Cole’s Latest: Chip Kelly, Los Angeles, Colts
Jason Cole of Bleacher Report has provided updates on a handful of notable stories, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights from his latest video reports….
- Chip Kelly has interest in the Titans‘ head coaching job and believes he should have opportunities around the league, possibly in Tennessee, Cleveland, or Miami, sources tells Cole (video link).
- About half of the NFL’s team owners – members of the Los Angeles committee, the finance committee, and the stadium committee – are scheduled to meet next week at the league’s New York offices to discuss possible relocation to L.A., according to Cole (video link). The Bleacher Report scribe hears that there’s a consensus building among owners that the Chargers are the favorite to get approval to relocate, but those owners remain unsure about what to do with the Rams and Raiders.
- With the Colts potentially preparing to move on from head coach Chuck Pagano, there are those in the organization who wonder whether Andrew Luck will have a strong opinion on who the team’s next head coach will be, says Cole (video link). Luck is entering the final year of his contract with the club, so as he considers signing a long-term extension with Indianapolis, it makes sense that he’d want to have some input on who will be coaching him.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/29/15
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: QB Mike Kafka (Twitter link via team)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Sean Baker (press release via team)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DE Jordan Williams (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Jeff Luc (Twitter link via Wilson)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: S Chris Hackett (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com), G Cole Manhart (press release via team)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: RB Kevin Monangai (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: S Ross Ventrone (Twitter link via Caplan)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Kyle Sebetic (link via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com)
More Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/15
Tuesdays are generally the busiest day of the week during the NFL regular season for transactions, and on the last Tuesday of the 2015 campaign, that’s especially true. After rounding up several minor moves from around the league earlier today, we’ve got plenty more to pass along now. Here’s the latest:
AFC:
- After re-signing him three weeks ago, the Chargers confirmed today that they have released wide receiver Vincent Brown. The 26-year-old was active for just one game and caught only one pass, for 22 yards.
- The Ravens have placed wide receiver Marlon Brown on season-ending injured reserve due to a back injury, replacing him on the roster with defensive back Sheldon Price, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brown, the 20th player Baltimore has placed on IR this year, is eligible for restricted free agency, and he may not be tendered a contract this winter, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Broncos have cut safety Shaun Prater, who was inactive on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Prater was signed as insurance after David Bruton was placed on IR, but with T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart back in action, his services weren’t required.
- The Patriots have filled their roster by signing linebacker and special-teamer Dekoda Watson, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s the third contract signed with New England this year by Watson, who has been off and on the Pats’ roster.
- The Texans have officially confirmed the previously-reported transaction that sent cornerback Charles James to IR, elevating safety Corey Moore to the active roster from the practice squad to replace James, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Raiders have signed safety Dewey McDonald from off their practice squad, according to the team. McDonald has also spent time with the Colts and Patriots this season.
NFC:
- The Buccaneers are ending Major Wright‘s season, placing the safety on injured reserve prior to Week 17, tweets Rand Getlin of NFL Network. In a corresponding move, Tampa Bay is elevating tight end Tevin Westbrook from its practice squad to the 53-man roster, according to agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link).
- Washington has made a change at the back of its 53-man roster, announcing that tight end Je’Ron Hamm has been waived to make room for cornerback Jeremy Harris, who received a promotion from the practice squad.
- The Lions have once again waived cornerback Bill Bentley, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Bentley, a third-round pick by Detroit in 2012, was cut by the team in the summer before re-signing last month.
- The Saints are promoting tight end Rashaun Allen to their 53-man roster from the practice squad, tweets Aaron Wilson. As Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune (Twitter link) observes, a corresponding move will be required to make the signing official, which could mean moving tight end Josh Hill to IR.
- Wilson also passes along details on a couple players who have been cut from their respective teams’ injured reserve lists, reporting (via Twitter) that the Cardinals have cut defensive back Cariel Brooks with an injury settlement, while the Packers have released defensive end Jermauria Rasco from their IR.
Latest On Los Angeles Relocation
Oakland has until Wednesday to present the NFL with a financing plan to give the Raiders a new stadium, but city officials say that no plan is forthcoming, Rachel Swan of The San Francisco Chronicle writes. Instead, Oakland will send a letter to league officials simply updating them on the city’s efforts to persuade the Raiders to stay in town. The NFL has been looking to pressure Oakland (as well as St. Louis and San Diego) into coughing up tax dollars to finance new stadiums, but right now it looks like Oakland is not willing to play ball.
Here’s more on the Raiders, Chargers, Rams, and Los Angeles:
- A decision on Los Angeles will happen within the month of January, an NFL source tells Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News (on Twitter). A path to the 24 votes needed to relocate a team, he adds, will happen one way or another.
- The St. Louis Stadium Task Force announced that it has submitted its official proposal to the NFL today, a day ahead of the deadline to file, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. The proposal calls for the Rams to contribute “no less than $250MM to the project, with the NFL investing $300MM.” Meanwhile, the plan calls for the city and state to invest $400MM through “traditional public funding sources.” The local stadium authority would work with the Rams to design a stadium that would include PSLs. The proposal calls for the Rams to hold a 30-year lease to go along with an “enforceable non-relocation agreement.” The plan also calls for the Rams to “accommodate a MLS tenant under a market rate lease term.” The total cost of the project? – a cool $1.1 billion.
Raiders’ Marcel Reece Suspended Four Games
The Raiders announced that fullback/running back Marcel Reece has been suspended for four games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. Reece can participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games, but he is no longer eligible to play in the 2016 Pro Bowl.
The Raiders, of course, are not headed to the playoffs, so Reece will serve his suspension in Week 17 and sit out the first three weeks of the 2016 season. As it stands, Reece is slated to make his NFL return with Oakland still as he is under contract with the club for next season at a cap number of $3.53MM. In 2015, Reece caught 30 passes for 269 yards and three TDs and also added 36 rushing yards. Most importantly, he served as a solid blocker for quarterback Derek Carr and running back Latavius Murray in the backfield.
It’s not immediately clear whether Reece will still collect on the $100K roster bonus he received for making the Pro Bowl. This season marked the fourth consecutive year that Reece earned a Pro Bowl nod.
Latest On Los Angeles Relocation
Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf is exuding confidence as the league’s relocation vote nears, telling Raiders fans to “keep the faith” and noting that owner Mark Davis wants to stay in Oakland, according to a Bay Area News Group report.
The city and the Raiders have not generated a functional stadium plan yet, but Oakland will present its next proposal to the league on Dec. 29 or Dec. 30, the News Group’s report indicates. Although the league is not expecting a final proposal at that time.
The Raiders’ Los Angeles relocation proposal is expected to be heard by the NFL on Jan. 12 or Jan. 13.
Schaaf indicated she’s committed to keeping the Raiders in Oakland in a feasible way for taxpayers. While the mayor said the city won’t help the Raiders directly pay to build a new stadium, it will make payments for infrastructure enhancements on the 120-acre Coliseum site set to be publicly owned.
“We won’t put any public funds at risk,” Schaaf said. “… We have two things that no other city has: a fully entitled site and a team ownership that consistently says it wants to make it work in Oakland.”
Most current reports have the Raiders lagging behind the more financially sound Chargers and Rams in the Los Angeles pursuit, but a recent report listed the Raiders-Chargers Carson proposal as the preferred relocation plan of the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities — the six-owner coalition with the most sway on this matter.
Here are some more updates on the Western-division teams’ pursuit of an LA move.
- Oakland and the Raiders are engaging in frequent talks, but with nothing imminent, the city may be in need of the NFL voting down the Raiders’ relocation effort to create more substantive stadium negotiations, Matthew Artz of the Bay Area News Group reports. “We have to play this out,” Oakland Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio told Artz. “If the vote is not in their favor for Los Angeles, we come to the table with different leverage and needs, and I think we can begin to have talks in a different way.” The Rams are seen as having best plan from a funding standpoint, with the Chargers holding the most trust from the owners, Ohio University sports business professor Robert Boland told Artz. “Keeping the Raiders in Oakland is probably the least-difficult scenario for the NFL,” Boland said. Only four teams — the Packers, Bears, Saints and Bills — sport a stadium older than the Raiders’, which opened in 1966.
- San Diego runs a greater risk of losing its team and now is contending with millions being lost in the mere research for a potential stadium site, Jeff McDonald of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The city’s spent $1.6MM in research for the Mission Valley site. However, $2.35MM has been set aside for such expenditures, as the team prepares to potentially play its final two games as the San Diego Chargers. Should the Chargers leave for Los Angeles, the aforementioned research could be used to woo another team in the future. “Regardless of what ultimately happens with the NFL, this environmental impact report is valuable to taxpayers,” Craig Gustafson, a spokesman for mayor Kevin Faulconer, told McDonald. “The environmental studies and analysis in the report can be used for a new NFL stadium, demolishing the current stadium or other future projects on the site.”
AFC Notes: M. Williams, Wallace, Hopkins
We rounded up several NFC notes earlier this afternoon. Now, let’s shift our focus to the AFC….
- Speaking today to reporters, including ESPN’s Mike Rodak, Bills defensive end Mario Williams insisted that he hasn’t tried to be outwardly critical of Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme, and that he’s just giving honest answers when asked about it. It seems somewhat unlikely, given the issues Williams has had this year, that he’ll be back in Buffalo next year when his cap hit increases to nearly $20MM.
- Unlike Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Steelers center Cody Wallace won’t receive a suspension for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Broncos safety David Bruton Jr. on Sunday, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Wallace’s hit, which came after the play, was arguably worse than Beckham’s shot at Josh Norman, but it sounds like he’ll just be fined to the tune of $23K+ for the play, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- DeAndre Hopkins‘ agent, Hadley Engelhard, met with the Texans recently, and spoke about – among other things – how his client has already played with eight quarterbacks during his three-year NFL career, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The QB turnover hasn’t slowed down Hopkins’ production at all, but it figures to be something that comes up again between Engelhard and the Texans when the wideout becomes extension-eligible next month.
- Before he retires, Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson has scored one last payday. As Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Woodson gets a $250K bonus for being named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday night.
Raiders Place Mario Edwards On IR
2:48pm: The Raiders have placed Edwards on IR and promoted linebacker John Lotulelei from their practice squad, according to CSNBayArea.com.
2:34pm: The Raiders are placing rookie defensive end Mario Edwards on season-ending injured reserve, per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The move will become official before Oakland faces San Diego on Thursday night, with a corresponding transaction to fill Edwards’ spot on the 53-man roster.
Edwards, the 35th overall pick in this year’s draft, sustained a neck injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Packers, and didn’t return to the game. Per Tafur (Twitter link), head coach Jack Del Rio said today that the injury is significant, and may require surgery.
It’s an unfortunate end to what was a solid rookie season for Edwards. In 14 games (10 starts) for Oakland, the Florida State product compiled 41 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He looks like another one of the many early draft picks that the Raiders have gotten right in the last couple years.
NFL Pro Bowlers In Contract Years
The NFL announced its Pro Bowlers for the 2015 season on Tuesday night, and while those rosters will certainly undergo some changes in the coming weeks – as players with injuries or on Super Bowl teams bow out and are replaced by alternates – it’s worth noting that several players in this initial crop are in contract years, and will be eligible for free agency this winter.
Currently, there are eight players in contract years among the Pro Bowlers, and not all of them are players you might expect. When we ranked the top free agents of 2016 earlier this month, we placed Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery second overall, but Jeffery didn’t get a Pro Bowl nod, partly due to the injuries that have slowed him down this season, and partly due to the star-studded group of receivers he was up against.
Similarly, our list of this offseason’s top 10 potential free agents included a pair of left tackles, Russell Okung of the Seahawks and Cordy Glenn of the Bills. However, given the strong group of left tackles that are locked up to long-term deals – including Tyron Smith (Cowboys), Jason Peters (Eagles), Joe Thomas (Browns), and others – neither Okung nor Glenn could crack the initial Pro Bowl roster.
Here are the eight potential free agents who earned Pro Bowl berths:
- Eric Berry, S (Chiefs)
- Doug Martin, RB (Buccaneers)
- Von Miller, OLB (Broncos)
- Reggie Nelson, S (Bengals)
- Josh Norman, CB (Panthers)
- Mike Tolbert, FB (Panthers)
- Muhammad Wilkerson, DL (Jets)
- Charles Woodson, S (Raiders)
Berry, Miller, Norman, and Wilkerson earned spots on our top-10 list, and each of those four standout players should be in line for either the franchise tag or a lucrative long-term contract. However, the extension cases for the other four players on this list aren’t quite to cut-and-dried.
Woodson, of course, has an expiring contract, but isn’t expected to sign another one, having announced earlier this week that he’ll retire after the season. That takes him out of the extension equation entirely.
Martin is having an excellent bounce-back season in Tampa Bay, and is the most logical candidate to receive the biggest free agent deal for a running back this offseason. As we saw last winter though, not many running backs sign massive free agent contracts, and 2015’s biggest deal – DeMarco Murray‘s – won’t exactly encourage teams to invest heavily at the position. So there’s a ceiling on how much Martin will earn this winter, despite his Pro Bowl berth.
Nelson and Tolbert are interesting cases. Nelson’s counting stats (an NFL-best eight interceptions) and Pro Football Focus grades (10th among safeties) suggest he’s had a very strong year, but he’ll also be entering his age-33 season, so it’s fair to question whether he’s deserving of a contract in the range of the ones that Berry and perhaps Eric Weddle will sign.
As for Tolbert, his Pro Bowl nod comes at one of the league’s least-valued positions, and he’s also now on the wrong side of 30, which is generally bad news for running backs. I expect he’ll draw interest from plenty of teams if the Panthers don’t lock him up, but as a 30-year-old fullback, his earning potential is limited.
One more player worth mentioning is Browns center Alex Mack. Technically, Mack still has three years remaining on his contract, but he’ll have the opportunity to opt out this winter, and coming off a Pro Bowl season, there’s a good chance he’ll take advantage of that option.
Ultimately, these eight players – plus Mack – aren’t likely to get a huge boost to their annual salaries on their next contracts simply because they made the Pro Bowl. In fact, Tuesday’s Pro Bowl announcement may very well have a more tangible impact on players with Pro Bowl bonuses in their current contracts.
Still, you can bet that the representatives for these potential free agents will be sure to point to this year’s Pro Bowl roster to help make their case that their clients are among the best players in the NFL at their respective positions.
Extra Points: Draft, Rams, Chargers, LA
After recently taking a tumble from a hotel window, Mississippi defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche has been suspended for his team’s upcoming bowl game, Daniel Paulling and Hugh Kellenberger of The Clarion-Ledger report. It’s not all bad news for Ndemkiche, however, as the junior announced that he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Once a projected first-round pick, it’s unclear how recent off-field issues will affect his stock.
Here’s more from around the league…
- Another underclassmen, Rutgers linebacker Steve Longa, is also throwing his hat in the draft ring, as he tells Dan Duggan of NJ.com. Longa, who has posted three consecutive 100-tackle seasons, says he did receive information on his draft stock from the league’s advisory board, but declined to share those specifics.
- Ground has been broken at Hollywood Park in California, and now the only question is whether the Rams will move west, as Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times write. Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who is building the arena, plans to move ahead with its construction regardless of his club’s status. NFL owners are expected to meet in mid-January, and could vote to approve the project.
- League sources tell Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that neither LA plan – the Rams in Inglewood or the Raiders/Chargers in Carson – has enough owner support to pass, but each could get enough anti-votes to ensure that it does not get approved. An extra year in San Diego, write Acee, could be exactly what the Chargers need in order to make their case to stay in the area long-term.