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2014 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Draft Signings: 49ers, Jets, Johnson, Boyd

May 15th, 2014 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

There have been a flood of draft signings so far today, and you can get caught up on the earlier ones with our previous roundups. We’ll be keeping track of signings from rounds 3-7 in these posts while dedicating individual posts to players taken in the top two rounds. The latest signings..

  • The Texans have agreed to sign sixth-round fullback Jay Prosch (Auburn), according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter).
  • The 49ers have agreed to terms on a deal with fourth-round pick cornerback Dontae Johnson, a source tells Adam Caplan of NFL.com (on Twitter). The corner is known mainly for his speed and versatility and can play pretty much any position in the secondary.
  • The Jets have signed sixth-round pick Tajh Boyd to a four-year deal, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. The Clemson quarterback will look to hook on as the club’s third option behind incumbent Geno Smith and free agent pickup Michael Vick.
  • The Jets also signed fourth-round wide receiver Shaq Evans, tweets Caplan. The 6’1”, 213-pound UCLA product boasts solid hands, route running abilities, and overall instincts.

West Notes: 49ers, Kaepernick, Latimer

May 15th, 2014 at 9:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov was projected to be drafted anywhere from the second round to the fifth round but he didn’t hear his name called at all on draft weekend. “Yeah, it puts a chip on your shoulder,” the 49ers rookie said, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “I think everybody kind of has an idea and expectation for themselves, so when the public opinion or people’s perceptions are different than your own, then obviously you’re going to take that a little bit personally.” More out of the West divisions..

  • Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (video link) analyzes Cardinals‘ third round pick John Brown. The Division II wide receiver signed his deal with Arizona earlier today.
  • Josh Johnson is back with the 49ers and he’s glad that Colin Kaepernick is the starter this time around, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Alex [Smith] was the starter then,” Johnson said of his last go ’round with SF. “Kap is the starter now. Kap is an athletic quarterback. I’m an athletic quarterback as well.”
  • A Broncos source told Josina Anderson of ESPN (on Twitter) that Denver had Indiana wide receiver Cody Latimer ranked as the best blocking wide receiver in the 2014 class. Latimer rocketed up draft boards in the month of April and wound up going to Denver in the second round.

Browns Notes: Gordon, Manziel, Austin

May 15th, 2014 at 8:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Getting by without the services of Josh Gordon won’t be easy, but the Browns made a pair of moves today that should make life without the rising star a little bit easier. Here’s the latest out of Cleveland..

  • The Browns are doing a “disservice” to Johnny Manziel by publicly announcing he’s a backup, former head coach Herm Edwards told Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today. “We don’t know he’s a backup. Who said he has to be the backup? If you draft a player to be a backup, why did you draft him?” Edwards asked. “You’re drafting a guy because you think he’s worthy of being drafted at that spot, but you’re also drafting him because you think he can compete.”
  • With the Browns signing wide receivers after Josh Gordon‘s signing, the 49ers should pat themselves on the back for good timing, tweets Bill Williamson of ESPN. San Francisco traded a fourth-round choice to the Bills for Stevie Johnson just before the Gordon news broke. Had they not pulled the trigger that afternoon, there might have been a bidding war for Johnson.
  • Neither Miles Austin nor Earl Bennett are of the same caliber as Gordon, but both are proven options who can help the offensive, writes Tom Reed of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Austin was a two-time Pro Bowler with Dallas but has missed eleven games over the past three seasons with hamstring problems.

Cards Sign Second-Round Pick Troy Niklas

May 15th, 2014 at 5:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals announced that they have signed second-round pick Troy Niklas, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The club also announced officially the signings of third round picks Kareem Martin and John Brown.

Niklas, a tight end out of Notre Dame, is a solid blocker but he also had 32 catches for 498 yards and five touchdowns in 2013, so opposing defenses will have to respect his pass catching ability. The Cardinals used offensive tackle Bobby Massie in jumbo packages last season, but plugging Niklas in that role in 2014 will help keep defenses honest. Arizona General Manager Steve Keim feels like he has a hybrid in Niklas and believes that he has an incredibly high ceiling. “This, to me, is a guy who could really transcend into being one of the top all-around tight ends at some point in his career,” Keim said, according to Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com.

We learned earlier today that the Cards agreed to terms with Martin, a defensive end out of UNC. Division II Pittsburg State isn’t known as a football powerhouse, but Brown, taken with the No. 91 overall pick, showed that he was NFL material during his time there. A three-time Division II All-American, the wide receiver virtually re-wrote the record books, setting new watermarks in career catches (185), receiving yards (3,330), and touchdowns (32).

Draft Signings: Chiefs, Cards, Texans, Cowboys

May 15th, 2014 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve already rounded up several draft pick signings a couple times today, but with teams and players motivated to hammer out deals, there are another handful of updates to pass along this afternoon. Let’s dive right in….

  • The Chiefs have locked up third-round cornerback Phillip Gaines, his reps tell ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s James Walker reports (via Twitter) that fourth-rounder De’Anthony Thomas has also signed with Kansas City. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Gaines should receive a signing bonus worth about $549K, while Thomas’ will be worth around $420K.
  • The Cardinals have agreed to terms with third-round pick Kareem Martin, a source tells Caplan (Twitter link). That would make Martin the first Arizona draftee to sign so far.
  • After signing Ben Gardner earlier today, the Cowboys have agreed to terms with two more draftees, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who writes that seventh-round linebacker Will Smith has agreed to his deal, and tweets that seventh-round cornerback Terrance Mitchell has done the same.
  • The Texans have agreed to terms with quarterback Tom Savage, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s fourth-round pick will be in line for a bonus of just over $300K, according to Fitzgerald.
  • A couple agents broke their clients’ own news this afternoon, with Mike McCartney tweeting that Princeton DT Caraun Reid has signed his contract with the Lions, while Blake Baratz announced (via Twitter) that sixth-rounder Zach Moore is the first draftee to sign with the Patriots.
  • The Colts have signed sixth-round linebacker Andrew Jackson, the team announced today in a press release.
  • According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the Packers have signed fifth-round pick Corey Linsley. Linsley’s signing bonus should be worth $185K, based on Fitzgerald’s figures at OTC.
  • The Seahawks have signed Kiero Small to his rookie contract, a source tells Curtis Crabtree of KJR in Seattle. The seventh-round fullback is the second of nine Seahawks draft picks to sign.
  • The Texans and Eagles have signed seventh-rounders, according to various reports. Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston has the details on Texans cornerback Andre Hal, while Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets the new on Eagles defensive tackle Beau Allen.

Dolphins Sign 21 Undrafted Free Agents

May 15th, 2014 at 4:25pm CST by Rob DiRe

THURSDAY, 4:25pm: Add one more player to the Dolphins’ undrafted free agent class, as USC safety Demetrius Wright showed up on today’s transaction wire, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 10:44am: The Dolphins have signed two more undrafted free agents, bringing their total to 20. Former Arizona State defensive end Gannon Conway and Tulane running back Orleans Darkwa have also showed up on the league’s transaction wire for the Dolphins, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

MONDAY, 6:06pm: The Dolphins have made their undrafted free agent signings official today announcing their 18 new players via their official Twitter account.

Here are all the Dolphins’ signings:

  • Deion Belue, DB, Alabama
  • Steven Clarke, DB, Vanderbilt
  • Tariq Edwards, LB, Virginia Tech
  • Evan Finkenberg, OL, Arizona State
  • Harold Hoskins, TE, Marshall
  • David Hurd, OL, Arkansas
  • Anthony Johnson, DT, LSU
  • Derrell Johnson, LB, East Carolina
  • Kamal Johnson, DT, Temple
  • Ryan Lankford, WR, Illinois
  • Tyler Larsen, OL, Utah St.
  • Tevin Mims, DE, South Florida
  • Garrison Smith, DT, Georgia
  • Marcus Thompson, LB, Rutgers
  • Davonte Wallace, OL, New Mexico State
  • Damien Williams, RB, Oklahoma
  • Andrew Wilson, LB, Missouri
  • Rantavious Wooten, WR, Georgia

Raiders Sign Khalil Mack

May 15th, 2014 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raiders have signed outside linebacker Khalil Mack to his rookie contract, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Mack, the fifth overall selection last Thursday, becomes the highest draft pick to ink his deal so far.

As a first-round pick, Mack will receive a four-year contract and the Raiders will hold a fifth-year option on the deal. According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, slot money for the fifth overall pick should ensure that Mack receives a signing bonus of more than $11MM, and that the base value of his four-year pact works out to about $18.677MM.

In addition to being the highest-picked player to sign his deal to date, Mack is also the first of eight Oakland draftees to be locked up. You can follow the progress of this year’s draft pick signings right here.

Draft Signings: Bills, Colts, Jets, Seahawks

May 15th, 2014 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After a handful of draft picks agreed to terms with their respective teams this morning, several more have done so this afternoon. You can check out our tracker to keep tabs on which players have signed. Here’s the latest:

  • Fourth-round Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell was one of three Bills to sign his contract with the club today, according to the team. Seventh-round picks Randell Johnson and Seantrel Henderson have also inked their deals.
  • The last of five Colts picks, seventh-round offensive tackle Ulrick John, has signed with Indianapolis, per Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter). John should receive a signing bonus of about $58K on a four-year contract worth $2.278MM, as Jason Fitzgerald’s numbers at OverTheCap.com show.
  • The Jets continue to put a dent into their draft class of 12 players, signing sixth-rounders Quincy Enunwa and IK Enemkpali today, according to a pair of press releases. Having been chosen back to back at Nos. 209 and 210, Enunwa and Enemkpali should be on identical four-year contracts, which include signing bonuses of about $79K (link via Fitzgerald).
  • 7 Sports Group, the agency for former San Diego State safety Eric Pinkins announced today (via Twitter) that their client has agreed to terms with the Seahawks on his rookie deal. The sixth-rounder will be in line for a signing bonus of about $88K, according to Fitzgerald.

Pompei’s Latest: McCarron, Browns, Pead

May 15th, 2014 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest Read Option column for Bleacher Report, Dan Pompei leads off by examining the Bengals‘ selection of A.J. McCarron in last week’s draft. As head coach Marvin Lewis explains, the McCarron pick could allow the team to avoid changing its backup quarterback so frequently.

“Each and every year we have been in that one-year, two-year backup quarterback model,” Lewis said. “We kind of wanted to make sure we got somebody who could fit that role for a longer period of time if that’s what they ended up being, if that’s what their lease on life was…. We had [Ryan] Fitzpatrick here, [Jon] Kitna here, and nobody wants to be the backup. Everybody wants to go somewhere and start. The only way to get a backup quarterback for longer than a year or two is to draft one.”

Of course, things could change quickly in Cincinnati if the team can’t reach a long-team agreement with current starter Andy Dalton, or if McCarron pushes for a starting job of his own after a year or two. Here’s more from Pompei:

  • The Bengals appear to have gotten good value with the McCarron pick, at the very least. Pompei says he polled 10 front office sources about the Alabama signal-caller prior to the draft, and all 10 gave him at least a third-round grade, including three who said he was a first-rounder.
  • Although the Browns quickly shot down a report that suggested they were ready to draft Teddy Bridgewater at No. 22 before tearing up the card and replacing him with Johnny Manziel at the very last minute, Pompei hears from another team’s source that the Browns had two cards filled out prior to the pick, and that one was torn up.
  • Had the Steelers not drafted linebacker Ryan Shazier at No. 15, he likely would have been the Cowboys‘ pick at No. 16. The Cardinals were also trying to trade up and were believed to be targeting Shazier, according to Pompei, though he says the club may also have been interested in grabbing C.J. Mosley or Calvin Pryor. All three players were gone when Arizona’s No. 20 pick rolled around, prompting the Cards to trade down.
  • The Rams‘ drafting of Tre Mason may signal the end of Isaiah Pead‘s time in St. Louis — the 2012 second-round pick was the subject of some trade talks during the draft, according to Pompei.
  • While Timmy Jernigan provided a diluted sample at his combine draft test, he took another test within a couple weeks of the combine and passed it, which may have contributed to his not falling too far in the draft, says Pompei. The Florida State defensive tackle went 48th overall to the Ravens.

Draft Signings: Titans, Jets, Cowboys

May 15th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

Teams continue to waste no time in signing their 2014 draft picks, with news of several more agreements trickling in this morning. Here are the latest draft pick signings from around the NFL:

  • Defensive lineman Daquan Jones and cornerback Marqueston Huff, a pair of fourth-round picks, have agreed to terms with the Titans, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). The moves leave Tennessee with four more picks to sign.
  • The Jets have reached an agreement with fifth-round pick Jeremiah George, who will be in line for a four-year, $2.411MM deal with a signing bonus worth approximately $192K, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The linebacker is the third of 12 draftees to agree to terms with the Jets.
  • The Cowboys‘ draft was heavy on seventh-rounders, and the team has locked up one of the five players it selected in the seventh. According to Wilson (via Twitter), defensive end Ben Gardner has agreed to a contract with the Cowboys that includes a signing bonus of about $59K and has an overall four-year value of $2.279MM.
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