Workout Notes: 2/9/16
NFL’s 2016 free agent period doesn’t officially open until March 9th, but players who didn’t finish the season on a roster – or who have since been cut – are free to work out with teams and sign contracts right away. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has several updates on those free agents who are visiting and/or auditioning for NFL teams, so let’s round up the latest:
- Before he agreed to sign a reserve/futures contract with Washington, former Steelers first-round defensive lineman Ziggy Hood tried out for the Raiders. Oakland also brought in former Fresno State edge defender Tristan Okpalaugo for a visit (Twitter links).
- Veteran defensive back Jeromy Miles and ex-Broncos tight end Dan Light recently auditioned for the Chiefs (Twitter link). Miles, who has appeared in 67 career regular-season games for the Bengals and Ravens, was cut last September by the Giants, while Light lost his practice squad spot in Denver following the team’s AFC Championship win over New England.
- The Bengals recently worked out – but did not sign – offensive tackle Sean Donnelly, safety Zach Elias, running back Alonzo Harris, running back Storm Johnson and wide receiver Rico Richardson (Twitter link). Those players were part of a larger group of eight, with the remaining three players earning contracts.
- Former Cowboys defensive tackle Ken Bishop, a seventh-round pick in 2014, worked out for the Buccaneers (Twitter link).
- Former Pitt offensive guard Jason Pinkston recently visited the Steelers (link). The Steelers also recently worked out linebacker Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo, wide receiver Issac Blakeney, long snapper Matt Dooley, defensive back Montell Garner, offensive guard Cole Manhart, wide receiver Tobais Palmer, cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz, and defensive tackle Josh Watson (Twitter links).
Montee Ball Arrested; Cut By Patriots
TUESDAY, 4:21pm: The Patriots have formally released Ball, following his arrest, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Ball had been re-signed by New England on February 1, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link), so he didn’t last long on his new reserve/futures contract.
MONDAY, 5:56pm: Prosecutors charged Ball with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to Ed Treleven of Madison.com, and the former second-round pick will not face a felony charge.
But Ball, who was released from jail earlier today, also faces a misdemeanor battery charge, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County (Wis.) Circuit Court, for striking the woman on the face five days before this incident occurred.
The battery charge carries a nine-month maximum jail term, per Treleven, with the disorderly conduct charge carrying a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.
FRIDAY, 2:07pm: Former Broncos running back Montee Ball was arrested by police in Madison, Wisconsin early Friday morning after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend into a table at a hotel, according to Bill Novak of Madison.com. Novak writes that Ball was taken to the Dane County jail on a “tentative charge” of substantial battery.
“The woman told police she had a dispute with her boyfriend,” a police source told Novak. “She said he put his hands on her, picked her up and threw her.” The source added that Ball was “very cooperative” with police.
Ball, 25, had a solid rookie season for the Broncos in 2013 after being selected in the second round of the draft, running for 559 yards and four touchdowns. However, he took a step backward in 2014, and was waived by Denver prior to the 2015 regular season.
After working out for a handful of teams, Ball eventually signed in December with the Patriots’ practice squad to help provide depth for a New England team dealing with multiple backfield injuries. Even then though, Ball wasn’t promoted to the Pats’ active roster and wasn’t believed to be in great shape — Ed Werder of ESPN.com noted that the running back weighed about 205 pounds when he was drafted by the Broncos, and was in the 230s as a Patriot.
With Ball’s on-field potential seemingly on the decline, his off-field legal run-in figures to further decrease his odds of finding a spot on an active roster for 2016. Whether or not Ball is ultimately prosecuted for this incident, the NFL will conduct its own investigation, and could decide to suspend the running back for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raiders Release Nate Allen
Less than 12 months after signing him to a four-year contract, the Raiders have parted ways with safety Nate Allen, terminating his contract, according to a Pro Football Talk report (via Twitter). Allen will immediately become a free agent without having to pass through waivers.
After spending his first five NFL seasons with the Eagles, Allen inked a four-year, $23MM contract with the Raiders in free agency last March. That contract rightly raised some eyebrows around the league, but all of the fully guaranteed money included in the deal was paid out in the first year. That means the Raiders won’t carry any dead money on their cap for Allen going forward.
As Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets, Allen’s $4.9MM base salary for 2016 would have become fully guaranteed on Wednesday if he was still on the Raiders’ roster, which explains why he was cut today. After paying him $7MM in his first and only season in Oakland, the Raiders will be off the hook for Allen’s cap hits of $5MM in 2016, $6MM in 2017, and $5MM in 2018.
Although he started 69 games in his five seasons in Philadelphia, Allen’s performance was up and down. Still, he had a fairly strong season in 2014, racking up 62 tackles, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries, five pass deflections, and a sack. Injuries derailed his 2015 campaign, however — he was placed on IR with the designation to return after Week 1 due to a knee injury, and while he returned later in the season for a few games, he never got fully healthy, and ended up back on IR to finish the year.
Assuming his knee is good to go for 2016, Allen could be a decent bounce-back candidate for a team in need of a safety this offseason. He’ll likely come at a much cheaper rate than he did a year ago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
South Notes: Tillman, Norman, Browner
A pair of former Pro Bowl safeties were released this week, and both William Moore and Michael Griffin have already drawn some interest from teams around the NFL, according to reports.
Andy Ross, the agent for Moore, tells D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has received “a few calls” from teams inquiring about his client, who was cut by the Falcons on Monday. As for Griffin, he was just released hours ago by the Titans, but during an appearance today on The Midday 180 in Nashville, he said he had already received text messages from a couple coaches he used to play for, telling him to give them a call (link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com).
With a month to go until the 2016 free agent period begins, both Moore and Griffin should have plenty of time to explore the market to find the best possible fits before the rest of this year’s class can sign with new teams.
Let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFL’s South divisions….
- Cornerback Charles Tillman told Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer today that he wants to continue his NFL career, but only if he can keep playing for the Panthers. Tillman is a pending free agent.
- Asked today about cornerback Josh Norman, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said “you can’t sign everybody,” but acknowledged that he would consider the franchise tag for Norman, if necessary (link via David Newton of ESPN.com). A weekend report indicated Carolina is likely to franchise Norman.
- The Saints are expected to cut Brandon Browner, but don’t expect it to happen before March, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, who tweets that Browner’s cap numbers may force the club to wait until the new league year begins.
- The Colts have hired former Morgan State coach Lee Hull as a wide receivers coach, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Latest On Johnny Manziel, Browns
3:00pm: A source confirms to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that Manziel showed up to a team meeting on that Wednesday in Week 17 looking disheveled, while another source says the quarterback, wasn’t drunk, but was “heavily hung over on something.”
“He was not drunk that day, but he was (recovering) from being on something,” the source said. “I don’t know what he was doing the night before, but something was wrong with him.
“This wasn’t some massive cover-up,” the source added. “What are you going to do? You have to put him in the (concussion) protocol.”
2:15pm: In a series of tweets, Silver followed up on his earlier report, walking it back a little. Although he stands by his original report that Manziel showed up drunk to practice, Silver says he’ll take the Browns at their word if they say they didn’t lie about Manziel’s diagnosis, adding that he regrets using that term (“lied”).
1:45pm: Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter links) has also been told by the Browns that the team didn’t lie about Manziel’s concussion.
12:13pm: It’s just a matter of time until the Browns part ways with Johnny Manziel, a move that is expected to happen when the new league year officially begins on March 9th. In the meantime though, new details are surfacing relating to Manziel’s final days with the team.
[RELATED: Police investigating Johnny Manziel]
According to Michael Silver of the NFL Network (video link), Manziel showed up drunk to a Browns practice late in the season, and the team lied about it in an effort to cover it up, saying that the quarterback was in the concussion protocol. The report echoes one from Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com last month – Grossi didn’t go so far as to say the Browns lied about Manziel having a concussion, but said the quarterback showed up at a Wednesday practice “disheveled and inebriated.”
While Manziel’s alleged actions are hardly shocking at this point, considering all the off-field headlines he has made in recent months, Silver’s report reflects particularly poorly on the Browns. If it’s accurate, it means the team played a significant part in enabling Manziel’s behavior as recently as about a month ago. The Browns could also be in hot water if it turns out they lied about Manziel’s health on their injury report.
For what it’s worth, a Browns spokesman tells Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link) that Manziel was, in fact, in the concussion protocol and wasn’t cleared until January 12th, well after the club’s season ended. Meanwhile, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment when Ulrich asked whether the NFL is investigating the Browns, referring the reporter to the team (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Agent no longer representing Johnny Manziel]
Whether or not the Browns’ old regime, including head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer, tried to protect Manziel, it appears the team’s new decision-makers won’t be giving him that same treatment. Sashi Brown recently issued a statement which strongly suggested Cleveland will be moving on from Manziel, and subsequent reports suggested that would happen next month, for salary cap reasons.
Earlier today, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk questioned whether the possibility of Manziel landing on paid leave might hinder the Browns’ plan to waive him, but in a post published several hours later, Florio clarified that the QB won’t be placed on paid leave anytime soon.
“The players are off per the CBA and not being paid now,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT. “It would serve no purpose and is not what paid leave was designed to accomplish.”
As such, the Browns shouldn’t have to worry about the league’s investigation into Manziel hindering their plan to cut him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Waive Ryan Lindley
The Colts have reduced their quarterback depth chart by one, announcing today in a press release that they’ve cut Ryan Lindley. The 26-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent this week if he clears waivers.
Given the opportunity to play briefly for the Colts in the final week of the regular season, Lindley completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Prior to that game, his only regular-season experience had come during his time as a Cardinal. Lindley started six regular season games over the course of three seasons for Arizona, and also started a playoff game for the team a little over a year ago.
Lindley was one of two quarterbacks signed by the Colts prior to their Week 17 game, when Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck, and Charlie Whitehurst were all battling injuries. Unlike Lindley, Josh Freeman – the other quarterback signed during Week 17 – remains on Indianapolis’ roster, and could have an opportunity to compete for the No. 2 job in 2016.
Outside of Luck, the Colts currently only have Freeman and former Jaguars Stephen Morris under contract at the QB position. Hasselbeck and Whitehurst are both eligible for free agency next month.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Broncos Rumors: Manning, V. Miller, Talib
In a press conference today, Broncos general manager John Elway insisted that there’s no timetable for Peyton Manning‘s retirement decision, and that the team intends to give him all the time he needs. However, that’s probably not exactly the case, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS.
As Klis outlines, Manning’s 2016 base salary of $19MM becomes fully guaranteed on March 9th, so the Broncos will need a decision from their quarterback sometime within the next month. Having been unwilling to pay Manning a fully guaranteed $19MM salary a year ago, when he was coming off a solid season, the Broncos certainly won’t want to lock that amount in for 2016, so if Manning still hasn’t made a decision by then, the team would likely have to cut him. Of course, it’s hard to imagine the 39-year-old taking that long to decide on his future.
Here’s more on the Super Bowl champs:
- Elway said today that Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan, two key free-agents-to-be, will be priorities this offseason, adding that he plans to start talking to their representatives right away (Twitter link via Lindsay Jones of USA Today). However, the GM did acknowledge that “it’s a fluid situation and our budget is only so big” (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post).
- The Broncos’ top priority this offseason figures to be retaining Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, and Elways said today that “the goal is always to get a long-term deal” (Twitter link via Jhabvala). Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap goes in-depth to explore what a long-term extension for Miller might look like.
- Meanwhile, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com says (via Twitter) that Denver should consider the exclusive franchise tag for Miller. Teams generally use the non-exclusive tag to franchise players, but that leaves the door open for another club to sign the player to an offer sheet. For most players, that risk isn’t significant, since a rival team would have to give up two first-round picks in addition to the big-money offer sheet, but an elite pass rusher like Miller might be worth it.
- A source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the NFL will consider suspending Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib for his dangerous – and intentional – face-mask penalty in the Super Bowl.
Eagles, Fletcher Cox Closing In On Extension?
1:14pm: Cox took to Twitter today, and while he didn’t directly address Shorr-Parks’ report, his tweet is presumably a response to that story.
“Can the reporters please stop the nonsense nothing is true to what they are reporting,” Cox tweeted. “SAD.”
Without any details, it’s hard to know what exactly Cox is disputing — if he’s right that “nothing is true” about Shorr-Parks’ story, that would mean the Eagles aren’t even working on an extension for the defensive lineman, which seems unlikely.
It was Shorr-Parks who reported last month that the Eagles were making an effort to lock up Curry, Johnson, and Ertz, and those deals all came together within the next couple weeks, so there’s no reason to think the NJ.com scribe is way off base here. So perhaps it’s just the notion that an extension is “close” that Cox is denying. If that’s the case, it remains to be seen whether Cox simply thinks no agreement is imminent or whether he feels there are major hurdles to clear before the two sides reach a deal.
For now, we’re in wait-and-see mode, though I’d be a little surprised if the Eagles don’t sign Cox to an extension at some point in the coming weeks.
8:16am: The Eagles have already locked up four players to contract extension since their season ended last month, but the team isn’t done yet, and the next deal will likely be the biggest yet. According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, the Eagles and defensive lineman Fletcher Cox are getting close to an agreement that will lock up Cox for years to come.
[RELATED: Vinny Curry, Eagles agree to extension]
Cox, 25, had arguably the best season of his four-year career in 2015, setting a new career high with 9.5 sacks. He also racked up 71 tackles, three forced fumbles, and a pair of fumble recoveries. The performance earned Cox his first Pro Bowl nod, along with a top-10 spot on Pro Football Focus’ rankings of interior defenders — the Eagles standout placed ninth out of 123 qualified players.
As a first-round pick in 2012, Cox is currently under contract for one more season, with a fifth-year option for 2016 worth $7.799MM. However, if and when he and the Eagles get a new deal done, Cox will be in line for a sizable raise.
Citing two different people familiar with the extension negotiations, Shorr-Parks says that Cox could land a contract that features more than $50MM in guaranteed money, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if his average annual cap hit exceeds $15MM.
As Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap tweets, Marcell Dareus‘ deal with the Bills will likely be a point of comparison in the Cox extension talks, and the Eagle could ultimately exceed that Dareus contract to become the second highest-paid defensive tackle in the league, behind Ndamukong Suh. Dareus’ contract with the Bills averages $15.85MM per year, with $60MM in total guarantees ($42.9MM fully guaranteed).
If the Eagles do lock up Cox in the coming days or weeks – which it appears they will, unless talks fall apart in the late stages – he would be the fifth player this offseason to get a long-term deal from the team. Philadelphia has also extended tight ends Zach Ertz and Brent Celek, defensive end Vinny Curry, and offensive tackle Lane Johnson.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Want To Re-Sign Adam Vinatieri
12:32pm: He doesn’t have a contract yet, but Vinatieri has finalized his decision to play for at least one more season, according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. Keefer writes that Vinatieri wanted to weigh the decision with his wife and children before making it official, but now that he’s had some time to regroup following the regular season, he has decided to keep playing.
“Not only a season, but Lord willing, a couple of years,” Vinatieri said. “There will come a time when it’s over for me. I don’t think that time is yet. I enjoy playing. I enjoy doing my thing.”
10:50am: Adam Vinatieri turned 43 in December, but he continued to perform well for the Colts in the final season of his most recent contract, and the team would like to bring him back on a new deal, if he’s interested. As Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes, Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed his club’s interest in re-signing Vinatieri.
“We’d like to retain Adam,” Irsay said. “We believe he’s still kicking at a high level. He really takes care of himself…. (Vinatieri) and (punter) Pat (McAfee) really complement each other. That’s been one of the strengths of our football team, those two guys. We do not underestimate what those two guys have meant to us.”
Right around the time of Vinatieri’s 43rd birthday, reports indicated that he planned on returning in 2016 for his 21st NFL season. So while it’s possible that he ends up with another team, the Colts figure to have the inside track on re-signing him. The veteran kicker has spent the last decade in Indianapolis, after spending the first 10 years of his NFL career with the Patriots.
In 2015, Vinatieri connected on 25 of 27 field goal tries, for a 92.6% conversion rate. However, he did occasionally struggle with the longer extra point, missing three of 35 attempts. Still, there were few NFL kickers more reliable than Vinatieri, who is now third on the league’s list of all-time leading scorers. With 2,253 points, Vinatieri could make a run at Morten Andersen (2,544) and Gary Anderson (2,434) if he decides to play for longer than just one more season.
Vinatieri’s previous contract with the Colts, which he signed in March 2014, was worth $5MM over two years, with a modest $500K signing bonus. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him sign a similar pact this time around.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Titans Release Michael Griffin
After spending nine seasons and 141 games with the Titans, Michael Griffin‘s time in Tennessee has come to an end. The veteran safety published a tweet today strongly suggesting that the team has informed him that he’s being released, and Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com confirmed (via Twitter) the move. The Titans have since made it official, via a press release.
[RELATED: Offseason Outlook: Tennessee Titans]
“I knew one day my time would come and I cherished every minute of it,” Griffin tweeted. “It’s been real Tennessee✌. Thanks for everything. #nextchapter.”
Griffin’s release is a move that had been anticipated, with the former Texas Longhorn suggesting in December that his future was uncertain. Griffin had been set to enter the final year of his current contract, and was set to earn a $6.5MM base salary, with a cap hit of $8.3MM. By releasing him, the Titans will clear his entire $6.5MM salary from their books for the coming year. Griffin was the first player we mentioned when we identified potential cap casualties in our preview of the Titans’ offseason.
In his nine seasons with the Titans, Griffin missed just three games, including one in 2015. Earning Pro Bowl spots in 2008 and 2010, the former first-round pick totaled 761 tackles, 25 interceptions, and 11 forced fumbles during his time with the team.
“I want to thank Griff for his time here with the organization,” Titans head coach Mike Mularkey said in a statement. “He was a leader who showed up to work every day in an effort to get better, and I appreciated his effort both on and off the field for this team. He touched a lot of people in this community and in our organization. I want to wish him the best, and I hope he will always be remembered as a great Titan.”
Now that the move is official, Griffin is immediately free to sign with a new team without having to first pass through waivers. Reaching the open market a month before 2016’s free agent period opens will give him a head-start on this year’s crop of free agents when it comes to finding a new job.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.