Chris Clemons‘ one-year deal worth $1.5MM indicates he’ll have to compete for a spot on the Seahawks‘ roster despite his ties with the organization, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com reports.
Only Clemons’ $150K signing bonus is guaranteed, with the returning defensive end’s status possibly tied to what the team does in the draft later this month. Kapedia identifies the 34-year-old Clemons as a candidate to back up Cliff Avril at the hybrid LEO defensive end spot, with Frank Clark expected to step into Bruce Irvin‘s right-side role.
Clemons did not fare as well with the Jaguars as he did under Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn in Seattle, registering just three sacks in seven starts in 2015. However, the well-traveled veteran had shown consistency prior to last year. Playing in 16 regular-season games in eight of the past nine seasons, Clemons collected eight sacks in 2014 after posting double-digit numbers in that category from 2011-13 in Seattle.
The one-year pact includes $12,500K in active-roster bonuses, along with a $150K workout bonus, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter).
Here’s some more from the NFC on Sunday night.
- San Francisco has been labeled as one of the quarterback landing spots at No. 7, but the 49ers will look to take the best player available, regardless of Colin Kaepernick‘s status, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com hears. Raanan goes as far as to remove the 49ers from the first-round quarterback derby. The 49ers, though, have already met with Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, and observed Paxton Lynch‘s pro day. The team has also inquired about the No. 1 overall pick, inducing obvious queries about their interest in this year’s quarterback crop.
- Kyle Long will factor into the Bears‘ tackle competition despite having been better at guard, John Mullin of CSNChicago.com reports. He could wind up outside again after moving from guard to right tackle in 2015, and that positional versatility will serve him well upon trying to reach a long-term deal with the Bears, Mullin writes. Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen are the favorites going into the draft to open up at the guard spots, with their deals likely contingent on receiving strong opportunities to claim starting jobs, Mullin offers. Of course, both players have extensive experience at center, expanding the likelihood of both winding up in Chicago’s starting five.
- Clemson’s Shaq Lawson is visiting the Bears, the prospect posted on his Twitter account. Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets the visit will occur Monday. Prior to the defensive end’s trip to Chicago, however, he’ll stop in Detroit to meet with Lions personnel, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. Lawson, who registered 12.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss as a junior in 2015 despite playing with knee and shoulder injuries, visited with the Cowboys and Panthers last week.
- Wide receiver Robby Anderson will visit the Packers, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Temple target who ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at the Owls’ pro day visited the Browns, Dolphins and Eagles recently.