Trumaine McBride

East Rumors: Giants, Taylor, Rex, Patriots

The Giants‘ already-thin secondary worsened after their first preseason clash on Friday, with four defensive backs lost to injuries.

While Landon Collins‘ leg injury is considered minor, fellow rookie safety Mykkele Thompson‘s is not. The 2015 fifth-rounder is expected to miss the rest of the season after what is believed to be an Achilles’ tendon tear, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

“Big concern” is the phrase Tom Coughlin used in describing Thompson’s outlook. Thompson represented much-needed depth for Big Blue’s back line, making his way onto the Giants’ second team at strong safety behind converted cornerback Bennett Jackcson. Sixth-year veteran Jeromy Miles resides as the Giants’ third-string strong safety presently.

Jayron Hosley and Trumaine McBride also left the game, but their setbacks aren’t expected to be regular-season-altering.

As the first full weekend of 2015 NFL action continues, let’s look at some news coming out of the Eastern divisions, continuing in Buffalo.

  • Tyrod Taylor‘s push for becoming the least-likely Week 1 starting quarterback in the league received a boost after his Bills debut, with Rex Ryan announcing the former Virginia Tech product will start in Buffalo’s next preseason game — Thursday against the Browns — per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. While this comes in an attempt to give the one-time sixth-round pick a shot against a starting defense, as Taylor flashed his “excellent” speed against the Panthers’ second-stringers, it doesn’t cement a Taylor ascent. Matt Cassel started in the Bills’ first preseason tilt, with EJ Manuel doing so in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage.
  • Ryan saw his exit from New Jersey coming entering his sixth and final season there, according to an upcoming Real Sports segment with Andrea Kremer (per Brian Costello of the New York Post), with the current Bills coach knowing the Jets were going to “stink” after not doing much in free agency last year. “100 percent I knew I was done,” Ryan told Kremer. “… (Jets owner Woody Johnson) couldn’t [keep me]. There’s no chance that he could have brought in another GM and kept me again. It wouldn’t have worked in New York, they weren’t going to allow it. The media wouldn’t allow it; it wasn’t going to work.
  • Many NFL owners will be upset if Roger Goodell loses in the Deflategate saga, offers CSNNE.com’s Gary Tanguay. “I think this is personal,” Tanguay said. “I think there are some owners, for whatever reason, want to get at Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization. I think they sent Goodell to be their whipping boy. The way the NFL has looked so far, they’ve looked so bad even though I think the Patriots are guilty, if Goodell loses this, he will take heat from the owners.”

Giants To Sign Kevin Ogletree

6:52pm: To make room for Ogletree, the Giants officially placed cornerback Trumaine McBride on IR, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

6:17pm: The Giants will sign wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). The 27-year-old worked out for Big Blue earlier today.

The Giants were in need of depth following Victor Cruz‘s painful season-ending injury on Sunday night. Rookie Odell Beckham Jr. was quick to tell the salsa-dancing star that he’s ready to step up in his absence, but reinforcements were needed further down the depth chart. Ogletree had his best season in 2012 when he emerged with the Cowboys, hauling in 32 catches with four touchdowns.

Ogletree first made a name for himself in the NFL as a capable fill-in for Dez Bryant and Miles Austin when they were sidelined with injury. Now, he could have an opportunity to make an impact with the Giants as they forge ahead without Cruz.

NFC East Notes: Manziel, McBride, Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he’s done discussing his team’s decision to pass on Johnny Manziel in the 2014 draft, writes Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. “Well, I don’t know how that’s relevant,” Jones said. “I’m really not so sure I’m ready to admit a mis-thought. It is not relevant, and I really have had some very stern, succinct instructions not to mention Johnny anymore from people who count, let me put it like that.” More out of the AFC and NFC East..

  • Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters that cornerback Trumaine McBride will undergo thumb surgery, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Coughlin wouldn’t confirm that McBride is done for the year, but thumb surgery would likely end his season. With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie still healing up, the Giants now have a tough situation at corner.
  • After becoming the most accurate kicker in NFL history on Sunday, Dan Bailey said that he’s hoping to keep it up for a long, long time, writes Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. “Honestly, I want to play another 10-plus years, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that,” the Cowboys kicker said. “With that being said, there’s plenty of more kicks to make and there’s probably going to be some misses in there too. Realistically, it’s just not that big of deal right now.”
  • After yesterday’s feel-good win, Jones cautioned not to expect any new deals getting hammered out for Cowboys players right away, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com. Jones also pumped the brakes on an extension for coach Jason Garrett.
  • After Victor Cruz went down with a likely season-ending injury last night, Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. told him that he’ll step up in his absence. “I said, ‘Bro, I got you,’” Beckham said, according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News. “Because he’s had me since Day One. That’s the only thing that I feel like is the right thing to do is play for him.” The Giants will need the LSU product to do just that. Even though Big Blue has nearly $3MM in cap space, there aren’t any notable receiving options waiting on a phone call.
  • Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley has left CAA Sports in favor of Dave Dunn of Athletes First, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter).

Injury Updates: Sunday

While we don’t cover every injury here at Pro Football Rumors, we will keep track of injuries to key players that could force teams to make important roster moves. We’ll update the following list throughout the day:

  • Giants nickel back Trumaine McBride told reporters tonight, including Kieran Darcy of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link), that he has a dislocated thumb, which figures to sideline him for multiple weeks.
  • Eagles running back Darren Sproles left tonight’s game against the Giants with a knee injury, and as Doug Farrar of SI.com tweets, NBC’s Michele Tafoya reported that the tests adminstered to Sproles’ MCL and ACL by the team left the running back “pretty unhappy.” We should have a clearer idea of the prognosis for Sproles on Monday.

Earlier updates:

  • The Jets fear that starting right guard Brian Winters will be sidelined for the season with a torn ACL, a sources tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). The team will conduct tests tomorrow morning to determine whether or not that’s the case.
  • Sam Shields believes he avoided a major knee injury today, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Losing Shields would’ve been a costly blow for the Packers, who re-signed the cornerback to a lucrative long-term deal during the offseason.
  • Milliner is believed to have torn his Achilles, tweets Rapoport; the second-year corner would obviously miss the remainder of the season if true.
  • The Browns believe Mack has suffered a significant leg injury, and expect him to “miss extended time,” reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Currently, the Browns have moved right guard John Greco to center, with Paul McQuistan taking over at RG. We’ll certainly have more on this situation as more news is relayed.
  • Patriots running back Stevan Ridley has been ruled out for the day with a knee injury. Per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter), Ridley’s “ankle bent in a way no one wants their ankle to bend.”
  • The Bengals linebacking unit has taken another hit, as Rey Maualuga had to be carted off the field with a leg injury, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of the the NFL Network (Twitter link).
  • Speaking on FOX, Jay Glazer provided an update on Broncos running Montee Ball, who will miss an additional 3-4 weeks with a groin injury.
  • The Browns excellent offensive line has taken a hit, as center Alex Mack had to be carted off the field with a left ankle injury, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. ESPN.com’s Tony Grossi adds (on Twitter) that an air cast was applied to Mack’s ankle, an indication that the injury could be serious.
  • Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is out for the day after suffering a knee injury that forced him to be carted off the field, according to John Clayton of ESPN (via Twitter).
  • After suffering two concussions already this season, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict left today’s game after taking a hit to the head; another concussion could shelve Burfict for some time.
  • 2013 first-rounder Dee Milliner is out for the rest of the Jets’ game against the Broncos after suffering a non-contact injury to his ankle.

Contract Details: Munnerlyn, Dawson, McBride

Here are a few extra details on contracts that have been agreed to and signed in recent days:

  • Captain Munnerlyn‘s three-year contract with the Vikings, initially reported to be worth $14.25MM, is actually worth $11.25MM, but another $3.3MM can be added through escalators and incentives, says Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter). The deal includes $4.45MM guaranteed in guaranteed money, but Pelissero tweets that due to a small signing bonus, it could potentially just turn into a one-year contract if 2014 doesn’t go well.
  • According to Pelissero (via Twitter), the two-year contract Phil Dawson signed with the 49ers is worth a total of $6.134MM and came with a $2MM signing bonus.
  • The two-year deal Trumaine McBride inked with the Giants is worth $2.875MM, with a $100K signing bonus and $900K in roster bonuses, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Wilson (via Twitter) has Will Herring‘s one-year contract with the Cowboys as an $855K base salary plus a $65K signing bonus. That would seem to suggest it’s a minimum salary benefit deal, but Wilson says the total is $1.02MM, which indicates there’s another $100K in bonuses somewhere. Either way, $300K of the deal is guaranteed, says Wilson.
  • According to Wilson (via Twitter), Phil Costa‘s contract with the Colts features base salaries of $1.2MM (2014) and $1.5MM (2015), with no bonuses. $450K of Costa’s first-year salary is guaranteed.
  • Wilson adds (via Twitter) that Henry Hynoski‘s $1MM contract with the Giants includes a $250K signing bonus.
  • Although we heard yesterday that Chris Williams‘ contract with the Bills included a 2016 “trigger point,” when Williams was owed a significant roster bonus, the deal has been modified since being entered in the NFLPA system, says ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak. Instead of having a $1.5MM signing bonus and $2.5MM roster bonus in ’16, the deal now features a $3.5MM signing bonus and $250K roster bonus.

Giants, McBride Agree To Two-Year Deal

The Giants and cornerback Trumaine McBride have reached agreement on a new two-year contract that will keep the 28-year-old off the open market, says Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. According to Raanan, the deal, which will likely be signed later today, is worth a total of $3.1MM.

McBride, who played for the Bears, Cardinals, and Jaguars before joining the Giants last season, saw an increased role in New York’s secondary during the second half of 2013 and performed well, ranking 24th among qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). At a cost of about $1.55MM per season, he’ll come much cheaper than many of the more notable names on the cornerback market this week, though of course he doesn’t have the same track record as many of those other free agents. McBride’s 10 starts for the Giants last season were his first starts since the 2008 season.

The Giants are still expected to be in the market for cornerbacks, according to Raanan. While New York may no longer be in the mix for top options like Alterraun Verner, Corey Graham is one player drawing interest from the team.

Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record first reported that the Giants were close to re-signing McBride.

Giants Rumors: McBride, Dietrich-Smith, Dickson

Earlier today, we heard that the Giants will cut center David Baas, and that the team is close to locking up kicker Josh Brown to a new deal. Here’s more on the G-Men:

  • Cornerback Trumaine McBride and the Giants are close to agreeing on a two-year contract, reports Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record. McBride saw an increased role in New York’s secondary during the second half of 2013 and performed well, ranking 24th among qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
  • As expected, the Giants expressed interest in Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. A team source described the interest as “serious,” and that was before word broke that the club would be cutting Bass. Dietrich-Smith could sign quickly tomorrow, and the Giants look like the frontrunners, says Vacchiano (via Twitter).
  • The Giants are interested in tight end Ed Dickson, tweets Vacchiano. Both New York teams may be in on the Ravens free agent, as Brian Costello of the New York Post says the Jets also have interest (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.