NFL Capsules: Holmes staying put with Jets after clause kicks in
NEW YORK (AP) — It appears Santonio Holmes is sticking around — just as the New York Jets said he would. By remaining on the roster through the second day of the NFL's waiver period Tuesday, the talented but troublesome wide receiver will get $15.25 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons. A clause in Holmes' five-year, $45 million contract, signed last offseason, kicked in Wednesday morning.
Holmes' future appeared murky with the Jets after a tumultuous season in which he feuded with quarterback Mark Sanchez and the offensive line, and was benched during the season finale in Miami for arguing in the huddle.
Still, owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan all insisted that Holmes would remain with the team despite the squabbles.
Holmes, already guaranteed his salary for next season, had a $7.5 million guarantee for the 2013 season kick in after Tuesday. While the Jets could still theoretically cut him or try to trade him, the financial commitment makes that an unlikely scenario.
So, New York is stuck hoping that Holmes can work out his issues with his teammates — primarily Sanchez — and return to the playmaking form that Ryan and the Jets became so enamored of when they re-signed him last July.
"To dismiss some of the good things that Santonio has done for the two years he's been here, he's been a tremendous player for us," Ryan said on Jan. 2. "He's won a ton of games for this franchise. And he's been a good teammate."
Johnson said a few weeks ago that the team intended to bring Holmes back, and it had nothing to do with his big contract.
"He may be one of the best players we've ever had here," Johnson said. "I think you could look at his talent level as extraordinarily talented."
Holmes, acquired from Pittsburgh in 2010 for a fifth-round draft pick, played a key role in the Jets' run to their second straight AFC championship game two seasons ago. But things turned sour for the former Super Bowl MVP this past season.
He openly criticized the Jets' offensive line for not giving Sanchez enough time to throw downfield, and ESPNNewYork.com reported that the two clashed at a late-season meeting. Several players questioned Holmes' captaincy throughout the season.
The capper came during the Jets' loss to the Dolphins, when former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer benched Holmes after he argued with teammates in the huddle. The television broadcast caught Holmes being restrained by tight end Dustin Keller on the field as the wide receiver and right tackle Wayne Hunter yelled at each other. Holmes sat on the bench sulking late in the game while the Jets came up short in a bid to beat the Dolphins.
He finished with 51 receptions for a career-low 654 yards, while also catching eight touchdown passes.
Ryan acknowledged he made a mistake by not having "the pulse" of the locker room and for naming the team's six captains, including Holmes. He said no one will wear the captain's "C'' on their jersey anymore, adding that it's imperative the take a larger role on the offense and instill the team chemistry that was clearly lacking as the Jets finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
"There's a lot of positive things about Santonio," Ryan said. "Are there some things that we need to get corrected? Absolutely. And it's not just with him, but others as well."
Ryan told reporters last week at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis that Sanchez and Holmes spoke by phone and were planning to get together soon to try to work things out. Neither player has spoken to the media since the season ended, although Holmes sent a message on Twitter the day before the Super Bowl to Sanchez and nose tackle Sione Pouha saying: "Hope your getting as antsy as me for the 2012-13 season to start. One more day til we start to make that journey."
Panthers re-sign LS Jansen, LB Phillips
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Panthers have re-signed long snapper J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract extension and linebacker Jason Phillips to a one-year extension. The team announced the deals Wednesday. Financial terms of the deals were not released.
Both players were set to become restricted free agents on March 13. Jansen has had only one bad snap in three seasons with Carolina. He's handled snapping duties on more than 400 punts, field goals and extra points since being acquired in 2009 in a trade with the Packers.
Jansen's agent Paul Sheehy says, "J.J. wanted to get this done before free agency and he's certainly excited about returning to the Panthers."
Phillips played in four games last season for Carolina and notched three tackles before being placed on injured reserve with a calf injury.
Giants signs 8 from practice squad for 2012
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants already are stocking their roster for training camp this summer.
The Super Bowl champions announced Wednesday that they had signed as free agents eight players who spent all or part of this season on their practice squad.
The eight are defensive back Brandon Bing, running back Andre Brown, offensive lineman Selvish Capers, receivers Dan DePalma and Isaiah Stanback, defensive tackle Dwayne Hendricks, tight end Christian Hopkins, quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and defensive end DE Adrian Tracy. Hendricks is the only one of the eight who played in a regular-season game, appearing in one.
Broncos sign free-agent fullback Sylvester
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos have signed free-agent fullback Austin Sylvester.
Sylvester originally signed with Denver as a college free agent from Washington in 2011. He was on the Broncos' practice squad for five weeks last season but was on the active roster for two games. He also spent two weeks on Tampa Bay's practice squad in his rookie season.
Team Capsules
McGinnis enthusiastic about rejoining Fisher
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Rams assistant head coach Dave McGinnis had a one-year contract last year with Tennessee, just in case there was a chance he could be reunited with Jeff Fisher.
McGinnis, who worked under Fisher for seven seasons with the Titans, was hired last week as part of a Rams staff rich with experience. He and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are former NFL head coaches who will try to rebuild a franchise with just 10 victories total the last three seasons.
Fisher was hired last month after sitting out last season. Like Williams, McGinnis said that when Fisher called about the Rams job, he didn't hesitate to say yes.
"It was instantaneous," McGinnis said Wednesday. "If Jeff wanted me to be with him, I wanted to be with him."
The 60-year-old McGinnis was senior assistant coach with the Titans last year, frequently acting as a sounding board for first-year head coach Mike Munchak. He also helped with administrative duties and in personnel evaluation in the offseason.
"Once you're in that chair, there's so many things that come up that you're not prepared for," McGinnis said. "You really have to put your high beams on as a head coach."
Under Fisher in Tennessee, McGinnis was linebackers coach for seven years and assistant head coach for six of those seasons. He said he had other opportunities after getting fired as Cardinals head coach in 2003, but chose to work with Fisher.
"He gets it on every level that a head coach needs to get it," McGinnis said. "The players absolutely love playing for him, coaches in this league want to work for Jeff Fisher. When you're around him, it's palpable."
Both Williams and McGinnis have Missouri roots. Williams was a prep coach in Missouri before playing quarterback for Northeast Missouri State.
McGinnis coached at Missouri from 1976-81 and he has family in Kansas City and Manhattan, Kan.
"I am really fired up," McGinnis said. "This is very exciting for me, to be able to get with guys that you know, that you trust, that you know are going to be able to do it the right way."
McGinnis has Rams roots of a sort, too. Among the assistants he was poised to add if the Chicago Bears hired him as head coach in 1999 was Mike Martz, St. Louis' offensive coordinator and architect of the Greatest Show on Turf, which produced two Super Bowl teams and the Rams' lone championship after the '99 season.
The Bears prematurely called a news conference to announce that McGinnis had been hired in January 1999 before he had been offered the job. McGinnis then withdrew from consideration.
McGinnis was hired as Cardinals interim head coach in 2000.
"Everything is intertwined in this league," McGinnis said. "It really is amazing. The Greatest Show on Turf did materialize and it was a great thing for the city of St. Louis and the Rams."
-- R.B. Fallstrom
Colts promote Telesco to VP of football operations
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts have promoted Tom Telesco to vice president of football operations. Telesco has spent the past six seasons as Indy's director of player personnel.
He's one of the few holdovers Indianapolis is keeping around in a major housecleaning project that has already claimed the jobs of vice chairman Bill Polian, general manager Chris Polian, coach Jim Caldwell and most of Caldwell's staff.
Telesco joined the Colts in 1998 as a scout. He climbed the ranks and after the 2005 season was named director of player personnel.
Telesco, a John Carroll University alumni, began his career as a scouting assistant with Carolina in 1995 and was a summer intern in Buffalo from 1991-94.
Bears hire Holt as offensive line coach
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have hired Tim Holt as their offensive line coach. The move announced Wednesday completes the coaching staff for next season. Holt takes over for Mike Tice, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after the departure of Mike Martz.
Tice was widely credited with getting the most out of an undermanned line the past two years and still figures to play a big role with that unit.
Holt spent the past three years on Tampa Bay's staff, serving as the assistant offensive line coach last season and as an offensive assistant in 2010. He joined the Buccaneers as a coaching intern in 2009. He also coached for 14 years on the college level.
Raiders retain Saunders as assistant
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Former offensive coordinator Al Saunders will remain on the Oakland Raiders coaching staff as a senior offensive assistant.
The team announced Wednesday that Saunders will be on new coach Dennis Allen's staff in 2012. Saunders was offensive coordinator under Hue Jackson last season.
The Raiders had previously hired Greg Knapp to be offensive coordinator even though Saunders was still under contract. Saunders has spent the past 29 seasons as either a head coach or assistant in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl as receivers coach in St. Louis in 1999 and has been to the playoffs 15 times.
Cardinals shift McNulty to QB coach, hire Reich
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have moved Mike McNulty to quarterbacks coach and hired longtime NFL quarterback Frank Reich to coach wide receivers.
McNulty replaces Chris Miller, who was fired after last season. McNulty had been Arizona's wide receivers coach the past three seasons. Reich spent the last six seasons on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts, the last one as wide receivers coach.
Reich spent 14 years in the NFL as a quarterback, nine of them with the Buffalo Bills. He was quarterbacks coach for the Colts in 2009-10 before switching to the wide receiver responsibilities last season.
Related News
Ga. House panel considers youth concussion law
ATLANTA (AP) — Former Falcons kicker Matt Bryant can still remember taking a hit during an elementary school football game. The sky turned yellow and he saw green dots. At 10 or 11, he didn't recognize the incident as a possible concussion.
Now a father of seven children, Bryant is pushing for legislation in Georgia that would help educate young players and their parents, coaches and others about the dangers of concussions and the need to protect student athletes from serious brain injury.
"I've probably had concussions and didn't know it," Bryant told a panel of Georgia House representatives in a hearing Thursday. "The whole education part of this is important."
Lawmakers heard testimony from Bryant and former Falcons linebacker Buddy Curry in support of House Bill 673. The legislation is part of a national push by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NCAA President Mark Emmert, who are urging 19 governors to support similar proposals across the country.
Currently, 31 states already have such laws and another 14 are considering such legislation, which is modeled after Washington state's 2009 "Zackery Lystedt Law," named for a middle school football player who sustained brain damage after he suffered a concussion and returned to play.
That law requires that a player who shows signs of a concussion be removed from a game or practice, and bars the player from competing again until being cleared by a licensed health care professional trained in concussion evaluation and management.
The language for Georgia's version of the bill is still being finalized. Current and former lawmakers and doctors testified before the House Health and Human Services Committee for more than an hour.
Kenneth Edmonds, a spokesman for the National Football League, told the panel the bill could help prevent brain injuries and make play safer for young athletes, reinforcing the same rules as apply to professional players.
Curry, who played for the Falcons from 1980 to 1987 and led the team in tackles for years, told lawmakers that he suffered several concussions during his career.
"I can remember coming off the field in a daze, trying to figure out which sideline was my own ... and knowing my team needed me back on the field," Curry said.
One or two plays later, he was putting his helmet back on and leaving the sidelines.
"It was a badge of honor ... to be the toughest guy on the block," Curry said. "We gotta change that culture. This bill ensures that the proper people are making the decision."
-- Errin Haines
