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Rishard Matthews

AFC Mailbags: Jets, Patriots, Ravens

January 30th, 2016 at 9:45am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. We’ve compiled some of the more notable answers below…

Dolphins Rumors: Miller, Cameron, Matthews

January 11th, 2016 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Dolphins are expected to make plenty of changes on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, after the addition of blockbuster free agent Ndamukong Suh failed to make the unit a formidable one in 2015. However, there are many moves coming on offense as well, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details.

After Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner underperformed this past season, the Dolphins realized they’ll “need to do what it takes” to upgrade at the position, perhaps on both sides of the line, according to Jackson. While the Dolphins may target a top free agent such as Ravens guard Kelechi Osemele, the team’s pursuit of a player like that will depend how high the bidding gets.

Let’s round up a few more of Jackson’s notes on how Mike Tannenbaum, along with new GM Chris Grier and head coach Adam Gase, will try to retool the Dolphins’ offense….

  • The Dolphins don’t expect to engage in serious talks with free agent running back Lamar Miller for several weeks, and the chances of Miller staying with Miami “depend on the economics,” a club official tells Jackson. In other words, the club won’t overpay, since 2015 draftee Jay Ajayi could step in and compete for more carries. The Fins don’t want to spend big at the position.
  • While the Dolphins are happy with their starting tackles, they plan on finding a new swing tackle to replace Jason Fox.
  • One Dolphins official on tight end Jordan Cameron: “There’s a lot to like about him, but we wish there was more production.” The team’s front office is fond of Cameron, but will probably want to reduce his cap hit ($9.5MM) if he stays on the roster.
  • Wide receiver Rishard Matthews acknowledges that he’s more likely to sign elsewhere than to return to the Dolphins. “I would have to be offered something I can’t refuse [to re-sign],” Matthews said.
  • Quarterback Logan Thomas indicated that Tannenbaum told him he’ll have a legitimate chance to compete for the Dolphins’ backup job behind Ryan Tannehill next season. As Jackson notes, that seems to leave the future of Matt Moore – a pending free agent – in doubt.

Dolphins Place Rishard Matthews On IR

January 2nd, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rishard Matthews may have played his final game with the Dolphins, with the fourth-year receiver heading to injured reserve, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.

The Dolphins promoted linebacker Mike Hull from the practice squad to assume Matthews’ Week 17 roster spot, ESPN.com’s James Walker reports (on Twitter).

Missing the past four games, Matthews entered Miami’s Week 17 clash with the Patriots with a questionable designation. However, the team shelved the 26-year-old free agent-to-be who has missed December after fracturing ribs against the Jets late last month.

Thought to be on the outside of the Dolphins’ receiver rotation after the team traded for Kenny Stills, signed Greg Jennings and drafted DeVante Parker, Matthews proved to be the team’s best outside target for most of the season.

The above moves prompted a disgruntled Matthews to demand a preseason relocation, but the 2012 seventh-rounder went on to have his best season. Matthews’ 662 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games represented notable progressions from his previous three years’ work.

As a result of his contract-year campaign that may have produced 1,000 yards if he’d stayed healthy and a thin receiver market, Matthews figures to draw steady attention this offseason.

Parker and Jarvis Landry are the Fins’ cornerstones at receiver, but beyond Alshon Jeffery, the upcoming free agency class of receivers lags far behind 2015’s. Travis Benjamin, Rueben Randle and Jermaine Kearse are among the top names out there.

 

Extra Points: Washington, Cutler, Cowboys, Fins, Bolts, Jags

December 12th, 2015 at 9:14pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Washington will head to Chicago on Sunday to face the Jay Cutler-led Bears as it looks to stay atop the NFC East heap. Besides the matchup’s playoff implications, adding further intrigue is that Cutler – whom the Bears acquired in a trade with Denver in 2009 – was minutes from being Washington’s quarterback, as ESPN’s John Keim writes.

“You know how much time I put into that? A lot. Months. Dan [Snyder] put in a lot, too,” said Vinny Cerrato, who was Washington’s executive vice president at the time. “It was disappointing because at times we thought we had a deal then they called and said, no. Then they called back and said, ‘Hold on. If the deal falls through, we’ll trade him to you.’ Then it was like, ‘No, it didn’t work.'”

Cutler hasn’t exactly been a franchise quarterback for the Bears, but he has fared better than the slew of passers Washington has used since failing to acquire him. Washington has started Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, John Beck, Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy and current No. 1 Kirk Cousins throughout Cutler’s time in Chicago, Keim notes. Among that group, the club invested a fair amount in an ineffective McNabb and a boatload in RGIII, who hasn’t taken a snap this year and is all but guaranteed to be with another franchise next season.

Landing Cutler would’ve cost Washington plenty – a first-round pick, a fourth-rounder and QB Jason Campbell – but Cerrato believes Mike Shanahan’s presence would’ve helped make it worthwhile. Shanahan coached Cutler with the Broncos from 2006-08 and went on to hold the same position in Washington from 2010-13. Cutler threw 54 touchdowns against 37 interceptions in 37 games under Shanahan and amassed a career-best 4,526 passing yards in 2008.

“Mike knew him and what made him tick,” Cerrato said. “It would have given the organization a shot in the arm. Some like him and some don’t, but he’d have played his best football because of the way he is with Mike … It was like a punch in the gut.”

We’ll never know how another helping of Cutler-Shanahan would’ve gone, but one thing’s obvious: Had it happened, it would’ve changed both franchises dramatically – not necessarily for the better in either case, of course.

More from around the NFL as we draw closer to Washington-Chicago and the rest of Sunday’s Week 14 action:

  • Cowboys owner Jerry Jones criticized the team’s coaching staff earlier this week. On Friday, he laid some of the blame for Dallas’ 4-8 record on himself – specifically for his handling of the backup quarterback position last offseason. “On the other hand, if you want to look at any aspect of this team you can say well, if we would have been in better shape had you had Matt Cassel in the spring, rather than (Brandon) Weeden, and I’m not trying to knock Weeden, but if we would have had a guy like Cassel in here than we might have made a difference there, so put that one ultimately on my shoulders for sure,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan, per Josh Clark of CBS DFW.
  • Dolphins rookie receiver DeVante Parker – whom the team chose 14th overall in this year’s draft – started quietly but has come on strong over the last two weeks, combining for seven catches, 143 yards and two touchdowns. With Parker seemingly emerging as a playmaker and Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills also part of the Dolphins’ long-term receiving corps, the end of Rishard Matthews‘ tenure in Miami could come this offseason, according to the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero. Matthews, a fourth-year man who’s in the top two among Dolphins in receptions (43), targets (60), yards (662), yards per catch (15.4) and touchdowns (four) this year, is scheduled to hit free agency in a few months.
  • Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was impressive on 12 carries against Denver last Sunday, rushing for 55 yards, but head coach Mike McCoy benched the first-round rookie because of fumbling issues. Gordon coughed the ball up twice in a 17-3 loss, giving him five fumbles on the season. McCoy’s decision to sit Gordon was wrong, Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune offers. In Canepa’s opinion, with the season effectively over for the 3-9 Bolts, McCoy and his staff should be coaching Gordon through his struggles and letting him play – not relegating him to the sideline.
  • The final quarter of the season will provide some important answers for the Jaguars, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Among them: the future statuses of receiver Marqise Lee, center Stefen Wisniewski, defenders Ryan Davis and Chris Smith, and kicker Jason Myers.

AFC East Notes: Marshall, T. Taylor, Dolphins

December 4th, 2015 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

Outside of the Patriots, no AFC East teams are shoo-ins for the playoffs, but none of the division’s other three clubs are out of the mix quite yet. The Dolphins and Bills will probably have to run the table – or come close to it – to earn postseason berths, so they badly need home wins this weekend against the Ravens and Texans, respectively. Even more interesting will be the battle of New York teams at the Meadowlands, where both the Jets and Giants badly need a win to remain in a comfortable position for a playoff spot.

As we wait to see how the AFC East’s matchups shake out this weekend, let’s round up the latest out of the division….

  • Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has yet to play a full season for the Jets, but he’s enjoying his time in New York, and doesn’t have interest in playing anywhere else before the end of his NFL career, as he tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “Once the Jets say, ‘We don’t need you anymore,’ I’m going to venture off into that world,” Marshall said. “I’m not playing for another team. Four is all I need. It’s too hard to make new friends and relationships and deal with different egos. I don’t like the business already. So I’m not trying to deal with that.” Marshall still has two years left on his contract with the Jets after the 2015 season.
  • Asked if he believes he could be the long-term answer at quarterback for the Bills, Tyrod Taylor deferred to the club’s decision-makers, as Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News details. “It’s up to the management,” Taylor said. “I’ll just continue to approach each and every day the same way. Hard work. Attitude. Continue to keep working.”
  • Having selected DeVante Parker in the first round of the 2015 draft, the Dolphins view the rookie as a building block and an eventual starter, meaning the club can afford to let wide receiver Rishard Matthews walk in free agency this winter, writes James Walker of ESPN.com. Walker thinks there’s only about a 20% chance that Miami re-signs Matthews.

AFC East Notes: Richardson, Jets, Dolphins

November 30th, 2015 at 9:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson has been labeled a menace, but he doesn’t see himself as a villain, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes.

“I want to set a good example,” Richardson said. “I made a few mistakes. I’m not a bad person. I just made two bad choices in my life.”

Richardson was clocked at 143 mph during a high-speed chase, with a legally registered handgun and a 12-year-old relative in the car. The star defensive lineman says that the incident does not define him as a person and he is working with the team psychologist to help him move beyond the arrest.

Here’s more out of the AFC East:

  • Richardson, 25 on Sunday, says he’s aware that both he and Muhammad Wilkerson are not going to get the paydays they seek from the Jets. “We both understand the situation,” Richardson said of the unlikelihood that he and Wilkerson will get big paydays from the Jets. “It’s his hometown. If he gets it and I don’t — I got one more year left. You never know what happens after that. I wouldn’t mind him staying in his own hometown. If I get the boot, then so (be it)… but you never know. Mo’s having a Pro Bowl season right now. His resume is going to be a little bit cleaner than mine.” Wilkerson fought for a long-term extension in the offseason but the two sides were unable to come to terms on a deal.
  • Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews suffered multiple fractured ribs yesterday against the Jets, a source tells Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). At this time, there’s no clear timetable for his return. Matthews, who is in a contract, has had a surprisingly strong season in Miami. The 26-year-old has hauled in 43 catches for 662 yards and 4 touchdowns across 11 games this year.
  • The Patriots worked out wide receiver/return specialist Damaris Johnson and running back Terrence Magee, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

East Notes: Redd, R. Matthews, Richardson

November 18th, 2015 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Washington running back Silas Redd has been suspended for violating the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Like teammate Junior Galette, who was hit with a suspension of his own this week, Redd is on injured reserve, meaning the suspension won’t force him out of action for any games he wouldn’t have missed anyway. However, it will cost him a few game checks. Redd will begin serving the four-game ban immediately, and will miss out on 4/17ths of his base salary for this season.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

  • With wide receiver Rishard Matthews enjoying a breakout year for the Dolphins, he could be in line for a contract worth between $4-6MM this offseason, according to the industry sources that have spoken to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. For their part, the Dolphins reportedly haven’t engaged in extension discussions with Matthews.
  • While Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson still may be disciplined by the NFL for his off-field behavior, it likely won’t happen until the offseason, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. As Rapoport explains, Richardson’s court date is in January, and the league isn’t expected to make a ruling on discipline until the case is resolved.
  • The Eagles are doing poorly on special teams this season and Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News blames exec/coach Chip Kelly for not retaining James Casey, Chris Polk, Casey Matthews, and Brandon Boykin from last year’s squad.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Stacy, Fitzpatrick, Pats, Fins

November 13th, 2015 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

With Bilal Powell sidelined in recent weeks, Zac Stacy has seen a little more action in the Jets‘ backfield as a backup to Chris Ivory, and even got a chance to act as the team’s kick returner on Thursday night. However, those kick-return duties resulted in an injury for Stacy, who fractured his ankle, according to head coach Todd Bowles (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post).

While Stacy has yet to officially land on injured reserve, the injury figures to end his season. Powell is expected to return from his own ankle injury soon, so the team may not need to another running back to its roster, with Powell and Stevan Ridley available to back up Ivory.

As we wait to see what roster move the Jets make in the wake of Stacy’s injury, let’s round up a few more notes from around the AFC East….

  • Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s game, Bowles also confirmed that Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will have surgery on his left thumb on Friday, and should be ready to play vs. the Texans in Week 11 (Twitter links via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News).
  • Given how well they’ve played this year, Patriots defenders Dont’a Hightower, Chandler Jones, and Jamie Collins all appear to be in line for big new contracts at some point in the not-too-distant future, writes Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. All three players will see their current deals expire at the end of the 2016 season, and Howe believes that all three could earn $10MM+ annually on their next contracts, so it’ll be interesting to see if New England tries to retain all of them beyond next season.
  • The Dolphins have not approached wide receiver Rishard Matthews, who is in a contract year, about a new deal, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. It sounds to me like any extension discussions between the two sides before Matthews reaches free agency will happen after the season.
  • Free agent running back Bronson Hill paid a visit to the Dolphins this week, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

East Rumors: Richardson, Dolphins, Giants

July 3rd, 2015 at 6:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets‘ selection of Leonard Williams at No. 6 overall initially looked to put Muhammad Wilkerson in a corner regarding his pursuit of a contract extension. But after Sheldon Richardson‘s substance-abuse suspension Thursday that will keep him out four games, the Jets look like the ones at a disadvantage in the event of a Wilkerson holdout, writes Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk.

In reporting to minicamp, Wilkerson lobbied for a new contract. The fifth-year defensive end who’s curiously without a Pro Bowl invite, despite dominant seasons in 2012 and 2014 that ranked in the top 3 among 3-4 ends on Pro Football Focus (subscription required), will make $7MM this season after the Jets triggered Wilkerson’s fifth-year option.

Richardson’s reported marijuana-related offense could help his running mate, with Gang Green likely not wanting to go into the season with just Williams available for work among their first-round contingent of defensive linemen. Gantt also points out Williams’ arrival now may work against Richardson, with the team less likely to entertain the notion of extending the 2013 defensive rookie of the year’s contract when the time comes.

Here are some more notes from around the Eastern divisions.

  • Dolphins players are growing concerned about the team’s situation at guard, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. With the tackle and center spots sewn up with talented cogs, Miami hasn’t had a guard take command of a spot (although how much command could one take during padless minicamp/OTA sessions?). There have been positive reports of fourth-round rookie Jamil Douglas‘ progression, but the Fins will still head into training camp with guard as their biggest offensive uncertainty.
  • In the same report, Jackson notes the team’s wide receiver depth that once posed concern after the departures of Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline now appears solid. Players reportedly view Rishard Matthews — who could sit behind Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, Greg Jennings and DeVante Parker — as a talent who could thrive if given a larger role. A former 2012 seventh-rounder, Matthews sought a trade or a release as recently as May due to dissatisfaction in playing as the No. 5 wideout. Matthews has 64 career catches for 734 yards and four scores.
  • A recent analysis conducted by Football Outsiders revealed the Eagles as the league’s healthiest team over the past two seasons, while the Giants are by far the most injury-stricken. Big Blue ranked last in the league for both the 2013 and 2014 campaigns but have slowly started to accept the sports science trends most notably thrust into the spotlight by the rival Eagles, writes the New York Post’s Jordan Ranaan. Despite Walter Thurmond‘s recent comments of Tom Coughlin being old school and resistant to these methods, Ranaan notes the Giants are now charting sleep schedules and placing chips onto players’ jerseys to measure explosiveness.

Rishard Matthews Seeks Trade Or Release

May 7th, 2015 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews, unhappy with his role in Miami, is boycotting the Dolphins’ voluntary workouts in the hopes of forcing a trade or his release, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Matthews wanted to be traded or cut by the Dolphins — Beasley’s fellow Herald scribe Armando Salguero reported the same thing back in February. Presumably, as the club moved on from veterans Mike Wallace, Brandon Gibson, and Brian Hartline, Matthews became more optimistic about getting an opportunity to see consistent offensive snaps in 2015.

However, the Dolphins actively sought out replacements for their departed wideouts, trading a third-round pick for Kenny Stills, signing Greg Jennings in free agency, and using their first-round pick on DeVante Parker. With Jarvis Landry still in the mix as well, the Dolphins “made clear through their actions” that the club still views Matthews as a No. 5 receiver, writes Beasley.

Matthews, 25, saw 67 targets and caught 41 of them back in 2013, but has otherwise been a little-used weapon on offense during his three years in Miami, seeing more action on special teams. The former seventh-round pick is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so his base salary is an affordable $660K, and the Dolphins would only have to carry about $13K on their cap if they dealt him.

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