Titans To Attempt To Trade Chris Johnson
The Titans will try to trade running back Chris Johnson before releasing him, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Johnson does not have any upcoming roster bonuses due, so the Titans could wait all the way until the first week of the regular season to cut without owing him any base salary. Releasing the running back would result in a $4MM cap charge.
It is unclear what the Titans could hope to receive in exchange for Johnson. He once ran for over 2,000 yards, but the was four years ago. He still has elite speed, but he graded out as just the 42nd-best running back in the league last season according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Even if a team was willing to sacrifice a late-round pick for Johnson, it is not going to want to retain him at his current salary levels. A release still seems like the overwhelmingly likely outcome.
AFC Notes: Albert, Verner, Clabo, Byrd
Branden Albert is likely to sign with the Dolphins when free agency officially begins on Tuesday, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Albert, 29, was the Chiefs first-round-pick in 2008, and as Florio notes, was nearly traded to the Dolphins last offseason.
The Dolphins need to rebuild a porous offensive line, and they essentially need four starters to team with center Mike Pouncey. The unit was decimated by the controversies relating to Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito, neither of whom is expected to return to Miami. The Chiefs, meanwhile, will fill Albert’s shoes at left tackle with either Eric Fisher or Donald Stephenson, with the other manning the right tackle position.
Other news from the AFC:
- Offensive lineman Tyson Clabo is expected to hit the free agent market, and there is “real interest” from teams around the league, tweets Adam Beasely of the Miami Herald. Clabo started 15 games last season for the Dolphins.
- The Titans are still talking with cornerback Alterraun Verner, but it is unlikely he will return to Tennessee, according to the Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt (via Twitter).
- As of Sunday afternoon, the Browns had not contacted safety Jairus Byrd, writes Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Browns are widely expected to express interest in Byrd, who played under new Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine with the Bills.
- The Patriots expect both cornerback Aqib Talib and receiver Julian Edelman to come back to them with any free agent offers and give the team the opportunity to match, notes Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com.
FA Rumors: Allen, Johnson, Mitchell, Jones
Jared Allen will not return to the Vikings, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Allen, 34, spent the past six seasons in Minnesota, after the team acquired him in 2008 from the Chiefs in exchange for a first-round-pick. La Canfora reports that Allen has narrowed his focus to teams that can contend next season, and that his list of preferred organizations contains less than five teams (via Twitter). The Raiders have been mentioned as a potential fit, while the Broncos would also seem to be an ideal match, as they are a veteran-laden squad with Super Bowl aspirations, and have a need at defensive end.
Allen’s play slipped last season, as he graded out as just the 34th-best defensive end in the league according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), although he did finish with 11.5 sacks. The Vikings seemed to have replaced him today by re-signing fellow end Everson Griffen to a five-year pact. The team had already extended defensive end Brian Robison in October.
Other notes from free agency:
- Although the Vikings could sign both Griffen and free agent defensive end Michael Johnson, sources expect Johnson to land elsewhere following the Griffen deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN. Johnson played under new Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati.
- We noted earlier that the Redskins are expected to be “major players” for cornerback Aqib Talib, but it seems they also have interest in safety Mike Mitchell, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Mitchell, a second-round-pick by the Raiders in 2009, notched 66 tackles and four interceptions in his first season in Carolina last year.
- Defensive end Arthur Jones is a popular name on the free agent market, having already drawn interest from the Titans, Redskins, Giants, and Vikings, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Wilson also tweeted that the Packers are also intrigued by Jones. Jones, 27, is a versatile player who would fit in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense, as evidenced by the teams calling on him.
FA Rumors: Falcons, Finley, Winston, Neal
Let’s follow up on this morning’s free agent rumors with another round of them for the afternoon….
- The Falcons are engaged in active talks to bring back offensive lineman Mike Johnson, but appear ready to part ways with defensive tackle Peria Jerry, reports D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution.
- Tight end Jermichael Finley has drawn interest from the Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, Giants, and Steelers, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The former Packers standout still hasn’t been medically cleared, however.
- The Cardinals have maintained interest in offensive lineman Eric Winston, but with no deal imminent, the veteran tackle could hit the open market, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Packers have had meaningful discussions with outside linebacker Mike Neal, but they haven’t come up with a large enough offer to keep him from testing the open market, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
- Wilson also passes along an update on former Ravens defensive tackle Bryan Hall, who worked out for eight NFL teams at Arkansas State today. Hall was converted to linebacker by Baltimore, but is back to playing on the line now (Twitter links).
- According to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (Twitter link), defensive tackle Antonio Johnson continues to talk to the Titans, as the team tries to re-sign some of its players scheduled to be unrestricted free agents
- Having re-signed Marcus Sherels, the Vikings have one restricted free agent left, in linebacker Larry Dean. A source tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link) the team is having ongoing discussions on the possibility of bringing Dean back.
- Tight end Dustin Keller, who was doing exceptionally well in camp with the Dolphins last offseason before tearing his ACL, is on track to return for this season, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Keller is an unrestricted free agent.
Titans, Ropati Pitoitua Agree To Deal
9:00pm: It’s a three-year, $9.6MM deal including a $2.175MM bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. His base salaries are as follows (link): $975K in 2014, $2.125MM in ’15, and $2.95MM in ’16 with a $600K roster bonus due in March 2015. The deal marks a nice bump in pay for Pitoitua who earned $1.1MM last season and has made ~$3MM over the course of his career.
5:46pm: The Titans have agreed to terms with defensive end Ropati Pitoitua, sources tell Jim Wyatt of The Tennesseean (via Twitter). Pitoitua, who was one of the club’s priorities after a strong year in 2013, gets a three-year deal from the Titans (link).
The 6’8″, 290 pound Samoan had a career high four sacks, four passes defended, and 34 tackles this season across 16 games (13 starts). After rotating between the Jets’ injured reserve and practice squad between 2008 and 2011, Pitoitua had his breakthrough season with the Chiefs in 2012 when he got to start ten games at right defensive end. He’ll be a part of the Titans’ transition to a hybrid defense under new defensive coordinator Ray Horton.
AFC Notes: Edelman, Dolphins, Texans
We rounded up several updates on AFC teams this morning, but a few more have trickled in throughout the day, so let’s dive in and tackle those new items….
- The Patriots and wide receiver Julian Edelman discussed a new deal today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link via ESPN’s Field Yates). If the two sides don’t reach an agreement by Tuesday, Edelman will be free to sign with any team.
- Names like Eugene Monroe and Branden Albert have frequently been linked to the Dolphins leading up to the free agency, but Miami will need to add more than just a left tackle, as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. Salguero explores a few other possible offensive line targets for the Dolphins in free agency.
- The Texans are considering many quarterback options to back up the signal-caller they’re expected to select with their first-round pick, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. According to McClain, the Texans may sign two veteran QBs to go with the rookie they bring in.
- There still hasn’t been any real movement in contract talks between the Titans and Alterraun Verner, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, who expects the free agent cornerback to reach the open market (Twitter link).
- Former Dolphins trainer Kevin O’Neill is poised to fight his termination, writes Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel. O’Neill was among those implicated in the Wells Report.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Contract Updates: Jets, Bills, Ratliff, Titans
Restricted free agent cornerback Darrin Walls agreed to a new deal with the Jets last night, and agent Jordan Woy tweets that it’s a two-year contract. Ellis Lankster, who also agreed on a new deal with the Jets, will be on a two-year, $1.63MM contract, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Lankster’s pact appears to be worth slightly more than the minimum.
With free agency looming and several players having already signed new contracts or reworked old ones, we have plenty more contract and cap updates to pass along, so let’s dive right in….
- The Bills extended contract tenders to all four of their exclusive rights free agents, and cornerback Brandon Smith has accepted his, according to Joe Buscaglia of WGR550 (Twitter links). With Smith set to return to the team on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, offensive guard Antoine McClain, fullback Frank Summers, and wide receiver Chris Hogan will also be back in Buffalo if and when they sign their tenders.
- Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) has the details on Jeremiah Ratliff‘s new two-year contract with the Bears. It’s worth a total of $4MM, with $600K guaranteed.
- The cap figures on Troy Polamalu‘s new three-year contract with the Steelers are $6.387MM (2014), $8.25MM (2015), and $8MM (2016), with respective base salaries of $1.5MM, $6MM, and $5.75MM, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
- The Browns have extended a contract tender to inside linebacker Craig Robertson, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Robertson, who was an exclusive rights free agent, will be in line for a minimum salary of $570K for 2014.
- New one-year deals for running backs Jackie Battle (Titans) and Bobby Rainey (Bucs) are both worth the minimum, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean and Tom Pelissero of USA Today, respectively (Twitter links). Battle’s minimum salary ($855K) is a little more substantial than Rainey’s ($570K) due to his extra years of service time.
- Wyatt also shares (via Twitter) a few more specifics on Bernard Pollard‘s two-year deal with the Titans, which has base salaries of $1.65MM in 2014 and $3.1MM in 2015.
AFC Notes: Johnson, Amendola, Lankster, Nwaneri
Titans running back Chris Johnson took to Twitter to provide an update on his contract situation. According to Johnson, his agent met with the Titans yesterday, but talks remain at a standstill as the running back continues to play the waiting game. Tennessee is believed to have interest in retaining Johnson, but not at his current $10MM cap figure. Here are a few more AFC notes:
- The Patriots can’t designate Danny Amendola as a post-June 1 cut in 2014, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network (Twitter links). The Pats have to carry the wide receiver on the roster into the ’14 league year to make him a June 1 cut and if they do that, his ’14 base is guaranteed.
- The Jets announced that they have agreed to deals with reserve cornerbacks Ellis Lankster and Darrin Walls. Lankster, 26, has seen time in 30 combined games for Gang Green over the last two years.
- In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Seifert outlines why many members of this year’s free agent class – including Broncos standout Eric Decker – may be better off re-signing with their current teams before next week.
- Two or three teams are already in on former Jaguars guard Uche Nwaneri, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN. The Jags released their longtime starting guard yesterday to create $3.706MM in cap savings for the team. Nwaneri ranked 34th among 81 qualified guards in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and had an overall grade of +18.0 over the last five seasons.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
D’Qwell Jackson Decision Expected This Week
D’Qwell Jackson isn’t the most intriguing name among 2014’s class of free agents, but he’s perhaps the most notable player available before next Tuesday. Because he was released by the Browns last month, Jackson can sign with a new team immediately, and he’s expected to make a decision within the next couple days, a source tells Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune.
Jackson has visited with several teams within the last week and has narrowed down his choice to four potential destinations, according to Tesfatsion: The Titans, Broncos, Dolphins, and Colts. The Vikings, Cardinals, and Redskins were among the other clubs said to have interest in the veteran inside linebacker, but they didn’t make the cut for Jackson’s short list.
Jackson had been a starter for the Browns since the club selected him in the second round of the 2006 draft. Despite leading the team in tackles in 2013, Jackson graded poorly as a run defender in Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and placed 42nd overall out of 55 qualified inside linebackers (subscription required). Still, the Maryland alum was Cleveland’s longtime defensive leader on defense and is still just 30 years old, so he should have a few more solid seasons left in him.
FA Rumors: Tatupu, Graham, Shaughnessy
Former Seahawks linebacker and three-time Pro Bowler Lofa Tatupu is working out today for the Broncos, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Knee and pectoral injuries derailed the career of Tatupu, who hasn’t played a regular season game since 2010, but he’s still just 31 years old, so a comeback isn’t out of the question. The former All-Pro linebacker is an unrestricted free agent right now, but the rest of the players in this roundup will have to wait another week before getting the chance to hit the open market. Let’s dive in and check out the latest….
- While Jimmy Graham will have the ability to field offers from suitors in free agency, the franchise tag will limit his options. In any case, Saints GM Mickey Loomis is confident that his club will find a way to reach a long-term deal with the star tight end, as he said today on SiriusXM NFL Radio (link via Pro Football Talk). “I had hoped and I’m sure he had hoped we’d come to some conclusion on a longer-term deal before this,” Loomis said. “But we haven’t yet, and hopefully we will…. We’ll just let it play out, and I’m sure we’ll get something resolved.”
- The Cardinals are in talks with Matt Shaughnessy‘s agent Rick Rosa in hopes of signing the free agent DE/LB to a new deal, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. “They are actively trying to re-sign him,” Rosa said. “He wants to be there, so we’ll see how it goes.”
- Although cornerback Alterraun Verner acknowledges that he loves Tennessee and his Titans teammates, he sounds lukewarm on the idea of giving the club a “hometown discount” in free agency, as Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean writes.
- The Broncos have the cap room in 2014 to bring back prospective free agent Eric Decker, but future obligations to Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas will make the team wary about investing too heavily in Decker, says Mike Klis of the Denver Post, who spoke to the wide receiver about his impending free agency.