HEADLINES

Seahawks Promote Kris Richard To DC

February 9th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Zachary Links

8:00pm: The Seahawks also named Michael Barrow as their linebackers coach, Brennan Carroll as an assistant offensive line coach, and added Lofa Tatupu as an assistant linebackers coach, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter).

6:40pm: The Seahawks announced that they have promoted secondary coach Kris Richard to defensive coordinator, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The move has been long rumored but it was not official until Seattle’s Monday night press release.

Richard was a popular man this offseason as new Falcons coach Dan Quinn tried to get Richard to come to Atlanta. Ultimately, Richard declined to follow his friend to the Falcons and one has to imagine he had a pretty good idea a promotion was coming his way.

Richard has long been a member of the Seahawks family, having first arrived in Seattle as a third-round choice in 2002. The cornerback only played for the Seahawks for three seasons before having stints with the Dolphins, 49ers, and Raiders, but he would later join up with Pete Carroll as an assistant on his USC staff. Later on, he followed his coach and mentor to the Seahawks. Seattle, of course, has been known for one of the toughest (if not the toughest) secondaries in the league under Richard’s watch.

Ken Norton Jr. was also considered to be a strong in-house candidate, but he was recently scooped up by the Raiders to be their defensive coordinator.

NFC West Notes: Los Angeles, 49ers, Seahawks

February 9th, 2015 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Rams seemingly inching closer to Los Angeles, the NFL issued a memo to all 32 teams today to remind them that the league will make the major decisions regarding relocation, not the individual clubs, as Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times writes. In the memo, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the forming of the “Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities,” consisting of owners Clark Hunt (Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans), Jerry Richardson (Panthers), and Art Rooney (Steelers).

The newly formed committee will “evaluate the various stadium options available in Los Angeles, oversee the application of the relocation guidelines in the event that one or more clubs seek to move to Los Angeles, ensure proper coordination with other standing committees … and confirm that all steps taken in Los Angeles are consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws and NFL policies.”

Meanwhile, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, any effort by 31 different businesses to tell one business how (and where) it will do business becomes a potential violation of the antitrust laws. Whether Stan Kroenke is willing to take things to court, however, is a different story. More from the NFC West..

  • The 49ers formally announced Jim Tomsula‘s full coaching staff today, including previously reported names like Geep Chryst (offensive coordinator), Tony Sparano (tight ends coach), Eric Mangini (defensive coordinator), and Jason Tarver (senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach).
  • At least one 49ers player isn’t enthusiastic about the new staff in San Francisco. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), a Niner told him that he thinks the coaching changes will hurt the team: “Everyone will see soon enough.”
  • Although Tommy John surgery was originally viewed as likely for Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, he won’t have to undergo the procedure after all, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter links). Since Sherman’s injured elbow is feeling better this week, the team intends to opt for rehab and monitor the situation, with the hope of avoiding surgery.
  • According to Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com (via Twitter), another one of Pete Carroll‘s sons will be joining the Seahawks head coach in Seattle. Ariz reports that University of Miami wide receivers coach Brennan Carroll will take a position on the Seahawks’ staff, which already includes assistant WRs coach Nate Carroll.
  • Meanwhile, another Hurricanes assistant may be headed to the Seahawks as well, per Thayer Evans of SI.com, who tweets that linebackers coach Michael Barrow is expected to accept the same position in Seattle. The team’s former linebackers coach, Ken Norton Jr., accepted the defensive coordinator job in Oakland last week.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Greg Hardy

February 9th, 2015 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The domestic violence charges against Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy were dismissed in court earlier today, but for now, that doesn’t do anything to change his NFL status. The league confirmed that Hardy remains on the commissioner’s exempt list as the NFL completes its own review of his case, and the Panthers said this afternoon (via Twitter) that they’re essentially following the league’s lead.

“We are aware of the decision by the district attorney’s office to dismiss charges against Greg Hardy,” the team’s statement read. “Greg remains on the commissioner’s exempt list and the NFL has advised us to allow it to complete its review under the personal conduct policy. There is no change in his status at this time.”

Here are the latest updates and rumors on Hardy, in the wake of the conclusion of his legal case:

  • Even though the charges against Hardy were dismissed, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets that people around the Panthers he has spoken to don’t expect the defensive end to return to the team for next season.
  • As we saw with Adrian Peterson, the league won’t consider Hardy’s paid leave in 2014 a form of punishment, writes Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. Garafolo believes that the NFL could still come down hard on the standout pass rusher — even though Nicole Holder disappeared prior to this case, the league could still point to the previous guilty verdict, Holder’s previous testimony, and an apparent civil settlement between Hardy and Holder as the basis for discipline. In fact, Garafolo wouldn’t be surprised if Hardy receives a suspension of more than six games, given some of the extenuating circumstances in the case, such as the weapons allegedly involved.
  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, on the other hand, suggests that the NFL is “extremely unlikely” to punish Hardy further, though he thinks the league will find out as much as it can about Hardy’s alleged settlement with Holder. Cole is bullish on Hardy’s prospects in free agency, indicating that there will be five to eight teams interested if the 26-year-old reaches the open market, and predicting that he could make $15-20MM in guaranteed money. Cole adds that Panthers head coach Ron Rivera still has interest in bringing back Hardy.
  • While Rivera may try to pitch the front office and ownership on the idea of re-signing Hardy, don’t expect owner Jerry Richardson to seriously entertain the idea, says David Newton of ESPN.com.

Minor Moves: Monday

February 9th, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up today’s minor transactions from around the NFL in the space below, with any additional moves added to the top of the list throughout the day. Here’s the latest:

  • The Saints have re-signed exclusive rights free agent Senio Kelemete to a one-year, minimum-salary contract for 2015, as first reported by Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune. Kelemete, who only saw six offensive snaps all year as a reserve at center and guard for New Orleans, confirmed the agreement with an announcement on Twitter.
  • After announcing their first round of reserve/futures signings last week, the Seahawks locked up several more players to new deals today, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Condotta tweets that the club has officially signed wide receiver Kevin Smith, quarterback R.J. Archer, guard C.J. Davis, long snapper Luke Ingram, linebacker Brendan Kelly, defensive end Will Pericak, and center Jared Wheeler, whose agreement was previously reported.

Kaepernick Faces Uncertain Future

February 9th, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Rory Parks

When Colin Kaepernick exploded onto the scene midway through the 2012 season, which culminated in a narrow defeat in Super Bowl XLVII, it was difficult to find anyone who doubted his long-term future with the club. Even the most ardent critics of the read-option seemed to believe that Kaepernick possessed enough arm talent to overcome the inevitable adjustments opposing defenses would make to his running abilities. In short, there was little doubt that he and Jim Harbaugh had firmly established themselves as one of the top quarterback-head coach combos in the league, the West Coast equivalent of Belichick and Brady.

Although 2013 did not bring with it the same explosive success for Kaepernick, the 49ers still came devastatingly close to having another crack at the Lombardi Trophy, with Kaepernick throwing an endzone interception in the waning seconds of the NFC Championship Game to seal a 23-17 win for the eventual-champion Seahawks. Kaepernick finished the regular season with 21 touchdown passes to just eight interceptions, and he added 524 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

But then 2014 happened. Amid reports that Harbaugh was on his way out at the end of the year, Kaepernick saw his performance slip, throwing 19 TDs to 10 picks and ranking as the 28th-best quarterback in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), behind the likes of Mark Sanchez, Shaun Hill, and Kirk Cousins.

Now, as Tim Kawakawi of the San Jose Mercury News writes, 2015 has essentially become a lame-duck year for Kaepernick, as the seven-year, $126MM extension he signed last summer was for all practical purposes a $13MM signing bonus accompanied by seven one-year contracts. That means that the 49ers could, if they wanted, release Kaepernick without blinking an eye and without paying him another dime. Combine that reality with Kaepernick’s cap number, which will be $15.3MM in 2015 and will only go up from there, and throw in the fact that none of the current San Francisco coaches have the same personal investment in Kaepernick as Harbaugh did, and the quarterback’s status with the team becomes more than a little unclear.

And then there is the 2015 season itself, which could see the offense further regress with the possible departures of Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree and a potential schematic overhaul with the promotion of Geep Chryst to offensive coordinator. If that happens, or if the revamped coaching staff and Kaepernick do not mesh, next offseason will bring with it a great deal of uncertainty under center. With the way Kaepernick’s contract is structured, his margin for error is pretty slim, and each season will essentially serve as a new audition for an organization that has proven it is willing to prematurely cut ties with even its most successful personnel.

Free Agent Market For Quarterbacks

February 9th, 2015 at 2:32pm 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’ll be taking a closer look this month at the free agent market for each position, starting today with quarterbacks. Let’s dive in….

Top unrestricted FAs:

Outside of Moore and Ponder – who have combined for more than 60 career NFL starts in past seasons – everyone in this group saw at least a little time in a starting lineup during the 2014 season. Of course, many of them didn’t finish the season as starters, or were only forced into duty due to injuries.

Nonetheless, if a club is looking to the free agent market for a veteran to compete for a starting job with its incumbent QB, this is probably the first group of players that team will consider. Sanchez and Hoyer are perhaps the top available options here, as both players showed several flashes of effectiveness as they led their respective teams to records of .500 or better during their starts.

Other intriguing names on this list include Mallett, who backed up Tom Brady for several seasons before getting a brief look in Houston; Locker and Ponder, 2011 first-rounders who were relegated to backup roles during the final year of their rookie contracts; and Moore, who has been one of the league’s most highly-paid No. 2 QBs for the last two seasons.

Other unrestricted options:

Whether you’re looking for a veteran who can play in a pinch (Campbell, Hasselbeck) or a younger option with some upside (Taylor, Tolzien), there’s something for everyone in this group — albeit not many names that inspire excitement.

McCoy and Clausen had some good moments during their limited playing time in 2014, and Jackson hasn’t been terrible during his stints as a starter. Still, none of those three players should be more than backups at this point in their playing careers, and the same goes for virtually everyone else on this list as well. In some cases, these guys were listed third on their respective teams’ depth charts.

I’d expect a good percentage of these players to return to their current teams, or to follow an old coach or coordinator to his new club. When it comes to backup quarterbacks, familiarity with an offensive system is crucial, and would certainly be a tiebreaker if the gap in talent between two players is marginal. Flynn might be the best example of this, as he hasn’t had much success anywhere besides Green Bay.

Restricted FAs:

Davis and Lindley saw some action in 2014, but neither player was overly effective — Lindley, in particular, had a ton of trouble moving the Cardinals’ offense when he was forced into action after injuries knocked out Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. Generally, if a team wants to keep a restricted free agent, that team has most of the leverage, so if one of these players is wearing a different uniform in 2015, I expect it’ll be because his club had little to no interest in re-signing him.

AFC Notes: Cromartie, Richardson, Ravens

February 9th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Antonio Cromartie is coming off a one-year contract with the Cardinals, and while fellow cornerback Patrick Peterson would like to see his teammate return to Arizona, Peterson tells Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com that Cromartie will certainly have interest in heading back to the Jets.

“I’m definitely trying to keep him here,” Peterson said. “It’s going to be tough, especially with Todd [Bowles] being in New York and he loves [New York]. That’s all he talks about is freaking New York. I’m definitely trying to get him to stay and we’ll see what happens.”

Cromartie and his representatives won’t be able to talk to the Jets until March 7, so Peterson has a few more weeks to try to recruit the veteran corner back to the Cards. As he works on that, let’s round up a few more items from across the AFC….

  • After suspending Trent Richardson at the end of the 2014 season, the Colts could soon have a battle on their hands with the NFLPA over Richardson’s 2015 salary, which may become non-guaranteed based on that suspension. If that issue comes to a head though, it won’t be the first incident between Richardson and the Colts, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Wells reports that the relationship between the team and the running back deteriorated over the course of the 2014 season because of weight issues, accessibility, and an unexpected absence.
  • The Ravens have mostly avoided restructuring contracts in previous seasons, but may have to rework a couple this season to create some temporary cap relief, according to Aaron Wilson and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. However, the club could also release or extend players to open up cap room. Defensive end Chris Canty, center Gino Gradkowski, and wide receiver Jacoby Jones are among the Ravens veterans whose deals may need to be addressed.
  • According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter links), Jaguars owner Shad Khan said he wants to extend his team’s London series beyond 2016. Per Khan, Jacksonville’s revenues will rank 22nd in the league this season, an improvement buoyed by the revenue from the franchise’s games in England.
  • The Browns‘ uncertain quarterback situation extends to the coaching staff, according to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com, who points out that Kevin O’Connell, who will be in charge of Cleveland’s QBs, has never coached at any level in football before.
  • Vince Wilfork played more than 70% of the Patriots‘ defensive snaps, and the club was a top-10 scoring defense with a lengthy playoff run, meaning the big defensive lineman earned every 2014 incentive in his contract, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). That means Wilfork received the full $8MM salary for which he was eligible.

NFC Notes: Rams, Sam, Packers, Washington

February 9th, 2015 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

It has been a little over a month since Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced his plan to build a new NFL stadium in Los Angeles, and it’s inching a little closer to becoming a reality, writes David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to Hunn, developers have begun to clear land and lay water lines at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, and the stadium still looks like a go, regardless of whether an NFL team like the Rams is lined up to play in it.

“If you have the most modern, the most beautiful NFL stadium in the world, you’re not going to have any problem populating it,” Inglewood mayor James T. Butts said. “If the NFL wants to migrate here, we would welcome it. But that’s not what this is about. This is ‘Field of Dreams’ stuff. Build it and they will come.”

Here are a few more Monday notes from around the NFC:

  • Former Rams seventh-rounder Michael Sam has applied for one of approximately 100 spots in the NFL’s inaugural veteran combine later this month, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. While the former Missouri standout is hoping that leads to an NFL contract offer, Pelissero says Sam has a one-year contract offer from the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes on the table as a fallback option. The 25-year-old spent some time on the Cowboys‘ practice squad last season, but wasn’t active for any regular season games.
  • Veteran 49ers offensive line coach Mike Solari will be leaving San Francisco to join the Packers, reports Alex Marvez of Fox Sports. While it’s not immediately clear what Solari’s role will be in Green Bay, his hiring appears to be part of a larger shake-up to the team’s offensive staff, as we heard yesterday.
  • The Packers will have to make a decision at quarterback this offseason, with backup signal-callers Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn both eligible for free agency. As Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com writes, the team’s coaching staff likes Tolzien’s potential, but Flynn gives the club a “security-blanket feel.” For his part, Aaron Rodgers would like to see both backups re-signed.
  • Free agency may offer more problems than solutions for Washington, but the team may still need to dip into the open market to find stopgap options for certain positions, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com.
  • Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer takes a look at some key issues facing the Panthers this winter, including a possible long-term deal for Cam Newton, finding a solution at left tackle, and adding immediate contributors in the draft.

Charges Against Greg Hardy Dismissed

February 9th, 2015 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

Superior Court Judge Robert Sumner has dismissed the two domestic violence charges against Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). According to Person (Twitter links), the state had been unable to locate alleged victim Nicole Holder, despite multiple and repeated attempts. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported earlier this morning (via Twitter) that a settlement had been reached between Hardy and Holder.

While the dismissal of the case clears Hardy legally, the NFL’s new personal conduct policy calls for an independent investigation by the league, and there’s no guarantee that Roger Goodell will abstain from penalizing Hardy just because the charges were dropped. Hardy missed all but one game in the 2014 season, but it wasn’t technically a suspension. He landed on the commissioner’s exempt list, and still received his full salary for the season, in a situation similar to Adrian Peterson‘s in Minnesota. The standout pass rusher would’ve been facing a lengthy suspension had he been convicted — now, the discipline he receives from the league figures to be more modest.

Hardy’s stock heading into free agency remains a little cloudy, at least until the NFL announces what penalty, if any, will be levied against him. But he’s certainly in better shape now than he would’ve been if his trial had dragged out and perhaps resulted in a conviction. I’d assume that the Panthers are still unlikely to assign the franchise tag to Hardy. In spite of his talent and his past production for the club, a franchise salary would cost more than $15MM, and would send a questionable message, especially after a portion of the $13MM+ that the team paid the 26-year-old in 2014 presumably went toward his settlement with Holder.

Assuming Hardy does reach the open market, he figures to draw significant interest from teams in the market for a pass rusher. Not many players in the NFL are better at getting to the quarterback than the former sixth-round pick, who racked up 26 total sacks in 2012 and 2013.

2015 Free Agent Stock Watch Series

February 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

2015’s NFL free agent period is just a few weeks away, as this year’s free-agents-to-be will be eligible to speak to other teams starting on March 7, and can sign contracts with rival suitors as of March 10 at 3:00pm central time.

Over the next few weeks, Pro Football Rumors will be heavily focused on free agency, and that means taking a closer look at several of the higher-profile players who could hit the open market next month. Our Free Agent Stock Watch pieces will explore what a player brings to a club, what sort of earnings he can expect on his next contract, teams that could be in the market for the player, and where the player might want to end up, along with any other relevant factors.

The list of players we’ve profiled so far is below, and will grow exponentially over the next several weeks. This post, which can be found on the right sidebar under “PFR Features,” will be updated each time we publish a new Free Agent Stock Watch piece, so be sure to check back to read up on the latest additions. The players below are listed in alphabetical order.

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