Jonathan Vilma Fantasy News

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23 Days New Orleans Saints Comment

The Times-Picayune says Jonathan Vilma "seems to be" the front-runner for the second starting inside linebacker job.

We'll see. Vilma is in his decline phase at age 31 and is really wearing down against the run. He'll have to hold off a strong challenge from David Hawthorne in camp. Vilma may be best-suited to fill a nickel role at this point in his career.

Jonathan Vilma LB NO

2 Months New Orleans Saints Comment

Saints LB Jonathan Vilma took a $3.7 million pay cut to stay in New Orleans.

He sliced his salary from $4.8 million all the way down to $1 million. Vilma did have his offseason workout bonus increased from $100,000 to $200,000, but this was a pretty large pay cut. Vilma's salary cap number has been reduced from $8.633 million to $3.833 million. Though a poor run defender at age 31, Vilma remains decent in pass coverage. He'll likely be a nickel 'backer in 2013.

Jonathan Vilma LB NO

3 Months New Orleans Saints Comment

CBS reports the Saints have offered LB Jonathan Vilma and DE Will Smith "lesser deals to stay."

Neither Vilma ($5.9 million) nor Smith ($10 million) had a prayer of remaining at their currently scheduled salaries, but it's interesting the Saints are giving them a chance to stay at all. Both players are on the wrong side of 30, and poor fits for the Saints' new 3-4 defense. There's still a good chance each moves on.

Jonathan Vilma LB NO

3 Months New Orleans Saints Comment

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Saints will ask LB Jonathan Vilma and DE Will Smith to take pay-cuts.

We doubt they ask nicely. The New Orleans Times-Picayune recently guessed Vilma would have to take a "drastic" pay cut, while Smith's fit in Rob Ryan's new 3-4 defense is unclear. It's possible both players will simply end up being released. A player in decline, Vilma may not even want to make the switch to a 3-4 scheme.

Jonathan Vilma LB NO

3 Months New Orleans Saints Comment

The New Orleans Times-Picayune considers it "highly likely" LB Jonathan Vilma will have to take a "drastic" pay cut to remain with the Saints.

Jonathan Vilma LB NO

5 Months New Orleans Saints 1 Comment

The NFL announced that former commissioner Paul Tagliabue has overturned the suspensions of Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita, and free agent Anthony Hargrove in the Saints' bounty case.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello released a statement saying that Tagliabue affirms the findings of commissioner Roger Goodell that the players "engaged in conduct detrimental," but opted to "vacate all player discipline" anyway. "My affirmation of Commissioner Goodell's findings could certainly justify the issuance of fines," Tagliabue is quoted as saying. "However, this entire case has been contaminated by the coaches and others in the Saints' organization." Tagliabue's ruling essentially determined that Goodell correct if a bit overzealous in his discipline. This should put an end to the drawn-out bounty coverage.

IDP Sleepers - Week 12 (fantasysharks.com)

6 Months Ryan Lindley QB ARI, Jonathan Vilma LB NO, Koa Misi LB MIA, Erin Henderson LB MIN, Nick Fairley DL DET Comment

Week 12 is here, and if you are still in the playoff hunt, it is indeed crunch time. If you are not, take the time and show the pride to play spoiler as the fantasy regular season winds down.

First off, I must apologize for breaking one of my personal fantasy rules last week. Just minutes before submitting my article I made a rookie fantasy mistake and decided to change my mind at the last minute.

After having written up Detroit defensive lineman Nick Fairley as a prime sleeper candidate and then hearing the news that Cliff Avril was cleared to play, I decided to roll with Avril over Fairley.

The rest, as they say, is history. I went against my gut feeling (and plenty of research) and missed out on providing IDP owners what turned out to be one of the week's top defensive performances. Trust me, it will not happen again.

Let's get to it!

LINEBACKERS

Koa Misi, SLB, Miami vs. Seattle: Misi is coming off a nice game against Buffalo in which he posted four total tackles with a sack while playing only 28 defensive snaps. He is purely a matchup type player for fantasy purposes, and this week's game against Seattle should allow him to shine, as he is solid against the run. His snap count will be higher as Seattle pounds the ball on the ground, and with 2½ sacks on the season, Misi does bring some big play potential.

Erin Henderson, WLB, Minnesota at Chicago: Henderson has worked his way into the rotation in the Vikings' sub-packages again and should see more playing time moving forward. This is a great match up for him, as the Bears will be looking to establish the running game to help keep their quarterback upright. Henderson has put up 11 total tackles in his last two games, and while that is not all that impressive, he's averaged 46 snaps per game and with an increase in playing time likely, he is an excellent sleeper this week.

Jonathan Vilma, WLB, New Orleans vs. San Francisco: New Orleans interim head coach Joe Vitt has stated that Vilma will see more playing time moving forward, and this is a great week for that to happen. The 49ers are a Top 3 matchup in allowing points to linebackers, and Vilma is in line for a big day. He posted his first sack of the season last week and will be very active in containing Frank Gore on the ground as well as having to worry about the running ability of newly crowned starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

James Harrison, OLB, Pittsburgh at Cleveland : Harrison looked the Harrison of old, rather than an old...