Sunday Roundup: Cowboys, RGIII, Pagano
Let’s take a look at some links from around the league while waiting for the murky playoff picture to begin to sort itself out:
- Although Kellen Moore did not exactly set the world ablaze in the Cowboys‘ loss to the Jets last night, he nearly helped his team to an upset victory and demonstrated that he is a better option than Matt Cassel moving forward. However, as ESPN’s Todd Archer writes, head coach Jason Garrett is as yet unwilling to name Moore the starter for the final two games of the season. The Cowboys will need to address the backup quarterback situation behind Tony Romo next year, and it makes sense for the club to at least see what it has in Moore.
- Last night’s loss officially eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention, so owner Jerry Jones expects the team to put Romo on injured reserve, according to Charen Williams of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
- Washington has made it clear that it is ready to move on from Robert Griffin III, but Ian Rapoport (article via Conor Orr of NFL.com) identifies a number of teams that may be interested in RGIII. That list includes the Cowboys, Eagles, Texans, and Saints (or whichever team happens to employ Sean Payton).
- While Chuck Pagano‘s future in Indianapolis is still very much up in the air, if the Colts do decide to part ways with him, Rapoport says that he would immediately become one of the most sought-after head coaching candidates in the league. Although Pagano has previously said the Colts job would be his last coaching gig, there will apparently be no shortage of teams trying to change his mind.
- Although things could change in the next several weeks, Mark Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com suggests that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is growing increasingly weary of his team’s performance and could be leaning towards a “clean sweep” that would see both head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer lose their jobs. We had previously heard that one of Farmer or Pettine would be fired, but not both.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says the NFL-to-Los Angeles process is getting uglier by the minute, with “members of the league’s Los Angeles committee making promises to St. Louis in an effort to keep the Rams there and publicly trashing San Diego in an effort to get the Chargers out.” Florio suggests one way to placate all parties involved may be to have Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Rams owner Stan Kroenke swap their franchises, much like the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams were swapped in 1972. The entire article is worth reading, and although Florio concedes it is something of an outlandish idea, he suggests it could gain traction as we get closer to the critical owners meetings in January. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, however, was quick to throw cold water on that notion (via Twitter).
- According to Rapoport (via Twitter) Leonard Hankerson, who was claimed by the Patriots this week, was released by the Falcons off the injured reserve list when he told Atlanta that he was healthy and wanted to be cut. The Falcons obliged, and now Hankerson is suited up for New England this afternoon.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at the 2016 class of free agent cornerbacks.
Kirk Cousins To Remain In Washington In 2016
Kirk Cousins will remain in Washington in 2016, even if the team has to use the franchise tag on him, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Citing sources with knowledge of the situation, La Canfora says the team has already reached out to Cousins’ representatives to express its interest in a long-term deal.
Cousins, of course, has had an up-and-down tenure with Washington over his four years with the club. Often the subject of trade rumors, sometimes relegated to a backup role when it seemed apparent that he gave the team the best chance to win, he has finally had the opportunity to display his skills on a full-time basis this year. Although Washington has compiled a mediocre 6-7 record in 2015, it is currently in first place in the NFC East and in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth due to the weakness of its division. And although Cousins’ numbers do not jump off the page, they certainly support Washington’s belief that it has a quarterback on the rise. Cousins has completed over 69 percent of his passes while throwing 18 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, compiling a 93.2 quarterback rating in the process. The fact that he has put together such a season without the benefit of a strong running game makes his efforts even more impressive.
Although it does not make sense for Cousins’ representatives to engage in contract talks now, as he continues to build leverage with passing week, the team has made it known that it is ready to talk contract whenever he is. Washington certainly believes it will begin negotiations not longer after the season is over, and one high-ranking official of a quarterback-needy club has expressed his belief that GM Scot McCloughan will do everything in his power to keep Cousins in the nation’s capital, including putting the $19-20MM franchise tag on him.
The type of contract Cousins could land as the best quarterback on the free agent market has been a hot topic of conversation over the past week, with some pointing to Alex Smith‘s deal with Kansas City–which has an AAV of $15MM and includes $45MM fully-guaranteed–as a reasonable comparable. Even if Cousins does not quite reach that level of guaranteed money, he is about to be a very rich man. Washington–which has been just as impressed with the way Cousins has handled himself during his time with the team as it is with his ability–is ready to make sure he will earn that fortune while wearing burgundy and gold.
Bills Notes: Taylor, Whaley, Pegula
After hearing a little more about the deteriorating relationship between the Bills and disgruntled defensive end Mario Williams this morning, let’s take a look at a few more links out of Buffalo:
- By playing over half of the Bills’ offensive snaps, Tyrod Taylor voided the third year of the three-year deal he signed with Buffalo this season. He is due just $1MM next year, his final season under club control, and although the team could lock him up long-term, GM Doug Whaley and OC Greg Roman are reluctant to label him as the team’s quarterback of the future. Per Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News, Whaley expects to deal with Taylor’s contract at the end of the 2016 season, which may not be the wisest decision. Sullivan believes the team should at least offer Taylor some sort of bridge deal, something along the lines of a three-year, $27MM pact. Although Taylor, who has “outsized belief in his ability,” would likely reject such an offer, Sullivan thinks the Bills should at least try. Taylor is still relatively raw, but if his 2016 season is anything like his 2015 effort, he would likely be in line for a highly-lucrative deal in free agency, and as a result, the Bills may once again be without a quarterback when that time comes.
- Whaley, of course, may not even be the one to make the decision on Taylor’s future. Per Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, Bills owner Terry Pegula is seeking outside NFL consultation as to what steps he should take to rid his club of the problems it has faced in recent seasons, and most of that advice is not favorable for Whaley. For instance, Pegula is hearing that the team needs to move on from EJ Manuel as the backup quarterback–something that Whaley has been steadfast in not wanting to do–and Pegula is reportedly “open to the idea of hiring someone to provide big-picture oversight of the football operation while also finding a new GM.” After all, the Bills nearly parted ways with Whaley last offseason, when they reached out to Bill Polian to run the team’s football operations, and the fact that Whaley has now had problems with two head coaches is viewed as a black mark on his resume.
- Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms that Whaley is “at odds” with the Bills’ coaching staff, and La Canfora expects there to be a “showdown” between Whaley and the staff this offseason. Whaley is especially frustrated that the team does not regularly feature Sammy Watkins–for whom Whaley traded a bounty of draft picks–and he would also prefer the team move on from Roman and others. Pegula, however, is a big Roman supporter, and Whaley’s decision to invest so much draft stock in one player, along with his decision to draft Manuel, may be too much for the GM to overcome. It appears as though Whaley may be on his way out, while Rex Ryan and Roman will be given a chance to right the ship and continue to mold the team within Ryan’s ground-and-pound, defense-oriented vision.
Latest On Mario Williams, Bills
Add Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Conor Orr of NFL.com) to the chorus of voices who believe Mario Williams‘ time with the Bills could be up at the end of the season. Rapoport says there is a “clear, fundamental disconnect” between head coach Rex Ryan and his defensive line, and Williams could be at the heart of the trouble.
Williams has been relatively vocal about his dissatisfaction with Ryan’s scheme, which has been largely ineffective this season. Indeed, the Bills’ defense under Ryan has regressed in almost every way from one year ago, when the unit was led by Jim Schwartz, who is reportedly missed by a number of the team’s defensive players. But Williams’ displeasure may now be manifesting itself in other ways, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Williams missed a team meeting this week and blamed illness for his absence, which not everyone believed.
Williams’ frustration, of course, is understandable. He is playing under a new defensive coordinator for the sixth straight year, and under Ryan’s 3-4 defense, he has been asked to do a great deal more than simply rush the passer. Although Ryan’s scheme is similar to the one that Mike Pettine deployed when he served as the Bills’ defensive coordinator several seasons ago, it is clear that Williams has struggled to adapt. His run defense has been mediocre, he has not looked especially good when dropping into coverage, and his pass rush numbers are way down. After posting double-digit sack totals in each of the last three years, Williams has just four sacks this season.
Adding to Williams’ discontent is the fact that he was probably viewing the 2015 season as a contract year, even though he is technically under club control for two more seasons. As is typically the case with mega-deals like the six-year, $96MM pact Williams signed with the Bills prior to the 2012 season, no one really expected Williams to play out the life of his contract without at least some sort of restructure. As former NFL agent Joel Corry tweets, Williams would carry a cap hit of $19.9MM in 2016, a number that is especially onerous for Buffalo, which will have over $146MM in cap obligations. Williams was always going to be a cut or restructure candidate, and at this point, it looks far more likely that he will be cut. After all, it much easier for the Bills to move on from Williams than it is for them to move on from Ryan.
But even though Williams will be on the wrong side of 30 when the 2016 season begins, Rapoport expects him to generate a great deal of interest on the open market, just like Julius Peppers did several seasons ago (Twitter link). Given Williams’ track record–he has compiled 95 sacks over his ten-year career–it will be relatively easy for him to convince other clubs that his disappointing 2015 season was due primarily to scheme rather than a diminishing skill set.
Steve Smith Expected To Return In 2016
Although Steve Smith, Sr. announced in August that the 2015 season would be his last in the NFL, there were rumblings as early as October that he would be open to returning in 2016. Given that this year has been such a disappointment for the Ravens, who had legitimate playoff aspirations when the season began, and given that Smith’s excellent individual performance was cut short by a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 8, it makes sense that the diminutive wideout, renowned for his toughness and competitive spirit, would want to give it one more shot in 2016.
And according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, that’s exactly what Smith plans to do. Citing sources who stay in regular contact with Smith, Rapoport says that if Smith feels like his usual self when he fully recovers from his torn Achilles, he will return next season, which will be the final year of the three-year, $11.5MM deal he signed with Baltimore prior to the 2014 campaign. Rapoport adds that Smith is out of his walking boot, and he is focusing on hydrotherapy at the moment in an effort to avoid atrophy and to ensure that he can regain his usual explosiveness and cutting ability.
Over the course of his prolific career, Smith has compiled 13,392 receiving yards–good for 11th all-time–to go along with 76 receiving touchdowns. That is not to mention the success he enjoyed as a return man in the early part of his career with the Panthers, his five Pro Bowls, and his two First Team All-Pro selections, all of which make him a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. And although the 36-year-old Utah product showed some signs of slowing down towards the latter stages of the 2014 season–a season in which he nonetheless posted 1,065 receiving yards and six scores–he bounced back with a vengeance in 2015, averaging nearly 100 yards per game before being sidelined.
The Ravens will surely look to supplement their receiving corps this offseason, but they would love to see Smith return, as he has proven that, despite his age, he can still be an invaluable weapon for quarterback Joe Flacco, whose season was also cut short by an Achilles injury.
AFC Notes: Dolphins, Steelers, Jaguars
The Dolphins will watch the playoffs from their couches for the seventh straight season largely because they’ve cycled through various underwhelming choices at head coach and quarterback during that span. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald offers a solution for each spot: Sean Payton and Drew Brees.
Both Payton and Brees are still under contract in New Orleans beyond this season (Payton for two years, Brees for one), but there are rumblings that Payton will search for another job during the offseason. Thus, he could end up in Miami – which isn’t expected to promote interim head coach Dan Campbell. Should Payton attempt to take a position elsewhere, the Saints will expect compensation for him. If the Dolphins ends up as Payton’s next team, Salguero believes they should be willing to package as much as a first-round pick in 2016, a first-rounder in ’17, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill to ensure that the Saints put Brees in the deal with Payton.
Salguero’s proposal would make sense for the Saints, who are in cap jail and nowhere near contention. They’d get Tannehill – who has shown potential, is nine years younger than Brees (37 in January), and under team control through 2020 – and a couple of valuable draft choices to aid in a rebuild. The Dolphins would be surrendering a boatload in hopes of ending their playoff drought, but Salguero thinks owner Stephen Ross would be a proponent of such a move because Ross has tried something similar in the past. As Salguero details, Ross attempted to hire then-Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2011 and wanted Harbaugh to convince his QB, Andrew Luck, to enter the draft. It didn’t work then, but Salguero sees his idea as a win-win for both Ross’ Dolphins and the Saints.
In the event Salguero’s suggestion becomes a reality, it would mean Brees finally ends up in a Dolphins uniform – something that nearly happened almost a decade ago. Instead the team traded for Daunte Culpepper, whose time in Miami was a failure. On the other hand, Brees became a Super Bowl winner and a Hall of Fame lock in New Orleans.
More from the AFC:
- The 8-5 Steelers are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, but they might end up as the conference’s scariest team if they get into the postseason, Bob McManaman of the AZCentral.com opines. The Steelers are getting hot at the right time, having averaged 35 points per game and nearly 500 yards per contest over their last five, and this year’s AFC powers have looked vulnerable of late. New England has come back to earth somewhat thanks to injury issues, while Cincinnati may have lost star quarterback Andy Dalton for the season and Denver doesn’t appear to have a solution under center. All of that could open the door for the Steelers to ultimately make their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010-11.
- The concussion protocol the NFL established in 2013 is garnering positive reviews from the Steelers, who say it protects them from themselves, Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “If you leave it up to us, there’s never nothing wrong with us,” cornerback William Gay stated, implying that he and his fellow players will always look for an excuse to stay in a game. With the concussion protocol in place, though, that can’t happen anymore. Said fullback Will Johnson, “I have trust in their concussion protocol and that they are going to make sure that I am completely safe before they let me go out and participate. I’ve always felt comfortable. I know it is a hot topic of conversation right now, but I have never had a problem.”
- Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley‘s decision in 2013 to retain receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, a holdover from the prior staff, is paying off, according to Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. Sullivan deserves at least some credit for helping turn a pair of second-year wideouts – Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns – into big-time threats, especially given that neither was a first-round pick. Robinson was a second-rounder, and Hurns somehow went undrafted. The two have combined for 127 catches, 1,900-plus yards and 20 touchdowns this season. “On Sundays, he’s like the voice in my head,” Robinson said of Sullivan.
Job Status of 49ers’ Jim Tomsula “Muddled”
A 24-10 loss to the lowly Browns last week has “muddled” the 2016 status of 49ers rookie head coach Jim Tomsula, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch, who writes that Tomsula was a good bet to return next season prior to the Cleveland game. However, a listless showing in which the 49ers were outgained 481-221 and fell to 4-9 means Tomsula could be coaching for his job over the season’s final three weeks.
Outside of the 49ers’ horrid performance in Ohio and their lousy overall record, certain postgame comments aren’t helping Tomsula’s cause, Branch notes. Two 49ers – left tackle Joe Staley and linebacker Ahmad Brooks – said the team was too excited over its victory in Chicago the prior week and didn’t take the Browns seriously enough, which is obviously a problem for a club that shouldn’t be overlooking anyone. Moreover, opposing head coach Mike Pettine said the Browns outcoached and outplayed the Niners.
All isn’t yet lost for Tomsula, according to Branch, as the 47-year-old could retain his job if his team avoids another horrible outing down the stretch. On paper, that shouldn’t be overly difficult for the 49ers. They host playoff-bound Cincinnati on Sunday, but the 49ers have been semi-respectable at Levi’s Stadium this year (3-3, minus-14 point differential), while the Bengals will be without starting quarterback Andy Dalton. After that, San Francisco closes the season with a pair of bottom feeders – Detroit (road) and St. Louis (home).
Extra Points: Broncos, Cowboys, Draft
With quarterback Peyton Manning nearing a return from injury, the Broncos are on the brink of having to make the most important decision of their season, Troy Renck of The Denver Post offers.
The 39-year-old Manning was having a bottom-of-the-barrel season before he landed on the shelf in mid-November with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and his loss looked like addition by subtraction as the Brock Osweiler era got off to a solid beginning. Osweiler’s first three starts all ended up as wins for Denver, but some shine wore off two weeks ago in a 17-3 victory over a horrific San Diego team and matters worsened in a 15-12 loss to Oakland last Sunday.
Manning will be inactive for Sunday’s game against playoff-caliber Pittsburgh, but he’s likely to be healthy enough for activation by Week 16. That means Osweiler might be playing for the starting job at Heinz Field. As Renck points out, Denver’s Osweiler-led offense has gone 23 straight possessions without scoring a touchdown, which isn’t going to cut it with a prolific Steelers offense on the other side. With another underwhelming showing from Osweiler, head coach Gary Kubiak could turn back to Manning as the playoffs near.
Some other NFL news and notes:
- Tonight is potentially the end of the Matt Cassel era in Dallas. The 33-year-old has fared poorly in place of Tony Romo this season, and he’ll be on a short leash against the Jets, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets. The Cowboys’ current No. 2 QB, Kellen Moore, got some first-team reps in practice this week and could see his first action since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
- Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright capped off an injury-riddled junior year Saturday by announcing he’ll enter the 2016 draft, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports. A foot injury cost Wright all but three games this season, making it a disappointing follow-up to a highly productive 2014 campaign that saw him earn All-America honors, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Jack Lambert Award (nation’s best linebacker), and the Chuck Bednarik Award (nation’s top defender).
- A list of the top 20 failed free agent signings from last offseason reveals predictable names – Dwayne Bowe, DeMarco Murray, Brandon Browner, among others – but also mentions lower-tier additions like Tampa’s Bruce Carter and Arizona’s Sean Weatherspoon, Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com writes. Both Carter and Weatherspoon were beaten out early for starting linebacker jobs.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
AFC Notes: Incognito, Manziel, Colts, Jags
Bills guard Richie Incognito, who signed a one-year deal worth just $900K in base salary last offseason, has a good chance of inking a lucrative contract in the coming months, The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne writes. Incognito missed last season because teams shied away from the 32-year-old after the Dolphins suspended him from October 2013 to February 2014 for bullying former teammate Jonathan Martin. However, he has bounced back this year and is in the middle of his best season. The former third-round pick rates second among guards by Pro Football Focus’ metrics – with only Baltimore’s Marshal Yanda outdoing him – and could make his second Pro Bowl, Dunne offers.
More from the AFC:
- A predictable uproar emerged earlier this week when Mike Pettine refused to characterize Seattle’s Russell Wilson as a top-tier quarterback, but Browns defensive end Desmond Bryant concurs with his coach regarding Johnny Manziel‘s Wilson-esque potential, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. “Johnny can definitely be that same triple threat guy. Russell is a smart quarterback, he can throw the ball and he can make plays with his feet, so a triple-threat quarterback is always going to be a problem,” Bryant told media, including Cabot. Cabot points out that Manziel, in addition to having an immense journey ahead to reach this plateau, ran considerably slower than Wilson at the Combine (4.68 seconds to Wilson’s 4.55).
- The Colts cut linebacker Daniel Adongo on Thursday. Now the NFL says it’s investigating him under its personal conduct policy, according to The Associated Press. Police have twice been called to Adongo’s house since October – including last week – in response to possible domestic violence incidents, per the Indianapolis Star. However, no charges will be filed against Adongo and the case is closed, Hamilton County deputy prosecutor Amy Summerfield said in a statement.
- The Jaguars were the first team to contact ex-Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall after he went undrafted this year, and the current cornerback didn’t wait to hear from another club before signing, Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union notes. Despite not playing corner since he was a freshman at Georgia, Marshall has factored in as a backup in Jacksonville while serving as a consistent special-teamer.
Connor Byrne contributed to this report.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/15
Here are Saturday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, which we’ll continue to update throughout the day…
- Brad Sorensen‘s eventful week continues, with the Chargers again calling up the quarterback from their practice squad to the active roster, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (on Twitter). The Bolts cut guard Craig Watts to make room. The Chargers signed Sorensen from their practice squad last Saturday as a result of Philip Rivers‘ illness, waived him Monday, re-signed him Wednesday, cut him Thursday, before re-signing the 27-year-old to the taxi squad Friday. Sounds like a lot of paperwork.
- The Patriots are adding running back Joey Iosefa to their active roster from their practice squad, Doug Kyed of NESN.com reports. A seventh-round pick of the Buccaneers’ this year, Iosefa didn’t make the team in training camp and has resided on the Patriots’ practice squad since Oct. 21. Kyed notes Iosefa, listed at 6-foot and 245 pounds, has shed weight since joining the Pats’ practice squad and could be used as a fullback or running back behind James White and Brandon Bolden. The Pats waived/injured linebacker Eric Martin in a corresponding move. Martin suffered a concussion this week.
- The Vikings have put former third-round pick Scott Crichton on the season-ending injured reserve, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 24-year-old defensive lineman has only compiled 10 total tackles in 21 career games. To take his spot on the roster, the team has promoted defensive end Zach Moore from the practice squad.