February 2018 4for4 Player News Articles

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht says Chris Godwin has earned the right for a bigger role in 2018. Says he represents what they want in a Bucs player. Smart, hard working and unselfish.

Godwin played 70%+ of the snaps three times last season and averaged 5.0 catches for 92 yards and 0.33 touchdowns. He'll probably need an injury to Mike Evans or DeSean Jackson to become a fantasy starter, but he's definitely a player who should be on the draft radar in the later rounds.

The Carolina Panthers have ended their decade-long relationship with Jonathan Stewart.

The team announced Wednesday they released the soon-to-be 31-year-old running back.

Stewart earned a career-low 3.4 yards per carry average while sharing the backfield with first-round rookie Christian McCaffrey in 2017. Jettisoning Stewart opens a need in the Panthers' running corps for a between-the-tackles pounder to complement CMC in 2018.

Related players: Christian McCaffrey, Cameron Artis-Payne

Christian McCaffrey gets a bump, but the Panthers aren't likely to hand over Stewart's rushing workload to McCaffrey. They may add another running back to the mix or perhaps use Cameron Artis-Payne to fill Stewart's shoes.

Via Twitter, Matt Forte has retired from the NFL

Forte was set to enter free agency. Coming off an injury-riddled season and two seasons with 3.7 YPC, Forte realized that it was time to hang 'em up.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have re-signed quarterback Blake Bortles to a three-year contract extension through the 2020 season, the team announced Saturday.

The deal is for $54 million and could be worth up to $66.5 million with incentives, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal also includes $26.5 million in guaranteed money, according to the source.

"Blake's growth and development last season was a key to the success we had as a team," said Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars' executive vice president of football operations. "Blake has proven, with toughness and dependability, that he can be the leader this team needs going forward. Along with this contract come high expectations that he will continue to improve and help our team accomplish its ultimate goal."

Working backwards, Bortles has finished No. 13, No. 9 and No. 4 at his position. That's not a good trend, but he still has three straight seasons finishing in the top 13, and this contract is a vote of confidence from the organization. If Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee stay in Jacksonville, Bortles should have a deep and talented receiving corps to throw to.

A source close to the situation confirmed an NFL.com report Wednesday that Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has undergone surgery to repair his right rotator cuff. The source said the goal is for Jeffery to be ready for the 2018 regular season, though he could return during the preseason if all goes well.

This explains why Jeffery was missing practice time in training camp and during the preseason and helps to explain why it took Jeffery and Carson Wentz a while to get on the same page.

Despite months of little-to-no movement on contract negotiations, Jarvis Landry has often stated his desire to stay in Miami.

The Dolphins used their lone tool to wipe away negotation-driven stress -- at least in the immediate future -- and ensure Landry won't be lured away from Miami, placing the franchise tag on the receiver on Tuesday, the team announced.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the tag will pay Landry approximately $16 million and is non-exclusive, meaning he's able to negotiate with other teams, but would cost an outside suitor two first-round draft picks for the right to sign him.

A trade involving Landry is very much still a possibility. The team reportedly dangled the wideout in trade talks before the 2017 season, giving legs to the idea.

At this stage, it's not entirely certain he plays in Miami in 2018 or beyond. What Miami did on Tuesday was ensure it wouldn't watch Landry walk away for nothing in March at the start of free agency.

Working backwards over the last three years, Landry has finished No. 4, No. 13 and No. 11 in PPR formats and No. 11, No. 16 and No. 17 in standard leagues. If he remains in Miami, his role won't change much and he'll be a good bet for 100+ catches again in 2018.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released running back Doug Martin, the team announced Tuesday. The two-time Pro Bowler was due to make nearly $7 million in 2018 but averaged just 2.9 yards per carry over the past two seasons.

Martin, 29, was benched in favor of second-year back Peyton Barber for the final three games of the 2017 season and was a healthy scratch for the Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15 for violating a team rule.

The move was hardly a surprise. When asked by ESPN about Martin's struggles in 2017 and whether he had a future with the team, general manager Jason Licht said, "Without going into much detail, it's safe to say that we need more out of our running game in general. We need to get better run-blocking, we need more explosive plays out of the running back position. I was really happy [and] we were really happy with Peyton [Barber] with the way he came on at the end of the season, so that was positive. Obviously Doug had a down season by his standards and by our standards."

As the article notes, this is not a big surprise. But where do the Bucs go from here? With Martin cut and Charles Sims entering free agency, the Tampa backfield could look very different in 2018. In the seven games in which Peyton Barber carried the ball at least 10 times, he averaged 14.1 carries for 59 yards (4.20 YPC). In those games, he also added 2.0 catches for 15 yards. The Bucs are likely to draft a running back, but depending on the draft capital that they spend, Barber may have the inside track to start in 2018.

Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been coy, saying he needed time to decide whether to play in 2018.

He has apparently had enough time.

Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said on AZ Sports 98.7 FM that Fitzgerald told him last night he intends to play in 2018.

Fitzgerald is coming off of three straight top 11 finishes in PPR and three straight top 17 finishes in standard scoring formats. He should remain a solid fantasy WR2 in 2018 despite a change at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich has been hired to be the Indianapolis Colts' next head coach.

Reich, 56, spent the past two seasons in Philadelphia helping the Eagles' offense, led by quarterbacks Carson Wentz and (after Week 14) Nick Foles, improve from 22nd to seventh in the NFL this season.

Before his two seasons as the Eagles' offensive coordinator, Reich served as the OC for the Chargers from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, the offense was 9th in yards gained.

I believe Rob Gronkowski’s rumblings about retirement are real. He’s been responsible with his finances (putting away most of his football money and living largely off his endorsement cash), and he’s taken an absolute beating. That this is a real choice for high-profile players now is great progress, too.

While it would be surprising if Gronkowski retired, Breer argues that the "rumblings" are "real." While we expect Gronk to play in 2018, owners should be aware that he is thinking about hanging 'em up.

The 49ers agreed to terms on a five-year contract with Jimmy Garoppolo worth $137.5 million, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported, per a source informed of the decision. The deal is the largest in NFL history on an average-per-year basis.

In just seven career starts, Garoppolo has displayed unequivocally he's a franchise quarterback. Now he'll be paid like one.

Down the stretch of the season, Jimmy G elevated every player on the 49ers' roster. His pinpoint ball placement allowed previously third-fiddle receivers to morph into dangerous weapons. His quick trigger and ability to throw off his back foot aided a banged-up offensive line. His talent for moving the ball kept the 49ers' porous defense off the field and in positive situations.

In his first three games starting for the 49ers, Garoppolo led just one three-and-out punt. San Francisco scored on a whopping 62 percent of Jimmy G's drives this season -- for perspective, the Patriots were second at 51 percent.

Since he entered the NFL in 2014, Garoppolo has completed 67.3 percent of his passes (4th-highest, min. 250 attempts) with an 8.3 yards per attempt average (first) and a 99.7 passer rating (fifth).

In five starts with the 49ers (and limited weapons at receiver), Garoppolo completed 67.0% of his passes for an average of 308 yards and an 8.76 yards per attempt. He also threw six touchdowns and five interceptions in those five starts. He'll be ranked as a high-end QB2 in our early 2018 rankings.

Carson Wentz confirmed on Friday what we suspected on the day of his injury — that he has an LCL tear in addition to the previously reported ACL tear.

What does this mean for the Eagles quarterback’s recovery?

Most likely, Wentz had a primary repair where the lateral collateral ligament was sewn back together (which speeds recovery) versus needing a graft. That type of repair is more common in LCL tears, as opposed to the ACL, which almost always requires reconstruction with a graft.

At this point, it is still reasonable to hope Wentz can be ready by Week 1. If that happens, he will almost certainly be limited to being a pocket quarterback.

However, there is no guarantee Wentz will even be ready to take the field by then.

Related players: Nick Foles

Wentz was the No. 2 fantasy quarterback through Week 14, and he missed the final three games after tearing his ACL and LCL. His draft stock will be depressed until it becomes clear that he'll be ready to play Week 1, and even then he is unlikely to be much of a running threat as his knee won't be 100 percent healed. Wentz won't look like his old self until the second half of the season (or perhaps the 2019 season). Look for the Eagles to hold onto Nick Foles as insurance since he's still under contract for another year.

On Sunday, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported there still are doctors who have concerns about Andrew Luck's shoulder and whether he could wind up needing additional surgery.

Luck is not out of the woods yet for 2018. This report could have influenced Josh McDaniels' decision to renege on his agreement to join the Colts as head coach. Stay tuned.