2016 NFL Off Season Thread

[Dan]

Another season in the books.

Spoiler

Denver won the Superbowl

because

Spoiler

DEFENSE!

Marshawn Lynch has already announced his retirement

Here's what we've got to look forward to:

Quote

February 8: Waiver system begins for 2016.

February 9: Beginning at 12 noon, New York time, NFL clubs may begin to sign players whose 2015 CFL contracts have expired. Players under contract to a CFL club for the 2016 season or who have an option for the 2016 season are not eligible to be signed.

February 13: NFL Regional Combines, Houston Texans Methodist Training Facility, Houston, Texas.

February 16: First day for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

February 20: NFL Regional Combines, Arizona Cardinals Training Facility, Phoenix, Arizona.

February 23-29: NFL Scouting Combine, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana.

February 27: NFL Regional Combines, Baltimore Ravens Under Armour Performance Center, Owings Mills, Maryland.

March 1: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 5: NFL Regional Combines, Minnesota Vikings Training Facility Max Winter Park, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

March 7-9: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2015 Player Contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9.

March 9: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2016 on all players who have option clauses in their 2015 contracts.

March 9: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts and to whom they desire to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation.

March 9: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2015 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.

March 9: Top-51 Begins. All clubs must be under the 2016 salary cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time.

March 9: All 2015 player contracts expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

March 9: The 2016 league year and free agency period begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time. The first day of the 2016 league year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 9. Clubs will receive a personnel notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 9.

March 9: Trading period for 2016 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2015 contracts.

March 12: NFL Regional Combines, New Orleans Saints Training Facility, Metairie, Louisiana.

March 20-23: Annual Meeting, Boca Raton, Florida.

April 4: Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2015 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.

April 18: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs.

April 22: Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign offer sheets.

April 28-30: 2016 NFL Draft, Chicago, Illinois.

April 30: After the final selection in the Draft has been made, clubs may begin signing Undrafted Free Agents who were eligible for the 2016 Draft.

May 6-9: First weekend after the NFL Draft: clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.

May 9: Rookie Football Development Program Begins.

May 13-16: Second weekend after the NFL Draft: clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.

May 19-22: NFLPA Rookie Premiere. Invited Rookies (typically, first and/or second-round selections) must be permitted by their respective clubs to attend. Such players are unavailable for offseason workouts, OTA days, and minicamps during this period.

May 23-25: NFL Spring League Meeting, Charlotte, North Carolina.

June 1: Deadline for prior club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a qualifying offer for a Right of First Refusal Only in order for such player to be subject  to the CBA’s “June 15 Tender” provision.

June 2: For any player removed from the club’s roster or whose contract is assigned via waivers or trade on or after June 2, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in Team Salary at the start of the 2017 League Year.

June 15: Deadline for club to withdraw qualifying offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).

June 19-25: Rookie Symposium, Aurora, Ohio.

July 15: At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his prior club for the 2016 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.

Mid-July: Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players. Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club’s preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club’s first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later.

Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all rookies and first-year players.

A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a Club’s roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who join the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical.

July 22*: Signing Period ends for unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “May 10 Tender” was made by prior club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.

* or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later.

July 22: Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.

 

[Thrilla]

Can't wait to see how many Niners players retire this off-season

[Meacon Keaton]

17 minutes ago, Thrilla said:

Can't wait to see how many black Niners players Chip Kelly trades this off-season

Fixed it.

[Lineker]

Quote

Buffalo Bills running LeSean McCoy was allegedly involved in an altercation with two off-duty police officers in Philadelphia early Sunday morning, CSNPhilly.com's John Gonzalez reported Monday.

A Philadelphia Police Department news release obtained by NFL Media details the incident but does not name McCoy or any of the other parties involved. However, McCoy matches the description of one of the four suspects under investigation for allegedly assaulting the off-duty officers.

The Bills released a statement Monday regarding the alleged incident:

"We are aware of the reports regarding LeSean McCoy and are in the process of gathering more information. We will not provide any further comment at this time."

The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. Sunday and led to the hospitalization of two off-duty police officers, CSNPhilly.com reported.

One of the off-duty officers was knocked to the ground and was "punched, kicked and stomped about his body and head multiple times," the police statement said. Each of the officers suffered broken ribs. In addition, police said the the officers suffered other injuries, including a lacerated eye, broken nose, broken ribs and a sprained thumb.

The release stated video surveillance was recovered from outside of the club which shows both parties being ejected. The incident itself was not captured on video, police said.

Philadelphia police said their investigation of the alleged altercation is ongoing.

McCoy played six seasons with the Eagles before moving onto Buffalo prior to this season. He's maintained close ties to the Philadelphia area.

[Maxx]

LeSean McCoy is lucky to be alive.

Eagles release Riley Cooper, how long before Chip signs him?

[Lineker]

Quote

The NFL informed teams of a policy change for the NFL Scouting Combine “in a memo from the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent late last month,” per Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today.

Jones provided the details Monday: “The NFL will no longer allow players with convictions for domestic violence, sexual assault or weapons offenses to attend the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis.”

 

[MalaCloudy Black]

That's a good step.

Also, something I found insane: reports are that, of the $49.7 million or so that Marshawn Lynch made as a player, he hasn't spent any of it. Considering how many players retire with hardly anything or go broke within a year or two of retirement, that seems remarkable. 

[munky]

Living off that Skittles money. Gronk has done pretty much the same thing.

[The Buscher]

The Giants need to completely blow up their defense.  There are very few guys on that side of the ball I'd want to keep.  Ayers (who is a free agent), DRC, Hankins.  That's about it for starters.  Prince and Kennard would be okay if they weren't injury prone.

Also I've already given up on Landon Collins as a safety.  Move him in to linebacker and I think he'd add more value.

[Maxx]

JPP started the process last summer.

[gunnar hendershow]

Was hoping to make the same joke but got beaten to it.

[Maxx]

Hoooray, its time for Cowboys fans delusions.  We don't need to draft a QB because we can just sign RG3 and we'll be fine forever!  We don't need to sign a running back because McFadden did fine and obviously his previous injury history and the popular and successful trend of having more than one good RB should be ignored!  We're one rookie defensive player away from a Super Bowl and that player is...whoever we draft!  Yaaaaaaaay.

Awful.

[gunnar hendershow]

A healthy Tony Romo this past year and the Cowboys go 12-4 and feasibly could have gone to the Super Bowl.

If I'm Jerry I trade down unless I am convinced Wentz/Goff/whoever is the QB to have. If 3 or 4 guys can't separate themselves there's no point burning the 4th pick on one of them when there are teams who will trade up. Romo might have a year or two left in the tank barring another injury, and the o-line is still great. Defense needs some depth and the running game should improve by virtue of having a healthy Romo, but McFadden definitely isn't a long-term answer. Finding a successor for Witten is important. Dallas is going to be good as long as they have a decent starting QB, which they certainly lacked this year.

[Maxx]

I've played this wait to find the next QB game already, its not a good move.  I'm less sold on Wentz, but I'll be very upset if they pass on Goff if he's available.   A healthy Tony Romo played the Panthers and looked terrible prior to getting hurt, even if he was healthy all season, I don't think we would have beaten them, or Arizona or Green Bay.  

[Lineker]

Quote

In a report on the league’s own network, the Browns have been accused of lying about Johnny Manziel having a concussion in an effort to cover up that the real problem with Manziel was showing up to work drunk.

“Johnny Manziel, going into what would have been a start late in the season, showed up drunk at practice on a Wednesday. The Browns lied and said he was in the concussion protocol. Let me repeat that: The Browns lied, to try to protect, and I would argue enable, this irresponsible and very troubled young man,” Mike Silver said on the air on NFL Network.

As PFT pointed out at the time, there’s always been something very fishy about Manziel’s Week 17 concussion diagnosis. On Monday of the last week of the season, then-Browns coach Mike Pettine said he planned to talk to Manziel about a video that appeared to show him drinking alcohol and partying. At that time, there were no reports that Manziel being checked for a concussion. Then, when Manziel showed up to work on Wednesday, it was announced that he had a concussion and couldn’t play in that Sunday’s season finale. It was never explained why the Browns only diagnosed this concussion three days after it supposedly happened, and two days after Pettine said he was going to have a stern talk with Manziel about his off-field issues.

If NFL Network’s report is correct, the NFL should come down hard on the Browns. The league has spent the last few years repeating, over and over again, that concussions are to be taken seriously. If the Browns are using bogus concussion diagnoses to avoid having to discuss players’ off-field problems, that would be an appalling misuse of the league’s injury reports.

So while the Browns are done with Manziel, they may not be done paying the price for hitching their wagon to him. Cleveland could be facing league discipline for lying about a concussion.

Johnny Manziel showed up drunk to December practice

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced Tuesday he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

[FestiveJack]

8 hours ago, damshow said:

A healthy Tony Romo this past year and the Cowboys go 12-4 and feasibly could have gone to the Super Bowl.

If I'm Jerry I trade down unless I am convinced Wentz/Goff/whoever is the QB to have. If 3 or 4 guys can't separate themselves there's no point burning the 4th pick on one of them when there are teams who will trade up. Romo might have a year or two left in the tank barring another injury, and the o-line is still great. Defense needs some depth and the running game should improve by virtue of having a healthy Romo, but McFadden definitely isn't a long-term answer. Finding a successor for Witten is important. Dallas is going to be good as long as they have a decent starting QB, which they certainly lacked this year.

Is a healthy Romo a possibility though, considering he's gone done with season ending injuries in two of the past three seasons?

[Lineker]

Report: Laremy Tunsil allegedly involved in five NCAA violations

[Maxx]

Word is his punishment will be having to play for the Titans.

[Lineker]

You know after leaving the office every morning this week after my night shifts I cross on the pavement a guy walking into the building wearing a Titans hat and every morning, I am to myself, like, WHY?

[LL!]

53 minutes ago, Lineker said:

You know after leaving the office every morning this week after my night shifts I cross on the pavement a guy walking into the building wearing a Titans hat and every morning, I am to myself, like, WHY?

People say that about others wearing Texans hats.