Extra Points: Eagles, Jeff Allen, Keenan Allen
Here’s the latest from around the NFL as we draw closer to free agency:
- The Eagles, who desperately need help at guard, are targeting Chiefs pending free agent Jeff Allen, reports Les Bowen of Philly.com. Given Allen’s connection to new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who was previously Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, this news comes as no surprise.
- The Packers’ James Jones, set to be part of the upcoming class of free agent receivers, is confused that he isn’t generating much buzz after totaling 50 catches, averaging a tremendous 17.8 yards per reception, and amassing eight touchdowns last season. “I’m hearing a lot of these receivers names being called and people are trying to brush over my name, and I had one of the best seasons out of all these guys that are free agents,” the 31-year-old said. On re-signing with Green Bay, he added, “I was hoping it would go be back to Green Bay, but I don’t know what’s going to happen” (link via Conor Orr of NFL.com).
- Once free agency and the draft are out of the way, the Chargers will initiate extension talks with contract-year wideout Keenan Allen, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Even if the the Chargers drag their feet on giving Allen a new deal, he has no intention of holding out, per Gehlken. The soon-to-be 24-year-old racked up a whopping 67 catches in just eight games last season. That followed back-to-back 70-reception seasons in his first two years.
- First-year Titans general manager Jon Robinson said Friday that his offseason focus lies with improving the team’s offensive line, acquiring offensive playmakers, and adding “players who can help us get off the field on third down on defense,’’ per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com.
- The chances of pending free agent defensive backs Josh Robinson and Robert Blanton returning to the Vikings are “not good,” according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Robinson played in five games last season and wasn’t a factor. Blanton suited up for all 16 games, but appeared in just 21.5% of the Vikings’ defensive snaps.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/3/16
Today’s round of minor transactions around the NFL is dominated by exclusive-rights free agents. ERFAs are players with less than three years of NFL experience, who don’t have a contract for 2016.
While these players are technically considered free agents, they don’t have any real freedom when it comes to picking their destinations — if their current teams want them back, all those clubs have to do is submit an ERFA tender (typically worth the minimum salary), which precludes those players from negotiating with any other teams.
Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:
- The Bears have tendered a contract offer to ERFA wide receiver Josh Bellamy, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Bellamy saw a decent amount of playing time on offense, catching 19 passes for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and was also one of the club’s top contributors on special teams.
- The Cardinals have assigned ERFA tenders to defensive tackle Josh Mauro and tight end Ifeanyi Momah, signaling that they want to bring back those players, the team announced today on its website. Momah missed the 2015 campaign with a knee injury, while Mauro was a depth piece on Arizona’s defensive line.
- The Titans have re-signed ERFA running back Antonio Andrews, the club announced in a press release. The move is classified as a re-signing rather than a simple contract tender because Andrews has already signed the offer. He figures to compete for a roster spot in Tennessee in 2016.
- The Buccaneers have assigned an ERFA tender to long snapper Andrew DePaola, agent Sean Stellato tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). DePaola has been Tampa Bay’s full-time long snapper since the start of the 2014 season.
Extra Points: Shorts, Roddy, Allen, Titans, Bucs
Veteran receiver Cecil Shorts is expected to return to the Texans and finish out the second and final year of the two-year contract he signed prior to the 2015 season, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Shorts, 28, appeared in 11 games last year, catching 42 passes for 484 yards and two touchdowns. Houston could save almost $3MM by releasing Shorts, but with fellow pass-catcher Nate Washington heading for free agency, the club will need options out wide.
Let’s dive into a few more items from around the league…
- Having already identified the Buccaneers as a possible for suitor for free agent Roddy White, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link) also points to the Titans and Raiders as potential landing spots for the veteran receiver. It’s unclear if Rapoport is reporting or just making connections, but either way, each club makes sense — both Tennessee (Terry Robiskie) and Oakland (Bill Musgrave) field offenses run by former members of Atlanta’s coaching staff.
- Pending free agent tight end Dwayne Allen hopes he doesn’t even make it to free agency, as he’d prefer to work out an agreement with the Colts before March 9, he told 1070 The Fan today (link via Kevin Bowen of Colts.com). Allen, along with fellow Indianapolis free agent Coby Fleener, would be one of the most sought-after tight ends on the open market. Allen recently hired agent Drew Rosenhaus, who has a history of getting deals done with the Colts, as his new representation.
- The Buccaneers will not tender restricted free agent linebacker Danny Lansanah, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Lansanah has bounced around the league, and he’ll now become an unrestricted free agent next week. Per Auman, the Tampa Bay could re-sign Lansanah at a later date (and presumably, at a cheaper price than even the lowest tender).
Titans, Brice McCain Agree To Deal
The Titans have agreed to terms with free agent cornerback Brice McCain, according to agent David Canter (via Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that McCain will be signing a two-year, $5MM contract with Tennessee.
[RELATED: Titans re-sign tight end Craig Stevens]
McCain, 29, signed with the Dolphins last March after spending five seasons in Houston and one in Pittsburgh. He started 10 games and played 735 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2015, picking up an interception to go along with 39 tackles. However, McCain lasted just one season with the team, as Miami opted to part ways with him last week in order to create $2.5MM in cap savings.
As PFR’s Dallas Robinson wrote in his preview of the Titans’ offseason last month, cornerback will be an area the team figures to prioritize this winter. Dallas suggested that it might be worthwhile for Tennessee to spend big at the position in free agency, and while McCain is hardly the big-money signing we envisioned, his addition doesn’t preclude the club from pursuing other corners next week.
Prior to agreeing to a deal with the Titans, McCain paid a visit to Tennessee, and also met with the Buccaneers. The Steelers were said to have interest in hosting McCain for a visit as well, though it doesn’t appear that he made it to Pittsburgh.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Jaguars, Titans, Lions, Garoppolo
Some assorted notes from around the league on this Tuesday evening…
- The Jaguars have hired former Falcons executive DeJuan Polk as their new assistant director of pro personnel, the team announced today (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com). Polk has spent the majority of the last decade working as the pro personnel coordinator in Atlanta.
- ESPN’s Bill Barnwell goes in-depth to explain why it might make more sense for the Titans to trade down in the draft rather than using the No. 1 overall pick on offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil.
- Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky wonders if the Titans would gamble on Jalen Ramsey with the top pick. A defensive back has never been chosen with the first overall pick, but Titans general manager Jon Robinson didn’t necessarily rule out the idea. “I would say with the first overall pick, we’re looking to add an impact player,” he said. “There’s a handful of players that fit into that. A handful could be a couple or it could be 10 according to how big your hands are. But we want to come away with somebody that is going to impact our football team.”
- The Lions expect 2015 draftee Quandre Diggs to be a regular contributor in nickel and dime defenses next season, but the team will still need to address the cornerback position in free agency or the draft, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
- Tom Brady‘s new contract extension has observers reassessing Jimmy Garoppolo‘s role with the Patriots. However, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com doesn’t think New England’s backup QB will become a potential trade chip until at least 2017, unless another team blows away the Pats with an offer.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Quinton Coples, Brice McCain Making FA Visits
A pair of free agents who hit the open market early are set to pay visits to interested teams today. Per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), defensive end Quinton Coples is visiting the Panthers, while Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that cornerback Brice McCain is paying a visit to the Titans.
Both Coples and McCain were cut by the Dolphins at the same time last month due to their increasing cap hits and Miami’s need to clear some space. While the moves cost the two veterans their spots on the Dolphins’ roster, they were afforded the opportunity to reach unrestricted free agency nearly a month before this year’s crop of pending free agents. McCain took advantage of that opportunity by visiting the Buccaneers prior to the combine, with reports at the time suggesting the Steelers and Titans also wanted to bring him in.
McCain, 29, signed with the Dolphins last March after spending five seasons in Houston and one in Pittsburgh. The veteran corner started 10 games and played 735 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2015, picking up an interception to go along with 39 tackles. He would provide some veteran depth in Tennessee if he signs with the Titans, though the team probably won’t want to pencil him in as a starter right away.
As for Coples, the 16th overall pick from the 2012 draft had his best year as a pro in 2014, but even that amounted to just 35 tackles and 6.5 sacks, modest totals for a first-round pass rusher. When Todd Bowles took over as the Jets’ head coach a year ago, Coples was further marginalized in New York. Due to his poor fit in Bowles’ defense – and perhaps an alleged incident on a team flight, though Bowles denied that – the 25-year-old was waived by the club in the fall, and had a brief cup of coffee with the Dolphins before being cut again.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Coples will take a physical in Carolina today as part of his visit with the Panthers. The defending NFC champions could be in the market for some help at defensive end, with increasingly expensive veteran Charles Johnson a candidate to be released this offseason, but the club does have some depth at the position behind Johnson and fellow starter Kony Ealy.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
South Rumors: Foster, Falcons, Martin, Jags
Texans running back Arian Foster, entering the final year of his contract, is set to make a $6.5MM base salary, with an overall cap hit of nearly $9MM. Those figures make him a potential release candidate, but if general manager Rick Smith says Houston won’t cut the veteran back because of his salary.
“As it relates to all the free agent conversations, I’m never really going to tell you one way or the other what we are doing, but I will tell you this: his salary is not a reason why we would cut Arian,” Smith said.
That doesn’t necessarily close the door on the Texans releasing Foster, since the team could have concerns about his health or his production. But if they’re comfortable paying a healthy Foster $6.5MM, it increases the odds that he’ll be back in Houston for the 2016 season.
Let’s check in on a few other items from around the NFL’s South divisions….
- Head coach Dan Quinn and the Falcons will be monitoring wide receivers closely in both free agency and the draft, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. According to McClure, the Falcons have “done their homework” on this year’s pending free agent wideouts, including Travis Benjamin, Mohamed Sanu, Jermaine Kearse, and Nate Washington.
- Buccaneers GM Jason Licht confirmed that he met with Brian Murphy, the agent for Doug Martin, on Wednesday at the scouting combine. However, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets, no agreement between the two sides will be reached in Indianapolis.
- The Jaguars will head into the free agent period armed with a ton of cap space, according to GM David Caldwell, who suggests that estimates of $75MM “might be a little low,” per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. In a separate piece, O’Halloran also passed along a few notable comments made by Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley during his media availability.
- Craig Stevens‘ new one-year contract with the Titans features a $1.15MM base salary, a $250K workout bonus, and per-game roster bonuses worth up to $500K, says Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. A report last week indicated that the tight end’s deal could be worth up to $2.6MM via incentives.
NFLPA Announces Cap Carryover Amounts
The NFL Players Association issued a press release today announcing the salary cap carryover amounts for all 32 NFL teams for the 2016 season. The official salary cap amount for 2016 has yet to be announced by the league, but it’s expected to be in the neighborhood of $155MM+. When that figures becomes official, it can be added to each team’s carryover amount to determine that club’s official cap for 2016.
According to the press release, the Broncos, Rams, and the Saints are the only teams that opted not to carry over the full amount available to them, though none of those clubs are believed to have left significant amounts on the table.
Here are the salary cap carryover amounts for 2016, per the NFLPA, from highest to lowest:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $32,774,928
- Tennessee Titans: $20,783,801
- Cleveland Browns: $20,734,144
- Oakland Raiders: $13,373,617
- San Francisco 49ers: $12,206,686
- New York Giants: $11,193,231
- Miami Dolphins: $9,137,544
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $7,987,748
- Cincinnati Bengals: $7,587,902
- Philadelphia Eagles: $7,255,362
- Green Bay Packers: $6,953,847
- Washington: $5,837,734
- Indianapolis Colts: $4,950,629
- Buffalo Bills: $4,467,331
- Atlanta Falcons: $3,905,771
- Carolina Panthers: $3,731,200
- Dallas Cowboys: $3,571,239
- Denver Broncos: $3,300,000
- Arizona Cardinals: $3,031,663
- Pittsburgh Steelers: $3,000,327
- Kansas City Chiefs: $2,622,838
- New York Jets: $2,484,216
- San Diego Chargers: $2,287,176
- Minnesota Vikings: $2,090,409
- Houston Texans: $1,637,055
- Baltimore Ravens: $1,633,944
- New Orleans Saints: $1,400,000
- New England Patriots: $1,347,882
- Los Angeles Rams: $933,521
- Chicago Bears: $867,589
- Detroit Lions: $862,191
- Seattle Seahawks: $11,587
Combine Updates: Browns, Buccaneers, Titans
General managers and head coaches around the league are speaking to the media on Wednesday and Thursday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, and while most of them will only generally address their pending free agents or other noteworthy contract situations, a handful have revealed some interesting tidbits.
Here are a few updates from the sessions so far:
Cleveland Browns:
- Browns head coach Hue Jackson, who said the team will take a hard-line stance when it comes to not tolerating off-field behavior like Johnny Manziel‘s, was also asked about players like Josh Gordon (suspended) and Armonty Bryant (arrested). Jackson said he has spoken to Bryant, and will meet with Gordon if and when he’s reinstated, stressing that he wants high-character players and will evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis (Twitter links via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com and Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).
- Jackson guaranteed that the Browns will come out of this year’s draft having picked a quarterback. However, he cautioned that the team might not use the No. 2 overall pick to select a signal-caller (Twitter link via Cabot).
- Jackson conceded that if the fit is right, he would value potential free agents who had previous experience in his system (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich). Bengals wideouts Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu might fit that bill.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
- Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said today that the team doesn’t have any indication of whether veteran guard Logan Mankins is leaning toward retiring or playing in 2016. That decision won’t affect the Bucs either way though, according to Licht, who says the team expects to hear from Mankins within the next few weeks (Twitter links via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
- Licht will meet with Doug Martin‘s agent this week, and said he’s optimistic about the possibility of working out a new deal for the running back (Twitter link via Stroud).
- If the Bucs don’t re-sign Martin, they’ll be prepared to address the position either in free agency or the draft, says Licht (Twitter link via Stroud).
- Licht expects to concentrate primarily on defensive players in the draft, but that won’t stop the Bucs from grabbing an offensive player if he’s the top player on their board (Twitter link via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune).
Tennessee Titans:
- Titans head coach Mike Mularkey views Brian Schwenke‘s injuries as a potential cause for concern, and said the team won’t rule out the pursuit of a veteran center (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com).
- Defensive tackle Al Woods is one of the Titans pending free agents that the team is talking to and wants to keep, according to Mularkey (Twitter link via McCormick).
- Mularkey doesn’t believe the Titans’ moves in free agency will tip off what the team plans to do with the No. 1 pick in the draft, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. “I don’t know that it’s a telltale sign — if we do this, we won’t do that,” Mularkey said.
- The Titans don’t currently plan on making any more roster cuts prior to the start of free agency, Mularkey said (Twitter link via McCormick).
- If the Titans ultimately decide to trade the first overall pick in the draft, they’ll be looking for a “fair deal,” not necessarily one that lines up with the old draft-pick value chart, per GM Jon Robinson (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
Community Tailgate: Titans’ No. 1 Draft Pick
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With the NFL’s 2016 free agent period right around the corner, names like Von Miller, Kirk Cousins, and Alshon Jeffery figure to dominate headlines for the next couple weeks, but there’s already plenty of speculation mounting about what the Titans will do with the first overall pick in the draft a couple months from now.
Unlike in 2015, when the Buccaneers were viewed throughout the process as likely to select Jameis Winston first overall, there’s no clear consensus on what the Titans will do, though one may be forming. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk outlines, most experts’ recent mock drafts have Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil heading to Tennessee with that No. 1 pick.
“[Tunsil] is certainly viable as the No. 1 player on the board,” Kiper said today on a conference call, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. “He is right in that discussion to be the No. 1 player in the draft, just by ratings. By need, it is definitely a need, because you have to protect Marcus Mariota. You have [Taylor] Lewan who could move to right tackle, and now you would bring in Tunsil (at left tackle) and you would have tremendous young bookends.”
While Tunsil is a popular choice, he’s not the only option for the Titans at No. 1. Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa and Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey are among the other candidates who have been mentioned as possibilities to come off the board first.
There’s also a chance the Titans won’t even be the team picking first overall — GM Jon Robinson admitted last week that he has already spoken to teams about the No. 1 selection, and if Tennessee can land a nice haul of picks, I think Robinson would be willing to move down a few spots. In that event, it’s possible that a quarterback like Carson Wentz or Jared Goff could be drafted first overall.
What do you think? Will the Titans keep the No. 1 pick, or will they trade down? If they stay atop the draft, will they select Tunsil or someone else? How do you expect the start of the 2016 draft to play out? Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts!