2014 May - Pro Football Rumors

Minor Moves: Grant, Bucs, Panthers, Morris

May 20th, 2014 at 9:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at tonight’s minor moves..

Free agent linebacker Larry Grant, who started eight games for the Rams back in 2010, has signed with the Browns, according to agent David Canter (Twitter link). In recent seasons, Grant spent time with the 49ers and Bears, though he appeared in just two games last year before being cut.
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign undrafted free agent tight end Cameron Brate out of Harvard, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
The Panthers announced that they have signed fourth-round pick Tre Boston and fifth-round selection Bene’ Benwikere, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Boston, a strong safety out of North Carolina, is a converted cornerback.
The Patriots announced that they have released rookie linebacker James Morris. Morris, an undrafted free agent out of Iowa, was signed by the Pats just four days ago. Morris, 22, was just the sixth player in Iowa history to record 400 career tackles after finishing with 400 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks and six interceptions as a three-year starter.
Former Iowa State safety Jacques Washington has been invited to the Dolphins‘ rookie mini-camp this weekend, according to agent Donte Robinson (on Twitter). Washington was second in the Big 12 in tackles per game (9.9) this past season and was a three-year starting free safety for the Cyclones.
The Raiders cut veteran defensive lineman David Carter, Wilson tweets. Carter, 26, signed a reserves/futures deal with Oakland back in January.
The Rams were awarded Travis Bond off waivers from the Panthers, tweets Wilson. Carolina dropped Bond yesterday while signing punter Jordan Gay.
The Raiders signed undrafted free agent defensive end Denico Autry, tweets Wilson.
The Browns signed undrafted defensive back K’Waun Williams, tweets Wilson. At Pittsburgh last season, Williams led the team with seven pass breakups and was second with two interceptions.
The Texans were awarded Conor Boffeli off waivers from the Vikings and Anthony Dima from the Browns, Wilson tweets.

Seahawks Sign Paul Richardson

May 20th, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks have signed second-round pick Paul Richardson. Richardson himself announced the deal on Twitter and a team spokesman confirmed the signing to Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.

Richardson, a wide receiver out of Colorado, was Seattle’s top selection in the draft at No. 45. Last year, Richardson caught 83 passes for 1,343 yards and ten touchdowns in 12 games for the Buffaloes. The Seahawks traded down from No. 32 to No. 40 to No. 45 and still managed to land their top target in Richardson.

Seattle has now signed five of its nine draft picks. Second-round right tackle Justin Britt, fourth-round wide receiver Kevin Norwood, fourth-round linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, and sixth-round tackle Garrett Scott remain unsigned.

Draft Signings: Titans, Raiders, Jaguars, 49ers

May 20th, 2014 at 8:06pm CST by Zachary Links

We’re dedicating individual posts to draft pick signings from the first two rounds while rounding up the deals from rounds 3-7 in bulleted posts. To keep tabs on all of this year’s draft pick signings to date, be sure to check out our tracker. Here are Tuesday’s latest draft signings from the later rounds:

The Titans announced that they have agreed to terms with sixth-round quarterback Zach Mettenberger and fifth-round linebacker Avery Williamson, writes Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. Mettenberger, whose deal we heard about earlier today, fell in the draft partially due to a torn ACL suffered at the end of his final season.
Three seventh-rounders have inked their deals with the Raiders, the team announced today in a press release. Cornerback Travis Carrie, defensive end Shelby Harris, and safety Jonathan Dowling are now officially members of the club, and they’ll receive respective signing bonuses of about $67K, $54K, and $46K, according to Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at OverTheCap.com.
Former UCF standout Storm Johnson has signed his rookie deal with the Jaguars, the team announced via Twitter. The 6’0″, 209-pound tailback, who was selected with the seventh pick in the seventh round, has shown quick feet for a player of his size.
The 49ers announced that they have signed seventh-round fullback Trey Millard, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Playoffs, Bryant, Crabtree, Draft

May 20th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

At the NFL’s spring meetings today in Atlanta, the league’s owners discussed the concept of playoff expansion, but opted to postpone a more in-depth conversation on the subject until the fall. While that rules out the possibility of a 14-team playoff for the 2014 season, the idea remains very much in play for 2015, and it seems inevitable that it will happen eventually, as Kevin Seifert writes at ESPN.com. Seifert runs through 10 questions related to playoff expansion, examining the league’s motives, players’ and fans’ views, and whether expanding to a 14-team playoff could lead to any other changes.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFL….

Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters, including Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter) that he is confident expanded playoffs will go into effect for 2015.
The future of the NFL draft remains up in the air and Goodell wouldn’t specify a target date for the draft in 2015, writes ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. “We’re looking at everything,” Goodell said. “We think that the draft has a great deal more potential to grow in popularity. We don’t believe [the date] affected us in a negative way at all this year.“
With Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Roddy White, Wes Welker, Torrey Smith, Demaryius Thomas, Reggie Wayne, Jeremy Maclin, and Hakeem Nicks in the final years of their deal, 2015 is shaping up to be an all-time great wide receiver free agent class, tweets Adam Schefter of NFL Network.
Will Brinson of CBSSports.com takes an in-depth look at whether or not trading a first-round pick to acquire a specific player has benefited NFL teams over the last decade or so. Predictably, Brinson finds that there’s some short-term benefit to making such a deal, but that it doesn’t necessarily pay off in the long run.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Suh Attending OTAs This Week

May 20th, 2014 at 5:52pm CST by Rory Parks

TUESDAY, 5:52pm: Pictures on the Lions’ website confirm that Suh is in attendance for OTA and participating in drills.

SUNDAY, 1:01pm: Lions head coach Jim Caldwell expects Ndamukong Suh to participate at OTAs this week, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Birkett notes in a separate tweet that, if Suh indeed shows up, it would be in keeping with his normal offseason routine.

Suh did not attend the team’s voluntary minicamp in April, and shortly thereafter rumors began to circulate that the Lions may be willing to trade Suh, though common sense indicated that, even if those rumors were true, it would be virtually impossible for Detroit to pull off such a trade. Suh carries an exoribitant $22.4MM cap hit in 2014, which had led to preliminary extension talks between Suh’s camp and the Lions’ brass.

As our Luke Adams noted last month, and as Birkett indicated above, Suh’s absence from early offseason workouts and his participation in May’s programs is par for the course for him, and so Caldwell’s statements are not surprising. It may, however, come as a relief to Lions fans that Suh is going about business as usual and presumably does not plan to hold out for an extension. It will be interesting to keep tabs on whether or not extension talks do indeed resume and if they progress beyond the preliminary stage.

North Rumors: McCarthy, Rice, Browns

May 20th, 2014 at 5:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Asked by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) about the possibility of extending head coach Mike McCarthy, Packers president Mark Murphy said it won’t happen until the team extends GM Ted Thompson. Murphy declined to comment when asked as a follow-up by Rapoport if Green Bay is working on a new deal for Thompson (Twitter link). Here’s more out of the AFC and NFC North..

Ravens running back Ray Rice will be allowed to enter a program to avoid prosecution in an alleged assault of his now-wife, writes Lynda Cohen of the Press of Atlantic City. The NFL will likely levy a suspension and/or significant fine.
The Browns have hired former Redskins director of pro personnel Morocco Brown, a league source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. While the team has yet to announce Brown’s new title, he’ll most likely become an assistant general manager in Cleveland, per Cabot. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter) that the hiring is a coup for Browns GM Ray Farmer, adding that Brown has been considered for past GM openings and is on track to run a team someday.
The Browns announced that Bill Kuharich has been promoted to executive chief of staff, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Kuharich had been a consultant for the Browns since February.
Minnesota has won the bid to host Super Bowl LII (2018), tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. It’s a big blow to Saints owner Tom Benson, who will turn 87 in July, tweets Jeff Duncan of The Times-PIiayune. Having SB LII in New Orleans would have been a part of his legacy.

Chargers To Sign Jeremiah Attaochu

May 20th, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Jeremiah Attaochu, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). The outside linebacker out of Georgia Tech was taken with the 18th pick in the second-round.

The Chargers were high on the OLB and knew that he wouldn’t fall to them with the 25th pick in the second round (57th overall), so they sent the Dolphins their fourth-round pick to move up seven slots. Attaochu is a true 3-4 outside linebacker and has been praised for his high motor. He made a quick impact from the very beginning at Georgia Tech, registering 23 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks in a reserve role as a true freshman. He steadily improved each season, and as a senior, dominated by recording 45 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.

Minor Moves: Titans, Cowboys, Bills, Vikings

May 20th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few of the latest minor transactions from around the NFL, including late-round draftees signings their deals and undrafted free agents finding new NFL homes:

The Titans have agreed to terms on a four-year rookie contract with sixth-round quarterback Zach Mettenberger, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). With Mettenberger locked up, Tennessee still has to sign three of its six 2014 draft picks, including first-rounder Taylor Lewan.
No team had more seventh-round draft picks than the Cowboys, and Dallas has finally signed all the players it selected in that round. According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, 251st overall pick Ken Bishop, a defensive tackle, inked his deal today.
East Central wide receiver Caleb Holley, one of four non-roster players who auditioned for the Bills this past weekend, has earned a spot on the team’s roster, signing a deal today, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.
One Mike Zimmer apparently wasn’t enough for the Vikings, who have signed the former Illinois State linebacker with the same name as the club’s head coach, per a team release. Zimmer joined the Jaguars after going undrafted last year and spent the 2013 preseason with Jacksonville.

Latest On Upcoming Bills’ Sale

May 20th, 2014 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

While many groups interested in buying the Bills may be interested in moving the franchise somewhere besides western New York, it looks like it’ll be an uphill battle to uproot the team. In addition to a stadium lease that makes it extremely difficult to relocate the Bills for the next several years, many of the NFL owners seem inclined to keep the club where it is. As Tim Graham of the Buffalo News details, Giants owner John Mara said today that he and many of his fellow owners are hoping for an outcome that allows the Bills to remain in Buffalo.

“The team means so much to that area,” Mara said. “It’s been a great franchise for the league. I think most of the people in that room would like to see it remain in Buffalo.”

Here’s more on the Bills’ future and the sale of the franchise:

Not all of the NFL’s owners have been unequivocal in stating their support for keeping the Bills in Buffalo. While lauding Jon Bon Jovi as a potentially “outstanding” future NFL owner, Jerry Jones of the Cowboys noted that the league wants to “create every opportunity we can to involve more fans.”
Added Jones: “At the end of the day, it’s my town against your town, Cowboys against whoever we’re playing. To the end that we can create more rivalries and involve larger viewing audiences, populations, that’s something that you have to look at when you get a chance to, and that’s the debate between Buffalo and Toronto.”
Although Jones’ comments appear to leave the door open for a possible relocation to Canada, Graham hears that one Toronto-based group with interest in buying the Bills is reconsidering since moving the team may be difficult (Twitter link). Similarly, Judy Battista of NFL.com (Twitter link) was told by a source with knowledge of the sale that “whoever buys it has to be prepared to stay there.”
As for the sale itself, the Bills are close to identifying the investment bank and legal firm that will handle the sale, according to club president and CEO Russ Brandon, who says a selection of a bank should happen by the end of the month (link via Graham). Brandon declined to name potential bidders for the franchise, but added that interest level is “high” (Twitter link via Adam Benigni of NBC Buffalo).

Chiefs Sign Three Players, Cut Two

May 20th, 2014 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chiefs have made a handful of roster moves on the defensive side of the ball, officially signing three defensive linemen and waiving a defensive tackle and linebacker. The team announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed former Ram Jermelle Cudjo and undrafted free agent Kona Schwenke, along with Kyle Love, whose agreement was previously reported. Meanwhile, Cory Grissom and Ridge Wilson have been cut (Twitter link).

Love, a former starter in New England, is the most notable name among Kansas City’s new additions, though Cudjo also has a few starts under his belt from his time in St. Louis. Cudjo saw part-time action over the last four years as a reserve on the Rams’ defensive line before he was released last week, while Love started 25 games in three seasons for the Patriots before spending time with the Jaguars and Chiefs in 2013.

As for the cuts, both Grissom and Wilson were signed by the Chiefs following the season — Wilson came from the club’s practice squad, while Grissom spent last season on injured reserve with the Patriots.