NFL: Video Involving Jags’ Dante Fowler Jr. Contains ‘Disturbing Images’
A video involving two women fighting while Dante Fowler Jr. observes and then tries to stop the brawl surfaced today on TMZ Sports. The website refers to the women who scuffle in this video recorded at an apartment complex earlier this month as the mother of Fowler’s child and a woman believed to be Fowler’s current girlfriend 
The NFL released a brief statement characterizing the video as containing “disturbing images,” (link via Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union), and will review the matter.
The Jaguars’ 2015 first-round pick, Fowler does not throw a punch in the video and breaks up the fight.
According to Carlyon, this fight occurred Feb. 1. The Jaguars and Fowler released statements following the NFL’s comment, and the Jaguars’ comments indicate Fowler informed the team of the incident before the video surfaced.
“I am embarrassed and have apologized for my actions to everyone involved,” Fowler said in his statement. “As a family, we have been dealing with this moment and the conflict that led to it since this occurred. The video surfacing is a sad reminder that emotions got the best of all of us. I take 100 percent responsibility for everything that happened
No police report of this incident exists.
Fowler missed all of his rookie season due to tearing his ACL during the first day of the Jags’ rookie minicamp last spring.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Salary Cap To Increase ~$2MM Per Team
TUESDAY, 4:44pm: The NFL released a statement today on the arbitrator’s decision that will result in the 2016 salary cap to rise further than anticipated, stating the league’s error stemmed from a technical accounting error regarding stadium construction and renovation projects, via Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal (TwitLonger link).
MONDAY, 9:11pm: An arbitrator found that the NFL withheld roughly $120MM in ticket revenue from its players over the past three years, as Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal writes. Now, the league will have to make it up to the players by increasing the salary cap by roughly $2MM per team, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
In December, the league’s estimate projected a cap between $150MM and $153.4MM with many saying that the number would land closer to the upper maximum of that range. Now, with the latest bump up, the cap could easily approach ~$155MM for the 2016 season.
“They created an exemption out of a fiction and they got caught,” said DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA.
The league’s spokesman, meanwhile, referred to the ruling as the resolution of a “technical accounting issue under the CBA involving the funding of stadium construction and renovation projects.” Regardless of what the league says, this ruling marks yet another legal victory for the NFLPA which is a good sign for the union going forward. More importantly, the ruling has the potential to give players an additional $60MM+ in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Brice McCain
Former Dolphins cornerback Brice McCain is mulling offers from multiple teams, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). McCain is now expected to make a decision after the Combine. 
McCain was cut by Miami on February 12th and, apparently, it didn’t take long for his phone to start ringing. The veteran visited the Buccaneers day later, so Tampa Bay could be among his potential landing spots. The Steelers also want to bring in McCain for a visit, though it may not happen until March. The Titans would also reportedly like to host McCain sometime after the draft combine.
McCain, 29, signed with the Dolphins last March after spending five seasons in Houston and one in Pittsburgh. However, he lasted just one season with the team, as Miami opted to part ways with him last week in order to create $2.5MM in cap savings. McCain started 10 games and played 735 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2015, picking up an interception to go along with 39 tackles.
Coples and McCain were both among the potential Dolphins cap casualties mentioned by PFR’s Connor Byrne when he previewed the club’s offseason earlier this month.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Robert Griffin III
Appearing on the Dan Sileo Show on The Mighty 1090 in San Diego, Washington team president Bruce Allen was asked whether Robert Griffin III would remain on the roster for the 2016 season, and essentially confirmed what has been assumed for the last several months – RGIII is expected to take his talents elsewhere this offseason.
“I see Robert getting an opportunity with another team,” Allen said. “I think we’ve heard from some teams that are interested, and I think he’s going to have a choice of a couple teams that will let him excel in the future.”
[RELATED: Latest on Kirk Cousins, Washington]
Washington has been in no rush to release Griffin, whose $16.155MM salary for 2016 remains non-guaranteed for now. As John Keim of ESPN.com outlines, the team will have until the new league year begins to do something with RGIII, whose salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster at that point. A source tells Keim that a trade is a long shot, and would require Griffin to re-do his contract, but Washington is exploring all its options.
While it’s not clear if any team will be willing to make a trade for Griffin, there are at least three teams interested in pursuing him as a free agent, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, Cole cautions that those teams – who don’t want to be identified – would likely want to make sure that Griffin is open to becoming more of a pocket quarterback and willing to accept a probable backup role.
As RGIII waits to find out his fate, Washington is focused on locking up starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is eligible for free agency next month. The team has another week to use its franchise tag on Cousins, which seems at this point like the most logical outcome, since the two sides aren’t believed to be close to a longer-term agreement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Sign Garrett Celek To Extension
FEBRUARY 23: The 49ers have finalized a four-year extension for Celek, locking him up through the 2019 season, the team confirmed today in a press release. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), the four-year pact is worth $14MM, with nearly $5MM in guaranteed money.
“Since Garrett entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012, he has displayed the skill, work ethic and desire to compete at a high level in the National Football League,” 49ers GM Trent Baalke said in a statement. “His commitment and determination to succeed are reflected in the way he conducts himself as a professional on and off the field. As an organization, we would like to congratulate Garrett and look forward to his continued development as a member of this organization.”
FEBRUARY 17: The 49ers and tight end Garrett Celek are close to finalizing a long-term deal, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Celek was slated to hit free agency in early March.
[RELATED: Anquan Boldin’s Contract Has Voided]
Celek, 27, played in 11 games last year (eight starts) and hauled in 19 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Celek played 39% of the 49ers’ offensive snaps and 19% of their special teams plays before suffering a high-ankle sprain late in the season. That injury caused him to miss the final five games of the year but he’ll be 100% when training camp gets underway.
Celek is the younger brother of Eagles tight end Brent Celek. Interestingly, Chip Kelly is now going from coaching one member of the Celek family to another.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Rumors: McCoy, Cruz, Culliver, Jets
Bills running back LeSean McCoy had been scheduled to meet with Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams at his office this afternoon at 4:00pm eastern time, per multiple reports. But when word of that meeting got out, it was canceled, according to John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links), who says McCoy’s lawyers wanted to avoid a media circus and were upset that the news was leaked.
According to a report from ABC 6 Action News in Philadelphia, however, the meeting hasn’t been canceled — it has just changed venues. Action News indicates that the meeting between McCoy (or perhaps just his lawyers) and the district attorney is happening now. Williams is reportedly still weighing whether to press charges against McCoy and his companions for a nightclub altercation that took place earlier this month.
Here’s more from across the NFL’s East divisions:
- Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, coming off a lost season, is set to make $8MM in 2016, but the club seems unlikely to bring him back at that price. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com polled several league sources and found that the general consensus was that the Giants should try to slice Cruz’s salary in half, perhaps giving him some incentives on a one-year deal in the $3-4MM range.
- The secondary will be an area of concern for Washington this offseason, according to John Keim of ESPN.com, who says that there’s no doubt cornerback Chris Culliver will return to the team for 2016. Culliver’s one-game suspension in 2015 gave Washington the opportunity to void his guaranteed money for 2016, but the club doesn’t plan to remove the guaranteed portion of his deal, says Keim.
- Antonio Cromartie was the first Jets veteran to become a cap casualty this offseason, but he’s unlikely to be the last, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini identifies tight end Jeff Cumberland, wide receiver Jeremy Kerley, and kicker Nick Folk as possible release candidates.
- Paul Schwartz of the New York Post explores whether the Giants could afford to roll the dice on defensive end Noah Spence if the Eastern Kentucky pass rusher is on the board at No. 10 in the draft.
Stephen Jones Talks Gregory, Hardy, FAs
Having initially expressed disappointment in Randy Gregory over his four-game suspension, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said today that the team wants to avoid the risk that “four becomes more” for the defensive end. In other words, the Cowboys want to ensure that there are no more failed tests for their 2015 second-round pick, since that would result in an even longer suspension.
With Gregory out for the first four games of the season, targeting pass rushers in free agency and/or the draft will become an even greater priority in Dallas. Jones spoke to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News about that topic, Gregory’s ban, and more. Here are the highlights from the Cowboys’ executive:
On Gregory’s four-game suspension:
“It’s disappointing, but at the same time, sometimes these things don’t get fixed overnight. Anybody who has ever been involved in this type of situation knows that sometimes it takes time. We’re there, but he’s going to have to buckle down, which he is. He’s working hard at it, but he’s got to get over the hump here.
“You have to be concerned. That’s the risk you get when you go there. It’s all about that risk-reward deal, but at the end of the day, we got the infrastructure in place to continue to help him. We think he’s utilizing it, but at the same time, it’s disappointing that we had this go far enough that it resulted in a suspension.”
On the possibility of re-signing Greg Hardy:
“[We are] still not finalized with where we’re going to come down on that.”
On upgrading the pass rush:
“We’ve just got to do everything we can. Obviously we tried hard last year. That will continue to be a focus. At the end of the day, that’s a big part of a successful football team, getting pressure on the passer. We’ve got some good players that can do it. We just need a couple more to go with [Demarcus] Lawrence and [Tyrone] Crawford and those guys.”
On the possibility of the Cowboys pursuing their first real big-money free agent since Brandon Carr:
“You never say never. You never know what player is going to be out there and how we feel about them. Obviously we’ve slowed down our spending in free agency. I think Brandon’s been a solid player, but at the end of the day, I’ve always thought that that’s what you end up doing in free agency, paying solid players like they’re All-Pro players. That’s the negative about the good ones in free agency, you tend to overpay because you’re competing. It’s a tough deal.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Rumors: Matthews, Bradford, Nelson
Last Friday, we heard that the Dolphins had reached out to free agent wide receiver Rishard Matthews about a possible new deal. The news was somewhat surprising, since Matthews had long been considered a lock to leave Miami in search of a team that would give him an opportunity for more playing time.
According to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), it looks like that’s still the case. Getlin reports that Matthews is “very likely” to reach the open market, adding that the market for the wideout “will be hot.” Matthews set new career highs in 2015 with 43 receptions, 662 yards, and four touchdowns, and while those numbers are relatively modest, they were compiled in just 11 games. Considering how weak this year’s free agent class of receivers is, there may very well be teams that view Matthews as a viable No. 2 option, and Miami almost certainly can’t afford to pay him like a No. 2.
Here are a few more updates on current free agent or free-agent-to-be from around the NFL:
- Some rival teams are doubtful that Sam Bradford will become an unrestricted free agent on March 9th, believing that he may re-sign with the Eagles before then, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Cole adds that if Bradford does hit the open market, he might not receive the kind of lucrative long-term offers he’d expect, making a one-year, prove-it deal a possibility. I’m somewhat skeptical about that — I think Bradford’s second-half performance would ensure that at least one or two teams are willing to invest heavily in him.
- The Cardinals are not interested in bringing Antonio Cromartie back to Arizona, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. Cromartie spent a season with the team in 2014, earning a Pro Bowl spot, but the Cards were willing to let him walk in free agency, and don’t appear eager to pursue him now that he’s back on the market.
- Safety Reggie Nelson saw his 2015 season come to an end when he left the Bengals‘ Wild Card loss with a sprained ankle, and he doesn’t want that to be his last play with the team. “Most definitely not,” Nelson said recently, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “They know that. Everybody knows that. I would love to be a Bengal.” According to Hobson, the Bengals aren’t expected to strike deals with their free agents at this week’s combine, but the club figures to discuss possible parameters for Nelson and others.
AFC East Notes: Cromartie, Develin, Pouncey
Before they released cornerback Antonio Cromartie on Monday, the Jets did not ask him to take a pay cut, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Cromartie had been set to earn an $8MM base salary for 2016, but none of it was guaranteed, and there was no prorated signing bonus money on the cornerback’s deal, so the Jets cleared the entire $8MM cap hit from their books.
The fact that the Jets didn’t ask Cromartie to come back at a reduced price – combined with his farewell Instagram post on Monday – suggests that the team probably doesn’t have any interest in re-signing him now that he has hit free agency.
Here’s more on how the Jets may replace Cromartie, along with a couple more items from out of the AFC East:
- Former undrafted free agent Marcus Williams deserves the first crack at taking over for Cromartie, says Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. In Cimini’s view, promoting an in-house option or using a mid-round pick on a cornerback makes more sense than diving into the free agent market, since the $8MM the team saved on Cromartie could be used elsewhere.
- Fullback James Develin is a part of the Patriots‘ free agent plans and they want him back, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Now, they have to figure out how to accomplish that. Develin a restricted free agent and the Pats could tender him at the lowest level, which would be $1.6MM. That salary would make him the sixth-highest paid fullback in the NFL (as of this writing).
- Dolphins center Mike Pouncey revealed that he recently underwent surgery, as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. Pouncey suffered what was believed to be a minor foot injury in the Dolphins’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers, but it’s not immediately clear if he went under the knife to fix that foot. That injury cost Pouncey the final two games of the ’15 season and kept him from playing in the Pro Bowl.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Broncos To Open Talks With Brock Osweiler
The Broncos will meet with representatives for the majority of their own unrestricted free agents this week at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. The “most significant” of those discussions involves quarterback Brock Osweiler, with whom the Broncos have yet to open negotiations about a new contract, says Klis.
In addition to talking to Osweiler’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, the Broncos will also speak to Joby Branion and Jack Scharf, the reps for Von Miller and Malik Jackson, respectively. Per Klis, there haven’t been many discussions so far with Branion, since it’s becoming a foregone conclusion the Broncos will use their franchise tag on Miller. However, negotiations with Scharf about Jackson have gotten somewhat serious.
[RELATED: Broncos attempting to re-sign Malik Jackson]
While Osweiler, Miller, and Jackson represent the top tier of Denver free agents, the team will make time at this week’s combine to meet with the agents for other free-agents-to-be. Klis expects the Broncos to be the most serious about attempting to lock up wide receiver Jordan Norwood, linebacker Danny Trevathan, and offensive tackle Ryan Harris.
Here are a few more brief Broncos items:
- The Broncos have nothing going on right now in talks with free agents Harris, David Bruton, and Omar Bolden, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Renck says that all three players have earned the right to start, suggesting they may have to look elsewhere for that opportunity.
- Offensive guard Evan Mathis told Renck (Twitter link) that he would be open to playing for the Broncos in 2016 if he decides to continue his career.
- The Broncos completed a little offseason work on Monday by picking up former first-round defensive lineman Phil Taylor and re-signing blocking tight end Richard Gordon.
Zach Links contributed to this post.