HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Latest On Montez Sweat

April 22nd, 2019 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

Montez Sweat‘s stock has bottomed out and it’s possible that he will not hear his name called on Thursday night, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. This may help to explain why Sweat – who has been long projected to go in the first round – has opted against attending the NFL Draft in person. 

Sweat’s heart condition has caused some teams to remove him from their draft board, so there are definitely less suitors for his services. Some cardiologists say that Sweat’s enlarged heart will not prevent him from playing, but there’s also no known case of another NFL player with the same issue. The unknowns have created serious question marks for talent evaluators, despite Sweat’s measurables and on-field production.

Despite the heart condition, Sweat racked up 22.5 sacks over his final two seasons with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Texans, Bengals, 49ers, Bills, Raiders, Packers, and Buccaneers all met with him, but it’s not clear whether all of those teams still have him in consideration.

Last year, Michigan standout Maurice Hurst plummeted to the fifth round due to a (different) heart condition and Sweat could be in for a similar fall. Hurst’s case may work to Sweat’s advantage, however. Last year, Hurst appeared in 13 games (ten starts) for the Raiders and racked up four sacks with 31 total tackles.

Cardinals Receiving Interest In No. 1 Pick

April 22nd, 2019 at 10:39am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have received feeler calls from teams inquiring about trading up for the No. 1 overall pick, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. However, at this time, it’s not clear how serious the Cardinals are about moving the top choice. 

For months, it has been widely rumored that the Cardinals will use the No. 1 pick to select Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. But, for what it’s worth, the Cardinals reportedly have not reached a consensus on the dynamic athlete. Some in the Cardinals’ front office would prefer to spread the wealth a bit by trading down and filling multiple holes on the roster. With several QB-needy teams also eyeing Murray (the Raiders, some say, could be in the hunt), there’s a real opportunity for the Cardinals to get excellent value if they’re willing to pass up on this year’s most intriguing signal caller.

Top defenders like Nick Bosa and Quinnen Williams would also make plenty of sense for the Cardinals and if they’re not specifically hung up on landing Bosa, they could be able to move down, fix their matador defense, and still come away with another young QB such as Dwayne Haskins or Drew Lock.

The Cardinals have only a few days left to sift through the offers and make up their minds – the first round of the NFL Draft will get underway on Thursday night at 8pm ET/7pm CT.

Following Specific NFL Players On PFR

April 22nd, 2019 at 9:38am CST by Zachary Links

As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Pro Football Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, it’s easy to follow all our updates on your favorite player as well.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray in advance of the draft, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest news involving Joe Staley‘s plans for the future, you can find his page right here.

In addition to dedicating pages to players, we also maintain archives for certain specific non-NFL topics. For example, all our posts relating to the XFL can be found here.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page, and each of those players also has his own RSS feed, making it even easier to follow the latest updates. Links to RSS feeds for specific players are all located on this page. You can also find links to RSS feeds for various miscellaneous categories there. For instance, if you only want to receive one update every Sunday recapping the week’s notable headlines, you can subscribe to our Week in Review RSS feed, right here.

Bills To Sign T.J. Yeldon

April 22nd, 2019 at 8:23am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills are set to sign running back T.J. Yeldon, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). When finalized, it’ll be a two-year deal for the veteran.

The 25-year-old (26 in October) met with the Patriots earlier in the month but wound up signing with a different AFC East team. With Buffalo, Yeldon will serve as a backup behind LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore, two talented players who are both on the other side of 30.

Jacksonville scaled back Yeldon’s role over time. After a 182-carry rookie season, the former second-round pick ended his Jaguars stay as the team’s third-string running back behind Leonard Fournette and Carlos Hyde. Still, Yeldon managed a respectable 4.0 yards per carry last season and has hit the 5.0 ypc mark in the past.

And, despite the lack of carries, Yeldon caught a career-high 55 passes for 487 yards and four touchdowns last year. Only two Bills — wideouts Robert Foster and Zay Jones — topped Yeldon’s receiving-yardage total last season.

Gettleman: Beckham Deal An “Offer I Couldn’t Refuse”

April 21st, 2019 at 9:03pm CST by Micah Powell

In the lead up to the NFL Draft, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman addressed the team’s trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns for a first- and third-round pick, and safety Jabrill Peppers, calling it an offer he couldn’t pass up, Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor writes. 

“It was a business decision,” Gettleman said. “Back in the day when you franchise-tagged a player, if someone came and signed them, that gave you two first-round picks. That’s only happened once in the history of the NFL, and that was Sean Gilbert.

“So basically I had a team call me up that offered me not only two No. 1 picks [Peppers was a first-round draft pick in 2017], but a third-round pick as well. And it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Though the deal appeared too good to pass up to Gettleman, it did leave $16MM in dead money for the Giants, who inked the receiver to a five-year, $95 million contract ($65MM guaranteed) back in August.

It was just the latest move that has drawn the ire of Giants fans. Many were also upset when the team passed on taking Sam Darnold with the No. 2 pick to take Saquon Barkley. Though Barkley impressed as a rookie, the team still has a 38-year-old quarterback in Eli Manning it needs to find a successor for. The plan appears to be to take that signal-caller with one of its first-round picks this Thursday.

West Draft Rumors: Cardinals, Murray, 49ers, Broncos

April 21st, 2019 at 7:30pm CST by Micah Powell

On Saturday, Arizona State receiver and local product N’Keal Harry visited the Cardinals for a private visit, NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport tweets.

Possessing the size, strength and speed of a prototypical outside receiver, Harry could be an option for Arizona should he still be on the board when the team is on the clock at No. 33. Harry should fully be in play there, as the Cardinals reportedly like the value of going receiver with their second-round pick, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets.

Should the team go with Harry, it would pair him with another local standout in Christian Kirk, who impressed as a rookie before missing time with an injury down the stretch. The pair of young wideouts would join veteran and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald in a potentially loaded receiver corps for either Josh Rosen or Kyler Murray, should the team go with the Oklahoma product as expected a week before the draft.

Here’s more draft talk from around the league:

  • Sticking with the Cardinals, though the team has been heavily linked to Murray, Kent Somer of the Arizona Republic believes the team should pass on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. He thinks the team should stick with Rosen, attempt to trade down to pick up more picks, and, if that option is not possible, take either Quinnen Williams or Nick Bosa.
  • Speaking of Williams, many NFL executives reportedly prefer the Alabama defensive lineman to Ohio State’s Bosa as the draft’s top overall prospect, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. In a poll of 14 personnel members by Bob McGinn, six chose Williams as the top picks, twice as many as Bosa, who received the second most. Also receiving votes were Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins and Jeffery Simmons.
  • The Broncos have been heavily tied to quarterback’s heading into this week’s draft. Helping pick that signal-caller, if they do indeed go that route, is new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, who learned how to pick the position from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran writes. “Kyle had a lot of success (evaluating quarterbacks) and (he) showed me some things that I use in the evaluation process,” Scangarello said. “It’s a tough position to evaluate. You just get them in (the meeting room) and you try and find out what you can about them.” Denver has been linked with Drew Lock, but Daniel Jones, Murray and Dwayne Haskins could all fit the bill at No. 10 if everything falls right.
  • The 49ers have been heavily tied to either Bosa or Williams with the No. 2 pick on Thursday, but the team is looking to the skill positions for their Round 2 pick, NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco writes. At the top of the list is wide receiver, where they are looking to find a starter-level pass catcher to complement second-year wideout Dante Pettis and veteran Marquise Goodwin. Maiocco notes the receivers who have been in for a visit include Harry, A.J. Brown, Hakeem Butler, Jalen Hurd and Deebo Samuel.

 

 

Cameron Brate To Be Ready By Training Camp

April 21st, 2019 at 6:14pm CST by Micah Powell

In January, Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. In an interview this week, the veteran pass catcher told Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com he expects to be ready for training camp. 

Brate suffered the injury during the 2017 season but elected to not have surgery in hopes that it would heal on its own. It did not, and the tight end was hampered throughout the 2018 campaign. It showed in his production, as Brate produced just 30 grabs for 289 yards following back-to-back seasons with at least 48 receptions and 575 yards.

Even with the injury, Brate still was a prime performer in the red zone, snagging six touchdowns. It marked the third consecutive campaign the tight end logged at least six scoring grabs.

Though he elected to not have surgery originally, it was thought O.J. Howard would shoulder a larger load throughout the 2018 season. Unfortunately, the second-year tight end was placed on season-ending IR late in November after suffering foot and ankle injuries.

Both of those tight end’s returns will help Jameis Winston in a year that Tampa Bay will be breaking in new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich

 

5 Key NFL Stories: 4/14/19 – 4/21/19

April 21st, 2019 at 4:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Seahawks extend Russell Wilson. As former NFL executive Andrew Brandt likes to say, deadlines spur action. Wilson laid out an April 15 deadline for extension negotiations, and may have indicated he wouldn’t sign any new deal — not in 2019, not next year, never — with the Seahawks had that date passed. The tactic worked, as Wilson and Seattle agreed to a four-year, $140MM extension that makes the veteran signal-caller the highest-paid player in NFL history. Wilson received a full no-trade clause and an NFL-record $65MM signing bonus.

Latest on Frank Clark. Wilson will be in Seattle for the foreseeable future, but the same might not be able to said for Clark, whom the Seahawks assigned the franchise tag earlier this offseason. Trade rumors have swirled around Clark for weeks, but they’ve recently become more pronounced. Several teams are reportedly interested in Clark, and while Seattle may consider trading him, general manager John Schneider & Co. want a first-round pick in exchange. Clark’s fate is expected to be resolved by or during the draft.

Patriots add Demaryius Thomas. Lacking in offensive weapons given the departures of Rob Gronkowski, Chris Hogan, and Cordarrelle Patterson, plus the uncertain status of Josh Gordon, New England added the veteran Thomas on a one-year deal. It’s an exceptionally risk-averse contract, as most of Thomas’ potential earnings are tied up in per-game roster bonuses and incentives. The Patriots reportedly pursued Thomas at the trade deadline, but he was instead shipped from the Broncos to the Texans. The 31-year-old Thomas is recovering from an Achilles tear but is hoping to be available for training camp.

Draft rumors heat up. We’ve made it! The draft gets underway on Thursday night, and news/speculation is coming in rapidly. The Giants may be zeroing in on Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, while the Bengals could also consider taking a signal-caller in the first round. Meanwhile, the Raiders might be in line to take Kyler Murray if the Cardinals pass. And Mississippi State edge rusher Montez Sweat is now off some NFL teams’ draft boards following the revelation of a heart condition.

Zach Miller announces retirement. Miller, of course, suffered a devastating knee injury during the 2017 season, and doctors at one point told him he was at risk for losing his leg after he severely dislocated his left knee and tore his popliteal artery. The 34-year-old has undergone nine surgeries and, as of earlier this year, hadn’t ruled out an NFL return. But he’s now decided to hang up his cleats, and PFR wishes Miller the best in retirement.

Memphis RB Darrell Henderson Met With Four Teams

April 21st, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Memphis running back Darrell Henderson is now considered a possibility to sneak into the back end of the first round of the draft, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds Henderson has recently met with the Rams, Eagles, Raiders, and Cardinals.

Henderson (5’9″, 200) topped 1,000 rushing yards in each of the past two seasons and averaged an astounding 8.9 yards per carry in both campaigns. He ranks fourth behind Josh Jacobs (Alabama), Miles Sanders (Penn State), and Devin Singletary (FAU) on The Draft Network‘s running back rankings, and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com calls Henderson a “home run hitter” while comparing him to now-49er Tevin Coleman.

Henderson is exceptional at running out of the shotgun formation: over the last four college seasons, Henderson ranks third in Graham Barfield’s Yards Created metric — which attempts to identify production a running back generated on his own, independent of offensive line play — out of shotgun. Circling back to the the four clubs Henderson has recently visited, the Eagles ranked fifth league-wide in shotgun run rate, per Warren Sharp. The Raiders finished 11th, the Cardinal 23rd, and the Rams dead last (just 4%).

PFR Originals: 4/14/19 – 4/21/19

April 21st, 2019 at 2:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

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