News
NFL notebook: Seahawks talk with Lynch, cut Miller
Running back Marshawn Lynch reportedly returned to Seattle on Friday to meet with Seahawks management and possibly sign a new contract.
The Seahawks also released tight end Zach Miller and placed a second-round tender on wide receiver Jermaine Kearse.
Lynch, just back from a football camp in Turkey, was spotted on a plane to Seattle on Friday afternoon, and Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Lynch had reached agreement with the Seahawks.
Owner Paul Allen reportedly returned from the South Pacific, where he had been overseeing the discovery of a World War II-era Japanese battleship, to meet with Lynch.
John Clayton of ESPN reported Lynch’s deal will pay him $11 million in 2015. But Pro Football Talk reported that the deal will be for three years and $31 million, with $12 million due in 2015 and $9 million due in 2016.
In other moves Friday, the Seahawks waived tackle Garrett Scott, who missed last season with a heart condition, waived oft-injured defensive tackle Jesse Williams and re-signed defensive end Greg Scruggs to a one-year contract.
—The Chicago Bears agreed to trade wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets, according to reports. The Bears are expected to receive a fifth-round pick in exchange.
The deal cannot be made official until the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The deal is also contingent on Marshall passing a physical.
Marshall, who turns 31 on March 23, caught 61 passes for 721 yards in 13 games last season, marking his lowest production since his rookie season in 2006. However, he did catch eight touchdowns and his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame will be a welcome addition to the Jets’ receiving corps.
—The New York Jets re-signed linebacker David Harris to a three-year, $21.5 million deal, according to reports.
Harris was going to become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday. The deal reportedly includes $15 million guaranteed in the first two years.
Harris, 31, played all 16 games in 2014, totaling 124 tackles with six sacks and two forced fumbles.
—The Indianapolis Colts announced they will not re-sign wide receiver Reggie Wayne, one of their greatest players.
Wayne is the franchise leader in games played (211) and wins (143) and ranks second in receptions (1,070), receiving yards (14,345), receiving touchdowns (80), 100-yard games (43) and consecutive games with a reception (134). He ranks seventh in NFL history in receptions and eighth in receiving yards.
“Everyone knows the greatness and history associated with No. 87,” general manager Ryan Grigson said in a statement. “He truly is one of a small handful of players who really define the Colts as an organization. He was already a Hall of Famer in the making when Chuck (Pagano) and I arrived in Indianapolis in 2012, but no one has contributed more, on the field and in this building, to our turnaround, our continued growth, and our overall success since then.”
After the season, Wayne underwent surgery to repair a torn triceps and the 36-year-old was reportedly mulling whether to play in 2015.
—The San Diego Chargers signed wide receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones to a two-year contract.
The Baltimore Ravens released the 30-year-old Jones last week. A year earlier, he had re-signed with the team on a four-year, $12 million deal.
“One of our offseason goals was to improve our special teams, specifically upgrading our return game,” general manager Tom Telesco said in a statement. “We feel Jacoby brings a dynamic aspect to our kick and punt returns that we need and he also has solid experience playing wide receiver.”
—The Detroit Lions re-signed kicker Matt Prater to a three-year contract and reserve quarterback Kellen Moore to a two-year contract.
Terms of Prater’s deal were not disclosed by the team, but NFL.com reported it is worth $9 million.
Prater landed in Detroit in October after spending the majority of his career with the Denver Broncos. He signed with the Lions after serving a four-game suspension for violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy. When his suspension ended, the Broncos cut him.
The 30-year-old holds the NFL record for longest field goal at 64 yards.
Moore likely will be the third-stringer in 2015 behind starter Matthew Stafford and backup Dan Orlovsky, who signed a one-year contract last week.
—The Carolina Panthers signed offensive tackle Michael Oher to a two-year contract.
Oher, a first-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009, joins the Panthers after starting 11 games with the Tennessee Titans in 2014. The Titans released him Feb. 5.
Oher will be reunited with offensive line coach John Matsko, who coached the tackle in Baltimore in 2009 and 2010.
In five seasons with Baltimore (2009-13), Oher started all 80 games and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season.
—The Kansas City Chiefs released defensive tackle Vance Walker and reportedly re-signed linebacker Josh Mauga to a three-year deal worth about $8 million.
The release of Walker, coming a day after the team cut linebacker Joe Mays, saved the team $1.7 million against the salary cap and left the Chiefs about $1 million over the $143.3 million threshold four days before the league year begins.
That was before the deal for Mauga, reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
—The Cleveland Browns re-signed running back Shaun Draughn and punter Spencer Lanning.
Both players were exclusive-rights free agents.
Draughn joined the Browns late last season and appeared in four games, returning five kickoffs for 115 yards.
Lanning, also undrafted in 2011, has been the Browns’ punter since 2013, and his 53 punts inside the 20-yard line are the most in franchise history over a two-year span. Last season, he averaged 44.3 yards, with a 39.2 net.
—The Chicago Bears re-signed quarterback Jimmy Clausen for the 2015 season.
Clausen joined the Bears in 2014 after spending his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers.
Last season, he completed 26 of 48 attempts (54.2 percent) for 223 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in four appearances (one start).
—The Washington Redskins re-signed tight end Niles Paul to a three-year contract worth about $10 million.
A fifth-round pick in 2011, Paul switched from wide receiver to tight end in 2012 and put together his best season in 2014.
With starter Jordan Reed in and out of the lineup due to injuries, Paul caught 39 passes for 507 yards and a touchdown.
—Special-teams standout Eric Weems agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons, ESPN reported.
Weems, 30, led Atlanta with 11 special-teams tackles last season and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. The reserve wide receiver also caught 10 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
—New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski reportedly signed his $4.59 million franchise tender.
The Patriots had placed the tag on him Monday.
The Patriots and Gostkowski are expected to work on an extension through the July 15 deadline.
Gostkowski, a three-time Pro Bowl player, made a career-best 94.6 percent (35 of 37) of his field-goal attempts in 2014 and became the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer with 1,179 points.
The Patriots also re-signed long snapper Tyler Ott, who was a rookie free agent out of Harvard on May 16, 2014.
—The Denver Broncos tendered their three exclusive-rights free agents — linebacker Brandon Marshall, offensive tackle Paul Cornick and guard Ben Garland.
Marshall is a fourth-year player who has appeared in 20 regular-season contests (13 starts) and four playoff games (one start) during his career with Jacksonville (2012) and Denver (2013-14).
Cornick is a second-year player who appeared in 12 contests for the Broncos in 2014, starting three games at right tackle in addition to opening three games as a blocking tight end.
Garland, a second-year player, saw action in eight regular-season games and one playoff contest for the Broncos in 2014 after spending the previous two years on the club’s practice squad.
—The New Orleans Saints, needing to trim at least $15 million off their salary cap, reportedly restructured the contract of veteran wide receiver Marques Colston.
Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley also reportedly took a pay cut to remain on the team.
Colston was due to make $6.9 million and count $9.7 million against the $143.3 million cap, which takes effect Tuesday. Bunkley was due $4.4 million, with a cap hit of $6.1 million.
The Saints also re-signed safety Jamarca Sanford to a one-year contract.
—Safety LaRon Landry, a free agent released by the Indianapolis Colts last month, has been suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015 season.
The suspension is for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported Friday.
Landry, 30, served a four-game PED suspension last season.
Landry has played in the NFL for eight years, with the Washington Redskins (2007-11), New York Jets (2012) and Colts, who signed him to a four-year, $24 million contract in 2013.
News
Buccaneers admit mistake, boot Aguayo
Source: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk
Powered by WPeMatico
News
Did Bucs put too much pressure on Aguayo?
Source: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk
Powered by WPeMatico
News
Broncos holding their breath on Derek Wolfe
Source: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk
Powered by WPeMatico