Month: February 2025

Cowboys Notes: Claiborne, Lawrence, Orton

When the Cowboys traded up for LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne in the 2012 NFL Draft, high expectations landed squarely on his 5-foot-11 frame. When you go No. 6 overall — to America’s Team, no less — coaches want instant impact.

But, it’s hard to make an impact when you can’t stay on the field, as Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News notes. Claiborne has missed seven games with a variety of knee, hamstring and shoulder injuries, and he lost his starting job last season to veteran nickel cornerback Orlando Scandrick.

“He’s played well for stretches and then he gets dinged up and then he misses a stretch and then he has to get back,” secondary coach Jerome Henderson said. “You want him to just be able to ascend from preseason and keep getting better and better and better throughout a season. He just hasn’t been able to do that thus far.” 

Dallas’ defense allowed 4,589 yards through the air and 33 passing touchdowns in 2013, so improved play from the defensive backfield is a must if the team hopes to contend for the NFC East title.

More news and notes from Big D below…

  • Second-round pick DeMarcus Lawrence has had a busy seven days, Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News writes. The Boise State defensive end witnessed his son’s birth on an iPhone while in Texas on Thursday. He flew home to Boise that day to see his son, Damari, in person, then flew back to Texas on Saturday. “It motivates me a lot knowing I got a mouth to feed,” Lawrence said. “It’s not just about me anymore. I got a little son now so really it all about him, how I raise him and how I put food on the table for him.” 
  • With veteran Kyle Orton still weighing his options, quarterback coach Wade Wilson showed frustration with the indecision, telling DallasCowboys.com’s Nick Eatman he wished the backup quarterback would be at voluntary workouts. Orton has a financial decision to make — he would owe about $3MM to the Cowboys if he decides to call it a career.
  • AZcentral.com’s Paola Boivin says goodbye to former Cardinals running back Ryan Williams, signed earlier today by the Cowboys.
  • Scott Linehan, Dallas’ new offensive play-caller, said the language will pretty much stay the same way it’s been, writes Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News.
  • Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli wants linebacker Bruce Carter to play the game the right way, said The DMN’s Jon Machota.
  • Deion Sanders was in attendance at Valley Ranch for the second day of Cowboys minicamp, George reports.

Ditka Talks Rookies, RBs, Michael Sam

With the NFL Draft and the majority of free agency in the rearview mirror, former Bears tight end and coach Mike Ditka explores the weeks from now until in his weekly writing, “Four downs with Ditka,” for the Chicago Sun-Times. Among the topics touched on by the Hall of Famer were the Bears’ new punter, the disappearance of the elite running back and Michael Sam.

On what the coaches will be looking for from rookies in minicamp: 

“The coaches have done their homework and watched all the film on these guys. Now they are looking for how they adapt to what the Bears are doing. They have to fit them in to the way the Bears play their system on offense and defense. What happens now, it’s more or less an educational system for these players to understand they have to play in a certain system that’ll likely be different than the one they played in college.”

On the days of the featured running back being over:

“The game has evolved now to where it’s more of a passing game, and teams look at the running back as not being that instrumental. But I know this: If you don’t have a good one, you have a problem. I know we had a good one in Walter Payton, who was the greatest one I have ever seen. All the great teams over the years, except for the Patriots, usually had a pretty good running back — the Steelers, Cowboys, Rams. The good teams have always had a bell cow running back. I don’t know why teams are suddenly going away from this. It’s probably because they feel it’s a position they can get lower in the draft.”

On the Bears taking punter Pat O’Donnell in the sixth round:

“I don’t see any problem with that. Here’s why they did it, I think: They didn’t have anyone else on their board that really jumped out at them. And they wanted a punter because they needed one for competition and they don’t have one. I think you have to be realistic at that point of the draft and say, ‘How many of those guys will really make your team?’ A few do, but it’s not a high percentage. I don’t see any problem with taking a punter at that point.”

On if Michael Sam was drafted lower because of his sexuality:

“Look, if a guy is a good football player — and I assume he is; he had a pretty good track record at Missouri — you would think that people would have taken him earlier. So now, when you get to that point in the draft and [Rams coach] Jeff [Fisher] sees him sitting there, and he knows he has talent, and he knows he has the ability to rush the passer and everything else, he jumps up and takes him. You have to look at it this way: Either Jeff got a steal, or the rest of the teams dropped him for other reasons.”

Saints Sign Stanley Jean-Baptiste

Second-round pick Stanley Jean-Baptiste has signed a four-year contract with the Saints, the team announced today.

Jean-Baptiste, a 6-foot-3 cornerback from Nebraska, becomes the fourth rookie to agree to terms, joining safety Vinnie Sunseri, linebacker Ronald Powell and tackle Tavon Rooks. The two players yet to sign their deals are first-round pick Brandin Cooks and fourth-round pick Khairi Fortt.

According to OvertheCap.com‘s estimates, Jean-Baptiste’s contract figures to be worth roughly $3.64MM.

Jets Notes: Amaro, Pryor, Boyd, Saunders

Jace Amaro, the consensus All-American tight end from Texas Tech whom the Jets took with their second-round pick, caught 106 passes in 13 games his junior season. Extrapolate that to 16 games — a full regular season in the NFL — and that’s over 130 receptions.

Now, college football is not pro football, but that doesn’t stop Amaro from setting his goals high, saying he hopes to catch 100 balls on a consistent basis, reports Kimberley A. Martin of newsday.com.

One player Amaro hopes to pattern his game after is Tony Gonzalez. He’s kind of old-school, but he did some great things, too, and I definitely feel like I’d like to [model] his game,” Amaro said. “That’s someone I’d love to ultimately be. He’s supposedly the greatest tight end ever to play the game and that’s somewhere I want to be, too.”

Amaro and the team agreed to terms on a four-year contract yesterday.

More links below on the goings-on from Gang Green…

  • Coach Rex Ryan is going to love his new safety, Calvin Pryor. Nicknamed “The Louisville Slugger,” Martin writes that Pryor doesn’t wear a mouthpiece so he can better talk trash to opponents, and that he hopes to walk the walk on that talk with big hits and loud play, similar to Seattle’s Kam Chancellor and Tampa Bay’s Dashon Goldson.
  • Pryor joined the New York Post’s Steve Serby for a Sunday Q&A, touching on Pryor’s twitter narratives and his desire to prove the doubters wrong.
  • Working out of the shotgun nearly every snap of his college career, Jets quarterback Tajh Boyd focused on proper footwork in rookie minicamp, Martin notes.
  • With a host of new receiving threats acquired — Eric Decker and David Nelson through free agency, and Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa through the draft — Ryan called the group much better from top to bottom than at any point last season, said Martin.
  • On that note, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com writes that the receivers have had a case of the dropsies in rookie camp.

Redskins Sign Four More Free Agents

SATURDAY, 6:09pm: The team announced the signings of four free agents today:

  • Frank Kearse, DE, Alabama A&M
  • Courtney Bridget, CB, Hampton
  • Ross Madison, S, Toledo
  • Blake Sailors, CB, Georgia

Kearse was a seventh-round pick by the Dolphins in 2011, and most recently spent time with the Panthers in 2013. The latter three players attended rookie minicamp practices on a tryout basis.

In corresponding moves, the team also announced the release of four players: Rees, Davenport, Perry and FS Jose Gumbs.

THURSDAY, 11:03am: Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees rounds out the Redskins’ list of undrafted free agent signings, according to the team.

WEDNESDAY, 4:10pm: Coming into today, the Redskins were one of just three teams that had yet to formally announce their class of rookie free agents. The league has remedied that, officially revealing that Washington has added nine UDFAs to the roster. Courtesy of Zac Boyer of the Washington Times (all Twitter links), here’s the list:

  • Chris Davenport, DT, Tulane
  • Lee Doss, WR, Southern
  • Kofi Hughes, WR, Indiana
  • Cody Hoffman, WR, BYU ($7.5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Rashad Lawrence, WR, Northwestern
  • Kevin Perry, TE, UTEP
  • Silas Redd, RB, USC
  • Bryan Shepherd, CB, North Dakota State
  • Robert Thomas, DT, Arkansas

Packers Notes: Lyerla, Adams, Clinton-Dix

The Packers are leaning toward signing former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky reports.

Lyerla, in Green Bay at rookie orientation camp on a tryout basis after going undrafted, can be argued as the most talented rookie at his position. He stands 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds, and he ran 4.61 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. But, Lyerla left the Ducks program his junior season and was subsequently arrested for cocaine possession and feeling from the police.

“We did a lot of work on Colt,” general manager Ted Thompson said. “He’s a very talented athlete. We interviewed him at the combine. We went through all those procedures, talked to a lot of people. He’s a young man that made some mistakes, and we feel like he was worth bringing in and taking a look at.” 

Without Jermichael Finley in the fold, the tight end position in Green Bay is relatively thin. Fifth-year pro Andrew Quarless was re-signed this offseason and figures to be the team’s opening-day starter, and the team used a third-round pick at the position on Cal product Richard Rogers.

More news and notes from Titletown…

  • Wide receiver Davante Adams, the Packers’ second-round pick from Fresno State, is one of three rookies leading a youth infusion at the position, Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press Gazette writes. Green Bay added two more receivers on the third day of the draft with Wisconsin’s Jared Abbrederis (fifth found) and Saginaw Valley’s Jeff Janis (seventh round).
  • In a video posted on packersnews.com, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said he is honored and happy to be wearing No. 21, which was recently occupied by Charles Woodson, now with the Raiders.
  • The Packers drafted for defense with four of their nine picks, and Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said those rookies have a good chance to earn playing time on a unit that’s been struggling as of late.
  • Despite a contract that is set to expire after the 2016 draft, Thompson — in his 10th year as GM of the Pack — said he’s just getting started and can’t anticipate himself doing anything different, writes Dunne.

Minor Moves: Urban, Brown, Gaffney, Jaguars

The Ravens have signed fourth-round draft pick Brent Urban to a rookie contract, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The four-year contract is worth $2.53MM with a signing bonus of just over $300,000. That leaves only first-round pick C.J. Mosley and third-round pick Terrence Brooks left unsigned.

Here are some other minor moves from across the NFL:

  • The Bills have signed third-round pick Preston Brown, according to Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk. Brown, a linebacker out of Louisville, impressed the Bills’ front office. “He plays hard; you see him all over the field,” director of player personnel Jim Monos said. “He plays on the other side of the ball and has good tackles for loss. He can go side to side. He’s probably better against the run than the pass right now, but he can do both. He’s a very good athlete.” The team expects him to compete for a job at middle linebacker.
  • The Panthers have signed sixth-round pick Tyler Gaffney, reports Wilson (via Twitter). Gaffney, a running back out of Stanford, is the first Panthers’ draft pick to sign his rookie contract.
  • The Jaguars have signed two rookies invited to workout during rookie camp, reports Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (via Twitter). They signed running back Beau Blankenship from Ohio and safety Jerome Junior of UConn. To make room for the new signings, the team released punter Chad Zinchini and kicker Jeff Budzien.

Saints Notes: Cooks, Walker, LSU Players

The Saints traded up in the first round to acquire Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks, and the receiver sees himself fitting well into the team’s offense. Cooks speaking to the media can be seen in this video from NOLA.com. Cooks compares the Saints’ spread offense to his college system, and talks about his desire to compete and bring added value on special teams.

Here are some other notes from the Saints:

  • Saints’ defensive coordinator Rob Ryan spoke highly of the team’s top pick Cooks, writes Larry Holder of NOLA.com (via Twitter). “Anytime a player is hand picked by [head coach] Sean Payton that’s a receiver, you better believe he’s going to be something,” said Ryan.
  • The Saints have announced that they have signed former Tulane safety Devon Walker, according to the team’s official Twitter account. Walker was a four-year player at Tulane, before he injured his neck making a tackle in the second game of his senior season, according to NewOrleansSaints.com.“When Devon got hurt, his football career was just starting to take off after three years of hard work,” Payton said. “Despite the devastating injury he suffered, Devon refuses to let that define him. He is an outstanding young man, who is not only an inspiration to his coaches and teammates at Tulane, but to all of us. Devon’s character, determination, intelligence and work ethic are everything that we look for in a New Orleans Saint when we sign a player. This is the least we can do to recognize Devon and these attributes that we want all of our players to have.”
  • Aside from all of the rookies, the Saints have invited former LSU standouts Jordan Jefferson and Jacob Hester to try out for the team, according to Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com. Jefferson went undrafted as a quarterback in 2012. Hester was a running back and fullback for the Chargers and Broncos, last playing a game in 2012. The 29-year old former Tiger was part of LSU’s 2007 national championship team.

Cowboys Sign Ryan Williams

The Cowboys have officially signed former Cardinal’s running back Ryan Williams, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Pro Football Rumors has been following Williams since he was released from the Cardinals, throughout the Cowboys interest in him.

Williams was said to have had an impressive workout with the team, and was expected to sign sometime today.

Williams will likely be the backup to starter DeMarco Murray. Terms of the deal were not announced, but it can be expected to be close to a minimum deal for veterans.

NFC East Notes: Williams, Orton, Boone

The Cowboys worked out former Cardinals’ running back Ryan Williams, and are now in a position to sign the player, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com (via Twitter). Watkins expects that signing to become official soon, after a roster move is made to clear room for Williams.

Here are some more notes from around the NFC East:

  • Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett expects backup quarterback Kyle Orton to be back with the team this coming season, reports Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). The team anticipates his return after having conversations with Orton.
  • Former LSU receiver Kadron Boone was buried on the depth chart in college, behind first-round pick Odell Beckham Jr. and second-round pick Jarvis Landry. Even still, he has been impressive and he has a great chance to make the Eagles according to one AFC personnel man, writes Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com“He’s gonna make that team. He’s not a bad receiver; he’s a pretty good receiver,” the scout said. “He just got caught up in a place that has two pretty good receivers. He’s going to be fine.”
  • After Beckham, the Giants drafted a lot of players who have limited ceilings in terms of potential, writes Dan Graziano of ESPNNewYork.com. He attributes this to the need for a group that needs a quick learning curve in order to make an immediate impact. The team was valuing on the short term over seeking long-term help.