HEADLINES

Philip Rivers

AFC Notes: Pats, Jets, Rivers, Locker, Colts

March 24th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets have filed tampering charges against the Patriots based on owner Robert Kraft‘s comments yesterday concerning New England’s pursuit of Darrelle Revis, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio writes, this is likely the Jets seeking revenge after New England filed similar charges against Gang Green in January (also regarding Revis comments).

It’s unlikely that anything comes of this tit-for-tat scenario, so let’s check out some news from around the AFC…

  • Chargers sources have not flatly denied that they’ll trade Philip Rivers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Team sources have said they don’t want to move the veteran quarterback, but as Rapoport notes, that’s different than saying they won’t deal him. If a trade were to occur, the price for Rivers would be multiple first-round picks, says Rapoport.
  • Jake Locker‘s retirement was just as stunning to the Titans as it was to the general public, Tennessee head coach Ken Whisenhunt tells Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Whisenhunt says the club found out about Locker’s decision at the same time as everyone else, adding that the subject of retirement never came up during his year-end talks with Locker.
  • GM Ryan Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano told reporters, including Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), that the Colts are not finished in free agency, and could look to add pieces to the club’s defense.
  • Titans interim president Steve Underwood maintains that the team is not for sale, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

Bills Rumors: Draft, QBs, Spikes, Dareus

March 24th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bills are one of two teams – along with the Seahawks – without a first-round pick this year, and it doesn’t look like that will change. General manager Doug Whaley tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that his team has no plans to trade into the first round this spring. Whaley also weighed in on a number of other Bills-related topics today, so let’s check out the highlights….

  • Trade speculation has been swirling around veteran quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Philip Rivers lately, but Whaley hasn’t been contacted by the Saints or Chargers, and hasn’t reached out to either team, about those signal-callers, tweets Rodak. Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) independently confirms, via multiple sources, that the Bills aren’t pursuing Rivers at all, though he cautions that could change if the San Diego QB nears free agency next year.
  • Whaley intends to get in touch with linebacker Brandon Spikes next week, and isn’t ruling out a potential return to Buffalo for the veteran free agent (Twitter link via Rodak).
  • While the Bills may be willing to make Spikes a modest offer, they don’t have much flexibiity to go higher than the minimum. Whaley, on the team’s remaining cap space: “We’re tapped out. [We’re] at the point now where we’ve got to save for the draft choices and injury replacements” (Twitter link via Carucci).
  • Asked by Rodak if he’s concerned that Ndamukong Suh‘s monster contract could set a precedent for Marcell Dareus‘ next deal, Whaley replied with an emphatic “yes” (Twitter link).

West Notes: Chargers, Raiders, Murray, 49ers

March 24th, 2015 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters this morning in Phoenix at the AFC coaches’ breakfast, Chargers head coach Mike McCoy addressed the team’s backfield, including quarterback Philip Rivers. Asked about Rivers’ decision to play out his contract, McCoy responded that the team plans on Rivers “retiring as a Charger” (Twitter link via Ed Werder of ESPN.com).

McCoy also indicated he’s confident the Chargers can win with the three running backs they have on the roster at the moment (Twitter link via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Donald Brown, Branden Oliver, and Danny Woodhead are currently slated to share the load for San Diego, with Ryan Mathews having departed in free agency. The club could also address the position in the draft.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two West divisions:

  • Within a piece on Jeremy Maclin, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, citing a league source, that the Raiders offered running back DeMarco Murray “significant more guaranteed money” than the Eagles did.
  • Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio identified defensive end and pass rusher as two spots he expects his team to focus on early in the 2015 draft, tweets Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Del Rio added that receiving help could also come via free agency, as Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
  • 49ers general manager Trent Baalke confirmed that his club has interest in several free agent inside linebackers, including Brandon Spikes. However, according to Baalke, there’s no official visit lined up for Erin Henderson at this point (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com).
  • Casey Pearce of the Rams clarified today (via Twitter) that the Rams will have their own seventh-round pick this year — it was the Patriots‘ pick that St. Louis sent to the Falcons in a subsequent trade. With 2015’s compensatory picks now announced, the league should officially confirm the complete draft order soon.
  • UCLA’s Brett Hundley, considered perhaps the best 2015 quarterback prospect not named Jameis or Marcus, has a private workout scheduled with the Cardinals, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Extra Points: Peterson, Rivers, Murray, Hardy

March 23rd, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the league as we wrap up this Monday evening…

  • Adrian Peterson‘s agent, Ben Dogra, reiterated that his client shouldn’t be playing for the Vikings in 2015. “I don’t think it’s in the best interests of [Adrian Peterson] to play for the Minnesota Vikings,” Dogra said (via Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole on Twitter).
  • However, Vikings owner Mark Wilf whistled a different tune to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero. “He’s an important part of the Minnesota Vikings and we look forward to him being part of our team in 2015,” the owner said (Twitter link).
  • Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said the the team isn’t considering trading quarterback Philip Rivers, according to ESPN.com’s Eric Williams (on Twitter).
  • ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson says (via Twitter) the Raiders are not currently pursuing Eagles offensive guard Evan Mathis.
  • Jaguars general manager David Caldwell said the Eagles offer to DeMarco Murray exceeded his team’s offer by a “large amount,” tweets Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com.
  • Cowboys coach Jason Garrett touched on his team’s addition of defensive end Greg Hardy (via David Moore of SportsDayDFW.com on Twitter): “If we didn’t believe that Greg Hardy could become the right kind of guy we would not have signed him.”
  • Moore also tweets that the Cowboys have interest in bringing back linebacker Rolando McClain, but Garrett said the sides haven’t made any recent progress on a contract.

Extra Points: 49ers, Hardy, Peterson, Rivers

March 18th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Ben Levine

49ers CEO Jed York appeared on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday to discuss a number of different topics, including the surprise retirement of Chris Borland (via SFGate.com):

“We respect it, and I love Chris. He’s a great kid. And it’s certainly a surprise to us and I think to some of his teammates. But you have to respect the decision. If he fears for his health and safety going forward, I don’t ever want somebody to go out there and do something that they’re not comfortable doing. And I would never try to talk somebody out of retirement. I know it wasn’t an easy decision for him, but we respect him and we wish him the best.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL…

  • Greg Hardy spurned the Buccaneers for the Cowboys earlier today, but as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes, it may have been the organization that rejected the player. “At the end of the day, we didn’t feel good about it,” said general manager Jason Licht.
  • Count Larry Fitzgerald among those who’d like to see Adrian Peterson wearing a Cardinals jersey next season. The veteran wideout told Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that adding the All-Pro running back would be a “game-changer” for the organization. “Obviously, he’s an MVP-caliber player,” Fitzgerald said. “Everybody knows that. Any team he ends up with — or if he stays with the Vikings — is going to have a great back. If he was to come play here, it would obviously mean a tremendous amount for our ballclub.”
  • Following news that Philip Rivers wouldn’t consider a new deal with the Chargers until the end of the 2015 season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says the organization has no intention of letting the quarterback depart (via Around The NFL on Twitter). Rapoport notes (on Twitter) that both sides have plenty of leverage during negotiations.
  • CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweets that the Bills actually signed wideout Percy Harvin to a three-year, $24MM deal, but the contract voids to a one-year, $6MM pact. As WGR550’s Joe Buscaglia points out on Twitter, this saves the organization $2MM in 2015 cap through “signing bonus proration,” meaning the player’s cap hit for this season will be $4MM as opposed to $6MM. Furthermore, if the Bills decide to void the contract following 2015 (which they’re expected to do), they’ll get hit with $2MM in dead money.

Rivers Won’t Consider New Deal Before End Of Season

March 17th, 2015 at 7:43pm CST by Zachary Links

There has been a lot of talk about what a new pact between quarterback Philip Rivers and the Chargers might look like, but it sounds like we’ll have to wait a while to find out the answer. Rivers told Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego that he won’t ink a new deal before his current contract (which takes him through the 2015 season) ends.

“I’m trying to not get too caught up in what I can’t control,” he said. “What I can control is, what I’m doing in March is what I’ve done every March – working out, looking for little tweaks, getting ready to fight like crazy to help us win.”

When asked if anything could change Rivers’ mind on whether he’d consider signing a new deal before the end of the season, he responded, “Honestly, nothing.” Rivers also seemed to change his tune about the team’s potential move to the Los Angeles area, just weeks after saying that it wouldn’t heavily affect his feelings on the franchise.

“What we’ve established here with my growing family is hard to recreate,” Rivers said. “It’s hard to up and recreate that. I know that moves are part of life. But that certainly is fair to say that [not being sold on moving to Los Angeles] is part of it. The good thing is I’m not under contract in a year where we’d potentially be in Los Angeles.”

Rivers isn’t the only one keeping things vague when it comes to the quarterback’s future with the Bolts. Acee asked GM Tom Telesco if he would quash any possibility that Rivers could be traded. The GM declined, only offering up effusive praise for the signal caller. As speculation swirls that the Chargers could go after Marcus Mariota in the draft, Telesco didn’t do much to quell the talk.

AFC West Notes: Rivers, Cobb, Chargers

February 24th, 2015 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

The expectation around the NFL is that the Raiders will make a run at wide receiver Randall Cobb, Bill Williamson of ESPN.com tweets. However, the Packers aren’t expected to let him hit the open market, so they might not even get the chance to pursue him. A look at the AFC West..

  • The uncertainty of where the Chargers might end up playing doesn’t figure to have major implications on Philip Rivers as he ponders signing with the team beyond 2015, Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com writes. “Is the location of this team going to be a deciding factor? I can’t honestly tell you that it will be,” Rivers told Darren Smith of The Mighty 1090. “Is it a factor at all? Sure, but I can’t tell you that it’s at the top of the list, because it’s just really not. That goes without saying I hope we’re staying. But should we move, it doesn’t move to the top of my list for deterrents for not being a Charger.” Rivers is entering final year of a deal that will pay him $15.75MM in base salary and count more than $17MM against the salary cap. Chargers GM Tom Telesco said earlier this year he wants Rivers to be a Charger for life but the two sides have yet to have discussions about restructuring his contract.
  • Raiders middle linebacker Nick Roach, who missed the entire 2014 season after suffering a concussion in a preseason game, is still having headaches and is not expected to return next season, team sources told Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. After playing every defensive snap for Oakland in 2013, Roach suffered the concussion in a preseason game against the Packers in August. He briefly returned to practice in September but never made it back into live action.
  • Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star spoke with NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, whose latest mock has the Chiefs taking Marcus Mariota at No. 18. Brooks wouldn’t be concerned if Mariota took a slide, largely due to concerns about the amount of time it would take for him to transition to the pro game from Oregon’s uptempo spread offense. And, while the Chiefs have Alex Smith under center, Chiefs GM John Dorsey was in Green Bay when they took Aaron Rodgers in the first round and sat him for three years behind Brett Favre.

West Notes: Davis, 49ers, Knighton, Chargers

February 19th, 2015 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

Vernon Davis is coming off his worst season as a pro, and will count for nearly $7MM against the cap in 2015, but he’ll “absolutely” be returning to the 49ers, general manager Trent Baalke said on Wednesday at the combine, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Referring to Davis’ contract and cap hit, Baalke suggested that the numbers are “not as daunting as you may think.”

Let’s round up a few more notes on the Niners and a handful of other West clubs….

  • The 49ers‘ wide receiver coaches are among the few San Francisco assistants in Indianapolis, which presumably indicates where the team’s offseason priority lies, tweets Barrows.
  • Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton has “made it very clear” to team management that he wants to return to Denver and would be willing to take something of a hometown discount to make it happen. However, as he tells Josina Anderson of ESPN, Knighton doesn’t feel as if that interest is totally mutual. “To be quite honest with you, it’s frustrating and it’s somewhat disrespectful just knowing how important I was to the team and what the defense could’ve been without somebody like me,” Knighton said. “It’s almost like, the longer they wait, the worse it is going to be.”
  • Broncos GM John Elway hasn’t heard back from Peyton Manning on his decision for 2015 but he “had a good talk” with the quarterback and said that he’s feeling better, says Mike Klis of The Denver Post.
  • The Chargers intend to have extension discussions with quarterback Philip Rivers and safety Eric Weddle at the “appropriate time,” according to GM Tom Telesco, but those negotiations aren’t on the team’s agenda for this week, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
  • With a new contract from the Cardinals in hand, Larry Fitzgerald will almost assuredly start and end his career in the same place, a rarity for NFL legends, as Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic writes. The new deal is quite fair to Fitzgerald, Bickley opines, as the $22MM guaranteed for the next two seasons was arguably $6MM more than he would have found on the open market.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Chargers GM Talks Rivers, RBs, Offseason

December 31st, 2014 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco addressed reporters in an end-of-season press conference today, and Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune passed along several of the GM’s more notable comments. Here are the highlights from the presser, with all links headed to Gehlken’s Twitter account:

  • Philip Rivers is under contract for one more year, and the Chargers will “definitely” work to extend his contract this offseason, said Telesco, adding that he thinks the quarterback has several good years left in him, and he wants Rivers to finish his career in San Diego. Still, Telesco admitted that he has to keep an eye on “what’s next” at the QB position, which may mean adding a young player to develop in the not-so-distant future.
  • Telesco is pleased with the culture and the foundation in place in San Diego, and thinks the next step is for the Chargers to continue developing their current young players and adding complementary pieces — no overhaul of any kind is necessary.
  • Discussing San Diego’s running backs, Telesco said Donald Brown – who is under contract for 2015 – will be back and that the front office knows what Ryan Mathews means the team. Mathews is a free agent, and the GM appreciates having time to make a decision on him.
  • Telesco also acknowledged that the running game must improve, which involves upgrading the offensive line as well.
  • The Chargers have “a number” of contracts to extend or restructure heading into the offseason, according to Telesco, though he didn’t identify specific deals.
  • The interest Frank Reich is receiving as a head coaching candidate doesn’t surprise Telesco, but the GM “selfishly” wants the offensive coordinator to remain in San Diego. The club won’t stop Reich from pursuing head coaching opportunities.
  • Telesco is comfortable with D.J. Fluker at right tackle moving forward.

Chargers Notes: Royal, Johnson, Freeney, Rivers

December 29th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

A win yesterday would have secured the Chargers the sixth seed in the AFC, but the team’s offense couldn’t get anything going against the Chiefs, losing the game and ceding that final playoff spot to the Ravens. That gives the Chargers an early and unwelcome head-start on their offseason. Here’s the latest out of San Diego:

  • Chargers wide receiver Eddie Royal earned a $250K bonus yesterday by surpassing 700 receiving yards on the season, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).
  • Jarret Johnson‘s cap hit will jump from $3.5MM this year to $7.5MM in 2015, which raises some questions about his future with the Chargers. Even if San Diego decides to hang onto him, Johnson isn’t sure whether or not he’ll continue his playing career — the 33-year old tells Gehlken, “If I hung it up, I’ll hang it up happy” (Twitter link).
  • Another Chargers linebacker, Dwight Freeney, also has an uncertain future, telling Gehlken that he’ll give it about a month before deciding on his next move (Twitter link). Freeney will turn 35 in February, and doesn’t have a contract yet for next season. If the veteran pass rusher decides to retire, he’ll have a future in television, says Gehlken.
  • Philip Rivers is headed into the final year of his contract, and San Diego is expected to try to extend him this offseason. However, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Chargers shouldn’t even bother if they don’t intend to also invest heavily in protecting their franchise quarterback.
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