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NFL Workouts/Visits: 1/8/16

January 8th, 2016 at 9:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As teams look ahead to formulating their offseason rosters, they’ve begun to bring in free agents for both workouts and visits. Let’s look at the latest:

Workouts

Chargers (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

  • Freddie Bishop, DL
  • Euclid Cummings, DE
  • Cleyon Laing, DL

Chiefs (Twitter link via Wilson)

Jaguars (Twitter link via Wilson)

Ravens (Twitter link via Wilson)

Steelers (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Freddie Bishop, DL
  • Dexter McCoil, LB
  • Eric Rogers, WR
  • Dustin Vaughan, QB

Washington (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Cleyon Laing, DL
  • Eric Rogers, WR

Visits

Cardinals (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Toby Johnson, DT (prior to signing with Vikings’ practice squad)

Chiefs (Twitter links via Wilson)

Giants (Twitter link via Wilson)

Steelers (Twitter link via Wilson)

Latest On Los Angeles Relocation Talks

January 8th, 2016 at 7:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

With the league’s owners set to head to Houston next week to discuss and vote on moving an NFL team to Los Angeles, let’s take a look at the latest on the situation:

  • Owners are highly motivated to move a team (or teams) to Los Angeles, write Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times, but that doesn’t mean next week’s meetings will be a cakewalk. Each proposal submitted by the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders has support — but each also has enough detractors to stymie it. The entire situation is uncertain, and the league is hoping that a vote isn’t called for until a consensus is reached. One interesting note: the Times scribes report that whichever team(s) loses out in its bid to move to LA will likely aim to relocate to a city vacated by a club that does get to transfer to southern California.
  • The outcome of next week’s meetings are “very much up in the air,” a source familiar with the talks tells Mark Maske of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The source also conceded that he has “no idea” what will happen at the summit.
  • The next step in the process for the three teams involved is to agree to and sign the final draft of “certification” papers that they each received today, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3). Once each club has signed and returned the documents, the league’s LA committee will make a formal recommendation about one of the projects prior to next week’s meetings.
  • One key component to the relocation efforts is that clubs applying to move to Los Angeles are not allowed to sue the NFl after the process is complete, reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
  • Cole also reports (via Twitter) that two NFL teams have presented alternate plans that would solve the three-team race. The Cowboys have submitted a plan that likely includes the Rams heading to Inglewood, while another club is to suggest delaying the process entirely (link).
  • The St. Louis stadium task force fired back at Stan Kroenke‘s comments about the city, deeming the Rams owner “cruel and unbecoming” in a letter to all 32 teams and the league office. Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal has the details in a TwitLonger link.

FA Rumors: Brooks, JPP, Gates, James Jones

January 8th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Bills cornerback Ron Brooks is eligible for free agency this offseason, but he technically remains under contract with the team until the new league year begins in March. Perhaps he was reminded of that this afternoon.

Earlier today, Brooks published a tweet that read, “Preciate everybody with the @Buffalobills and the great fans of WNY!!! It’s been a good ride. Sad to leave but business is business.” He has since deleted the tweet.

It’s not clear whether Brooks plans or expects to leave the Bills, or he was just a little premature in assuming his free agency. Either way, with the tweet deleted, we may have to wait until March to find out the fate of the defensive back and special-teamer.

Here are some other Friday updates on players eligible for free agency this winter:

  • Appearing on The Michael Kay Show, Giants co-owner John Mara confirmed that he’d like to see his team bring back Jason Pierre-Paul. However, he cautioned that it will depend on the price, adding that the Giants “have to see more before [Pierre-Paul] gets paid like the top free agents in this league” (Twitter links via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News). A report last week suggested there’s mutual interest between JPP and the Giants in having the veteran defensive end re-sign with the team.
  • Antonio Gates has previously indicated he’ll likely return for at least one more season in 2016, and if he does, the Chargers would love to have him back, general manager Tom Telesco said today, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
  • Another veteran pass catcher, Packers wideout James Jones, says he’d love to stay in Green Bay and finish his career with the team. However, as Jason Wilde of ESPN.com details, Jones acknowledges that he wasn’t necessarily counting on a multiyear stint when he re-signed with the Packers in 2015. “I kind of felt, ‘You’re here on a one-year deal; Jordy [Nelson] comes back next year; they’ve got a bright young star in Davante [Adams], drafted Ty [Montgomery], got Randall [Cobb],’ so my expectation was not to really fight for a contract here,” Jones said. “I’d love to finish it out, but at the same time, we’ll see.”

Breer’s Latest: Cousins, Bucs, L.A., Titans

January 8th, 2016 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest notes column for NFL.com, Albert Breer of the NFL Network takes a closer look at the group of top quarterbacks in the 2016 draft class, before exploring several other noteworthy topics from around the NFL. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

  • Washington continues to plan on having Kirk Cousins back next season, as has been previously reported. Sources tell Breer that the team wants to lock up Cousins to a long-term contract before the deadline to apply franchise or transition tags to players. But if the two sides can’t work something out by then, Washington is “fully prepared” to franchise its quarterback.
  • Having worked in Arizona and observed the relationship between Steve Keim and Bruce Arians, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht would like to create a similar dynamic in Tampa Bay. Licht wants to hire a head coach who “he can challenge and be challenged by, without anyone getting offended.” The ideal candidate for the Bucs would also “instill toughness” and “set a culture,” and those are considered more important factors than whether a coach is offensive- or defensive-minded, according to Breer.
  • At this point, among the NFL’s team owners, there are two distinct camps when it comes to the Los Angeles relocation proposals — one camp is focused on the projects, and favors the Rams‘ proposal, while the other camp is focused on the owners and teams involved, and favors the Chargers‘ and Raiders‘ Carson plan. Neither side has the necessary votes, and it won’t be easy to obtain them, says Breer.
  • There’s concern within the Titans organization about how often their quarterbacks – particularly Marcus Mariota – have been hit and injured over the last couple seasons. Breer suggests that could be a factor that makes the team shy away from hiring Chip Kelly, since his quarterbacks in Philadelphia were frequently injured as well. Of course, one could argue that those injuries were the result of bad luck and/or poor offensive line play, rather than being coaching-related, but Michael Vick and Nick Foles both went down while playing behind solid lines for the Eagles.
  • The Browns‘ head coaching job certainly isn’t considered the most desirable one among the seven that are currently available, but coaches consider it significant to have a direct line to a team’s owner, and Cleveland’s next coach will report directly to Jimmy Haslam, Breer observes.

Coach Rumors: Holmgren, Giants, Dolphins

January 8th, 2016 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike Holmgren has reportedly expressed interest in the 49ers‘ head coaching job for the second consecutive year, and ESPN’s Bill Williamson (Twitter link) hears that the veteran NFL coach would still be open to talking to teams — especially the Niners. However, San Francisco has not yet contacted Holmgren about the team’s head coaching job, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.

  • Momentum appears to be building for Doug Marrone as a Giants head coaching candidate, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who writes that several league insiders have mentioned Marrone to him within the past couple days. Depending on how Saturday’s interview goes, the former Bills head coach could emerge as a serious candidate for the Giants.
  • Before meeting with Marrone tomorrow, the Giants spoke to Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase today about their head coaching job, confirming in a press release that the interview has completed.
  • The Dolphins confirmed today in a press release that they’ve interviewed interim head coach Dan Campbell for the permanent job in Miami. Campbell is one of two interviewees for the Dolphins today, along with Marrone.
  • Chargers interim special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman will likely take the permanent role for 2016, general manager Tom Telesco said today, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).

Chargers Extend Mike McCoy Through 2017

January 8th, 2016 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Four days after announcing that they would be retaining Mike McCoy for the 2016 season, the Chargers have gone one step further. General manager Tom Telesco announced today that the club has added another year to McCoy’s contract, extending him through 2017 (Twitter link). The agreement will keep the San Diego head coach from entering ’16 on a lame-duck deal.Mike McCoy

In a statement on Monday confirming the decision to retain McCoy, Chargers president of football operations John Spanos admitted that he was disappointed with the club’s results in 2015. However, he expressed confidence in San Diego’s decision-making group going forward.

“I have the utmost confidence in our leadership. Tom Telesco, Mike McCoy, and I have already begun evaluating every aspect of the team to take the essential steps to put a winning product back on the field. We will waste no time in making the necessary changes,” Spanos said. “Throughout a trying season, our players never wavered in their dedication or commitment to the team. I firmly believe the decisions made today and moving forward will get us back on track in 2016.”

Since then, the club has parted ways with offensive coordinator Frank Reich, with Telesco indicating today that the Chargers want to go in a different direction on offense, and are hoping for “a little bit more balanced” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Philip Rivers led the NFL in 2015 with 661 passing attempts, easily topping second-place finisher Drew Brees (627). Per Telesco, the Chargers have spoken to a “good amount of people” this week about the six vacancies on their coaching staff, but haven’t yet met with Ken Whisenhunt, who is considered a candidate to return to the team as its offensive coordinator (Twitter link via Gehlken).

As for McCoy, he’ll continue on as the Chargers’ head coach whether the franchise is playing its games in San Diego or Los Angeles in 2016. In his three years with the club, he has compiled a 22-26 record, though the 4-12 mark in 2015 contributes significantly to bringing down his winning percentage. San Diego was 9-7 in consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014, winning a playoff game in McCoy’s first year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: M. Lewis, Flacco, Smallwood, L.A.

January 7th, 2016 at 5:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Marcedes Lewis is eligible for free agency this winter, but the Jaguars tight end is hopeful he won’t reach the open market, preferring to work out a new deal that keeps him in Jacksonville, as Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com details.

“You rarely see players play 10 years for one team, let alone finish their career [with the same team], so it’s something that I want to be able to do,” Lewis said. “Hopefully we can get it done before all the other stuff even starts, if it’s possible. … I know where I want to be.”

As Lewis notes, he has spent the last decade with the Jaguars, catching 331 balls for the club during that stretch. Still, it’s not yet clear how serious the team will be about keeping him around going forward, now that Julius Thomas is in the mix. The 31-year-old hasn’t caught more than 25 passes since the 2012 season, and his 16 receptions in 2015 represented his lowest total since his rookie year, way back in 2006.

Here are more Thursday odds and ends from around the NFL:

  • Speaking this morning to Glenn Clark of PressBox (link via Justin Silberman of PressBoxOnline.com), Joe Linta – the agent for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco – was cagey about his client’s contract situation. Flacco is projected to have one of the league’s highest cap numbers, at $28.55MM, but Linta said there are no negotiations ongoing with the Ravens at this point, adding that the veteran QB isn’t in any rush to rework his deal. “I mean, that’s the price of these types of quarterbacks,” Linta said. “Every deal that’s going to be done is going to be in that realm.” Earlier today, GM Ozzie Newsome acknowledged that the Ravens would like to reduce Flacco’s 2016 cap hit, but said the team has a plan to work around it if it remains at $28MM+.
  • Big 12 rushing leader Wendell Smallwood changed his mind about staying at West Virginia, and has now decided to enter the 2016 NFL draft, as Allan Taylor of the West Virginia MetroNews writes. Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk notes that Smallwood will join teammate Daryl Worley in heading to the NFL, despite the fact that the cornerback doesn’t project as a top pick.
  • During Wednesday’s team owner meetings in New York, Panthers owner – and Carson supporter – Jerry Richardson was “silent all meeting,” according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who wonders if Richardson may be backing down from the joint Raiders–Chargers plan.
  • Cornerback Josh Norman is one of the most noteworthy players eligible for free agency this winter – he ranked third in PFR’s most recent free agent power rankings – but he says he won’t think about a new deal until the Panthers are eliminated from the playoffs or win the Super Bowl (link via ESPN’s David Newton). Meanwhile, GM Dave Gettleman admits it’s a “headache” trying to figure out how to keep Norman and all the other potential free agents the Panthers don’t want to lose, but he’s optimistic that the club will figure it out (link via Newton).

Eric Weddle Says There’s No Hope For Re-Signing With Chargers

January 7th, 2016 at 9:14am CST by Zachary Links

No huge surprise here, but Chargers safety Eric Weddle doesn’t envision re-signing with the club this offseason. The veteran clashed with the organization many times during his protracted contract battle and it appears that the relationship cannot be repaired. Eric Weddle (vertical)

“The last game was hard because I still thought there was hope to come back,” Weddle said, according to U-T San Diego. “But I don’t think that’s a possibility now.”

Weddle, a three-time Pro Bowler with San Diego, would reportedly be open to an offer from the Dolphins if he gets one. For his part, the safety says that winning a Super Bowl is his No. 1 priority and the opportunity to win will take priority over finding the biggest payday.

The 31-year-old said in December that he wouldn’t rule out re-signing with the club. Now, after things got extra ugly near the end of the regular season, Weddle has apparently done just that and he will set his sights on 31 other potential suitors.

The Bolts informed Weddle last month that he was being fined $10K for remaining on the field during halftime of a game to watch his daughter perform during a dance ceremony. While Weddle and agent David Canter declined to go public with the fine at the time, the agent opened up after the Chargers placed the safety on IR, a move that was made against his wishes. Per Canter, the team also informed Weddle that there would be no room for him to travel on the team plane to the regular season finale in Denver.

Weddle has been with the Chargers since being selected by the club in the second round of the 2007 draft. In his nine seasons with San Diego, he has appeared in 137 total regular season games (122 starts), earning three Pro Bowl berths and two All-Pro nods. The 2015 campaign was his first year without an interception — he has racked up 19 over the course of his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Los Angeles Relocation

January 6th, 2016 at 2:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest on Los Angeles:

  • The Rams‘ relocation bid contends that they have the best plan for both the city of Los Angeles and the NFL, as Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno write of the Los Angeles Times write. “The Rams’ Inglewood project presents the league and all of the member clubs with the best opportunity for successful long-term operations in Los Angeles,” the application said. Of course, the Rams are going up against a joint bid from the Chargers and Raiders, who claim that their Carson plan projected to open in 2019 is the best choice. Although the developers at the Inglewood site have long said their stadium would be ready for the 2018 season, the Rams’ application targets 2019 as the proposed start date as well.
  • The L.A. Times duo points out that the Rams are looking for more than regular NFL dates to be held at their venue – they also want to host the Pro Bowl, NFL Combine, and other major league events. The Rams also argue that they have the strongest L.A. fan base of the three teams seeking to relocate. That’s a bold claim considering the proximity of Oakland and San Diego.
  • The mayor of St. Louis has fired back at the Rams’ comments in the application, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com writes. Some highlights of Francis G. Slay’s comments on Twitter include: “I’d rather blame the Rams for an unimaginative offense than for harsh words in a sales document,” and “Blame Kroenke. #kroenkecomplaints.“
  • The Coliseum has been ID’s as a likely temporary site until a permanent L.A. stadium is built, but that venue has only committed to hosting one NFL team, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. It is possible that the NFL would need a second temporary site in order to bring over a second team.
  • Every owner entering meetings in New York City today is adamant about voting next week and not pushing the relocation vote off any further, Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego tweets.

Rams Owner May Build L.A. Stadium With Or Without NFL Approval

January 5th, 2016 at 10:31pm CST by Zachary Links

10:31pm: Inglewood mayor James Butts has since refuted the idea that the Hollywood Park stadium will be built no matter what, according to CBS St. Louis. While it’s still possible that Kroenk’s group will decide to move forward with the stadium even if the Rams don’t receive NFL approval to relocate, it’s not a certainty, the mayor told KMOX.

“The decision as to whether the stadium is ultimately built would be that of Hollywood Park Land Company, which is combined with the Kroenke Group,” Butts said. “That will only be determined by them at the time the [NFL’s] decision is made.”

9:56pm: Rams owner Stan Kroenke has plans to go ahead with a multibillion-dollar stadium and entertainment complex in Inglewood, California, even if the NFL votes down the Rams’ proposed move, Brian Feldt of St. Louis Business Journal writes. Kroenke claims that he will built a stadium that can host future World Cups, Olympics, award shows, and other major events if it cannot feature the Rams for 2016.Los Angeles (vertical)

[RELATED: Chargers, Rams, Raiders Apply For Los Angeles Relocation]

If Kroenke’s bid to move to Los Angeles is turned down by the NFL’s owners, Kroenke could either accept a proposed $1.1 billion stadium along St. Louis’ north Mississippi riverfront or remain in the Edward Jones Dome on a year-to-year basis. Each of the three teams vying for Los Angeles – the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders – will need to secure 24 yes votes in order to move.

In a matter of days at the owners meetings in Texas, we’ll find out which of those teams (if any) will get to move to Los Angeles. For his part, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt expects at least one NFL franchise to be play in L.A. in 2016, as The Associated Press writes.

“All three of those franchises have tremendous fan bases in their home markets,” he said. “In an ideal world, I’d like to see them all stay where they are. It probably won’t work out that way. There will probably be at least one team moving to LA. I can’t speculate who that might be.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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