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Bills Release Keith Rivers

February 17th, 2015 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Linebacker Keith Rivers, who signed with the Bills at the start of the 2014 free agent period, will be on the lookout for a new job again this winter. The Bills announced today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with Rivers, terminating his contract a year before it was set to expire.

Rivers, who previously spent time with the Bengals and Giants, played just 12 games for the Bills in 2014, starting three. Of his 192 defensive snaps, nearly all of them came in the first half — the former ninth overall pick played just 24 snaps on defense after Week 8.

In his preview of the Bills’ offseason on Sunday, PFR’s Connor Byrne identified Rivers as a potential cap candidate, considering his dwindling role in Buffalo was paired with a $2.2MM cap hit. Buffalo won’t clear that entire amount from its books by cutting Rivers, but the team will be left with just $500K in dead money, creating $1.7MM in cap savings.

Rivers won’t have to pass through waivers, and is immediately eligible to sign with a new team.

Latest On Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray

February 17th, 2015 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

This week’s combine in Indianapolis provides teams an opportunity to meet with the representatives for their prospective free agents to try to see if they can find common ground before free agency officially begins in March. And according to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones plans to do just that with DeMarco Murray‘s agent, Bill Johnson, at some point this week. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the team is also expected to meet with Dez Bryant‘s reps, after not talking for months, though Jones didn’t sound convinced that a sit-down will happen this week.

As Sabin observes, the fact that Jones is uncertain about meeting with Tom Condon and Bryant’s reps suggests that the team is leaning toward simply using its franchise tag on the star wideout. That’s a notion that Jones certainly didn’t dispute.

“Right now all things being equal, it’s leaning more Dez with the franchise than it is not,” Jones said. “But that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. … We don’t ever want to give up on a long-term deal. It’s something we worked on all of last year and it kind of cooled off once we got into the season. We’ll continue to see what our options are and things happen quickly as you go along. Things can go along with a lot not going on, but all of a sudden it happens.”

For his part, Bryant, who has indicated in the past that he doesn’t love the idea of being tagged, has “all but resigned” himself to that outcome, sources tell Hill. Nonetheless, even though it looks like a safe bet that the Cowboys will eventually use their tag on their receiver rather than their running back, Jones hasn’t dismissed the possibility of franchising Murray.

“I would never rule anything out,” Jones said. “Who knows what tomorrow brings? Things have a sudden way of getting kicked in and you start to get some traction on something. You go down that road and get that done. It’s dominoes.”

The Cowboys will have until March 2 to use their franchise tag, and will have until March 10 to get deals done with Bryant and/or Murray that would keep them off the open market.

Chiefs Cut Donnie Avery, A.J. Jenkins

February 17th, 2015 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

1:01pm: The Chiefs have officially released Avery, and have also waived former first-round wideout A.J. Jenkins, tweets BJ Kissel of KCChiefs.com. Jenkins, who had just nine receptions last season, had been on the books for a non-guaranteed $1.337MM cap hit. He’ll have to clear waivers before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

12:12pm: The Chiefs are nearly ready to begin making cap-clearing moves in advance of this year’s free agent period, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is cutting wide receiver Donnie Avery. As a six-year NFL veteran, Avery won’t pass through waivers, and will immediately be free to sign with another club once the move becomes official.

Avery, who had started 14 games for the Chiefs in 2013, acting as the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Dwayne Bowe, was sidelined for most of the 2014 campaign due to a groin injury. He played in six games, grabbing just 15 passes for 176 yards, and was held without a touchdown for the first time in his career.

Of course, Avery was hardly alone in Kansas City when it came to being held touchdown-less. The Chiefs’ entire wide receiving corps improbably went the whole 2014 season without catching a single TD pass. Given the lack of production from the group last season, and the fact that there’s a chance Bowe could join Avery on the open market, wide receiver figures to be a primary area of focus for the team this offseason.

Because Avery had been scheduled to earn a $2.7MM base salary and $700K in combined roster and workout bonuses, the Chiefs will create $3.4MM in cap savings by cutting him. With less than $2MM in projected cap space, and a number of their own players to re-sign – most notably Justin Houston – Kansas City will have to make a few more moves before they’ll have enough room to comfortably negotiate new deals with those free-agents-to-be

Panthers Release Thomas DeCoud

February 17th, 2015 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

Veteran safety Thomas DeCoud has been released by an NFC South club for the second consecutive offseason. Less than a year after being cut by the Falcons, DeCoud has been let go by the Panthers, the team announced today in a press release. Within the same release, Carolina also confirmed its previously-reported one-year deal with offensive lineman Chris Scott.

DeCoud, who turns 30 next month, started 11 of 15 games for the Panthers in 2014, after having started all but one game he played in during the previous five seasons in Atlanta. The former third-round pick totaled 50 tackles and three passes defended to go along with an interception last season, and ranked 74th out of 87 qualified safeties, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required).

The Panthers signed DeCoud to a two-year contract back in April that was worth a base value of $3.525MM, including a $500K signing bonus. Half of that bonus will remain on the team’s 2015 cap, counting for $250K in dead money, but Carolina still creates close to $2MM in cap savings by parting ways with the safety.

As for DeCoud, as a seven-year veteran, he won’t have to clear waivers, and is immediately free to sign with another team.

AFC South Notes: Titans, Jackson, Hilton

February 17th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Three years ago, the Rams struck gold in the draft when they took advantage of Washington’s desire to land Robert Griffin III by turning the second overall pick into a huge haul of future picks. The Titans hold the No. 2 overall pick in 2015, in a class with two consensus top signal-callers well above the rest of the players at the position. However, even with teams like the Browns and Eagles reportedly interested in moving up to select Marcus Mariota, NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock doesn’t foresee any team mortgaging the franchise for either of this year’s top quarterbacks (Mariota and Jameis Winston).

“Washington went and got the guy they thought could help them win a Super Bowl,” Mayock said on Monday’s conference call, per Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. “Because of what’s happened with that kid, both with injuries and the way he’s played, I think a lot of teams are very nervous about the perception of mortgaging your future.”

As the Titans consider their options for what to do with that second overall pick, let’s check in on a few more notes from out of the AFC South….

Earlier this week, Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson said he doesn’t love the idea of receiving the franchise tag, and I pointed out that the team isn’t likely to use it on him anyway. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle agrees with that assessment, suggesting that while the Texans will do their best to keep Jackson, the franchise and transition tags won’t be in play.
T.Y. Hilton, who is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, and it appears a new agent will be handling those negotiations. That new agent? Hilton’s old agent. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Colts wideout has re-hired Drew Rosenhaus, whom he fired back in June. Maverick Carter and Erik Burkhardt represented Hilton in between his stints with Rosenhaus.
With the scouting combine taking place in Indianapolis this week, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star evaluated the drafts of Colts GM Ryan Grigson. The stellar 2012 draft featuring Andrew Luck, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, and Hilton predictably got an A grade. The 2013 draft didn’t pan out the same way, but the 2014 draft featuring three starters – Jack Mewhort, Donte Moncrief, and Jonathan Newsome – got a B grade.

East Notes: Allen, M. Williams, Jets, Jenkins

February 17th, 2015 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

According to multiple reports (all four Twitter links), Eagles safety Nate Allen was detained, questioned, and released following an accusation of indecent exposure. Allen is adamant that the accusation was false, and says he has asked police to keep investigating in the hopes of finding video that clears him, tweets Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. Assuming the accusation levied against the defensive back, who is eligible for free agency next month, was indeed false (as it seems to be), it could highlight potential problems with the league’s new personal conduct policy, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

Former Bills wide receiver Mike Williams was released by the team toward the end of the 2014 season, giving him a head start on free agency. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Williams’ agent is taking advantage of that opportunity, with six meetings set up in Indianapolis this week. The veteran wideout could find a new home soon, according to Rapoport.
If Marcus Mariota is available at No. 6 overall, it would be the “ultimate no-brainer” for the Jets to trade the pick to Eagles and stockpile future selections, says Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. In Mehta’s view, a swap of that sixth overall pick in exchange for the Eagles’ first- and second-rounders in 2015 and 2016, would be fair for both sides.
Defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, who accepted a pay cut over the weekend, tells Jordan Raanan of NJ.com that he “kind of knew” the Giants would ask to rework his contract, and he never considered the possibility of rejecting the request and forcing the club to cut him.
Earlier today, we rounded up a few Patriots-related links, and passed along word that the Giants may be preparing to franchise Jason Pierre-Paul.

Patriots Links: Revis, McCourty, Gostkowski

February 17th, 2015 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

Only time will tell if Darrelle Revis is forced into a 2015 year with the Patriots and if there are any fireworks along the way, but the cornerback’s last two deals should serve as a cautionary tale about the negative trade-offs that can happen when agreeing to certain contract structures, writes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com. In Revis’ agreement with the Bucs, he got the $16MM AAV he was after, but had no guaranteed money. In his Pats deal, Revis’ camp agreed to a second year that would carry a $25MM cap hit, assuming that the team would never keep him on board at that price. However, a $20MM salary for 2015 – and $32MM over two years – isn’t ridiculous when compared to what guys like Patrick Peterson, Joe Haden, and Richard Sherman are making in the first two seasons of their respective contracts.

Let’s round up a few more items out of New England….

Of the potential free agents on the Patriots’ roster, the two who seem most likely to be hit with the franchise tag – if the team uses it – are safety Devin McCourty and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. However, McCourty is the more probable candidate, WEEI’s Ryan Hannable writes, though Hannable speculates that the Pats could give the safety the tag a few days in advance of the deadline in hopes of working out a long-term deal.
In a video segment, a CSNNE panel debates whether retaining Revis is worth potentially losing other free agent starters like McCourty, Gostkowski, and Dan Connolly, with Andy Hart suggesting that New England needs to keep its star cornerback “at all costs.”
In a separate CSNNE video segment, Ron Borges suggests that both Jerod Mayo and Vince Wilfork will be asked to take pay cuts and “may not be happy about it.” That applies especially to Wilfork, who accepted a pay cut last year and had a strong season.
After capturing another Super Bowl ring, the Pats have proven they don’t need to spend a ton of money on an elite receiving weapon, says Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com (video link).
The 2011 collective bargaining agreement calls for teams to spend at least 89% of the salary cap in cash over two four-year periods (2013-16 and 2017-20), and the Patriots are one of 10 teams that must increase spending over the next couple years to meet that threshold, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Considering all the free-agents-to-be that the club is working to retain, using most or all of its cap room shouldn’t be a problem for New England in 2015.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Fairley, Tamme, Broncos

February 16th, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Zachary Links

A company that is gunning to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles has given $118K in campaign contributions to officials in the city, according to The Associated Press. San Francisco-based Hollywood Park Land Co., the company developing the proposed 80,000-seat stadium, has claimed Rams owner Stan Kroenke as a partner in the company since last year. Here’s more from around the NFL..

A source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Lions defensive tackle and potential free agent Nick Fairley “just wants to be in the most comfortable situation possible.” The status of Ndamukong Suh could go a long way toward determining whether or not that situation is in Detroit.
Broncos tight end Jacob Tamme told Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that he expects to hit the free agent market. Still, he says he’d “love the chance to be back in Denver.” Tamme went on to say that his skill set would work well in Denver’s new offense (link).
Whether Peyton Manning returns or not, the Broncos can say goodbye to any chance of returning to their second Super Bowl in three seasons without a reconfigured offensive line, Troy Renck of The Denver Post writes. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Baltimore Ravens, for whom Kubiak served as offensive coordinator last season, posted a 41.4 run-blocking score. The Broncos checked in at minus 4.1.
In a chat with Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter), Buccaneers center Evan Dietrich-Smith compared the Buccaneers 2014 offense to trying to assemble something without directions because of the coaching issues. The Bucs hope that they have fixed their offensive issues with new coordinator Dirk Koetter.
The idea of Ndamukong Suh joining the Raiders has been a well-documented scenario for weeks, but there are plenty more fish in the sea, Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes. More affordable options on the open market include Terrance Knighton, Henry Melton, Nick Fairley, and Jared Odrick. Knighton, he argues, would make the most sense of anyone in the group. Pot Roast played for new coach Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville and Denver and has expressed his desire for a reunion.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

East Notes: Bryant, Revis, CJ2K

February 16th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Zachary Links

According to John Keim of ESPN.com, it’s hard to imagine both Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins returning to Washington for the 2015 season. As such, this week’s combine could provide a good opportunity for the team to initiate some trade discussions involving one or both of the signal-callers, says Keim. More from the AFC and NFC East..

Dez Bryant is considered a very viable candidate for the franchise tag this year, but this may not be the last time he gets tagged. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com suggests that, if the Cowboys franchise their star wideout this year, it could pave the way for the team to do so again in 2016.
If the Patriots want to keep Darrelle Revis for $20MM in 2015, the cornerback will be upset about it, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. From his perspective, the second year was aimed at allowing the Patriots to divide the signing bonus over two years, for cap purposes. Of course, what Revis envisioned a year ago doesn’t mean the Patriots will proceed in that fashion. Most people won’t be crying for Revis if he gets paid $20MM from New England in 2015, but he’s seeking a multi-year deal that could pay him $40MM or more. When considering that it could be Revis’ last chance at a big payday, his position becomes a little more understandable.
Chris Johnson says the Jets were not honest about what his role would be when he signed with the team last April, as Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. “I think I went into a situation where I was told one thing, and it was another,” Johnson said on “The Rich Eisen Show.” Johnson said he does not blame former coach Rex Ryan. Instead, he believes GM John Idzik dictated the playing time. “Throughout the whole thing, I think last year, with that organization, I think a lot of the stuff was out of Rex’s hands,” Johnson said. “A lot of the things that we were doing, I think it was out of Rex’s hands. Don’t nobody know but it was a [bad] situation.”

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Charles Tillman Not Planning Retirement

February 16th, 2015 at 8:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Even after consecutive seasons cut short by injuries as he enters free agency, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman has no interest in walking away now, Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports writes. Tillman, who turns 34 next week, says that’s he’s not going to “stop [playing] ’til I’m dead.”

Tillman tore the triceps tendon in his right arm midway through the 2013 season and again in the second game of 2014. Re-signed to a one-year, $3.25MM contract last year, Tillman says he’s had only a “hi and bye” interaction with new Bears GM Ryan Pace and coach John Fox. Considering his limited talks with Chicago, it’s not immediately clear if the interest in a reunion is mutual.

“That’s the business,” Tillman said. “I’m trying to feed my kids. So, whatever team’s going to help me pay my bills and help me feed my family – let’s go.”

One NFL executive, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons, said Tillman can still play in the right scheme but will have to sign an incentive-laden, “prove it” type of deal because of his age and recent medical history. Tillman, for his part, seemed to indicate that he’d be alright with that sort of deal.

Tillman, who is hungry to win a ring, says that he’ll be looking to join a winner this offseason. When asked recently, Tillman wouldn’t rule out the possibility of jumping ship to the rival Lions.