Terrence Magee, Troymaine Pope Sign ERFA Tenders
- Patriots tight end Matt Lengel, Cardinals offensive tackle John Wetzel and defensive tackle Olsen Pierre, and Seahawks running backs Terrence Magee and Troymaine Pope have signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders, per Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com and Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Seahawks Notes: Sherman, Jordan, Alie-Cox
Although Richard Sherman doesn’t plan to attend the start of Seahawks workouts today, he is expected to report before OTAs, meaning he’ll be in attendance in early or mid May, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Sherman, of course, reportedly asked for a trade, and Seattle is now attempting to oblige him. After originally setting an ask of a first-round pick and another player, the Seahawks have reduced the Sherman price to a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional mid-round pick in 2018.
- Before inking Seahawks restricted free agent Garry Gilliam to a one-year, $2.2MM deal, the 49ers approached Gilliam with two- and three-year offers, both of which were rejected, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. By agreeing to a one-year commitment, Gilliam affords himself the possibility of reaching unrestricted free agency in 2018. Seattle had the option of matching San Francisco’s offer sheet, and though the Seahawks had five days to make a decision, they used just over 12 hours to turn down the terms. Gilliam will earn $1.4MM in guarantees under his new 49ers pact, while his RFA tender with Seattle would have paid him $1.797MM in non-guaranteed base salary.
- Defensive end Dion Jordan‘s one-year contract with the Seahawks is worth only $615K, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. The deal comes with a $25K workout bonus, but doesn’t contain any guarantees, meaning Seattle can move on without any dead money incurring on its salary cap. Additionally, Jordan agreed to a split salary: if he gets injured, the Seahawks will owe him only $378K. If Jordan does succeed this season, Seattle can keep him for 2018 as a restricted free agent. Because he entered the league as first-round pick, the Seahawks could use the original round tender to retain Jordan without worrying about another club signing him to an offer sheet.
- Collegiate basketball player and aspiring tight end Mo Alie-Cox is scheduled to meet with the Seahawks today, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who adds Alie-Cox has a visit lined up with the Colts on Monday. 30 NFL clubs attended a recent Alie-Cox audition, and teams are now hoping to sign the 6’7″ hoopster to play offense. Alie-Cox is not eligible for the draft, and is able to sign an NFL contract immediately.
Draft Deadline For Marshawn Lynch, Raiders Deal?
The Raiders haven’t yet hammered out a reworked contract with running back Marshawn Lynch, and he won’t be traded from Seattle to Oakland until a new deal is in place. The draft may present a deadline for a Lynch trade, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who notes the Raiders’ draft plans could alter their need for Lynch.
Oakland had hoped to have finished negotiations with Lynch (and the Seahawks) before the start of the club’s offseason program on Monday, per Rapoport. That didn’t happen, so the Raiders may be presented with a quandary when the draft begins next Thursday. If a running back the team likes is still on the board at No. 24, Oakland may simply “take the leap,” says Rapoport, and such a decision would likely end the Raiders’ pursuit of Lynch. For what it’s worth, I sent Florida State’s Dalvin Cook to the Raiders in PFR’s 2017 mock draft.
At present, the Raiders have only four backs on their roster: Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, Jamize Olawale, and Taiwan Jones, the latter of whom is essentially only a special teams player. Oakland could certainly use another runner on its depth chart after allowing Latavius Murray to walk in free agency, and for a time, Lynch’s arrival looked like a fait accompli.
Lynch has officially begun the process of reinstatement, although he won’t technically need to be reinstated in order to be dealt.
Seahawks Decline To Match 49ers’ Garry Gilliam Offer Sheet
The Seahawks have opted not to match the 49ers’ offer sheet to restricted free agent offensive tackle Garry Gilliam, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
San Francisco originally made a proposal earlier to Gilliam earlier this week, but Gilliam rejected the initial offer. The 49ers came back with a one-year deal worth $2.2MM ($1.4MM guaranteed). In contrast, Gilliam would have earned a non-guaranteed base salary of $1.797MM under the terms of his RFA tender with the Seahawks. Seattle deployed the original round tender on Gilliam, but because he entered the league as an undrafted free agent, the Seahawks won’t receive any draft pick compensation for his loss.
Gilliam, 26, will conceivably compete for time at right tackle with the 49ers. But it’s not clear he’ll be much of an upgrade over Trent Brown given that Gilliam graded as a bottom-10 offensive tackle in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. Gilliam does offer experience — 44 career games, including 30 starts — and will serve as a swing tackle, at worst. He’ll hit unrestricted free agency in 2018.
Seahawks’ Garry Gilliam Signs Offer Sheet With 49ers
Seahawks restricted free agent right tackle Garry Gilliam has signed an offer sheet with the NFC West rival 49ers, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. It’s a one-year, $2.2MM contract, including $1.4MM in guarantees, report ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Kapadia (Twitter links). Seattle will have five days to match the proposal, but if the team lets Gilliam go, it won’t receive any compensation for the 2014 undrafted free agent because it only assigned him an original-round tender (worth $1.797MM, with nothing guaranteed).
The 49ers hosted Gilliam on a visit last Thursday and subsequently offered him a multiyear deal, but he rejected it. By taking a one-year offer, Gilliam has set himself up to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason at the age of 27.
Since entering the NFL, Gilliam has totaled 30 starts, nearly all of which (29) came over the past two seasons. Gilliam’s performance across 14 appearances last season ranked just 71st among Pro Football Focus‘ 78 qualified tackles, making him one of the least effective parts of one of the league’s worst offensive lines. The 49ers’ O-line was also woeful, though PFF ranked their top right tackle, Trenton Brown (No. 55), higher than Gilliam.
Seahawks Host Malik McDowell
- Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell met with the Seahawks on Monday, tweets Rapoport, and will visit the Cowboys later this week, reports Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram. McDowell is among the top D-tackle prospects in a weak class of interior defenders, and might be a fit for Seattle at No. 26 or Dallas at No. 28.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/17
The latest minor moves…
- Raiders defensive end Denico Autry has signed his RFA tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Raiders gave the 2014 undrafted free agent an original-round tender, leading to speculation that he could draw interest from elsewhere. Instead, Autry will return to the Raiders on the heels of back-to-back three-sack seasons. ERFAs Seth Roberts (WR) and Denver Kirkland (G) are also back in the fold, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter).
- The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Kache Palacio, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Palacio, a former fullback who went undrafted out of Washington State last year, spent most of 2016 on Seattle’s practice squad.
- Lions ERFAs Brandon Copeland (DE), Kerry Hyder (DT) and T.J. Jones (WR) have signed their tenders, tweets Birkett. Dolphins ERFAs Mike Hull (LB) and Anthony Steen (C) did the same earlier Monday, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Panthers have re-upped restricted free agent guard Andrew Norwell and a pair of exclusive rights free agents – center Tyler Larsen and punter Michael Palardy – writes Bryan Strickland of their website. Carolina used a second-round tender on Norwell, who will earn $2.746MM in 2017. Norwell combined for 29 starts over the previous two seasons and ranked 11th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified guards last year.
- Steelers RFA cornerback Ross Cockrell has inked his original-round tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Cockrell went in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, so the Steelers would have been entitled to a fourth-rounder had Cockrell signed elsewhere and they elected against matching the offer. The 25-year-old caught on with the Steelers in 2015 and has since totaled 31 appearances, 23 starts and two interceptions. Cockrell started in every Steelers game last year, and his performance ranked an improve 28th among 111 qualified corners at PFF.
- Chiefs RFA kicker Cairo Santos has signed his tender, per Schefter (on Twitter). Santos, undrafted in 2014, received a low tender; as such, Kansas City wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had he gone elsewhere. The three-year veteran has connected on 84.3 percent of field goal attempts, including 88.6 percent last season (good for fifth in the league).
- Lions offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas has signed his RFA tender, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions assigned Lucas an original-rounder tender last month, so they wouldn’t have gotten a pick had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and they chose not to match. Lucas is now slated to make $1.797MM this year in Detroit, where he has started in six of 35 career appearances.
- The Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, tight end Cameron Brate, linebacker Adarius Glanton, and wide receivers Adam Humphries and Freddie Martino, per Scott Smith of the team’s website. As a restricted free agent, Griffin is the only one of the bunch who could have potentially gone elsewhere (the rest were exclusive rights free agents). The Bucs tendered the 2013 undrafted free agent at an original-round level last month, and he’ll now try to win the No. 2 role behind Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay’s previous second-stringer, Mike Glennon, is now the Bears’ starter.
- RFA defensive back Marcus Burley and ERFA running back George Atkinson III are returning to the Browns, per a team announcement. Burley, undrafted in 2013, received an original-round tender. The former Seahawk is coming off his first year in Cleveland, where he appeared in 12 games and played just under 40 percent of the Browns’ special teams snaps.
- Fullback Tommy Bohanon and receiver Larry Pinkard have signed with the Jaguars, tweets the team’s account. Bohanon is the only with NFL experience, having logged 36 appearances and 14 starts as a Jet from 2013-15.
- Speaking of the Jets, they have re-signed linebacker Julian Stanford (via Randy Lange of the team’s site). The Jets could Stanford on Friday, but both sides knew that was only a procedural move. Last season was the first as a Jet for the 26-year-old Stanford, who appeared in nine games (two starts) and played about a quarter of their defensive snaps and a third of their special teams snaps.
Marshawn Lynch, Raiders Nearing Deal
Beast Mode is back: Running back Marshawn Lynch has officially ended his retirement, agreeing to a contract with the Raiders, reports Michael Silver of NFL.com (Twitter link). Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but it figures to be worth far less than the $9MM Lynch would have made on his previous pact.
Not so fast, report several outlets — including Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Pelissero tweets that Lynch and the Raiders don’t quite have a deal yet. Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets the deal isn’t quite done but is expected to be completed soon.
Lynch is still under Seahawks control, meaning he can’t become a Raider until the two sides work out a trade. However, reaching a new contract was seemingly the only major obstacle blocking Lynch’s return. With that out of the way, Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie should be able to work quickly toward a trade, though talks haven’t yet occurred, tweets Silver. Schneider and McKenzie are friends stemming from their time together in Green Bay’s front office, which makes a painless swap all the more likely.
In Lynch, the Raiders will acquire one of the NFL’s best running backs in recent memory, albeit one who comes with obvious question marks. Lynch is a 30-year-old with over 2,100 carries under his belt, and he wasn’t particularly effective in his most recent action. The last time we saw Lynch, he averaged 3.8 yards per attempt on 111 carries during an injury-shortened, seven-game 2015 campaign.
Prior to 2015, Lynch posted four straight seasons of at least 1,200 rushing yards, including a 1,590-yard 2012, and averaged between 4.2 and 5.0 YPC each year. He also amassed between 11 and 13 rushing touchdowns in all of those seasons. Anything resembling that production would obviously be a boon for the Raiders, who lost their previous starting running back, Latavius Murray, to the Vikings in free agency.
Along with potentially providing the Raiders’ already potent offense with another high-end weapon, Lynch could give the franchise some much-needed positive PR in the Bay Area. Signing the Oakland native might make watching the Raiders a bit more palatable for their local fans as the organization counts down to its Las Vegas relocation in 2019. Regardless, Lynch is now poised to vie for his second Super Bowl ring as a member of one of the league’s elite teams.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Raiders, Marshawn Lynch In Negotiations
If the Seahawks are going to trade temporarily retired running back Marshawn Lynch to the Raiders, he’s first going to have to negotiate a new contract with Oakland. That process is underway, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder, who reports that Lynch and the Raiders are attempting to hammer out a “short-term, heavily incentivized” pact.
It would behoove Lynch, whose one-year hiatus from the NFL will soon end, to reach a new deal and avoid earning his release from the Seahawks. If Seattle cuts the 30-year-old, it would ask Lynch to pay back his $2.5MM signing bonus from last season, per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lynch, unsurprisingly, doesn’t want to do that. The Raiders, meanwhile, want no part of the $9MM Lynch would make on the contract he left behind when he stepped away from football last offseason.
Ultimately, it’s likely Lynch and the Raiders will work out a more palatable contract, thus leading to a trade. The Oakland native wants to play for the Raiders, and they’re in need of help at running back after losing Latavius Murray in free agency. With the Raiders’ time in Oakland winding down, the soon-to-be Las Vegas-based franchise could also use a public relations boost in the Bay Area, which Lynch would perhaps provide.
If Lynch and the Raiders do indeed find common ground, the general managers involved are unlikely to encounter much difficulty in trade talks. The Raiders’ Reggie McKenzie and the Seahawks’ John Schneider have a friendly relationship stemming from their time together in Green Bay’s front office, notes Tafur. Given his closeness with McKenzie, Schneider told 710 ESPN Radio last week that Lynch-related discussions between the teams should “go in a smooth manner.”
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Three Teams Interested In Jared Odrick
The Giants are in need of help at defensive tackle after losing Johnathan Hankins to the Colts on Thursday. Aid could come in the form of the best interior defender left on the market, Jared Odrick, whom the Giants are interested in, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported last month that Odrick would be a possibility for a Hankins-less Giants team.
Hankins had to wait awhile for a deal to come together, which has also been the case with Odrick. The 29-year-old has been on the market since Feb. 20, when the Jaguars released him only two seasons into a five-year, $42.5MM contract. Odrick earned that deal after compiling 64 appearances, 40 starts and 16.5 sacks with the Dolphins from 2011-14. He continued to serve as a durable pass-rushing threat in his first year in Jacksonville, logging 16 starts and 5.5 sacks, before an injury-shortened 2016 in which he missed 10 games. Odrick passed a physical with the Patriots in late February, though, indicating he’s healthy.
The Seahawks and Eagles also have Odrick on their respective radars, per Raanan, who notes he’s likely to join the third team of his career after the draft. Thanks to Hankins’ departure, the Giants seem to need Odrick more than both Seattle and Philadelphia. Aside from Damon Harrison, Big Blue is lacking along the interior line. The Seahawks have Jarran Reed and Ahtyba Rubin, though both players underwhelmed last season, while the Eagles are in fine shape with Fletcher Cox and the newly acquired Timmy Jernigan.