “They want their own stadium in the East Bay, but as a free agent they have a lot of places they can go.”
The Raiders and the city of Oakland have not engaged in formal discussions on a new Bay Area stadium since the NFL owners’ meetings in Houston earlier this month.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images