Month: January 2025

Bucs Sign Austin Seferian-Jenkins

JUNE 19: The Bucs’ deal with Seferian-Jenkins is now official, tweets Smith.

JUNE 12: The Bucs have agreed to terms with tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter). An official release is expected soon.

The 21-year-old Washington standout was selected in the second round with the 38th overall pick. Like many of today’s NFL tight ends, Seferian-Jenkins has a basketball background and the 6’6″ athlete was a member of the Huskies basketball team in his frosh year. The Bucs thought highly of the underclassman and made him the second TE selected in the draft, ahead of Jace AmaroTroy Niklas, and C.J. Fiedorowicz. Most projected Seferian-Jenkins as a second round choice but there were teams reportedly considering him in the later part of the first round.

Over the course of three seasons at Washington, Seferian-Jenkins hauled in 146 catches for 1840 yards and 21 touchdowns. His talent hasn’t been questioned but he did raise a red flag for teams in March of 2013 when he was arrested for a DUI.

After signing third round tailback Charles Sims earlier today, Tampa Bay has now signed or agreed to terms with every player in its 2014 draft class, as shown in PFR’s running list.

Panthers Extend Chandler, Addison, Jones

THURSDAY, 11:32am: According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), Addison’s new deal is worth $3.205MM over the next three years, with $660K guaranteed, while Jones’ three-year value is $2.5MM, with $300K guaranteed. Both guarantees are in the form of signing bonuses (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 1:23pm: The Panthers have signed three players to contract extensions, the team announced today in a press release. According to the club, offensive tackle Nate Chandler has inked a three-year extension, while defensive end Mario Addison and safety Colin Jones have each signed new two-year deals. All three players had been entering the final year of their respective contracts.

“You have to think long-term and be proactive,” general manager Dave Gettleman said in a statement. “Around here we talk about earning the right, and these three young guys have earned the right to these contract extensions. We think all three are ascending as players. This gave us a chance to lock them up long-term.”

With Jordan Gross no longer in the picture at left tackle, Chandler could be competing this summer for the right to protect Cam Newton‘s blind side. The third-year player out of UCLA started eight regular-season contests and a playoff game at right guard for Carolina last season, and figures to see his fair share of playing time somewhere on the Panthers’ offensive line. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Chandler’s three-year extension will be worth $7.95MM, with $1.87MM in guaranteed money.

As for the pair of players receiving two-year extensions, Addison is expected to head into the 2014 season as a reserve defensive end, after recording 2.5 sacks and 28 total quarterback pressures in 264 defensive snaps last season. Jones, meanwhile, didn’t see much action on defense in 2013, but he and Addison are key contributors on special teams — they each recorded nine tackles in kick and punt coverage last season.

Titans To Sign Dorin Dickerson

The Titans are in the process of making a change to their 90-man roster, having cut tight end David Wright, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (via Twitter). In place of Wright, who was signed last month as an undrafted free agent, the Titans will sign veteran tight end Dorin Dickerson.

Dickerson, 26, was a seventh-round pick by the Texans in 2010, and has spent time with Houston, New England, Buffalo, and Detroit since then. The Lions opted not to tender Dickerson a contract offer in March, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Pittsburgh product, who has 11 career receptions for 151 yards, auditioned for the Titans at their minicamp this week, and seemingly made a strong enough impression to earn a chance to compete for a roster spot in training camp.

The latest set of transactions may not be the last of the Titans’ maneuverings this summer, according to coach Ken Whisenhunt, who said today that moves may still be made before training camp begins (Twitter link).

Pro Football Rumors On Facebook/Twitter

Spring workouts and minicamps are coming to an end, and players won’t report to training camps for a few more weeks, but Pro Football Rumors will remain active throughout the summer. We’ll be looking back on teams’ offseason moves, looking ahead to training camps, and keeping tabs on all the notable June and July stories, including Brandon Flowers‘ free agency and the upcoming decision on Jimmy Graham‘s franchise tag positional designation. You don’t necessarily have to keep refreshing our site to stay up to date on all of our content — there are a handful of different ways you can follow us to get the latest updates on NFL news and rumors all year.

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Adrian Peterson Talks Vikings, Role, Future

While running backs struggled to find big-money offers on the free agent market this offseason, Vikings star Adrian Peterson remains the highest-paid player at the position as he enters the third season of a long-term deal that will pay him $12MM this year. Tom Pelissero of USA Today spoke to Peterson about a variety of topics, including the new coaching staff in Minnesota and his goals for the upcoming season, but many of the running back’s most interesting comments related to his role with the Vikings and his future in the NFL. While the entire Q&A is worth checking out, we’ll round up a few of Peterson’s more notable quotes below….

On being one of the few longtime Vikings standouts still in Minnesota after the offseason departures of Jared Allen and Kevin Williams:

“We’re just kind of going through that phase. They say the NFL is a revolving door. … Ultimately, the organization is going to do what they feel is best for their team. If that’s going younger or trying to save money, that’s what it boils down to, no matter what type of talent you are. It’s really the unfortunate part of the business, but I’m blessed to still be around, and hopefully, it doesn’t happen to me one day. If it does, then, oh well. I’ll go on and do something different with my career.”

On whether durability is becoming a concern as Peterson approaches age 30:

“I feel I have longevity. There’s things that I know personally I could’ve done better to try to prevent some of the injuries that occurred the last two years — especially last year, because towards the end of the season, that’s when it really started to break down. I’ve been able to kind of focus on those areas as far as the healing process this year and kind of like backdoor-ing what I missed out on last year as far as strengthening the area that kind of triggered the surgery I had to have, the adductor release. But I feel like I’m going to play this game as long as I can. I came back from my ACL injury and won MVP. So, what’s a groin? What’s an adductor? That’s how I look at things. I feel like if you just continue to take care of your body, working out, making sure you’re in shape and you stay on top of your game, you can play as long as you want.”

On whether he thinks he’ll be with the Vikings long enough for the team to become a Super Bowl caliber club:

“I don’t see why not. But then again, I know it’s a business at the end of the day. I won’t ever be blinded by that, when I hear different talks of this trade or that trade. Would you have ever traded Percy Harvin? … I wouldn’t have. I would have been like, ‘You’re just going to sit here and I’ll pay you, but you’re not going nowhere else.’ But he got traded. So, you never know. I’m always looking at things in different lights — not saying that I would want that. But if it was to happen, I’ve had a good time here. People will know that this guy gave his heart for this organization. I think the organization would take a heavy hit – for real – more so from the fan base. I don’t think it would be like a LeBron (James) situation where they’re burning my jersey, this, that and the other. They might be doing (the opposite) and not buying some season tickets.

Jaguars Release Jason Babin

The Jaguars have released veteran defensive end Jason Babin, the team announced today (Twitter link via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com). As a player with more than four years of NFL experience, Babin won’t be subject to the waiver system and immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team.

Babin, who turned 34 in May, played in all 16 games last season for the Jaguars, racking up 31 tackles, 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and two passes defended. After voiding his contract early in the offseason, Babin indicated a strong preference to return to Jacksonville, and ultimately re-signed with the club on a three-year deal. However, that agreement was heavily incentive-laden, with only $500K in guaranteed money, giving Jacksonville an out to move on from the veteran.

As Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes (via Twitter), there are younger players on the roster that the Jaguars like, and if the team recognized now that those players would beat out Babin for a roster spot, Jacksonville is doing him a favor by giving him more time to land elsewhere. Even at age 34, the former first-round pick isn’t far removed from a 2011 season in which he piled up 18 sacks for the Eagles, and he has remained relatively productive since then, so he should receive some interest on the open market.

Falcons Sign Tim Dobbins

The Falcons lost a linebacker tonight when they traded Akeem Dent to the Texans for quarterback T.J. Yates, but they wasted little time in finding a replacement. The club announced that they have agreed to terms with linebacker Tim Dobbins, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Dobbins was mentioned last week by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network as one of the veteran LBs that Atlanta was eyeing. The Falcons were also considering Jonathan Vilma, who worked out for the team today, and Pat Angerer, but it appears that Dobbins has won out. Dobbins doesn’t have the name recognition of either player but Atlanta brass clearly feels better about what the lesser-known talent can provide in 2014.

Over parts of eight seasons with the Chargers, Dolphins, and Texans, Dobbins has appeared in 110 games and made 22 starts. He has 195 total tackles to his credit with two sacks and seven fumble recoveries. Four of those fumble recoveries came during an especially fortuitous 2012 season.

The Falcons could have given consideration to other big names like the recently retired London Fletcher or ex-Steelers LB James Harrison, but both ideas were shot down last week by Rapoport’s report.

Falcons Acquire T.J. Yates 

The Falcons have acquired quarterback T.J. Yates from the Texans in exchange for linebacker Akeem Dent, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). The Texans decided to waive Yates yesterday but it appears that the transaction wasn’t made official. Therefore, Yates remained on the Texans’ roster and they were able to ship him to Atlanta.

Yates, a fifth-round pick in 2011, has spent the last three seasons with the Texans, most notably starting five games for the club in his rookie year and winning a playoff game in that season. Since then, he has seen limited action, completing 19 of 32 attempts in the last two years, with no touchdowns and three interceptions. The Ravens were linked to Yates but he’ll instead head to the NFC where he’ll look to find a role in support of starter Matt Ryan.

Yates started in place of Matt Schaub in 2011, helping to guide the Texans to their first franchise playoff victory. His career hasn’t exactly taken off since then, however, and last season he was supplanted on the depth chart by rookie QB Case Keenum. With Ryan Fitzpatrick anointed as the starter in Houston, Yates became expendable. The club initially planned on cutting him, but the phones started ringing once word of that got out. Now, the Texans won’t lose him for nothing. He’ll battle it out with Dominique Davis, Jeff Mathews, and Sean Renfree this offseason for a spot on the roster.

Dent, 26, was selected in the third round by Atlanta in the 2011 draft. In three seasons, Dent has seen the field in 47 games and racked up a total of 81 tackles and four pass deflections. Like Yates, Dent is entering the final season of his rookie deal.

NFC Notes: Panthers, Sherrod, Cowboys, Vikings

After being cut eight times in five years, Rutgers product Tiquan Underwood is fighting to beat the odds, writes Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer. “I wouldn’t say anything changes because you want to take a serious approach, but I would just say I’m more mindful of the fact that it’s not just me anymore,” Underwood said today at Panthers practice. “I have a fiancée and a daughter that also rely on what I do.” Underwood has an opportunity in Carolina to replace Ted Ginn Jr., the speedy wide receiver who filled the No. 3 role for the team in 2013, but he hasn’t separated himself from the pack yet this offseason. Here’s more from around the NFL…

  • Oft-injured offensive lineman Derek Sherrod wasn’t surprised when the Packers turned down his fifth-year option for the 2015 season, and is hoping to stay healthy and have a productive contract year in 2014, as he tells Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
  • The Cowboys may be content to let the Kyle Orton situation play out, but Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram thinks it’s just a matter of time until the team has to cut its losses. In Hill’s view, the Cowboys aren’t likely to collect any money for fines from Orton, let alone bonus money.
  • The Cowboys would like to sign Dez Bryant to an extension, but the wide receiver isn’t sweating it, writes David Moore of the Dallas News. “That’s going to take care of itself,’’ Bryant said. “I’m very confident in the work I put in. Whatever happens, happens,” Bryant said. “All I know is I’m going to continue to keep doing my job. That alone shows my dedication and love I have for the game. I’m going to let it work out.’’
  • Former guard Steve Hutchinson, who made four straight Pro Bowls as a member of the Vikings, hopes to return to the organization in a scouting role, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I got to get settled in down there first and see what the lay of the land is,” Hutchinson said. “If they need a presence down South or something, depending on what they might need my skill set for. But it’s nothing that’s set in stone right now. It’s kind of just talk right now.
  • Giants running back Peyton Hillis has signed with Drew Rosenhaus’ agency, tweets Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. Rosenhaus is the fifth agency to represent the former Madden cover athlete. Hillis will be repped by Jason Katz and Michael Katz (link).
  • Bears offensive lineman Michael Ola has spent the last two days working with the first team at right tackle and left guard, tweets the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs. As a result, the writer believes Ola will be among the players competing for a roster spot come training camp (via Twitter). The 26-year-old spent the last two seasons playing in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes. 

Ben Levine and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Falcons Won’t Sign Jonathan Vilma

8:30pm: The injured knee that landed Vilma on the injured reserve has received a “thumbs up” medically, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. He adds that if Vilma’s signed, it will be before training camp.

4:19pm: Things could change, but as of right now, the Falcons won’t be signing free agent linebacker Jonathan Vilma, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Atlanta worked out Vilma earlier today.

If the Falcons sign Vilma, Garafolo says that it will be further down the line and possibly during training camp. Vilma and other veteran linebackers have been connected to Atlanta ever since the team lost Sean Weatherspoon to a ruptured Achilles, but the Falcons might not be in a rush to find an out-of-house replacement, if at all.

It’s also possible that Vilma’s performance today wasn’t quite what Atlanta was expecting. The former Jets and Saints standout has struggled with a left knee problem that limited him to just one game in 2013.