East Notes: Dolphins, Marino, Bills, Incognito
The Bills have indicated that they’ll prioritize re-signing Richie Incognito in the coming weeks, and that interest in a new deal is mutual, according to the veteran guard (link via Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com):
“My goal is to come back and play in Buffalo,” Incognito said during an appearance on The John Murphy Show. “I love it there. I love my teammates and I love playing for coach Rex and Greg Roman. I really think that my personality and my hard work approach and physical nature really resembles the spirit of Buffalo. A blue collar town and a bunch of hard working people up there, and they just want to win. That’s my number one goal is just to win and restore the glory of Buffalo.”
Here are a few more items from out of the NFL’s East divisions:
- Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino was a part of the Dolphins‘ contingent at the Senior Bowl and he’s becoming more and more involved in the team’s personnel decisions, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Originally, Marino was more involved in the PR side of things than the front office. Ultimately, he wants to work his way into more of an executive role and the current higher-ups say they’re delighted with him.
- At a press conference today, Steelers president and co-owner Art Rooney II revealed that the Eagles have received permission to interview Steelers executive Brandon Hunt for their director of player personnel job (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links), Hunt has already met with Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie, and will meet with Tom Donahoe on Friday — Donahoe, a former Steelers GM, is having a major impact on Philadelphia’s search for a top personnel exec, tweets Mosher.
- Eagles left tackle Jason Peters turned 34 this month, and his cap hit will rise to nearly $10MM in 2016, but new head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t want Peters to go anywhere, as Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com writes. “I think J.P.’s got several good years left in him,” Pederson said. “I think that he does the right things in the offseason to get himself ready to go for another year.”
- Former Bengals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, now the defensive coordinator in Miami, admitted today that he felt responsible for Adam Jones‘ penalty against the Steelers in the Wild Card game, referring to Pacman as his “guy.” As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) observes, Joseph’s new role means Jones might be on the Dolphins‘ radar in free agency this winter.
Eagles Notes: Ertz, Celek, Bradford
It’s been a busy week so far for the Eagles, who signed a pair of tight ends to new contracts and are still looking to hire a key personnel executive for their front office. Let’s check out the latest out of Philadelphia….
- Using the contracts signed last winter by Julius Thomas and Charles Clay as points of comparison, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap breaks down Zach Ertz‘s new deal with the Eagles. Fitzgerald also explains why Brent Celek‘s extension has plenty of value for Philadelphia, assuming the team had already decided to carry the veteran tight end on its roster for 2016.
- The new deals for Ertz and Celek show that – after ceding power to Chip Kelly for a year – Howie Roseman is re-committing to building an atmosphere in which players drafted by the Eagles feel valued by the organization, and stick with the team for the long term, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News. “It’s an important message to your team, that if you play really well and you do the right things and you’re drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, you’ve got a chance to stay for a long time,” Roseman said. “I think it’s important for the organization.”
- Josh Paunil of PhillyMag.com spoke to former agent Joel Corry about the likely value of potential extensions for players like Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, and Vinny Curry. Corry also explained why he thinks Sam Bradford may ultimately sign a one-year contract this offseason rather than a long-term deal.
- If the Eagles know whether they plan re-sign Bradford or let him walk, they’re not tipping their hand yet, as Bowen details in a Daily News piece.
- Bowen and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links) are both hearing rumblings that the personnel executive ultimately hired by the Eagles to work with Roseman will be a retread, rather than an up-and-comer.
- The Eagles have hired Missouri’s Chris Wilson as their defensive line coach, Doug Pederson said today, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Coaching Notes: Campbell, Saints, Golden
New Saints hire Dan Campbell has been brought aboard as an assistant head coach to Sean Payton, but it is not accurate to say that he is the assistant head coach in New Orleans. Campbell, who was hired just weeks ago in New Orleans, will share the assistant head coach title with linebackers coach Joe Vitt, as Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune writes. With that matter cleared up, Payton says there is only one minor open matter remaining on his staff – finding an offensive assistant to work with receivers coach John Morton.
More coaching news from around the NFL:
- Former Miami/Temple coach Al Golden is in line for a defensive assistant job with the Cowboys, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports hears (via Twitter). Golden, 46, coached Miami to a 32-25 record from 2011 through 2015.
- The Titans made some moves on their coaching staff, as Jim Wyatt of Titans Online reports (via Twitter links). Nick Eason will be the team’s defensive line coach, Bob Bratkowski is the Titans’ new wide receivers coach, and Sylvester Croom will remain as the team’s running backs coach. Croom has had many stints as an NFL RBs coach and also served as the head coach of Mississippi State from 2004-2008.
- The Eagles requested permission to interview Lions defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, but they were denied, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Kocurek is an advocate for an attacking 4-3 front which would have made him a good fit under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
Brent Celek, Eagles Agree To Extension
1:07pm: According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Celek’s new deal is three years in total, so he’ll be locked up through the 2018 season.
12:01pm: For the second time in as many days, the Eagles have struck a deal on a contract extension for a tight end. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Eagles and Brent Celek have agreed on a three-year, $13MM contract that features $6MM in guaranteed money. The agreement comes on the heels of Monday’s five-year extension for top tight end Zach Ertz.
After averaging nearly 60 receptions per season from 2009 to 2012, Celek, who turned 31 on Monday, has seen his production dip in recent years. During Chip Kelly‘s tenure with the Eagles, and since the arrival or Ertz, Celek never caught more than 32 balls in a season, averaging about 413 yards per year.
Still, with Kelly out of the picture, the new Eagles decision-makers valued Celek enough to keep him around, adding guaranteed money to an expiring deal that no longer featured any. The former fifth-round pick had been set to earn a base salary of $4.925MM in 2016, the final year of his contract. However, Philadelphia could have cut him without carrying any dead money.
Instead, the Eagles will lock up Celek through at least 2018 – it’s not clear yet whether the extension is for three new years, or three total years – and almost certainly will reduce his cap number for 2016. It’s not clear how much of Celek’s $6MM guarantee is fully guaranteed, so the new deal probably doesn’t assure him of a roster spot beyond ’16, but he has some extra security for at least one more year.
According to Caplan (Twitter links), Eagles ownership and Howie Roseman recognized Celek’s value to the team and liked the way he has transitioned from a pass-catching tight end to one who is also a solid blocker. The Eagles would like the veteran tight end to finish his career in Philadelphia, so he may stick around for a few more years yet.
Celek’s new contract looks somewhat similar to the three-year, $12.3MM pact signed by Browns tight end Gary Barnidge in December. Barnidge, who is a year younger than Celek, hauled in 79 passes in 2015, but had only 44 receptions during the first seven years of his NFL career. Both deals currently crack the top 20 annual salaries for tight ends, though that might not last long, with young players like Travis Kelce, Jordan Reed, and Coby Fleener eligible for extensions.
A report last week indicated that the Eagles were also interested in getting contract extensions done for tackle Lane Johnson and defensive end Vinny Curry, so negotiations for those players figure to be ongoing in the coming days and weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Alonso, LA, Draft Prospects, Pats
Linebacker Kiko Alonso is coming off his first season with the Eagles, one in which the 2013 PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year was a non-factor. Alonso expects better things in 2016 with recently hired defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz at the helm, writes Paul Domowitch of Philly.com.
Alonso’s agent, Steve Karic, says the 25-year-old is “very excited” to play for Schwartz, who coordinated Buffalo’s defense to a fourth-place ranking in 2014. Alonso was also a Bill then, but he missed the season because of a torn ACL and didn’t play a down under Schwartz. Still, he’s familiar with Schwartz’s defense.
“He spent the offseason in Buffalo that year playing in this defense. He went through OTAs and minicamp in this defense. He was in the meeting rooms all season long,” Karic stated.
Karic then added that Alonso “definitely can play” the Mike (middle) or Will (weakside) LB role in Schwartz’s scheme. Prior to Alonso’s injury in 2014, Schwartz planned to use him as a Will ‘backer in Buffalo. Alonso played on the inside under former Eagles D-coordinator Billy Davis in 2015-16 and totaled just 43 tackles in 11 games, rating an ugly 92nd of 97 qualifying LBs by Pro Football Focus’ standards (subscription required).
Elsewhere around the NFL. . .
- Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News believes the Chargers will end up in LA next season (Twitter link). He also shot down the notion (via Twitter) that talks between the Chargers and Rams have stalled. This comes on the heels of a Monday night report from CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora that the two sides are “making progress.”
- North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz – who’s gaining steam as a possible first-round pick in the 2016 draft – has already met with nearly half of the league’s 32 teams at the Senior Bowl, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. Two of those clubs are the Dolphins and Texans, Wentz told Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, respectively (Twitter links: 1, 2). With Ryan Tannehill in the fold, Beasley doesn’t expect the Dolphins to use the eighth overall pick on Wentz. However, if available, he could be a fit for QB-needy Houston at No. 22.
- Alabama MLB Reggie Ragland, one of Wentz’s fellow Senior Bowl participants, has spoken to the Ravens, Chiefs and Raiders so far, and he’ll also meet with the Packers (Twitter links via Wilson and Chase Goodbread of NFL.com). The probable first-rounder will play some OLB this week as a way to show off his versatility to prospective employers, reports Wilson (on Twitter).
- Foxborough, Mass., police arrested Patriots practice squad receiver J.J. Worton on Saturday and charged him with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 and over and one count of assault and battery, per ESPN.com. The Patriots didn’t comment on Worton’s arrest, tweets the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, who adds that the 24-year-old is unlikely to remain with the team. Worton, who signed with the Pats earlier this month, has an expiring contract.
NFC Notes: Seahawks, Eagles, Cards, Falcons
Bellevue, Wash., police arrested Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman in October on investigation of vehicular assault and hit-and-run, but they released the 26-year-old without charges the next day. They’re now recommending the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charge Coleman with felonies for both offenses, Jennifer Sullivan and Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times report. The prosecutor’s office will take the next several weeks to determine whether to file charges against Coleman, who was driving a Dodge pickup at a “high rate of speed,” according to police, and struck a Honda Civic traveling the same direction.
The police report, which was released Monday (per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com), says Coleman’s truck was going 60 in a 35-mph zone, and his foot was on the accelerator at 100 percent for several seconds. That pushed the other vehicle 260 feet off the roadway up a hill. It then flipped over. The driver went to the hospital with a head injury and a fractured left clavicle, while police found a barefoot Coleman two blocks from the scene. Stephen W. Hayne, Coleman’s lawyer, said the accident dislodged Coleman’s hearing aids, which may have left him disoriented and caused him to leave the scene. The report reveals Coleman admitted to smoking “Spice,” synthetic cannabinoids, and showed signs of impairment. Police found multiple bags of synthetic cannabinoids and various drug paraphernalia in Coleman’s truck. However, there were no signs of drug consumption in the blood tests Coleman underwent several hours after the accident. Despite that, Coleman – whom police accused of driving in a manner that was “rash and heedless” and “indifferent to the consequences” – could now be in serious trouble.
The four-year veteran is set to become a restricted free agent.
Some notes on the NFC’s other bird-themed teams:
- It’s currently unclear who will quarterback the Eagles next season. If newly extended tight end Zach Ertz has his way, the club will re-sign pending free agent Sam Bradford. “I’ve played for five quarterbacks now in three years, which seems like a lot, and I want to play with Sam,” Ertz said, per Bob Ford of Philly.com. Ertz added that Bradford hopes to remain with the Eagles. “He wants to be in Philadelphia. Whether he’s back here or not, that’s none of my business, honestly. He’s going to do what’s best for him and the Eagles are going to do what’s best for us. But at the end of the day, I think he wants to be here.”
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The Cardinals finished a below-average 20th in the NFL in sacks during the regular season and took down Panthers quarterback Cam Newton just once in their 49-15 NFC title game loss on Sunday. As a result, the Cards’ top offseason priority will be strengthening their pass rush, general manager Steve Keim said Monday (per Darren Urban of the team’s website).
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Despite playing his entire rookie year with a torn right labrum, Falcons pass rusher Vic Beasley will not have offseason surgery, according to head coach Dan Quinn (link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). As Ledbetter writes, some labrum tears can be treated without surgery. Beasley led the 2015-16 Falcons with four sacks, a franchise record for rookies, and will look to build on that next season without having to deal with a shoulder injury.
Eagles Extend Zach Ertz Through 2021
9:59am: According to Corry (via Twitter), Ertz’s five-year deal can actually max out at $45.8MM rather than $42.5MM, since it features $300K in Pro Bowl incentives and $3MM in Pro Bowl salary escalators. Corry adds (via Twitter) that the extension includes an $8MM signing bonus.
9:24am: The Eagles have locked up their top tight end through the 2021 season, announcing today in a press release that Zach Ertz has signed a five-year extension with the team. Ertz’s rookie contract had been set to expire at the end of the 2016 season.
[RELATED: Eagles hire Frank Reich as offensive coordinator]
According to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), Ertz’s new five-year deal is worth $42.5MM, which works out to $8.5MM annually. Corry adds (via Twitter) that the pact also features $20MM in guarantees, though some of that money is guaranteed for injury only — the fully guaranteed portion totals $13,138,527, which includes his $1,138,527 base salary for 2016, plus an additional $12MM.
Per Over the Cap, only three tight ends in the NFL – Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas, and Rob Gronkowski – are earning a higher annual salary than Ertz’s $8.5MM figure, so the extension makes the 25-year-old one of the highest-paid players at his position.
Ertz, the 35th overall pick in the 2013 draft, became extension-eligible for the first time this offseason, and did so at the perfect time. The Stanford product has become an increasingly bigger part of the Eagles’ offense over the course of his first three seasons, and is coming off a career year, having caught 75 passes for 853 yards in 2015.
Under new head coach Doug Pederson, it’s not clear yet whether Sam Bradford, a Chip Kelly acquisition, will be re-signed, or if the Eagles will go in another direction at quarterback. But either way, Ertz figures to be one of the top targets in Philadelphia’s passing game in 2016. Besides Ertz, only Jordan Matthews had more than 400 yards receiving for the Eagles this past season.
[RELATED: Eagles hire John DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach]
A report last week indicated that the Eagles were interested in getting contract extensions done for tackle Lane Johnson, defensive end Vinny Curry, and Ertz, so with the tight end’s new deal finalized, the team figures to shift its focus to securing Johnson and Curry. With a fifth-year option year available for Johnson in 2017, after his rookie contract expires, the Eagles will likely prioritize an extension for Curry, who can reach the open market in a matter of weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Packers, Cowboys, Lions
The Eagles were prepared to offer new Giants head coach Ben McAdoo their top coaching job had he come in for the second interview he scheduled, Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The Giants moved up their interview with their then-offensive coordinator to expedite their process and retain him, but multiple sources told the Inquirer he would’ve gotten the Eagles’ job had he interviewed again.
Philadelphia also did not offer new coach Doug Pederson final say on the 53-man roster like Adam Gase, the Eagles’ initial coaching interview as part of their 10 “Tier 1” candidates, received upon accepting the Dolphins’ job.
Linebackers coach Ken Flajole turned down the UTEP DC job to land in Philadelphia. UTEP had to amend a Jan. 14 press conference to inform that Flajole, the Rams’ DC from 2009-11, would be returning to the NFL instead of guiding the Miners’ defense.
Jeffery Lurie told Berman the regular season’s final week, after he fired Chip Kelly, proved beneficial in terms of communicating with the players on what exactly went wrong under Kelly and how best to re-route the team.
Here are some more notes on the Eagles, along with the latest from other NFC locales.
- With Pederson saying Sam Bradford “fit perfectly” into the offense he plans to run with the Eagles, Daniel Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com notes in his Eagles mailbag the best course of action for the franchise going forward would be to sign the former No. 1 pick to a long-term deal. Despite an unremarkable season, Bradford will still figure to have his share of suitors if he reaches the market, with the Texans and Browns also in dire need of a quarterback. Bradford threw 19 TDs, 14 INTs and completed 65.3% of his passes in 14 games — the most he’d played in since 2012.
- Tony Romo will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if he’ll require any surgery to repair his troublesome collarbone, according to a report on the Cowboys‘ website. “We have a pretty good idea, but we’re going to get a CT scan here this coming week and then make all the choices from there,” Romo said. “I think we know which way we’re siding and some of the things. We’ve had exhaustive discussions about it.” In December, Romo discussed attaching a plate to his collarbone to reduce the reinjury risk. Romo said he’ll be “ready to rock” by the time OTAs begin.
- Lance Dunbar, Rolando McClain and Morris Claiborne should be available to the Cowboys on cheaper, one-year deals, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap lists them as free agents the team should consider bringing back. Fitzgerald suggests the team move on from Greg Hardy and consider bringing back DeMarcus Ware on a one-year deal in the event the Broncos release him to clear cap space.
- The Packers hired Rams running back coach Ben Sirmans for the same position, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter). Sirmans will now be traveling from the league’s second-largest market to its smallest. He coached running backs in St. Louis for four years after spending the previous 16 coaching in college.
- Lions defensive tackle Caraun Reid underwent ankle surgery this week but is expected to return sometime during the offseason, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Reid started 12 of the 14 games in which he played, but was hampered throughout the season by the high-ankle sprain he suffered in training camp. The team regularly held its 2014 fifth-round pick out of practice down the stretch as a result. Reid is the only interior defensive lineman guaranteed to return to Detroit, with Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones and Tyrunn Walker‘s contracts having expired.
Eagles Interested In Extending Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Vinny Curry
NFL teams are now free to extend the rookie contracts of players selected in the 2013 draft, and the Eagles are interested in locking up a couple of their top ’13 draftees, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. Shorr-Parks reports that Philadelphia has prioritized getting new contracts done with offensive tackle Lane Johnson and tight end Zach Ertz.
In addition to Johnson and Ertz, defensive end Vinny Curry is also a top priority for the Eagles. Having been selected in the second round of the 2012 draft, Curry’s rookie contract is expiring this winter, and doesn’t feature a fifth-year option, so he’ll hit the open market in March if he and the Eagles can’t reach a new deal by then. According to Shorr-Parks, the Eagles have already made a contract offer to Curry in the hopes of getting something done. If he reaches the open market, the defensive end could draw interest from the Giants, among other teams, say Shorr-Parks.
Although Philadelphia is expected to make extension offers soon to Johnson and Ertz, getting something done with Johnson shouldn’t be an urgent item on the team’s to-do list. As a 2013 first-rounder, Johnson has a fifth-year option for 2017 on his rookie deal, so assuming the Eagles exercise that option, the offensive lineman will remain under team control for at least two more seasons.
The same can’t be said for Ertz though, who was a second-round pick. He’ll become eligible for unrestricted free agency a year from now if he and the Eagles don’t work something out. The 25-year-old tight end is coming off a career year, having caught 75 passes for 853 yards in 2015.
As for Curry, his overall numbers took a hit in 2015 — after recording nine sacks and four forced fumbles in 2014, he had 3.5 and zero, respectively, this past season. Still, Pro Football Focus graded him 10th among interior defensive linemen as a pass-rusher, so he was putting pressure on quarterbacks even if he wasn’t bringing them down.
PFF also ranked Johnson 24th among offensive tackles, out of 81 qualified players at the position. The former fourth overall pick could become the Eagles’ full-time left tackle if and when the team decides to move on from Jason Peters, so locking up Johnson sooner rather than later, while not absolutely necessary, could save the club some money down the road. He has primarily played right tackle up until this point of his career.
With Chip Kelly out of the picture in Philadelphia, decisions on contract extensions and signings will be made by some combination of Howie Roseman, Tom Donahoe, Jeffrey Lurie, Doug Pederson, and the club’s new head of player personnel, who has yet to be hired.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/21/16
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL:
Cleveland Browns
- Terrell Watson, RB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Detroit Lions
- Austin Willis, WR (via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com on Twitter)
New England Patriots
- James Vaughters, LB (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Twitter)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Ross Scheuerman, RB (Twitter link via Eagles)