Jermaine Gresham To Visit Cardinals
MONDAY, 1:59pm: Gresham’s visit with the Cardinals is scheduled for Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). In addition to receiving interest from Arizona and New Orleans, Gresham also continues to draw some interest from the Raiders, per Rapoport. Oakland hosted the tight end for a visit at the start of the free agent period in March.
SUNDAY, 9:31am: Free agent tight end Jermaine Gresham will visit the Cardinals this week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Gresham, one of the more intriguing talents still available on the free agent market, visited the Saints last month, and Schefter reports that New Orleans has offered the 27-year-old a contract. But Gresham, who underwent back surgery in March to repair a herniated disc, apparently now has a number of interested suitors after what had been a pretty quiet offseason. According to Schefter, Gresham also has other visits planned over the next two weeks and intends to sign with a team before training camps open.
The Saints are an obvious fit for Gresham, as they traded dynamic tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle in March and would like an established veteran to fill his shoes. John Carlson was the Cardinals’ leading receiver at tight end last season, but he announced his retirement in May. Rob Housler, meanwhile, signed with the Browns, which leaves second-year man Troy Niklas at the top of Arizona’s depth chart. Though Niklas, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, has some upside, he played in just seven games in his rookie season, catching three balls for 38 yards.
Gresham, therefore, makes perfect sense for the Cardinals. The former Oklahoma product never lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he was selected by Cincinnati in the first round of the 2010 draft, but he has a history of consistent production, averaging about 56 catches, 544 yards, and five touchdowns per year. He is also a capable blocker, and although there is no chance he will return to the Bengals, he now has a handful of clubs to choose from as he enters the next stage of his career.
AFC Notes: Mariota, Chargers, Raiders, Jags
The odd standoff between the Titans and Marcus Mariota over offset language doesn’t look to be going over well for the franchise that’s been frequently thorough in negotiating with its top rookies and consistently forgotten for its recent play. A 2-14 team digging in over a matter that probably won’t come up with the face of a franchise devoid of many recognizable faces isn’t the best look, writes Geoffrey C. Arnold of the Oregonian.
Arnold notes the contracts of Dante Fowler Jr. and Todd Gurley, two injured top-10 picks, do not include offset language, which would save the drafting — and in this instance, cutting — franchise money in the event it has to prematurely separate from a player. And Arnold predicts a deal next week is unlikely, considering the Titans’ late official additions of Taylor Lewan, Chance Warmack and Kendall Wright, the first-round picks in the 2014, ’13 and ’12 drafts, respectively.
With Titans fans likely not losing much sleep over this minor point in Mariota’s contract, it’s not a good start to the relationship. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe went as far as saying this is a “terrible” beginning to the Titans-Mariota marriage, with an aura of distrust already swirling. Should Mariota be a bust, the Titans will have bigger problems than a few million dollars being lost, writes Volin, in the event they cave on offsets. If this indeed occurs, there will probably be new management overseeing the next quarterback’s contract negotiation.
Let’s look at some of the notes emerging from AFC cities on Saturday as training camps are less than two weeks away from beginning.
- In light of St. Louis’ recent adjustment to its plan to keep the NFL in the city, San Diego is making a similar move. But like the Rams, the Chargers aren’t exactly that interested, writes Jonathan Horn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The team broke off discussions with the city last month despite a stadium location being determined, and a Chargers spokesperson doesn’t see much progress in the near future. “I think the chances of getting anything done in San Diego in 2015 or even in the first part of 2016 are over for sure, but that doesn’t mean this process is over,” Chargers spokesperson Mark Fabiani told Horn.
- Reportedly fined for his weight hovering above 230 last season, Trent Richardson is down to 225 now and hopes to play this season at around 222, reports Bill Vilona of the Pensacola News Journal. The former No. 3 overall pick is aiming to counter a steep fall from grace that now has him in a battle with Latavius Murray and Roy Helu for a Raiders starting gig that’s been anonymous for most of this century.
- With Ace Sanders waived, the Jaguars will employ a new punt returner. Among the candidates, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, are fifth-round pick Rashad Greene, former Seahawk Bryan Walters and Tandon Doss, who was slated to replace Sanders during the wideout’s suspension last year before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
AFC Notes: Raiders, Chargers, Tucker
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) heard from people in the know that it’s not out of the question for the Raiders to play two years in San Antonio, Texas while a stadium is built for them in Los Angeles. Here’s more from the AFC, including updates on the Los Angeles situation..
- By a 6-3 vote, the San Diego City Council authorized $2.1MM to fund an expedited environmental review for a new stadium at the Mission Valley site, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. San Diego is working hard to find a way to keep the Chargers, though the allure of Los Angeles is strong.
- Council members who voted in favor of the proposal endorsed that strategy, while council members in opposition called the accelerated environmental impact report an improper use of taxpayer money that wouldn’t help keep the Chargers, David Garrick of the Union Tribune writes. “People might say this is a fool’s errand,” councilman Scott Sherman said. “I still have faith with the right deal we can get the Chargers back here at the table. I think the NFL will tell the Chargers that ‘San Diego is committed, San Diego is ready to go and you guys need to come back to the table.’”
- Stephen Gostkowski‘s new deal with the Patriots could provide a blueprint for the Ravens when it comes to their upcoming talks with kicker Justin Tucker, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes. Gostkowski, 31, has a longer track record than Tucker, but the Ravens kicker doesn’t take a back seat to anybody when it comes to accuracy. Tucker has been mum about his contract demands, saying only that he’d love to stay with the Ravens for his entire career. To make that happen, Zrebiec says the Ravens will likely need to eclipse the deal that the Patriots just gave Gostkowski.
- The Browns will have a new director of player engagement in the near future. Jamil Northcutt, who has held the title since April 2014, and the franchise are expected to part ways in the coming weeks, a league source confirmed to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. Northcutt previously worked with Browns GM Ray Farmer as a player development coordinator for the Chiefs.
Sunday Roundup: Bills, L.A., Dalton, McClain
Among all the chaos surrounding Aaron Kromer in Buffalo, the Bills are more than likely going to be looking for a new offensive line coach for the upcoming season. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report is asked if the organization could convince former Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally out of retirement.
McNally spent 28 seasons as an NFL offensive line coach, retiring in 2007 after a four-year tenure in Buffalo. He semi-unretired in 2010 to serve as a consultant to the Jets under Rex Ryan for two years, before taking on a similar role with the Bengals, where he began and spent most of his NFL career.
Cole notes that at 71 years old, McNally isn’t a prime candidate for the job, but that he does have the background to make him an interesting option (via Twitter).
Here are some more notes from around the NFL:
- With all the excitement surrounding the possibility of a team coming to Los Angeles, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times makes several predictions about what to expect in the coming months from the NFL regarding the potential move. Among them, he opines that San Diego and St. Louis will present their cases at the owners’ meeting in New York but Oakland will not, that the league will sign leases with one or two temporary stadiums by the end of the year, and that the NFL will begin counting potential season ticket holders this fall.
- Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton took some swings during the Legends and Celebrity Softball Game as part of All-Star Weekend in Cincinnati, but he arrived to a mix of boos and cheers among the hometown fans, writes Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com. Dalton was not worried about the reaction, and went on to hit two mammoth home runs during the game, to which brought the cheers in the stadium, and plenty of snark from the Twitter faithful, many of which Dehner compiled in his piece.
- With linebacker Sean Lee set to return for the Cowboys and Rolando McClain suspended for the season’s first four games, Bob Strum of the Dallas Morning News says he wouldn’t assume McClain will stick with Dallas all year, suggesting the club may decide at some point that the off-field issues aren’t worth it.
- The Broncos have until Wednesday to reach a long-term deal with franchise player Demaryius Thomas, leading Benjamin Hochman and Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post to debate as to the receiver’s value. Noting that Denver has a limited Super Bowl window given Peyton Manning‘s age, the scribes agree that the club will want to work out an extension, ultimately landing on a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $65-70MM. PFR’s Luke Adams projected the exact same figures last June.
- Staying in Denver, Broncos general manager John Elway is still positive that the disappointing 2014 draft class will have a bigger impact, even with a brand new coaching staff, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Only Bradley Roby saw significant snaps, with a number of the players selected not seeing any action at all. Second-round pick Cody Latimer saw only 37 snaps at receiver for the season, but the group should see significantly increased roles in 2015.
Luke Adams and Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
Largest 2015 Cap Hits By Team: AFC West
Before NFL training camps get underway later this month, we’re taking a closer look at the top 2015 cap hits for teams around the league. We began our series in June by focusing on the NFC East and AFC East divisions, before looking at the NFC North, AFC North, and NFC South last week. Earlier this week, we recapped the AFC South and NFC West, and today we’ll wrap up our series by concluding with the AFC West.
Listed below are the top 10 cap hits for the coming season for each of the four AFC West franchises, accompanied by some observations on the spending habits of those clubs. Let’s dive in….
Denver Broncos:
- Peyton Manning, QB: $17,500,000
- Demaryius Thomas, WR: $12,823,000
- Von Miller, OLB: $9,754,000
- DeMarcus Ware, OLB: $8,666,666
- T.J. Ward, S: $7,750,000
- Aqib Talib, CB: $6,968,750
- Louis Vasquez, G: $6,250,000
- Emmanuel Sanders, WR: $5,850,000
- Britton Colquitt, P: $3,750,000
- Chris Harris, CB: $3,000,000
Total: $82,312,416
The top three contracts on the Broncos’ list are all ones worth keeping an eye on. Manning’s cap number for 2015 was adjusted earlier in the offseason, bringing it down from $21.5MM, while Thomas and Miller are both candidates for extensions. Thomas’ figure is based on the franchise tag and Miller’s is based on the fifth-year option — presumably, the team would like to lock up at least one of those two players to a long-term contract this offseason to avoid having to decide between them for the franchise tag in 2016.
Elsewhere on the list, Sanders and Harris look like two of the NFL’s best bargains. Harris’ cap hit will jump to $9MM in 2016, but based on what Byron Maxwell received on the open market this winter, that still looks like a very fair price for one of the top cornerbacks in the league. As for Sanders, his cap charge continues to be very affordable next year, at just $6MM.
One name that jumps out on this list is Colquitt, who is a solid but unspectacular punter, ranking 23rd in net average last year. It looks like the team will probably carry him this year, but when his cap hit increases to $4MM in 2016, with just $750K in dead money, it may be time to bring in some legitimate competition at the position.
Kansas City Chiefs:
- Alex Smith, QB: $15,600,000
- Justin Houston, OLB: $13,195,000
- Dwayne Bowe, WR: $8,894,118 (dead money)
- Eric Berry, S: $8,357,700
- Jamaal Charles, RB: $7,970,835
- Sean Smith, CB: $7,750,000
- Eric Fisher, LT: $6,051,954
- Derrick Johnson, LB: $5,250,000
- Tamba Hali, OLB: $4,964,706
- Chase Daniel, QB: $4,800,000
Total: $82,834,313
Like the Broncos, the Chiefs have a franchise player near the top of their list of cap numbers, so if Houston reaches a long-term agreement with the club within the next few days, his number could be reduced.
Still, there are some unexpected names here for Kansas City — Bowe, for instance, will be playing in Cleveland this season while he continues to count for nearly $9MM against the Chiefs’ cap. It’s also not clear if Berry will be able to return to the field in 2015, though obviously his recovery from lymphoma is more important than any cap considerations.
When I looked at the NFC West earlier this week, I observed that the Cardinals were one of the league’s only teams with two quarterbacks amongst their top 10 cap charges. Kansas City is the other club to have that honor, and it’s somewhat surprising that Daniel’s contract hasn’t been addressed. The Chiefs clearly value him highly, having made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid backups, despite the fact that he has only thrown 75 passes in his career.
Oakland Raiders:
- Rodney Hudson, C: $13,000,000
- Dan Williams, DT: $8,000,000
- Nate Allen, S: $7,000,000
- Tyvon Branch, S: $6,671,000 (dead money)
- Curtis Lofton, LB: $6,500,000
- Austin Howard, RT: $6,400,000
- Donald Penn, LT: $5,400,000
- Justin Tuck, DE: $4,968,750
- Khalil Mack, OLB: $4,244,773
- Charles Woodson, S: $4,200,000
Total: $66,384,523
The Raiders entered the offseason with a boatload of cap room to use, and they took advantage by lavishing lucrative contracts onto a handful of free agents who may not have been entirely deserving of such big annual salaries.
Still, it’s worth pointing out that the figures here for Hudson, Williams, Allen, and Lofton aren’t quite representative of their per-year salaries — all four players will see their cap numbers decrease in future seasons, with Hudson dipping most drastically between 2015 and 2016, from $13MM to $7.7MM. The contracts themselves may not turn out to be smart investments, but Oakland was smart to allocate larger cap hits to 2015, when the team had cap space to burn.
The Raiders, like a handful of other teams we’ve examined so far, benefit from not having to spend big yet on their young quarterback, but the club’s spending habits at other positions are a little unusual. While most teams would invest most heavily in players on the outside – left tackles, edge rushers, wide receivers, and cornerbacks – the Raiders’ top 2015 cap hits are all for up-the-middle players, including a center, defensive tackle, safety, and inside linebacker.
San Diego Chargers:
- Philip Rivers, QB: $17,416,668
- Eric Weddle, S: $10,100,000
- Antonio Gates, TE: $9,762,500
- Corey Liuget, DT: $7,977,000
- Donald Butler, LB: $5,480,000
- Malcom Floyd, WR: $4,716,668
- Orlando Franklin, G: $4,400,000
- Mike Scifres, P: $4,347,500
- Brandon Flowers, CB: $4,250,000
- King Dunlap, LT: $4,125,000
Total: $72,575,336
The Chargers’ top 10 cap numbers for 2015 are made up nearly entirely of players who are entering the final year of their respective contracts and players who just signed new contracts with the club this offseason. Only Butler, who signed an extension in 2014, and Scifres, who is under contract for 2016, don’t meet this criteria.
Of the longtime Chargers entering the final year of their contracts, Rivers appears to have the best chance of reaching a long-term extension that would affect his cap number for 2015. Talks between the Chargers and Weddle haven’t gone well, Gates is facing a four-game suspension, and Floyd has talked about the possibility of retiring after the coming season.
As for the recently signed players, Liuget, Flowers, and Dunlap re-upped with San Diego this offseason, with Flowers and Dunlap narrowly avoiding reaching the open market, while Franklin was poached from the division-rival Broncos. All four players will see their cap numbers rise after this season, going from a combined $20.752 in 2015 to a total of $33.275 in 2016.
Information from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.
Extra Points: Battle, Supplemental Draft, Lions
They say that home is where the heart is and Andre Johnson‘s heart told him to head east to Miami this offseason, as he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
“I always had a dream of playing at home. I was a huge Dolphins fan,” Johnson said. “But they never called.”
With no apparent interest from the Dolphins, the former University of Miami star instead joined up with former Hurricanes teammate Frank Gore in Indianapolis. Here’s more from around the league..
- Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle looks like the most likely player to get taken in the supplemental draft but Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears that he looked “good, not great” at his recent pro day workout. At least six teams remain interested in Battle, who profiles most likely as a right tackle but possibly a left tackle depending on the scheme he’d play in. Battle has been compared to D.J. Fluker out of Alabama, a first-round pick in the 2013 draft, but he has also been flagged as someone with off-the-field issues. Those issues could drop Battle to the fifth or sixth round but he could also go as high as the fourth, based on what Cole is hearing.
- Fourteen teams have inquired about former UConn tight end Sean McQuillan over the past few days, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The Raiders, Dolphins, and Lions attended a recent workout of his and McQuillan performed up to expectations – he didn’t drop a pass and he ran sharp routes. McQuillan was arrested this spring following a fight with his roommate and he was denied entrance into school.
- The NFL has hired Rod Graves as its new senior V.P. of football administration and club services, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Graves spent roughly a year in the Jets’ front office but is better known for his time as GM of the Cardinals. A league source tells Florio that the NFL has hired Graves to “oversee all club and game-related initiatives concerning the Competition Committee, general managers, and head coaches.” In Florio’s estimation, Graves’ central duty will be to prevent hiccups from becoming national scandals like DeflateGate.
AFC West Notes: Richardson, Thomas, San Diego
New Raiders offensive line coach Mike Tice is very optimistic about the running game in 2015, and had nice things to say about all three of his top running backs, including the much-maligned Trent Richardson on his third NFL stop, according to Raiders.com. Latavius Murray and Richardson are pencilled in for large roles in the offense.
“Each one has their own style. I like the Murray kid. He really came on in that veteran mini-camp. He got his legs under him and showed some quickness, some good finish,” said Tice on SiruisXM NFL Radio. “I thought the young man out of Alabama came on. He lost some weight, his quickness came around.”
In addition to Murray and Richardson, Tice also had a glowing review of Roy Helu Jr..
“And then the young man we picked up out of Washington, a local boy out of San Ramon, I think he had an outstanding offseason and he shows good quickness, good awareness,” said Tice. “I think the nice thing about the kid out of Washington…is that he has nice hands out of the backfield – he can catch the football.”
Here are some more stories from around the AFC West:
- The Raiders are finally giving focus to developing their young defensive backs, writes Steve Corkan of RaidersBeat.com (via Facebook). The team is no longer trying to find short-term solutions in modestly-priced veterans, and is prepared to hand the backend of the defense to D.J. Hayden, T.J. Carrie, and Keith McGill.
- The Broncos and Demaryius Thomas are still far apart on a long-term contract, and Troy Renck of the Denver Post is having trouble seeing how the two sides come together on an agreement. He writes that $40MM guaranteed is the low number on what Thomas needs based on his value, but he writes the Broncos can’t meet that number, and might be better off leasing him with the franchise tag this season and again next season before moving on to a run-first offense with a strong defense under head coach Gary Kubiak.
- While fans and pundits are waiting for an announcement on which teams will be torn away from their current cities to move to Los Angeles, Dan McSwain of the U-T San Diego writes that the city of San Diego might be better if the Chargers leave. He writes that the public funding for a new stadium would hurt the local economy, and the people of San Diego would be fortunate if the team left for L.A. instead of putting that burden on them.
AFC Notes: Mariota, Bowe, Manuel, Raiders
Offset language continues to represent why Marcus Mariota hasn’t come to terms with the Titans on his rookie contract, the last such holdout. Whether or not Mariota would draw two salaries if cut by the Titans — a highly unlikely event considering Jake Locker finished his four-year deal in Tennessee — and signed by another team is slowing down the process, writes John Glennon of the Tennesseean.
No. 1 pick Jameis Winston‘s contract does contain offset language, which determines whether or not a second team’s payment would help the Titans offset the amount owed to 2015’s No. 2 selection in this scenario, but No. 3 choice Dante Fowler Jr.‘s does not, Glennon reports.
In a decade that’s featured far fewer first-round contract issues than the last due to the clearer structure of the new CBA on rookie salaries, the Titans have been the last team to sign their first-rounder in each of the past three seasons, with Chance Warmack and Taylor Lewan coming to terms late in the summer on their respective deals in 2013 and 2014. First-rounder Kendall Wright missed three days of training camp in 2012 after becoming the second-to-last player to sign that year.
Glennon views Mariota’s camp as holding the leverage in these talks, with the Titans coming off a 2-14 season and ready to have the face of their franchise and advertising campaign suit up.
Here are some more items being mentioned across the AFC as Independence Day winds into the afternoon. We’ll continue with a couple of quarterback assessments.
- This could be the typical preseason hype before any negatives come to light, a time-honored tradition across sports, but Dwayne Bowe had an interesting observation as he prepares for his first training camp with the Browns. “With Alex Mack and Joe Thomas, we’re going to have a lot of time to hit that deep ball even in the red zone,” Bowe told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a piece centered on the ex-Chiefs wideout’s 17-game span without a touchdown. “I never had a quarterback like Josh (McCown) that was that tall and could see the mismatch and really go to it. He’s got my confidence level high right now.” It’s true Bowe hasn’t exactly had the best passers throwing to him in Brodie Croyle, Matt Cassel and Alex Smith, but the latter duo are 6-foot-5 and 6-4, respectively, while McCown also stands 6-4. Perhaps it’s a sign McCown has shown a penchant to take more risks than the two checkdown-based artists displayed during Bowe’s time in Kansas City.
- In analyzing Winston, former Buccaneers Pro Bowler and current FOX analyst Ronde Barber made his presumptive stance on the Bills‘ starting quarterback battle known. “The guy that preceded (Winston) at Florida State, EJ Manuel, I did a couple of games of Buffalo over these two years that I’ve been working at FOX, and he is the other way. He’s timid. He holds the ball. He’s scared to deliver it when he needs to,” Barber told Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “This guy is the complete opposite, maybe to a detriment at times; he throws a lot of interceptions. But he has that “it,” that bravado, that gunslinger mentality, if I could use that (tired) cliché, to be a great quarterback in this league.”
- Elvis Dumervil collected an extra $1MM in incentive cash with his 12th sack last season, and the 10th-year pass-rusher can earn an additional $3MM by hitting that plateau again this season for the Ravens, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The two-time first-team All-Pro matched his career high with 17 sacks last season, and in doing so began a push for his contract signed before the 2013 season to inflate to its full value of $33MM over five years.
- Behind Latavius Murray, who will receive the first chance to start and build on the momentum he showed at the end of his second season, in the Raiders backfield are Trent Richardson and Roy Helu. The latter has a clearer path to steady playing time, with a proven track record as a passing-down back, writes Steve Corkran of Raiderbeat.com. Marcel Reece, however, may not despite the seventh-year fullback coming off three consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns. As is the case in many NFL attacks today, the fullback does not make frequent cameos in Bill Musgrave‘s system.
AFC Mailbags: Browns, Bills, Titans, Raiders, Colts
Earlier today, our Ben Levine pored over some of the NFC mailbags; here are some notes from the AFC side.
- The Browns‘ front office no longer expects Josh Gordon to operate at the superstar level he showed in 2013, writes Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The longtime Browns scribe notes the team will consider trading the fourth-year wideout who’s perpetually afoul with the league if he proves he can come back to the team sober.
- Cabot envisions Josh McCown winning seven or eight games if things go well this season and only sees Johnny Manziel re-emerging on the field if the Browns are slumping down the stretch. She does not, however, view Connor Shaw as a legitimate threat to the former Heisman Trophy winner’s backup job, noting third-stringers rarely receive sufficient practice reps and that Manziel will at least work plenty with the scout team as the No. 2 quarterback.
- The Bills will probably approach Mario Williams about restructuring his $19.4MM cap number, which jumps to $19.9MM in 2016, in order to make room to re-sign Marcell Dareus, writes Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Additionally, the Bills writer suggests extending Matt Cassel ($4.75MM cap number in 2015) if he wins the starting job, and possibly cutting guard Kraig Urbik ($2.2MM), among others, to clear a payment path for Dareus to join Williams as one of the league’s highest-paid defenders.
- Zach Brown appears to be fully recovered from the torn pectoral injury that ended his 2014 campaign after just four snaps, offers Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. Coverage hasn’t been an issue for the fourth-year linebacker that came to the Titans as a second-round pick, but run-stoppage consistency has, per Kuharsky.
- ESPN.com Raiders reporter Bill Williamson doesn’t think the Raiders will add another guard to compete on the right side before training camp, with the team being satisfied with J’Marcus Webb, Khalif Barnes and rookie Jon Feliciano. With Gabe Jackson coming off a solid rookie slate, the right side is indeed in need of a production uptick. Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which took scant pleasure in watching the Raiders last year, tagged Barnes as the Raiders’ worst starting lineman in 2014. Waived by the Vikings after being beaten on a blocked field goal in December, Webb’s started just one game since 2012 but is being offered the chance to compete at guard rather than his customary tackle spot.
- Michael Crabtree‘s in a year-long preseason of sorts, with each game serving as part of the inconsistent wideout’s audition to either return to the Raiders or earn the long-term contract he coveted this offseason, writes Williamson.
- Fourth-round safety Clayton Geathers has the talent to usurp Dwight Lowery in the Colts‘ starting secondary, writes ESPN.com’s Mike Wells. Wells viewed the Central Florida rookie as the No. 2 first-year attraction behind Phillip Dorsett and notes that Chuck Pagano mentioned the possibility of Geathers working as a dime linebacker.
AFC Links: Raiders, Dolphins, Green
The stadium proposal that didn’t exactly receive rave reviews leaves some unanswered questions regarding the feasibility of its completion and, naturally, the Raiders‘ future in Oakland, writes Matthew Artz of the Bay Area News Group.
Chief among them, writes Artz, is whether the stadium can be built for the $900MM budgeted, and if not, what’s the plan if additional funds are required? Artz points out how Levi’s Stadium was slated to cost $937MM but ended up running a $1.3 billion tab.
The project would have to be financed entirely by the NFL and the Raiders, and the proposed 55,000-seat stadium would be smaller and is projected to generate less revenue than what’s being discussed in Carson, Calif. But before seeing a cost breakdown, which the Raiders have not released, determining the project’s viability is difficult, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at USC’s School of Business David Carter told Artz.
Here are some more details from around the league on Independence Day eve.
- The Raiders upgraded at backup quarterback in Christian Ponder, a veteran of new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave‘s offense from the duo’s time in Minnesota from 2011-13, writes Steve Corkran of RaiderBeat.com. Corkran doesn’t doubt starter Derek Carr‘s ability to make a “precipitous” leap this season and believes new weapons Amari Cooper and Clive Walford will help in this effort. Concluding his analysis of the Oakland quarterback spot, the veteran Raiders reporter predicts Matt McGloin will beat out rookie Cody Fajardo.
- New Raiders offensive coordinator Mike Tice has taken to second-year guard Gabe Jackson, referring to the 2014 third-round pick as a “rising star,” offers CSNBayArea.com. Jackson was the 27th-best guard, per Pro Football Focus, last season and now has the benefit of working next to key free agent acquisition Rodney Hudson in Year 2.
- In his series on who’s bound for the Dolphins‘ 53-man roster, James Walker of ESPN.com gives running back Mike Gillislee a 25% chance at making the team in what could be his final training camp in Miami. Currently fifth on the depth chart behind Lamar Miller, rookie Jay Ajayi, LaMichael James and Damien Williams, Gillislee has just six carries for 21 yards in his two-year career.
- Even before Antonio Gates‘ suspension, the Chargers were planning to allot more time to Ladarius Green, writes Eddie Brown of the San Diego Union-Tribune. With the Chargers viewing Green as a superior run-blocker to the 35-year-old Gates, the veteran’s early absence could expedite Melvin Gordon‘s development.