NFC Notes: Ingram, Breaux, Peterson, Eagles
History is not on the side of Saints running back Mark Ingram as he approaches free agency, Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune writes. The league has devalued running backs in the last four years: they’ve gone off the board later in each draft since 2011 and teams are hesitant to pay out big bucks for a position that is believed to have a short shelf life. Ingram says the Saints want him back he claims the feeling is mutual, but it remains to be seen if they’ll pay big bucks to keep him. It also doesn’t help that Ingram has a lengthy injury history. More from the NFC..
- Delvin Breaux‘s contract with the Saints contains a partial guarantee of $138K in 2015, according to Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune. Breaux’s contract includes the league minimum base salary in each of the three years. After Breaux’s signing, the Saints now have 60 players under contract for 2015. Of the 15 unsigned players on the 2014 squad, eleven are unrestricted free agents, three are restricted free agents, and one is an exclusive-rights free agent.
- The Star Tribune’s Mark Craig discussed Adrian Peterson‘s future with the Vikings. The embattled running back is under contract with Minnesota for 2015, but many have speculated that he could be traded.
- After whiffing on a number of candidates, Eagles coach Chip Kelly got his man in Ed Marynowitz to fill the team’s front office vacancy. Now, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Marynowitz will be a yes man or partner in personnel.
East Notes: Cowboys, Foles, Wilson
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones won executive of the year because he stepped aside and let Will McClay, Jason Garrett, Stephen Jones, and his staff make most of his decisions, Bob Sturm of The Dallas Morning News writes. That notion might make some people roll their eyes, but you can’t argue with the results. More from the AFC and NFC East..
- Nick Foles hears the trade talk, but he believes he’ll be with the Eagles in 2015, writes Eliot Shorr-Parks of the Star-Ledger. “Yeah you hear about it,” Foles said. “You are going to hear about it every single year. That’s just part of it. The main word is ‘rumor.’ You can’t put too much into it….I plan on being in Philly.”
- Safety Jimmy Wilson, an unrestricted free agent, brings a lot to the Dolphins due to his versatility, James Walker of ESPN.com writes. Wilson developed in the Dolphins’ system and they know his value better than outside teams and Walker expects Miami to make a solid push to bring him back next season. Wilson started seven games at safety due to injury (Louis Delmas) and suspension (Reshad Jones) and six as the team’s nickel cornerback, which is a valuable position in Miami’s defense.
- Jonathan Casillas and Akeem Ayers are gearing up for the Super Bowl, but they would be watching it from their respective homes had they not landed with the Patriots via trades in 2014, writes Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com. Ayers was acquired by the Patriots on October 22 from the Titans, and less than a week later, Casillas came over in another trade from the Bucs.
McCoy Open To Restructure, Not Pay Cut
If the Vikings release Adrian Peterson this offseason, a move that many expect to happen, it would leave LeSean McCoy as the only running back in the NFL with an eight-digit cap hit on the books for 2015. McCoy, whose current ’15 cap number is $11.95MM, said today that he’s open to restructuring his contract to lower that number, but he doesn’t want to take a pay cut, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I know how hard it is to keep a team together and I want to be part of this team. But I don’t want to take less money,” McCoy said. “I want to figure a way to make it happen [where] we’re all together.”
McCoy’s comment about keeping everyone together likely refers, at least in part, to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who is eligible for free agency this offseason, and is in line for a substantial raise after a hugely productive 2014 campaign. “I got to pay my boy Mac,” McCoy said, when asked specifically about the effect his situation could have on Maclin.
It would be possible for McCoy to reduce his cap number by a pretty significant sum without taking a pay cut, assuming the Eagles are open to the idea. If the two sides agreed to convert, for example, $6MM of the running back’s $9.75MM base salary for 2015 into a signing bonus, it would take his cap hit from $11.95MM to $7.95MM. The downside for Philadelphia? That would increase McCoy’s cap numbers for 2016 and 2017 by $2MM each, and would add more guaranteed money to the 26-year-old’s deal.
McCoy, a 2009 second-rounder, has racked up over 2,900 rushing yards in Chip Kelly‘s first two seasons in Philadelphia, and wouldn’t be easily replaceable. Still, Kelly and the Eagles showed a year ago when they cut DeSean Jackson that they’re willing to cut ties with productive playmakers if necessary. Off-field factors likely played a role in Jackson’s release, but the move still created a precedent that may make McCoy wary of negotiating too aggressively this winter.
NFC Notes: Saints, Benson, Rams, Eagles
Saints officials say that owner Tom Benson has maintained an active role in running the team, Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune writes.
“I talk to him every day, just as I have for 15 years,” GM Mickey Loomis said. “He talks to me about the same subject matter: The status of the team. And after the season: What are the issues? How are we going to fix the issues? Nothing’s changed here.”
Benson’s involvement with the team, as well as his overall health, came into question after the latest claims made by his ousted granddaughter. Here’s more on the Saints’ ownership situation, as well as a few more notes from across the NFC:
- Team officials told Duncan that an anecdote in which Benson could not identify the president of the United States was misrepresented by his estranged relatives. The Saints owner was given a concussion protocol test after he fell and hit his head at the NFL owners meetings last May in Atlanta. However, daughter Renee Benson and grandchildren Rita Benson LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc tried to portray the incident as something different. Benson’s relatives want the owner to undergo a psychological evaluation, as Andy Grimm of The Times-Picayune details. The would-be heirs are challenging the 87-year-old’s mental fitness.
- With Nathaniel Hackett no longer in the running for the Rams‘ offensive coordinator position, an in-house candidate landing the job is “all but a certainty” at this point, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Tight ends coach Rob Boras and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti are the top contenders, and Thomas thinks Boras probably has the edge.
- Running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin were the Eagles‘ two most effective offensive weapons in 2014, but it remains to be seen whether the team will be able to bring both players back for the 2015 season, says Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Washington has announced the hiring of Matt Cavanaugh as quarterbacks coach (via Twitter). Cavanaugh, who served in the same position for Chicago the last two seasons, will be charged with jump-starting Washington’s troubled quarterback situation.
- If he were running the Cowboys, Bob Sturm of the Dallas Morning News would make it a top priority to retain DeMarco Murray this offseason.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eagles Promote Ed Marynowitz
After what has been nearly a month-long search for a new personnel executive to join the team’s front office, the Eagles have promoted a candidate who has been with the team all along. The Eagles have named assistant director of player personnel Ed Marynowitz the team’s vice president of player personnel, signing him to a new three-year contract, according to a press release. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported (via Twitter) that an announcement was expected to come as early as today.
“Ed is someone who has really impressed me going back to my interview process with the Eagles two years ago,” head coach Chip Kelly said in a statement. “He’s very bright, detailed, organized and his vision was aligned with what we want to accomplish. I spoke with a lot of people outside of our organization over the past few weeks and in the end, Ed was the most impressive.”
The Eagles shook up their front office structure shortly after the regular season ended, parting ways with personnel exec Tom Gamble and giving Kelly the final say on the 53-man roster, the draft, and all personnel decisions. Former general manager Howie Roseman received an extension and a new title, though his involvement in football decisions was reduced. That left room for Kelly to bring on a new exec in a personnel role.
Still, Philadelphia seemed to have some trouble finding viable candidates for the job. Multiple candidates seemed uninterested or unwilling to leave their positions with other clubs to join the Eagles, since the Philadelphia role meant not having the final call on the draft or the roster. In some cases, that meant that it wouldn’t necessarily be a promotion.
Most recently, Packers director of college scouting Brian Gutekunst and Ravens director of college scouting Joe Hortiz did not interview for the job, according to Florio — their teams either denied requests for permission or the candidates declined the opportunity. Chris Grier (Dolphins), Chris Polian (Jaguars), and Brian Gaine (Texans) were among the other Eagles’ targets throughout the process.
Although the Eagles spoke to several outside candidates and primarily targeted executives with more experience than the 30-year-old Marynowitz, the club sounds pleased to have him in his new role.
“I can’t tell you how well thought of Ed is in the scouting business,” Kelly said. “What many people in the football community told me matched exactly what I thought of him from Day One. When you work with him and meet with him regularly – which I have done over the last two years – you appreciate how smart and thoughtful he is.”
East Notes: Eagles, Maxwell, Moore, Cowboys
Sources close to Byron Maxwell “recently threw out numbers” like $12-13MM when estimating what it might take – in terms of per-year salary – to land the Seahawks cornerback in free agency this offseason, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I’d be shocked if Maxwell landed a deal that lucrative, but he’ll be one of the top available corners if he reaches the open market. While general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks have expressed a desire to re-sign Maxwell, he should have several suitors in March, including the Eagles — McLane takes a look at Maxwell’s potential fit in Philadelphia.
Here are a few more items from around the NFL’s two East divisions:
- While an earlier report suggested that the Eagles rebuffed the 49ers‘ attempts to interview wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell for a possible offensive coordinator role in San Francisco, that’s not quite the case, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. Mosher tweets that new Niners head coach Jim Tomsula spoke to Bicknell about a job in San Francisco, but that Bicknell wasn’t interested in leaving the Eagles. That has since by confirmed by multiple reporters, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link).
- Matt Moore hasn’t seen the field much during his tenure as the Dolphins‘ No. 2 quarterback, but he’s still considered one of the better backups in the league, and won’t necessarily come cheap this offseason. As such, James Walker of ESPN.com thinks there’s a good chance Miami targets a more affordable backup QB and lets Moore sign elsewhere.
- Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News identifies the least favorable contracts on the Cowboys‘ books heading into the 2015 season, with Brandon Carr‘s pricey deal topping his list.
NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Wilson, 49ers
One of the most memorable moments of the Seahawks‘ Super Bowl win over Denver a year ago was Percy Harvin‘s kickoff return touchdown to open the second half, which essentially put the nail in the coffin of the Broncos’ comeback hopes. Having been sent to the Jets midway through the 2014 season, Harvin won’t be involved in this year’s Super Bowl, but Seattle has no regrets about moving him, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes.
Here’s more on the Seahawks and one of their NFC West rivals:
- Asked about a potentially massive contract extension for quarterback Russell Wilson, Seahawks general manager John Schneider didn’t get into specifics, but acknowledged that such a deal “presents challenges” and could limit the club’s options in free agency. Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle has the details and the quotes from the GM.
- With Marshawn Lynch heading into a contract year in 2015, former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com examines the Seahawks‘ options for the veteran running back, suggesting that a short-term contract extension may be the best course of action for the team.
- Although the 49ers are interested in adding Eagles wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell to their coaching staff, potentially as the club’s offensive coordinator, to this point Philadelphia has prevented Bicknell from interviewing, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
- In his preview of the 49ers‘ offseason, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap identifies Frank Gore, Chris Culliver, and Perrish Cox as free agents that the club should make an effort to re-sign, adding that Mike Iupati and Michael Crabtree are candidates to sign elsewhere.
NFC West Notes: Harvin, Rams, Maxwell
Seahawks GM John Schneider has no regrets about sending Percy Harvin to the Jets, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. “It was difficult, but we had talked to ownership about it,” Schneider said. “When you have support of the ownership, it makes it that much easier. So, he knew there were several reasons why it may not work out. As long as we’re communicating with ownership in that regard and explaining why it didn’t work out, it’s much easier to do than waking up in the morning and saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this.'”
- The Rams did not have their second interview with Nathaniel Hackett as was once planned, according to Jim Thomas of the Post Dispatch (Twitter links). However, St. Louis still plans on discussing its offensive coordinator vacancy with him and that follow-up chat could come later this week.
- Earlier today, Seahawks GM John Schneider said that re-signing cornerback Byron Maxwell will be one of the team’s top offseason priorities, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Seattle has already locked up several of its key impact players and a new deal for quarterback Russell Wilson is likely around the corner. Keeping Maxwell might be something that the Seahawks want to do, but carving out the space for it is another matter.
- The Eagles interviewed the Seahawks‘ director of college scouting, Scott Fitterer, for their personnel executive opening, but he decided to stay in Seattle, Schneider said. “He spoke with the Philadelphia Eagles, kept it on the down low,” Schneider said, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s staying with us.” The Eagles have interviewed at least three candidates for a job that could have the GM title, McLane writes. Chris Polian, former GM of the Colts, recently had a second interview and is considered a serious contender.
NFC Notes: Glennon, Rams, Eagles, Fewell
Assuming the Buccaneers intend to draft a quarterback in April with the first overall pick, that should make Mike Glennon expendable, and this spring could be an ideal time to move him in a trade, writes Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. As Cummings points out, the free agent market for QBs is weak, and there are few viable rookie options besides Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston. For teams looking to add a potential starting quarterback, Glennon may actually be one of the best options available, and should only cost a mid-round pick.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Former Buffalo offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has a second interview lined up with the Rams for their offensive coordinator position this week, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Per La Canfora, the Bills would like to bring back Hackett, who is also drawing interest from Washington and the Jaguars as a potential quarterbacks coach.
- In addition to considering Chris Polian for their front office opening, the Eagles have Dolphins scout Chris Grier and internal candidate Ed Marynowitz at or near the top of their list of targets, reports Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. One source tells Mosher that he believes Grier is coming in to interview for a second time with Chip Kelly.
- Ex-Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has an offer from the 49ers to become their defensive backs coach, says John Keim of ESPN.com (via Twitter). However, before he makes a decision on that offer, Fewell is speaking to Washington about a similar role on Jay Gruden‘s staff, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
- CFL receiver Duron Carter is expected to make a decision on his NFL team this week, according to Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities, who tweets that the Vikings and a couple other teams remain well-positioned — one of those other suitors is certainly the Colts, who were reported on the weekend to be the frontrunners. Carter can’t officially sign an NFL contract until February 10 unless the Montreal Alouettes release him from his CFL deal.
- Speaking to reporters in Arizona, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett said it was “very tough” to pass up a free agent offer last year from the Bears, who offered him “way more money.” Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the quotes and the details.
- Locking up linebacker Lavonte David to a long-term deal, perhaps in the neighborhood of $7MM annually, should be a priority for the Buccaneers this season, writes Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.
Potential Suitors Eyeing Nick Foles
Nick Foles appears poised to head into the 2015 season as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, but that’s not an absolutely certainty, and a question mark hangs over Foles’ long-term future in Philadelphia. 2015 is the final year of the signal-caller’s rookie contract, and there’s been no indication so far that the team has tried to lock him up to a long-term deal.
There’s also been no indication that the Eagles would trade Foles, but his possible availability was a topic of conversation among coaches and scouts at last week’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. Parks reports that the Rams would have interest in acquiring Foles if he were made available via trade, while the Titans and Texans could be among his suitors if he reaches the open market a year from now.
Of course, plenty could change between now and next March, when Foles is tentatively scheduled to hit the market. If the Eagles view the 26-year-old as a potential long-term solution, extension talks should happen at some point this year, perhaps with the contracts signed by Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick serving as models — those deals included big long-term money, but small guarantees, allowing their respective teams the flexibility to move on after a year or two if things don’t work out.
Even if the Eagles don’t view Foles as a long-term answer, the team would probably have to identify a replacement before simply letting him walk in free agency, or trading him. Head coach Chip Kelly reportedly has significant interest in Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, but the odds of Philadelphia being able to move into position to draft Mariota are slim. In fact, the Titans, armed with the second overall pick this spring, could take a long look at Mariota themselves, and selecting him would presumably take them out of the running for Foles next year.
At this point, neither a trade nor an extension of Foles looks at all imminent, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Eagles brought him back for the 2015 season before making a decision one way or another. After all, the club may want to see how the former third-round pick bounces back from the collarbone injury that sidelined him for a good chunk of the 2014 season before making any definitive moves.