Eagles Release Todd Herremans
FRIDAY, 12:35pm: The Eagles have formally announced in a press release that they’ve released Herremans.
“Todd has been the ultimate professional during my two years in Philadelphia with him,” head coach Chip Kelly said in a statement. “He is a tough player and I wish him all of the best as he moves forward in his NFL career. I spoke to him earlier today and one of the things I told him was that by releasing him now, he will have a full opportunity to explore all of his options around the league.”
THURSDAY, 10:25am: Yesterday, a long-tenured Packer became a free agent when Green Bay released A.J. Hawk, and today the Eagles are parting ways with a player who has been with the team even longer than Hawk had been with the Packers. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Philadelphia will release veteran offensive lineman Todd Herremans, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Herremans, 32, has been with the Eagles since the club selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. Over the course of the last decade, the 10-year veteran has appeared in 127 games for the Eagles, starting 124 of them at every spot besides center on the offensive line. In recent years, Herremans has served as Philadelphia’s right guard or right tackle, though his 2014 campaign came to an early end due to a biceps injury.
By releasing Herremans, the Eagles avoid paying his $4MM base salary for the 2015 season. Herremans’ contract still has $2.4MM in dead money remaining on it, which will apply to the 2015 cap, but since his original cap number had been $5.2MM, the Eagles will create $2.8MM in cap savings with the move.
Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Evan Mathis, and Lane Johnson appear poised to continue to anchor Philadelphia’s offensive line for the 2015 season. Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner also remain under contract, and both players filled in at times due to injuries or suspensions during the 2014 season — along with Allen Barbre, they look like the frontrunners to compete for Herremans’ old job in the Eagles’ starting lineup this summer.
East Notes: Herremans, Clay, Orakpo
Todd Herremans has not been officially released by the Eagles yet and he cannot start talking to other teams until that happens, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The move needs to show up on the league’s personnel notice before Herremans is allowed to chat with other clubs. Herremans, 32, has been with the Eagles since the club selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. The Eagles could opt to hand Herremans’ job over to backups Allen Barbre or Matt Tobin but may look at Raiders center Stefen Wisniewski, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.
Wisniewski started all 16 games for the Raiders in each of his four years, with the last 48 games coming at center. The son of former Raiders great Steve Wisniewski opened his career with 16 starts at left guard, increasing his versatility. Stefen Wisnewski is a cheaper alternative to signing Mike Iupati or Orlando Franklin, although perhaps not too much cheaper. He ranks 32nd on Pro Football Focus’ top 75 free agents.
In other news across the league’s eastern divisions …
- The Eagles are also expected to pursue free agent corner Byron Maxwell, and Phillymag.com’s Sheil Kapadia examines why they should with a film-based analysis. Maxwell was the fourth Legion of Boom member the past 1 1/2 seasons, starting in two Super Bowls, and served as an effective deterrent as teams attacked the Seahawks defense’s right flank. At 27, Maxwell is one of the market’s top corners.
- League insiders tell Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that if the Dolphins can strike a deal with pending free agent Charles Clay in the coming weeks, it probably decreases the likelihood that wide receiver Mike Wallace remains. Top exec Mike Tannenbaum has made it known that he wants to retain the tight end.
- Washington met with Brian Orakpo‘s agent at last week’s scouting combine and expressed interest in re-signing him, but there’s a long way to go between the two sides, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. In an extended look at Orakpo’s free agency, Keim notes that many people around the league don’t expect Orakpo to return to D.C.
- Washington has hired Dave Ragone as their offensive quality control coach, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com tweets. Ragone served as the Titans’ wide receiver coach from 2011-12 and the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2013.
Zach Links contributed to this report
East Notes: Wilson, Jets, Eagles
The Jets are not expected to bring cornerback Kyle Wilson back next season, sources tell Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. The 27-year-old former first-round pick will become a free agent on March 10th. Wilson never fulfilled his promise during his time with Gang Green and was never able to develop into anything more than an average slot cornerback. Here’s a look at some items out of the AFC and NFC East..
- Reuben Frank and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com looked at cornerback Chris Culliver as a possible target for the Eagles. The Philadelphia native missed his third season after tearing his ACL but came back last year to start 14 games, and picked off four passes. Mosher likes the 49ers free agent as a cheaper alternative to Byron Maxwell and Frank think he’d be a good fit in Bill Davis’ scheme.
- Washington is in need of at least one cornerback capable of starting in 2015, and perhaps two, Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com writes. Luckily for new GM Scot McCloughan, there are plenty of talented corners available, including Maxwell, Culliver, Brandon Flowers, Kareem Jackson, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, and Davon House.
- Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News isn’t a huge Brandon Weeden fan, but he sees replacing him with another backup quarterback for the Cowboys as a low priority matter.
Extra Points: DeVito, L.A., Garcon, NFLPA
While hundreds of NFL writers will submit mock drafts within the next two months, few are more plugged in than Peter King of TheMMQB.com, whose first mock draft of the year lends credence to the idea that the Eagles have real interest in Marcus Mariota. King’s mock has the Eagles pulling off a trade with Washington to move up to the No. 5 spot and nab Mariota — Philadelphia gives up its first- and second-round picks this year, along with its first- and fourth-round picks for 2016, in the hypothetical swap.
Here’s more miscellany from around the NFL:
- The Chiefs are expected to ask defensive lineman Mike DeVito to take a pay cut, reports Conor Orr of NFL.com. DeVito, who is set to earn a base salary of $3.75MM with a 2015 cap number of $5.4MM, could be cut by Kansas City if he decides he doesn’t want to accept a reduced salary.
- As Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times reported late last night (via Twitter), Inglewood’s City Council unanimously approved Stan Kroenke‘s Hollywood Park stadium project. By approving the project, the Inglewood City Council can skip a couple steps, Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk explains. City officials can now avoid putting the stadium proposal up for a public vote, and can avoid “potentially lengthy” environmental reviews. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) notes that Carson officials are expected to do the same thing with the Raiders/Chargers‘ stadium proposal.
- There have been “zero talks” about Pierre Garcon‘s contract between his camp and the Washington front office, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That doesn’t mean discussions won’t happen at some point, but Keim notes there’s been nothing yet to indicate that any sort of move involving Garcon is coming.
- An already crowded field got even more crowded today, as former NFL player Sean Morey emerged as the latest candidate to become executive director of the NFLPA, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- The latest MMQB.com piece from ex-Packers executive Andrew Brandt touches on a handful of interesting topics, as Brandt explores the L.A. issue, notes the different between a contract restructure and a pay cut, and points out that salary cap flexibility can often be created fairly easily.
La Canfora On Manning, Suh, McCown, Saints
Weighing in on two of the biggest offseason stories, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com leads off his latest piece by looking at the Peyton Manning and Ndamukong Suh situations. In La Canfora’s view, Manning will ultimately return to the Broncos after the two sides tweak his contract a little. As for Suh, the CBSSports.com scribe doesn’t have any updates on the Lions‘ talks with the defensive star, but says he thinks the Jaguars and Raiders will be major players. For those teams to be involved in the Suh derby, he’d have to reach the open market, which would mean no long-term deal or franchise tag from Detroit.
La Canfora also passes along plenty more tidbits related to free agency, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….
- When it comes to the market’s top pass rushers, La Canfora thinks Pernell McPhee can reach $10MM per year, with Jerry Hughes in the $9MM range, and Brandon Graham and Jason Worilds around $7.5MM. La Canfora also believes that all four of those players will join new teams next month.
- Free agent quarterback Josh McCown is expected to decide on his new team later this week or early next week, and could land another deal worth $5MM annually. The Bills and Browns look like the best bets for McCown, according to La Canfora.
- The Saints are working through contract issues with about a half-dozen players on their roster, sources tell La Canfora. If things work out the way the team hopes, Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, and Curtis Lofton would likely stick around on reduced salaries, while Ben Grubbs, Brodrick Bunkley, and David Hawthorne could be let go. As for Junior Galette, La Canfora is hearing that head coach Sean Payton has “expressed a desire” to part ways with him, following his January arrest. However, Galette’s contract still contains a sizeable chunk of guaranteed money, and the team likely can’t void those guarantees.
- Percy Harvin probably won’t accept a pay cut from the Jets, which means the team will likely cut him. La Canfora expects the wideout to gamble himself in free agency, signing a one-year deal with a team that has a good quarterback in place.
- The Jaguars will be seeking a top pass catcher, and La Canfora wouldn’t be surprised if the team lands a player like Randall Cobb or Julius Thomas. Per La Canfora, the Packers recognize Cobb’s market could get out of hand, and may focus on re-signing other key free agents, like Bryan Bulaga and Letroy Guion.
- Chiefs center Rodney Hudson came very close to signing a four-year extension worth $6MM per year during the season. He’s a good bet to exceed that amount in free agency, and the Raiders are one viable suitor.
- La Canfora anticipates the Ravens will work out a restructured deal with Lardarius Webb, but isn’t as certain about Haloti Ngata, who may play for a new team in 2015.
- The Jets would have interest in Ryan Mallett if he reaches the open market. However, the Texans have made their interest in the quarterback clear, and Mallett himself said today that he’d like to return to Houston (Twitter link via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle).
East Notes: Jets, Maclin, Spiller, Pats, Giants
We’ve heard that the Jets plan to be aggressive in free agency, and now Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net offers a little more clarification on what areas New York might be targeting next month. In addition to outside linebackers, the Jets will look to sign “younger, taller corners” — Pauline suggests Davon House, Chris Culliver, and Kareem Jackson as players who fit that mold. Pauline adds that Gang Green will also look for defensive line depth and help at guard, but won’t pay for someone like Mike Iupati, who is expected to command ~$8MM per year.
Here’s more from the East:
- Before Jeremy Maclin changed agents in November, ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter) believed it was a near-lock that the receiver would re-sign with the Eagles. Now, Caplan isn’t so sure, saying that the odds of the two parties getting a deal done is less certain.
- Many have linked C.J. Spiller to the Jets thanks to the presence of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, but speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio today, Spiller said there is a possibility he remains with the Bills, but noted the “ball was in [Buffalo’s] court” (link via Kevin Patra of NFL.com).
- The Patriots worked out former Packers receiver Kevin Dorsey today, reports Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Dorsey, a 2013 draft pick, was waived by Green Bay a week ago. The Maryland product has been on injured reserve during most of his first two seasons in the league.
- Per the terms of his deal with the Giants, offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds will earn a $660K base salary, a $25K signing bonus, and a $15K workout bonus, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link).
East Notes: Graham, Maxwell, Revis, McClain
Defensive end Brandon Graham will officially become a free agent next month, and while it’s likely he’ll leave Philadelphia, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Eagles will fail to re-sign him, according to Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly. Per a team source, the Eagles “haven’t ruled out” Graham returning to the club next season. Mosher reported several weeks ago that Graham would look to secure $20MM in guarantees, and today noted that Everson Griffen‘s five-year pact with the Vikings could act as a starting point in negotiations.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the East divisions…
- The Jets are expected to be one of the “primary suitors” for Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post. Last week, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net indicated that the Eagles could be the favorites to land Maxwell, and Costello adds that the two clubs may duke it out in free agency to land the 27-year-old. Per Costello, agents know the Jets are desperate to add secondary help, and may force New York to overpay to bring in corners.
- Continuing the subject of standout corners, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com takes a stab at assessing the value of Patriots CB Darrelle Revis, who isn’t technically a free agent yet but likely will be when New England declines his 2015 option. Patriots president Jonathan Kraft admitted earlier this month that Revis’ option was acting as a “placeholder” until the two sides can agree to an extension, and Reiss pegs Revis’ worth at five years, $80MM. PFR’s Luke Adams recently took a look at the Pats’ options regarding Revis.
- Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News profiles Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain, and projects that the 25-year-old will be retained on a short-term deal.
NFC East Notes: Locker, Bryant, Eagles
Reuben Frank and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com looked at Jake Locker as a free agent possibility for the Eagles. Mosher sees him as someone who could be a viable backup to Nick Foles or Marcus Mariota (if Philly can land him somehow) but would prefer keeping Mark Sanchez instead. Frank, meanwhile, isn’t impressed by Locker and writes that he has yet to do anything notable as a passer. More from the NFC East..
- Cowboys Executive Vice President/COO told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the team is “at peace and content” with the decision to franchise tag Dez Bryant, if necessary. If tagged, Bryant will earn a salary of ~$13MM rather than starting the lucrative, long-term pact he was hoping for.
- Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News took an educated guess at what the Cowboys will do with their pick at No. 27. Machota says Dallas should take the best edge rusher available, but Randy Gregory, Shane Ray, Dante Fowler, Vic Beasley, and Bud Dupree will likely all be gone by the time they pick. The next best thing, he writes, could be UCLA’s Owamagbe Odighizuwa.
- Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News writes that converted wide receiver Nate Orchard could be the Cowboys‘ answer at defensive end. At 6’3″, 250 (his measurements at the combine), Orchard is a tweener and maybe better suited as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme than an end in a 4-3. However, the Tampa 2 scheme that Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli favors relies heavier on speed than size.
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com looked at some players that Washington could target in the second round of this year’s draft. In no particular order, Tander highlights Missouri wide receiver Dorian Green-Beckham, Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, and Ole Miss safety Cody Prewitt.
- The Eagles have selected 15 players in two drafts under Chip Kelly and there really hasn’t been a single player who came to Philadelphia with true character questions, Sheil Kapadia of Philadelphia Magazine writes. It’s possible that Kelly can roll the dice of guys with character questions now that he has established the culture he wants, but Kapadia doesn’t see him going that route.
- Washington won’t find a ton of quality safety options in the draft, John Keim of ESPN.com writes.
East Notes: Allen, Odrick, Bills, Giants
Eagles safety Nate Allen, who is set to reach the open market next month, has been cleared of any wrongdoing after being detained by police in Fort Myers, Florida last week, according to a report from ABC 6 in Philadelphia. Allen was adamant at the time that the accusation of indecent exposure was false, and encouraged police to continue investigating to clear his name.
Here’s more the East:
- Charles Clay isn’t the only Dolphins free-agent-to-be whose next deal could be in the range of $6MM per year. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes that Jared Odrick‘s camp believes the defensive lineman has a floor of $6MM annually in free agency. Salguero also tweeted that the club would like to keep Odrick if the cost isn’t too prohibitive.
- The Bills are interested in bring back both defensive end Jarius Wynn and linebacker Larry Dean, but there’s been “no movement” in talks with guard Erik Pears, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Pears spent the entire season as Buffalo’s starting left guard, while Wynn and Dean were reserve defenders.
- The Giants will probably look to move a few veterans off their roster before free agency begins, and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com guesses (via Twitter) that linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, offensive lineman J.D. Walton, and perhaps linebacker Jon Beason could be among that group. PFR’s Zach Links identified Kiwanuka and Beason as possible cap casualties in his preview of New York’s offseason.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
NFC Links: Johnson, Eagles, Packers, Gore
Some notes from around the NFC…
- Despite Calvin Johnson‘s 2016 cap-hit of more than $24MM, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew made it clear that the team would do whatever it takes to keep the talented wideout in Detroit. “Calvin’s a stud,” Mayhew said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “Calvin’s a great player. He’s a phenomenal player. He has a very bright future and a very bright past. I plan on him being around for a long time. He’s a heck of a player.”
- Draft prospect Eric Kendricks would be thrilled to play with his brother, linebacker Mychal Kendricks, on the Eagles. “Man, that’d be crazy,” the UCLA linebacker told Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. “I played with him in high school and I think I took it for granted at the time, as far as how cool it was. But that would be unreal to say the least.” The younger Kendricks brother is expected to be a late-first, early-second round pick.
- Jason Pierre-Paul is the type of pass-rusher Falcons head coach Dan Quinn loves, and D. Orlando Ledbetter says the organization is keeping an eye on the Giants defensive end.
- Former Packers special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum still had one season left on his contract, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky points out (via Twitter). As a result, the team will pay the ousted coach for 2015.
- Following news that 49ers running back Frank Gore could be seeking $4MM annually, Eric Branch of the San Franciscion Chronicle questions whether the veteran is worth the asking price. Ultimately, the writer believes the team will let Gore walk if he can “fetch” that $4MM in free agency.