2020 June - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins Sign Rookie RB Malcolm Perry

June 2nd, 2020 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have signed seventh-round pick Malcolm Perry, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The fleet-footed quarterback out of Navy is expected to play running back as a pro.

Last year, Perry racked up 2,017 yards for the Midshipmen, who run a variation of the triple-option. He was listed as a QB, but Perry only threw for ~1,000 yards in 2019 while spending a good chunk of snaps in the “A-back position” – in essence, that means lining up as a running back.

Perry’s versatility should come in handy for the Dolphins, though they’ll have to carve out practice reps as a receiver. The feeling is that Perry’s athleticism will lend itself well to WR assignments, but he had just 22 catches in college and zero receptions last year.

The Dolphins have now inked the majority of their gargangtuan draft class. Here’s the full rundown, via PFR’s tracker:

1-5: Tua Tagovailoa, QB (Alabama): Signed
1-18: Austin Jackson, T (Miami)
1-30: Noah Igbinoghene, CB (Auburn)
2-39: Robert Hunt, OL (Louisiana)
2-56: Raekwon Davis, DL (Alabama): Signed
3-70: Brandon Jones, S (Texas): Signed
4-111: Solomon Kindley, OL (Georgia): Signed
5-154: Jason Strowbridge, DT (UNC): Signed
5-164: Curtis Weaver, DE (Boise State): Signed
6-185: Blake Ferguson, LS (LSU): Signed
7-246: Malcolm Perry, WR/RB (Navy): Signed

AFC North Notes: Colts, Mack, Ravens, Stanley, Humphrey

June 2nd, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Zachary Links

After his first season with more than 1,000 yards rushing, Marlon Mack isn’t assured the starting role in the Colts‘ backfield. Head coach Frank Reich says he’ll have a leg up on second-round pick Jonathan Taylor, but he also says that fans shouldn’t get too hung up on the RB1 designation.

“There’s definitely inherent respect for the starter returning,” Reich said (via Kevin Bowen of 105.7 The Fan). “I see it as a 1-1 (punch). The way the league has gone and the way role playing has been elevated in our league, it’s made it prominent. We used to say in San Diego that when we had Danny Woodhead. He was not our starter, he was our ‘role playing’ starter. He played such a significant role. He had 80 catches in a year. You look at a guy like Nyehim Hines. We talk about Marlon and Jonathan, but what about Nyheim? He’s such a good third-down back that he’ll play a prominent (role). In some ways, (Hines) is a starter. He’s a role-playing starter.”

Right now, it seems like Mack will have to prove himself all over in camp as he gets set for his final year under contract. As it stands, he’s set to make $2.13MM in base salary before reaching the open market in March of 2021.

Here’s more from the AFC North:

After turning in a stellar season, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley could become the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback, ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley writes. Currently, Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack ($23.5MM per year) leads the way, followed by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald ($22.5MM). This year, fellow left tackle Laremy Tunsil ($22MM/year) put himself in that neighborhood, but Stanley is likely to leapfrog him. In 2019, Stanley allowed Lamar Jackson to be pressured just six times, the lowest total of any offensive tackle in 14 years.
The Ravens have other deals on their agenda, of course, including a new contract for Marlon Humphrey. With all due respect for Stanley, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic argues that the cornerback should actually be priority No. 1. When it comes to Stanley, his comp has already been set, thanks to the Tunsil deal. Meanwhile, time is of the essence with Humphrey – the top of the CB market will be reset soon with Jalen Ramsey, Marshon Lattimore, and Tre’Davious White all due for new deals.
The Browns went ahead with their gradual re-opening plan with Phase 1 beginning on Monday (Twitter link). Meanwhile, other clubs are still working on alternative plans. The Raiders, who were set to hold camp in Napa, California, may shift to their new headquarters in Henderson, Nevada.

Chargers Re-Sign Damion Square

June 2nd, 2020 at 9:31am CST by Zachary Links

Damion Square has re-signed with the Chargers, according to an announcement from the defensive tackle on his Instagram page. Terms of the deal are not yet known.

Square first entered the league in 2013 as a UDFA with the Eagles and hooked on with the Bolts in 2014. That’s where he’s been ever since, seeing playing time as a rotational lineman and occasionally as a starter. In his six years with San Diego/Los Angeles (really five years, since he didn’t take the field in Year One), Square has started in 23 of his 75 games. He’s also picked up 5.5 sacks along the way, thanks in part to some snaps at defensive end in ’18.

Last year, Square finished out with 27 tackles, perfect attendance, and four starts. He was on the field for 402 snaps, good for third among Chargers interior linemen. This year, he’ll back up Linval Joseph, who joined the squad on a two-year, $17MM deal in March.

Latest On Raiders, Gabe Jackson

June 1st, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

A year after trading All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele to the Jets in a pick-swap deal, the Raiders shopped Gabe Jackson for a mid- to late-round pick, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Trade interest emerged. But after the draft, GM Mike Mayock said Jackson would remain the Raiders’ starting right guard. On Monday, Jackson’s $9.35MM 2020 base salary became guaranteed, Tafur adds.

This makes it likely the Raiders will return their entire starting line. Last year’s Raider front five ranked sixth in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric, helping Josh Jacobs to an 1,150-yard season in just 13 games.

“I hadn’t heard anything, and you never know,” Jackson said Monday, via Tafur. “It was a weird feeling, but I am very happy to be back.”

Although Jackson has missed eight games over the past two seasons due to injury, he has enjoyed a solid career. The 28-year-old blocker joins Derek Carr as the Raiders’ longest-tenured starters, with each having debuted in the team’s lineup in Week 1 of the 2014 season. Jackson and Carr signed extensions days apart in June 2017. Pro Football Focus has continually slotted Jackson as an above-average guard, placing him in the top 15 at the position as recently as the 2018 season. The former third-round pick missed five games because of a knee malady last season.

The Raiders were busy on their interior line this offseason. They extended Richie Incognito and re-signed Denzelle Good and Jordan Devey. They also signed Eric Kush and traded up in the fourth round for Clemson guard John Simpson. The latter, an All-American in 2019, could be viewed as an heir apparent to either Jackson or the soon-to-be 37-year-old Incognito. Jackson is signed through 2022 but has no guaranteed money on his deal after 2020.

Zimmer: Plan Was Not To Trade Stefon Diggs

June 1st, 2020 at 5:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings’ starting lineup will look considerably different this season. After the team kept signing its core members to extensions over the past few offseasons, it dismantled some of that nucleus this year. While the exits of Xavier Rhodes, Linval Joseph and Trae Waynes were noticeable, none of Minnesota’s moves registered like the Stefon Diggs deal.

Diggs is Buffalo-bound after the Vikings traded him for a package of picks headlined by this year’s No. 22 overall selection, which became LSU wideout Justin Jefferson. Despite entering another offseason near the salary cap, and with Diggs having created some distractions during his Twin Cities stay, Mike Zimmer said the team was not intent on trading its talented wideout.

“Honestly, Diggs did not have to go,” Zimmer said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show (via NFL.com). “We really didn’t have any intention of trading him. Quite honestly, he put out a couple tweets, and there were some things going on there. But Stefon worked extremely hard. He practices like crazy. He wants the ball — like all receivers do.

“Really, what happened was, Buffalo came in and gave us all those picks. And we were up against it in the salary cap. So we just felt like we could save some money, get a bunch of picks, maybe get a young receiver like (Jefferson) that we got. So, I wish him well. He’s a good kid. He worked hard for me.”

The Bills sent the Vikings 2020 first-, fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2021 fourth-rounder for Diggs, who is signed to a $14.4MM-per-year deal through 2023. This haul ended up being similar to the one the Seahawks sent the Vikings for Percy Harvin seven years ago. Seattle dealt first-, third- and seventh-rounders for Harvin in 2013, and the Vikings used the top pick to draft Rhodes. This time, Minnesota used the top acquired asset to fill the void created by the receiver trade, and Jefferson will be tasked with filling Diggs’ spot alongside Adam Thielen.

Buffalo discussed Diggs with Minnesota before last year’s trade deadline, and the Vikings were believed to have softened their asking price when the teams talked again in March. Diggs missed practices last season and was believed to be dissatisfied with his role, leading to trade rumors. This and Diggs’ pre-trade tweets suggesting he was not long for Minnesota notwithstanding, Zimmer did not characterize the five-year Viking as a major problem.

“Really, if you said somebody was a pain in the butt, you probably wouldn’t say him,” Zimmer said. “I’ve been around way worse guys than him. I hope he has a great career and finishes up strong.”

Henry Ruggs Suffers Off-Field Injury

June 1st, 2020 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Raiders first-round pick Henry Ruggs III will be on the mend for a stretch. The former Alabama standout suffered a thigh injury while helping a friend move furniture Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Ruggs’ father said his son is walking on crutches currently but added that he is “pretty much OK.”

“He was trying to move a trailer or something — move furniture or something — and the trailer just kind of pinned him against a car or a wall or something,” Henry Ruggs Jr. said, via AL.com’s Wesley Sinor. “He’s pretty much OK. I’m about to go out there and see him in a little bit. It was just like a little open wound on his leg, a little incision. Like something had stuck him right there on his thigh a little bit.”

Ruggs is expected to be fine, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter), and with the offseason likely not to feature minicamps, the draft’s top speed merchant may well be ready to participate in training camp. But Ruggs, who is expected to be an immediate Raiders contributor, will be on the shelf for the time being.

Clemson WR Justyn Ross Out For Season

June 1st, 2020 at 4:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross, one of the top prospects who will be eligible for the 2021 draft, will not play this season. A diagnosis of congenital fusion will prompt Ross to undergo surgery Friday, The Athletic’s Grace Raynor tweets.

Ross suffered an injury during spring workouts in March. The subsequent X-ray revealed he was born with this condition, which occurs when two of the seven bones in the neck are abnormally fused. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney confirmed the surgery. While Ross’ doctor said there is a good chance the talented wideout can play football again, he did not guarantee it (Twitter link via Raynor).

After showing immense potential at Clemson the past two years, Ross resides on first-round radars for next year. He sits 12th on Todd McShay’s ESPN.com big board for the ’21 draft. This diagnosis could obviously change everything for the 6-foot-4 talent.

Ross totaled 112 receptions for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdown receptions during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He was expected to be Clemson’s top receiver this season, following Tee Higgins‘ early draft declaration, and is viewed as a higher-ceiling prospect than his former Tigers teammate.

Cardinals To Sign Dylan Cantrell

June 1st, 2020 at 4:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have agreed to sign Dylan Cantrell, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The wide receiver was a pupil of head coach Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech, which may bode well for his chances of making the roster.

Cantrell, who stands at 6’3″, is expected to also see some work at tight end. He first entered the league as a sixth-round choice of the Chargers in 2018 and they had him ticketed as a WR. He didn’t see the field for the Bolts, but he did spend some time on the active roster.

In college, Cantrell managed 1,873 yards across four seasons. Much of that production came in his final year on campus when he hauled in 71 catches for 816 yards and seven touchdowns.

Now, Cantrell will push to make the team behind a wide receiver group headlined by Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins, and Christian Kirk. Or, if he gets work at tight end, he’ll be auditioning alongside Maxx Williams, Darrell Daniels, Dan Arnold, and UDFA Ryan Becker.

Packers Sign Rookie Simon Stepaniak

June 1st, 2020 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers are making headway on their rookie class by starting from the bottom. On Monday afternoon, the Packers announced the signing of sixth-round guard Simon Stepaniak.

Stepaniak started 31 games for the Hoosiers across four years, including the last two years in which he served as the team’s first-string right guard. In accordance with his slot, he’ll get a four-year deal worth just under $3.5MM.

At 6’4″ and 315 pounds, evaluators are high on his raw natural strength. He’ll still have to shake some rust from his December ACL tear, but his future looks bright, especially since he can offer support at right guard, left guard, and center.

Stepaniak’s deal comes on the heels of completed contracts with seventh-round safety Vernon Scott and seventh-round edge rusher Jonathan Garvin. As shown in PFR’s 2020 NFL Draft Pick Signing Tracker, the Packers now have three of their nine selections under contract:

1-26: Jordan Love, QB (Utah State)
2-62: A.J. Dillon, RB (Boston College)
3-94: Josiah Deguara, TE (Cincinnati)
5-175: Kamal Martin, LB (Minnesota)
6-192: Jon Runyan, G (Michigan)
6-208: Jake Hanson, C (Oregon)
6-209: Simon Stepaniak, T (Indiana): Signed
7-236: Vernon Scott, S (TCU): Signed
7-242: Jonathan Garvin, DE (Miami): Signed

Panthers GM Marty Hurney On Newton, McCaffrey, Rebuilding

June 1st, 2020 at 1:30pm CST by Zachary Links

In a recent chat with Joe Person of The Athletic, Panthers GM Marty Hurney said he did “nothing that was out of bounds” while talking with Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens during the draft. If the NFL disagrees with Hurney’s assessment, the Panthers and Saints could be penalized by the league office.

Beyond that weirdness, Hurney was also asked about the Panthers’ eventful offseason and their plans moving forward. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:

On No. 7 overall pick Derrick Brown and whether he would have traded down if Brown was gone

Every year we go into the draft, and wherever we’re picking, we have a group of guys that we would take there. Obviously, he was the guy we were hoping that would get to us, and we’re fortunate that he did…You consider everything. How you approach the draft is how you approach everything else every day: You cover every scenario. So we had all sorts of options. But it didn’t get to that point.

On Cam Newton‘s ongoing free agency

I don’t know. I’m just focused on us and trying to get us the best we can be for this season. I can’t speak for other teams. I do have great respect for him, but I can’t answer for other teams.

On Christian McCaffrey‘s record-breaking extension

Christian’s ability and his performance as a receiver is very unique to the running back position, as you can see by the 1,000-1,000 marks that he surpassed last year. He really is a different type of running back at the position than maybe we would’ve thought of three, five, ten years ago because of his ability to create mismatches as a receiver, his ability to run between the tackles, his ability to make big plays. He really is a combination running back/wide receiver. All those things led to us — and as you said, his ability as a leader, the type of commitment that he shows, the type of person that he is, the way he comes every day to get better — all those things went into play.

On the notion of rebuilding

I approach it as one good decision at a time. Every year you have a lot of changes. I think the league average is 33 percent or so, and maybe over 60 percent every two years. Obviously, we’ve had a lot of changes, not only on the player side but the coaching side. You’re always trying to build the most competitive team you can build. I think we have gotten younger, and I think we have a good mix of veterans and young players. We’re just excited to work with them and improve every day.