Seahawks To Pursue Top Guards
- The Falcons, Broncos, Vikings, Lions, Colts, Seahawks, and Jaguars will be making a run at the top three or four guards available in free agency, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets. Robinson doesn’t name names, but I consider Kevin Zeitler, T.J. Lang, Ronald Leary, and Larry Warford to be the four best guards on the board. For the Falcons and Seahawks, price will be a factor and neither team will engage in a bidding war (Twitter link).
Latest On Russell Okung’s Market
Although Denver declined left tackle Russell Okung‘s expensive contract option last week, his time with the club isn’t necessarily up. Broncos general manager John Elway said Wednesday he’ll consider re-signing Okung, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com.
[RELATED: Top Offensive Free Agents]
If the Broncos do attempt to bring back Okung, they’ll have no shortage of competition in a year featuring a weak class of free agent tackles. Along with the previously reported Giants, Jets, Chargers and Vikings, the Rams and Seahawks could also court Okung, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Seattle is perhaps the most intriguing fit of the bunch, given that Okung has spent the vast majority of his career there. The Seahawks selected Okung sixth overall in the 2010 draft, and he went on to start in all 72 of his appearances with the team before joining the Broncos last year in free agency. Injuries were often an issue in Seattle for Okung, but he’s now coming off his first 16-game season, one in which he also totaled 16 starts. All told, Okung rated as an average tackle in 2016, per Pro Football Focus, which placed him 38th among 78 qualifiers.
Now back on the market, the 29-year-old Okung will attempt to land a better deal than the one he secured last offseason, when he made the oft-criticized decision to act as his own agent. It’s unclear if Okung will take that route again this year.
Seahawks Will Keep Jimmy Graham
- General manager John Schneider says there is no question that Jimmy Graham will be part of Seahawks next season, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. The Seahawks could have opened up $10MM in spending room with no dead money by releasing the tight end.
Salary Cap Numbers For All 32 Teams
On Wednesday, we learned that the 2017 salary cap will be set at roughly $167MM. However, every team’s number will be different depending on how much money each team elects to rollover from the previous season.
Courtesy of the NFLPA, we now have the total cap numbers for all 32 clubs. Here they are, listed by division and in descending order:
AFC East
- Dolphins – $175.36MM
- Patriots – $171.29
- Bills – $169.84MM
- Jets – $167.37MM
AFC North
- Browns – $217.12MM
- Bengals – $173.58MM
- Steelers – $170.27MM
- Ravens – $169.55MM
AFC South
- Jaguars – $206.31
- Titans – $191.05MM
- Colts – $173.61MM
- Texans – $171.94MM
AFC West
- Raiders – $175MM
- Broncos – $174.24MM
- Chiefs – $172MM
- Chargers – $167.11MM
NFC East
- Redskins – $182.06MM
- Eagles – $174.93MM
- Cowboys – $169.4MM
- Giants – $168.8MM
NFC North
- Bears – $175.1MM
- Packers – $174.98MM
- Lions – $171.73MM
- Vikings – $167.4MM
NFC South
- Panthers – $180.21MM
- Saints – $172.75MM
- Buccaneers – $172.33MM
- Falcons – $167.93MM
NFC West
- 49ers – $205.71MM
- Cardinals – $171.4MM
- Seahawks – $169.07MM
- Rams – $167.3MM
Opinion: Seahawks Would Be Fit For Peterson
- In addition to the Giants, the best team fits for Adrian Peterson would be the Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, and Cowboys, Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) opines.
West Notes: Mitchell, Broncos, Poe, Raiders
Despite being released off a defense that ranked 29th last season, Earl Mitchell logged an extensive street free agency tour before signing with the 49ers. After a Broncos offer to Mitchell was reported last night, the new 49er said the Seahawks also made him an offer, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (on Twitter), before he opted for the Bay Area. The Seahawks joined the Falcons as fellow NFC teams pursuing Mitchell, who played four seasons with the Texans and three with the Dolphins. This is his third four-year contract.
That pact came partially because of Mitchell’s history in Houston. New 49ers defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina coached Mitchell with the Texans, and DeMeco Ryans being hired as defensive quality control coach meant a former teammate was going to be on staff. Both hires helped sway Mitchell, per Wagoner (on Twitter). New GM John Lynch also called Mitchell “a priority for us to sign.”
Here’s more from some teams out west, beginning with one of the suitors Mitchell declined:
- The Broncos lost an assistant offensive line coach who was affiliated with the organization for less than a month when John Benton agreed to become the 49ers’ O-line instructor. They plan to fill his position by bringing in a college coach of their top lineman, with former Boise State and Washington offensive line coach Chris Strausser set to succeed Benton, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Strausser coached Broncos center Matt Paradis — and Bears left tackle Charles Leno — during his time in Idaho before spending the past three seasons with the Huskies. Strausser has coached in college for more than 25 years; this will be his first NFL job.
- Spotrac calculates Dontari Poe‘s market value as being just north of $12MM per year, putting the Chiefs defensive tackle on the Gerald McCoy/Michael Brockers plane. But someone like Nick Fairley on a shorter-term, lower-cost deal be more effective, Conor Orr of NFL.com writes. Poe hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2014 and only has 2.5 sacks since his six-sack slate that year. He stands to join Brandon Williams, Johnathan Hankins and Bennie Logan among free agent defensive tackles. The Chiefs are negotiating with Poe and Eric Berry, with the franchise tag almost certainly coming into play for one.
- Jason Pierre-Paul could also make it to free agency, although there’s a reasonable chance the Giants tag him. However, should he venture onto the market, Matt Mosley of the Dallas Morning News writes the Broncos or Raiders could be fits. Pass rush isn’t exactly high on the Broncos’ radar, with Von Miller and Shane Ray under contract, but it wasn’t two years ago when Denver drafted Ray in Round 1. However, the Broncos have plenty of greater needs and JPP could aim for Olivier Vernon-type money — which they don’t realistically possess. The Raiders play a 4-3 scheme but obviously have Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin employed, so that would be an interesting fit.
Latest On Broncos’ Offseason Plans
The Broncos will attempt to address their defensive line during the free agent period, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Former Dolphin Earl Mitchell is one candidate to join Denver’s front, and Klis reports Mitchell will meet with the Broncos on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Mitchell has a busy schedule, as he’ll visit the Seahawks on Monday/Tuesday, the 49ers on Tuesday/Wednesday, and the Falcons on Thursday/Friday.
[RELATED: Broncos Working To Re-Sign Kayvon Webster]
If Denver is able to sign Mitchell (who would play end in the Broncos’ 3-4 scheme), it will then focus on securing a replacement for nose tackle Sylvester Williams, per Klis. Williams, a former first-round pick, is expected to test the free agent waters on March 9. The Broncos are also interested in retaining defensive lineman Vance Walker, who missed the entirety of the 2016 after tearing his ACL, according to Klis.
On the offensive side of the the ball, the Broncos will target at least one lineman in free agency, reports Klis. Denver holds an expensive option on left tackle Russell Okung, right tackle Donald Stephenson is expected to be released, and the Broncos’ guards could also be upgraded. Denver’s offensive line ranked as just the league’s No. 24 unit in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus’ year-end rankings.
DT Earl Mitchell To Meet With Seahawks
- Following his release by the Dolphins earlier this week, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell has lined up a number of visits. According to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter), the veteran is set to meet with the Seahawks, 49ers, Falcons, and Broncos next week. Mitchell joined Miami prior to the 2014 season, playing in 37 games over his three seasons with the team.
[SOURCE LINK]
Hawks Notes: Sherman, Kickers, Avril
The Seahawks had been in danger of losing a second-round pick for failing to disclose cornerback Richard Sherman‘s “significant” MCL injury during the season, but the NFL decided Monday to let them off with a warning, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. The league concluded that the Seahawks merely misinterpreted its rules, per Garafolo. The news that Seattle is escaping punishment isn’t particularly surprising, as one of Garafolo’s NFL.com colleagues, Ian Rapoport, reported earlier this month that Seattle wasn’t going to face serious discipline for its violation.
- Newly signed Seahawks kicker Blair Walsh‘s single-year contract is worth $1.1MM and includes no guaranteed money, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. Walsh stands to earn an $800K salary and could make another $300K in bonuses. The Seahawks are likely to bring in another kicker to compete against Walsh for the job this summer. Odds are that won’t be soon-to-be free agent Steven Hauschka, observes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, considering the five-year Seahawk will likely be out of their price range.
- Continuing a Seahawks-heavy set of notes, defensive end Cliff Avril tweeted that he underwent successful surgery Tuesday. Avril didn’t specify which type of surgery he underwent, though Condotta points out that the physician who performed the procedure – Dr. William C. Meyers – specializes in core and sports hernia operations. Regardless, Avril should be fine for 2017 and will attempt to build on his first Pro Bowl season – an 11.5-sack, five-forced fumble campaign.
Seahawks Parting With Assistant LBs Coach Lofa Tatupu
- The Seahawks are parting with assistant linebackers coach Lofa Tatupu, who spent the previous two years on Pete Carroll‘s staff, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Tatupu is better known for his on-field work in Seattle, where he played from 2005-10 and earned three Pro Bowl nods.