PFR Originals: 11/22/15 – 11/29/15
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- Luke Adams took a look at the 2016 cap outlook for the Ravens. The big question the team faces is how to restructure Joe Flacco‘s cap hit in order to clear some room for free agency. Will Hill is also a candidate for an extension, and Dennis Pitta is likely to either be cut or have his salary reduced.
- In our Community Tailgate series, we post topics for discussion and encourage readers to share their thoughts in the comments section. The issues covered this week:
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- Connor Byrne wondered what the chances were that either Julio Jones or Antonio Brown could threaten Calvin Johnson‘s single-season receiving yardage record of 1,964? (link)
- How will the NFC playoff picture shake out? (link)
Geoff Schwartz Leaves Game With Fractured Leg
Giants offensive guard Geoff Schwartz exited the contest versus Washington with a fractured lower leg. He has been ruled out, and will be heading to injured reserve according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (via Twitter).
The Giants will likely look to add an offensive lineman during the week, either in free agency or from their practice squad.
The entire offensive line has been finding it difficult to stay on the field. Former first-round pick Justin Pugh was already ruled out for today with a concussion, the second-straight game he missed with that injury. Schwartz had already moved to left guard to compensate for that. Center Weston Richburg is also missing with a high ankle sprain.
John Jerry, Dallas Reynolds, and rookie Bobby Hart are seeing unexpected playing time because of the rash of injuries to the interior of the offensive line. In fact, other that the two starting offensive tackles, backup Emmett Cleary is the only other offensive lineman on the active roster.
Schwartz struggled with injury for the Giants last year, when he played in only two games after signing a not insignificant free agent contract the previous offseason. The team has yet to get a return on investment for the four-year deal worth $16.8MM and $6.2MM guaranteed. If this injury is indeed season ending, it could put his future with the team in jeopardy.
Sunday Roundup: Marrone, Martin, Keenum
As the afternoon games get underway, let’s take a look at some news and notes from around the league:
- We heard earlier today that Jaguars OL coach Doug Marrone will be viewed as a top head coaching candidate this offseason, and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains why. As Florio writes, Marrone, who became available after opting to terminate his relationship with Buffalo last year, came on the market “a little too unexpectedly” for teams to scrap their existing plans at the time. Now, however, with a high number of potential head coaching vacancies and a relatively small number of truly qualified candidates, Marrone will be an attractive option, especially given that the Bills are doing less (record-wise) with more talent under Rex Ryan than they did under Marrone.
- Former NFL agent Joel Corry tweets that there is no need to speculate as to whether the Buccaneers will put the franchise tag on Doug Martin, as the nearly $12MM cap number for a franchised running back is too steep in today’s NFL. The last time the tag was used on an RB was in 2012, when the Ravens tagged Ray Rice and the Bears tagged Matt Forte. The cap number for a franchised RB at the time was $7.7MM.
- ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets that, even though the NFL has apparently closed the book on whether the Rams should be penalized for last week’s concussion controversy surrounding Case Keenum, the NFL Players Association is continuing its own investigation.
- In his latest mailbag, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com looks at what the Browns might expect to receive if they were to trade Johnny Manziel at this point, and he notes that the best the Browns could hope for is a future pick conditioned on Manziel’s active status and number of starts.
- After the Lions promoted Isa Abdul-Quddus to a starting role and moved James Ihedigbo to the bench, they began to see a noticeable improvement from the back end of their defense, as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com observes. Abdul-Quddus is not as physical as Ihedigbo, but he covers much more ground and has established himself as a quality option in the team’s secondary, particularly in light of the recent injury to Glover Quin. Adbul-Quddus, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit last year, may be putting himself in line for a multi-year pact this offseason.
- David Moore of The Dallas Morning News examines the futures for Cowboys defensive backs Byron Jones and Morris Claiborne, predicting that Dallas plans to move Jones to safety moving forward, thereby increasing the likelihood that the team retains Claiborne.
- In a series of three articles, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com reexamines the Eagles‘ offseason decisions, offers his thoughts on the Jets‘ rebuilding process, and previews the 2016 class of free agent tight ends.
Jets Waive Quinton Coples
SUNDAY, 11:07am: Per Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com, Coples was involved in an incident on the Jets’ return flight from Houston last Saturday, which ultimately sealed his fate with the club. The nature of the incident is unclear, but this report adds another layer to what was initially painted as a simple lack of schematic fit. Bowles has clearly established himself as a no-nonsense coach during his first year at the helm, and Cimini writes that his decision to waive Coples rattled the locker room. Bob Glauber of Newsday agrees and believes the move increased the team’s respect for Bowles.
MONDAY, 11:10am: The Jets have made a somewhat surprising roster move, announcing today in a press release that they have parted ways with former first-round pick Quinton Coples, placing the outside linebacker on waivers. If Coples goes unclaimed, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow.
Coples, selected 16th overall in the 2012 draft, had his best year as a pro in 2014, but even that amounted to just 35 tackles and 6.5 sacks, modest totals for a first-round pass rusher. Since Todd Bowles took over as the Jets’ head coach, Coples has become increasingly marginalized. As Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News observed this morning (via Twitter), the 25-year-old played just five snaps in Sunday’s loss to the Texans, and clearly wasn’t a fit in the current defensive scheme.
The Jets had picked up Coples’ fifth-year option for 2016 back in April, but his $7.751MM salary for next year was guaranteed for injury only, so New York won’t have to pay it. If another team decides to claim Coples off waivers, that club would have to take on his current contract, including that option. As such, it would be somewhat risky to claim him and play him for the remainder of this season, since that 2016 salary could become fully guaranteed if he suffers a major injury. The linebacker’s $1.515MM salary for 2015 is also fully guaranteed, so a club claiming him would be on the hook for the final six weeks at that rate.
While Coples’ performance in 2015 won’t necessarily earn him another shot right away, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him generate some interest, particularly if he clears waivers and becomes a free agent. Considering he played under Rex Ryan for the first three years of his NFL career, Coples may appeal to the Bills.
La Canfora’s Latest: McDermott, Lions, Kroenke
Let’s take a look at some of the latest notes and observations from CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora:
- Both La Canfora and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com have delved into some of the most notable names who will be connected to head coaching vacancies this offseason. Rapoport mentions Bears OC Adam Gase, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone, and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable as veterans of the head coaching interview circuit who will be generating plenty of buzz this offseason. Other less familiar candidates who have also piqued the interest of teams around the league include Panthers coordinators Mike Shula (offensive) and Sean McDermott (defensive), and Bills RB coach Anthony Lynn (all Twitter links). La Canfora explores the case for McDermott in more detail, noting that Carolina’s defense under McDermott’s watch has been among the league’s best for some time, but given the Panthers’ success this season, McDermott has been getting more attention around the league. La Canfora says it would not be a surprise if McDermott met with four to six teams during wildcard weekend, which is likely to be a bye week for the Panthers. Per La Canfora, a team that hires McDermott would do well to add current Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as its offensive coordinator. McCoy is rumored to be on his way out of San Diego at the end of the year, and he and McDermott share a “mutual admiration” for each other. The addition of McCoy would also help to alleviate concern regarding McDermott’s abilities on the offensive side of the ball.
- La Canfora also has a look at potential candidates for the Lions GM job, noting that the team may have difficulty courting some of its top choices given the questions concerning team ownership and the fact that new team president Ron Wood is an unknown commodity in football circles. However, the Lions’ resurgence in recent weeks, the talent on the roster, and the fact that the club has a history of “unwavering loyalty” to its front office executives could allow the team to nab a prized candidate. Those candidates include names like Seahawks pro personnel director Trent Kirchner, Packers player personnel director Eliot Wolf, Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn, and Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. Of those names, Quinn may be the most likely option, considering that Wolf and DeCosta are both fairly comfortable in their roles as GM-in-waiting for their current clubs, and Kirchner will be the top candidate for a number of teams.
- If Stan Kroenke‘s plan to move the Rams to Los Angeles falls though, La Canfora identifies several other options for the St. Louis owner. The league knows that if Kroenke loses out to the Chargers and Raiders in the race to LA, it would have to work actively to find other solutions for Kroenke, with London and Denver representing two such solutions. Kroenke–who remains focused on LA at the moment and has not actively considered any alternatives–has business interests in England and owns Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. Colorado, meanwhile, serves as Kroenke’s base, and his family owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. La Canfora’s sources indicate that Kroenke could purchase the Broncos at some point down the road–La Canfora writes that team ownership will be in flux when Pat Bowlen passes on–and sell the Rams to an investor looking to keep the team in St. Louis. However, Broncos Vice President of Public Relations Patrick Smyth took to Twitter shortly after La Canfora’s report, tweeting that the plan is to keep ownership of the Broncos in the Bowlen family.
Latest On Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman
It was not that long ago that Eagles executive vice president of football operations, Howie Roseman, was essentially demoted from general manager and relieved of most of his personnel duties while head coach Chip Kelly was given the reins as de facto GM. Now, however, the tide may be turning in Roseman’s favor. After Philadelphia’s blowout loss on Thanksgiving, Kelly, according to a tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, was “despondent,” “feeling the heat,” and “considering all options.” Although Kelly remains intent on fixing his team’s struggles, the odds that he remains in Philadelphia beyond this season are growing slimmer with each passing day.
That is not to say that he will definitely not return. After all, he guided his club to 10-6 records in each of his first two years in Philadelphia, and if the team is able to acquire a quarterback that has the skill-set to excel in his offensive system–like Colin Kaepernick, for instance–there is no reason to believe that the Eagles cannot return to the top of the NFC East in 2016. If we were talking simply about Kelly the coach, it would be almost foolish to think that he would not remain with the team next year.
The problem is, Kelly the coach is also Kelly the GM, and as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, that means that Kelly is fully responsible for what has happened to the Eagles this season, including the predictable struggles of the Sam Bradford-led offense. Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Kelly the GM took gambles on players with extensive injury histories who unsurprisingly have missed time with injury, he chose the wrong veteran players to send packing, and per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kelly’s behavior concerning injured players has left much to be desired.
If Kelly is to leave Philadelphia, voluntarily or otherwise, he would immediately become the most sought-after option among college programs looking for a new head coach, and that may be an increasingly tempting possibility for him. Indeed, Rapoport tweets that USC has reached out to Kelly to express the school’s interest in him, and the Trojans are just one of a number of teams that could be a nice landing spot for the embattled coach (although Rapoport does add that the Titans, who are committed to the quarterback that Kelly tried to draft in May, Marcus Mariota, could make a run at Kelly if he becomes available).
Should Kelly depart, Florio speculates that Roseman could be on the verge of seizing a level of control over the Eagles that he has never had before. After all, as Kelly rightfully has borne the brunt of the blame for his club’s struggles in 2016, Roseman has, by comparison, come out smelling like a rose. Although there are plenty of writers both inside and outside of the Eagles beat who believe Kelly will remain in Philadelphia next year, it would be very easy for owner Jeffrey Lurie to move on from Kelly and restore Roseman to the GM role. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but if the Thanksgiving debacle was a harbinger of things to come, Roseman could once again be running the show in Philadelphia in a couple of months.
Extra Points: Amukamara, Chargers, LA, Steelers
A quick look around the NFL as we draw closer to Sunday’s Week 12 action. . .
- From a business standpoint, it would make a lot more sense for the Chargers to head to Los Angeles than stay in San Diego, writes Dan McSwain of the San Diego Union-Tribune. If the Chargers get a new stadium in San Diego, which doesn’t appear likely, projections indicate it would boost the team’s revenue by $50MM per annum. Conversely, the yearly revenue increase accompanying a new stadium in LA could be anywhere from $300MM to $500MM. Thus, the league’s relocation fee of $500MM to $600MM doesn’t look as if it should serve as much of a deterrent to either the Chargers or any other team eyeing LA.
- Though Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara will be a free agent at season’s end, he’d like to stay where he is. “This is the organization that took a chance on me,” he told Steve Serby of the New York Post. “It’s a first-class organization.” Amukamara, who has missed 25 of 74 regular-season games since he was a first-round pick in 2011, added that he doesn’t “think the Giants would ever have to worry about the corner position again if I could stay on the field.”
- Steelers offensive tackle Mike Adams has had a disappointing career since the team used a second-round selection on him in 2012, appearing in only 41 games (20 starts). Adams – who won’t play at all this year because of a back injury – will be a free agent after the season, but he might end up remaining with the Steelers, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. As Kaboly notes, the Steelers have just two tackles signed next season (Marcus Gilbert and Alejandro Villaneuva), so it’s possible they’ll bring back Adams as a depth player on a team-friendly deal.
Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/15
A couple Saturday practice squad updates:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Daniel Brown (Twitter link via the team)
- Cut: RB Terrence Magee
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DL Julius Warmsley (via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta on Twitter)
- Placed on PS-IR: WR Tyler Slavin
NFC Notes: Vikings, Lions, 49ers
When the Vikings acquired Mike Wallace from Miami in the offseason, they were getting one of the NFL’s most accomplished wideouts over the previous half-decade. Wallace had accumulated 60-plus catches and 800 or more yards in five straight seasons, also totaling an impressive 41 touchdowns during that span. That version of Wallace hasn’t shown up in Minnesota, however, as the 29-year-old has just 28 receptions, 318 yards and a mere one score in 10 games. Thanks to his lack of productivity, Wallace has set the stage for his release in the offseason, writes Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. If the Vikings cut Wallace after the season, they’ll save $11.5MM on their salary cap in both 2016 and ’17.
More on the Vikings and two of their NFC counterparts:
- The Vikings are about to endure an 18-day stretch that could define their season, opines Mark Craig of the Star Tribune. At 7-3, it would seem the Vikings are in line for a playoff spot at the moment, but they’ve gone 0-2 against plus-.500 teams this year and face three postseason contenders in consecutive weeks. “It seems like every time we play these big-time games, we don’t show up,” stated cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. “So we got to fix that. We got to fix that right now.” If the Vikings don’t fix it with the 6-4 Falcons, 5-5 Seahawks and 8-2 Cardinals looming, they could go from the driver’s seat of the NFC North to 7-6 in a hurry.
- By hiring longtime general manager Ernie Accorsi as a consultant to help them find a new GM, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press submits that the Lions are handling their search properly. Next up, Birkett believes the team needs to clarify an ownership succession plan to assure candidates that the franchise is stable.
- 49ers center Daniel Kilgore remains on the team’s PUP list this weekend, having not been added to the 53-man roster today. However, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets, San Francisco will have one more week to potentially activate Kilgore, who has practiced for the last two weeks.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Tannehill, Jets
The Patriots have dealt with numerous key injuries this year and that will continue to be the case to an almost ridiculous extent Sunday, as the team announced (via Twitter) that wideout Danny Amendola and Jamie Collins won’t play against the 8-2 Broncos in Denver.
While doubting this year’s 10-0 Pats (or any team led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick) seems unwise, Bob McManaman of AZCentral opines that their injury issues have them primed for a nose dive. McManaman writes that the losses of Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis, Nate Solder, Amendola and Aaron Dobson have depleted New England’s AFC-best offense, one that had difficulty in a 20-13 win over Buffalo on Monday. The Bills harassed Brady consistently and held him to season lows in completion percentage (51.3), yards (277), yards per attempt (7.10) and quarterback rating (72.3). Further, they kept Brady’s favorite target, all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski, out of the end zone and held him to season worsts in catches (two) and yards (37). McManaman argues that the Bills provided the blueprint for stopping Gronkowski by stacking the box and putting two defenders on him while pressuring Brady. That could be easier said than done for many teams, but maybe not for a Broncos defense that leads the NFL in both passing yards per game allowed and sacks.
As we wait to see how the injury-ravaged Patriots fare in Denver, here’s more from the AFC East:
- Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has underwhelmed at times this year, but he still has the full confidence of the team’s front office, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. There’s a disconnect between the coaching staff and front office regarding Tannehill, per Salguero, as the former views the fourth-year man as a game manager and the latter sees him as someone with franchise QB potential. Executive vice president Mike Tannenbaum and company think so highly of the 27-year-old Tannehill that, hypothetically, they’d take him as a long-term option over the similarly aged Cam Newton, Salguero reports. If interim head coach Dan Campbell doesn’t get on board with that type of thinking, it seems his time atop Miami’s staff will definitely end in another six games.
- With journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick having come back to earth after a hot start, Bob Glauber of Newsday took a look at possible No. 1 quarterback options for the Jets in 2016. If it’s not Fitzpatrick, it certainly won’t be backup Geno Smith – whom the Jets have no faith in, per Glauber. Among a slew of flawed options, Colin Kaepernick could be the most interesting outside possibility. The mobile Kaepernick – who is on the outs in San Francisco – is still young (28), not far removed from success, and could fare well under offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
- One reason the Jets have gone from 4-1 to 5-5 is the decreased production of wideout Brandon Marshall. Glauber writes that the Jets have to find a way to make him a dominant part of their offense again. Marshall caught 37 passes for 511 yards and four touchdowns in the Jets’ first five games and has hauled in 12 fewer receptions (25) for 222 fewer yards (289) over the last five, though he has accrued nearly as many TDs (three). The reason for the drop in productivity, according to Marshall, “I’m being double-teamed a lot more.” Added Gailey, “We need him to be involved to be a successful offense. They’re taking him away right now, and we don’t have enough other people involved in the passing game to take that away from them.”