AFC Notes: Steelers, Dolphins, Jaguars
Given the key injuries and suspensions they’ve endured this year, the fact that the Steelers are 6-4 and in the driver’s seat for a wild-card spot in the AFC is an impressive feat.
“I don’t think there has been a team that has been through as much as we have. Period,” guard Ramon Foster said.
Overcoming its adversity and staying in the race means Pittsburgh has a legitimate chance to end up representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. In their past two title-winning seasons, in 2005 and ’08, the Steelers got hot down the stretch and carried that through the playoffs. Their players are cognizant of that.
“This is the one thing we have been saying all year, that we want to play our best ball at the end of the year, to keep growing and getting better,” said linebacker Arthur Moats.
More on the Steelers and a couple of their AFC counterparts:
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had lofty praise for backup Landry Jones, per the Tribune-Review’s Joe Starkey. “He is, above the shoulders, as smart and sharp as any quarterback I’ve ever been around,” Roethlisberger stated. “That’s a credit to his hard work, dedication and determination. He’s always in the meetings almost bugging our quarterback coach because he’s just constantly doing more and more.” Jones has filled in during Roethlisberger’s multiple injuries this season and completed just under 61 percent of passes on 9.39 yards per attempt, also tossing three touchdowns and two interceptions.
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald took a look back at the Dolphins’ offseason, concluding that their failure to address their interior offensive line through either free agency or the draft has been particularly regrettable. The Dolphins could have used the money they spent on disappointing wideout Greg Jennings toward the guard position, which hasn’t fared well with Billy Turner and Dallas Thomas, or spent a late-round draft pick on La’el Collins. As Jackson points out, though, the Dolphins were joined by everyone else in passing on Collins – who went undrafted because of a murder investigation. Collins’ name was cleared, however, and he ultimately signed with Dallas and has had a terrific rookie year.
- Thanks to rookie James Sample‘s injury troubles, the Jaguars will address the free safety position through free agency or with a high-round draft pick this offseason, according to Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. The Jags wanted to see if Sample, a fourth-round pick, could handle a starting role this year. However, a broken forearm slowed him over the summer and a shoulder injury forced him to season-ending injured reserve earlier this week. The Jags weren’t able to gather enough info on Sample this year to see whether he could be counted on in a No. 1 role going forward, so they’ll have to find someone else when the season ends.
2016 Cap Outlook: Pittsburgh Steelers
Through the 2015 NFL season, Pro Football Rumors will be looking ahead to the 2016 offseason, gauging the salary cap situation for each of the league’s 32 teams. The cap for 2016 hasn’t been set yet, but we can still assess the salary commitments made by a club and determine whether or not that club will be in good financial shape going forward.
In addition to evaluating each team’s overall cap situation, we’ll focus in on a few key players who may be candidates to be extended, restructured, or released by their current teams. These lists aren’t comprehensive, and depending on a player’s 2015 performance and health, he could drop off one of these lists – or be added to one – as the season goes on. For now though, these are some players to watch.
Using data from Over The Cap, we’re making our way through NFL teams in order of total salary commitments for 2016. Today’s team is the Steelers, who currently have the fifth-highest total for their ’16 cap.
Let’s dive in….
Top 10 cap hits for 2016:
- Ben Roethlisberger, QB: $23,950,000
- Lawrence Timmons, LB: $15,131,250
- Antonio Brown, WR: $12,370,833
- Maurkice Pouncey, C: $10,551,000
- Cameron Heyward, DE: $10,400,000
- David DeCastro, G: $8,070,000
- Heath Miller, TE: $7,181,668
- Mike Mitchell, S: $6,763,750
- Marcus Gilbert, RT: $6,461,000
- Cortez Allen, CB: $5,750,000
Current 2016 cap number for top 51 players: $144,927,485
With a new contract extension in hand, Roethlisberger will continue to be the Steelers’ highest-paid player – with the club’s largest cap number – going forward. But he’s hardly the only veteran player who has a substantial cap hit in 2016. Timmons’ figure is perhaps the most interesting, since it’s extremely rare to see a cap charge get that high for any inside linebacker. He’s followed by three other players with eight-digit cap numbers, two of whom signed new contract extensions within the last year and a half.
Candidates for extension:
- Antonio Brown, WR
- David DeCastro, G
Brown had hoped to sign a new contract this past offseason, but ultimately settled for a reworking of his deal that saw some money moved from 2016 to 2015. It’s not a surprise that the Steelers were unwilling to do anything more drastic, since the pact runs through the 2017 season, and extending it so early would set an unwanted precedent. However, the two sides could revisit talks this coming offseason.
Brown’s current contract calls for him to make a combined $15MM in base salary in 2016 and 2017, which is far below the salaries that recently-signed wideouts like Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, and T.Y. Hilton are getting. So Brown should be in line for a nice raise. Still, depending on how the Steelers structure an offer, an extension could significantly reduce Brown’s 2016 cap number from its current $12.37MM figure.
As for DeCastro, he has a fifth-year option keeping him under contract with Pittsburgh for the 2016 season. DeCastro is a steady, reliable presence in the middle of the Steelers’ offensive line, but the team will likely want to bring down his cap charge for next year a little, since it currently exceeds $8MM. If DeCastro were to sign a long-term extension, the annual average would likely be a little less than that, and the new deal could be backloaded, reducing his impact on the 2016 cap.
Candidates for restructure:
- Marcus Gilbert, RT
- Cameron Heyward, DE
- Mike Mitchell, S
- Maurkice Pouncey, C
- Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Most of the players listed here have contracts with similar structures — Gilbert, Heyward, Mitchell, and Pouncey will all see their cap hits increase significantly in 2016 and remain fairly high in future seasons, so if the Steelers choose to restructure any of those deals, they could be creating problems down the road. I wouldn’t expect the club to want – or need – to restructure all four players, but one or two of them could be addressed if cap room start getting tight.
Heyward and Pouncey could be the top candidates for restructures, for a couple of reasons. For one, their cap charges are a few million dollars larger than Gilbert’s or Mitchell’s, so restructuring those deals will make a bigger impact. Additionally, their contracts through 2019 or 2020, meaning a signing bonus can be spread across several seasons without affecting a single year too negatively.
Roethlisberger’s contract may be the most logical one for a restructure though — his $23.95MM cap hit for 2016 is higher than his cap numbers in 2017, 2018, or 2019, so moving some money to those later years isn’t quite so risky, and it could create massive flexibility in the short term, if necessary.
Candidates for pay cut or release:
- Cortez Allen, CB
- Jacoby Jones, WR
- Heath Miller, TE
- Arthur Moats, OLB
- Lawrence Timmons, LB
It’s hard to imagine the Steelers releasing either Miller or Timmons, who have been with the franchise since 2005 and 2007, respectively. Nonetheless, the team will have to take a hard look at both players’ contracts, which expire at the end of the 2016 season.
Miller hasn’t been quite as productive this year as he has been in some recent seasons, though his slightly reduced numbers could be a result of the quarterback carousel that began when Roethlisberger was injured. Timmons, meanwhile, battled a toe injury during the preseason, and hasn’t been as effective in the middle of the defense as he has been in years past. Pittsburgh could create $4MM in cap savings by cutting Miller, and nearly $9MM by cutting Timmons, though pay cuts or extensions are probably more likely.
Allen and Jones, on the other hand, look like obvious release candidates, though Jones’ deal is much easier to shed than Allen’s, which will still include $4MM+ in dead money in 2016. Given how little the Steelers have gotten out of the cornerback since he signed that extension with the club, it’s hard to see how they can keep him at a $4MM base salary though, so that deal will need to be addressed in some form. For his part, Jones would have to have a huge second half in 2015 to return on his current $3MM salary for 2016.
Moats’ case falls somewhere in the middle. His $2.5MM base salary for next season isn’t exorbitant, and he has a pair of sacks for the Steelers this year. But he’s not exactly irreplaceable, and if Pittsburgh plans to address the outside linebacker position in the draft, there will be players that could replicate Moats’ production at a lesser cost. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the veteran linebacker return on his current contract, but the Steelers should have to at least consider making a move.
Contract information from Over The Cap was used in the creation of this post.
AFC Notes: Jets, Texans, Ravens, Finney
The Jets‘ $150MM secondary is in danger of becoming a bust, Brian Costello of the New York Post opines. For a while, it looked like the offseason additions of Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine and Marcus Gilchrist were paying off. However, the Jets have allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for 1,227 yards over their past four games and teams averaged 27.3 points per game on them during that run. Revis has been strong overall, but Cromartie has struggled mightily, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 100th out of 110 qualified corners.
As we wait to see whether Todd Bowles and the Jets’ defense can get things turned around, here’s more from around the AFC:
- The Texans only have two quarterbacks on their active roster, and one of them – Brian Hoyer – suffered a concussion during Monday’s game against the Bengals. However, head coach Bill O’Brien said on Tuesday that while the Texans have discussed adding a QB, they’re sticking with the roster as is for the time being (Twitter link via Adam Wexler of KPRC-TV Sports).
- Placing Breshad Perriman on injured reserve, ending his rookie season before he saw a single snap, has further complicated the Ravens‘ uncertain wide receiver situation as the team heads into 2016, writes Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. With the futures of Steve Smith and other wideouts up in the air, Baltimore had hoped to get an idea of what the team could expect from Perriman going forward, but he remains a question mark for now.
- Offensive lineman B.J. Finney, who is currently on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, received a sizable raise from the Steelers and is now earning $25,588 per week, which is essentially the same as an active-roster, minimum-salary player, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
- According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski is expected to receive consideration from the University of Miami for the school’s head coaching job.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Injury Updates: Bradford, L. Jones, Jaguars
While Peyton Manning‘s torn plantar fascia was probably the biggest injury news of the day, since it’ll lead to a Brock Osweiler start for the Broncos in Week 11, it’s hardly the only notable Monday injury update. Here are a few more:
- Based on initial tests, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who sustained a concussion and a left shoulder injury, is expected to miss at least one game, and potentially two, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Philadelphia is scheduled to play on Thanksgiving afternoon in Week 12, so Bradford won’t have a full second week to recover if he aims to play in that game.
- Rapoport also provides another QB injury update, tweeting that Steelers signal-caller Landry Jones has a “pretty severe” low ankle sprain. Pittsburgh has a bye this week, but Michael Vick looks likely to back up Ben Roethlisberger for the team’s next game.
- Lions head coach Jim Caldwell told reporters today that cornerback Josh Wilson suffered a “significant” knee injury, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link). Detroit has yet to make a roster move involving Wilson, but it sounds like his season might be over.
- Jaguars defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks has been diagnosed with a torn triceps, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter links). That’s typically a season-ending injury, though O’Halloran notes that Marks is getting a second opinion before Jacksonville makes any definitive decisions.
- O’Halloran adds (via Twitter) that surgery for a sports hernia may be in play for Jaguars wide receiver Allen Hurns, who would be sidelined for four to six weeks if he underwent that procedure. Hurns is visiting a specialist this week to assess the extent of his abdominal injury.
- Titans defensive tackle Al Woods has a high ankle sprain, and will be out for a few weeks, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (Twitter link).
Extra Points: Mayo, Pats, Welker
While there’s virtually no way he’ll return to the Patriots on his current contract, linebacker Jerod Mayo‘s time in New England may not be over after this season, says Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. In his latest mailbag, Howe suggests that if Mayo can get healthy, it’s possible he and the Pats could work out a reworked contract to bring him back. In my look last week at the Patriots’ 2016 cap situation, I identified Mayo as the team’s most likely cap casualty.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- If you’re a fan of the Steelers, Cowboys, Chargers, Ravens, or Packers, and you feel like your team has had worse-than-usual injury luck this year, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com is inclined to agree. In his latest piece, Seifert identifies those five teams as the ones that have been hit hardest by injuries this season.
- The Giants are scheduled to work out free agent linebacker Alex Singleton next Tuesday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Singleton, who was waived by the Seahawks prior to the regular season, has also auditioned for the Chiefs, Bengals, Browns, Jaguars, and Washington this year.
- According to reports from Tom Pelissero of USA Today and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Wes Welker‘s new one-year deal with the Rams includes a $200K signing bonus to go along with a base salary worth approximately $456K (prorated total of $970K). The veteran wideout can also earn up to $200K in per-game roster bonuses ($25K per game), plus another $100K via catch- and yard-based incentives.
Extra Points: Gabbert, Pitta, Archer
No surprise here, but 49ers coach Jim Tomsula announced that Blaine Gabbert will start for SF once again when the Niners take on the Seahawks in Week 11, as Taylor Price of 49ers.com writes. Gabbert completed 15 of 25 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday’s Week 9 home win over the Falcons and, at least for now, it sounds like former starter Colin Kaepernick should make himself comfortable on the bench.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- A decision will be made by Wednesday on whether tight end Dennis Pitta makes a comeback this season from his second serious hip injury, as Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. According to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, the decision comes down to Pitta’s long-term health, not his ability to play again. “He did look good in practice,” Harbaugh said. “We had a tough time covering him. He was doing stuff for the look team and made a bunch of plays out there. He just kind of looked like his old self out there. But don’t construe that as saying that he’s ready to go, because it’s not about that. The doctors are going to take a hard look at that, and help him decide, is this safe? It’s going to be based on how the hip is responding to the practices.” Pitta, 30, enjoyed his best season in 2012 when he helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl, catching 61 passes for 669 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season, followed by 14 catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns during the playoffs.
- The Saints worked out former Giants wide receiver Preston Parker on Monday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Parker, 28, has 85 career receptions for 1,057 yards and five touchdowns.
- Running back Dri Archer has passed on ten offers to join practice squads, including an offer from the Steelers, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. Archer, a third-round pick in 2014, instead plans to wait and see whether any opportunities arise to join a 53-man roster. Florio speculates that his opening might be with the Patriots now that Dion Lewis is done for the year.
Ben Roethlisberger To Miss “A Few Weeks”
9:32pm: Adam Schefter confirms initial suggestions that Roethlisberger will miss next week’s game against the Browns and rest during the following bye week (via Twitter). He does add that the Steelers quarterback is likely to return to action in Week 12 against the Seahawks.
5:53pm: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left today’s victory over the Raiders with a foot injury. Initial X-rays on the foot were negative, reports Richard Graves of Sky Sports UK (via Twitter). He adds that Roethlisberger will have an MRI tomorrow.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the injury is actually a mid-ankle sprain, and should hold Roethlisberger out a few weeks (via Twitter). Pittsburgh has the Browns next week followed by the bye week, and the veteran signal-caller will likely be re-evaluated after that (via Twitter). The team originally believed he had suffered a Lisfranc injury, and were relieved that it was not so severe.
While Roethlisberger will rest the next two weeks, Albert Breer of NFL Network writes that the timetable for his return will depend on how he responds to treatment (via Twitter). Breer believes the actual return date is up in the air, while Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that he might miss several more games past the next two weeks (via Twitter).
The Steelers will now look to Landry Jones, who finished the game strong for the team. Pittsburgh will continue to lean heavily on Antonio Brown and the running game. Michael Vick will serve as the backup, but he was injured last we saw him and the team could consider bringing in a third option during the week.
Injury Updates: Big Ben, Lewis, Hankins, Cole
Here’s a look at some more injury news from today’s games:
- Bills running back LeSean McCoy injured his shoulder in the victory over the Dolphins today, and will probably have an MRI in advance of Thursday’s game against the Jets, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter).
- Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was spotted wearing a cast on his arm following the overtime win over St. Louis, writes Jason Gonzalez of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The team staff helped him carry his bag while exiting the locker room.
- Adam Schefter adds to the reports about Lewis’ injury, noting that the Patriots running back has no swelling, which is a good sign. However his ACL is loose, which is a bad sign. Ultimately, they are still waiting on the MRI (via Twitter).
Earlier Updates:
- The Patriots are awaiting the results of an MRI on running back Dion Lewis, but the club is hopeful that he only suffered an MCL sprain, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Regardless, Lewis figures to miss some time, prompting New England to turn to LeGarrette Blount as the team’s primary back.
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left today’s game against the Raiders with a foot injury, and was eventually taken to a hospital for further evaluation, per Pittsburgh’s PR staff (Twitter link). Roethlisberger was unable to put any weight on his left foot, and head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters, including Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), that the veteran QB will undergo an MRI. Roethlisberger, of course, just returned to action after missing several weeks with an MCL sprain.
- Giants defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins suffered a torn pectoral during today’s game against the Buccaneers, the team announced on Twitter. While there has been no official announcement, such an injury is expected to be season-ending.
- Vikings backup linebacker Audie Cole fractured his ankle today, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters, including Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Per Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link), Zimmer confirmed that Cole will miss the remainder of the season. Cole hasn’t been a factor on the Vikings’ defense, but he was playing more than half of the club’s special teams snaps.
North Notes: Thomas, Bell, Janis
As expected, the agent for Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, Peter Schaffer, has quickly moved to dispute this morning’s reports that the trade that would have sent Thomas to the Broncos fell through because Denver would not guarantee Thomas’ 2016 and 2017 salaries. Those reports, of course, also mentioned that Thomas asked Cleveland to see if it would be able to trade him. In a series of tweets, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com passes along Schaffer’s response.
Schaffer says Denver and Cleveland never discussed Thomas’ contract, adding that if the Broncos were willing to give up a first-round pick for Thomas, they had no intention of cutting him, so there would have been no need to discuss guaranteed salaries. Furthermore, Schaffer says neither he nor Thomas asked the Browns to pursue a trade, and he is frustrated that this morning’s news made Thomas–who expressed surprise that he was almost traded, and said he would have been crushed should the deal have happened–look like a liar. Former NFL agent Joel Corry weighed in as well (via Twitter), noting that even if Thomas did ask for his 2016 and 2017 salaries to be guaranteed, that should not have killed the trade unless Schaffer convinced Denver that a holdout was coming next year.
Now let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s north divisions:
- Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the Steelers, who typically refuse to entertain in-season extension talks with their players, may have to make an exception for Le’Veon Bell, who underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Bell is on target to return right when the 2016 season begins, but Kaboly points out that any complication would make it an in-season return. If the Steelers then choose to wait until the end of the season to negotiate with Bell, it could be too late, as the talented back would be eligible for free agency. As such, Pittsburgh may have to bite the bullet and discuss an extension with Bell in the midst of the 2016 campaign.
- The Steelers will not, however, discuss an extension with Bell until they at least get some idea of how his knee handles game action, as Corry tweets. La Canfora agrees, tweeting that although the team feels “very good” about how Bell will recover, they will shelve extension talks for a while, particularly since they will likely need to address Antonio Brown‘s contract in the near future as well.
- In his latest mailbag, Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com explains why he believes Tashaun Gipson will not be with the Browns in 2016, and he looks at the dilemma head coach Mike Pettine faces in deciding whether Johnny Manziel or Josh McCown should be under center for the remainder of the year.
- Jeff Janis, the Packers‘ seventh-round selection in 2014, is the only member of the team to amass 78 or more receiving yards in a single game during the last month. However, as Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes, Green Bay has shown a strange reluctance to consistently include Janis in the game plan, despite the team’s offensive struggles. Cohen takes a look at Janis’ journey to this point in his career as he awaits an opportunity to prove himself on a weekly basis.
- Matt Vensel of The Star Tribune describes how the Vikings, who again looked to the later rounds of the draft to address their biggest offseason need, the offensive line, have been hurt by that strategy this year. Vensel goes on to explore the team’s history of seeking out late-round gems to fill out its O-line.
AFC Notes: Idzik, Fitzpatrick, Steelers
Former Jets general manager John Idzik will be headed back to New York this weekend when his current team, the Jaguars, takes on his former team. The current special assistant won’t be talking to the media, but Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post wonders if the executive will feel a bit jealous at his former employer’s current success.
Of course, some in the organization recognize Idzik’s contribution to this current squad.
“I’m sure Idzik wants to come here and just stick it in our [butts],’’ said linebacker Trevor Reilly. “I would, too, if I was him. But he drafted me. He drafted a lot of us in here. You always say you hope for the best for the guy, but obviously not this week. I don’t think Idzik’s a bad guy. I’m grateful he drafted me. I might not be here if he didn’t.
“Some of the moves we’ve made this season I’m assuming Mike [Maccagnan] would credit Idzik for — for clearing cap space the last two seasons. So, in that aspect, I guess we as a team can thank Idzik for clearing all that cap space. I think we were $25 million under the cap last year.’’
Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC…
- Rich Cimini believes there’s a good chance the Jets will hold onto quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for next season. Sure, the 32-year-old certainly isn’t a franchise player, but his next contract will likely be affordable, and he’s also an upgrade over Geno Smith and Bryce Petty.
- Meanwhile, Cimini can’t envision the organization replacing Fitzpatrick with any of the “big-name” quarterback free agents, including Kirk Cousins, Sam Bradford or Drew Stanton. However, if a player like Drew Brees or Matthew Stafford became available, that could change the organization’s plans.
- Members of the Steelers are thrilled at the team’s acquisition of speedster Jacoby Jones. “He’s one of the all-time great kick returners,” cornerback Antwon Blake told John Perrotto of the Associated Press. “It’s exciting to know he’ll be on our side.”