zn wrote:

Jets, Fitzpatrick “far apart” in negotiations

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/55183/Jets–Fitzpatrick–far-apart–in-negotiations/Default.aspx

The New York Jets and journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick were a match made in heaven in 2015 but, just two days ahead of the official start of free agency, the union appoears headed for divorce according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

===

Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick moving closer to stunning divorce

http://nypost.com/2016/03/07/jets-ryan-fitzpatrick-moving-closer-to-stunning-divorce/

The Jets and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick are not close to a deal, and he will hit the open market, according to a source.

Teams can begin talking to other teams’ free agents Monday at noon. Both the Jets and Fitzpatrick have said they would like to sign a new deal, but the two sides are not close to an agreement on what kind of money would be involved in that deal. The NFL Network first reported the gap between the Jets and Fitzpatrick.

It is a tricky negotiation.

Fitzpatrick, 33, had a career year with the Jets in 2015, breaking the franchise record with 31 touchdowns and leading the team to a 10-6 record. The starting quarterback market is mostly $16 million per year and above other than players still on their rookie contracts and a few outliers.

The Jets surely want Fitzpatrick at a much cheaper rate. The team could argue that the Jets are the perfect situation for Fitzpatrick with offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. That group had tremendous chemistry last year after Fitzpatrick replaced an injured Geno Smith in training camp.

The key to the negotiation could be what type of interest Fitzpatrick garners on the open market. Will any teams be willing to pay him what he wants? The Jets likely want him to test the market, gambling that no team would be willing to pay the journeyman big bucks.

If the Jets lose Fitzpatrick, they would be in the starting quarterback market, which is shallow. Fitzpatrick, Chase Daniel and Brock Osweiler are the top free agent quarterbacks. Denver is expected to work out a new deal with Osweiler.

The Jets have Smith and Bryce Petty on their roster, but neither option is appealing as a starter this year.

Jets, Fitzpatrick “far apart” in negotiations

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/55183/Jets–Fitzpatrick–far-apart–in-negotiations/Default.aspx

The New York Jets and journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick were a match made in heaven in 2015 but, just two days ahead of the official start of free agency, the union appoears headed for divorce according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Rapoport reports that the two sides are still “far apart” on a potential deal to keep Fitzpatrick in New York and the veteran is now expected to hit the open market. It is a surprising development after Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan went on record several times to state that re-signing Fitz was one of the team’s top priorities and head coach Todd Bowles strongly stated, “We want him back”.

The 33-year-old Fitzpatrick had arguably his best year in the NFL in 2015, throwing for almost 4,000 yards with 31 touchdowns to only 15 interceptions annd almost leading the Jets to a surprise playoff berth. He is the perfect fit for the offensive scheme of Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, for whom he played when the two were in Buffalo. Still, no one can blame Fitzpatrick for testing the open market to at least gauge his worth. With Sam Bradford re-signed with the Eagles and Kirk CCousins tagged by the Redskins, Fitzpatrick is the best veteran quarterback option available in a league starved for smart, competent leadership. We still expect him to ultimately return to the Jets but his new deal could rival the two-year, $36 million deal Bradford just signed in Philly.

King: Rams had “mild interest” in Peyton, wouldn’t guarantee the starting job

Mike Florio

King: Rams had “mild interest” in Peyton, wouldn’t guarantee the starting job

The night before Peyton Manning’s retirement was announced, PFT posed a simple question: Is anyone preparing to pursue his services? A day after Manning’s departure from the game was announced, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports that there was only one team that was “mildly interested” in Manning.

The Rams.

King explains that the Rams had not yet had a serious internal discussion about signing Manning, and that the Rams wouldn’t have guaranteed Manning the starting job. So he could have eventually lost the starting job to Case Keenum or to Nick Foles or to someone else.

Of course, Manning may have had zero interest in joining the vagabond circus that the Rams will be over the next three years, criss-crossing the L.A. area for offseason workouts, training camp, practices, and games.

King also suggests that the Texans possibly would have been interested, but remember this: Four years ago, when teams were lining up for a crack at Manning, the Texans weren’t interested. (King includes Houston in a list of teams that were chasing Peyton in 2012; PFT has consistently heard over the last four years that the Texans were the one team in which Manning had interest that was not reciprocated.)

Others in the media believe that Manning would have found a new home for 2016 if he’d truly wanted one, given the poor quality of quarterback play in the NFL. But Manning’s play was closer than poor to stellar for most of 2015, due in large part to an accumulation of injuries that a 39-year-old body can’t sufficiently recover from in the seven-day window before new injuries are inflicted.

So, basically, Manning’s spirit is willing, his flesh is weak (relatively speaking), and the NFL generally knows it.

This doesn’t mean that a contending team that loses its starter in November or December won’t dial up a fresh-and-rested Peyton, offering him an opportunity to join the effort for a shot at the quarterback equivalent of Brandon Browner’s back-to-back titles with two different teams.

If Manning has any remote interest in that possibility, he should ask the Broncos now to process his departure as the termination of his contract. If he’s placed on the reserve/retired list and if he is later released after the trade deadline, another team could disrupt the plan by claiming his rights on waivers. While that team would need to be in position to carry the prorated portion of Manning’s $19 million base salary for 2016, it’s a loose end that the ultra-prepared Manning wouldn’t want to have hanging around, if he wants to leave the door open for a potential return during the coming season.

Manning surely will be asked that question and many others at his retirement press conference on Monday. Whether the answers provide an accurate and candid glimpse into his mindset will be a different issue.

Well…warning. This is an example of the fan blog types reading and repeating other fan blog types style of “reporting.” Personally, I usually won’t even post those kinds of “articles.” The only real thing in all of this so far is the original tweet from Ian Rapoport (in the original post, this thread). So take this with a shovel full of salt.

===============

====

NFL RUMORS: DALLAS COWBOYS ACQUIRING NICK FOLES FROM LOS ANGELES RAMS

JACK WINDHAM

link: http://www.inquisitr.com/2856971/nfl-rumors-dallas-cowboys-acquiring-nick-foles-from-los-angeles-rams/

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones definitely doesn’t want to go through another season without a solid quarterback at the helm, so he is doing his due diligence by looking to upgrade at the position. The NFL Draft is coming up soon, and the Cowboys are expected to seriously consider spending one of the early choices on a passer. However, Sports Illustrated Fansided is now stating that Dallas could be interested in trading for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Nick Foles.

In 2013, Nick Foles caught the attention of the NFL when he completed the season with an 119.2 quarterback rating while starting for the Philadelphia Eagles. Many thought he was ready to take it to the next level, because he threw for 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The belief was that Chip Kelly had finally found the star quarterback that his brilliant offensive system needed and would lead the Eagles back to the promise land.

Things came crashing back down to earth in 2014 for Nick Foles. He only threw 13 touchdowns that season, and he had 10 interceptions for the year. A broken collarbone ended the season for Foles. Mark Sanchez took over the starting quarterback spot for the Philadelphia Eagles, and some fans actually started leaning towards him over Foles. Some believed that Foles was no longer in the plans for the Eagles.

Chip Kelly shocked the NFL in March of 2015 when he traded Nick Foles away to the then-St. Louis Rams. Reports surfaced that the former Oregon Ducks head coach convinced the Rams to give up Sam Bradford, whom they were not actively shopping. Despite being injury prone for his entire NFL career, Bradford was viewed as a better option by Kelly. Many started looking down on Foles, because they saw that the Philadelphia Eagles were able to discard him for a player that might never play a full season.

The grass wasn’t that much greener for Nick Foles when he became the starting quarterback for the St Louis Rams. Head coach Jeff Fisher actually lost confidence in Foles and benched him. Case Keenum is still an unproven commodity in the NFL, but Fisher felt that the Rams had a better chance of winning with him than with Foles. With the Rams moving to Los Angeles, the belief was that Foles was going to be playing for another team soon.
With the possibility of the Los Angeles Rams being interested in trading away Nick Foles, a couple of NFL teams immediately expressed interest in acquiring him. The Washington Redskins expressed interest because their quarterback position is in shambles. Robert Griffin III is essentially out the door. Kirk Cousins did better than expected, but he’s a free agent whose asking price might be too high for Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

For whatever reasons, the Miami Dolphins are also expressing interest in acquiring Nick Foles from the Los Angeles Rams. Former Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase recently took over as the new head coach of the Dolphins. The belief was that Miami had faith in Ryan Tannehill since they handed him a $95 million contract, but it now appears that Gase might not be entirely sold.

The third NFL team to express interest in Nick Foles is the Dallas Cowboys. That doesn’t really come as a surprise, because Jerry Jones wants to make sure that he has a quarterback in case Tony Romo goes down again. Foles isn’t a franchise quarterback at this point in time, but if he’s surrounded by a great offensive line, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, then he might be more than adequate as an emergency starter.

from off the net

—

Rams_81

A favorite all-time story on Peyton Manning

I went to a basketball coaching clinic in Tunica a few years back and listened to the current Boston Celtics coach that had coached at Butler. After Butler had some success, the coach got to go the Colts stadium. I don’t remember the specifics of the visit and all it entailed, but it did not really include Peyton Manning.

But on a cold early March day, Peyton Manning was at the Stadium after his football season just finished at 7:30 in the morning. He was in a video room all by himself with a notepad watching video of himself taking a snap and dropping back to pass. The Butler Coach was able to go into the room and meet him and asked him what he was doing. Manning said he was putting together a plan on how he was going to get better the following season.

He watched over and over and took notes on all the different drop backs and different plays and wrote down where he felt he could improve and than he was going to come up with how he was going to get that improvement whether it be reviewing film, doing drills, simulating the plays.

From how he collected the snap to his first step back to setting his feet, to stepping into the pass. He reviewed it all over and over.

Manning in my opinion is the most successful athlete in history. I would put him and Larry Bird side by side. They maximized their abilities and became superstars way beyond their physical abilities.

Rams running back Tre Mason arrested in Hollywood

Charges include possession of cannabis, reckless driving

By Paradise Afshar

http://www.local10.com/sports/nfl/rams-tre-mason-arrested-in-hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Los Angeles Rams running back Trence “Tre” Mason was arrested Saturday by the Hollywood Police Department after an officer observed him driving recklessly.

Twelve grams of marijuana were found inside the 22-year-old’s car, according to police. He was also shot with a stun gun during his encounter with law enforcement.

Mason, who has a home in Delray Beach, was arrested around 5:30 p.m. in front of Diplomat Landing at 3200 South Ocean Dr., in Hollywood.

At the time he was driving a 2011 Porsche at about 75 mph in a 35 mph zone when he swerved across two lanes of traffic to avoid an accident, according to a report.

Mason was on his cellphone when he was pulled over after a short chase and began recording his interaction with the officer, according to police.

“I told the defendant he could record me but he would still eventually have to produce his license,” the report said. “The defendant stated he didn’t have it.”

Mason then shook his head no when the officer asked him for his name, and continued to smirk at the officer when he asked if he had any other identification on him, the report said.

When the officer asked Mason to spell his first name he responded with”T-R-E-N-C,” the report said. He then spelled his last name, “M-A.”

The officer then turned off the ignition and told Mason to get out of the vehicle when he continued to refuse to give any identifying information, police said.

When the officer attempted to arrest Mason, according to the report, Mason “tensed his arms and straightened his body as he used the floor, steering wheel and seat to brace himself in the vehicle.”

Mason was told that he’d be shot with a stun gun if he didn’t comply, police said, and was eventually stunned.

“The defendant showed unusual resistance to the first three seconds of the Taser application with little pain compliance,” the report said.

Before officers were able to arrest Mason, he’d continued to “pull away,” the report said, causing officers to shoot him with a stun gun in the pelvic area.

Police said the the tag on the Porsche was registered to Mason Nation LLC for a 2013 Land Rover, that registration expired in 2013.

The Porsche didn’t have a registration or assigned plate number, according to police who did a search on the vehicle identification number.

Police were able to find a bag of marijuana inside the vehicle, along with a cigar containing marijuana and a burnt bud that smelled like cannabis .

Mason was transported by Hollywood Fire Rescue to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood for medical clearance, according to a media release from the Hollywood Police Department.

Records from the Broward Clerk of Courts indicate that Mason has been charged with resisting arrest, possession of cannabis, reckless driving and failure to register a motor vehicle.

Mason was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 as a third-round pick.

Mason was taken to the hospital following his arrest.

Agamemnon wrote:

Mason was taken to the hospital following his arrest.

I agree ag. The story is a little strange

Broncos announce Peyton Manning’s retirement

Michael David Smith

Broncos announce Peyton Manning’s retirement

The Broncos announced this morning that Manning has informed the team he’s calling it a career. A ceremony in Denver is scheduled for Monday.

“When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it’s easy to see how fortunate we’ve been to have him on our team,” Broncos General Manager John Elway said.” Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more—not only for the football team but in the community. There’s no question that his work ethic is what made him into one of the great quarterbacks of all time. All the film study Peyton did and the process that he went through with game planning and understanding what the other teams did was second-to-none. Peyton was a player that guys wanted to play with. That made us better as a team, and I’m thrilled that we were able to win a championship in his final year. Peyton won a lot of awards and set a lot of records, but to me, what he helped our team accomplish during the last four years is what stands out the most. I’m very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career.”

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak thanked Manning for the one year they spent together, a year that ended with the Broncos winning Super Bowl 50.

“It was a blessing to coach Peyton Manning,” Kubiak said. “Nobody worked harder at the game and nobody prepared harder than Peyton. His preparation was the best I’ve ever seen with how he went about his business. There was nothing like his work habits. Each and every week, he did everything he could to get ready to play not only against the defense but even against the coordinator. After competing against Peyton many, many times, I already had great respect for him. But being with him this season, going through what we went through and accomplishing what we accomplished—that was special.”

And now a special career has ended.

With shallow pool of skill players, could Rams go defense in Round 1?
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/27391/with-shallow-pool-of-skill-players-could-rams-go-defense-in-round-one

Now that we know where the Rams will be playing their home games next season and beyond, things have settled down enough to answer a few of your Twitter questions.

As always, you can find me on Twitter here: @nwagoner

Fire away with any Rams-related questions. Please use the hashtag #RamsMail so I will see them.

On to your questions:

Chris ‎@ChrisDopez
@nwagoner been reading that their is no real top offensive prospects this year with that in mind is there a real chance Rams go DE

@nwagoner: The early read on this year’s draft class is that it isn’t very strong at the skill positions, while the offensive and defensive lines are relatively loaded with talent. Picking at No. 15, the Rams might have access to the third-best quarterback and one of the top two wide receivers, but there’s not much star power at either position.

The Rams may consider a defensive end like Clemson’s Shaq Lawson. While I still expect the Rams to get veteran end William Hayes re-signed, it still wouldn’t hurt to begin planning for the future. We know the Rams aren’t afraid to spend valuable draft capital on the defensive line.

One thing the Rams have done under general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher is focus on drafting the best player available when they pick. That philosophy has yielded two of their best players, running back Todd Gurley and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Ideally your needs line up exactly with the value of the player, but in this case it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rams went a little further down their list of needs to pick the best player on their board. And remember, that list of needs could be drastically different after free agency begins.

Seger Mounce ‎@ciggyyy
@nwagoner Do the Ram’s stick with Kendricks, Harkey, and Cunningham, or do they address through free agency or the draft?

@nwagoner: Chances are the Rams will add a tight end or two somewhere along the way. Remember, Cory Harkey is a free agent, so to even count him in the mix they’ll have to re-sign him first. But even if they do, they’d be well-served to scour the free-agent market for another player who can contribute. And though it’s not like they’ll be able to get a Rob Gronkowski, there are some intriguing options out there.

Indianapolis’ Dwayne Allen, in particular, is a player I think the Rams should consider. He had a down year in 2015, but that could favor a team trying to find a relative bargain. He’s been productive in the past as a pass-catcher, and he’s also proved a more than capable blocker. The draft doesn’t appear to have a lot of great tight ends. So I could see the Rams finding a below-the-radar option in free agency to bolster their depth and then taking a flier on one with upside in the draft.

Broncos offer to Osweiler: 3 years, more than $45 million

Mike Klis

http://www.9news.com/sports/broncos-offer-to-osweiler-3-years-more-than-45-million/69607526

KUSA – The Denver Broncos’ priority is unmistakable. They want to make Brock Osweiler their starting quarterback in 2016 and beyond.

Of course, commitment to a player in the salary cap/free agent NFL economy is always measured in dollars.

The Broncos have offered Osweiler a three-year contract proposal that is worth more than $45 million, NFL sources told 9NEWS. Osweiler can become an unrestricted free agent at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The market begins with a “soft” opening Monday where free agents can talk to other teams to gage interest and their value.

Meanwhile, the Broncos will get an update on the future of veteran Peyton Manning either Monday or Tuesday. Manning is expected to either announce his retirement or reveal he wants to keep his options open for a while longer.

If Manning remains undecided, the Broncos are expected to make a procedural move that would release them from his 2016 salary of $19 million that is scheduled to become fully guaranteed on Wednesday.

Regardless of Manning’s decision, the Broncos are trying to reel in Osweiler. The Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and possibly the New York Jets are among the few teams that need a quarterback and could be interested in talking to Osweiler’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, on Monday, when the free-agent “tampering window” opens.

The Broncos’ $45 million-plus package includes incentives. Typically, some incentives are more makeable than others. It’s not known how much of the package is fully guaranteed, but still the offer could be deemed strong considering Osweiler has but seven NFL starts.

Still, Osweiler was impressive in those seven starts, especially during clutch regular-season wins against New England and Cincinnati that were instrumental in giving the Broncos’ home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs.

Osweiler was the 12th-ranked passer in the final seven weeks of the regular season with an 87.8 passer rating based off 9 touchdown passes, 5 interceptions and 1,821 passing yards. The Broncos won five of Osweiler’s seven starts.

He showed enough athleticism, poise, decision-making and ability to perform in bad weather to project as a good fit in head coach Gary Kubiak’s offensive system that is built on running the ball and mobile passing game.

And the quarterback market is rising as evidenced by the extensions received last week by Philadelphia’s Sam Bradford and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco.

It might be a stretch, though, to say Osweiler has comparable value to those quarterbacks, who are far more established.

The closest comparison to Osweiler is Nick Foles who has the 22nd richest contracts among the 22 starting quarterbacks who have progressed beyond their rookie deals.

The 21st-highest-paid starting quarterback is Andy Dalton, who had 30 wins and 80 touchdown passes before he received his extension that pays $16 million a year.

Even Foles was far more accomplished with a 14-4 record and 40 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions in the two seasons before he got his two-year, $24.54 million extension with the Rams.

Yet the Broncos non-incentive annual average offer to Osweiler is more than Foles’ $12.27 million average, according to sources. With incentives, Osweiler would have a chance to approach Dalton’s average.

As free agency approaches, the Broncos are also hoping to re-sign defensive end Malik Jackson and work out reduced contracts for outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and left tackle Ryan Clady.

Other Bronco free agent players will hit the free-agent market when it opens next week, a group that includes inside linebacker Danny Trevathan, running back Ronnie Hillman, offensive guard Evan Mathis, offensive tackles Ryan Harris and Tyler Polumbus, safety David Bruton Jr., tight end Vernon Davis, receivers Andre Caldwell and Jordan Norwood, and defensive back/returner Omar Bolden.

Plenty of work to be done for Rams in secondary

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/27365/plenty-of-work-to-be-done-for-rams-in-secondary

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The free-agent market is scheduled to open March 9 and teams may begin negotiations with those poised to hit the market beginning March 7. We’ll count down to that with a position-by-position look at what the Los Angeles Rams have in place, who is set to hit the market, what they might need and who might fit the bill.

Position: Defensive back

COMINGS AND GOINGS

Under contract: T.J. McDonald, E.J. Gaines, Marcus Roberson, Lamarcus Joyner, Eric Patterson, Maurice Alexander, Christian Bryant, Troy Hill

Pending free agents: Trumaine Johnson (franchise tag), Rodney McLeod, Janoris Jenkins, Cody Davis (restricted),

What’s needed: There’s really three options of what could happen here: The Rams could go through a complete makeover of the secondary, keep all of their pieces in place or something in between. If the Rams have their way, it will be option No. 2. They’ve already made some progress in that regard by using the franchise tag on Johnson. It’s unlikely he’ll go anywhere now as a team probably won’t cough up two first-round picks to land him. That means the Rams can then turn their attention to McLeod, Jenkins and Mark Barron (who we addressed in the linebacker preview). Both McLeod and Jenkins should have plenty of suitors and they won’t come cheap but the Rams would like to keep them both. However, if they are unable to do so, one would think the Rams are more likely to keep McLeod since they don’t have an obvious replacement for him on the roster. If Jenkins departs, the Rams still have E.J. Gaines, Marcus Roberson and Lamarcus Joyner to complement Johnson. Davis is a special teams dynamo, and the Rams will likely extend a tender offer to keep him around for that role and to provide depth. Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher have made it clear that getting this secondary taken care of is the team’s top priority as the new league year begins.

Possible fits: The cornerback market isn’t exactly teeming with top talent if the Rams were to lose Jenkins and decide to pursue a replacement using that avenue. The Giants’ Prince Amukamara, Green Bay’s Casey Hayward and Kansas City’s Sean Smith figure to join Jenkins as the best players available at the position. Because corners are so valuable, don’t be surprised if the prices for those players rocket to or beyond the $10.5 million annual salary Byron Maxwell coaxed from Philadelphia last year. At safety, there are some intriguing options should the Rams lose McLeod or explore other options. San Diego’s Eric Weddle, Cincinnati’s Reggie Nelson and George Iloka and Cleveland’s Tashaun Gipson would all be worth a look if McLeod departs. Weddle is the most experienced of that group but is still a good player. Nelson and Iloka are intriguing talents with Nelson fitting more the role of a true “centerfielder.” Gipson had a down year in 2015 but could be something of a bargain as he looks to bounce back. In the end, the Rams are likely to hold on to at least two of the three of Johnson, Jenkins and McLeod with Jenkins appearing the best bet to get a big offer and go elsewhere.