HEADLINES

Demarcus Lawrence

Extra Points: Jags, Raiders, Lawrence, FAs

December 23rd, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Three-plus years after multiple coaches declined interviews with the Jaguars before Gus Bradley was hired, the north-Florida head-coaching job is generating more buzz. An “overwhelming” degree of interest has emerged for the Jags’ HC vacancy, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

Florio does not expect coaches to turn down Jags interviews this time and lists Tom Coughlin, Josh McDaniels, Todd Haley, and Anthony Lynn as those to be among the most coveted candidates for head-coaching positions. Doug Marrone could also be a candidate, per Florio, but that’s obviously dependent on what happens for the 2-12 team in the season’s final two weeks. The team’s talent base has increased since the 2013 vacancy, likely leading to the enhanced interest.

Coughlin has been connected to Jacksonville as a front-office cog as well. In a coach, the Jaguars are likely going to want to hear Blake Bortles-related pitches — even if the next coach won’t be forced to play him — due to the franchise spending the No. 3 overall pick on the signal-caller and having closed the book on their previous first-round QB, Blaine Gabbert, so quickly. Having that happen twice in the same half-decade would be deflating for the franchise.

Here’s more from the Jags and the rest of the league.

  • Paul Posluszny is leading the Jaguars in tackles, but the veteran linebacker knows that he might not be back in Jacksonville next year, as ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco writes. “I want to play these last two games as hard as I can knowing that I may not have a future here,” Posluszny said. “You take it one game at a time and say, ‘I’m going to devote everything that I can to these last two games because this might be the last opportunity I get.’” Posluszny is the franchise’s second-leading tackler (904) after six seasons with the club, but those aren’t the numbers that necessarily matter. The 32-year-old is due a $3.95MM base salary plus a $500K roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year (in March). He’s also set to receive a $31K bonus for each game he’s on the active roster, up to $500K. Instead of bringing him back, the Jaguars could give additional playing time to second-round pick Myles Jack.
  • The Raiders are planning to turn to Menelik Watson at right tackle instead of Austin Howard, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com reports. The former second-round pick has been unable to stay healthy, being lost for the season due to injury in 2015 and joining Howard as ailing right-flank protectors this season. Oakland saw three of its starting line make the Pro Bowl, and right guard Gabe Jackson has been solid as well. The right tackle spot has been the only deficiency thus far.
  • The Cowboys will rest Demarcus Lawrence in the next two games, as Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News tweets. “It wouldn’t surprise me if [Randy Gregory] gets a lot of snaps,” owner Jerry Jones said.
  • Brandon Williams, Mario Addison and Ronald Leary are among the looming UFAs who can expected to be paid handsomely, at least when compared to their public perception, Field Yates of ESPN.com writes. Kelechi Osemele helping catalyze the Raiders’ offensive line points to the Cowboys’ left guard being a sought-after player. Leary reclaimed this job after La’el Collins‘ foot injury and has been a top-20 guard in the opinion of Pro Football Focus, and the fourth-year player has seen far more work than well-paid Jaguar right tackle Jermey Parnell was during his time in Dallas. Williams became a space-eating 3-4 nose man despite a Division II background, and Addison now has three straight seasons of at least six sacks. The Panthers’ 40 sacks match the Broncos for the league lead, and Addison’s 7.5 bests their group.

Zach Links contributed to this report.

Cowboys Activate Demarcus Lawrence

October 8th, 2016 at 6:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys’ pass rush will receive a boost on Sunday after the team officially activated Demarcus Lawrence, placing him back on its 53-man roster, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Lawrence missed four games because of a substance-abuse suspension, depriving the Cowboys of their top pass-rusher. The third-year player led Dallas with eight sacks last season, doing so after registering none as a rookie in seven games in 2014.

Dallas ranks in a tie for 24th in the league with just six sacks this season, besting only five teams’ totals. It’s been without Lawrence, Randy Gregory and elected to move on from Greg Hardy. Defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford is the only Cowboy with more than one sack, posting two through four games.

A former second-round pick, Lawrence saw his appeal denied, forcing him to miss four games. He missed nine in 2014 after suffering a broken foot before playing in all 16 last year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

14 Players Returning From Suspension

October 3rd, 2016 at 7:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Fourteen players will return from four-game suspensions this week, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The most high-profile returnee, of course, is quarterback Tom Brady, who will re-join the 3-1 Patriots on Sunday against the Browns.

The following players have completed their suspensions:

The club that employs each player will receive a short roster exemption that ends the day following the team’s Week 5 game. that means the 49ers’ exemption for Lynch ends Friday, the Panthers’ exemption for Scott ends next Tuesday, and the rest end next Monday.

Sterup, meanwhile, was on the Chiefs’ practice squad when he was banned, but he hasn’t completed the PED reinstatement requirements, according to Balzer. So although he can sign with a new club, Sterup can’t practice or play until he’s approved by the league.

Cowboys Trim Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 5:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have made the following moves in order to cut their roster down to 53:

Cut:

Waived/Injured:

  • DE Mike McAdoo

Reserve/Suspended:

NFI:

Rolando McClain Suspended 10 Games

June 30th, 2016 at 2:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Friday afternoon NFL news dump is happening a day early. Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain has been suspended 10 games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, according to Adam Schefter and Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link).Rolando McClain

[RELATED: Johnnny Manziel, Sheldon Richardson suspended]

The 10-game ban indicates that McClain has entered stage three of the league’s substance policy for marijuana. McClain missed the first four games of last season while on suspension, so the penalties will keep increasing as McClain continues to fail drug tests. The 26-year-old McClain has dealt with plenty of off-the-field question marks throughout his career, and his free agency earnings have thus been relatively modest. Still, he’s now set to lose about $2.35MM as a result of this latest ban.

In 2015, McClain graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 28 linebacker (subscription required). In his suspension-shortened season, McClain recorded 80 total tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 pass deflections. The former first-round pick had been sitting out Dallas’ team activities while reportedly dealing with a family issue, an occurrence that had apparently caused a minor dispute between owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett.

McClain is the third Cowboys defender to face a multi-game ban for 2016, as defensive lineman Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory are scheduled to miss the first four games of the year with their own suspensions — in fact, Archer reports that Lawrence’s appeal has been denied, ensuring that he will in fact be suspended. I recently listed Dallas as a potential landing spot for veteran edge rusher Dwight Freeney, and though he wouldn’t be directly replacing McClain, Freeney could help a Cowboys defense that is now in dire need of talent.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Notes: Hardy, QBs, Smith, Lawrence

May 5th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Stephen Jones, the Cowboys were done with Greg Hardy when the 2015 season ended, despite not publicly making that stance clear until more recently, as Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram writes.

“I think one of the most important things is when you take a chance with a player, if you see it’s not working, it’s time to move on,” said Jones, the Cowboys’ executive VP. “We gave it its due in terms of a year here, and we just felt like at the end of the day, it wasn’t the right fit.”

Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went on record saying that Hardy will not be back, but it appears that the decision was made months ago. On the field, Hardy still has plenty to offer, but it would seem Dallas is not interested in dealing with the off-field headaches. Last season, Hardy ranked as the league’s 28th-best edge defender out of 110 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Let’s round up a few more Cowboys-related items:

  • The Cowboys missed out on drafting Paxton Lynch, but they’re content with their quarterback depth chart as it stands today, writes Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram. Kellen Moore will be Tony Romo‘s primary backup in 2016, per Jerry Jones. “I think Kellen Moore has shown the ‘it,'” Jones said. “He has the instincts. He has the anticipation. He knows what’s going on. He gives me and us a great feeling about basically improving. Obviously those interceptions were not something you can live with, but some of the stuff he was doing was pretty obvious that the team was responding. He was able to move the team.” Rookie Dak Prescott will likely fill the No. 3 spot behind Romo and Moore.
  • While the general consensus in the Cowboys organization seems to be that second-round pick Jaylon Smith will miss the entire 2016 season, Jerry Jones isn’t ready to commit to taking the linebacker off the regular-season roster, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Jones said Smith “will not be IR’d,” noting that the club hopes Smith can be available for the latter part of the season. We’ll see if Dallas sticks to that stance in September.
  • During that appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones also said that he’s holding out hope for Demarcus Lawrence‘s suspension to be reduced from four games to two games (link via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Lawrence’s four-game ban is currently under appeal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cowboys Expect Demarcus Lawrence Suspension

April 20th, 2016 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already lost one of their pass rushers – Randy Gregory – to a four-game suspension, the Cowboys are bracing for another one of their edge defenders to miss the season’s first month. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, defensive end Demarcus Lawrence faces a four-game ban for violating the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse.Demarcus Lawrence

Moore reports that the Cowboys have yet to be formally notified of Lawrence’s impending suspension, which suggests that the defender and his representatives are still in the process of appealing the ruling. Multiple sources tell Moore that Dallas will be without Lawrence to open the season, however.

A second-round pick in 2014, Lawrence led the Cowboys in sacks last season with eight, and added a forced fumble to go along with 55 tackles. With both Lawrence and Gregory sidelined to open the 2016 season, pass rush becomes an even greater need for the Cowboys, who could end up landing a player like Joey Bosa next week, depending on how the draft plays out.

While the Cowboys did sign Benson Mayowa away from the Raiders in free agency, the team also no longer has veteran contributors Greg Hardy and Jeremy Mincey under contract, so the defensive end rotation in Dallas will look significantly different than it did last year, particularly for the first four weeks of the season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Romo, Lawrence, Bucs, Lions

February 23rd, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Let’s take a look at some of the latest news coming out of NFC cities, starting with Tony Romo‘s immediate future.

  • Romo has yet to make a final decision on what type of surgery he’ll undergo in March, but the 14th-year Cowboys quarterback leaning toward a Mumford procedure, a source tells Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. The Mumford procedure involves shaving off or removing a portion of the distal clavicle.
  • Demarcus Lawrence probably won’t be 100% until at least training camp after he underwent January back surgery to repair an injury that Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said was “a little more serious” than anticipated, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Lawrence played in all 16 games last season and led Dallas with eight sacks, but Jones conceded the third-year defensive end may miss time this summer due to the procedure.
  • The Buccaneers are leaning toward assigning RFA tenders to wide receiver Russell Shepard and safety Bradley McDougald, but have yet to make a decision on linebacker Danny Lansanah, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times and Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter links). Shepard and McDougald figure to be in line for low-end tenders, while Lansanah would become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t get an offer from the Bucs by March 9.
  • Tampa Bay wants Sterling Moore to return, per Cummings (on Twitter), but will allow him to test free agency. Moore experienced a down year after Pro Football Focus ranked the journeyman corner as a top-25 player at his position in 2014. The site ranked him 64th among cornerbacks last season. He started nine games for the Bucs after being nontendered by the Cowboys last March.
  • Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com has a few suggestions for Bob Quinn as the Lions general manager prepares for his first NFL combine as a GM. Calvin Johnson and Darius Slay are among the players on Quinn’s list of issues to address.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

East Notes: Cowboys, RGIII, Pats

January 31st, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Rory Parks

The Cowboys have been connected to North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who is arguably the top QB prospect in this year’s draft, but recent reports indicated that Dallas was not likely to spend its first-round pick on Tony Romo‘s backup and eventual successor. If the Cowboys do, in fact, spend their early selections on players who can make more of an immediate impact, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identifies Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott as a potential mid-round option that could be too intriguing to pass up. Prescott had the best showing of any quarterback prospect in yesterday’s Senior Bowl, and he met with the Cowboys for an hour on Friday. During that meeting, Prescott watched film and interviewed with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson.

Now let’s dive into some more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • We learned yesterday that Cowboys DE Demarcus Lawrence recently underwent back surgery but is expected to return “when it matters,” and Lawrence’s agent tweeted shortly thereafter that his client is “100%” and that reports regarding the surgery are “much ado about nothing.”
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com explores why it is highly unlikely that Washington will be able to trade Robert Griffin III this offseason. Teams cannot trade players until the new league year begins on March 9, which is the same day RGIII’s $16.15MM guarantee for his fifth-year option kicks in, and there is no way any other club will trade for that type of guaranteed contract.
  • Count Tom E. Curran and Mike Giardi of CSNNE.com among those who believe the Patriots will not keep DE Chandler Jones beyond the 2016 season. Even with the recent marijuana-related blemish on his resume, Jones will likely be too expensive for the Pats to retain, especially since players like Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower are also upcoming free agents and should be a higher priority for the team.
  • Speaking of the Patriots, Phil A. Perry of CSNNE.com looks at the top five free agents that New England risks losing this offseason, a list headlined by players like Akiem Hicks and Nate Ebner, who might not be indispensable cogs but who nonetheless played a major role in New England’s run to the AFC title game this season.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com offers his predictions as to how the Patriots will fill the newly-created vacancies on their coaching staff, suggesting that incumbent safeties coach Brian Flores will become the new linebackers coach and tight ends coach Brian Daboll will become the new offensive line coach.

 

 

Extra Points: Broncos, Fins, Bengals, Cowboys

January 30th, 2016 at 9:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Broncos director of pro personnel Tom Heckert won’t get to watch his club take on the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, as he revealed that he’s been dealing with a “very treatable blood disorder,” writes Mike Klis of 9News. Heckert, formerly the general manager of the Browns, has been on medical leave since the start of the second half of the regular season. PFR joins the NFL community in wishing Heckert all the best in his recovery.

Now let’s take a quick spin around the league:

  • Concussions increased league-wide in 2015, the NFL announced in its annual injury report. Reported concussions rose from 115 in 2014 to 182 this past year, and the league will study why that was the case, according to Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press.
  • New Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph praised Bengals defensive backs Reggie Nelson and Adam Jones during his introductory press conference, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald expects Miami to target both in free agency. Joseph is tasked with turning around a Dolphins defense that ranked in the bottom 10 of DVOA, and improving the secondary is a logical first step. Aside from safety Reshad Jones, Miami doesn’t have very many immovable objects in its defensive backfield.
  • Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence recently underwent back surgery, but he should be able to return “when it matters,” a source tells Todd Archer of ESPN.com. As Archer notes, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett was hesitant to put a timetable on Lawrence’s recovery when speaking at the Senior Bowl. Lawrence took a big leap forward in his second NFl season, starting 13 games and posting eight sacks in the process.
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