Calvin Johnson Likely To Retire
6:21pm: The Lions released a statement that doesn’t deny the ESPN.com report but doesn’t close the book on Johnson’s career with the team, either. “Regarding today’s ESPN report, we stand by our statement issued on Jan. 6 regarding Calvin,” the team’s comment reads, according to Tim Twentyman of Lions.com (on Twitter).
The team is standing by its previous stance of Johnson’s retirement not being final, which read, per Twentyman (Twitter links), “We obviously have profound respect for Calvin and certainly understand and appreciate his decision to give proper thought and consideration to his football future.”
4:22pm: Lions receiver Calvin Johnson told a group of family and friends prior to last season that 2015 would be his final year in the NFL, and he relayed that same sentiment to head coach Jim Caldwell following the conclusion of the regular season, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Detroit management has not given up hope that Johnson will change his mind, but a person close to Johnson said the receiver is “pretty content with his decision,” per Schefter.
After Johnson told Caldwell of his plans, the Lions head coach reportedly asked Johnson to take his time to mull over the decision, and out of respect for Caldwell, Johnson did just that, according to Schefter. Only two of of Johnson’s teammates — quarterback Matthew Stafford and linebacker Stephen Tulloch — were told of Johnson’s retirement thoughts prior to the 2015 season, and they were asked to keep the decision under wraps. No one else in the Lions organization learned of Johnson’s aims until the end of the season.
[RELATED: Lions to retain Jim Caldwell as head coach]
When the rest of the franchise learned of Johnson’s intentions, reports did start to leak out, and an early January report indicated Johnson was indeed mulling hanging up his cleats. Johnson downplayed the specifics of that report, however, indicating that he was still thinking through his options. “Like many players at this stage of their career, I am currently evaluating options for my future,” Johnson said at the time. “I would expect to have a decision regarding this matter in the not-too-distant future.”
According to Schefter, the wear and tear of nine seasons in the NFL has done a number on Johnson, who has been dealing with nagging ankle injuries and overall soreness (he’s also deal with finger issues in recent years). Megatron has been remarkably durable — he’s missed just five games of the past five seasons — but heading into his age-31 season, it seems that physical ailments have taken their toll.
If Johnson does retire, he will owe the Lions $3.2MM in signing bonus money, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes (Twitter link). Moreover, Detroit will save more than $11MM on its 2016 salary cap if Johnson hangs it up. Even if he does reverse course and decide to play another year, Johnson and the club might have to rework his current deal, and his cap charge is set to balloon to more than $24MM next season.
[RELATED: Lions to retain Jim Bob Cooter as offensive coordinator]
Since leading the NFL with 122 receptions and 1,964 yards in 2012, Johnson has seen his production decline a little. Still, he continued to be one of the league’s more productive pass catchers in 2015, with 88 catches, 1,214 yards, and nine touchdowns. Johnson is the Lions’ all-time leader in receptions (731) receiving yards (11,619) and receiving touchdowns (83), tweets Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.
As of last week, new Lions general manager Bob Quinn said he had not spoken to Johnson about his future, though Quinn did note that he hoped to have a resolution before the start of free agency in March.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC East Notes: Tannehill, Campbell, Whaley
With the Senior Bowl wrapped up and all four AFC East teams in offseason mode as Super Bowl 50 nears, let’s look at the latest news coming out of the division, starting with the Dolphins.
- Ryan Tannehill‘s inconsistency notwithstanding, Mike Tannenbaum‘s seen enough from the fifth-year quarterback to avoid spending a draft pick or signing a free agent for legitimate competition, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. This isn’t too surprising. Miami gave Tannehill $77MM in new money last May to be their franchise quarterback, and ending a year that began with playoff expectations at 6-10, the team has other pressing needs.
- The Dolphins have quite a few issues to sort out over the coming offseason, but chief among them will be overhauling their linebacking unit, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Kelvin Sheppard proved enough at middle linebacker, but per Salguero, the club is aware that it needs an upgrade at that spot. Further, Miami is likely to replace one of its two outside linebackers, with Koa Misi being the most obvious candidate to be cut given his 2016 cap charge of roughly $4.88MM (the Dolphins could save $4.3MM by making him a post-June 1 release). For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus graded Misi as the highest of Miami’s three ‘backers (No. 21), while Jelani Jenkins and Sheppard rated Nos. 38 and 84, respectively, among 97 qualifiers.
- Although interim coach Dan Campbell reportedly did not take losing out to Adam Gase with the Dolphins well, the team’s interim coach last season still could have joined Gase’s staff but instead chose to join the Saints’ staff as assistant head coach/tight ends coach, Jackson writes. The Dolphins, however, prevented multiple teams from hiring special teams coach Darren Rizzi.
- The Bears denied outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt to speak with Gase about becoming the Dolphins’ defensive line coach, Jackson reports, but Hurtt coming to Miami once his contract expires after this season could still be on the table. A former Miami Hurricanes assistant, Hurtt would be an attractive option, per Jackson, if the Fins’ front falters under Terrell Williams, who got the job after Chicago chose to block Hurtt’s path.
- One GM told Lisa Wilson of the Buffalo News the Bills are trapped in “8-8 limbo” without certainty at quarterback and little money to spend this offseason. Another informed the reporter he applauded the team’s patience regarding Doug Whaley and resisting the urge to start over as many teams do in the Bills’ situation. Owners of the longest NFL playoff drought, the Bills are currently $3.4MM over the salary cap, per OverTheCap, but have strung together their most wins in a two-year span (17) since 1999-2000, the former season representing Buffalo’s last playoff advancement. Tyrod Taylor will also only count $3.13MM against the Bills’ cap next season.
- Whaley also justified bringing in embattled veteran DC Rob Ryan as an assistant to help enhance Rex Ryan‘s productivity while helping unite the brothers against their critics. “If you look at it, Rob and Rex, they’ve had some troubles,” Whaley told media, including Wilson. “Their name is kind of like, ‘Hey, they’re the Ryans, what happened to their defense?’ So why not bring in your brother and try to reclaim that name? That’s the way I look at it. And who’s going to have your back more than your brother? I think it’s a positive. I know it’s a positive. Everybody in the building feels it’s a positive. It’s a positive for Rex, too. It can help him expand his horizons as the head coach and get into some other things.”
Dallas Robinson contributed to this report
PFR Originals: 1/24/16 – 1/31/16
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- In our latest Community Tailgate post, we asked: Who’s going to win Super Bowl 50? The discussion seems to be pretty evenly divided between the Broncos and Panthers so far, so jump in and give your opinion! And be sure to look out for future Community Tailgates, where we’ll post a topic for discussion and ask for your thoughts in the comments section.
- Luke Adams took a look at the longest-tenured NFL coaches, and Bill Belichick still leads the way, having been in charge of the Patriots since 2000. Marvin Lewis, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton, and Mike Tomlin round out the top five.
- Luke also went over the latest news in the league’s ongoing offensive and defensive coordinator searches.
- Zach Links rounded up the best of the football blogs in the latest edition of Pigskin Links.
Week In Review: 1/24/16 – 1/31/16
Extended:
- Chiefs – Travis Kelce, TE (through 2021)
- Eagles – Brent Celek, TE (through 2018); Zach Ertz, TE (through 2021); Lane Johnson, T (through 2021)
Relocation:
- The Chargers announced they will remain in San Diego for the 2016 season, although they have agreed in principle to a deal that gives the club an option to move to Los Angeles in the future.
- The Raiders are exploring a move to Las Vegas, but they are also discussing a short-term lease with O.co Coliseum in Oakland.
Coaching:
- 49ers – Jim O’Neil (defensive coordinator)
- Buccaneers – Todd Monken (offensive coordinator)
- Rams – Rob Boras (offensive coordinator)
Front Office:
- Colts – Ryan Grigson, general manger (extended through 2019)
- Falcons – hired Lionel Vital and Ruston Webster (link)
Retired:
- Mike Leach, LS (link)
Other:
- Dolphins plan to rework Ndamukong Suh‘s contract (link)
- Cowboys don’t plan to re-sign Greg Hardy (link)
- Panthers LB Thomas Davis breaks arm, plans to play in Super Bowl (link)
Lions Hire Randy Edsall
The Lions have hired former Maryland/UConn head coach Randy Edsall, reports Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Edsall, 57, will serve as the director of football research/special projects.
The role is certainly not a common one among NFL staffs, but according to Twentyman, Edsall will assist in gameday preparation (presumably scouting future opponents, searching for tendencies, etc.), and will also aid in draft and free agency work. Presumably, he’ll act as something of a liaison between the front office and the coaching staff, but I’d assume he’ll primarily work under general manager Bob Quinn, if only because the pair has a professional history — Quinn acted as a graduate assistant under Edsall when the latter was head coach at Connecticut.
[RELATED: Lions hire Kevin Anderson as chief of staff/assistant to the GM]
Quinn, of course, came to Detroit from the Patriots’ scouting staff, and as Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com points out, director of football research, while not an ordinary NFL title, is a position on New England’s staff. Ernie Adams, a confidant of Bill Belichick, has long held the same job with the Patriots, working on in-game strategies and decision-making (Adams was profiled by Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe last year).
Edsall’s coaching experience dates back to 1980, and while most of that time was spent in the college ranks, he did spend a few years in the NFL, acting as the Jaguars defensive backs coach form 1994-97. He’d been the head coach at Maryland since 2014, but was relieved of his duties after posting a 2-4 record to start the 2015 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sunday Roundup: Hunt, Revis, Lions, Chargers
Eagles senior director of player personnel Tom Donahoe is expected to meet with Steelers pro personnel coordinator Brandon Hunt again today to discuss Philadelphia’s director of player personnel position, according to Geoff Mosher of 975TheFanatic (via Twitter). Mosher adds that Hunt is not high enough on the scouting chain to hold a vice president position like the one Tom Cable held before he was fired at the end of 2014, and the Eagles are still looking for someone with more experience than the 35-year-old Hunt. Per Mosher, the Eagles would prefer someone like Steelers director of football administration Omar Khan, but Mosher does not expect Pittsburgh to allow Khan to interview (all links to Twitter).
Now let’s take a look at some more links from around the league:
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com observes that the Jets could buy themselves some much-needed salary cap relief in 2016 if they were to rework Darrelle Revis‘ contract–and Revis would be open to it–but such a move could really handicap the team in the latter years of Revis’ deal. The Jets can create cap room in other ways–they could release Antonio Cromartie and ask D’Brickashaw Ferguson to take a pay cut, for instance–and they should pursue those options before approaching Revis about a restructure.
- The Patriots have legitimate interest in Kansas State’s Glenn Gronkowski, Rob Gronkowski‘s younger brother, according to Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News (via Twitter). “Little Gronkowski” practiced at tight end, fullback and H-back this week in preparation for yesterday’s Senior Bowl, and he could be a fit as the Patriots’ second tight end.
- Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com looks at the to-do list for new Lions GM Bob Quinn, which will include important decisions on extensions for certain members of the team’s impressive 2013 draft class. That class included Ziggy Ansah, Darius Slay, Sam Martin, and Theo Riddick.
- Now that the Chargers know where they will be playing their home games in 2016, the conversations regarding the team can return, at least to some degree, to football, writes Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Gehlken takes a brief look at what the future will hold for the team’s 23 free agents and potential cap casualties.
- Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney will not need foot surgery this offseason, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Clowney finished the 2015 season with 4.5 sacks and 40 tackles with one forced fumble, but he was limited to 13 games and nine starts due to injuries. He missed the team’s playoff contest this year with a sprained foot.
Ryan Clady Willing To Rework Contract
Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady is willing to rework his current contract to stay in Denver, according to Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press. Clady, who has spent his entire career in the Mile High City, was one of the most durable players in the league–and also one of the best–before landing on IR in September 2013 with a season-ending Lisfranc injury. He played the entire 2014 campaign but he tore his ACL during OTAs in May 2015 and has missed the entire 2015 season. The Broncos will have appeared in two of the last three Super Bowls, and Clady will have missed both.
In July 2013, the two-time First-Team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler signed a five-year, $52.5MM contract with the Broncos, and he has seen action in only two games of the subsequent three seasons. He is on the books for a $9.5MM base salary in 2016, which does not include any guarantees, which makes him a prime candidate for a pay cut or restructure. Clady will be just 30 when the 2016 season begins, so he may certainly have a couple more quality seasons left in him, assuming he can overcome his recent spate of injuries.
Given that the Broncos will likely go into 2016 with a young signal-caller, Clady’s presence could be invaluable for the club moving forward. Now that he has publicly declared his willingness to rework his present deal, the Broncos should be in a better position to address some of its top priorities this offseason, including a new contract for Von Miller.
Clady did say that the Broncos have not yet approached him about his contract status, but he expects the team to do so after the season. Said Clady, “I’m definitely willing to talk. I definitely would like to be a lifetime Bronco.” Clady is currently the longest-tenured member of the club.
East Notes: Cowboys, RGIII, Pats
The Cowboys have been connected to North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who is arguably the top QB prospect in this year’s draft, but recent reports indicated that Dallas was not likely to spend its first-round pick on Tony Romo‘s backup and eventual successor. If the Cowboys do, in fact, spend their early selections on players who can make more of an immediate impact, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identifies Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott as a potential mid-round option that could be too intriguing to pass up. Prescott had the best showing of any quarterback prospect in yesterday’s Senior Bowl, and he met with the Cowboys for an hour on Friday. During that meeting, Prescott watched film and interviewed with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson.
Now let’s dive into some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- We learned yesterday that Cowboys DE Demarcus Lawrence recently underwent back surgery but is expected to return “when it matters,” and Lawrence’s agent tweeted shortly thereafter that his client is “100%” and that reports regarding the surgery are “much ado about nothing.”
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com explores why it is highly unlikely that Washington will be able to trade Robert Griffin III this offseason. Teams cannot trade players until the new league year begins on March 9, which is the same day RGIII’s $16.15MM guarantee for his fifth-year option kicks in, and there is no way any other club will trade for that type of guaranteed contract.
- Count Tom E. Curran and Mike Giardi of CSNNE.com among those who believe the Patriots will not keep DE Chandler Jones beyond the 2016 season. Even with the recent marijuana-related blemish on his resume, Jones will likely be too expensive for the Pats to retain, especially since players like Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower are also upcoming free agents and should be a higher priority for the team.
- Speaking of the Patriots, Phil A. Perry of CSNNE.com looks at the top five free agents that New England risks losing this offseason, a list headlined by players like Akiem Hicks and Nate Ebner, who might not be indispensable cogs but who nonetheless played a major role in New England’s run to the AFC title game this season.
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com offers his predictions as to how the Patriots will fill the newly-created vacancies on their coaching staff, suggesting that incumbent safeties coach Brian Flores will become the new linebackers coach and tight ends coach Brian Daboll will become the new offensive line coach.
Extra Points: Broncos, Fins, Bengals, Cowboys
Broncos director of pro personnel Tom Heckert won’t get to watch his club take on the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, as he revealed that he’s been dealing with a “very treatable blood disorder,” writes Mike Klis of 9News. Heckert, formerly the general manager of the Browns, has been on medical leave since the start of the second half of the regular season. PFR joins the NFL community in wishing Heckert all the best in his recovery.
Now let’s take a quick spin around the league:
- Concussions increased league-wide in 2015, the NFL announced in its annual injury report. Reported concussions rose from 115 in 2014 to 182 this past year, and the league will study why that was the case, according to Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press.
- New Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph praised Bengals defensive backs Reggie Nelson and Adam Jones during his introductory press conference, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald expects Miami to target both in free agency. Joseph is tasked with turning around a Dolphins defense that ranked in the bottom 10 of DVOA, and improving the secondary is a logical first step. Aside from safety Reshad Jones, Miami doesn’t have very many immovable objects in its defensive backfield.
- Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence recently underwent back surgery, but he should be able to return “when it matters,” a source tells Todd Archer of ESPN.com. As Archer notes, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett was hesitant to put a timetable on Lawrence’s recovery when speaking at the Senior Bowl. Lawrence took a big leap forward in his second NFl season, starting 13 games and posting eight sacks in the process.
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