Category: NFL (Page 66 of 1282)

      Peyton Manning’s next contract to be around $90 million?

      March 16, 2012 /

      This just in: NFL owners are insane.

      According to NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the parameters of the five-year, $90 million contract that Peyton Manning signed last year with the Colts are serving as the “starting point for negotiations on his next deal.”

      Let’s push the rewind button for a second. This is the same Manning that is coming off four neck surgeries and may not be able to withstand one more hit in the NFL, nevertheless countless hits over the next five years.

      Seeing as how he makes the league more competitive and fun to watch, I’m pulling for him to rebound and be the same player he was before. But the fact remains that until he gets on that field again, he’s the ultimate risk. I’ve spoken with former athletes who have dealt with similar nerve damage and they were never the same following surgery. They would throw a ball as hard as they could only to have their entire arm go numb for the next 20 minutes. And while Manning might not suffer through the same misfortunate, who knows where he’ll be in September when he starts taking hits from 290-pound defensive ends.

      Whichever team signs him will sell a lot of Manning No. 18 jerseys, or at least that’s what these owners are probably thinking. And considering he has multiple teams interested in his services, there’s no reason for Peyton not to ask for big money and play it off like 2011 was a complete aberration. If teams are willing to pay, good for him and his representatives for making them pony up to see which cards he’s holding.

      But $18 million a season for the next five years? Yikes. Obviously we have no idea how the final contract will be structured and the total number could be much less than $90 million. In fact, the Denver Post reports that the Broncos’ offer is for $60 million, with $30 million guaranteed.

      That said, $60 million is still a ton of money for a team to be investing in, for all intents and purposes, a complete unknown. Peyton isn’t going to take a $5 million “show me deal,” nor should he. But unless that $90 million turns out to be an incentive-laden deal (which is unlikely), then whichever team lands him might as well start holding its breath the minute he signs on the dotted line. Because they don’t quite know what they’re getting for their money and one workout at Duke isn’t going to tell them either.

      External Sports, NFL

      Credit the Bills for being aggressive when it came to signing Mario Williams

      March 15, 2012 /

      When I asked one former NFL VP of Player Personnel about whether or not he thought Mario Williams would wind up in Buffalo because other teams didn’t have enough cap space to sign him, the VP responded, “Oh, they wanted to sign him. They were just waiting for him to get out of Buffalo.”

      But Williams never left Buffalo.

      The Bills signed the edge rusher to a six-year, $100 million contract on Thursday, which also includes $50 million guaranteed. The deal almost puts Julius Peppers’ six-year, $84 million contract with the Bears to shame, which is saying something.

      Williams becomes the first ever defensive player to net a $100 million contract and he’ll have the opportunity to move back to his natural position at defensive end in Buffalo’s new 4-3 defense. Considering they also feature safety Jarius Byrd and 2011 second overall pick Marcell Dareus, the Bills are certainly moving in the right direction on that side of the ball.

      And landing Williams was the ultimate coup. Considering he spent three days in Buffalo, one would assume he received an initial offer from the Bills and had his agent shop that price around to other teams. In the end, I can imagine Buddy Nix sitting in his office while speaking to Williams’ representatives and saying, “What’s it going to take to wrap this deal up? One hundred mil? Done – sign the paper.”

      The Bills accomplished what other teams probably set out to, which was to put on a full court press and make sure Williams didn’t leave the city without signing a contract first. They had to. Buffalo isn’t exactly an attractive place to play so the Bills had to pony up in order to land the top free agent on the market. Give them credit for zeroing in on a valuable piece and not balking over a couple of million a year, because they certainly didn’t have the luxury to do so. Premier pass rushers don’t fall off trees, nor do they become available very often. And when they do, they probably don’t look at Buffalo as the ideal landing spot.

      It’s probably safe to say that the Bills will only go as far as Ryan Fitzpatrick will take them, but under Nix they’re finally spending money and retaining their own. (Receiver Steve Johnson got a new contract this offseason, as did linebacker Kirk Morrison.) They may not have enough overall talent to slay the Patriots yet, but you have to like what’s going on in Buffalo right now.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is Seattle serious about Matt Flynn?

      March 15, 2012 /

      Matt Flynn is visiting Seattle this week, but it’s not clear how serious they are about the young free agent.

      Flynn has a familiar pedigree coming from Green Bay. After all, that’s the same organization that traded Matt Hasselbeck to Seattle 11 years ago. There’s a little more history, too. John Schneider — now Seattle’s general manager — was in the Packers’ front office when they drafted Flynn in the seventh round in 2008.

      But no one should jump to conclusions or characterize Flynn’s addition as imminent. He’s still a largely inexperienced quarterback, and there’s a very real question of just how much the Seahawks will offer a quarterback with two career starts.

      Is Seattle convinced enough of Flynn’s potential to offer a deal that is significantly more than the two-year, $8 million contract that Seattle has used as its baseline for a quarterback it sees as a potential starter down the road? That was the contract Seattle signed Charlie Whitehurst to in 2010 before he had attempted a regular-season pass, and it was largely the same deal used to acquire Jackson last year.

      Maybe Seattle does see Flynn as a different caliber of prospect, a player worth a significantly higher investment. But a year ago, Seattle wasn’t willing to make the kind of financial commitment that Kevin Kolb got from Arizona or part with the draft picks it would have taken to acquire him, and Kolb had more experience than Flynn.

      Pete Carroll hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his quarterback picks so far, but the rest of the team is progressing so maybe the Seahawks will step up here. Miami is also in the mix, and despite conflicting reports, I think the Browns would be interested at the right price. Much will depend on whether Seattle lets Flynn move on after his visit without a signed contract.

      I like Flynn and I’m hoping he lands in Cleveland. The kid learned the West Coast Offense under the best in Green Bay for four years, and experience is critical in that offense. This glowing profile from Peter King points out what Flynn has learned and how he made decisions in his epic game against the Lions. Here’s another very positive scouting report.

      There’s no guarantee with Flynn, and may bring up that he’s had only two NFL starts, but that’s two more than Andrew Luck and RG3. I’m not saying he’s a better prospect, but the “risk” is mitigated by his apprenticeship in Green Bay under Aaron Rodgers. The key is the size of the contract, and that will be dictated by how many teams enter the bidding.

      External Sports, NFL

      Redskins, Cowboys Gamble and Lose

      March 15, 2012 /

      The NFL announced that the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins will each be docked millions of dollars for taking advantage of the uncapped 2010 year. Both teams front-loaded contracts in 2010 because there was no salary cap, giving them a “competitive advantage” over the other teams. They played a game of high stakes poker with the league office and lost.

      The Cowboys will lose $10 million and the Redskins will lose $36 million from the projected $120.6 million salary cap, announced at the start of the football year. All teams were warned not to take advantage of the uncapped scenario but it appears two teams did not take heed of that notice. The two teams are able to spread the cap reduction over the next two years, or take it all this year.

      It’s believed that large contracts given to Albert Haynesworth, who no longer plays for the Redskins, and Miles Austin, who still plays for the Cowboys, triggered this penalty.

      Several teams benefited from this review because both teams are in the NFC North division. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, who won the Super Bowl last year, are the other two teams and look to benefit from their rivals’ cap reduction.

      It remains to be seen how this will affect the Redskins, who recently traded three first round draft picks and a second round draft pick with the Rams for the presumed rights to draft Robert Griffin III. It will probably be difficult for the Redskins to participate in the free agency market to attract quality players to put around RG3, but that’s what front offices are paid to do – make do with what little resources you have. As for the Cowboys, they aren’t faced with as many challenges but it’s never good to lose cap space.

      The remaining teams in the league will also benefit from this reduction because the $46 million will be distributed across the remaining teams, with the exception of New Orleans and Oakland. It’s believed that New Orleans won’t get an estimated $1.6 million cap space because of the bounty program and it’s unclear why Oakland isn’t involved.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jets may quickly regret signing March Sanchez long-term

      March 14, 2012 /

      The New York Jets aren’t exactly in an envious position when it comes to their quarterback situation.

      They have a guy in Mark Sanchez whom they parted with first and second round selections, as well as players Kenyon Coleman, Abram Elam and Brett Ratliff in order to acquire on draft day in 2009. Since then Sanchez has led them to two AFC title games in the past three years but he hasn’t exactly been Peyton Manning in the regular season.

      Oh, and speaking of Manning, the four-time league MVP became available last week when the Colts released him following multiple neck surgeries and before he was due a massive roster bonus. As of this writing, Peyton is still available but you won’t be seeing him in green and white any time soon. That’s because the Jets decided to pass on signing Manning, at least according to owner Woody Johnson. Said Johnson, “We’re signed up with our quarterback. Sanchez is not leaving.”

      No, he certainly isn’t. Not after the Jets signed him to a three-year, $40.5 million extension through 2016 after briefly flirting with signing Manning (who, as reported, rebuffed their advances). By committing to Sanchez long-term, I envision the Jets pushing all of their chips into the center of the pile and saying, “All in.” And I don’t like the move.

      There will be plenty of people who suggest that former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who was viewed as too conservative and predictable, held Sanchez back the past three seasons. But offensive coordinators are always “too conservative and predictable” when an offense is struggling. I’m not a big fan of Schottenheimer’s playcalling but I think the problem in New York is that he was awfully limited at quarterback.

      Has Sanchez played well in the postseason? No question. But the Jets reached the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 almost in spite of their limited quarterback – not because of him. Had it not been for Rex Ryan’s defense and a solid running game, there was no way Sanchez was putting the Jets on his shoulders and willing them to victories. If you disagree, then I wonder how you felt watching the Jets last year when their running game fell apart and the team crumbled under Sanchez’s play.

      Teams shouldn’t make it a habit of rewarding quarterbacks that have regressed each year but that’s exactly what the Jets have done by signing Sanchez to an extension. What’s worse is that they’ve settled for complacency at the most important position on the field. Because of this contract extension, the Jets aren’t going to lure many veteran free agents wanting to win a job. And with nobody pushing Sanchez, what’s going to make him reach new heights as a quarterback?

      Granted, the final three years allow the Jets to cut Sanchez without taking a massive cap hit. But for the next two seasons he’ll make big-time quarterback money and the problem is that he isn’t a big-time quarterback. Instead of restructuring his current deal, the Jets should have concentrated on creating competition at the position by bringing in a veteran starter. Now they’re committed to “Sanchise” for at least another two years and that, my friends, is a risk that probably wasn’t worth taking.

      External Sports, NFL

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