Broncos’ John Elway On QB, Von Miller, O-Line
The defending champions have already undergone a major facelift this offseason, but GM John Elway says that he’s not done tinkering with the team’s roster. Of course, in the wake of Peyton Manning‘s retirement and Brock Osweiler‘s departure, the No. 1 item on the team’s agenda will be to figure out its quarterback situation. The Broncos also have to address the contract of star defensive player Von Miller. The Broncos placed the franchise tag on Miller earlier this offseason and the two sides are discussing a long-term pact. 
On Monday, Elway addressed these issues and more. Here’s a look at the highlights (via Troy Renck of The Denver Post):
On the team’s quarterback situation:
“We will bring somebody in to compete. We are not going to just turn the job over to [Mark Sanchez] now, even though I know he’s excited about competing for the job. Everything is out there. There are a still a lot of guys. You never know what’s going to fall out of the tree. We are not in any rush.”
On Miller and the possibility of a holdout:
“I don’t see the benefit of it, but the (players) obviously do. But we are going to do everything we can and are hopeful we can come to some kind of agreement. Von is a big part of this. We want him to continue to be a big part.”
On the team’s revamped offensive line:
“We are excited about the bookends. [Donald Stephenson] is a young guy we think has a tremendous amount of upside. And [Russell Okung] is a guy who has played solid the last five or six years, been on championships teams and knows what it takes. Plus it gives us flexibility with the guys we have now with [Ty Sambrailo] and [Michael Schofield] (on playing guard). Different guys can go different places. It opens us up for the draft, and we can get to the point where we can take the best player.”
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Lions Rumors: Ansah, Slay, Tulloch
On Monday, the Lions bolstered their wide receiving corps by signing former Jet Jeremy Kerley. The 27-year-old signed a four-year extension with the Jets roughly 18 months ago, but he had little involvement in the team’s offense once the new regime took over. The Lions are now hoping that Kerley can replicate his best seasons from the past, like in 2012 when he caught 56 passes for 827 yards and two touchdowns.
Here’s more out of Detroit:
- The Lions aren’t currently planning to extend defensive end Ziggy Ansah, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. The 2013 draft pick is entering his contract year, but the Lions can continue to control him through his fifth-year option and the franchise tag. Of course, the prices for defensive linemen have skyrocketed in recent years. Last offseason, Ndamukong Suh inked a record-setting deal with the Dolphins. This year, the Giants signed Olivier Vernon to an $85MM over five years with $40.5MM guaranteed.
- Lions GM Bob Quinn met with agent Drew Rosenhaus about linebacker Stephen Tulloch and cornerback Darius Slay on Monday, Birkett tweets. Talks with Slay are ongoing, but the status of Tulloch’s talks are a bit of a mystery, according to Birkett (link). Slay, who changed representation earlier this year, was a 2013 draft pick, making him eligible for an extension when the Lions’ regular season ended. The Lions reportedly were set to release Tulloch in February but they may have had a change of heart. Tulloch, 31, has spent the last five years with the Lions.
- Within his article, Birkett notes that the Lions are still seeking rotational help at defensive end via free agency.
Bills Rumors: Taylor, Harvin, Boldin
Here’s a quick look at the Bills:
- Bills GM Doug Whaley says there is “work to do” after the team’s initial contract talks with Tyrod Taylor, but the gap between the two parties is “not insurmountable,” according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Taylor, 26, initially signed a three-year contract last winter with the Bills, but the third year of that pact was voided after he spent most of the 2015 season as the team’s starting QB. Now, he’s entering his contract year. Starting for the first time in his career, Taylor threw for 3,035 yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 games in 2015, completing 63.7% of his passes and tossing just six interceptions. He also rushed for 568 yards and four TDs.
- Bills free agent wide receiver Percy Harvin is expected to make a decision on his future soon, Rodak writes. Harvin, who played five games for Buffalo in 2015 before injuries ended his season, is still considering retirement. “Last thing I heard was [Bills contract negotiator] Jim Overdorf talked to his agent and hopefully he’s gonna make a decision the next week or two of if he’s gonna play, and if he’s gonna play, if he’s coming back to us,” Whaley said. “We’ll hopefully know in the next week or two.” Still, Whaley has “heard” that Harvin is leaning towards playing in 2016.
- Whaley says “it would be tough, for what we have” to sign a veteran wide receiver like Anquan Boldin, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. However, he added that he would “never say never.” Boldin has previously said that he would like to continue his career with a title contender. While Boldin hauled in a respectable 69 catches with San Francisco in 2015-16, it was for the second-lowest yardage total of his career (789).
- Whaley said the Bills do not need to restructure any other contracts, as Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News tweets.
Pats Looking To Recover First-Round Pick
Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters that he wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to reinstate the draft picks taken from the club as part of the Deflategate sanctions (link via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss). Kraft’s letter, written over one month ago, also requested that Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension be nullified. 
Goodell has said that he would consider any new information brought forward and that, in turn, could lead to the Pats’ punishment being altered. As it stands, the Patriots are set to lose their 2016 first-round pick and 2017 fourth-round pick in addition to the four-game suspension of Brady plus a $1MM fine. However, a league source says that the Patriots have “zero chance” at getting their first-round choice back, according to Judy Battista of NFL.com (via Twitter).
The NFLPA and the league went head-to-head earlier this month over Brady’s four-game ban. Around the same time, we learned that the league’s polarizing commissioner earned upwards of $34MM in 2014.
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Cowboys Rumors: Robinson, Morris, Mayowa
Earlier today, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones spoke with reporters to address a pair of open items. Here are some of the highlights:
- The Cowboys are still talking with free agent cornerback Patrick Robinson and free agent running back Alfred Morris, but there is no deal for either player yet (Twitter link via David Moore of The Dallas Morning News). Both players visited Dallas on Monday and it was expected that one of them would sign with the club, with Robinson being the more likely of the two to land with the Cowboys. The Cowboys had interest last offseason in Robinson before he ended up inking a $2MM deal with the Chargers.
- Jones said Cowboys are still awaiting the Raiders’ decision on whether to match their offer for Benson Mayowa, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. The Cowboys signed the defensive end to an offer sheet that would give him a three-year deal and a $3.3MM signing bonus with base salaries of $700K, $2.5MM, and $2.75MM. Oakland has until Wednesday to reach their verdict.
- The Cowboys see a great deal of upside in Mayowa and they believe that he possesses the attributes that they want in a pass rusher (Twitter link via Archer). Mayowa, 24, has only made three starts so far in his NFL career, but he has appeared in 30 total games for the Raiders and Seahawks. In 2015, he recorded 16 tackles, a sack, two fumble recoveries, and a safety.
Bengals Won’t Trade A.J. McCarron
Several teams around the league have question marks under center and it makes sense that Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron could draw interest from rival clubs. Even though there could be interest in the Bengals backup, coach Marvin Lewis told PFT’s Mike Florio the team isn’t interested in trading Andy Dalton‘s understudy. 
McCarron, 26 in September, filled in for Dalton to close out the 2015 regular season. From weeks 13 through 16, McCarron completed 66.1% of his passes with six touchdowns and two interceptions before suffering a left wrist injury. The right-handed QB toughed it out to return for the playoffs where the Bengals narrowly lost to the Steelers in the opening round. The Alabama product did not look like a world-beater while he was filling in for Dalton, but he did do a capable job.
After losing Dalton last year, Lewis understands the importance of having a solid No. 2 quarterback on the roster. By the same token, it’s hard to imagine McCarron having any type of “untouchable” status. If a QB-needy team makes a strong offer, we’d expect the Bengals to consider it.
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Latest On Browns, Robert Griffin III
There is “mounting buzz” about the Browns’ intent to sign Robert Griffin III, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. La Canfora adds that he wouldn’t be surprised if the two sides reached agreement on a deal this week. Griffin visited the Browns just days ago and the visit reportedly went well.
If the Browns sign RG3, they will receive outside interest in quarterback Josh McCown, per LaCanfora (Twitter links). La Canfora asserts that the Broncos, Rams, and Jets could all explore a deal for the veteran quarterback. In addition, he says that an RGIII signing would not preclude Cleveland from going after a QB in the draft.
McCown was placed on IR in December, but finished the year with fairly respectable numbers. Although the Browns only won one of his eight starts, he completed 63.7% of his passes, throwing for 2,109 yards, 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He’s now entering the second season of the three-year deal he signed with Cleveland as a free agent in 2015.
Griffin, the 2012 offensive rookie of the year, hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL in the playoffs that season. Although the former Pro Bowl quarterback completed a career-best 68.1% of his passes in 2014, he threw just four touchdown passes compared to six interceptions and fell out of favor with Jay Gruden. Subsequently, RGIII didn’t take a snap in 2015 as Kirk Cousins captured Washington’s starting job and ultimately received the franchise tag.
Griffin looked like a superstar in the making as a rookie, but his completion percentage dropped in 2013 and Washington went 3-10 in games that the former Heisman Trophy winner started.
Injuries knocked Griffin out of the starting lineup in 2014 and ’15, the latter coming in the preseason, when Washington opted to shelve Griffin and begin its exit strategy from its one-time franchise quarterback. The team released him earlier this month.
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Josh Norman, Panthers Remain Far Apart On Deal
The Panthers applied the franchise tag to Josh Norman weeks ago, but the standout cornerback is in no rush to ink the one-year, $13.952MM tender. The two sides have until July 15th to hammer out a long-term deal, but there is still a significant chasm between them, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. If things do not improve, he could miss the voluntary workouts and OTAs and possibly the mandatory June minicamp, Person writes. 
Norman, 28, enjoyed a career-year in 2015 as he was named to the All Pro first team and selected for his first Pro Bowl. After producing career highs in both interceptions (four) and passes defensed (18), Norman is in great position as he demands a multi-year payday. Norman was well-regarded by advanced metrics as well, finishing as the league’s 12th-best corner by Pro Football Focus’ grades.
Norman is now seeking a deal that will make him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, Person writes, and that could mean demands of an average annual value in the $14-16MM range. Currently, Darrelle Revis stands as the NFL’s highest paid cornerback after signing a $70.12MM contract that includes a whopping $39MM guaranteed. That deal edged out Patrick Peterson of the Cardinals who got a $70.05MM deal with $16.25MM guaranteed and Seahawks corner Richard Sherman, who inked a $56MM deal ($12.43MM guaranteed) to stay in Seattle. After that, Trumaine Johnson and Norman are slated to be tied as the fourth-highest paid corners in the NFL in 2016. Johnson accepted his franchise tender earlier this month, but Norman appears intent on forcing the Panthers into giving him a long-term deal instead.
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Latest On Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick
As we approach the final week of March, just one top-20 player from our list of this year’s top 50 free agents remains unsigned. There continues to be mutual interest between quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets in a reunion, but there’s also still a significant gap between what the player is demanding and what the team is offering. 
On Monday, Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke about the ongoing talks with the 33-year-old and passed along the message that he hopes Fitzpatrick will “come back to the Jets.”
“I kind of hope so because he had such a good year last year,” Johnson said of Fitzpatrick, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “I mean, it seems like an ideal [situation]. I like him a lot as a person. He’s very engaging. He’s great with kids, great with our fans, great with our players. They really respect him. He’s two guys. He’s the Harvard guy and then he’s the normal guy. They all make fun of him for being a Harvard guy, but he’s a normal guy, too.”
While some observers are surprised that Fitzpatrick isn’t already under contract with the Jets, Johnson said that he’s not surprised by the ongoing negotiations. He also hinted that the Jets would be comfortable with Fitzpatrick missing the offseason program since he already has a handle on Chan Gailey‘s offense.
Johnson declined to discuss the Jets’ Plan B if Fitzpatrick is not re-signed, but GM Mike Maccagnan previously indicated that Geno Smith is a “definite possibility” to step into the starting role. The Jets also have reserve Bryce Petty under contract and have explored a few other out-of-house options. The team recently met with Robert Griffin III, but Cimini writes that the Jets do not have “strong interest” in him. For what it’s worth, Johnson says that the team was very impressed with RG3 as a person.
When it comes to quarterback, Johnson admits that the team has swung and missed on at least one tremendous opportunity.
“We could’ve drafted Russell Wilson in the second round [in 2012],” he said. “We’ve had shots at players, but we didn’t take those. Hopefully, we’re getting better at evaluating talent, particularly at quarterback.”
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Panthers Sign Trenton Robinson
The Panthers announced that they have signed safety Trent Robinson. The former member of Washington’s secondary has now joined Carolina on a one-year pact.
Robinson started a career-high seven games in 2015 before his season was cut short due to a hamstring injury. In December, Washington waived Robinson and later released him from IR with an injury settlement. In total, Robinson has played in 38 career games and recorded 88 tackles, two interceptions, and four passes defensed for the 49ers and Washington. The former sixth-round pick out of Michigan State will now look to have his most impactful season to date with his third NFL team.