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AFC Notes: Jets, Raiders, Broncos, Hardman

April 29th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

During the hours leading up to the draft’s second night, the Jets were calling teams — the Seahawks, Colts and others — about trading way up into the second round. That did not end up happening. The Jets, who traded their Round 2 pick to the Colts last year for the right to move up to draft Sam Darnold, made the calls because of a desire to add one of the high-end cornerbacks available to start Day 2, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. Gang Green sought to jump into the top five of the second round, per Mehta, but they could not come to terms on a deal. Such a jump — from No. 68 into the 30s — would have required a significant draft capital subtraction. The Jets also had a deal with the Eagles to make a less costly move — up to No. 57 — to draft Mecole Hardman, but the Chiefs beat them to it. Corners Byron Murphy, Rock Ya-Sin, Sean Bunting and Trayvon Mullen all went off the board in the first eight picks Friday.

At corner, the Jets have 2018 free agent signing Trumaine Johnson and 2019 addition Brian Poole. As of now, they may be asking Darryl Roberts to be a starter. With no draft picks spent on the position, the Jets may still be on the lookout for help here.

Here is the latest post-draft news from the AFC:

  • The Raiders hoped to trade down from their No. 4 slot, but no calls came, Peter King of NBC Sports notes. Just about every high-end prospect was connected to the Raiders during the pre-draft process, but the team instead went with what most perceived as a bit of a reach in Clelin Ferrell. However, taking the Clemson talent at No. 4 was the team’s backup plan.
  • Joe Flacco‘s work in the early days of the Broncos‘ offseason program dissuaded John Elway from selecting a quarterback at No. 10 overall, something many mock drafts had the Broncos doing. “What made that decision is, Joe is fitting really well with what we want to do offensively, and he looked great in our minicamp last week,” Elway said Thursday, via King. “He really put on a throwing exhibition last week in camp. I truly think we’ve got a guy coming into his prime.” Of course, less than 24 hours later, Drew Lock was a Bronco. Both King and SI.com’s Albert Breer report the Mizzou prospect was the top passer on Denver’s board, with Breer adding that Elway continually brought up Lock in pre-draft meetings, pointing further to the potential value investment at No. 42.
  • As for what would have happened if the Broncos did not receive a strong Steelers offer for No. 10? Denver would have a new starting inside linebacker, with King writing the Broncos would have taken Devin Bush and addressed their offensive needs later.
  • While the Chiefs‘ Hardman pick looks like a Tyreek Hill emergency replacement, and was chosen three rounds ahead of when the polarizing star was taken three years ago, the team views the Georgia speedster as a cross between Hill and gadget-type weapon De’Anthony Thomas — both in terms of role and talent, Breer writes.
  • Of their six 2019 picks, the Jets used one on an offensive lineman — third-round tackle Chuma Edoga. Gang Green entered free agency with plenty of needs up front. While All-Pro Kelechi Osemele is now slotted in as one of the Jets’ first-string guards, Tom Compton represented the team’s only other veteran addition. Although, Jonotthan Harrison re-signed and appears to be a firm option to start, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY notes. The Jets were eyeing interior lineman Connor McGovern in Round 3, per Vacchiano, but the Cowboys beat them to him. As of now, Harrison — a career part-time starter with the Colts who ended last season as the Jets’ top center — is first in line to snap.

Draft Notes: Steelers, Jets, Giants, Dolphins

April 25th, 2019 at 2:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the more traditional NFL franchises, in terms of offseason aggression, the Steelers appear to recognize the urgency their recent defensive struggles have created. They are making calls about a possible trade-up from their No. 20 spot, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Steelers boast big needs at cornerback and linebacker. It is believed the Steelers will be able to land a corner, perhaps the first corner to go in this draft, at 20. But if Pittsburgh wants to make a big move for a linebacker, it will likely need to acquire a top-10 pick. Devin White is viewed at this point as a top-10 lock, and the Broncos have been the team most connected to Devin Bush at No. 10.

Here is the latest from the draft world, hours away from the 2019 event:

  • The Jets have been a highly motivated seller at No. 3, and Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News notes (on Twitter) the team almost certainly will have a market to move back. Three GMs informed Mehta the Jets will be able to trade back, if they so choose, despite a sense existing as recently as Wednesday Gang Green would not be successful in moving its pick. This is, however, contingent on Nick Bosa being gone at No. 2, with Mehta adding the Jets would likely select the Ohio State-developed edge rusher if he were available.
  • There may be another seller in the AFC East. Earlier on Thursday, the Dolphins were viewed as a trade-down candidate. Teams are now hearing, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (video link), Miami is quite motivated to move back from No. 13. The Dolphins are receiving calls about their pick, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). This would make sense, given where the Dolphins are in their rebuilding process. However, they have done extensive work on both Dwayne Haskins and Daniel Jones, per Pelissero. But with Miami being mentioned as a candidate to wait until the higher-profile 2020 quarterback class to land its passer, Pelissero adds the Dolphins could pass on both Haskins and Jones even if they were available at 13.
  • John Elway also mentioned the probable 2020 QB class this offseason, and it appears likely his team will not select a signal-caller at No. 10. The Broncos have been connected to quarterback at 10, but it doesn’t seem like that will be the move, James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Instead, it seems more likely that the Broncos will target inside linebacker, defensive line, and tight end help in the draft.
  • More consistently linked to QBs than either the Dolphins or Broncos, the Giants have a major decision between their top short- or long-term need at No. 6. Viewed as possibly having executed a Haskins smokescreen operation, the Giants may prefer Jones or Drew Lock over him. While Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv notes they “love” both Jones and Lock, neither may be in play at No. 6. Instead, Big Blue may be gambling it can land one of them at No. 17. This would point to the Giants selecting a pass rusher with their initial first-round pick tonight.

Following Specific NFL Players On PFR

April 22nd, 2019 at 9:38am CST by Zachary Links

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray in advance of the draft, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest news involving Joe Staley‘s plans for the future, you can find his page right here.

In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.

North Notes: Bears, Anderson, Steelers

April 6th, 2019 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Miller showed promise for the Bears as a rookie, hauling in seven touchdown receptions and being a key player from the outset of the team’s NFC North championship season. The Memphis product dealt with a shoulder injury, however, for much of the season. Miller said he dislocated his shoulder at least five times during his rookie campaign, with Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune noting the first such dislocation came in September and the last had him a shell of his optimal version. By season’s end, Miller had faded, finishing his first regular season with a four-catch, 25-yard December. Miller underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in January and expects to be limited throughout the Bears’ offseason program, per Kane, but understandably anticipates a production increase as an NFL sophomore — should he sufficiently recover from this ailment.

Here is the latest from the North divisions:

  • Details are in on C.J. Anderson‘s Lions deal, courtesy of Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The veteran running back’s one-year agreement is worth nearly $1.5MM and can max out at $3MM (Twitter links). Anderson received $200K to sign. Anderson signed for one year and nearly $1.7MM with the Panthers last year. Both of these agreements represent steep pay reductions when compared to Anderson’s previous four-year, $18MM Broncos pact. But the 27-year-old back stands to play a key part in Detroit’s backfield this season, perhaps setting him up for another contract in 2020.
  • Despite the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger having been engaged in extension discussions for more than a month, no impasse between the parties exists, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. While the Steelers have spoken with Big Ben’s agent, Ryan Tollner, little dialogue has transpired between the Steelers and their 16th-year quarterback, Dulac adds. One year and $23.2MM remain on Roethlisberger’s current deal. Despite entering his age-37 season, Roethlisberger stands to take on even greater importance this coming year — considering the caliber of players the Steelers recently lost.
  • The Steelers are doing some research on higher-end cornerbacks in this year’s draft, hosting Rock Ya-Sin and Justin Layne on pre-draft visits Friday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Post-Gazette notes. A former Division I-FCS transfer who played just one season at Temple, the 6-foot Ya-Sin nevertheless rates as the No. 29 overall prospect on NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s board. A converted wide receiver, the 6-2 Layne started two seasons as a corner at Michigan State.
  • After a three-arrest offseason, running back Mark Walton received his walking papers from the Bengals.

NFC Notes: Bridgewater, Saints, 49ers, Gragg, Buccaneers

March 22nd, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Teddy Bridgewater had a dramatic free agency. He appeared all set to return to the Saints, when the Dolphins swooped in with a last second offer to be their starting quarterback. But in the end, he decided to return to New Orleans, potentially setting him up to take over for Drew Brees. In a recent interview with WWL Radio, Bridgewater elaborated on his decision to stay in the Big Easy, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Bridgewater indicated it mostly had to do with how much he enjoyed his time in New Orleans, rather than about potential playing time.

“I told my agents every time that I talked to them that I haven’t stopped smiling since I arrived,” Bridgewater said. They made playing football fun, they made learning the game fun … and that’s something I appreciate. I was able to be part of that for 18 weeks last season, and it was nothing but positive things that occurred,” he continued. It sounds like Bridgewater has bought in to whatever the Saints are promising, and they clearly think very highly of him if they’re giving him $7.25MM to be their backup quarterback.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • The 49ers brought in tight end Chris Gragg for a workout, a source told Matt Maioccio of NBC Sports (Twitter link). An Arkansas product, Gragg was taken by the Bills in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. He spent the next four years in Buffalo, then was with the Jets during the 2017 offseason. Gragg has struggled with injuries, missing the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons while hurt. He spent all of last year out of the league, and this is the first we’ve heard of him in a while. Gragg had his most productive season in 2015, when he caught 12 passes for 150 yards. He’s unlikely to make much of an impact even if San Francisco does opt to sign him.
  • The Buccaneers are making a historic move. Tampa Bay is hiring Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust as the first full-time female assistant coaches in franchise history, the team announced in a release. Locust will be an assistant defensive line coach, while Javadifar will be an assistant strength and conditioning coach. The Bucs are now the first team in NFL history to have two women as full-time coaches. New Bucs coach Bruce Arians has emphasized the need for greater diversity on NFL coaching staffs, and is now practicing what he preaches. Arians had said he would do something like this, so it isn’t surprising.
  • The Saints are reportedly close to a deal that would bring Jared Cook to New Orleans, but they might not be done adding to their tight end group. The team is “paying close attention” to LSU tight end Foster Moreau today at his pro day, Larry Holder of The Athletic is told (Twitter link). Moreau caught 22 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns at LSU last year.

 

Contract Details: Jackson, Verrett, Roberts, Williams, Paulsen

March 16th, 2019 at 8:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Some assorted contract details from around the NFL:

  • Malik Jackson, DT (Eagles): Five years, $50MM, $17MM guaranteed. $9MM signing bonus, $1MM 2019 salary guaranteed. $7.6MM salary in 2020, $4.6MM of which is guaranteed. Base salaries of $9MM, $10MM, and $11MM in 2021-2023. Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
  • Jason Verrett, CB (49ers): One year, cap charge of $1.5MM. $1.1MM salary of which $600K is guaranteed, plus $400K signing bonus. Verrett “can earn up to $3 million for the season if he is active for all 16 games. It’s $31,250 per game on 53-man roster (up to $500k) and an additional Roster Bonus of $62,500 per game on 46-man game day roster (up to $1 million)”. Twitter links via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
  • Darryl Roberts, CB (Jets): Re-signed. Three years, $18MM max value, but essentially only a one year deal according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com. There’s $6MM in guaranteed money, with another $2MM of his 2020 salary guaranteed for injury only. $5MM salary in 2020, $6.5MM salary in 2021, and zero dead money in either year if they want to cut him.
  • Tyrell Williams, WR (Raiders): Four years, $44MM. There was originally reported to be $22MM in guaranteed money, but that’s apparently not true. There’s only $10MM in guaranteed money in the contract, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link).
  • Logan Paulsen, TE (Falcons): Re-signed. Paulsen’s one year deal will have a base salary of $930K. Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Contract Details: Joyner, Titans, Rams, Hart

March 12th, 2019 at 4:14pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts from around the NFL. Twitter links courtesy of Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, unless otherwise noted.

Antonio Brown Notes: Steelers, Broncos, Eagles, Contract

March 4th, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Antonio Brown saga rages on, as the Steelers continue to look for a trade partner for the All-Pro receiver. Brown made recent comments to ESPN that indicated he wouldn’t be accepting anything other than complete control over his situation, saying “I don’t even have to play football if I don’t want. I don’t even need the game, I don’t need to prove nothing to anyone. If they wanna play, they going to play by my rules. If not, I don’t need to play.” Brown’s threats to no longer play come on the heels of a report that quarterback play is a strong factor on where Brown wants to be dealt.

Brown’s latest comments are a ploy to get the Steelers to release him, opines Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Following up on additional speculation that the Steelers may be forced to just release Brown, Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted that the Steelers “will never cut him,” and would rather trade him for a conditional seventh round pick than let Brown win. The latest report has the Eagles and Raiders as strong players in a potential Brown trade.

Here’s the latest on Brown from around the league:

  • The Broncos have been connected to Brown in the press, but the team isn’t interested in trading for him, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). A source close to Denver GM John Elway gave Klis an “emphatic no” when he asked about the possibility of adding Brown. Klis writes that Browns is not “worth the price.” The Broncos recently announced Emmanuel Sanders would be back in 2019, and given that Sanders and Brown have feuded publicly in recent months, it makes sense why they wouldn’t be involved in Brown discussions.
  • Add the Eagles to the list of teams that won’t be trading for Brown, according to Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). A league source told Berman the Eagles “do not have interest.” The Eagles aren’t in the AFC and have shown a willingness to make bold, splashy moves so it seemed like a potential fit, but they apparently aren’t interested. Philly has also been linked to another soon-to-be former Steeler, Le’Veon Bell.
  • There was a report yesterday from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that said the Steelers don’t have to pay Brown’s $2.5MM roster bonus until Week 1 of the regular season. Florio seemed to indicate that meant the Steelers aren’t in the rush to trade Brown by March 17th, when the roster bonus is earned, that many have assumed. But Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com pushed back on that in a tweet, saying he’s “never heard of not having to account” for a roster bonus in a trade, even when the bonus isn’t due until later. Based on Fitzgerald’s reporting, it sounds like the Steelers will still be on the hook for the $2.5MM cap hit if he’s on the roster on March 17th, even if they don’t have to pay it until later.

Official 2019 Franchise/Transition Tag Values

March 1st, 2019 at 5:54pm CST by Micah Powell

On Friday, the NFL released the official franchise and transition tag values for the upcoming season, The MMQB’s Albert Breer tweets. Those values are based on the $188.2MM salary cap that was also announced on Friday, and are as follows:

Franchise Tag

  • Quarterback – $24.865MM
  • Running back – $11.214MM
  • Wide receiver – $16.787MM
  • Tight end – $10.387MM
  • Offensive lineman – $14.067MM
  • Defensive end – $17.128MM
  • Defensive tackle – $15.209MM
  • Linebacker – $15.443MM
  • Cornerback – $16.022MM
  • Safety – $11.150MM
  • Kicker/punter – $4.971MM

Transition Tag

  • Quarterback – $22.783MM
  • Running back – $9.099MM
  • Wide receiver – $14.794MM
  • Tight end – $8.815MM
  • Offensive lineman – $12.866MM
  • Defensive end – $14.360MM
  • Defensive tackle – $12.378MM
  • Linebacker – $13.222MM
  • Cornerback – $13.703MM
  • Safety – $9.531MM
  • Kicker/punter – $4.537MM

NFL Sets Salary Cap At $188.2MM

March 1st, 2019 at 4:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL salary cap for 2019 has been officially set at $188.2MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). That marks an increase of $11MM from last year’s figure of $177.2MM.

This is the sixth consecutive year in which the cap has gone up at least $10MM per club. It’s a sign of continued success and increased revenue for the league, though the final mark is a bit shy of some projections.

In December, the NFL told teams that the final cap would fall somewhere between $187-$191MM. The free spending of clubs has led some to speculate that the cap would fall no lower than $190MM, but ultimately, it doesn’t make a huge difference – revenue is up, the cap is up, and teams like the Colts and Jets have serious money to burn.

Free agency begins on March 13, but a good chunk of the league’s cap space will be absorbed by extensions between now and then.

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