Panthers snap five-game losing streak, beat Redskins 21-13

Getty Images

Most of the name players the Panthers have left are on offense.

But it was their defense that helped them snap a five-game losing streak, impressively shutting down Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III in a 21-13 road win.

The Panthers held the Redskins to a pair of field goals for the first 58 minutes, and played exceptional red zone defense to get their first win in Washington in franchise history. They also recorded four sacks, keeping RG3 in front of them effectively.

Cam Newton led a pair of 90-plus yard touchdown drives, with the big play an 82-yard pass to Armanti Edwards which set up Newton’s touchdown run. He also found Steve Smith for the veteran wideout’s first touchdown of the year, and the Panthers got a 30-yard touchdown run from DeAngelo Williams.

The loss drops the Redskins to 3-6 heading into their bye, and raises serious questions about their ability to help RG3. They were playing without a full deck, and the receivers out there dropped a number of passes.

Their defense also gave up plays downfield to a team that hadn’t made many, leaving a lot of questions to be answered in the next two weeks.

The Redskins talked about this being a must-win, and they didn’t.

AP

The Buccaneers are expected to cut Darrelle Revis tomorrow, unless they can find a trading partner. So where will they find a trading partner?

Perhaps in Cleveland, where Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Browns are considering trading for Revis.

Why trade for Revis when he’s about to be on the free market anyway? One reason could be that the Browns think Revis can command even more money on the free market than the $16 million a year he makes on his current contract. Another could be that the Browns think that if Revis were to become a free agent, he wouldn’t want to play for the Browns.

Browns coach Mike Pettine knows Revis well: Pettine was the defensive coordinator of the Jets from 2009 to 2012, and Revis was a first-team All-Pro in all three of his healthy seasons playing in Pettine’s defense.

Revis is one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, and the Browns have the cap space to afford him. Revis in a Browns uniform sounds farfetched, but it could happen.

Reuters

As new Texans head coach Bill O’Brien remakes his team, he’s clearly going to be moving some parts from last year’s 2-14 bunch.

But in a bit of a surprise, one of the first moves was away from a guy who was productive when they were still good.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans are releasing tight end Owen Daniels.

The move clears $4.5 million worth of cap room, but Daniels had been willing to restructure. He missed 11 games last year after breaking his tibial plateau, but was coming off a 62-catch, six-touchdown season in 2012.

The 31-year-old Daniels should still draw a good market if he’s well. Considering former Texans coach Gary Kubiak is now with the Ravens, that becomes one of the first potential landing spots.

Not everyone celebrates New Year’s Day on January 1.  For the NFL, it’s a day in March that is determined at some point before March.

This year, today’s the day.  So Merry New Year!

As of 4:00 p.m. ET, the NFL’s 2014 year officially begins.  At that point, every team must be in compliance with the salary cap.  At that point, trades may happen.

At that point, free agents may actually receive offers and reach agreements and make travel plans and otherwise hit the market.

The official start of the new league years comes after three-plus days of illogical negotiations that can’t become a consensus.  And as we get closer to 4:00 p.m. ET, it’s becoming harder to keep the non-deal deals under wraps.

If the NFL is serious about its rules, the NFL will investigate every report of a premature agreements and/or travel plans made before 4:00 p.m. ET.  While it could be hard to get reporters to name their sources, some of the reports are coming from the NFL’s house band, which makes it (in theory) a lot easier to compel cooperation, if the NFL is truly serious about enforcing its bizarre negotiate-but-don’t-agree tampering window.

Don’t count on that happening.  The league simply wants to keep the deals under wraps until 4:00 p.m. ET, in the hopes of eventually crafting a college football-style signing day, where players will announce in 15 minute intervals their next destinations, live on NFL Network.

For now, it’s a free for all.  And you can follow all of it right here — for free — through the rest of the day and all night and into Wednesday and beyond.

Beyond a constant stream of posts, we’ll be talking free agency on PFT Live at noon ET and on Pro Football Talk on NBCSN at 5:30 p.m. ET.

See you there.  See you here.  See you wherever.

Getty Images

We’re hours away from the official start of free agency, although there’s been plenty of chatter already about deals that are set to be signed when the clock strikes 4 p.m. ET.

We’ve heard about Miami locking up tackle Branden Albert, Tampa landing defensive end Michael Johnson and several other deals that we’ll run down during the show. Mike Florio will have the latest on other expected moves as well as we edge even closer to the feeding frenzy that is NFL free agency.

Florio will be welcoming fellow PFTers MDS and Darin Gantt to the show to help set the stage. He’ll be talking to Gantt about the apparent end of the road for wide receiver Steve Smith in Carolina and what else the Panthers might have in the works for the first stage of free agency.

It all gets started at noon ET and you can watch it all live by clicking right here.

AP

Technically, NFL teams aren’t allowed to reach an agreement on a contract with an unrestricted free agent until unrestricted free agency officially opens today at 4 p.m. Eastern. In reality, teams and agents have been negotiating for the last three days, and in some cases the agreements are already done.

In the case of the Buccaneers and free agent defensive end Michael Johnson, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports that they’ve already agreed to a five-year, $43.75 million deal, with $24 million guaranteed. The deal can’t be announced until free agency officially opens in five hours, but that doesn’t stop the two sides from having an understanding.

If the Bucs have already come to an agreement with a free agent, they’ve technically broken the rules. But the rules just aren’t realistic. The whole point of team executives and agents talking right now is to try to reach an agreement on a contract.

In this case, the Bucs and Johnson have apparently reached an agreement a little early. Johnson should be a good fit in Lovie Smith’s defense, even if Smith still has to wait five more hours before he can officially say so.

AP

The Texans did a little housekeeping on Tuesday morning to open up more cap space for them to put to use on Tuesday afternoon and beyond.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the team waived cornerback Brice McCain. McCain signed a three-year, $5.25 million deal withHouston before last season, but struggled badly last season in pass coverage.

McCain joined the Texans as a sixth-round pick in 2009 and played in 72 games for them over the last five seasons. Most of his work came in sub packages and McCain leaves the team with five interceptions over the course of his time in Houston.

The move saves the Texans $900,000, which they could use toward addressing the need for better cornerback depth that existed even before McCain was sent packing. According to McClain, however, the team is expected to do that in the draft more than free agency.

Getty Images

The Bengals biggest free agent name of the year probably won’t return, but at least their return man will.

According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports, Bengals wide receiver Brandon Tate has re-signed with the team.

Tate has yet to make much of a dent on offense, either with the Patriots or the Bengals, but was a solid return man, averaging 26.1 yards per kickoff and 9.3 yards per punt last year.

With the Bengals expected to lose free agent defensive end Michael Johnson, likely to the Buccaneers, they need to keep as many existing pieces in place as they can.

Getty Images

Reports on Monday had linebacker Perry Riley agreeing to a contract that would keep him in Washington.

The Redskins made it official on Tuesday, announcing that Riley has re-signed with the team. The team offered no details about the terms of the deal, but Dianna Russini of NBC News 4 in Washington, D.C., who reported Riley’s return, reports that it is a three-year deal worth $13 million.

Riley has started every game for the Redskins over the last two seasons and 40 straight overall, all of them alongside London Fletcher. With Fletcher almost certainly retired, the team will have to find the right partner for Riley going forward. Riley’s on the small side for an inside linebacker, so it wouldn’t hurt for the team to pair him with a bigger player who does strong work against the run.

The Redskins used their franchise tag on linebacker Brian Orakpo, so they’ve now assured the return of two defensive starters to a unit that has a lot of room for improvement over last season’s efforts.

Follow @ProFootballTalk

AP

A year ago, the last thing we’d expect to be writing on the first day of free agency is a story titled “McCown wants to get a deal done quickly.”

Even then, it would have more likely applied to Luke than Josh.

As it stands, the 34-year-old Josh McCown has become a hot name in a fairly cold quarterback market.  Appearing Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, McCown said that he hopes to get a new deal with a new team done quickly.

McCown also said his list of potential teams is down to one or two.

He scoffed at the idea that he’s too old to be a starter, calling himself a “young 34.”  McCown pointed out that, because he hasn’t played as much as other 30-something starters, he has taken less hits.

Here’s another important point — plenty of quarterbacks are playing at a high level in their 30s.  From Peyton Manning to Tom Brady to Drew Brees to Ben Roethlisberger to Philip Rivers to Tony Romo to Carson Palmer to Aaron Rodgers to Jay Cutler to Eli Manning, many high-end NFL quarterbacks have an age higher than 29.

For McCown, whose eight appearances and five starts in 2013 were his most since starting and playing in nine games for the Raiders in 2007, the question becomes whether he’ll be able to duplicate last year’s performance in a new system.  From a 66.5-percent completion percentage to 8.2 yards per attempt to 13 touchdowns to only one interception, McCown hit a level with Bears coach Marc Trestman that McCown has never before seen.

Still, in a league with more teams than competent quarterbacks, someone will be taking a chance on McCown.  And there’s a chance that a guy whose reward for winning the NFC offensive player of the week award was to be sent back to the bench could have three or four more years of quality play before calling it quits.

Follow @ProFootballTalk

Getty Images

The Redskins are reportedly poised to sign a member of PFT’s Free Agent Hot 100.

According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, the Redskins and Cardinals wide receiver Andre Roberts “have agreed to a deal.”

Per NFL rules, no formal offers can be made or signed before 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Moreover, no other agreements can be struck. However, negotiations, including a discussion of potential contract parameters, can occur.

The 26-year-old Roberts (5-11, 195) has hauled in 182 passes for 2,123 yards and 11 TDs in four NFL seasons, all with Arizona. He recorded 43 receptions for 471 yards and two scores in 2013.

Roberts is No. 71 on PFT’s list of the top 100 free agents of 2014.

Offensive line is a major need for the Falcons this offseason and they’ve reportedly landed a player that they hope can provide better blocking at guard than they got last season.

Former NFL scout and current 95.7 The Game in San Francisco radio host John Middlekauff reports that the Falcons signing guard Jon Asamoah for $4.5 million a year is a “done deal.” There’s no word on how many years such a deal would run or how it would be structured in terms of guarantees.

Asamoah was drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft by then-Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli. Pioli now works in the Atlanta front office, which probably didn’t hurt as they pursued Asamoah over the last few days.

Asamoah has started 41 games over the last four years in Kansas City, but fell out of the starting lineup over the second half of last season. There wouldn’t seem to be much risk of that in Atlanta given the current state of affairs on the Falcons offensive line and Asamoah’s arrival would be a good first step toward fixing last season’s disaster area.

His departure would also leave the Chiefs with some work to do as they are also expected to lose guard Geoff Schwartz to another team in free agency.

Getty Images

The oldest player in the NFL plans to stick around Indianapolis for at least two more years.

Kicker Adam Vinatieri and the Colts have agreed to a two-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported and the Colts have announced.

The 41-year-old Vinatieri will play his 19th and 20th NFL seasons in Indianapolis if he sticks around for both years of his contract. At the end of his two-year deal he would have played 10 seasons with the Colts after playing the first 10 years of his career with the Patriots.

Vinatieri is coming off one of his best seasons. He made 35 of 40 field goal attempts last year and was a career-best 4-for-6 from 50 yards and beyond.

Getty Images

Bears defensive end Julius Peppers is 34.  His production is declining.  He’s due to earn a base salary of $13.9 million in 2014.  And the Bears suddenly are trying to trade him.

Good luck with all that.

Peppers is one of several big-name players who were expected to be on the outs and who suddenly are on the market.  Whether it’s Peppers or Titans running back Chris Johnson or Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis, the decision to suddenly thrust the player onto the trade block on the eve of the start of the new league year makes little sense.

Why not start the effort to trade the player earlier in the offseason?  While a deal can’t be consummated until the moment the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, an agreement in principle can be reached well before the deal becomes official.  That’s what happened last year with 49ers (now Chiefs) quarterback Alex Smith.

For Peppers, the only way he gets traded if is he agrees to a major cut in pay.  No one will pay him $13.9 million.  Unless he’s being sent to a place he specifically wants to play, there’s no reason for him to agree to take a dollar less than the amount to which he’s entitled.

And so he most likely won’t be traded, and he undoubtedly will be cut.  And that six-year, $84 million contract will end up being a four-year, $53.5 million package.

So why do teams go through the charade of trying to engineer a trade in the hours before the league year starts?  While it costs nothing to try, it’s highly unlikely that someone is going to give up a draft pick for a guy who soon will be available for no compensation to his current team.

Sometimes, a team will trade for a favorable contract.  For most guys who become trade bait this week, the contract isn’t favorable.  Which is one of the big reasons why the team wants to trade him in the first place.

Getty Images

With many of the top free agent pass-rushers taken off the markets by their own teams, the movement figures to be fast for the few remaining young options.

And one of them may be flying south.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Buccaneers are “serious discussions” with Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson.

New Bucs coach Lovie Smith needs pass-rushers to make his system work, and Johnson’s one of the few of substantial resume available.

With Greg Hardy franchise-tagged by the Panthers and Michael Bennett (Seahawks) and Everson Griffen (Vikings) already agreeing to long-term deals, Johnson’s the star of the defensive end marketplace.

Though he dipped to 3.5 sacks last year, the 11.5 he put on the board in 2012 (which earned him the Bengals franchise tag) will get him paid, quickly and well.

Getty Images

The Giants have reportedly retained some secondary and running back depth as the start of free agency nears.

The club has come to terms with cornerback Trumaine McBride on a two-year, $3.1 million contract, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reported Tuesday morning.

Also, the Giants are bringing back tailback Peyton Hillis on a two-year deal, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News said Tuesday.

The 28-year-old McBride played 15 games (10 starts) for the Giants in 2013, defending 15 passes and recording two interceptions.

Hillis, 28, rushed for 247 yards and a touchdown on 73 carries for the Giants, who signed him in October. He also caught 13 passes for 96 yards.