Caleb Sturgis - Pro Football Rumors

Chargers To Sign K Caleb Sturgis

March 16th, 2018 at 4:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers are expected to sign former Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Eagles had interest in re-signing him, but he’s headed to sunny Los Angeles instead.

The Chargers were on the lookout for a new kicker this year and also considered former Raider Sebastian Janikowski. Sturgis is more than a decade younger, but both are coming off of lost seasons. Janikowski didn’t kick at all while Sturgis’ Week 1 hip injury knocked him out of action for the rest of the year.

The Bolts ran through four kickers last season and they’re hoping to use just one – Sturgis – in 2018.

Seahawks, Chargers Eyeing Caleb Sturgis

March 15th, 2018 at 9:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent kicker Caleb Sturgis met with the Seahawks on Thursday and will take a visit with the Chargers on Friday, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Los Angeles is certainly in need of a new kicker this offseason, as the club deployed four different kickers in 2017 without much success. The Chargers have already met with former Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski, so they’re looking at all available options. Seattle, meanwhile, signed Jason Myers — who has a 36 games worth of experience — to a futures deal earlier this year, but Sturgis could represent an upgrade.

Sturgis, for his part, barely played last season, as he suffered a hip injury in Week 1 of the Eagles’ season. Jake Elliott experienced success as Sturgis’ replacement in Philadelphia, so a reunion between the Eagles and Sturgis doesn’t seem possible. Sturgis, 28, owns a career field goal percentage of 81.0 over parts of five NFL campaigns.

Top 2018 Free Agents By Position: Defense

March 6th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

NFL free agency will get underway on Wednesday, March 14th, and while the list of free agents will change between now and then, we do have some idea of who will be available when free agency kicks off. The frenzy is right around the corner and it’s time for us to break down the outlook for each position. After looking at offense on Monday, we’ll tackle defense and special teams today.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each defensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by defensive position for 2018:

Edge defender:

As a positional group, pass rushers comprise interesting market on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not often that a list of best available players is topped by a 38-year-old, but Peppers is the top free agent edge defender after the Cowboys and Lions deployed the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah, respectively. As with quarterbacks, NFL clubs are extremely reluctant to allow pass rushers to hit the open market, so top-tier options are rarely ever truly “available.” Peppers, for his part, hasn’t even declared whether he’ll return in 2018, but indications are that he’ll suit up for a 17th campaign after posting 11 sacks last year.

Alongside Peppers, other veterans populate the edge market, and while William Hayes may not be a household name, he’ll be a contributor for whichever team signs him. A stout run defender, Hayes is also capable of generating pressure despite managing only one sack in 2017. The Dolphins used Hayes on only 271 defensive snaps a season ago, and have since replaced him by acquiring fellow defensive end Robert Quinn from the Rams. Now that he’s entering his age-33 season, Hayes should come cheap, but will almost assuredly outplay his contract.

Nearly every other available pass rusher has some sort of flaw which will likely limit his market next week. Trent Murphy is only 27 years old and put up nine sacks in 2016, but he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury. Pernell McPhee, Alex Okafor, Junior Galette, and Derrick Shelby have also been plagued by health questions in recent seasons. And Adrian Clayborn famously registered the majority of his 2017 sacks (and 20% of his career sack total) in one game against overwhelmed Cowboys backup Chaz Green.

The two names that I keep coming back to are Aaron Lynch (49ers) and Jeremiah Attaochu (Chargers). Yes, Lynch has been suspended for substance abuse, struggled with his weight, and was reportedly in danger of being waived prior to last season. He’s also extremely young (he won’t turn 25 years old until Thursday) and ranked fifth in the league with 34 pass pressures as recently as 2015. Attaochu, a 25-year-old former second-round pick, also has youth on his side, and while he hasn’t quite flashed as much as Lynch, he’s also been buried on LA’s depth chart for much of his career.

Interior defensive line:

Interior rushers are getting more respect in today’s NFL, but that still hasn’t translated to them being paid on the level of edge defenders — the 2018 franchise tag for defensive tackles, for example, is roughly $3MM cheaper than the tender for edge rushers. While the 2018 crop of interior defenders boasts some impressive top-end talent, none of the available players figure to earn a double-digit annual salary. Sheldon Richardson may have the best chance to do so, but Seattle determined he wasn’t worth a one-year cost of $13.939MM, so is any other club going to pay him $10MM per year? I’d guess he comes in closer to $9MM annually, which would still place him among the 25 highest-paid defensive tackles.

Dontari Poe will be an intriguing free agent case after setting for a one-year deal last offseason, but the most interesting battle among defensive tackles will take place Star Lotulelei and Muhammad Wilkerson, and I’m curious to see which player earns more on the open market. Both are former first-round picks, and it’s difficult to argue Wilkerson hasn’t been the more productive player — or, at least, reached higher highs — than Lotulelei. Wilkerson also won’t affect his next team’s compensatory pick formula given that he was released, but his off-field issues, which include a reported lack of effort and problems with coaches, could limit his appeal.

While Beau Allen and Denico Autry are potentially candidates to be overpaid based on their youth, there are bargains to be had at defensive tackle. Tom Johnson is 33 but he’s offered consistent pressure from the interior for years — his last contract was for three years and $7MM, so he shouldn’t cost much this time around. Haloti Ngata was injured in 2017 but plans to continue his career, and he can still stop the run. And Dominique Easley was outstanding as a 3-4 end in 2016 before missing last season with a torn ACL, meaning the former first-round pick could be a value play for any number of teams.Read more

Linebacker:

Although there are a number of high-quality starting linebackers available in free agency this year, I predict most contracts signed by LBs over the next few weeks will come in lower that most expect. The linebacker market is relatively stagnant, and unless the player is a legitimate star or inking an extension with his original club, he’s usually disappointed with his annual value. The most expensive deal for an unrestricted free agent ‘backer who signed with a new team was Bruce Irvin‘s $9.25MM/year pact with the Raiders, and Irvin can almost be considered an edge rusher. After Irvin, it’s Danny Trevathan, whom the Bears signed for a $7MM annual value in 2016.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise if no linebacker listed above is able to top Trevathan’s two-year-old average, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t starting-caliber LBs on the market. Zach Brown, the poster boy for having to accept cheap contracts, is coming off another solid season, but is reportedly asking for top-three inside linebacker money. Good luck. Similarly, Demario Davis is looking for $8-10MM annually, while the Jets — who have interest in re-signing him — view him as a $3-4MM/year player.

Nigel Bradham and NaVorro Bowman should both come in around Trevathan’s $7MM average after posting excellent 2017 campaigns. While the Eagles would surely prefer to re-sign Bradham, the club’s dire cap situation may mean Bradham will hit the open market next Wednesday. Bowman, meanwhile, was traded from the 49ers to Raiders last season, and he seems like a good bet to stay with Oakland after new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther heaped lavish praise on the 29-year-old.

Cornerback:

Top-to-bottom, the cornerback market is the deepest positional group on the defensive side of the ball. Need a No. 1 defensive back with experience in both man and zone? Trumaine Johnson is your guy. How about a top-end cornerback who, while admittedly up-and-down at times, has the ability to shut down opposing wide receivers? Malcolm Butler has you covered. A former first-round pick who has finally played up to his potential over the past two seasons? Take a look at Morris Claiborne. Or is a career journeyman who posted 10 excellent games last year more your speed? Look into Rashaan Melvin.

Slot cornerbacks are also prevalent in this year’s defensive back market, and while I ranked Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, and Nickell Robey-Coleman in order of my preference, they could each be plugged into a starting nickel package immediately. I originally though Robinson could land a disappointing deal given his age (31) and his track record of underwhelming play prior to 2017, but he’s already garnering interest from the Giants, Raiders, and Cardinals, so his market should allow him to reach at least $5MM annually. Colvin could garner even more than Robinson thanks his youth (26), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects Colvin to have a “legit” market.

If teams are looking for a bargain at cornerback, they should target Ross Cockrell, whom the Steelers dealt to the Giants last year for a seventh-round pick. Cockrell has always been overlooked in the NFL, but he keeps producing results. In 2017, Cockrell finished first in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks on their ability to consistently stop opposing wideouts short of the sticks. In fact, Cockrell was one of only eight defenders who stopped a receiver short of a successful gain on over half their tackles a season ago, as FO’s Aaron Schatz recently tweeted, but the league consistently undervalues him and his skill-set.

Safety:

The best free agent safety was taken off the board earlier today when the Rams used the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner, and the remaining market is extremely top-heavy. Eric Reid, Morgan Burnett, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro could all be in line for at least $5MM annually, but the rest of the class could struggle to find multi-year deals. Among the top-tier safeties, Vaccaro stands out as perhaps the most interesting name. A first-round pick in 2013, Vaccarro has posted three exemplary campaigns and two dreadful years; in 2017, Pro Football Focus ranked Vaccaro as the single-worst safety in the league among 87 qualifiers. But given his draft pedigree and his ability to man the slot, Vaccaro should land a solid deal.

While I like Reid and Burnett a bit more as players, it wouldn’t be a shock if Boston actually lands the largest contract. Reid and Burnett spend a lot of time close to the line of scrimmage, and both have been used as de factor linebackers from time to time. Boston, on the other hand, is a deep safety who can play coverage, and that repertoire is much more difficult to find on the open market. Similarly, Tyvon Branch has been great in coverage during his career with the Raiders, Chiefs, and Cardinals, so he could also see a nice pay bump next week.

After Branch, the crop of available safeties steeply drops off. Every other free agent we’ve listed above will be at at least 29 years old when the 2018 gets underway except for the Lions’ Tavon Wilson, and he was one of the NFL’s worst starting defensive backs last season. Veterans like Corey Graham or Ron Parker can still play as third safeties who see time in “big nickel” packages, but if you’re looking for a starting safety, you’ll want to bring in one of the top six defensive backs on the board.

Kicker:

Punter:

NFC Injury Notes: Sturgis, Elliott, Redskins, Vaccaro, Swaim

November 10th, 2017 at 6:04pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Eagles picked up kicker Jake Elliott from the Bengals’ practice squad to replace the incumbent Caleb Sturgis after he suffered a hip injury the first week of the season. The team hasn’t looked back since then and it looks like Philadelphia has no plans to change their special teams unit moving forward. While Sturgis is eligible to come off the disabled list this week, Eagles special teams coach Dave Flipp told reporters today that, “right now there’s no reason to make a change,” reports Zach Berman of The Inquirer. It’s understandable why the team would not feel the need to mess with the status quo. Elliott has made 17-20 of his field goal attempts this season, but is best known for his 61 yard bomb he hit to beat the Giants in Week 3.

The Redskins have a few big names that are questionable to play for the team’s game this Sunday. Defensive lineman Matt Ionanidis has already been ruled out for the team’s affair vs. the Vikings, but offensive stalwarts Trent Williams and Jordan Reed are listed as questionable to play too, according to Jonah Keim of ESPN.com. Washington has 11 players listed as 50-50 for Sunday with other offensive lineman Morgan Moses (ankles), Brandon Scherff (knee), Spencer Long (knee/quad) and Ty Nsekhe (core muscle). It’s unlikely that the majority of the Washington offensive line will miss the game, but the team’s depth is something to keep an eye as we get closer to kickoff.
The Saints will be without a key member of the defense vs. the Bills this Sunday. Saftety Kenny Vaccaro will miss the contest with a groin injury, but expressed optimism that the situation will be more of a short-term issue, reports Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. The 26 year-old defensive back told the reporter, “Oh, yeah, I’ll be fine,” when referring to the timeline of the groin issue. Meanwhile, while New Orleans will certainly miss their starting safety, the team has a considerable amount of depth at the position with the likes of Vonn Bell, Rafael Bush and Chris Banjo all likely getting playing time in his absence.
Cowboys third-string tight end Geoff Swaim missed practice on Friday with a right knee injury and as is waiting on MRI results that should bring light to what his recovery may look like, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Archer opines that Swaim could miss Sunday’s game and may be in line for arthroscopic surgery, which would sideline him for a few weeks. Swaim just has two receptions on the season with Jason Witten and James Hanna getting most of the reps in two tight-end sets.

Eagles To Sign K Jake Elliott Off Bengals’ Practice Squad

September 12th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Caleb Sturgis‘ injury looks to have prompted the Eagles to pry a kicker off another team’s practice squad, and they’ll be adding one of this past draft’s top kicking prospects.

The Eagles intend to sign rookie Jake Elliott off the Bengals’ taxi squad, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Sturgis’ quad strain will send him to IR, with a potential designation to return, per Rapoport.

The Bengals opted to go with Randy Bullock as their primary kicker but attempted to stash Elliott, a fifth-round pick out of Memphis, on their practice squad. But the Eagles’ injury need will relocate the kicking prospect. Three kickers went in this past draft, and the other two — Zane Gonzalez and Harrison Butker — were seventh-round selections.

So, Philly will have an interesting specialist filling in for Sturgis — also a former fifth-round pick — who has kicked with the team for the past two seasons.

Elliott broke Stephen Gostkowski‘s Memphis records for points scored and field goals made in a career and was a Lou Groza award finalist in 2015.

Eagles K Caleb Sturgis Suffers Injury

September 11th, 2017 at 12:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles are on the lookout for a kicker. Caleb Sturgis suffered a hip flexor strain on Sunday, as Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The injury will rule him out for four weeks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets, and the team is already making plans to look at replacements.

We don’t know who will be working out for the Eagles just yet, but Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) suggests that free agent Mike Nugent could get a look. Bengals practice squad kicker Jake Elliott could also get a call, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Sturgis, 28, made all three of his field goal tries on Sunday, including a 50-yard attempt, but missed one of his two extra point tries. Last year, he sank a career-high 85.4% of his field goals and went 30-for-31 on XPs.

Eagles Extend Caleb Sturgis

September 7th, 2016 at 8:09am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have signed kicker Caleb Sturgis to a one-year contract extension through the 2017 season, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Sturgis’ new deal calls for a base salary of $900K in 2017, $250K of which is guaranteed. Sturgis can also earn additional money through escalators. The team has confirmed the deal via press release.

Sturgis battled it out with one-time fantasy football hero Cody Parkey this summer and came away with the job. Now, the Eagles are making a significant commitment to him beyond the 2016 season.

Sturgis, 27 on Friday, has made 73 of his 93 career field goals, good for a career 78.5% mark. Last season, he sank 18 of his 22 tries for Philly, giving him a career-best 81.8% conversion rate. He also made 98.2% of the extended extra points.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Williams, Redskins

June 28th, 2016 at 1:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Rookie Paul Perkins could jettison fellow running back Andre Williams off of the Giants‘ roster, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. In addition, veteran Orleans Darkwa also finds himself on the hot seat and it seems as though Williams and Darkwa could be vying for one roster spot. Williams disappointed in his sophomore effort while Darkwa has been dealing with a lower-leg injury all spring.

Rashad Jennings is locked in as the Giants’ No. 1 running back, as shown on their Roster Resource page, with Shane Vereen, Williams, Perkins, Darkwa, and Rainey in support. The Giants also have fullbacks Will Johnson and Nikita Whitlock in the mix. Not long ago, Williams was being looked at as someone who could lead the Giants’ rushing attack. Now, he has been relegated to a support role and could conceivably get squeezed out altogether.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Having free agent pickup Damon Harrison plugging up the middle will do more for the Giants than bolster their run-stuffing, Newsday’s Tom Rock writes. By clogging up the middle, Snacks should allow Johnathan Hankins and Jay Bromley more sack opportunities and improve the overall ability of the team to push the pocket in on opposing quarterbacks. While the ex-Jet’s $9.5MM/year salary might seem high for a two-down player, the Giants firmly believe that he will benefit them on third downs by lengthening the distance their opponent has to go with his work on first and second downs. Giants opponents converted 47% of third-down opportunities in 2016, the highest figure in the league, so Big Blue needs Harrison to help in that department.
Mike Jones of The Washington Post has Mack Brown making the Redskins‘ 53-man roster over Rob Kelley and Keith Marshall, a projection that is surprising to some. Jones says that’s because Marshall, a seventh-round pick, has hardly practiced this offseason due to a hamstring injury. Kelley, a UDFA, has not been as consistent as Brown and is at something of a disadvantage in understanding the offense since Brown was on the team’s taxi squad last year. Still, things could change between now and the final roster cutdown and Washington could even wind up carrying four running backs on the roster.
Cody Parkey has been a fantasy football hero at times, but the Eagles kicker could be supplanted by Caleb Sturgis, Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com writes. Sturgis has looked better in the team’s open practices, according to Zangaro, and Parkey is coming off of an injury.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Hardy, Kerrigan

October 26th, 2015 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we passed along the latest updates on injured Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and his franchise tag, but there are plenty of other items from out of the NFC East to round up, so let’s dive right in…

Appearing on WIP in Philadelphia today, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said that he isn’t looking for a new kicker and doesn’t anticipate making any major changes during his team’s bye (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). It’s no surprise that the Eagles are sticking with Caleb Sturgis — he missed one field goal attempt in last night’s loss, but it came from 50 yards out.
After Greg Hardy‘s outburst on the Cowboys‘ sideline during Sunday’s loss to the Giants, Ian O’Connor of ESPN.com writes that Dallas should be suspending the volatile defensive end, rather than enabling him.
Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan fractured a bone in his right hand during Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay, and may have to undergo surgery this week, according to Andrew Walker of Redskins.com. However, with the team’s bye coming up in Week 8, there’s a chance Kerrigan won’t have to miss any time.
Many NFL observers were shocked when the Giants signed wide receiver and special-teamer Dwayne Harris to a $17MM contract back in March, but as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post outlines, Harris’ kick return touchdown on Sunday against his old team might have helped save New York’s season.

NFC Notes: Cards, Payton, Giants, Lions

October 13th, 2015 at 8:24am CST by Luke Adams

While initial estimates suggested Cardinals outside linebacker Alex Okafor would miss two to four weeks, it’s now believed his calf injury will sideline him for up to six weeks, tweets Rand Getlin of the NFL Network.

Okafor’s extended recovery timetable, along with Kenny Demens‘ season-ending ACL injury, makes Arizona’s signing of Dwight Freeney even more important. And speaking of Freeney, Ed Werder of ESPN.com provides a few more details on his contract with the Cards, tweeting that the veteran pass rusher can earn up to $1MM in sack incentives — $200K for four sacks, then another $100K for each one after that, up to 12 ($1MM).

Here’s more from around the NFC:

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Saints head coach Sean Payton addressed the annual rumors about his potential departure from New Orleans on Monday, suggesting that he has no plans to go anywhere in the near future: “I’ll say what I said before. This is where I see myself. And I’ve said that now, for however many years.” Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune noted (via Twitter) that he can’t picture the Saints firing Payton.
After Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle got banged up in Sunday night’s game against the Niners, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin acknowledged that the team may have to look at adding a receiver this week, though he’s optimistic his players will be ready to go next week (Twitter link via Kimberly Jones of the NFL Network). Jordan Raanan of NJ.com examines some potential outside options for the team in the event that a free agent signing becomes necessary.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell admitted on Monday that team owner Martha Firestone Ford isn’t happy with Detroit’s play so far this season, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. For now, the Lions don’t intend to make any coaching changes, but we’ll see if that changes in the coming weeks.
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly praised the job Caleb Sturgis did for the team on Sunday, telling reporters on Monday that Philadelphia won’t have any kicker tryouts this week (Twitter link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News). Sturgis missed another extra point in his second game for the Eagles, but made seven other kicks, including four field goals.
Although Sunday’s loss was a tough one for Washington, there have been signs that the team’s culture is changing, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com, who identifies Terrance Knighton, Chris Culliver, and Dashon Goldson as newcomers who are helping to change the attitude in the locker room.