Uncategorized - Pro Football Rumors

NFL Millionaire Maker Contest At DraftKings

August 20th, 2015 at 10:55pm CST by Luke Adams

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The one-week contest for Week 1’s slate of NFL games gets underway on Sunday, September 13 at 1:00pm eastern time, so you have plenty of time to set – and tweak – your lineup. It’s a salary cap style contest, meaning you’ll have a budget of $50K with which to fill nine roster spots — one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one Flex, and one Team Defense. Here’s what my current Week 1 roster looks like, for example:

Sign up today for the DraftKings $10MM Millionaire Maker contest today for your chance to win $2,000,000!

This is a sponsored post from DraftKings.

North Notes: Benjamin, Vikings, Packers

August 18th, 2015 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin, who is entering the final season of his rookie contract, recognizes that it’s a “big, big year” for him, as he tells Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Still, he’s not looking ahead to signing an extension or a free agent contract, suggesting that if he plays well, things will take care of themselves.

“I’m playing for now. I don’t look far into the future,” Benjamin said. “I’m just playing for the Browns right now, and hopefully, if things work out, I’ll be here for another couple more years.”

As Benjamin looks to surpass his career high of 18 receptions this year, let’s check out some more notes from out of the NFL’s two Central divisions….

Head coach Mike Zimmer said earlier in camp that it’s not essential to keep a true fullback on the Vikings‘ roster this season, but you should still bet on the club hanging onto one, says Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, suggesting that Zach Line is a strong bet to make the team.
Jared Abbrederis, selected by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, isn’t giving up on his NFL career, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The former Wisconsin wideout missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL, and has yet to be cleared this year due to a concussion, but Green Bay isn’t giving up on him, as Demovsky details.
Yesterday, we heard that wide receiver Adrian Coxson had been cut by the Packers outright, and that Coxson would be seeking an injury settlement from the team. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post clarifies (via Twitter) that Green Bay waived Coxson with a “failure to disclose physical condition” designation, suggesting he didn’t inform the team of concussion symptoms.

NFC East Notes: Ertz, Cowboys, Redd

August 14th, 2015 at 9:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Though Washington will miss Niles Paul for the entire season after he suffered an ankle injury, the club doesn’t intend to make a major move for a new tight end, tweets Albert Breer of NFL.com. Not only will the team not attempt to swing a trade, but they aren’t interested in Chris Cooley, who is attempting to make an NFL comeback. Earlier today, PFR’s Luke Adams went over Washington’s options as it attempts to replace Paul.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Washington isn’t the only team with tight end troubles, as Eagles TE Zach Ertz underwent surgery to replace a core muscle injury, the team confirmed (via Twitter), and Chip Kelly told Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that Ertz is expected to miss the entire preseason. Ertz should be ready for Week 1, however.
Washington running back Silas Redd suffered a knee injury during yesterday’s preseason game, and his teammate DeSean Jackson says (via Instagram) that Redd’s injury is season-ending. A source confirms to Mike Jones of the Washington Post that Redd tore both his ACL and MCL last night. Redd appeared in 15 games in 2014, his rookie season.
The Cowboys will be looking for a running back, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link), but Dallas won’t be signing any of the familiar names often linked to the club, so players like Chris Johnson and Ray Rice can probably be crossed off the list. Undrafted rookie Gus Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in last night’s game, and although Johnson is considered day-to-day, the Cowboys were probably looking for additional depth at the position even before the rookie’s injury.

Extra Points: A. Davis, BJGE, J. Jones, Rice

August 13th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by Zachary Links

When Anthony Davis announced his decision to step away from the 49ers, it wasn’t exactly classified as his retirement. Unlike Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, and Chris Borland, San Francisco’s former right tackle still plans to return to the NFL at some point, suggesting that he’ll probably take a year off before returning to the league.

“Yeah, I will come back,” Davis told Brian Dohn of Scout.com. “I want to rest. I feel like right now I could go into a camp and play, but I want to rest. … I’m getting my hands right, seeing specialists, foot specialists, making sure I’m on the right track to play another five or six years if I wanted to.”

According to Davis, it’s not accurate to say that he’s taking the 2015 season off to recover from a concussion — it’s more about getting his whole body right, and giving himself a rest.

Let’s round up the rest of today’s odds and ends from across the NFL….

BenJarvus Green-Ellis is looking for a new NFL home, and the free agent running back tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com that he’s “optimistic” about getting that call. “Obviously, each team that’s in the market is in the market for a certain type of back,” Green-Ellis said. “But I know somebody out there has a need for what I can do. More than anything, I’m excited to get back out there and hit somebody.”
We haven’t heard much recently on Julio Jones’ contract talks, but Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) that it’s the most “professional and team cognizant contract approach” to a contract negotiation he’s seen.
When asked about Ray Rice, Texans owner Bob McNair said that the veteran free agent probably wouldn’t fit in his locker room, adding that the four running backs already on the roster are better players, tweets Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com.
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has a more legitimate gripe about his deal than Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, opines Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Brown has outperformed his contract at wide receiver while there has been no real change in the strong safety market. Earlier today, a source told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that Chancellor was under the impression that he would have his contract reworked upon establishing himself as one of the best at his position.
Free agent wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers has been suspended for the first two weeks of the season, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). That could help to explain why Rogers remains unsigned in mid-August.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Rivers, L.A., Enemkpali, Tabb

August 12th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Sources continue to tell Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that they don’t expect Philip Rivers and the Chargers to agree to terms on an extension before the season, though it’s not unfathomable that the two sides will reach a compromise. According to Acee, the Chargers and Rivers both eventually want to work out an agreement that will allow the quarterback to retire with the team, but disbursement of guaranteed money in the third year of any deal is among the current sticking points in negotiations.

Eric Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears from a league source that San Diego is willing to guarantee the third year of Rivers’ new contract, which is common for franchise quarterbacks, and Acee acknowledges that such a detail is unlikely to be a long-term roadblock. But if the two sides don’t agree on the structure of the extension soon, they may wait until 2016 to get something done.

Here are a few more Wednesday night odds and ends from around the NFL:

During the owners’ meeting in Chicago this week to discuss possible relocation to Los Angeles, both the Carson and Inglewood groups made strong presentations, and both projects have their share of supporters, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Cole, a large group of owners supports the Raiders and Chargers‘ joint Carson proposal, since it would solve the “California dilemma” in one fell swoop. On the other hand, a vocal contingent of owners – including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones – support Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood proposal, since they feel the Rams owner’s deep pockets would make the project work.
Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times also has a recap of this week’s meeting regarding L.A., and touches on several of the same points as Cole. According to Farmer, many owners believe Kroenke has the best location and stadium plan, but he’s less popular among his peers than Chargers owner Dean Spanos, and St. Louis has done more than San Diego and Oakland to keep its franchise.
Explaining his decision to claim IK Enemkpali off waivers today from the Jets, Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters that Enemkpali “was a good teammate” last year in New York, adding that there’s no guarantee the former sixth-round pick will make Buffalo’s regular season roster (Twitter links via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News and ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak).
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Ryan remains a fan of the player who Enemkpali cold-cocked — Mehta writes that, after landing the Bills‘ coaching job this winter, Ryan wondered aloud to friends if the Jets would trade Geno Smith to Buffalo.
Saints rookie tight end Jack Tabb underwent surgery this week to repair a torn ACL, a source tells Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Waived last Friday by the team, Tabb is currently on New Orleans’ injured reserve list and will miss the 2015 season.

Extra Points: Los Angeles, Cardinals, Levy

August 10th, 2015 at 9:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, San Diego city officials are meeting with NFL today in Schaumburg, Illinois, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The city of St. Louis has already met with the league. He adds that there is no meeting scheduled as of yet between the NFL and the city of Oakland, because there’s been no progress on that front (link). Here’s more from around the NFL..

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians says that he’s not happy with the play of his running backs and will discuss options for outside help with GM Steve Keim, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. When asked if Ray Rice will be among the options considered, Arians said no (link).
San Diego officials announced a stadium financing plan that would require $750MM in private money from the Chargers and NFL with $350MM in public funds, Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego tweets. Meanwhile, Chargers attorney Mark Fabiani struck back with a strongly worded statement that refuted the viability of the plan (via Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Twitter links).
The early word from Chicago is that Carmen Policy should not be underestimated when it comes to the Los Angeles situation, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. Policy, the longtime NFL exec, is pushing the Carson stadium project.
The Lions were smart to get their extension with DeAndre Levy done before Lavonte David reached agreement with the Buccaneers, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets. Corry reasons that David’s deal might have complicated things for Detroit.
The Ravens lost ace returner Jacoby Jones this offseason but they’re not sweating it because their system has been successful in producing many different quality returners, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes. Currently, Michael Campanaro, Asa Jackson and DeAndre Carter are listed as the top three on the team’s unofficial depth chart. Lardarius Webb and Steve Smith also have expressed an interest in running back kicks.

Extra Points: Sam, CJ2K, D-Jax, Ravens

August 6th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Montreal Alouettes are feeling very good about Michael Sam‘s progress and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) would be very surprised if he doesn’t make his CFL debut Friday night. Sam left the CFL team for personal reasons over the summer but recently returned to practice. Here’s more from around the NFL..

Despite talk and speculation to the contrary, there’s nothing going on between the Texans and running back Chris Johnson, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (on Twitter) hears from a source. Johnson, who survived a drive-by shooting earlier this year, has gone unsigned so far this offseason.
Following a collision with a blocking sled, DeSean Jackson has been diagnosed with a separated shoulder, and the Washington wideout is expected to miss “a few weeks,” per Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jackson should be ready to go for the regular season, so he figures to remain on the active roster.
The Ravens didn’t immediately sign ex-Niner Chris Cook following his workout with the team today, but it’s clear Baltimore is still considering adding a veteran cornerback, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
Bears rookie wide receiver Kevin White could start the year on the PUP list, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). White, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft, reportedly expects to begin running on his injured shin early next week.
Joel Corry of CBSSports.com passes along a couple more details on DeAndre Levy‘s extension with the Lions, tweeting that the deal drops the linebacker’s base salary to $3.5MM in 2015, but he’ll receive a $12MM signing bonus.

NFC Notes: Ginn, Kerrigan, Chancellor

August 5th, 2015 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. admitted that he was “chasing a check” when he signed with the Cardinals last year, suggesting he took the highest offer he got in free agency for the benefit of his family (link via Tim Durr of the Black and Blue Review). Although Ginn signed a three-year deal with the Cards, his stint in Arizona didn’t last long — he was cut by the team in February.

Here’s more from across the NFC:

ESPN.com’s John Keim and Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap examine the specific details on Ryan Kerrigan‘s new contract with Washington, and Fitzgerald also provides a breakdown of the extension in chart form. The deal, which includes a $16MM signing bonus, features cap hits of $6.238MM in 2015 and $8.45MM in 2016 before jumping to $11.7MM+ for the final four years.
Since Kam Chancellor‘s holdout from Seahawks camp is now at six days, Seattle is allowed to recoup 15% of the safety’s signing bonus proration for 2015, tweets Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. Since Chancellor’s bonus counts for $1MM against the team’s cap this year, Seattle could recoup $150K.
Lions GM Martin Mayhew explained that the team’s depth at cornerback led to the trade that sent Mohammed Seisay to the Seahawks, a deal he called “win-win for everybody.” Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has the quotes from Mayhew.
Packers defensive end Datone Jones told reporters, including Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link), that he did not appeal his one-game suspension. Jones was suspended last month after receiving a citation for marijuana possession.
Free agent cornerback Josh Victorian, who recently auditioned for the Texans, worked out for the Panthers following Chris Houston‘s retirement, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Chiefs, Berry, Brady, Ravens

July 28th, 2015 at 9:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look around the NFL..

Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter) that he doesn’t anticipate adding any big-name guys with his remaining roster spot.
Reid gave reporters, including BJ Kissel of KCchiefs.com (on Twitter), an update on safety Eric Berry. “Eric is going through some tests right now. We’ll have more information in a day. Everything has been positive so far,” said Reid. The Chiefs safety has been battling Hodgkin lymphoma and it sounds like we may be getting close to hearing a timetable for his return.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap (on Twitter) believes that the Patriots will rework Tom Brady‘s contract to bring the suspension money down significantly.
The Ravens are expected to stick with reserve quarterbacks Bryn Renner and Jerry Lovelocke heading into camp, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Still, the Ravens tried out Doug Williams’ son, D.J. Williams, sources tell Wilson (on Twitter) as well as quarterback Austin Trainor and quarterback/wide receiver Trent Steelman (link).

AFC Notes: Brady, Pettine, Broncos, Chargers

July 27th, 2015 at 9:11pm CST by Zachary Links

After Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti denied that he was among those pushing commissioner Roger Goodell to keep Tom Brady‘s full four-game suspension, Colts owner Jim Irsay issued a similar denial today.

“That’s not true at all,” Irsay told Zak Keefer of The Star when asked about a recent assertion made by ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “I haven’t talked to Roger Goodell about DeflateGate since late January. Not true. That’s not the way things work involving someone else’s business and someone else’s team. It’s not something I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around ownership (in the NFL) for half a century.”

Irsay claims his last interaction with Goodell regarding the Deflategate controversy came months before the results of Ted Wells’ investigation were released in May. Here’s more out of the AFC..

Despite a recent report to the contrary, Browns coach Mike Pettine swears he’s on good terms with GM Ray Farmer, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. “I think it was that late summer slow news day,” Pettine said. “The unfortunate thing is this: When you don’t win, when you have the history, or not so recent history of the Browns, to me, there’s not much credibility there. You can take an individual event and extrapolate that out to it has a negative connotation to it. That was the disappointing part of that.”
If the status of Antonio Smith‘s case doesn’t change, he could report to Broncos training camp on Thursday, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post writes. Denver excused Smith from voluntary offseason workouts to tend to his personal matters but the club has remained in contact with him over the past two months and is expected to determine his status soon. If the Broncos decide they need more time to make a decision on Smith he cannot be fined for his absence from camp. Smith is being investigated following a complaint of sexual child abuse.
NFL executive Eric Grubman will visit San Diego again on Tuesday to get a briefing from the Chargers and local government officals on the progress of the stadium initiative, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.

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