NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Benjamin deal is the one that sticks out to me as a bit 'over-the-top' but the other 3 make sense from a distance for the same reasons. With Benjamin you have 1 year with just under 70-1000 but only 3 TDs in an offense that no one really concerned themselves with stopping in the second half of a lot of football games.

Sanu, Streater and Jones all fit the build for a typical wide-out at 6'2" and near or over 200 pounds.

Sanu will get paid less than Roddy White did in his last extension so the Falcons are getting a younger player to slide into a slot role for less money while paying a rookie deal to their number 2 receiver in his third year of a 4 year deal. The money works even if it is perceived over payment.

I'm in agreement about Jones. The Lions are going to save a ton of money with Johnson's retirement so overpaying for Marvin is no issue.

Like Will mentioned, Rod's contract will be laden with snap requirements, catch and yardage thresholds and all other manner of 'you show me and I'll show you' types of money. I think it's a sound investment for the Chiefs being it's a one year deal for a player with solid potential and a team that is desperate for play-makers on the outside.

 

How about you worry about your class act wide receiver who just got his A** suspended by the league for illegal substance. Great team you got going too

 

Rams re-sign DE Eugene Sims to a 3-year, $10M deal

The Los Angeles Rams hung onto another defensive lineman.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports the Rams re-signed defensive end Eugene Sims to a three-year deal worth $10 million. The contract includes $3.75 million in guarantees.

The Rams drafted Sims in the sixth round in 2010. He's compiled 9.5 sacks and 92 tackles in his six seasons. The soon-to-be 30-year-old defender made nine starts in 2015, earning 1.5 sacks as a rotational player.

Last week the Rams locked down fellow defensive end William Hayes, giving Los Angeles solid depth at the position alongside Robert Quinn. Keeping Hayes and Sims became a priority after the team released Chris Long before the start of free agency. (NFL.com)

 

Rex Ryan fires Bills defensive line coach Karl Dunbar

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) ? Rex Ryan's Buffalo Bills defense is undergoing yet another shake-up this offseason after he abruptly fired defensive line coach Karl Dunbar on Sunday.

The move came as a significant surprise because Dunbar spent the past four years working for Ryan, and because most teams' coaching staffs are already set by mid-March.

"This was a difficult decision as Karl both played for me and then coached on my staff," Ryan said, in a statement released by the team. "I have a great deal of respect for him. But I feel we needed to make a change and go in a different direction at this point in time."

Dunbar is a former NFL defensive lineman who played for Arizona in 1994-95, when Ryan was a Cardinals assistant. And Ryan was coaching the New York Jets in 2012, when he hired Dunbar to be his defensive line coach. Ryan was hired by the Bills last offseason, and he brought much of his staff, including Dunbar, with him to Buffalo.

Dunbar's firing is the latest change to the Bills defensive staff. In January, Ryan hired his twin brother Rob to serve as the team's assistant head coach with a specific responsibility for defense. Retired five-time All-Pro safety Ed Reed was also hired by Buffalo to be an assistant defensive backs coach.

 

Bears agree to terms with free-agent DL Akiem Hicks

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) ? The Chicago Bears agreed to terms with free-agent defensive lineman Akiem Hicks on a two-year contract Sunday.

The 6-foot-5, 324-pound Hicks has made 33 starts in 61 games in four seasons with the New Orleans Saints (2012-15) and New England Patriots (2015). He has 140 tackles, 9 1/2 sacks, 22 tackles for losses, 23 quarterback hits, a forced fumble and an a fumble recovery for a touchdown. In four postseason games, he has 10 tackles.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace was in New Orleans' front office in 2012 when the Saints drafted Hicks in the third round out of the University of Regina in Saskatchewan.
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Not a bad football player. Dont like to hear of the bears improving.

 

Not an awful contract, more than Pats could offer. Think he'll do alright there.

 

Report: Browns willing to send 3rd-round pick to 49ers if Kaepernick reworks contract

We found out Friday that Colin Kaepernick would like to play for the Cleveland Browns, and now we have an idea of what it will take to acquire him.

The Browns are willing to give the San Francisco 49ers a third-round draft pick in exchange for Kaepernick, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer reports the 49ers actually want a second-round pick but would settle for the Browns' third-rounder since it is the second pick in third round.

However, such a deal would be contingent on Kaepernick restructuring his contract, which calls for him to make $19 million per season (through the 2020 season). From the Plain Dealer:

In regards to Kaepernick's contract, the Browns will likely want to cut his current $19 million a year average by more than half. He signed a six-year extension in 2014 worth $114,000,000, including $61 million guaranteed. If he's on a team's roster on April 1st, his 11.9 million base salary for 2016 will be guaranteed.

His bases in the final four years are as follows: $14.5 million in 2017, $15 million in 2018, $16.8 million in 2019 and $19 million in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos -- the team most prominently mentioned as a suitor for Kaepernick after losing Peyton Manning to retirement and Brock Osweiler to free agency -- are believed to still be in the sweepstakes. On Friday, the Broncos picked up QB Mark Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Sanchez hasn't been a starter since the 2012 season, and Broncos GM John Elway indicated the defending Super Bowl champions aren't done improving at the QB position.

 

Kap must be nuts to want to play for Cleveland! When was the last a QB was successful there? the 60's?

 

Steelers wide receiver Bryant suspended at least 1 year

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant at least one year for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

The suspension, which begins immediately, was announced on Monday.

This is the second league-mandated discipline for Bryant. The 24-year-old Bryant was suspended for the first four games last season and spent a portion of that time in Houston with John Lucas, the former NBA player and coach who operates a substance abuse facility.

Bryant caught 50 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns when he returned in Week 6 and was dynamic in the playoffs.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the team was "disappointed" with the suspension, adding the talented but troubled wideout is at a "crossroads" in his life. Colbert said the team hopes Bryant takes the "necessary steps" to become a successful player and good teammate.

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) ? Defensive tackle B.J. Raji says he is taking a hiatus from the NFL and will not play in 2016 following seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

Raji said Monday in a statement that he made the decision after hours of conversation with family members and mentors. He did not rule out a return to the field, but said that he "will definitely not be playing during the 2016 season."

 

Cardinals agree to terms with TE Gresham, sign DT Bryant

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) ? The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms on another one-year deal with tight end Jermaine Gresham and re-signed defensive tackle Red Bryant to a one-year contract.

Gresham, coming off back surgery a year ago, played in 15 regular-season games with the Cardinals last season, 12 as a starter. The 2010 first-round draft pick of Cincinnati and two-time Pro Bowl player for the Bengals had 18 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown with Arizona and played a significant role as a run blocker.

Bryant, an eight-year NFL veteran, appeared in the final six games after signing with the Cardinals last season. He won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2013.

 

Interesting. I wonder if he is taking a year to get healthy. It's something we might start seeing more of.

 

The San Diego Chargers' premier defensive star of the past decade has found a new NFL home.

Veteran safety Eric Weddle has agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens on a four-year deal, the team announced Monday. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports it's a $26 million contract, via a source involved in the deal. The new pact calls for $13 million in guarantees, per Rapoport, including $9 million in the first year.

Ranked No. 8 on Around The NFL's list of the Top 99 free agents, Weddle was the highest rated player still available after five days on the open market.

He reportedly had offers on the table from four teams. He had been connected to the Raiders, Steelers, Panthers and Cowboys in addition to the Ravens.

Weddle, 31, spent nine years in San Diego, earning three Pro Bowl berths and two first-team All-Pro selections in addition to be selected as the Chargers' defensive player of the year in three of the past five seasons.

 

CTE comes to mind, but ya never know. Could be family issues (marital), or something.

 

He would have paired pretty nicely with Byron Jones.

 

Vikings announce signing of safety Michael Griffin

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) ? The Minnesota Vikings have signed free agent safety Michael Griffin.

The Vikings made the announcement Monday after agreeing to terms with the 10-year veteran last week. Griffin comes to the Vikings from Tennessee, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career.

Griffin has made two Pro Bowls. Vikings defensive backs coach Jerry Gray coached Griffin with the Titans from 2011-13. Griffin is expected to compete with Andrew Sendejo for the starting spot opposite standout Harrison Smith.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has been looking for a veteran playmaker on the back end of his defense to allow him to free up Smith to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

 

There opening a nursing home?

 

NFL exec admits to CTE-football head trauma link

WASHINGTON (AP) ? NFL executive Jeff Miller acknowledged a link between football-related head trauma and the brain disease CTE, the first admission by a league official that there is such a relationship.

Appearing before a congressional committee Monday, Miller, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety, was asked about a connection between hits in football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. His answer was "certainly yes."

The NFL has not previously linked playing football to CTE directly.

Miller appeared at a roundtable discussion of concussions before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and cited the work of Boston University neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee. She has found CTE in the brains of 90 former pro football players.

CTE can only be detected after death. Among the players found to have CTE in their brains was Hall of Famer Junior Seau.
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I wonder what this will lead too.