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2016 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Redskins Sign Third-Round Pick Kendall Fuller

June 2nd, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins have signed third-round cornerbackKendall Fuller, as Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post tweets. With Fuller signed, the Redskins have now inked every member of their 2016 draft class. Kendall Fuller (vertical)

Heading into the draft, some teams had concerns over Fuller’s injured knee, but a medical re-check in April yielded positive results. Fuller, the fourth member of his family to play at Virginia Tech, went pro in lieu of playing out his senior season. If Fuller did not have injury concerns attached to him, it’s conceivable that he could have gone somewhere in the second-round.

Here’s the full rundown of the Redskins’ 2016 draft class:

Washington Redskins

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/27/16

May 27th, 2016 at 5:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Ravens have signed sixth-round wide receiver/return man Keenan Reynolds, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Earlier today, United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter gave Reynolds permission to defer his obligations with the Navy to play in the NFL in 2016. Reynolds had a stellar four-year playing career at Navy, where he served as a dual-threat quarterback and accounted for 119 touchdowns (88 rushing, 31 passing).
  • The Browns announced the signing of fourth-round defensive back Derrick Kindred. Kindred played in 50 games during his time at TCU, including 30 starts. In that span, Kindred recorded 235 tackles, 15 passes defensed, eight interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles. With Kindred in the fold, the Browns have now signed eight of their 14 draft picks.

Colts Sign Entire Draft Class

May 25th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have officially signed their entire 2016 draft class by reaching agreement with third-round pick Le’Raven Clark today, as Mike Chappell of CBS4 writes. According to his slot, Clark will earn a four-year deal worth ~$3.2MM. That deal includes a signing bonus of $750K. Le'Raven Clark (vertical)

Clark, the last of eight Colts rookies to put pen to paper, was selected as part of a larger effort to help bolster the Colts’ offensive line. Prior to the draft, draft analysts Dane Brugler and Rob Rang of CBSSports.com wrote that Clark projects as a NFL starter at tackle or guard. Clark boasts the kind of “wide base [and] moldable frame” scouts look for in offensive line prospects, but the duo did note that he lacks power as a drive blocker. The Texas Tech product earned three-time All-Big 12 first-team selections and started all 51 games during his four-year collegiate career.

Here is the complete rundown of the Colts’ 2016 draft:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/24/16

May 24th, 2016 at 5:50pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings and other minor moves here:

  • The Dolphins agreed to terms with two members of their draft class today, signing third-round receiver Leonte Carroo and seventh-round tight end Thomas Duarte, as Wilson reports (Twitter link). Miami now only has third-round running back Kenyan Drake left to sign, as PFR’s Zach Links detailed when looking at unsigned 2016 draftees earlier today.
  • The Lions waived offensive lineman Darius Johnson on Tuesday, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press adds (via Twitter) that Johnson was waived with an injury waiver designation. Johnson, a Middle Tennessee State product, signed with Detroit following the team’s rookie minicamp.
  • The Chargers placed safety Matt Daniels on the injured reserve list with a leg injury, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. Daniels appeared in only one game for San Diego last season. Former Michigan linebacker James Ross has been signed to fill Daniel’s void, a source tells Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
  • After signing as an undrafted free agent out of UTSA, edge rusher Jason Neill was waived today by the Cowboys, according to Wilson (Twitter link). To replace Neil, Dallas signed fellow defensive end Zach Wood, tweets Wilson.
  • The Panthers placed tight end Jake McGee on waivers with an injury designation last week, and after reverting to injured reserve, McGee has now been cut from IR with an injury settlement, per Wilson (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Bills have signed second-round linebacker Reggie Ragland, according to his agents at Vanguard Sports (on Twitter). Ragland was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after recording 97 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, and six pass breakups. GM Doug Whaley has said that he expects to see Ragland in the starting lineup to begin the 2016 season.
  • The Raiders announced that they have signed free agent wide receivers Robert Herron and Nathan Palmer. To make room, the Raiders have waived/injured wide receiver Andre Debose and waived quarterback Garrett Gilbert. Palmer auditioned for New Orleans last week alongside a handful of notable names, including Hakeem Nicks. Herron was originally selected by the Bucs in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in eight games his rookie season, posting six receptions for 58 yards (9.7 avg.) and one touchdown.
  • The Browns signed undrafted free agent wide receiver David Richards, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Arizona product first hooked on with Atlanta after the draft but was waived soon after.
  • The Jets waived tight end Jerome Cunningham and signed running back Romar Morris, as Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets.
  • The Buccaneers have placed safety Johnny Lowdermilk on the reserved-retired list, creating a second opening on the 90-man roster, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

Unsigned Rookies From The 2016 Draft Class

May 24th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Remember rookie holdouts? Those have largely gone the way of the dodo bird thanks to draft slotting. These days, rookie contracts are mostly boiler plate deals with salaries and structures that are pre-determined based on where a player is selected. Jared Goff

As a result, we are now seeing the majority of rookies sign on the dotted line within a week or two of the draft. Still, as we approach June, we have a handful of stragglers. These deals will likely be wrapped up in short order, but holdups are still possible. Last year, No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota did not formally sign with the Titans until July 21st as the two sides could not come to terms on offset language. Eventually, the Titans and the QB’s agents at Rep 1 Sports worked out a compromise, but it took months of haggling.

Here’s a full rundown of the rookies who have yet to formally sign with their respective teams:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • 3-74: KeiVarae Russell, DB (Notre Dame)
  • 5-165: Tyreek Hill, RB/WR (West Alabama)

Los Angeles Rams

  • 1-1: Jared Goff, QB (California)
  • 4-110: Tyler Higbee, TE (Western Kentucky)
  • 4-117: Pharoh Cooper, WR (South Carolina)
  • 6-177: Temarrick Hemingway, TE (South Carolina State)
  • 6-190: Josh Forrest, LB (Kentucky)
  • 6-206: Mike Thomas, WR (Southern Mississippi)
  • [NOTE: The Rams typically sign their rookie class all at once in the month of June.]

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Photo from Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.

Titans To Sign Jack Conklin

May 23rd, 2016 at 9:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have agreed to sign first-round draft pick Jack Conklin, Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com writes. With the No. 8 overall pick in the fold, the Titans have now signed eight of their ten draft picks from this year’s class. Jack Conklin (vertical)

Conklin is currently working at both left and right tackle in his early practices with the Titans. Conklin is projected to start at right tackle this season, but he could also be the team’s top option in the event that left tackle Taylor Lewan gets hurt. Conklin played at right tackle in his first three games at Michigan State before taking over the left tackle spot.

In recent years, the Titans have pushed for offset language to be included in their first-rounders’ rookie contracts. It will be interesting to see whether the Titans got their way when it comes to offset language or whether they made an exception for the Michigan State product. Last year, the Titans and Marcus Mariota had protracted contract talks over that exact issue.

The Titans, of course, started out with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. When they still had the top pick, Tennessee was widely connected to Ole Miss lineman Laremy Tunsil. When the Rams offered up a bounty of picks to get into the top spot, the Titans likely had Conklin in mind, which made them comfortable enough to move down. At Conklin’s introductory press conference late last month, Titans GM Jon Robinson described Conklin as a perfect fit for the team.

“When coach (Mike) Mularkey and I set out three months ago, we talked about building a tough, team-first, accountable football team and we were able to add a player (in Jack) to this roster that embodies everything that Tennessee Titans football is going to be about,’’ Robinson said. “He is an outstanding football player, and more importantly for us he is an outstanding young man. He is going to represent this football team, his family and the Tennessee Titans family and (make) the city of Nashville proud.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Draft Signings: Steelers, Cowboys, Raiders

May 20th, 2016 at 5:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s draft signings:

  • In addition to Smith (listed below), the Cowboys announced that they’ve also agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Rico Gathers. The 6’6″, 273-pound former Baylor basketball player did not play football at the collegiate level, but is expected to pursue an NFL career at tight end. Dallas has now locked up six of its nine 2016 draft picks.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Sean Davis on a four-year deal, according to a source who spoke with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. The Steelers have since confirmed the deal. Davis has now become the fourth Steelers draft pick to sign his rookie pact.
  • The Cowboys have signed second-round linebacker Jaylon Smith to a four-year deal, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes. It remains to be seen when Smith will take the field, however. The prevailing belief is that he will need a redshirt year because of the serious knee injury he suffered in January. If Smith spends the season on the NFI list, he’ll be a restricted free agent in 2020 instead of an unrestricted free agent, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter).
  • The Raiders announced the signing of sixth-round linebacker Cory James. James, selected No. 194 overall, played in 51 games with 46 starts over four seasons at Colorado State, totaling 230 tackles (112 solo), 24 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three passes defensed.

South Notes: Bucs, Aguayo, Winston, Jaguars

May 20th, 2016 at 10:45am CST by Zachary Links

Draft evaluations are subjective and tend to vary greatly from team to team. This week, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht reminded us of that fact when he explained that he had first-round grades on three of his rookies this year, including kicker Roberto Aguayo. The Bucs thought enough of the FSU product to trade into the second round for him and apparently it’s a move that the Bucs made with confidence. Along with Aguayo, the GM feels that he snared first-round talents in cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and defensive end Noah Spence. In 2015, Licht says he also hit it big.

“We think we got four last year,” Licht told Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report, referring to quarterback Jameis Winston, left tackle Donovan Smith, guard Ali Marpet, and linebacker Kwon Alexander . “That’s the goal – to get multiple first-round draft picks each year. When it’s all said done, to look back and say, ‘We got multiple first-round picks in this draft’ – that was the goal.”

While you ponder Licht’s assessment of his last two drafts (and his evaluation of Aguayo), here’s more out of the South divisions:

  • New Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken admits that he wasn’t a big fan of Winston prior to the 2015 draft. Today, the former Southern Miss head coach isn’t afraid to admit that he has had a change of heart. “It’s who he is, how he’s wired,” Monken said, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I think that’s one thing that’s a misnomer. I think from the outside you would’ve looked at it with all the things that were publicized in the past about him and who he is. I was dead wrong. He wants to win as much as we do. He’s a competitive joker, man, he’s smart, he’s intelligent…you can win a lot of games with guys like that.”
  • Jeff Linkenbach‘s contract with the Jaguars is for one season and will pay $810K, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. The guard/tackle has 86 appearances and 36 starts on his NFL resume.
  • The Jaguars got some bad news on Thursday when they learned that first-round pick Jalen Ramsey will have to undergo surgery to fix a knee injury. Depending on the second opinion and the treatment option he goes with, Ramsey could reportedly miss 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months. If all goes well, however, he’ll be ready for the start of training camp.

Draft Signings: Dolphins, Raiders, Saints

May 18th, 2016 at 4:57pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here:

  • A second-round pick who is expected to play a key role for a Dolphins cornerback corps that lost most of its starters from 2015, Xavien Howard has signed his rookie deal, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. He’s the fifth player in Miami’s eight-man draft class to sign. For Baylor last season, Howard snared five interceptions and broke up 15 passes en route to All-Big 12 acclaim. He’ll vie to join Byron Maxwell as the Fins’ starting corners.
  • The Saints have now wrapped up their draft class’ contracts after signing fourth-round defensive lineman David Onyemata, according to the team’s website. The first University of Manitoba player to be drafted, the Nigeria native finished with 9.5 sacks in 37 games with the Bison. A 300-pound lineman who was selected No. 120 overall, Onyemata won the J.P. Metras Trophy, which is given to the best down lineman in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football.
  • The Raiders announced the signing of second-round defensive lineman Jihad Ward. Ward, selected with the No. 44 overall pick, played for Illinois over the last two seasons. In his time for the Fighting Illini, Ward started all 25 games, totaling 104 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three passes defensed, three forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. The 6’6″, 295-pound athlete climbed up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft, leading to his mid-second-round selection.

Cowboys Sign Ezekiel Elliott

May 18th, 2016 at 1:42pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have formally signed their presumptive running back of the future. The team announced today that No. 4 overall pick Ezekiel Elliott has put pen to paper. Ezekiel Elliott

In the weeks leading up to the draft, the Cowboys were heavily connected to both Elliott and FSU defensive back Jalen Ramsey with their top pick. Ultimately, Jerry Jones’ fondness for the Ohio State product won out, giving the Cowboys a well-rounded tailback to join veterans Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris. Elliott will receive a four-year deal worth nearly $25MM in accordance with his draft slot.

That deal comes with a healthy $16.3MM signing bonus and a cap number of $4.5MM that escalates all the way to $7.94MM in the fourth and final year. Of course, as a first-round selection, the Cowboys will reserve the right to retain Elliott for an additional year via his fifth-year option.

In addition to Elliott, the Cowboys have also inked sixth-round picks Darius Jackson, Anthony Brown, and Kavon Frazier.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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