Nick Mangold Released by the Jets
Eleven-year veteran center Nick Mangold for the New York Jets has been jettisoned by his team. Although his release was expected, it is always a bit of a shock to the system any time a player who has been so good for so long for one team. There will be plenty of teams willing to sign Mangold even though he’s 33 and coming off of an injury which kept him out of half of 2016. Prior to last season Mangold only missed four games in ten years.
We have released C Nick Mangold.
MORE → https://t.co/cXR0srdE3p pic.twitter.com/bLMvto0vKV
— New York Jets (@nyjets) February 25, 2017
The bottom line is… the Jets will save $9.1M off of their salary cap and by releasing him a little early it does him the favor of getting a 12-day jump on other Free Agents coming out when the new league year begins on March 9th at 4:00 PM Eastern Standard time. Darrelle Revis may be next. I don’t believe the Chiefs will be interested in Nick Mangold.
Mitch Morse a Guard?
There has been some talk in recent days about the possibility that the Chiefs could draft a Center and then move Mitch Morse to the Offensive Guard position. Pete Sweeney at kcchiefs.com wrote a piece about Mitch Morse called, “Five Things to Know About Mitch Morse” in which he revealed,
“In the matter of his four seasons at local Missouri, Morse played a variety of roles for the Tigers over the course of his career. In 2011, he played in all 13 games, primarily on the placekicking protection unit. In 2012, he became a starter at Center, but then moved out to right tackle as injuries struck the team. In 2013, he continued at right tackle, starting all 14 games at that position. Then, in 2014, with Justin Britt departed to the NFL, he switched to left tackle in 2014. Over the course of four years, Morse played in a variety of roles, and he performed well in each of them.”
Sweeney goes on to quote Morse who said,
“Some teams will work me out exclusively at guard. A lot of hybrid. A lot of guard, center and not so many at tackle. I had no idea I had short arms until I got to the combine. I’m like being pounded. Everyone’s calling me a T-Rex. It helped me out in the bench, that was about it.”
If moving Morse to Offensive Guard improves the offensive line, it’s hard to understand a downside. Morse was successful wherever he played in college and has been a success with the Chiefs. I’m not sure about what the debate is because Morse has positional flexibility which is likely one of the attributes Dorsey and Reid liked about him, enough to make him a member of the Chiefs.
OLB Haason Reddick Mocked to the Chiefs
CBS Sports analyst Jared Dubin has mocked outside linebacker Haasan Reddick to the Chiefs at pick #27 in the upcoming NFL Draft. Dubin says of Reddick:
“Reddick would be a good fit as a triple-threat linebacker that can come off the edge, drop back in coverage, and stay sturdy against the run. KC’s linebacker corps is aging and injured and could use an infusion of young talent.”
Haason Reddick is a Senior who had a productive four-year career and played in 42 games, the kind of longevity and numbers JARD (John-Andy-Reid-Dorsey) typically likes. Reddick is smallish for an NFL OLB at 6-foot-1 and 230 lbs. but he had 9.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for a loss in 2016. Here his impressive highlights videotape. As you’ll see, I’m not using the word “impressive” lightly. I’ve scouted and loved what I’ve seen from Reddick previously but have not written about him because of his size. While he appears to be a Safety-OLB “tweener” he a naturally gifted and fluid athlete, but may challenged in coverage against speedy RBs out of the backfield — which the Chiefs ask their OLBs to cover — as Reddick has only one interception in his college career. On the other hand… Justin Houston had just one INT in college and he’s done alright for himself.
Dontari Poe a Free Agent?
All signs are pointing to the Chiefs releasing defensive tackle Dontari Poe. With news of Eric Berry and his agent attempting to re-sign with the Chiefs has been highlighted in the news and while there has been a disagreement over whether or not those negotiations are positive or not, at least there have been negotiations. If the Chiefs are going to keep both Dontari Poe and Eric Berry, the roster will have to be purged of a number of contracts including players who have long been fan favorites like Jamaal Charles. The next 12 days will tell the story.
Important NFL Dates in the next two weeks
The next two weeks will be big for NFL teams. In two days the NFL Combine in Indianapolis will begin. That will last until march 6th and three days after that, free agency will begin. Here are some importatnNFL dates — and what they mean — over the next two weeks.
February 28 to March 6 NFL Combine in Indy.
March 1 Franchise or Transition Players must be designated 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
March 4 Vikes Regional Combine in Minnesota.
New League year Begins – Thursday, March 9th
March 9 Top-51 Begins. All clubs must be under the 2017 salary cap prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. The 2017 league year and free agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., Eastern.
March 7-9 Clubs are permitted to “negotiate verbally” with players who will be Unrestricted Free Agents by 4:00 p.m., March 9. (Contracts cannot be executed until 4:00 p.m., March 9).
March 9 Prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern, teams must exercise 2017 options on players who have option clauses in their contracts.
March 9 Prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, teams 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., Eastern time, teams must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2016 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.
March 9 All 2016 player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time.
March 9 2017 trading period begins, 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, after expiration of all 2016 contracts.
March 11 NFL Regional Combines, New Orleans Saints Training Facility, Metairie, Louisiana.
Chiefs Won’t Draft RB Joe Mixon
I don’t see a scenario in which the Kansas City Chiefs would draft Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. Some will say there is a precedence in Tyreek Hill. However, the videotape of Joe Mixon punching a woman in a restaurant at 2:40 AM one morning during his freshman year will serve as a constant reminder and provide a horrific image that will be too difficult for even the most staunch football fans to get out of their heads. Here’s what MMQB had to say about the incident:
“Mixon, a redshirt sophomore running back from Oklahoma, is a supreme talent. He was suspended for his freshman season, 2014, for punching a woman at a local restaurant, breaking four bones in her face.”
You can watch the videotape below (BEWARE: IT IS GRAPHICALLY VIOLENT) and it reminds me of the Ray Rice incidence. It’s unclear what the relationship is that Joe Mixon has with this woman but she is apparently not his girlfriend or wife, not that it should matter because it doesn’t. I bring up the Ray Rice incident because Rice has been out of the league since 2013 and that is the precedence I’m basing my opinion on, that the Chiefs will not draft him. In the video, about 35 seconds in, Joe Mixon walks in and when the woman shoves him in the chest, he punches her in the face, sending her to the floor while he turns and walks away exiting the restaurant. Several people go to assist the woman and after a couple of minutes she arises and walks out on her own, with four bones broken in her face. Mixon and his attorneys released this statement.
“Mr. Mixon asked us to once again say he is sorry for the way he reacted that night. He has apologized publicly to Ms. Molitor, her friends, his family, teammates and the University. He hopes that his voluntary release of these recordings will help put this matter to rest.”
Since the videotape was going to come out anyway, it has more than likely put his career to rest. At least I hope that’s the case as far as the Kansas City Chiefs are concerned.