HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Falcons Eyeing Isaiah Battle In Supplemental Draft

July 1st, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The perception around the league is that the Falcons are hot on supplemental draft candidate Isaiah Battle, Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger tweets. The Clemson offensive tackle could reportedly have third-round value in the July 9th draft.

Battle, who had been penciled in as Clemson’s starting left tackle for the coming season, is perhaps the most intriguing player to declare for the 2015 supplemental draft. Earlier this year, Mike Huguenin of NFL.com identified the 22-year-old Brooklyn native as a candidate to play in next year’s Senior Bowl, writing that the Clemson lineman “remains somewhat raw, [but] is a good athlete who plays with some nastiness.”

Recently, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports suggested that a strong 2015 season at Clemson might have pushed Battle into the top five prospects at his position for the 2016 draft. Battle is very green, but his upside is undeniable. Battle played 27 games at Clemson and started 16.

“I’ll be surprised if he’s not taken,” a personnel executive for a NFC team told Mark Eckel of the Star-Ledger, adding that he hears Atlanta is the most interested. “He’s worth a shot, for sure. It’s just a matter of how much is he worth to you.”

As a refresher, the supplemental draft allows clubs to select players who for some reason were unable to enter the standard draft; academic trouble or disciplinary issues are often – but not always – key factors. If a team selects a player in the supplementary draft, it will lose its corresponding pick in the following year’s standard draft. For example, if a club were to select Battle in the sixth round of the supplemental, it will lose its 2016 sixth-rounder as a result.

Most players who enter the supplemental draft ultimately go undrafted, allowing them to become free agents and sign with any team. The last two players to be picked were Terrelle Pryor (third round, 2011) by the Raiders and Josh Gordon (second round, 2012) by the Browns.

West Georgia defensive tackle Dalvon Stuckey, West Georgia defensive end Darrius Caldwell, and North Carolina Central receiver Adrian Wilkins have also declared for the 2015 supplemental draft.

Brandon Spikes Pleads Guilty To Charges

July 1st, 2015 at 1:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Linebacker Brandon Spikes will serve a year of probation after pleading guilty Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash, as Andy Rosen of The Boston Globe writes. The June incident on Interstate 495 injured three people.

Police determined that Spikes was speeding and driving negligently when he crashed his Maybach sedan into an SUV. After the crash, Spikes fled the scene and that crime calls for up to two years in jail. However, the free agent linebacker was able to avoid prison time due to the minor nature of the injuries. Still, the case figures to negatively impact his chances of playing for an NFL team this season, since he could face discipline from the league as well.

The Patriots signed Spikes to a one-year deal back in May but dropped him almost immediately after the crash. The 27-year-old started his career with New England, spending four seasons with the team before joining the division-rival Bills a year ago. While he’s typically taken off the field in passing downs, Spikes is an effective part-time player, specializing as a run defender. He received interest from – or at least was linked to – the 49ers, Vikings, Dolphins, and Bills earlier this offseason.

On an admittedly small sample of passing downs, the advanced metrics from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) were actually kind to Spikes’ pass-coverage abilities, as he ranked fourth-best at his position in yards per coverage snap and coverage snaps per reception. Still, you can expect to see him mostly against the run. Overall, he graded as PFF’s 13th-best inside linebacker in the league last season thanks to his run-stopping ability. Spikes finished ninth against the run at his position in 2014 and ranked No. 1 against the run in both 2012 and 2013.

 

Bills Sign Wayne Hunter

July 1st, 2015 at 1:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

WEDNESDAY, 1:12pm: The Bills officially announced that they have signed tackle Wayne Hunter, as Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets.

TUESDAY, 4:49pm: The Bills have signed free agent offensive tackle Wayne Hunter to a one-year deal, reports Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.Net (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Hunter last appeared in the NFL as a member of the Rams in 2012, but he played under current Bills coach Rex Ryan from 2009-11 with the Jets. Hunter tried out for the Bills earlier this month and Ryan said at the time that he expected Buffalo to sign Hunter before training camp, ESPN’s Mike Rodak tweeted.

Although the Bills’ right tackle situation is unsettled, it seems unlikely Hunter will latch on with the team in any significant way – especially after being out of the league for three seasons and having struggled mightily throughout his career. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked Hunter 71st out of 76 qualified tackles during his final year in New York, for which he started all 16 games in 2011.

NFC East Notes: Gruden, Cowboys, Thomas

July 1st, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

After the 2014 season, coach Jay Gruden lobbied for help in the Washington front office, producing the hire of Scot McCloughan as GM. Washington now has its first proven team architect since the days of Charley Casserly, but Mike Jones of the Washington Post wonders if the coach will be able to turn things around in 2015 and beyond. Gruden and McCloughan share similar philosophies on how a roster should be constructed, but Washington must show tangible improvement in 2015. Otherwise, Gruden could find himself out of a job. Here’s more from the NFC East..

  • Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News feels that if the Cowboys add another running back, it’ll be someone with size and power who can run the ball in the fourth quarter to close out games. Given the strength of this year’s rookie crop at the running back position, Gosselin expects youngsters to force out several quality veteran backs, freeing up someone of use for Dallas. All in all, the scribe wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cowboys add someone on the cheap in August. Daniel Thomas, he adds, could have been an out-of-house addition, but he went on to sign with the Bears instead.
  • Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com looked at the running back depth chart in Washington. As of today, El-Bashir sees Alfred Morris, Matt Jones, Chris Thompson, and fullback Darrel Young making the final cutdown, but he won’t rule out Silas Redd finding his way on to the final roster.
  • Earlier today we looked at a handful of items out of Washington, including DeSean Jackson taking shots at his former team, the Eagles.

Washington Notes: Jackson, RGIII, Pot Roast

July 1st, 2015 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

Washington tight end Jordan Reed has dealt with a litany of health issues since breaking into the league in 2013. Given his knee injuries, concussions, and hamstring troubles, a reader asks CSNWashington.com’s Rich Tandler if he feels that Reed will be a focal point of the offense in 2015, if healthy. Tandler can see Reed starting out the year playing about 50% of the snaps with his workload increasing to 70% if things go well. At that point, Reed could theoretically cement himself as a key member of the offense, though Tandler notes that his workload has never been especially high. Here’s today’s look at Washington D.C…

  • Washington wide receiver DeSean Jackson said the Eagles “tried to blow me up” with a “smear campaign” after his release in 2014, John Keim of ESPN.com writes. “When I was released by the Eagles, I feel they tried to paint a picture that definitely wasn’t true. It was a slap in the face, coming off one of my best seasons in the NFL,” Jackson said on his new TV show. Jackson went on to boast about how he has made the most of his “second chance to play in the NFL” after a strong season with Washington. In 2014, Jackson caught 56 passes for 1,169 yards and six touchdowns.
  • Former Washington quarterback Mark Brunell has defended Robert Griffin III against critics before, but it appears that he is no longer in his corner, as Scott Allen of the Washington Post writes. “I do not [think he can play in the NFL],” Brunell said on ESPN. “From what I’ve seen the last couple of years — listen, he burst onto the scene and that was impressive — but like I said, he has gone backwards. It’s not just his decision-making, it’s his fundamentals. He’s taking too many hits, he’s quick to get out of the pocket. Last year was difficult to watch. Does he have the skill set? Yes, but we haven’t seen it in some time.” Washington exercised Griffin’s 2016 option back in late April.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com looked at the nose tackle position behind prized offseason acquisition Terrance Knighton. With the ability to play both defensive end and nose tackle, Kedric Golston might have a leg up on the competition. That leaves Jerrell Powe and Robert Thomas on the roster bubble. Powe was signed on June 1st after appearing in 16 games last season for the Texans with three starts. Thomas, meanwhile, spent most of last season on the taxi squad after signing on as a UDFA.

C.J Spillman Charged With Sexual Assault

July 1st, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Zachary Links

Free agent cornerback C.J. Spillman has been formally charged with sexual assault stemming from an incident at the Cowboys’ team hotel last September, according to Michael O’Keeffe of the New York Daily News. The police investigation was completed in February and a Tarrant County grand jury handed down an indictment charging Spillman with sexual assault on Monday.

The timing of the incident was notable it came to light on September 20th, just one day after commissioner Roger Goodell vowed at a press conference to get tough on players who commit violent crimes. Because Spillman was not charged, however, he was not disciplined by the Cowboys or the NFL. Spillman wound up playing the next day against the Rams and he did not miss a single regular season game for Dallas all year. The 29-year-old also appeared in both of the Cowboys’ postseason games last year. For his career, Spillman has appeared in 83 career regular season games with the Chargers, Niners, and Cowboys.

Spillman is currently looking for work and today’s news obviously will throw a wrench into things. The special teams ace worked out for the Patriots back in May but was not signed.