HEADLINES

Dan Skuta

Dolphins Rumors: Odrick, LBs, Wallace, Shorts

March 6th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Barry Jackson’s latest article for the Miami Herald includes plenty of buzz on the Dolphins, so let’s dive right in and round up some of the highlights….

  • As the Dolphins prepare to make an aggressive bid for Ndamukong Suh, the team has kept its own free-agent-to-be defensive tackle, Jared Odrick, in limbo. Miami had yet to make an offer to Odrick as of Friday morning, and while it’s still possible he returns, the Dolphins may view him as a backup plan to Suh, and he should attract plenty of interest elsewhere. Jackson lists the Colts, Chiefs, Raiders, Bears, and Jaguars as the clubs expected to have interest in Odrick, suggesting a deal in the range of $7MM per year is realistic.
  • With David Harris back under contract for the Jets, the Dolphins figure to turn their attention to linebackers like Mason Foster and Dan Skuta. Jackson names Nate Irving and Brandon Spikes as a couple other potential free agents who may draw interest from Miami.
  • The Dolphins would like to upgrade over Koa Misi at middle linebacker, but could move Misi to the strong side if they can find a replacement.
  • As of Thursday, the Fins remained “genuinely uncertain” about Mike Wallace‘s future, a source tells Jackson. There’s some support in the front office for keeping the veteran wideout, but his cap hit is an issue.
  • Cecil Shorts is among the free agent receivers the Dolphins have discussed internally, per Jackson.

Dolphins Rumors: Hartline, Wallace, Skuta

February 27th, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Dolphins made a roster move this morning, announcing the release of wide receiver Brian Hartline, which will create more than $3MM in cap savings. A few of today’s Dolphins-related rumors stem directly from that transaction, so let’s dive in and round them up….

  • According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Hartline had been open to the idea of reducing his salary to remain with the Dolphins, but the team is not believed to have made an offer. A source close to Hartline tells Salguero that the wideout is disappointed by the move, but would like to land with a team closer to his native Ohio, and will prioritize clubs with accomplished quarterbacks. The Colts are one possibility, per Salguero.
  • Following up on a Thursday report that suggested Mike Wallace isn’t interested in restructuring his contract, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald confirms that the receiver is at least uninterested in taking a pay cut. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk confirms with a source that there’s no roster bonus or other trigger in Wallace’s deal for March that would force the Dolphins to make a quick decision on the wideout. However, the $3MM guarantee on his deal has offset language, so if the team decides to cut Wallace, doing so sooner rather than later could be advantageous.
  • 49ers linebacker Dan Skuta, who is capable of playing both inside and outside, is on the list of free agents the Dolphins like, writes Jackson.
  • Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) has heard from multiple people that new head of football operations Mike Tannenbaum actually has his eye on the 2016 season rather than 2015. As Beasley points out, that means the possibility of a roster purge is in play, though he’s skeptical that head coach Joe Philbin and GM Dennis Hickey would support a rebuild, given their potentially their job security.

Extra Points: Draft, Ravens, Eagles, LeBeau

January 10th, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Luke Adams

USC running back Javorius ‘Buck’ Allen has decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2015 draft, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports reported today (via Twitter). The redshirt junior ran for 1,489 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Trojans in 2014, adding another 458 yards through the air on 41 receptions. For the most part, draft experts are in agreement on Allen’s stock, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, and CBSSports.com all ranking the USC back between eighth and 10th among 2015’s running back prospects — that makes him a likely third- or fourth-round pick.

Here’s more from around the NFL, in the midst of the league’s divisional playoff weekend:

  • Now that the Ravens have been eliminated from the playoffs, Baltimore will have to make free agent decisions on Justin Forsett and Torrey Smith, shore up its secondary, and add a pass-catching tight end, among other things, writes Field Yates of ESPN.com (Insider-only link).
  • In the view of Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), the Ravens should at least give Forsett a one-year deal worth the $3MM that Ray Rice had been scheduled to earn in 2015.
  • Chip Kelly‘s interview with Chris Polian of the Jaguars for the Eagles‘ general manager position has taken place, a source tells Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).
  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears from a source close to Dick LeBeau that the longtime coach would still like to be a defensive coordinator, after resigning from his Steelers position today. Cole points to the Cardinals as a possible match for LeBeau if current DC Todd Bowles lands a head coaching job elsewhere.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap examines the upcoming offseason for the Bears and new general manager Ryan Pace, writing that while Jay Cutler may have made a “convenient scapegoat” in 2014, the team’s problems ran much deeper than Cutler.
  • A pair of 49ers defenders, cornerback Perrish Cox and outside linebacker Dan Skuta, played large roles for the club in 2014 after spending most of their respective careers in backups. With Cox and Skuta both facing potential free agency, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at what’s next for the duo.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Bears, Giants, Eagles

December 28th, 2014 at 3:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Once Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers inevitably part ways at some point this week, the club will need to begin its search to find his replacement as head coach. Appearing on FOX Sports, Jay Glazer (Twitter link via his colleague, Mike Garafolo) listed several candidates that San Francisco will likely interview: Dan Quinn, Todd Bowles, Jim Tomsula, Teryl Austin, Adam Gase, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan, and interestingly, UCLA head coach Jim Mora. Mora, who’s held head coaching positions with both the Falcons and Seahawks, was also mentioned as an NCAA coach likely to jump to the NFL by Albert Breer of NFL.com on Daniel Jeremiah’s Move the Sticks podcast two weeks ago. Here’s more from the NFC…

  • Bears assistant coaches believe they will believe they will be fired after today’s game, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who notes that “wholesale changes” could be coming to Chicago. In the same vein, David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune examined what the future holds for the Bears, who are expected to fire head coach Marc Trestman and possibly GM Phil Emery.
  • Tom Coughlin hasn’t been made aware of his status for 2015, but the expectation is that he will return to coach the Giants next year, per Rapoport (Twitter link).
  • Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been unequivocal in explaining that he won’t give New York a deal when it a comes to negotiations, and today he offered an even stronger, and quotable, declaration of his feelings. “Do you give discounts?” he asked Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (Twitter link). “Do you get discounts when you go to Macy’s?”
  • Eagles FB/TE James Casey is due $4MM next season, and Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter) doubts that he’ll return to Philly next season. Per Berman, Casey signed on with the Eagles in the hopes of getting extensive time on offense, but he’s become more of a special teams player.
  • 49ers linebacker Dan Skuta is a free agent at season’s end, and Cam Inman of the Mercury News believes (Twitter link) that he’ll follow current San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to his next stop.