Chiefs Docked Two Draft Picks, Fined $250K
The Chiefs signed Jeremy Maclin during free agency last year, and now the NFL is imposing discipline on the club for the path it took to land the receiver. The Chiefs will forfeit a third-round pick this year and a sixth-rounder in 2017 because of a violation of the league’s anti-tampering policy (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). Additionally, the league has fined the team $250K, head coach Andy Reid $75K, and general manager John Dorsey $25K.
The Chiefs allegedly had contact with Maclin during the league’s legal tampering window prior to free agency, but that’s not allowed. Teams are only permitted to talk with player representatives in that time frame.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has issued a statement in response to the league’s decision (via the team’s website):
“Today we were informed by the National Football League that our club will be disciplined for an infraction during the 2015 free agency negotiating period.
“While we respect Commissioner Goodell and the process, we believe that the penalties proposed in this case are inconsistent with discipline enforced in similar matters – particularly given the league’s inconsistent communication of its policies on contact with potential free agents.
“As an organization, we take great care to conduct ourselves with integrity and operate within the guidelines of the NFL. We have been fully cooperative and transparent with the league in this matter, and we are disappointed with the league’s decision. I want to make it clear that I fully support the leadership of both Coach Reid and John Dorsey. We will continue to explore our options under the appeal process.”
An appeal is indeed on the way, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Robert Ayers To Visit Buccaneers
Defensive end Robert Ayers, the best pass rusher left on the free agent market, has a visit set up with the Buccaneers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
With the Giants having agreed to deals with fellow ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon, it appears Ayers’ stint with 
Big Blue will end after two years. During those two campaigns, the 30-year-old appeared in 24 regular-season games and recorded 14 sacks. Ayers has registered five-plus sacks in three straight years, including a career-best nine (plus 18 quarterback hurries) last season.
The 273-pounder has primarily been a reserve in his seven-year career (five with Denver), but he has totaled double-digit starts three times (including 11 in 2015-16). For his work last season, Ayers earned a tremendous mark from Pro Football Focus, which ranked him eighth out of 110 qualifying edge defenders.
If Ayers signs with the Bucs, he’ll join a team that was middle of the pack in sacks last season with 38. However, none of Tampa’s edge rushers had more than seven. It might take upward of $10MM per year to sign Ayers, as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report named that as his asking price earlier this week (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bears To Re-Up Tracy Porter
A member of four different teams from 2012-15, former Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter looks to be sticking in the same place for the first time since 2011.
The Bears are re-signing the veteran cornerback, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal for Porter, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets.
Following his successful Saints tenure that lasted from 2008-11, one that peaked with the memorable interception-return score that lifted the Saints to their only Super Bowl title in 2009, Porter’s bounced around. He joined the Broncos in 2012 and Raiders, Washington and the Bears in the seasons that followed.
The 29-year-old Porter teamed with 2014 first-round Kyle Fuller last season outside, starting 13 games — the second-most of Porter’s career. Porter’s most came when he broke with the starters for the 2013 Raiders in 16 contests.
Set to turn 30 before the season, Porter will again compete for a starting position with the Bears. He finished last season with 12 passes defensed — one shy of the career-high mark he set in Oakland in 2013 — and one interception. Most importantly, Porter returned to a starting lineup on a consistent basis after starting in just one contest in Washington.
A former second-round pick, Porter will have the opportunity to be a full-time starter for the first time since his Saints stint.
Falcons To Host Mohamed Sanu, May Sign Him
4:30pm: According to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link), Sanu’s current asking price exceeds what the Pats had been looking to spend on a receiver. That may increase the odds of Sanu signing a deal with the Falcons before he leaves Atlanta for New England.
3:44pm: Not so fast, says Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Anderson gets an update from Sanu himself, who says the plan is to visit the Patriots after meeting with the Falcons. It’s still possible that the Falcons won’t let the wideout make that visit to New England, locking him up to a new deal during his visit, but it appears it’s not set in stone yet.
3:29pm: Free agent receiver Mohamed Sanu is on his way to Atlanta to sign a deal worth $7MM per year, ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini reports (Twitter link). A long list of clubs have expressed interest in Sanu, including the Giants, Patriots, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Washington, but the Falcons will come out on top for his services.
Sanu, whom the Bengals selected in the third round of the 2012 draft, totaled 152 receptions and 15 touchdowns in Cincy. Eleven of those scores came as a receiver, while he also ran and passed for two apiece. The 26-year-old took a backseat in the Bengals’ passing game last season to A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones, catching 33 passes for 394 yards and no TDs. He was far more productive in 2014, though, putting up career bests in catches (56), receiving yards (790), YPC (14.1) and TDs (five). He’s a good bet to return to similar form as the Falcons’ top option behind Julio Jones.
Sanu is the second Bengals wideout to depart Cincinnati today, joining Jones – who’s headed to the Lions on a five-year, $40MM accord. Prior to free agency, Sanu ranked as PFR’s seventh-best available receiver.
Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Saints To Re-Sign Kai Forbath
Midseason pickup Kai Forbath appears to have impressed his new team sufficiently. The Saints look to have re-signed the kicker from the second half of 2015, with Forbath posting on Instagram he’s going to be back with the team next season.
The length or salary structure of Forbath’s agreement with the Saints is not yet known.
The Saints signed Forbath last October after Washington released him a month earlier. Forbath went on to make 9-of-13 field goal attempts — including a 57-yarder — and 33-of-34 extra points.
Forbath, 28, served as Washington’s kicker for three seasons prior to his release. He worked out for the Steelers just before signing with the Saints, but Pittsburgh opted to go with Chris Boswell instead.
Four Teams Express Interest in C.J. Anderson
Broncos free agent C.J. Anderson is generating plenty of intrigue from other teams, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reports that the Patriots, Dolphins, 49ers, and Bears have all expressed interest in the running back.
Still, barring some unforeseen circumstances (or an outrageous contract offer), it appears that Anderson will be returning to the Broncos next season. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets that Denver is expected to match “just about any” offer sheet handed to the running back.
The organization slapped the 25-year-old with a low-round tender yesterday, which would be worth $1.671MM next season. The Broncos have the right to match any offer sheet extended to the free agent, but they won’t receive any compensation if he bolts to another team.
An undrafted free agent out of California in 2013, Anderson burst onto the scene during his sophomore season. He compiled 849 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 2014, and he added another 324 receiving yards and two touchdowns through the air. Anderson only started six games in 2015, finishing with 720 yards and five scores on 152 attempts. Despite the difficult season, Anderson managed to run for 90 yards and a touchdown during this past season’s Super Bowl.
Cardinals Tender RFA D.J. Swearinger
4:00pm: It’s actually an original round tender for Swearinger, which will pay him $1.671MM, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. But because Swearinger was drafted in the second round, the Cardinals would receive a second-rounder as compensation if they declined to match an offer sheet.
3:53pm: The Cardinals have slapped a second-round tender on safety D.J. Swearinger, who will make $2.55MM in 2016 as a result, according to Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 (Twitter link). There was a report last week that the Cardinals had tendered Swearinger at the lowest level, but that obviously appears false. Now, should any team attempt to sign Swearinger, it will have
to surrender a second-rounder for his services.
Given Arizona’s move to place a low-level tender on fellow safety Tony Jefferson last week, its decision to put second-round value on Swearinger is curious. Jefferson has appeared in all 48 possible regular-season games (17 starts) as a Cardinal, playing in over 70% of their defensive snaps in 2015-16. The production has been there, too — Jefferson graded as the No. 18 safety among 88 qualifiers in 2015, per Pro Football Focus.
Swearinger, on the other hand, joined the Cardinals last season after the Buccaneers waived him. He appeared in seven games (zero starts) and registered 12 tackles. PFF gave him a 55.1 overall grade, far below Jefferson’s 81.3. The 24-year-old Swearinger was Houston’s second-round pick in 2013. He started 22 of 32 regular-season games for the Texans, with whom he picked off four passes and forced three fumbles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chargers Sign Travis Benjamin
3:55pm: The Chargers have officially announced the deal on the team’s website.
“We are very happy to add Travis Benjamin to our football team,” said general manager Tom Telesco. “We think he has the potential to help our offense and special teams in many different ways.”
2:57pm: It’s a four-year deal worth $24MM, per Rapoport (Twitter link). $13MM is guaranteed, and Benjamin will earn $18MM during the first three years.
7:25am: The Chargers are set to add a complement to Keenan Allen at wide receiver, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network, who reports (via Twitter) that Browns free agent Travis Benjamin intends to sign with San Diego when the new league year begins. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) first reported that the Chargers had emerged as “the team to beat” for Benjamin.
After catching just 41 passes in his first three seasons, Benjamin broke out in 2015, with 68 receptions, 966 yards, and five touchdowns. The multi-purpose weapon also continued to handle punt returns for the Browns, averaging 11.6 yards per return and returning one for a touchdown. While he may not be the sort of prototypical, big-bodied receiver that some teams may prefer, he looks like one of the top options in this year’s class of free agent wideouts.
The Texans displayed interest in Benjamin, but the bidding got too expensive for their liking, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who tweets that the free agent wideout was seeking $6MM+ per year. The Falcons were also among the teams cited as suitors for Benjamin, whom the Browns had reportedly wanted to re-sign.
Despite the fact that Allen missed nearly half the season for the Chargers in 2015, no other wide receiver on the team came close to matching his 67 receptions. Steve Johnson ranked second among the club’s wideouts with 45 catches, so it makes sense that the team would have wanted to fortify the position this offseason.
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Falcons Release Paul Soliai
MARCH 9, 3:51pm: The Falcons made Soliai’s release official, according to the team’s website.
FEBRUARY 21, 6:02pm: Soliai’s agent, David Canter, confirmed the lineman’s impending release. “We couldn’t agree on terms,” Canter told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
FEBRUARY 20, 8:06pm: Atlanta will indeed designate Soliai as a post-June 1 cut, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). As noted below, this means the Falcons will take on $1.4MM in dead money this year, and $2.8MM in 2017.
FEBRUARY 20, 7:35pm: The Falcons will release defensive tackle Paul Soliai on or after the start of the new league year on March 9, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. A report yesterday indicated that Atlanta had approached Soliai’s representatives about accepting a pay cut, and also noted that the veteran lineman was unlikely to do so, preferring to take his chances on the open market.
[RELATED: Falcons cut LB Justin Durant and S William Moore]
By waiting until March 9, the Falcons will absorb Soliai’s dead money hit — a charge of $4.2MM — on their 2016 salary cap. If the club opts to designate Soliai as a post-June 1 cut, it will take on dead money totals of $1.4MM in 2016 and and $2.8MM in 2017. Depending on what approach Atlanta takes, the team’s remaining 2016 cap space will fall to somewhere between $23MM and $26MM.
Having just finished the second season of a five-year deal, the 32-year-old Soliai was poised to earn a base salary of $4.5MM, accompanied by a cap figure of $6.9MM. From the Falcons’ perspective, that cap charge was likely excessive, as Soliai’s snap count in Dan Quinn‘s defense had dropped to 357 in 2015 (down from 502 in Mike Smith‘s unit in 2014). Add in the fact that Soliai wasn’t overly effective, grading as just the No. 57 interior defender last season per Pro Football Focus, and it probably makes sense that Atlanta is cutting bait.
Soliai will join a class of free agent defensive tackles that includes Damon Harrison, Nick Fairley, Terrance Knighton, and Haloti Ngata, among others. Capable of playing in either a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme, Soliai shouldn’t have any trouble finding a roster spot for the upcoming season.
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Colts Release Andre Johnson
MARCH 9: The Colts announced that they’ve released Johnson.
MARCH 4: To no one’s surprise, the Colts have told wide receiver Andre Johnson that they will be releasing him, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. A February report had suggested that Johnson had played his last down in Indianapolis.
[RELATED: PFR previews the Colts’ offseason]
After spending 12 seasons in Houston, Johnson signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Colts a year ago, and looked poised to enjoy the benefits of catching balls from Andrew Luck after playing with a cavalcade of mediocre quarterbacks over the years with the Texans. However, Luck missed more than half the season, and Johnson struggled, averaging a career-low 31.4 receiving yards per game. For the season, he had 41 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns, easily the worst full-season marks of his career.
Given how weak this year’s free agent market for wide receivers is, Johnson would likely receive interest from a handful of teams when he officially becomes available. But for a player who averaged more than 1,100 receiving yards per season during the first 12 years of his career, earning seven Pro Bowl nods during that time, last year’s drop-off was precipitous.
Nonetheless, agent Kennard McGuire recently indicated that his client isn’t contemplating retirement, telling Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) that Johnson doesn’t intend to call it a career anytime soon. “Retirement hasn’t been discussed,” McGuire said. “Andre is training and preparing for next season.”
Half of Johnson’s $5MM base salary for 2016 is fully guaranteed, so releasing the veteran wideout will leave $2.5MM in dead money on the Colts’ books. However, the club will clear the other half of that salary and will avoid paying Johnson a $2.5MM roster bonus, creating $5MM in overall cap savings for the coming season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.