Uncategorized - Pro Football Rumors

Vikings Notes: Johnson, Barr, Munnerlyn

May 31st, 2014 at 9:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings added Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater this offseason and as a result, many have wondered if quarterback Christian Ponder could be a trade candidate. It’s hard to see someone dealing for Ponder to be their starter, but he could be a very intriguing No. 2 QB for a team. In a poll earlier this week, Pro Football Rumors readers voted Ponder the third-most likely candidate to get moved behind Pats QB Ryan Mallett and disgruntled 49ers tailback LaMichael James. Here’s more out of Minnesota..

Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson has lived one heck of a football odyssey. Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press runs down Johnson’s journey, which included stops in NFL Europe, the Arena Football League, and the Canadian Footabll League. He finally made the NFL at age 29 with the Saints and three years later, he inked a deal with Minnesota.
Sure, he’s biased, but Purdue defensive coordinator Greg Hudson can’t help but rave about Vikings’ first-round pick Anthony Barr, writes Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune. “I’ve known him since he was a baby, and watched him grow up,” Hudson said of his nephew. “But he’s a great kid, he really is. He’s grounded, very close to everybody in the family, in particular my in-laws John and Jean Barr. That’s special. They’re his grandparents, but with his parental situation, and just having Mom, they were the ramrods and have been a blessing.”
Vikings cornerback and sixth-year pro Captain Munnerlyn is ready for new challenges in his first season in the NFC North, write Mark Craig of the Star Tribune.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Johnson, Bills

May 28th, 2014 at 7:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Eric Decker will be going from playing with one of the all time great quarterbacks in NFL history to hauling in passes from Michael Vick and/or Geno Smith. While some might see a dropoff there, the Jets’ prized free agent pickup says that he sees “a lot of talent” at the QB position with Gang Green, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Here’s more out of the AFC East..

Jets running back Chris Johnson took to Twitter last night to let everyone know that he’d like to see Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson join him in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Today, he explained that some more to reporters, including Newsday’s Kimberley Martin. “His situation, I don’t think the Texans will let him go, but me playing in the AFC South, facing him twice and every year, he’s a very good player and he’s also a friend,” Chris Johnson said, as he addressed the media in a cramped press room on Day 2 of OTAs. “So any time you’ve got a friend in the league, you always want to play with them.”
Former Sabres owner Tom Golisano has met with Bills officials and public leaders, and informed them of his interest in purchasing the franchise, people involved with the negotiations told John Wawrow of the Associated Press. One person added that Golisano has also had talks with developer Scott Congel to be his partner in the potential ownership group.
Marty Mornhinweg‘s challenge will be to integrate the Jets‘ new pieces into his offensive system, writes Rich Cimini of ESPN.com.

AFC Notes: Titans, Ravens, Browns, Revis

May 26th, 2014 at 2:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

Let’s take a Memorial Day look around the AFC:

There a number of Titans who may see their starting jobs, and even roster spots in general, in jeopardy come training camp, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. Shonn Greene, Michael Oher, and Jake Locker are among the notable names who may not see as much action as expected for the Titans in 2014.
The Ravens selected quarterback Keith Wenning in this month’s draft to compete with Tyrod Taylor to be the backup to Joe Flacco, writes Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore,com. However, Brown writes that he is unsure if the Ravens will devote three roster spots to the position, meaning the two might not only be battling for a backup job, but a spot on the roster.
Ravens defensive lineman Brandon Williams is determined to come back in 2014 with more success after a toe injury kept him out of nine games as a rookie, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Williams, a third-round pick in 2013, has dedicated himself to being in better shape this season. “I’ve had a good offseason, I’ve been working out doing cardio and a bunch of other stuff,” Williams said. “I’m lighter and leaner. I’ve gotten a little stronger.”
Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer speculates that neither Brian Hoyer nor Johnny Manziel will win the Browns‘ quarterback job until later this summer. Reed thinks that while Hoyer is perhaps the favorite to start to open the 2014 season, if Manziel performs like he did at Texas A&M during the preseason, it will put significant pressure on the Browns’ organization to start the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Darrelle Revis will have a positive impact on the Patriots‘ offense this upcoming season, writes Brent Sobleski of USA Today. Tom Brady told Peter King of The Monday Morning Quarterback that he’s already tired of throwing against Revis in practice everyday. The former first-round pick out of Pittsburgh has been described by former teammate Jim Leonard as “the best practice player” he’s ever seen. Sobleski thinks that having such a worthy practice adversary will only serve to improve Brady’s game.

David Kipke contributed to this post.

Poll: Who Will Be Traded?

May 25th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Ben Levine

As a result of free agency and the draft, there are players around the league that now find themselves in a bit of roster limbo. Plenty of veterans could be on a team’s trading block, so NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling took a look at the top-ten trade candidates in the league.

The Vikings added Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater and as a result, incumbent quarterback Christian Ponder tops Wesseling’s list. The writer states that Ponder has higher upside than a typical backup, and lists the Saints, Packers, Panthers and Falcons as potential trading partners. Fellow quarterback Ryan Mallett of the Patriots was second on the list, with Wesseling suggesting the Texans and Cowboys as landing spots.

Michael Roos‘ contract (and the addition of rookie Taylor Lewan) makes the Titans offensive tackle a definite trade option. Roos is number-four on Wesseling’s list, with the Panthers and Ravens listed as destinations. 49ers running back LaMichael James, Cardinals tight end Rob Housler and Raiders wideout Denarius Moore round out Wesseling’s offensive options.

On defense, Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers leads the way at number-four. The team is reportedly open to trading the Pro Bowler, and Wesseling suggests the Texans, Titans and Colts would be interested. Defensive end/linebackers Brandon Graham (Eagles) and Dion Jordan (Dolphins) come in at five and six, followed by Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan.

Wesseling mostly focused on players that were squeezed out of their team’s plans following the offseason. That means he omits Texans wideout Andre Johnson, who would clearly top the list if included. The Pro Bowler has been the subject of trade rumors for the past month.

Which player do you think is most likely to be traded? Is there somebody that you think should have been included? Let us know in the comments.

Patriots Notes: Mallett, RBs, Siliga, Jones

May 23rd, 2014 at 7:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Panthers GM Marty Hurney isn’t exactly buying Bill Belichick‘s answer when he was asked yesterday if he’d be interested in trading quarterback Ryan Mallett, writes ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss. “He was regarded highly enough as a quarterback coming out [in 2011], and I think the position creates interest in itself,” Hurney said of the Patriots signal caller. “I said this statement [from Belichick] is like if you ever go to dinner and a person says, ‘I don’t want dessert’ so you order a chocolate cake and a big piece of chocolate cake comes out and all of a sudden you look and the other person is eating half of it. I think, if the chocolate cake looks good enough for Bill Belichick, they would be interested in trading Ryan Mallett.”

Meanwhile, Doug Kyed of NESN.com answered roster questions as part of a mailbag. Among his answers:

The futures of running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, both free agents at year’s end, are dependent upon production, health (in the case of Vereen), ball security (in the case of Ridley) and the performance of rookie James White. As of now, Kyed believes Vereen has a higher chance of being retained.
Nose tackle Sealver Siliga played well in late-season duty, and if that continues through training camp, he’s the “perfect” backup for veteran Vince Wilfork.
Fourth-rounder Bryan Stork, who offers center/guard versatility, could compete for a starting job this season.
Meanwhile, the Pats have yet to add a legitimate No. 3 tight end, seemingly a position of need. Undrafted free agent Justin Jones out of East Carolina could be a sleeper, however, writes Karen Guregian in the Boston Herald. She talked to Jones’ college coach, Ruffin McNeil (who also coached Wes Welker and Danny Amendola in college), who had this to say: “I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised with him. He’ll catch on. He’ll work hard. Justin was taught the same concepts in our offense, as Danny and Wes had at Texas Tech. Plus, he’s got great hands, athleticism, and he’s got length. He was a mismatch any time in the red zone.” The 6-8, 277-pounder went undrafted after not playing in 2013 when he was academically ineligible.

Extra Points: Bills, Smith, Romo, Redskins

May 21st, 2014 at 10:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano intends to bid on the Bills when they’re put up for sale, according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. Reports for more than a month have pegged the billionaire originally from Rochester, N.Y., as a likely bidder, so the news doesn’t come as a surprise.

Browns Rumors: Cameron, Manziel, Berry

May 21st, 2014 at 6:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned the contract details on two Browns free agent pickups. Miles Austin got a $300K bonus to go with his $1.7MM deal while veteran Earl Bennett will have $75K of his minimum salary guaranteed. Both men will have the difficult task of coming to Cleveland and trying to help fill the void left by Josh Gordon‘s suspension. Here’s more on the Browns..

Browns tight end Jordan Cameron isn’t saying much about his contract negotiations, but he did address one rumor today, writes Tom Reed of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. It has been said that the Los Angeles native would prefer to play on the West Coast rather than re-sign with the Browns, but Cameron says there’s no truth to that. “If I didn’t say it, it’s not true,” Cameron said of a report last month. “I would love to play here. I started here, I want to finish up here. But the contract stuff is outside of here. I’ll let my agent deal with that. I’m trying to stay positive. Like I said, if it didn’t come out of my mouth it’s not true.“
The Browns are already mishandling Johnny Manziel and the attention that he brings, opines Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
Cornerback Aaron Berry had a tryout with the Browns, tweets Howard Balzer of USA Today. Berry was released by the Lions after a pair of offseason arrests in 2012 and signed with the Jets in October. He appeared in seven games for Gang Green in ’12 but missed all of 2013 with a torn ACL. Cleveland coach Mike Pettine was the defensive coordinator of the Jets when they signed Berry.

Extra Points: Marshall, Raiders, Falcons, Bills

May 20th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

After the Bears signed Brandon Marshall to a new three-year, $30MM deal, James Walker of ESPN.com looks back on the return that the Dolphins got by dealing him. Miami received a pair of third round picks that turned into cornerback Will Davis, tight end Michael Egnew, and receiver B.J. Cunningham. Davis received little playing time last year as a rookie, Egnew is a third-round bust after two seasons and may not make the roster in 2014, and Cunningham is no longer with the Dolphins. Needless to say, ex-GM Jeff Ireland could have positioned Miami better had he used those draft choices differently. Here’s tonight’s look around the NFL..

Raiders owner Mark Davis says the team can come up with the necessary $400MM to build a stadium but he’ll need help, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He says if the project doesn’t happen, they’ll then evaluate other options, which presumably means moving. If the Raiders move, Los Angeles seems like a likely destination. Late tonight, Davis admitted talks are in the “eleventh hour,” writes Mike Coppinger of NFL.com.
The Falcons want rookie Prince Shembo to do it all on defense, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The fourth round pick out of Notre Dame is muscular at 253 pounds and still boasts a decent 4.68 second 40-yard-dash.
Whether or not there’s an opportunity to relocate the Bills from western New York, multiple NFL owners expect a Jon Bon Jovi-led group to bid on the team, tweets Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. Bon Jovi has a working relationship with Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel examines Demetri Goodson‘s attempt to transition from point guard to cornerback. The Packers sixth round pick didn’t play football for six years between his sophomore year of high school and first year at Baylor but excelled once he got there.

Extra Points: Playoffs, Bryant, Crabtree, Draft

May 20th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

At the NFL’s spring meetings today in Atlanta, the league’s owners discussed the concept of playoff expansion, but opted to postpone a more in-depth conversation on the subject until the fall. While that rules out the possibility of a 14-team playoff for the 2014 season, the idea remains very much in play for 2015, and it seems inevitable that it will happen eventually, as Kevin Seifert writes at ESPN.com. Seifert runs through 10 questions related to playoff expansion, examining the league’s motives, players’ and fans’ views, and whether expanding to a 14-team playoff could lead to any other changes.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFL….

Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters, including Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter) that he is confident expanded playoffs will go into effect for 2015.
The future of the NFL draft remains up in the air and Goodell wouldn’t specify a target date for the draft in 2015, writes ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. “We’re looking at everything,” Goodell said. “We think that the draft has a great deal more potential to grow in popularity. We don’t believe [the date] affected us in a negative way at all this year.“
With Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Roddy White, Wes Welker, Torrey Smith, Demaryius Thomas, Reggie Wayne, Jeremy Maclin, and Hakeem Nicks in the final years of their deal, 2015 is shaping up to be an all-time great wide receiver free agent class, tweets Adam Schefter of NFL Network.
Will Brinson of CBSSports.com takes an in-depth look at whether or not trading a first-round pick to acquire a specific player has benefited NFL teams over the last decade or so. Predictably, Brinson finds that there’s some short-term benefit to making such a deal, but that it doesn’t necessarily pay off in the long run.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Latest On Upcoming Bills’ Sale

May 20th, 2014 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

While many groups interested in buying the Bills may be interested in moving the franchise somewhere besides western New York, it looks like it’ll be an uphill battle to uproot the team. In addition to a stadium lease that makes it extremely difficult to relocate the Bills for the next several years, many of the NFL owners seem inclined to keep the club where it is. As Tim Graham of the Buffalo News details, Giants owner John Mara said today that he and many of his fellow owners are hoping for an outcome that allows the Bills to remain in Buffalo.

“The team means so much to that area,” Mara said. “It’s been a great franchise for the league. I think most of the people in that room would like to see it remain in Buffalo.”

Here’s more on the Bills’ future and the sale of the franchise:

Not all of the NFL’s owners have been unequivocal in stating their support for keeping the Bills in Buffalo. While lauding Jon Bon Jovi as a potentially “outstanding” future NFL owner, Jerry Jones of the Cowboys noted that the league wants to “create every opportunity we can to involve more fans.”
Added Jones: “At the end of the day, it’s my town against your town, Cowboys against whoever we’re playing. To the end that we can create more rivalries and involve larger viewing audiences, populations, that’s something that you have to look at when you get a chance to, and that’s the debate between Buffalo and Toronto.”
Although Jones’ comments appear to leave the door open for a possible relocation to Canada, Graham hears that one Toronto-based group with interest in buying the Bills is reconsidering since moving the team may be difficult (Twitter link). Similarly, Judy Battista of NFL.com (Twitter link) was told by a source with knowledge of the sale that “whoever buys it has to be prepared to stay there.”
As for the sale itself, the Bills are close to identifying the investment bank and legal firm that will handle the sale, according to club president and CEO Russ Brandon, who says a selection of a bank should happen by the end of the month (link via Graham). Brandon declined to name potential bidders for the franchise, but added that interest level is “high” (Twitter link via Adam Benigni of NBC Buffalo).

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