2014 May - Pro Football Rumors

Bills Sign 10 Undrafted Free Agents

May 15th, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 3:30pm: The Bills have added Minnesota defensive back Michael Carter to their undrafted free agent class, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550AM.

TUESDAY, 12:23pm: The Bills have signed nine undrafted free agents, the team announced today on its website. All nine of the newest Bills are defensive players. Here’s the full list:

Derek Brim, S, Buffalo
Deon Broomfield, S, Iowa State
James Gaines, LB, Miami (FL)
Damien Jacobs, DT, Florida
Bryan Johnson, LB, West Texas A&M
Darrin Kitchens, LB, Florida
Kenny Ladler, S, Vanderbilt
Darius Robinson, CB, Clemson
Colby Way, DL, Buffalo

Minicamp Invites: Vikings, Cowboys, Jaguars

May 15th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve been diligently documenting all the undrafted free agents signed by NFL teams in the wake of the draft, but those players – and this year’s draftees – won’t be the only participants in upcoming rookie minicamps. Other undrafted rookies and veteran free agents will get a chance to audition for roster spots on teams around the league. Here are a few updates on those players participating in minicamps on a tryout basis:

Several local players, including former Minnesota tackle Roland Johnson, are participating in the Vikings‘ minicamp this week, writes Mark Craig of the Star-Tribune.
The Cowboys signed 24 rookie free agents to deals earlier this week, and the team will also have another 15 invitees in camp auditioning for roster spots, according to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News, who provides the full list of players.
27 minicamp invitees will be working out for the Jaguars, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun adds (via Twitter) that veterans Brian Price, Antoine Caldwell, and Greg Childs will be among the players in attendance.
While he doesn’t yet have a full list of participants in the Seahawks‘ minicamp, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times adds a few names to Seattle’s group of players trying out.

Browns Sign 12 Undrafted Free Agents

May 15th, 2014 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 3:05pm: The Browns have added Nebraska-Kearney defensive end Elhadji Ndiaye to their undrafted free agent class, according to the team (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:33pm: After an eventful draft that saw the Browns make multiple trades and land Johnny Manziel, the team has also added 11 undrafted free agents to its roster. Here’s the full list, courtesy of the team (Twitter link):

Ray Agnew, FB, Southern Illinois
Calvin Barnett, DL, Oklahoma State
Darwin Cook, DB, West Virginia
Isaiah Cromwell, RB, Alabama State ($10K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
Anthony Dima, OL, Massachusetts
Chandler Jones, WR, San Jose State
Jonathan Krause, WR, Vanderbilt ($10K bonus, per Wilson)
Michael Philipp, OL, Oregon State
Connor Shaw, QB, South Carolina
Kenny Shaw, WR, Florida State
Willie Snead, WR, Ball State

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.

Extra Points: Finley, Texans, Hurst, Falcons

May 15th, 2014 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

A Tuesday report on ESPN.com suggested that when the NFL announces its new drug policy, it will include relaxed rules involving the use of marijuana, but a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that’s not necessarily the case. While adjustments to the rules regarding marijuana use were discussed, a change was never formally proposed by other side and isn’t slated to be part of the tentative agreement that hinges on a solution for HGH testing.

Florio concedes that the current proposal could be modified to include an increase in the threshold required for a positive marijuana test or a decrease to the penalties for a violation, but for now, such an adjustment isn’t part of the deal.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Following the draft, Packers GM Ted Thompson suggested the team hadn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back tight end Jermichael Finley, and head coach Mike McCarthy echoed those comments yesterday in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, as Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com details. “[Finley] is going through a tough medical situation,” McCarthy said. “I think we all recognize that it was a serious injury. My understanding is he is doing everything and beyond to get himself ready. We’ll continue to watch that.”
In Mike Florio’s view, the Texans are more likely to trade or release disgruntled receiver Andre Johnson during the 2015 league year than to do anything with him this year. Florio cites an increasing base salary, though I believe by reaching escalators in previous seasons, Johnson’s 2014 salary is now $10MM, up from $6.5MM. In any case, I’m inclined to agree with Florio, since it would be much easier to find a potential trade partner when teams haven’t already addressed the receiver position, and Houston would be on the hook for less dead money in 2015.
North Carolina offensive tackle James Hurst went undrafted, but he certainly had no shortage of teams interested in him. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that Hurst chose to sign with the Ravens as a rookie free agent over 17 competing offers.
Catawba quarterback Danny O’Brien is among 24 players being invited to the Falcons‘ rookie minicamp to audition for a roster spot this week, the team announced today in a press release.
Buffalo receiver Fred Lee will participate in the Bills‘ rookie minicamp this week, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.

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.

Hernandez Indicted For July 2012 Murder

May 15th, 2014 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

A Suffolk County Grand Jury has indicted ex-Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez for a double murder that occurred in July of 2012, reports Ted Daniel of Fox 25 Boston. Hernandez has already been charged with murder for a June 2013 incident, and is expected to be arraigned at a later date for his alleged involvement in the July 2012 deaths of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado.

If Hernandez was the shooter in the July 2012 incident, as authorities believe, it means the tight end’s involvement in the crime predates the $40MM contract extension he signed with the Patriots in August of that year, and that it happened before he played the 2012 season with the club.

As Joel Corry of CBSSports.com explained earlier in the offseason, an indictment for Hernandez for the 2012 murder should give the Patriots grounds to recoup the tight end’s entire signing bonus and end the grievances he filed over his salary due in 2013 and 2014. “Hernandez’s contract contains a clause where he represents and warrants that there weren’t any existing circumstances when he signed his deal that would prevent his continued availability throughout the contract,” Corry writes. Involvement in a double murder would certainly qualify as existing circumstances.

The Patriots are carrying a $7.5MM cap hit for Hernandez this season, an acceleration of the remaining amount of his $12.5MM signing bonus. As Corry details, at least some form of cap relief should arrive eventually for the team, though it remains to be seen when that will happen, or exactly how much relief the Pats will receive.

Bears Sign Will Sutton, Lock Up Draft Class

May 15th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Bears have agreed to terms with third-round pick Will Sutton, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The agreement ensures that Chicago is the first team this year to get its entire draft class under contract.

Under the new CBA, there isn’t much flexibility given to rookie contracts, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that teams seem to be locking up their draftees quicker than ever — particularly since this year’s draft happened two weeks later, and execs may be looking forward to a little vacation time.

According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Sutton should be looking at a signing bonus of about $586K and an overall four-year value of approximately $2.871MM. You can keep tabs on all of this year’s draft pick signings using our tracker.