DeMarcus Ware, Broncos Agree To Pay Cut
2:47pm: No extra years were added to Ware’s deal, per Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). He will make $4MM in base salary, with a $500K roster bonus in addition to the potential incentives mentioned below.
2:41pm: Ware’s wages in 2016 will be reduced from $10MM to $6.5MM, Mike Florio of PFT reports. $4MM of that figure is fully guaranteed. The 33-year-old linebacker can earn back all of the salary he reduced via sack-based incentives, Florio notes, with a formula that starts at eight sacks and ends at 13. Ware’s representatives believed on this market the veteran linebacker, who turns 34 in July, would have earned upwards of $10MM AAV. But Ware didn’t want to change teams again.
However, the Broncos wanted to reduce Ware’s contract because he’s in line to have less of an every-down role and more of a passing-situation presence, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos have Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray as able backups who could see more time as a result.
1:39pm: DeMarcus Ware and the Broncos have agreed to a reduced contract for 2016, keeping the Pro Bowl linebacker in Denver, according to ESPN (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
The 12-year veteran potentially faced a situation where he’d be cut of he didn’t agree to restructure his contract, which called for the 33-year-old edge stalwart to make more than $11
.66MM in the final year of his three-year, $30MM contract with the Broncos.
Ware was due a $3MM roster bonus on Sunday, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) and the Broncos identified the All-Pro blind-side rusher as a priority during an offseason where the Super Bowl champions’ roster has been gutted by free agent defections and cap-related cuts.
The Broncos lost Brock Osweiler, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan on Day 1 of free agency and cut Louis Vasquez and Owen Daniels to create cap space Wednesday. C.J. Anderson could be the latest defection, with the Dolphins signing the running back to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet after the Broncos opted to apply the low-end tender to Anderson and open the door for teams’ interest.
A four-time first-team All-Pro, Ware registered 12 quarterback hits in the Broncos’ three postseason contests. Super Bowl MVP Von Miller totaled six during this span. Ware collected 7.5 sacks in 11 games last season despite missing a career-most five contests due to a back injury.
The Broncos have discussed a restructure of Ryan Clady‘s contract with the two-time All-Pro left tackle twice, per Renck (via Twitter), but nothing’s been resolved along that front.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Latest On James Laurinaitis
2:28pm: The amount of interest in Laurinaitis appears to have been exaggerated. Per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the report below indicating five teams have already met with the free agent linebacker came from a Twitter account posing as Laurinaitis’ father (Twitter link). The Saints and Falcons appear to be in the mix, but it’s probably not safe to assume any of the new teams are pursuing Laurinaitis.
12:00pm: Add the 49ers to that list of questionable inclusions. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes that the linebacker hasn’t met with the 49ers, and it’s uncertain whether the player will even meet with the organization.
10:18am: ESPN’s John Keim tweets that a person within the Washington organization wasn’t aware of a meeting with Laurinaitis. The writer notes that he’s “putting no stock” in the comments by the linebacker’s father.
9:18am: James Laurinaitis has been a busy man since being cut by the Rams last month. We knew that the linebacker had already traveled to New Orleans and Atlanta to meet with the Saints and Falcons, respectively. However, it doesn’t sound like his travels ended there.
According to the Laurinaitis’ father (via Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com), the 29-year-old has met with five other teams: the Patriots, Bears, 49ers, Giants, and Washington.
The Ohio State product was a consistent force in the Rams’ defense for the past seven years. The linebacker started every possible game during his tenure in St. Louis, and he never finished with less than 100 tackles in a single season. This past year, Laurinaitis compiled 109 tackles, one sack and one interception. The linebacker has averaged 122 tackles, two sacks and five passes defended per season.
Despite these consistent numbers, the advanced stats have not been particularly friendly. For his 2015 performance, Pro Football Focus ranked Laurinaitis 83rd among eligible linebackers, which placed him third on the Rams (behind Mark Barron and Akeem Ayers). He still earned a spot on our rankings of the best free agent inside linebackers, placing seventh.
Robert Griffin III To Visit Jets
SATURDAY, 2:20pm: RG3 is meeting with Jets officials again today, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The Jets’ focus remains on working out a deal with Fitzpatrick, however, per Breer (on Twitter).
FRIDAY, 1:16pm: Although the Jets have not given up on re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, they are exploring the quarterback market. Gang Green will do so first by hosting Robert Griffin III on a visit today, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Jets will be Griffin’s first visit since Washington cut him on Monday. RG3’s meeting with the Jets still resides at the exploratory stage, with a source telling ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson that Fitzpatrick remains the focus (Twitter link).
Fitzpatrick and the Jets remain far apart in negotiations to bring back the UFA quarterback. The team is believed to be offering something only a little better than what Chase Daniel got from the Eagles. Daniel and the Eagles agreed to a three-year deal with a base value of $21MM (max value of $36MM) this week.
Griffin won’t cost that much after the swoon his career has taken. Washington picked up the 26-year-old passer’s fifth-year option last year but cut Griffin rather than pay him a $16.155MM salary that would have become guaranteed on Wednesday.
Rumored to be on the Broncos’ radar once they lost Brock Osweiler, Griffin will visit the Jets as the first step toward potentially reviving his career.
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, RG3 threw just four touchdown passes compared to six interceptions and fell out of favor with Jay Gruden and did not take a snap in 2015 as Kirk Cousins captured Washington’s starting job and subsequently received the franchise tag.
Griffin accounted for 4,015 yards as a rookie, rushing for 815, and 27 touchdowns — throwing for 20 and just five interceptions. In 2013, however, Griffin’s completion percentage dropped five points 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.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Bears To Re-Sign Mitch Unrein
The Bears and Mitch Unrein agreed to a two-year deal that will keep the defensive lineman in Chicago, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Unrein spent 2015 with the Bears after signing in Chicago last September upon being cut by the Chargers. The Bears had two UFA defensive tackles from their rotation, with Jarvis Jenkins having met with the Jets recently.
The 29-year-old Unrein played in a mostly reserve capacity last season, although the four starts he accrued were a career-high. Unrein accumulated just three starts in the initial four years of his career.
Unrein looks to be set to spend a sixth season on a John Fox-coached team. The interior lineman spent the first four seasons of his career with the Broncos during Fox’s four seasons there before signing a two-year, $1.9MM deal with the Chargers last season.
Kelvin Beachum To Visit Jets, Seahawks, Jaguars
SATURDAY, 2:03pm: Beachum will also make a trip to Jacksonville on Monday to meet with the Jaguars, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
The Steelers are hosting Okung on a visit as well, with the possibility of Pittsburgh and Seattle exchanging tackles still existing.
FRIDAY, 12:22pm: In addition to visiting the Jets, Beachum has a visit with the Seahawks scheduled for Monday, tweets Rapoport. Seattle’s starting left tackle, Russell Okung, is currently set to take free agent visits with the Giants and Lions, so the Seahawks are considering alternatives.
FRIDAY, 11:23am: The Jets are bringing in veteran offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum for a visit, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). According to Rapoport, the Steelers are still hoping to re-sign Beachum, but now face some competition from the team they beat out for a playoff spot last season.
Beachum, 26, was on his way to becoming one of the more reliable left tackles in the NFL before a torn ACL wiped out most of his 2015 season. The fact that he hasn’t fully recovered from that injury could put a damper on his market, but if teams are confident he’ll get back to 100% health, he’s an intriguing target. Few offensive linemen on the market have as much upside as Beachum, who didn’t miss a game in 2014 as the Steelers’ left tackle.
As Rapoport notes (via Twitter), if the Jets are serious about making a run at Beachum, it’s a situation worth monitoring for the Jets’ current left tackle, D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The 32-year-old has a cap hit exceeding $14MM for 2016, and the Jets could create $9MM+ in cap savings by releasing him.
Ferguson has still been pretty solid in recent years, so it would be a little surprising if New York moved on from him. But bringing in Beachum for a visit could help provide the Jets with some leverage if they want to encourage Ferguson to take a pay cut, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap observes (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears Sign Jerrell Freeman
The Bears reached a three-year accord with former Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman, per the team’s Twitter account. Freeman becomes the second highly sought-after inside linebacker the Bears have added this offseason, joining Danny Trevathan.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Freeman’s new three-year contract with the Bears is worth $12MM, with $6MM in guaranteed money. The former Colt can earn another $2MM more in incentives.
Already a solid inside linebacker heading into the 2015 campaign, Freeman took his play to another level by significantly improving his play against the run. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked the 29-year-old as the No. 4 non-rush linebacker in the NFL, with a 97.9 grade as a run defender — that was the highest mark in that category for any linebacker in 2015.
For the season, Freeman racked up 112 total tackles to go along with three sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a defensive touchdown. He’ll pair with Trevathan to form a new-look inside linebacker duo in Chicago — Shea McClellin and Christian Jones primarily handled those roles a year ago, but McClellin appears likely to depart via free agency, while Jones figures to return to a reserve role.
Freeman ranked 23rd on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chiefs, Rod Streater Agree To One-Year Deal
John Dorsey and the Chiefs staff have finally landed a veteran wideout to pair with Jeremy Maclin. Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed wide receiver Rod Streater. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that it’s a one-year deal worth $4.8MM. It was reported this morning that the wideout was set to meet with the organization.
Streater wasn’t particularly productive for the Raiders over the past two seasons, making only ten catches for 92 yards in four games played. However, the 28-year-old shows flashes of brilliance through his first two years in the league, including a 60-catch, 888-yard, four-touchdown season in 2013.
There’s no denying that the Cheifs could use depth at the position. Besides Maclin, none of Kansas City’s wideouts finished in the top-70 of Pro Football Focus’ rankings of the league’s receivers. The team’s two other options, Albert Wilson and Chris Conley, combined for 52 catches, 650 yards, and three touchdowns last season.
The Chiefs had previously met with former Jets wideout Jeremy Kerley. Meanwhile, Streater had paid visits to both the Jets and the Patriots.
Extra Points: Manziel, Okung, Streater
Rumors have persisted that Johnny Manziel could eventually wind up with the Cowboys. However, following the embattled quarterback’s release from the Browns, it doesn’t sound like Dallas currently has much interest.
According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys have no intention of signing the 23-year-old once he passes waivers. However, Moore did leave the window open, noting that the organization wouldn’t pursue the signal-caller “until he gets his life back in order.”
A report in January hinted that Manziel had interest in playing for Dallas, and according to Moore, the quarterback was convinced that the interest would be mutual. For the time being, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Let’s check out some more assorted notes from around the league…
- Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated believes the Lions are the favorite to sign offensive tackle Russell Okung. The writer notes that the Seahawks, 49ers, and Giants are also in the mix for the 28-year-old.
- Wideout Rod Streater is set to meet with the Chiefs today, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The former Raiders receiver has also met with the Patriots and the Jets.
- Defensive back Will Blackmon has received a contract offer from Washington, reports Mike Jones of The Washington Post (via Twitter). However, the 31-year-old has drawn interest from several teams, and the cornerback is currently “reviewing his options.”
- The 49ers have interest in retaining defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. The team wasn’t willing to commit the $1.67MM it would have taken to make the 25-year-old a restricted free agent.
Titans, Al Woods Agree To Three-Year Deal
SATURDAY, 10:45am: The three-year deal is worth $10.5MM with $5MM in guaranteed money, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. There’s another $2.25MM worth of incentive money, boosting the potential value to $12.75MM.
FRIDAY, 10:50pm: After spending the last two seasons in Tennessee, defensive tackle Al Woods will continue his career with the Titans in 2016. Woods’ agency, SportTrust Advisors, announced today (via Twitter) that the veteran defender has agreed to terms on a new three-year contract with the Titans.
Woods, who turns 29 later this month, picked up 22 tackles in 14 games (nine starts) for the Titans in 2015. With fellow nose tackle Sammie Lee Hill recovering from a knee injury to open the season, Woods saw most of the playing time at the position, earning 362 defensive snaps to Hill’s 190 for the season. While Pro Football Focus ranked Woods just 88th out of 123 interior defenders, PFF gave him a solid grade as a run defender, and he’s primarily used on early downs.
With a new deal in place to keep him in Tennessee, Woods has a leg up on the Titans’ starting nose tackle job for the 2016 season, at least for the time being. John Glennon of The Tennessean indicated near the end of the 2015 campaign that it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team retain Woods rather than Hill, who is also a free agent.
While financial terms of Woods’ deal aren’t yet known, he’s coming off a two-year, $4MM pact, and I’d expect him to match or exceed that per-year salary. Before agreeing to terms with the Titans, Woods reportedly paid a visit to Seattle to meet with the Seahawks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC Notes: Sanchez, Ferguson, Dolphins, Hoyer
Quarterback Mark Sanchez was traded to the Broncos yesterday, but if the veteran had had his way, he would have ended up in Denver years before.
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter), Sanchez wanted to play for the Broncos following his release from the Jets in 2014. The play-caller wanted to learn from future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, but the presence of Brock Osweiler essentially prevented Sanchez from joining the organization. Instead, he landed with the Eagles on a one-year, $2.25MM deal.
Let’s check out some more notes from around the AFC…
- The Jets are set to meet with offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum, and considering D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s huge cap hit, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini wonders whether the veteran lineman could be a cap casualty. Ferguson is set to count for $14.1MM against the cap, and his declining performance in 2015 could make him expendable.
- With Olivier Vernon off to the Giants, the Dolphins continue to look for ways to improve their defensive line depth. Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets that the team is looking to secure a meeting with veteran defensive end Chris Clemons.
- After the Texans signed Osweiler to a pricey deal, it seemed inevitable that incumbent quarterback Brian Hoyer would be traded. However, general manager Rick Smith was adamant that the 30-year-old still has a role on the team. “I think it’s pretty apparent you need a couple quarterbacks in this league, okay,” Smith told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “And so Brian obviously played a lot of football for us, understands our system, our scheme and our team and is a valuable member of our team.”