HEADLINES

Vikings Release Charlie Johnson

February 27th, 2015 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Charlie Johnson has started 61 of 64 potential regular season games for the Vikings over the past four years, but it appears he won’t be back for the 2015 season. The Vikings announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve terminated Johnson’s contract, which had been set to expire a year from now.

Johnson had no dead bonus money left on his deal, so by avoiding paying his $2.45MM base salary and $50K workout bonus for the 2015 season, the Vikings will wipe his entire $2.5MM cap number from their books. Johnson, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to go out and try to find work immediately, without having to pass through waivers or wait until next month’s free agent period.

Of course, it remains to be seen what sort of market there will be for Johnson. Despite his extensive experience (115 career starts), the 31-year-old received a negative grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) in each of his four years in Minnesota, including a -12.1 mark in 2014.

Eagles Release Todd Herremans

February 27th, 2015 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 12:35pm: The Eagles have formally announced in a press release that they’ve released Herremans.

“Todd has been the ultimate professional during my two years in Philadelphia with him,” head coach Chip Kelly said in a statement. “He is a tough player and I wish him all of the best as he moves forward in his NFL career. I spoke to him earlier today and one of the things I told him was that by releasing him now, he will have a full opportunity to explore all of his options around the league.”

THURSDAY, 10:25am: Yesterday, a long-tenured Packer became a free agent when Green Bay released A.J. Hawk, and today the Eagles are parting ways with a player who has been with the team even longer than Hawk had been with the Packers. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Philadelphia will release veteran offensive lineman Todd Herremans, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Herremans, 32, has been with the Eagles since the club selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. Over the course of the last decade, the 10-year veteran has appeared in 127 games for the Eagles, starting 124 of them at every spot besides center on the offensive line. In recent years, Herremans has served as Philadelphia’s right guard or right tackle, though his 2014 campaign came to an early end due to a biceps injury.

By releasing Herremans, the Eagles avoid paying his $4MM base salary for the 2015 season. Herremans’ contract still has $2.4MM in dead money remaining on it, which will apply to the 2015 cap, but since his original cap number had been $5.2MM, the Eagles will create $2.8MM in cap savings with the move.

Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Evan Mathis, and Lane Johnson appear poised to continue to anchor Philadelphia’s offensive line for the 2015 season. Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner also remain under contract, and both players filled in at times due to injuries or suspensions during the 2014 season — along with Allen Barbre, they look like the frontrunners to compete for Herremans’ old job in the Eagles’ starting lineup this summer.

Bengals Cut Robert Geathers, Greg Little

February 27th, 2015 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bengals have announced a pair of cuts, confirming today (via Twitter) that they’ve let go of defensive lineman Robert Geathers and wide receiver Greg Little. Because both players have at least four accrued NFL seasons, they won’t need to pass through waivers, and will immediately become free agents.

Cincinnati’s release of Little won’t create any real cap savings, since the former Brown had been on a minimum-salary contract. However, the club will save $3.05MM in cap room due to the release of Geathers. The veteran defensive end had been slated to earn a $2.85MM base salary, along with a $200K workout bonus, with no dead money on his contract for 2015.

Little, 25, was cut by the Browns last offseason, and though he initially landed in Oakland, the Raiders didn’t find room for the former second-round pick on their regular-season roster. Little signed with the Bengals in October, but despite injuries to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones, the UNC couldn’t carve out much playing time in Cincinnati — he finished the year with just six catches on 12 targets, for a total of 69 yards.

As for Geathers, he becomes the latest long-tenured player to receive his walking papers this week, on the heels of players like A.J. Hawk and Todd Herremans being informed of their respective releases. Having initially joined the Bengals as a fourth-round pick in 2004, Geathers played 152 games for the franchise over the last 11 years, but hasn’t been a starter since the 2012 campaign. Cutting the 31-year-old prior to this year’s free agent period should give him a head start to try to latch on with another club.

Bears Re-Sign Zach Miller

February 27th, 2015 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Bears have kept tight end Zach Miller off the free agent market, extending his expiring contract today, according to an announcement from the team (via Twitter). Miller’s new deal is a one-year pact.

Miller, not to be confused with the Seahawks tight end who has the same name, saw his 2014 season come to an end before it even began, as he went down in August with a season-ending foot injury and spent the year on injured reserve. However, the Bears liked what they saw from Miller prior to that injury — he caught a pair of touchdowns in the team’s preseason opener.

Considering Miller had been on a minimum-salary contract in 2014, he’ll almost certainly make the minimum again on his new deal after sitting out the season. While the new agreement may include a little guaranteed money, it won’t be enough to assure of him anything heading into camp this summer.

Dolphins Rumors: Hartline, Wallace, Skuta

February 27th, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Dolphins made a roster move this morning, announcing the release of wide receiver Brian Hartline, which will create more than $3MM in cap savings. A few of today’s Dolphins-related rumors stem directly from that transaction, so let’s dive in and round them up….

  • According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Hartline had been open to the idea of reducing his salary to remain with the Dolphins, but the team is not believed to have made an offer. A source close to Hartline tells Salguero that the wideout is disappointed by the move, but would like to land with a team closer to his native Ohio, and will prioritize clubs with accomplished quarterbacks. The Colts are one possibility, per Salguero.
  • Following up on a Thursday report that suggested Mike Wallace isn’t interested in restructuring his contract, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald confirms that the receiver is at least uninterested in taking a pay cut. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk confirms with a source that there’s no roster bonus or other trigger in Wallace’s deal for March that would force the Dolphins to make a quick decision on the wideout. However, the $3MM guarantee on his deal has offset language, so if the team decides to cut Wallace, doing so sooner rather than later could be advantageous.
  • 49ers linebacker Dan Skuta, who is capable of playing both inside and outside, is on the list of free agents the Dolphins like, writes Jackson.
  • Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) has heard from multiple people that new head of football operations Mike Tannenbaum actually has his eye on the 2016 season rather than 2015. As Beasley points out, that means the possibility of a roster purge is in play, though he’s skeptical that head coach Joe Philbin and GM Dennis Hickey would support a rebuild, given their potentially their job security.

Ravens Release Chris Canty

February 27th, 2015 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran defensive end Chris Canty has become the latest veteran player to find himself on the free agent market. The Ravens announced today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with the 32-year-old Canty, terminating his contract two days after releasing wideout Jacoby Jones.

Canty, a 10-year veteran, joined the Ravens prior to the 2013 season, after spending his first eight years in the NFC East with the Cowboys and Giants. In two years with Baltimore, Canty started 14 of 26 games he played, registering 65 total tackles and 2.5 sacks. While he didn’t have a huge impact on the field, the veteran lineman was a good leader and locker room presence, according to ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley (Twitter link).

While Hensley speculated that Canty could transition into TV work in 2015, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that – despite initially contemplating retirement – the Virginia product has been working out since the season ended and intends to keep playing. The defensive lineman confirmed as much in a statement.

“I am going to continue to prepare to play again and will explore other possibilities to play the game I love,” Canty said.

By cutting Canty, the Ravens removed his $2.66MM base salary from their books, leaving about $667K in dead money. Canty had initially been slated to count for approximately $3.327MM against the club’s 2015 cap.

Dolphins Cut Brian Hartline

February 27th, 2015 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

While rumors swirl around the Dolphins’ highest-paid receiver, Mike Wallace, the team has made a decision on its second highest-paid wideout. According to agent Drew Rosenhaus, Brian Hartline is being released by the club, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets.

While Wallace’s deal, which carries the largest cap hit on the roster, will have to be dealt with at some point, Hartline’s contract was another obvious one for the team to address at some point prior to free agency. The veteran wideout’s cap number was set to increase to $7.35MM in 2015, and then to $7.55MM for each of the following two seasons. That may have been a reasonable price for the version of Hartline who averaged 75 receptions and 1,050 yards in 2012 and 2013, but the 28-year-old’s production dipped sharply in 2014, when he grabbed just 39 balls for 474 yards.

Since Hartline still had three years left on his deal, the annual $1.4MM charges for his signing bonus will all accelerate to 2015, leaving $4.2MM in dead money on the Dolphins’ books. Still, the move clears $3.15MM in cap room for the ’15 league year, and the club avoids paying Hartline’s $5.9MM base salary for the coming year.

Those cap savings for Miami could potentially be put toward re-signing tight end Charles Clay, who is expected to command a per-year salary in the neighborhood of $6MM. As for Hartline, like fellow veteran wideout Harry Douglas, who was also released today, he should generate some interest among teams seeking depth for their receiving corps, rather than clubs looking to add a high-level starter.

Falcons Release Harry Douglas

February 27th, 2015 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

A day after parting ways with veteran running back Steven Jackson, the Falcons have released another key offensive player, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Citing a league source, Getlin reports that Atlanta has cut wide receiver Harry Douglas, who had a year remaining on his contract.

Douglas, 30, enjoyed his best season in 2013, when injuries to Julio Jones and Roddy White increased his role in the Falcons’ offense, allowing him to set new career highs in catches (85) and receiving yards (1,067). Jones and White returned to health for the 2014 season, and Douglas returned to his role as Matt Ryan‘s No. 3 target, but he still managed to rack up 51 receptions in just 12 games.

Although he was a solid third receiver in the Falcons’ offense, Douglas’ base salary was set to increase to $3.5MM for the 2015 season, and three of the Falcons’ top eight cap hits belonged to receivers, so something had to give. By releasing Douglas, Atlanta will reduce his cap number from $4.396MM to about $896K, removing that $3.5MM base salary from the books.

Douglas, who should draw some interest as a second- or third-tier wideout for teams that don’t want to pony up for a top free agent, will be eligible to sign with another club immediately, since he won’t have to pass through waivers.

Free Agent Market For Safeties

February 27th, 2015 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

Our list of 2015 free agents provides a comprehensive position-by-position breakdown of which players are eligible to hit the open market this year. However, that list of names doesn’t include much context or additional information about those players. So, with March’s free agent period fast approaching, we’re taking a closer look this month at the free agent market for each position. Today, we’ll turn our attention to safeties. Let’s dive in….

Top unrestricted FAs:

For many of the positions we’ve already examined, the top-tier free agent options expected to be available this winter are few and far between, or entirely non-existent. That’s not the case at safety, however. There aren’t a ton of elite players here – McCourty may be the only one, and he’s still a candidate to be franchised – but there are plenty of guys capable of being solid starters, and several with some upside.

The elder statesmen in this group are Adams, Landry, and Rolle. The Giants safety saw his Pro Football Focus grade (subscription required) fall off a cliff in 2014 due to a poor performance against the run, but is only a year removed from being a top-10 player at the position. Adams, meanwhile, finished in the top 10 in ’14, on the strength of the second-best coverage grade among safeties, per PFF. Neither of these guys should be relied upon as a long-term answer, and Landry probably shouldn’t be either, but for teams looking to plug a hole for the 2015 season, there are certainly worse solutions.

Teams looking for a younger player could target someone like Moore, Gilchrist, Searcy, or Stewart. Moore, Searcy, and Stewart appear to be reasonable bets to change teams, since the Broncos have a handful of free agents to re-sign, the Bills have already invested heavily in another safety (Aaron Williams), while Baltimore may not be inclined to pay Stewart a raise after turning him into a capable starter last season.

Other notable names here include Parker, who contributed for the Chiefs at both safety and cornerback in 2014, and Branch, who has had his last two seasons mostly wiped out by injuries after averaging 105 tackles per year from 2009 to 2012.

Other unrestricted options:

Amidst this group of special teams contributors and up-and-down veterans, there are some names worth monitoring.

Lewis logged nearly 1,100 defensive snaps in 2014, and held his own, bouncing back from a forgettable performance in the Wild Card game vs. the Colts a year earlier. His teammate Manning was solid as well, limiting opposing quarterbacks to 105 yards and a 67.7 QB rating on 23 passes thrown in his direction. Coleman emerged as a solid part-time player for the Chiefs, and figures to be looking for an opportunity to start in 2015.

Allen, DeCoud, Landry, and Meriweather are among the veterans whose better days are probably behind them, but if they’re not asked to be every-down players, they could still provide positive value on modest deals. Leonhard played as well as any of those veterans in 2014, but it looks as if he’ll probably call it a career rather than trying to land a new contract for 2015.

Restricted FAs:

If McCourty is the only elite safety eligible for free agency this offseason, his strongest competition for that honor may come from someone in his group. Gipson and Hill, in particular, have developed into above-average starters and are entering their age-25 seasons. The Browns and Ravens, respectively, have the means to lock up their safeties for at least the 2015 season, and Cleveland at least looks like a lock to do so. We’ll see what the Ravens decide with Hill, who has been suspended for off-field issues in each of the last three seasons.

Besides Gipson and Hill, McLeod is a very good bet to receive a restricted free agent tender from the Rams, and Jarrett is coming off a solid season for the Jets, though it remains to be seen if the new coaching staff will want to lock him up. Most of the other players in this group are reserves and/or special-teamers, so if their teams bring them back, it will likely be for less than the RFA tender amount.

Previous looks at the 2015 free agent market:

Falcons Sign Matt Bryant To Extension

February 27th, 2015 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 7:47am: Bryant’s new deal is a three-year contract, with a total value of $8.5MM, according to Vaughn McClure and Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links). It will count for about $2.483MM against 2015’s cap.

WEDNESDAY, 4:32pm: Veteran kicker Matt Bryant had been eligible for unrestricted free agency in less than two weeks, but the Falcons have ensured that he doesn’t reach the open market. The club announced today in a press release that Bryant has inked a contract extension that will keep him in Atlanta.

Bryant, who has been with the Falcons since the 2009 season, has been very consistent during his time in Atlanta. He made 29 of 32 field goal attempts in 2014, with his only three misses coming from 50+ yards out. In 2013, two of his three misses were from 50+ yards.

While financial terms of Bryant’s new extension aren’t yet known, he is coming off a four-year deal that paid him $2.675MM per year. That annual salary put him just outside of the NFL’s top 10 kickers, and given how good he has been since signing it, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bumped up to the $3MM per year range. Of course, the Baylor product will turn 40 in May, so this deal almost certainly won’t be another four-year pact.

With Bryant off the market, Stephen Gostkowski and Matt Prater are the notable kickers without contracts yet for 2015. Jay Feely, Mike Nugent, and Ryan Succop are also eligible to become UFAs in March.

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