Uncategorized - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On NFL Rule Changes

May 28th, 2020 at 6:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL discussed a set of rule changes on Thursday. Here is how the league opted to proceed:

A proposal to implement a fourth-and-15 play to replace the increasingly difficult onside kick was tabled, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This proposal would give teams the option of eschewing kickoffs for a 15-yard conversion — on an untimed down — twice per game. This marks the second straight year the league tabled such a proposal. But teams were split this time around. The unofficial straw poll had 16 teams for and 16 against, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (via Twitter). This rule, or something similar, will almost certainly be revisited again as some momentum now exists to adjust the onside kick.
The opposition to the fourth-and-15 proposal came largely from owners fearing it could be a bridge to eliminating the kickoff altogether, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. The NFL pushed back against that perception, viewing the potential rule change as merely a way to help teams’ comeback efforts — now that the no-running-start rule has worsened onside kick recovery odds.
Both sky judge proposals did not even make it to a vote, with each being withdrawn in advance of Thursday’s discussions, Pelissero notes. But the league did approve a preseason experiment that may lead to such a change. The approval will allow for increased communication between on-field officials and those in the booth during this preseason, and NFL executive VP for football operations Troy Vincent said (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com) it could be a bridge to adding a full-time booth official to each crew.
This preseason experiment partially stems from the NFL being concerned about having to hire 17 booth officials to act as sky judges, the Washington Post’s Mark Maske tweets. Fear of potential unintended consequences — as was the case in the one-and-done pass interference review system — prompted the league to scrap the sky judge proposals, per Florio. But the cost of hiring qualified booth officials almost certainly played a role, Florio adds.
Teams will have an additional IR spot this coming season. Three players can now return from IR.

NFL To Vote On Changes To IR Rules

May 22nd, 2020 at 10:46am CST by Rory Parks

League owners will vote next week on two major proposed changes to injured reserve rules, per Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link). The first would allow up to three players who have been placed on IR to return later in the season (currently, only two IR’d players are permitted to return). The second would make players who are placed on IR prior to final roster cutdowns eligible to return.

The first of those proposed changes is fairly self-explanatory, though it wasn’t that long ago that a player who was put on injured reserve was automatically ruled out for the rest of the season. In 2012, clubs were permitted to return one player from IR during the season, but they had to designate a specific player as a return candidate. In 2016, the rules were modified so that teams did not have to slap a “DTR” label on a specific player and could instead return any IR’d player they wanted. And in 2017, the league began allowing teams to bring back two players from injured reserve.

Throughout those changes, however, one thing has remained constant: in order to be eligible to return from IR, a player had to make his team’s final 53-man preseason roster. So we frequently saw situations like that of Kurt Coleman last year, who was cut by the Bills prior to final cutdowns just so that Buffalo could carry tight end Jason Croom on the 53-man and then place him on IR (thereby making him eligible to return later in the season). Buffalo re-signed Coleman the next day.

That type of borderline senseless roster maneuvering may soon be a thing of the past. Still, a player on IR will not be permitted to practice until six weeks after landing on injured reserve and cannot return to game action until his team has played eight games after he was put on IR.

NFC South Notes: Saints, Bucs, Brady

May 1st, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite the three Pro Bowl selections on his resume, Larry Warford‘s standing with the Saints is in flux. The Saints have been pondering his status throughout the offseason, according to Larry Holder of The Athletic.

Warford has started in every game he’s played throughout his career, including these last three Pro Bowl seasons with the Saints. Still, Sean Payton followed through on his promise to prioritize the interior line by drafting center Cesar Ruiz in the first round. He’s also indicated that Ruiz could be a first-stringer and that Warford will have to compete for his starting gig.

Warford is still on the right side of 30 (he turns 29 in June), but the Saints aren’t sold on him. It’s a situation to monitor as he enters the final year of the four-year, $34MM deal he inked as a free agent in 2017. If released, Warford would count for $5.125MM in dead money versus $7.75MM in cap savings.

The Saints are giving real thought to shedding that deal, especially with a combined $28MM committed to Terron Armstead and Andrus Peat in 2020. They also have an extension on the horizon for standout tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who just recently had his 2021 option exercised.

Chargers Hire Pep Hamilton As QBs Coach

April 30th, 2020 at 10:12am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chargers are hiring Pep Hamilton as their new quarterbacks coach, a source tells Daniel Popper of The Athletic.

Hamilton’s most recent gig came as the head coach and general manager of the XFL’s DC Defenders, but he also boasts ample NFL experience. He served in a variety of offensive roles for the Jets, 49ers, and Bears before joining the Colts as offensive coordinator in 2013. In Indianapolis, Hamilton coached quarterback Andrew Luck, who he’d also led as Stanford’s OC from 2011-12.

The 45-year-old Hamilton spent 2016 with the Browns before reuniting with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan for two seasons. He took over the Defenders earlier this year, but that role ended when the XFL ended its operations in early April. The Chargers actually tried to hire Hamilton a few months ago, but weren’t able to due to his XFL employment, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

In Los Angeles, Hamilton will team with holdover offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to develop No. 6 overall pick Justin Herbert. While veteran Tyrod Taylor may begin the 2020 campaign as the Chargers’ starting quarterback, Herbert will surely be under center at some point.

NFC North Notes: Lions, Gronk, Vikes, Bears

April 21st, 2020 at 4:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings broke up their years-long receiver tandem of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, shipping the latter to Buffalo for a package of picks. While the Vikings did not collect quite the haul they did for Percy Harvin seven years ago, Rick Spielman called it a business opportunity that benefited both Diggs and the Vikings (Twitter link via the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling). Spielman said he did not intend to trade Diggs when he last spoke at the Combine, but the Bills’ offer of a first-round pick and three Day 3 choices — including a 2021 fourth-rounder — was too enticing to pass up. The Bills also upped their offer from their previous one, which occurred before the 2019 deadline. The Vikings now hold the Nos. 22 and 25 overall picks in a receiver-loaded draft, and they now have a massive need at the position.

Here is the latest from the NFC North:

Two years ago, the Lions nearly traded for Rob Gronkowski. Now that a team has actually swung a trade for the dominant tight end, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com provided the details (via Twitter) on the disparities between the Buccaneers and Lions’ offers. They are stark. The Lions offered the Pats their 2018 first-rounder (No. 20 overall) and were set to swap picks in the second round (dropping from No. 43 to 51) before the then-29-year-old tight end nixed the deal by threatening to retire. The Lions ended up picking Frank Ragnow in the first round; Gronkowski collected a third Super Bowl ring 10 months later and then retired. The Pats dealt the unretiring Gronk and a seventh-round pick to the Bucs for a fourth-rounder on Tuesday.
Everson Griffen remains unsigned and is “probably” gone from the Vikings, but the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson notes if Minnesota does not land a pass rusher in the draft it is not out of the question the 10-year veteran returns (Twitter link). Griffen issued a statement indicating an 11th Vikings season was not in the cards, but Tomasson indicates (via Twitter) he merely wanted to inform other teams he was available and not a lock to return to Minnesota. Griffen’s mental health episode in 2018 may well be impacting his free agency, with Tomasson tweeting teams would like to meet with him and discuss it. The 32-year-old edge defender will likely have to reassess his options after the draft.
Another year, another Bears kicking competition. After a very public kicker battle throughout the 2019 offseason, the Bears will hold another this year. Incumbent Eddy Pineiro will match up against lower-profile challenger Ramiz Ahmed, Ryan Pace confirmed (via the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser). The Bears signed Ahmed, who kicked at Nevada for one season and has yet to kick in an NFL game, last week but had their eye on him as a UDFA last year. A late addition last summer, Pineiro made 23 of 28 field goals with the Bears last season.

Cowboys Re-Sign Darian Thompson

March 17th, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Cowboys have retained safety Darian Thompson, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. After losing safety Jeff Heath to the Raiders earlier today, the team has maintained some continuity at the position.

A third-round pick in the 2016 draft by the Giants, Thompson started all 16 games of his second professional season in New York, but mediocre play and an injury led to his release in just his third season. The Cowboys soon picked him up and he appeared in 10 games at the close of 2018, but failed to record any statistics.

In his first full season in Dallas, Thompson made 4 starts but appeared in the Cowboys defensive backfield in 15 games throughout the season. Thompson recorded 45 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1.5 sacks, and received the 61st highest grade for a safety of the 86 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus.

Vikings Extend FB C.J. Ham

March 16th, 2020 at 1:35pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Vikings have signed their fullback C.J. Ham to a three-year extension, per his agent’s Twitter account. No details have emerged on the specific dollar value of the extension, although no deal would be expected to break the bank.

Ham has been one of the few fullbacks left in a league that has relied less and less on the blocking focused fullback. Of the 12 fullbacks who qualified for grading by Pro Football Focus last season, Ham solidly ranked in the middle of the pack at 7th.

Over his three years in Minnesota, Ham has appeared in 47 games (10 starts), caught 35 passes for 302 yards, received 20 carries for 38 yards, and recorded two touchdowns.

NFL And NFLPA Will Meet Following CBA Vote

March 14th, 2020 at 5:50pm CST by Marc Delucchi

While nearly all major sports leagues have either suspended or canceled upcoming events, the NFL has yet to make any drastic changes to their offseason schedule. Obviously, unlike most other leagues, that are currently in season, the NFL lacks the same pressure since their largest public events (e.g. NFL Draft, Training Camp, etc.) are still at least a month away, but as the COVID-19 (a.k.a coronavirus) epidemic has reached the level of a global pandemic, it has become clearer that even the NFL will be impacted.

According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, the NFL and NFLPA will meet on Sunday to discuss short and long-term plans for the offseason in reaction to the virus. Furthermore, Maske notes that free agency, at least at the moment, appears set to stay on schedule, however, there seems to be a real possibility offseason workouts are delayed.

While free agency does not require travel from players, agents, and teams, it does seem peculiar to try and continue business as usual amidst such abnormal circumstances. Mike Klis of 9News pointed out on Twitter that “there are competitive disadvantages for teams that have shut down their buildings.” It’s also reasonable to expect members from all around the NFL community to contract the virus. Owners, front-office employees, coaches, agents, and players are all at risk and one wonders if as soon as one person is diagnosed with COVID-19 the league will suspend operation (much in the way the NBA reacted to Rudy Gobert’s diagnosis).

Another complicating factor for the league is the ongoing CBA negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA. The NFLPA is currently voting on the league’s proposal and both sides may be more willing to delay the offseason if the deal is ratified. Granted, there are a number of critics and arguments in opposition of the deal as well.

NFL Could Postpone Free Agency

March 12th, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While reports earlier today indicated the NFL has no plans to alter the start of free agency due to COVID-19, that could change soon. The league may announce on Sunday the delay of the free agent period, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

The NFLPA is scheduled to vote on the proposed collective bargaining agreement by Saturday night, so the league would wait until voting has closed in order to stop further delays to that negotiation process. Currently, the deadline to apply the franchise or transition tag is Monday at 11:59am ET, followed immediately by the opening of the legal tampering period at 12:00pm ET.

Free agency, then, is set to officially open next Wednesday at 4pm ET. While many other sports leagues have suspended their seasons, the NFL has as of yet made no such move to delay the beginning of its offseason. However, with coronavirus threats ramping up every day, the league may decide to change its plans.

As Florio notes, free agents likely wouldn’t be allowed (or willing) to take the ceremonial trip to their new destination in order to sign a contract and hold a press conference. Additionally, from a fairly superficial standpoint, it’s unclear how much publicity would be given to transactions, especially as more serious COVID-19 issues arise each day.

Draft Notes: Shenault, Wills, Moss, Niang

February 29th, 2020 at 7:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the many high-end wide receiver prospects in this draft, Colorado product Laviska Shenault will need surgery. Shenault will undergo a procedure that will sideline him for more than a month, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The surgery is scheduled for next week, per Troy Renck of Denver7 (on Twitter). Shenault did not run well in this week’s 40-yard dash, clocking 4.58 seconds, and this injury helps explain that. The early-entry wideout is dealing with a core muscle injury and pubic bone inflammation, per Schefter. Shenault did not run a second 40. This could impact Shenault’s draft stock, but even given his injury history and the abundance of wide receivers in this class, it is unlikely he will fall out of the second round. The 6-foot-1, 227-pound wideout has been on the draft radar for a while, beginning with a 1,011-yard, nine-touchdown 2018 sophomore season.

Here is the latest from the draft world:

One prospect who might’ve seen his draft stock dip this week was Alabama offensive lineman Jedrick Wills. Wills seemed to be a lock to be a first-round pick as an offensive tackle, but it looks like a position change could be in his future. Some teams have taken him off their tackle boards all together and are projecting him as a guard at the next level, per Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com, who writes that this is causing his stock to slip and that teams are “concerned about his ability to mentally process a complex blocking scheme.”
LSU tight end Thaddeus Moss, the son of the legendary Randy Moss, got some tough injury news at the combine. His physical revealed a Jones fracture in his foot and he will undergo surgery, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). While Pelissero notes that he’ll be ready well in advance of the regular season, this will unfortunately cause him to miss a good chunk of his first offseason program. Moss bursted onto the scene out of nowhere this past season, and had been regarded as a late riser and potential Day 2 pick. It’s unclear but this could hurt his stock a bit.
There was also some good medical news, as TCU offensive tackle Lucas Niang got a positive report following his November hip surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Rapoport writes that Niang is now considered one of the top offensive tackles in the draft. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller had him going 77th overall in a recent mock draft, although he could go higher with this fresh clean bill of health.

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