NFC West Notes: Bennett, Seahawks, 49ers
Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett is still upset with his contract and Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) offered up a potential solution to the issue. He writes that Seattle could convert his $1MM 46-man active roster bonus ($62,500 per game) into base salary, which would give him some extra financial security. That gesture might not satisfy Bennett, who finds himself ranked 10th in average annual salary amongst 4-3 defensive ends and 27th in the NFL amongst all defensive linemen. Bennett is entering the year three of a four-year, $28.5MM deal.
- When asked if Anthony Davis plans on filing for reinstatement, allowing him to report to 49ers camp on time, the offensive lineman’s camp declined comment, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets. Meanwhile, based on what Davis has been posting on social media, it seems like he is training for a comeback, Maiocco writes.
- In this week’s mailbag, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com compared the expectations of the team under new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly versus where the bar was set in Jim Harbaugh‘s first season.
- Sad news this morning as we learned that former Cardinals head coach Dennis Green has passed away at the age of 67.
- An early June report indicated that the Rams were working on extensions for both general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher, but it sounds like little progress has been made on either front. Fisher is reportedly among the highest-paid coaches in the league, as he’s reportedly earning around $7MM annually.
Dennis Green Dead At Age 67
Former Vikings and Cardinals head coach Dennis Green has passed away, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Green was 67 years old. 
Green, who played running back at the University of Iowa, began his coaching career as a college assistant after a short playing stint in the CFL. Green climbed the college ranks in the 70s and got his first NFL break in 1979 when he became the 49ers’ special teams coach. After that, he returned to the NCAA to serve as Stanford’s offensive coordinator and as head coach at Northwestern. After returning to the 49ers as wide receivers coach and a two-year run as the head coach at Stanford, Green was hired as the Vikings head coach prior to the 1992 season.
Green, who was only the third black head coach in NFL history, guided the Vikings to the playoffs eight times in his ten seasons at the helm and only saw a losing record in 2001, his final season in Minnesota. After ten years of dealing with the NFL grind, Green spent two years as a broadcaster with ESPN. He returned to football in 2004 when the Cardinals hired him as head coach. Unfortunately, Green did not enjoy the same on field success in Arizona as he did in Minnesota and he was dismissed after the 2006 season.
In total, Green went 113-94 as an NFL head coach and his teams posted a combined 97-62 record with the Vikings. Putting his accomplishments aside, Green will be remembered as a fantastic motivator and all around great person. We here at PFR extend our condolences to Green’s friends and family.
Opinion: 49ers Now Unlikely To Extend Aaron Lynch
Linebacker Aaron Lynch‘s four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy will not only put a cap on his 2016 production, but make an long-term extension with the 49ers increasingly unlikely, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. The 23-year-old Lynch, considered perhaps the best edge rusher on San Francisco’s roster, is a building block on a club that isn’t expected to win many games during the upcoming season. He’ll be eligible for a new deal after the 2016 campaign, but general manager Trent Baalke & Co. will likely want to ensure that Lynch can be trusted before locking him up for the long haul, per Maiocco.
Aaron Rodgers On Why 49ers Passed On Him
- In an interview with HBO’s Bill Simmons, the Packers‘ Aaron Rodgers relayed the possible reason why the 49ers passed on him with the first pick in the 2005 draft (via CSNBayArea.com). “The story that I heard—and I don’t know if it’s true or not—that Mike Nolan said that when he saw Alex (Smith) open the car door for his mom that he knew that was the quarterback he wanted,” Rodgers said of Nolan, who was then the 49ers’ head coach. “And I said, ‘Well, I was at lunch with him. My mom wasn’t there and my dad wasn’t there.” Smith, now with the Chiefs, has experienced a fine career after some initial growing pains, but Rodgers – who fell to the 24th selection that year – is a Super Bowl champion and a Pro Football Hall of Fame shoo-in. Nolan, who may have taken the wrong QB based on preposterous rationale, is out of work after spending last season as the linebackers coach in San Diego. The 49ers went 18-37 during his three-plus-year tenure.
49ers LB Aaron Lynch Suspended Four Games
The 49ers announced that linebacker Aaron Lynch has been suspended for four games by the NFL. Lynch will not be paid for the first month of the season after running afoul of the league’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. 
Lynch will be eligible to return to the 49ers active roster on Monday, October 3rd following the team’s Sunday contest against Cowboys. In the interim, Lynch is eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.
“While disappointed to hear the news regarding Aaron today, we support and respect the league’s decision. We are confident that he will learn from this matter and that he understands what is expected of him moving forward,” 49ers GM Trent Baalke said in a statement.
Lynch, 23, has appeared in 30 games for SF over the last two years with 16 total starts. In his rookie year, Lynch made a mark when he tallied 23 tackles and 6 sacks. This past year, he improved on those numbers in a 14-game season, racking up 38 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
With Lynch sidelined, the Niners may rely more on outside linebackers Eli Harold and Corey Lemonier to pick up the slack. For a full view of San Francisco’s depth chart, check out their page on Roster Resource.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chiefs, Eric Berry Will Not Agree To Deal
3:17pm: Chiefs GM John Dorsey issued the following statement:
“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a long-term agreement with Eric’s representatives before today’s deadline. Although both sides would have preferred a different outcome, Eric is a true professional and a tremendous football player, and we know that he will continue to be a leader in our locker room. We look forward to resuming our discussions on a long-term agreement when the negotiating window reopens after the season.”
2:48pm: The two sides never agreed on a single component of a potential deal, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
2:43pm: During talks with Berry, the Chiefs proposed that he pay for a disability policy that named the club as beneficiary, sources tell Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The club later backed off of that request, however. Garafolo (Twitter link) adds that there is some precedent for such a move, including the deals of Niners players Colin Kaepernick and Joe Staley.
12:57pm: The Chiefs and Eric Berry will not agree to a long-term deal today, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). Berry has yet to ink his $10.81MM franchise tender, but he is expected to do that soon. After playing out the season on that one-year contract, the Chiefs will have the option of hitting Berry with the tag once again, but at an increased rate. 
Berry has been the face of the Chiefs’ organization for some time and heading into this offseason, many expected the two sides to come to a long-term agreement. However, Berry’s camp and KC have been “miles apart” on terms and the gap apparently never closed.
Berry, who earned Pro Bowl nods in three of his first four NFL seasons, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014, raising some doubts about his future in the league. However, the veteran safety was declared cancer-free in 2015 and enjoyed one of his best seasons this past year for the Chiefs. Appearing in all 16 games for Kansas City in 2015, Berry logged 61 tackles to go along with a pair of interceptions and 10 passes defended. Pro Football Focus ranked the Tennessee product sixth among 88 qualified safeties, and the standout season earned Berry his fourth Pro Bowl berth, along with a spot on the NFL’s All-Pro first team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Plan To Carry Over Cap Space
- General manager Trent Baalke considers the 49ers to be a “draft-and-develop” team, but because the club hasn’t fulfilled the latter part of that equation in recent years, San Francisco will continue roll cap space into future years, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes. Joe Staley, Colin Kaepernick, NaVorro Bowman, and Quinton Dial are the only 49ers who have been extended lately, and because the team’s front office doesn’t anticipate spending money on big-ticket free agent additions, they’ll likely continue to have gobs of cap space. San Francisco currently leads the league with more than $49MM in financial wiggle room.
7 Teams That Could Trade For Nick Foles
A little over 15 months ago, the Rams acquired Nick Foles from the Eagles and quickly locked him into a two-year extension worth $24.5MM, handing him more than $12MM in guaranteed money. After starting 11 games, and completing less than 57% of his passes while posting a 7:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Foles was benched for Case Keenum, and remained on the sidelines for the rest of season.
Given that Los Angeles traded up to acquire the No. 1 overall pick and select Jared Goff, Foles is clearly not in the club’s plans, as Keenum and 2015 draft choice Sean Mannion are projected to make the squad. Foles is unhappy with his position on the club and didn’t attend OTAs, and with the Rams exploring a trade, Foles isn’t expected to be with the team at the start of training camp — at the very least, he’ll be dealt away (or possibly released) before Week 1.
Foles, 27, drew trade interest around draft time, but ultimately wasn’t moved. Albert Breer of The MMQB recently reported that Los Angeles is holding onto Foles for the time being in the hopes that he could accrue more value as training camp approaches. An injury could spur other teams to inquire about Foles, but his contract is also a plus. Because the Rams already paid out Foles’ guaranteed $6MM roster bonus, an acquiring club would only be on the hook for Foles’ $1.75MM base salary — a palatable figure for a backup quarterback.
With that preamble out of the way, let’s take a look at a few teams that could express interest in Foles…
Dallas Cowboys — The 2015 Cowboys season showed just how valuable a backup quarterback can be, as Dallas ran through Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden, and Kellen Moore as Tony Romo dealt with injury. That threesome posted a combined 1-11 record, leaving Cowboys fans wondering what could have been had the club had a competent No. 2 signal-caller. Moore is set to return as the backup, with fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott scheduled to handle clipboard duties, as Roster Resource shows. Foles would be an improvement over both of those options, and Dallas was one of several teams that Ian Rapoport of NFL.com linked to Foles at the beginning of the league year.
Detroit Lions — The Lions re-signed backup Dan Orlovsky this offseason, but they only handed the veteran $160K guaranteed on a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract, so they could easily move on if they were to acquire Foles. Elsewhere on the roster, Detroit boasts 2016 sixth-round pick Jake Rudock, who has yet to inspire confidence. “There’s not a phase that he has under control at this point in time,” head coach Jim Caldwell said of Rudock earlier this month. Matthew Stafford has been remarkably durable since a lost 2010 season, as he hasn’t missed a single start over the past five years, so giving up anything of value for Foles might not be worth it.
Indianapolis Colts — Like the Lions, the Colts have a somewhat reputable backup option in Scott Tolzien, whom they signed to a two-year deal that contains $500K guaranteed. Because of that amount of guaranteed cash, Indianapolis is highly unlikely to move on from Tolzien at any point this season, so they’re probably among the least likely teams on this list to go after Foles. But I included them here because Tolzien is far from a lock as a No. 2 quarterback. He’s probably gained some recognition over the years for serving as Aaron Rodgers‘ backup, but Tolzien has only attempted 91 passes during his career — most of those attempts came back in 2013, when he tossed five interceptions against just one touchdown.
Kansas City Chiefs — Andy Reid is a known developer of quarterback talent, and the Chiefs have brought in several backup options over the past couple years, investing draft capital in Kevin Hogan and Aaron Murray, while signing (and then extending) undrafted free agent Tyler Bray. The only problem? None of those signal-callers have ever taken a snap in an NFL game, which means Kansas City could be in a precarious position if Alex Smith goes down. Foles, then, would represent a bit more certainty at the No. 2 position.
New York Jets — Though negotiations between the Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick continue to drag on, it still seems like the two sides will eventually come to an agreement. If that happens, New York clearly won’t be in the market for another quarterback. But as things currently stand, Foles would represent an upgrade over Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty, and is perhaps on par with fellow starting option Geno Smith. General manager Mike Maccagnan said during the draft that he wasn’t aiming to acquire another quarterback, but that was before talks with Fitzpatrick stalled.
San Francisco 49ers — Whether or not the Rams would be open to trading within their division is an open question, but Foles had the most success of his career under current 49ers head coach Chip Kelly, tossing 27 touchdowns in 2013 when the duo was with the Eagles. Still, San Francisco looks set to go forward with a competition between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, so Foles might not be the best fit, especially given that Kaepernick’s base salary is fully guaranteed.
Seattle Seahawks — Again, it’s not clear if Los Angeles would want to trade Foles to another team in the NFC West, but the Seahawks have very little between Russell Wilson. Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t look to be an option after being arrested on Friday, so it looks as though the club will go with undrafted free agent Trevone Boykin as their backup signal-caller. Boykin, like Wilson, offers mobility in and outside the pocket, so Seattle might prefer him to Foles, who sometimes resembles a statue under center.
Some of these clubs make more sense than others — the Cowboys, for example, stand out as a club that could certainly use an upgrade at backup quarterback. Additionally, it’s reasonable to expect that the Rams find they can’t acquire anything of value in exchange for Foles, and are instead forced to release him. If that’s the case, this list simply becomes a catalog of clubs who could express interest in signing the veteran quarterback.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Sign Third-Round Pick Will Redmond
The list of unsigned 2016 draft picks shortened to 10 on Thursday night after the 49ers reached an agreement to sign Will Redmond, CSNBayArea.com reports.
Redmond entered Thursday as one of five third-rounders yet to sign, but San Francisco moved a step closer to wrapping up its draft class by coming to terms with the cornerback out of Mississippi State. For the 49ers, only first-round lineman Joshua Garnett remains unsigned.
The 22-year-old corner saw action in three seasons for the Bulldogs, playing in 27 games and making seven starts — all of which coming during the 2015 season. He made 25 tackles and two interceptions for Mississippi State last season, and despite the lack of experience as a starter decided to leave school early.
His accord leaves Max Tuerk (Chargers), Carl Nassib (Browns), Kevin Byard (Titans) and Maliek Collins (Cowboys) as the lone remaining third-round picks yet to sign with their respective teams. The CBA being murky on the compensation coming for third-round picks has led to these selections’ longer negotiation processes.
As for the 49ers, they remain somewhat thin at cornerback, prompting Redmond’s selection. As Roster Resource details, Tramaine Brock and former first-round safety Jimmie Ward are in line to start for the NFC’s Bay Area franchise, with Kenneth Acker being the only component with much experience behind the projected first-teamers.
However, the 49ers already came to terms with fourth-round pick Rashard Robinson, so he figures to battle Redmond for playing time behind San Francisco’s starters come training camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reggie Bush Says Two Teams Have Interest
Free agent running back Reggie Bush says that he has received calls from two interested NFL teams this offseason (Twitter link via SiriusXM NFL Radio), though he did not specify which teams have inquired on him. Bush added that he is taking his time in the process and wants to do things “the right way,” which likely means that no deal is imminent for the 31-year-old. 
[RELATED: 49ers Bullish On Blaine Gabbert]
Bush announced in February that he is intent on playing in 2016, though it was unclear at the time whether that feeling was being reciprocated back from any of the league’s 32 teams. Now, if Bush is to be believed, there are at least a pair of clubs that would be interested in having him aboard.
The Lions cut Bush prior to the 2015 season to save money after he missed much of the previous campaign with ankle injuries. Bush went on to sign the 49ers, but he played just five games before tearing his left ACL on the concrete at the Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis. Bush later sued the St. Louis Regional Convention and Stadium Authority over his injury, which capped his season’s statline at a grand total of 28 yards. Now, Bush says he has recovered from his ACL tear.
“I feel healthy and can make an impact on the field,” Bush told SiriusXM (Twitter link). “I think I’ve benefited from playing in different offenses.”
Despite getting heavy run as the lead back in Miami and Detroit between 2011 and 2013, he probably would only carry value as a third-down specialty back if he returns for the 2016 season. Any deal he signs will likely be light on guarantees.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.