2015 NFL Draft - Pro Football Rumors

Jaguars, Dante Fowler Jr. Agree To Deal

May 12th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Jaguars have reached an agreement with pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. on his rookie contract, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter). As Garafolo notes in a second tweet, Fowler’s deal is fully guaranteed and doesn’t include offset language.

Fowler, the third overall pick last month, saw his NFL career get off to a devastating start last week when he suffered a torn ACL during the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp. The injury will sideline the Florida product for the entire 2015 season, but the fact that it happened prior to the two sides officially reaching an agreement on Fowler’s rookie contract didn’t affect the terms of the deal.

As Over The Cap details, Fowler’s four-year deal will have an overall value of $23.49MM, with a $15.344MM signing bonus. The contract, which includes a cap hit of about $4.27MM for Fowler’s rookie season, will feature a fifth-year option, allowing Jacksonville to retain the pass rusher through at least the 2019 season.

Fowler is the first of eight Jacksonville draft picks to strike a deal with the team, but the rest should follow suit shortly.

Saints Reach Deals With Six Draftees

May 12th, 2015 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Saints have signed four of their 2015 draftees and agreed to terms with two more, according to a press release from the club. The two players to reach agreements with the team are the more notable ones — second-round linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha and third-round quarterback Garrett Grayson.

In addition to striking deals with Kikaha and Grayson, the Saints have signed linebacker Davis Tull, defensive tackle Tyeler Davison, cornerback Damian Swann, and running back and return specialist Marcus Murphy. Murphy was a seventh-round pick, while the other three players were all selected by New Orleans in the fifth round earlier this month.

All six rookies will count for less than $1MM against the Saints’ cap in 2015, with Kikaha $958K cap number representing the biggest hit among the group. The deals leave New Orleans with just three draft picks left to sign — first-rounders Andrus Peat and Stephone Anthony, along with third-round cornerback P.J. Williams.

To keep tabs on which teams have locked up their 2015 draftees and which players remain unsigned, be sure to check out our tracker.

49ers Sign Nine Draft Picks

May 11th, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers announced they have signed nine of their ten draft picks. That group includes second round safety Jaquiski Tartt but does not include first round defensive end Arik Armstead.

Tartt, third-round linebacker Eli Harold, third-round tight end Blake Bell, third-round running back Mike Davis, fourth-round wide receiver DeAndre Smelter, fifth-round punter Bradley Pinion, sixth-round lineman Ian Silberman, seventh-round lineman Trent Brown, and seventh-round tight end Rory Anderson.

Tartt, 23, played in 44 games and totaled 277 tackles, six interceptions, 20 passes defensed and 6.5 tackles for loss in his career. The Samford product was named American Football Coaches Association FCS All-America team and Second-Team AP All-America in his senior season.

Packers To Sign Quinten Rollins

May 11th, 2015 at 6:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers have signed second round choice Quinten Rollins, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).

The Miami (Ohio) University cornerback is a converted basketball player and remarkably spent just one year playing college football before being drafted and signed to a multi-million dollar contract. He made that one year count, however, earning MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2014. Rollins, who hauled in seven interceptions last season, visited with at least ten clubs in the lead up to the draft.

Recently, Journal Sentinel’s Tyler Dunne and CineSport’s Justin Termine (video link) noted that Rollins looked strong in the first day of Packers minicamp.

Chiefs Sign Six Draft Picks

May 11th, 2015 at 5:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have signed six of their nine draft picks, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Center Mitch Morse (second round), inside linebacker Ramik Wilson (fourth round), inside linebacker D.J. Alexander (fifth round), and defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (sixth round) have agreed to contracts, sources told Paylor. Also signing contracts were tight end James O’Shaughnessy (fifth round) and receiver Da’Ron Brown (seventh round), according to the NFL’s transaction report.

Noticeably absent from the list is first round cornerback Marcus Peters. Kansas City also needs to sign its third round picks, wide receiver Chris Conley and cornerback Steven Nelson.

Falcons, Jalen Collins Agree To Deal

May 11th, 2015 at 1:41pm CST by Rob DiRe

MAY 11: Collins’ deal with the Falcons is worth $5.43MM. It includes $3.33MM in guarantees and a $2.21MM signing bonus, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).

MAY 9: The Falcons continue to lock up their 2015 draft class, reaching an agreement with second-round pick Jalen Collins, according to Vaugh McClure of ESPN (via Twitter). The terms of the deal were not made available.

With that signing, five out of the team’s seven draft picks are currently under contract, writes McClure. The Falcons are still working to get first-round pick Vic Beasley and third-round pick Tevin Coleman to agree to their deals.

Collins has not practiced with the team yet, not because of his contract issues but due to a recent surgery on his foot. Collins is expected to be healthy in time for training camp.

Raiders Sign Amari Cooper

May 11th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

MAY 11: Cooper’s deal with the Raiders is for four years. It includes $22.7MM in guaranteed money and a $14.8MM signing bonus, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link)

MAY 7: The Raiders announced that they have signed first-round pick Amari Cooper, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Oakland selected Cooper, believed by many to be the best wide receiver in this year’s class, with the No. 4 overall pick.

As Daniel Brown of the Mercury News notes, both GM Reggie McKenzie and coach Jack Del Rio described the Alabama star as “polished” numerous times on draft day. Cooper doesn’t just come with high upside, he comes with the ability to make a major impact right out of the gate in Oakland. His skills have impressed the best of the best, including Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff.

“If you know nothing about football, you might not see that he’s mature beyond his years,” Biletnikoff, 72, told Brown. “But he’s a step ahead when it comes to the things required to be a receiver. The way he runs his routes, catches balls, gets open. He can do it against man-to-man coverage or press or zone. This guy is not one-dimensional. “He can line up inside, outside, right or left and do a good job wherever he is. Jack and Reggie and the staff were dead on when they talked about him.”

In 2014, Cooper hauled in 124 catches for 1,727 yards and 16 TDs across 14 games.

Washington Agrees To Terms With 10, Waives One

May 11th, 2015 at 7:57am CST by Connor J. Byrne

Washington has agreed to terms with nine of 10 picks from its 2015 draft class, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Eight of the nine have signed their contracts, according to ESPN’s John Keim (Twitter link). The only member of the class without a deal is first-rounder Brandon Scherff. Here’s the full list of picks with whom Washington has reached agreements:

Preston Smith, linebacker, Mississippi State (second round, 38th overall)
Matt Jones, running back, Florida (third round, 95th overall)
Jamison Crowder, wide receiver, Duke (fourth round, 105th overall)
Arie Kouandjio, offensive lineman, Alabama (fourth round, 112th overall)
Martrell Spaight, linebacker, Arkansas (fifth round, 141st overall)
Kyshoen Jarrett, safety, Virginia Tech (sixth round, 181st overall)
Tevin Mitchel, cornerback, Arkansas (sixth round, 182nd overall)
Evan Spencer, wide receiver, Ohio State (sixth round, 187th overall)
Austin Reiter, center, South Florida (seventh round, 222nd overall)

Additionally, Washington has re-signed offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe and waived cornerback Courtney Bridget, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com (via Twitter). The team waived Nsekhe last week before deciding to bring him back.

Giants To Sign One Pick, Two Tryout Players

May 9th, 2015 at 7:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

7:27pm: In addition to their earlier signings today, the Giants have agreed to a contract with Southern Connecticut defensive tackle Carlif Taylor, tweets Vacchiano. Taylor tried out for the Giants during their rookie minicamp this week.

6:35pm: The Giants have gotten a little closer to signing their draft class, having agreed to terms of a contract with sixth-round pick Geremy Davis, reports Paul Schwart of the New York Post (via Twitter). The wide receiver out of Connecticut will join a crowded receiving depth chart that includes Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle, and Victor Cruz.

Davis is the fourth Giants draft pick to sign his rookie contract. The team has already signed third-round pick Owa Odighizuwa, fifth-round selection Mykkele Thompson, and seventh-rounder Bobby Hart. The Giants’ top two selections, Ereck Flowers and Landon Collins, are their only unsigned picks.

The Giants are also planning to sign Stonybrook tight end Will Tye, reports Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Tye tried out with the Giants during the mini-camp this weekend.

New York had already brought in six undrafted free agents, and now has a very crowded roster. Vacchiano writes that the Giants have only one roster spot available, and if they wanted to sign more than one more player out of the group that tried out, they would have to cut a current player to make room for them on the roster (via Twitter). Vacchiano opines that the Giants will be signing more than one of the tryout players, so expect more cuts from the team that already let go of Kevin Ogletree and Terrell Manning.

Rams Notes: Collins, Barksdale, Rodriguez

May 9th, 2015 at 4:42pm CST by Rob DiRe

Although he signed with the Cowboys, the Rams expressed interest in La’el Collins after not being selected in the 2015 NFL Draft. Head coach Jeff Fisher said the team was “involved” in talks, and that Collins told him they were among the four finalists for his services, according to Howard Balzer of LockerDome.com (via Twitter).

Balzer adds that Fisher said the Rams might have pursued Collins harder had the team not been so successful during the draft (via Twitter).

Here are some other notes surround the Rams during the post-draft portion of the offseason:

Fisher also addressed the ongoing talks with offensive tackle Joe Barksdale, who has not yet been re-signed by the team and is currently a free agent, although there was not much to update on, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN (via Twitter). “We’ve been talking to Joe,” said Fisher. “We’ve had some conversations.”
One of the players the Rams have brought in for a tryout is 5’8″ receiver Daniel Rodriguez, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 27-year-old Rodriguez, who walked on the football team at Clemson, served with the U.S. Army between 2006 and 2010, in both Afghanistan and Iraq, earning a Purple Heart during his service. He now is trying to make the Rams, as an unlikely undrafted free agent.
Rookie orientation for the Rams has come to an end, but the team will keep the rookies at Rams Park until late June, writes Thomas (via Twitter). The team will mix them in with the veterans starting on Thursday.

2015 NFL Draft News & Rumors