Jaguars Sign Ziggy Hood To Four-Year Deal
2:28pm: Hood’s deal is worth $16MM over four years, with $5.5MM in guaranteed money, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports and Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links).
11:31am: It’s a four-year contract for Hood, according to Octagon agent Andy Ross (via Twitter).
9:35am: The Jaguars have reached a deal with defensive lineman Ziggy Hood, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). It was O’Halloran that first broke word of Hood’s visit with the team yesterday.
Hood, a former first-round pick, has started 37 games on the Steelers’ defensive line over the last three seasons, recording 39 tackles and three sacks in 2013. However, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics haven’t been kind to him — he has posted a grade of -10.0 or worse for those three seasons, ranking in the bottom five for 3-4 defensive ends each year.
The Jaguars have now agreed to terms with two new defensive linemen today, having also reached a four-year agreement with Chris Clemons.
Extra Points: Cousins, Hood, Graham, Saffold
A Kirk Cousins trade remains unlikely for the Redskins, write Mike Jones and Mark Maske of the Washington Post. There was talk that Washington would be open to moving the quarterback since he would like to start and he is stuck behind Robert Griffin III on the depth chart. For his part, Cousins has said that he will be professional and won’t demand a trade.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Before he agreed to sign with the Jaguars, defensive lineman Ziggy Hood received interest from the Redskins, Raiders, and Chiefs, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Meanwhile, Chris Clemons said the Raiders and Falcons reached out to him before he agreed to sign with the Jaguars, according to O’Halloran (via Twitter).
- Cornerback Corey Graham, who signed with the Bills, told reporters today that he was preparing to go to dinner with the Redskins when he got the call from his agent about Buffalo’s offer (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WGR550).
- Wide receiver Jacoby Jones had a similar story to Graham, as Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun details in a pair of tweets. Jones says he was in New York, about to have dinner with the Giants, when he realized he wanted to stay with the Ravens and headed for the airport instead.
- Safety Mike Mitchell is extremely happy to be with the Steelers and tells reporters, including Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter) that he wanted to come to Pittsburgh more than the club wanted him to be there.
- As expected, the Cardinals have paid Daryl Washington his option bonus, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. There was some talk that they wouldn’t pay out his bonus due to legal issues.
- Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a look at the Raiders‘ perspective on why their deal with Rodger Saffold fell apart yesterday.
- Wide receiver prospect Marqise Lee is drawing significant interest from the Jets and had a private meeting with the team, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
- Georgia tech outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, a projected second- or third-round pick tells Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times (Twitter links) that six teams have shown strong interest in him. Those clubs are the Ravens, Eagles, Titans, Redskins, Chargers, and Steelers.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
WR Rumors: Sanders, Edelman, Tate
Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and defensive lineman Ziggy Hood are in town visiting the Jaguars, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union. However, Sanders has other visits scheduled this week, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter) and Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) adds that the Jets are still a possibility.
- Sanders is set to visit with the Buccaneers following his visit with the Jaguars today, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
- The Ravens remain quite interested in free agent wide receiver Julian Edelman, tweets La Canfora. Meanwhile, the Patriots want him back and other teams are also in the mix.
- Golden Tate said the Jaguars, Jets, and the incumbent Seahawks were also interested in his services, tweets Mike Rothstein of ESPN. The former Seattle receiver landed with the Lions earlier today.
AFC North Notes: Free Agency, Oher, Rubin
The unexpected salary cap has left many teams feeling better about their situations, and the Bengals are also reaping the benefits of the extra cap space, writes Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. The team only has two starters set to hit free agency, in Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins. They also have a number of lesser players such as Dane Sanzenbacher, Andrew Hawkins, Brandon Tate, and Mike Pollak. Hobson writes that the team has already contacted most if not all the players’ agents, but will keep in mind that extensions for Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Vontaze Burfict, and Domata Peko will be coming in the near future.
Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:
- The Steelers could have trouble re-signing some of their notable free agents once they hit the market, writes Scott Brown of ESPN.com. Brown writes that the team is unlikely to match or exceed offers that Jason Worilds, Emmanuel Sanders, and Ziggy Hood could command on the free market.
- The Ravens have not made a decision regarding their two free agent tackles, Michael Oher and Eugene Monroe, writes Jamison Henley of ESPN.com. While most pundits and fans do not believe the team will be able to re-sign both players, head coach John Harbaugh has not ruled out bringing back both players. Henley writes that if the team fails to retain Monroe, than it would be more likely that they bring back Oher to play left tackle.
- While Ahtyba Rubin is considered a likely cap casualty for the Browns, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Tom Reed of Cleveland.com writes that the team would be making a mistake in doing so. Reed believes that the cap space the team would save is minimal compared to the talent and leadership they would be losing along their defensive line.
AFC North Notes: Whitworth, Steelers, Hood
Earlier, we took a look around the AFC South, so let’s head north for a few more notes:
- Bengals coach Marvin Lewis hopes the questions about Andrew Whitworth‘s position along the offensive line end soon, according to ESPN.com’s Cole Harvey. “Too much has been made of it,” said Lewis. “Andrew Whitworth has said many times during the season he’ll play where he needs to play to make the football team win…” Whitworth, who has primarily been a left tackle throughout his career, moved to left guard as part of line shuffling due to injuries. He excelled at guard, and if the team re-signs Anthony Collins to play tackle, Whitworth could move there permanently.
- Though cornerback is thought to be the most pressing need on defense, the Bengals will not reach for one if a better player at a different position is available to them in the draft, new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther tells Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. Guenther also stated that the defensive scheme won’t change much, but he will employ multiple fronts in order to get better matchups.
- The increase in the salary cap could allow the Steelers to delve into the free agent market, reports Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The team usually shies away from spending on free agents; in fact, they haven’t signed a free agent starter since safety Ryan Clark in 2006.
- The Steelers have three free agents at defensive end, and Ziggy Hood is likely to draw the most interest from other teams, writes Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The other two, Brett Keisel and Al Woods, could be easier to re-sign.
- Offensive lineman Mike Adams and Marcus Gilbert, each of whom has struggled, could flourish under new offensive line coach Mike Munchak, says Scott Brown of ESPN.com in his latest mailbag.
- The Ravens are talking with linebacker Daryl Smith about a potential reunion, writes Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com.
- Receiver Deonte Thompson‘s arrest is just the latest in a line of recent gaffes by Ravens that have tarnished the team’s image, argues ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley.
Steelers Facing Decisions On Woodley, Worilds
The Steelers seem to have a continuous supply of talented outside linebackers in defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 scheme, but while depth is a good thing, the restrictions of the salary cap force difficult personnel decisions. Perhaps the most important one facing the Steelers is what to do about left outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who had a down season, finished on IR (calf) and carries a $13.59MM cap hit in 2014.
As it stands, the Steelers are approximately $10MM over the salary cap and facing the potential defensive losses of key UFAs Brett Keisel, Evander Hood and Jason Worilds, who is coming off a long-awaited breakout season. Stepping in for the injured Woodley, Worilds got 11 starts and registered 63 tackles and a team-high eight sacks. With young pass rushers in high demand, he is set to cash in on the open market, be it in Pittsburgh or elsewhere.
Recently, team president Art Rooney II expressed his desire to retain Worilds, who told ESPN’s Scott Brown he has no interest in returning to Pittsburgh as a backup. That seems to render Woodley’s status as tenuous for two reasons. As it stands, the team has very little wiggle room financially (approximately $10MM over the cap). Additionally, conventional wisdom suggests 2013 first-rounder Jarvis Jones, whose arrow LeBeau believes is pointing up, will start at right outside linebacker next season.
Ostensibly, the club’s decision comes down to Worilds or Woodley, but in December, SI.com’s Chris Burke wrote why the Worilds-Woodley decision isn’t so cut-and-dried, explaining that Woodley has already restructured his six-year, $61.5MM deal ($17MM guaranteed) once before, resulting in him being owed more than $25MM in base salary the next three seasons. What’s more, if Woodley is cut before June 1, the team incurs a dead-money cap hit of $14.2MM, meaning it cannot simply dump Woodley to make room for Worilds, who will be snapped up in free agency in March.
Aside from begging Woodley to accept another restructuring, the most realistic scenario might be waiting until after June 1 to release Woodley, enabling the team to spread the cap hit over two seasons. Regardless the outcome, the Steelers will have to get creative in order to create financial flexibility in 2014 and beyond, and that undoubtedly means severing ties with established veterans.