2014 May - Pro Football Rumors

Draft Signings: Chargers, Colts, Packers, Jets

May 14th, 2014 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Here’s a recap of the latest 2014 draft picks reaching contract agreements with their respective teams:

The Chargers have agreed to terms with third-round guard Chris Watt on a deal that includes a $419K bonus and a $2.691MM overall value, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Both of those contract figures are lower than what Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap projected for Watt’s draft slot.
The Colts have signed their fifth-round pick, Ball State’s Jonathan Newsome, according to Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter).
Fifth-round receiver Jared Abbrederis has signed a contract with the Packers that includes a signing bonus of about $145K, reports Wilson (via Twitter).
The Jets have signed a pair of draftees, according to the team, who announced today that fourth-round pick Dakota Dozier and seventh-rounder Trevor Reilly have both been locked up.
Seventh-rounder Michael Campanaro has signed his contract with the Ravens, which includes a $67.5K signing bonus tweets Wilson.
Running back Lache Seastrunk, a sixth-round pick, has agreed to sign with the Redskins on a deal that features a $110.5K signing bonus, says Wilson (via Twitter).
Field Yates of ESPN.com has a couple more draft pick signings, reporting that the Texans have locked up sixth-round running back Alfred Blue and seventh-round safety Lonnie Ballentine (Twitter links).

North Notes: Webb, Vikings, Browns, Packers

May 14th, 2014 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With the draft behind us, players selected last week are signing contracts, and teams are also revisiting the free agent pool, which may hold renewed appeal if a club missed out on a position it had targeted in the draft. The Vikings, who selected one offensive lineman with their 10 picks last week (fifth-rounder David Yankey), hosted veteran free agent tackle J’Marcus Webb for a visit today, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Webb, who was on Minnesota’s roster last season after starting for the Bears from 2010 to 2012, also met with the Chiefs back in March.

Here are a few more notes from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:

The Browns officially announced Joe Haden‘s new extension with a press conference today, and the cornerback sounds motivated to live up to the mammoth deal, as Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. “This contract makes me want to play like the best cornerback in the league,” Haden told reporters.
Fullback Eric Kettani, who was cut earlier this week by the Chiefs, has been invited to the Browns’ rookie minicamp, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Kettani, who has also spent time with the Redskins and Patriots, will be fighting to earn a 90-man roster spot in Cleveland.
Wilson also reports that former Maryland linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield, who auditioned for the Packers last year, has been invited back to Green Bay’s rookie minicamp to try out again.
Unlike their division-rival Bears, the Lions haven’t officially agreed to terms with any of their draftees yet, but it shouldn’t take long for the team to do so, says Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Cardinals Sign Larry Foote

May 14th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

MAY 14: Foote received a minimum salary benefit contract, but a $65K bonus takes his overall salary up to $1.02MM, and $513K of his deal is guaranteed, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.

MAY 7: The Cardinals have signed free agent linebacker Larry Foote to a one-year contract, according to The Associated Press. Foote himself essentially confirmed the agreement last night, posting “AZ birdgang!!!!!!!!” on his Twitter account.

Foote, 33, has spent all but one of his 12 NFL seasons in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, winning two Super Bowls with the club. He started 16 games at inside linebacker as recently as 2012, but missed significant action last season for the first time in his career, appearing in just one game due to a biceps injury.

Foote should provide a solid veteran presence on the Cardinals’ defense, though he shouldn’t necessarily be counted on to be the impact player in the middle he was earlier in his career. In 2012, he ranked just 46th of 53 qualified inside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required).

The rumor mill had been fairly quiet on Foote for nearly two months — the last we heard, he had no plans to retire and wanted to sign with a contender. While Arizona didn’t make the postseason last year, the team won 11 games and will bring back most of its key contributors from 2013, so it certainly fits the bill.

Cards Sign Anthony Walters, Keenan Clayton

May 14th, 2014 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Cardinals have increased their roster to 89 players, one below the max, by officially announcing two more signings. As Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com details, the club has signed free agent safety Anthony Walters and linebacker Keenan Clayton. Both contracts are one-year pacts, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Walters, who spent his first three seasons with the Bears, didn’t receive a contract tender from the team in March, making him an unrestricted free agent. The 25-year-old was a special teams contributor in Chicago last season, logging six tackles in kick and punt coverage for the club. As for Clayton, the former Eagle and Raiders hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since the 2012 season.

The two signings come on the heels of the Cardinals selecting seven players in the draft and announcing 15 undrafted free agent additions earlier in the week.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Cousins, Giants

May 14th, 2014 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Cowboys had one of the more defense-heavy drafts in the NFL, the team waited until the seventh round to address its safety position, which was viewed as a weakness heading into the draft. That doesn’t bother executive VP Stephen Jones, however. On a conference call with season ticketholders, Jones indicated that the team doesn’t view safety as a significant area of need, as some observers do. Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk has the quotes from Jones, who praised the Cowboys’ current crop of safeties along with seventh-round pick Ahmad Dixon.

Here are a few more updates from around the NFC East:

Appearing on 106.7 The Fan in Washington yesterday, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the Browns offered the Redskins a fourth-round pick for Kirk Cousins during the draft, an offer Washington turned down (Twitter link). Cleveland ultimately used its fourth-rounder to select Lindenwood cornerback Pierre Desir.
Since exercising his fifth-year option, the Giants have yet to engage in any talks with cornerback Prince Amukamara about a long-term deal, which Amukamara is fine with, as Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger writes. “I don’t expect them to [work on an extension now],” Amukamara said. “I don’t think I really gave them a return on their investment yet. And with that being said, I plan on this year being a huge year for me. I’m just focused on playing ball.”
Although he admits that he hates the draft, Giants receiver Victor Cruz – a former undrafted free agent – was pleased with the team’s addition of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. Cruz had previously suggested he wanted the Giants to draft a wideout to help make up for the loss of Hakeem Nicks, who signed with the Colts in free agency.

NFC South Rumors: Graham, White, Bucs

May 14th, 2014 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

Free agency, which opened more than two months ago, feels well behind us now, but technically one of the top free agents of the offseason remains available. Jimmy Graham was franchised by the Saints, meaning he can’t freely sign with another club, but he can still sign an offer sheet if there’s a team out there willing to give up two first-round picks to land him. And according to Mike Freeman of the Bleacher Report, that’s not a total pipe dream — Freeman hears from multiple sources that there are still some teams “strongly considering” extending an offer sheet to Graham.

I’d be surprised if another team ended up make a serious play for the Saints tight end, who would require a sizable chunk of cap space in addition to his suitor being willing to give up two first-rounders. But with a hearing looming next month to determine whether Graham will be considered a tight end or a wide receiver, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on. Here’s more from around the NFC South:

ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure explores the possibility of an extension for Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, who is entering the final year of his contract. McClure likens White’s contract situation to that of Reggie Wayne, who signed a three-year extension in 2012 at age 33 — White turns 33 this fall.
Patriots director of college scouting Jon Robinson is leaving New England to reunite with Buccaneers GM Jason Licht in Tampa Bay, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston (Twitter links). According to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link), Robinson will assume the role of director of player personnel in Tampa. Meanwhile, Bucs director of college scouting Eric Stokes will be moving on to Miami to act as an assistant to Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey, tweets Reiss.
A bill addressing professional athletes’ injury benefits, which is working its way through the Louisiana Legislature could adversely affect the Saints‘ recruitment of free agents, according to former NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, via Emily Lane of the Times-Picayune. Lane’s piece has plenty of details on the bill, which would limit compensation benefits for NFL players if they’re injured during training camp rather than during the regular season. The Players Association also published an article on its website stating its opposition to the bill.

2014’s Most Balanced And Unbalanced Drafts

May 14th, 2014 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

Teams entered last week’s NFL draft with many different positions and areas they planned to focus on, but depending on how the draft played out, many clubs didn’t end up addressing all their needs. For instance, few would have guessed heading into the draft that neither the Panthers nor the Ravens would come out of the weekend having added an offensive tackle.

Whether intentional or not, a handful of teams ended up specifically focusing on one area of the ball in the draft, selecting far more offensive players than defensive players, or vice versa. Listed below are the teams who had the most offensive-heavy drafts, teams who had defensive-heavy drafts, and the clubs who managed to perfectly balance their picks. Let’s check out the lists….

Most offensive-heavy drafts:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6 offense, 0 defense): After spending big to add defensive end Michael Johnson and cornerback Alterraun Verner in free agency, the Buccaneers were the only NFL team not to draft at least one defensive player. Instead, the club focused on adding weapons for new quarterback Josh McCown, including wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
Jacksonville Jaguars (6 offense, 3 defense): It wasn’t until they drafted their fifth player, in the fourth round, that the Jaguars eventually selected a defensive player, having focused early on landing a quarterback (Blake Bortles) and pass-catchers (Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson).
New England Patriots (6 offense, 3 defense): After nabbing defensive tackle Dominique Easley in round one, the Patriots turned to offensive players for their next five picks, including second-rounder Jimmy Garoppolo.
Washington Redskins (5 offense, 2 defense): The Redskins picked a couple defenders in the first four rounds, grabbing linebacker Trent Murphy and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, but they tipped the scales by leaning heavily toward offensive players with their late-round picks.

Most balanced drafts:

New York Jets (6 offense, 6 defense)
Cincinnati Bengals (4 offense, 4 defense)
Carolina Panthers (3 offense, 3 defense)
Cleveland Browns (3 offense, 3 defense)
Denver Broncos (3 offense, 3 defense)
San Diego Chargers (3 offense, 3 defense)
Tennessee Titans (3 offense, 3 defense)

Most defensive-heavy drafts:

Atlanta Falcons (7 defense, 2 offense): Offensive and defensive lines were viewed as two of the top priorities for the Falcons, but after addressing those positions in the first two rounds, Atlanta went on a linebacker frenzy in the mid-to-late rounds, snatching up four of them.
Dallas Cowboys (7 defense, 2 offense): The Cowboys reportedly had three defensive players on their wish list in the first round, but when Anthony Barr, Aaron Donald, and Ryan Shazier came off the board, the team picked offensive tackle Zack Martin instead. Dallas remedied that by making seven of its final eight picks defensive players.
Minnesota Vikings (7 defense, 3 offense): The Vikings made defense their focus in the mid-to-late rounds — their last five picks were defenders, including three defensive backs. Minnesota also selected a defensive player with its first pick, drafting linebacker Anthony Barr ninth overall.
Oakland Raiders (6 defense, 2 offense): The Raiders’ approach looked similar to the Vikings’, as Oakland grabbed a linebacker (Khalil Mack) with its top-10 pick, then used its last five picks on defenders, with a couple offensive players sandwiched in between.
Philadelphia Eagles (5 defense, 2 offense): Losing DeSean Jackson made wide receiver a priority for the Eagles in the draft, so the team snatched up Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff in rounds two and three. Outside of those two picks though, it was an exclusively defensive draft for Philadelphia.

Pro Football Rumors’ list of draft results by team was used in the creation of this post.

NFC Rumors: Glennon, Hardy, Cowboys, Bears

May 13th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith reaffirmed that Mike Glennon is the team’s quarterback of the future, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the QB of the present, writes Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune.

“I made it clear right away that Josh McCown is our starter, which he is,” Smith said during an interview on WDAE (620 AM). “And hopefully for quite a few years he will be. And I said I really like Mike Glennon. Mike’s a young player coming up. In an ideal situation you don’t want young players to have to come in and start right away, you want them to be around an established veteran.”

Glennon was believed to be a trade candidate earlier this offseason but Smith’s kind words have put that talk to rest. More from around the NFL:

With this week’s legal run-in, Greg Hardy has seriously jeopardized his future with the Panthers, writes David Newton of ESPN.com. The Panthers guaranteed the Pro Bowl player $13.1MM in 2014 not just because he collected a team-best 15 sacks last season, but because he appeared to have matured past the mistakes he made early in his NFL career and at Ole Miss. The club was considering locking Hardy up long-term this year, but that seems unlikely today.
What would the Cowboys have done in the draft if they hadn’t traded up to get Demarcus Lawrence early in the second round? Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told season ticket holders on a conference call today that Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy would have been the selection at No. 47 followed by LSU guard Trai Turner in the third round, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune if there’s any chance the Bears could swing a trade for help in the secondary. Biggs says that while many would like to see a blockbuster like a deal for Chiefs safety Eric Berry, that type of thing won’t be in the cards thanks to his sizable salary.
Bears sixth-round pick David Fales appears to be a good fit for the team, writes Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. Fales last season threw for 4,189 yards, 33 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and completed 64.1 percent of his passes in 12 games.
Released running back Bradley Randle says the Vikings might end up bringing him back, writes Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

Minor Moves: Saints, Panthers, Bucs, Eagles

May 13th, 2014 at 9:59pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up today’s minor transactions here, including mid-to-late-round draftees agreeing to contracts, players being claimed off waivers, and the retirement of a former NFLer who most recently played in the Canadian Football League…..

The Chiefs announced that they have sixth-round pick Zach Fulton (Twitter link). The offensive lineman out of Tennessee was taken with the No. 193 pick.
The 49ers announced that they have signed fifth-round outside linebacker Aaron Lynch and seventh-round defensive lineman Kaleb Ramsey, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Saints have signed former Notre Dame guard Mike Golic Jr. to a two-year contract, the club announced today in a press release. Golic went undrafted in 2013 and joined the Steelers for the preseason.
Drake Nevis, who was cut yesterday by the Jaguars, has been awarded to the Panthers on waivers, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The defensive lineman appeared in games for the Cowboys and Jags last season.

Earlier updates:

The Buccaneers have waived running back Michael Smith, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
The Eagles have locked up one of their draft picks, signing third-round wideout Josh Huff to a four-year deal, per Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
After being cut by the Seahawks yesterday, long snapper Jorgen Hus has been claimed off waivers by the Rams, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter).
The Dolphins have cut punter Matt Syzmanski, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
The only NFL team to lock up any draftees so far, the Bears have agreed to terms with two more players they selected last week, according to the team (Twitter links). Fourth-round running back Ka’Deem Carey and seventh-round tackle Charles Leno Jr. have reached agreements on four-year deals with the club. At Over The Cap, Jason Fitzgerald has estimations on what sort of contracts the duo will be receiving.
The Jaguars have claimed linebacker Allen Bradford off waivers from the Giants, a day after he was cut, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Bradford, a former Seahawk like a few other players the Jags have added this offseason, fills the last spot on the team’s 90-man roster.
Former Bills first-round pick Aaron Maybin has officially announced his retirement as a football player, according to the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts (Twitter link). After being selected 11th overall out of Penn State, Maybin failed to make a consistent impact at the NFL level, with his best season coming in 2011 as a reserve for the Jets (six sacks).

Bears Sign Second Round Pick Ego Ferguson

May 13th, 2014 at 7:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears announced that they have agreed to terms with second round pick Ego Ferguson (via Twitter). Chicago has also struck a deal with sixth-rounder Pat O’Donnell.

Ferguson, a defensive tackle out of LSU, was viewed by many as a serious reach, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora. Regardless of what anybody else things, the Bears believe that they did well for themselves at the No. 51 overall pick. At nearly 6’3″ and 315 pounds, Ferguson is a big, athletic three-technique tackle, but a very green prospect. He could develop into a strong pass rusher, but the general feeling is that it will take some time for him to get there.

O’Donnell, a punter out of Miami, was a first-team All-ACC pick in 2013 and named the team’s special teams MVP.