2021 April - Pro Football Rumors

CB Nate Hairston Released By Broncos, Expected To Re-Sign

April 8th, 2021 at 4:39pm CST by Ben Levine

Nate Hairston is hitting free agency…temporarily. The Broncos released the defensive back today, per the NFL’s transaction report (and passed along by Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter). However, the cornerback is expected to land back with the Broncos tomorrow, with Mike Klis of 9News in Denver tweeting that this was merely a “procedural move.”

Hairston, a 2017 fifth-round pick out of Temple, appeared in 27 games with the Colts through his first two seasons in the NFL, compiling 65 tackles, two sacks, and an interception. He was traded to the Jets for a conditional sixth-rounder in 2019, and he ended up starting six of his 11 appearances for New York that season.

The 26-year-old caught on with the Jets again to start the 2020 campaign, and he appeared in two games before getting cut in October. Hairston spent the next two months of the Ravens practice squad before he was scooped up by Denver in mid-December. He appeared in each of the Broncos final three games, mostly on special teams.

Hairston will still probably have to battle for a job in camp, especially after the Broncos added cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller last month.

Texans Host DL DeMarcus Walker On Visit

April 8th, 2021 at 3:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans have signed a slew of midlevel veterans on low-cost deals. They met with another potential candidate for such an agreement Thursday, bringing in defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

A former second-round pick, Walker played a rotational role in four Denver seasons. After the Broncos asked the interior D-lineman to work as an outside linebacker as a rookie, Walker settled into a spot as an off-the-bench lineman in the team’s 3-4 defense. He is coming off a 4.5-sack season.

The Florida State product has recorded 8.5 sacks over the past two years, doing so after compiling just two in scant work in the two seasons before Vic Fangio‘s arrival. Although Walker missed three games last season, his 35% snap rate was by far a career high. The Broncos, however, opted to re-sign Shelby Harris and add ex-Vikings D-lineman Shamar Stephen this offseason.

Houston GM Nick Caserio has been busy — beyond navigating multiple Deshaun Watson issues. The Texans, who released J.J. Watt after 10 seasons, have signed Maliek Collins and Derek Rivers up front this offseason. Walker would profile as another low-cost signing, should he join the brigade of free agents — a list that includes ex-Broncos teammate Phillip Lindsay — to join the Texans.

Titans Meet With LB B.J. Goodson

April 8th, 2021 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

A full-time Browns starter last season, B.J. Goodson is looking for a new team. The former Giants draft pick made a visit Thursday, meeting with the Titans, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The five-year veteran linebacker is coming off his most productive season. In 14 Cleveland games (all starts), Goodson registered 91 tackles and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded Goodson as a top-25 off-ball ‘backer. Goodson tested positive for COVID-19 near the end of the regular season but returned to play in both Browns playoff games, when added 16 more stops.

This bounce-back effort came after the Giants shipped him to the Packers in 2019. While Goodson has played for three teams over the past three years, he has been a regular for most of his career. The Clemson product is a 43-game NFL starter.

Tennessee re-signed Jayon Brown this offseason and has Rashaan Evans entrenched alongside him. Goodson joining the Titans would represent a slight step back, but the team struggled in nearly all defensive facets last season and could certainly use a proven veteran for depth purposes.

Jets To Sign Corey Levin

April 8th, 2021 at 1:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets already signed Dan Feeney to give them some interior offensive line depth last month, and now they’re making another similar move. New York has agreed to a deal with Corey Levin, a source told Connor Hughes of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Levin entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Titans back in 2017. He didn’t play as a rookie, but then appeared in all 16 games and made a start in 2018. He was waived at final cuts the following year, and spent a bit of time with the Broncos and Bears in 2019. This past season, he was with the Bears in training camp and briefly on the Patriots’ practice squad.

The Chattanooga product is still only 26, and is the latest dart throw for GM Joe Douglas. Levin has experience at both guard and center, so his versatility could help him make the team this fall.

Seahawks Work Out Danny Isidora

April 8th, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Seahawks are clearly on the verge of adding some interior line help. Yesterday we heard they were hosting former top ten pick Chance Warmack and Cody Wichmann, and those weren’t the only two guards brought in.

The team also brought in Danny Isidora for a workout, per the league’s transaction wire. Isidora entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Vikings back in 2017. He spent his first two years in Minnesota, starting a few games. He was traded to the Dolphins in 2019 for a late pick, and entered the year as a starter for Miami. After starting three games he went down with an injury and missed the rest of the season.

He then spent time on the practice squads of the Chiefs and Steelers last season. The Miami product is still 26, so there’s some theoretical upside here. With the way they’ve been moving, it would be surprising if the Seahawks don’t sign a guard here imminently.

Snead: Rams Eyeing 5-8 Years With Stafford

April 8th, 2021 at 11:15am CST by Sam Robinson

Matthew Stafford‘s contract runs through the 2022 season. The Rams managed to navigate the primary free agency period without reducing their new quarterback’s cap number, but they are interested in extending Stafford.

Les Snead provided a timeline for the team’s future with Stafford. Snead envisions the 2009 No. 1 overall pick playing for the Rams well beyond his current contract, which would make sense given the cost to acquire him — multiple future first-rounders and change. The 2021 season will be Stafford’s age-33 campaign.

“I don’t think we did it thinking two years,” Snead said of the trade during an appearance on The Athletic’s 11 Personnel podcast (via Rams Wire). “Based on his age, you can legitimately think five to seven, eight years if you look at what Drew (Brees) has done. I don’t know if we’re going to get into Tom Brady, right? Too many things going. But with quarterbacks of his pedigree, a lot of those guys have played into their late 30s, for sure. So that was definitely the vision with Matt.”

The Rams do not have modern experience deploying quarterbacks with Stafford’s experience. Under Snead, the team’s two primary passers — Sam Bradford and Jared Goff — did not last until age 28 with the team. Kurt Warner was out of St. Louis at 32, before his seventh NFL season. Stafford turned 33 earlier this year and has battled injuries in recent years. He missed eight games because of a back malady in 2019 — his first absences since 2011 — and detailed a few issues that bothered him last year. Stafford underwent thumb surgery recently.

Stafford’s recent injuries notwithstanding, the Rams are committed to the 12-year Lions starter. While Goff and Sean McVay‘s relationship progressively deteriorated last year, Snead insists the Rams did not want to jettison the former No. 1 overall pick for the sake of doing so. Stafford being available changed the equation.

“To do a move of that magnitude involving quarterbacks, specifically involving Jared, there definitely needed to be a Matthew Stafford on the other end,” Snead said. “We were not going to be stronger by moving Jared for a draft pick, per se. That wasn’t the case, and I think it did take someone of Matt Stafford’s pedigree, ability, experience, all those things, skill set to make that move.”

OTAs Expected To Return This Year

April 8th, 2021 at 10:35am CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL and NFLPA continue to discuss the parameters of the 2021 offseason. Absent a deal, teams can begin holding onsite workouts April 19. But the agreement between the league and the union should still be expected to include some on-field work this spring.

After last year’s virtual offseason, the 2021 program is expected to feature OTAs at team facilities, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter). The NFLPA has pushed back on in-person offseason workouts returning, citing COVID-19 concerns, but a compromise that leads to some on-field work appears to be in the works.

Over the course of the 2011 CBA (prior to 2020), teams began their offseason programs each April. In 2019, teams with new coaches could start their respective programs in early April ahead of May OTAs and June minicamp. Last year, the pandemic nixed every on-field NFL activity until training camp and wiped out the preseason. Teams with new coaches in 2021, as of now, are not expected to have a head-start this year. But after 2020’s fully virtual offseason, coaching staffs will certainly welcome increased opportunities to develop players onsite ahead of training camp.

A full season of daily coronavirus testing stands to provide the league a better blueprint than it possessed at this point last year, but the league and union remain in talks about how this offseason will look. Meetings are expected to remain virtual for the foreseeable future, though teams that reach a certain vaccination level will have their COVID restrictions loosened. The NFL currently is not mandating players be vaccinated but is encouraging them to do so.

Trey Lance Expected To Hold Second Pro Day

April 8th, 2021 at 9:16am CST by Sam Robinson

Trey Lance has successfully parlayed one season at the Division I-FCS level into a top-10 draft value. The North Dakota State quarterback is expected to be one of the first players chosen this year, but the unusual prospect is on track give teams another chance to study him soon.

While North Dakota State has not yet scheduled a second pro day for Lance, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes another Lance workout is expected to take place (subscription required). Linked to making such preparations along with Justin Fields, Lance will follow Fields in this regard. The Ohio State prospect is planning to work out for teams again April 14.

John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan did not attend Lance’s pro day last month. The showcase came before San Francisco had acquired the No. 3 overall pick, and the franchise’s power duo did not want to invite suspicion about their plans before the team acquired the pick. It should then be expected 49ers brass will be on hand to watch Lance this time. No private workouts can take place leading up to this draft, with the COVID-19 pandemic nixing those for a second straight year.

Mac Jones has emerged as the early clubhouse leader to be drafted third overall. Jones would be expected to play behind Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie, should the incumbent remain on the team in a Jones-to-San Francisco scenario. Lance would profile as a player who would benefit further by sitting for at least one season. Lance started as a freshman, leading the Bison to another FCS title, and played in one game as a sophomore before declaring for the draft. The 6-foot-3, 224-pound prospect dominated in his one season of competition (28 TD passes, no INTs, 1,100 rushing yards) but carries no experience against high-end college competition and will enter the NFL after a sophomore season that the pandemic nullified.

Should the 49ers pass on Lance at No. 3, he would be an option for a Falcons team that appears to be split on drafting a quarterback or the best non-QB available at No. 4. A host of teams would be on the trade-up radar for the two QBs that do not go in the top three, with the 2022 quarterback class (as of now) not generating considerable buzz.

Jets To Meet With QB Brian Hoyer

April 8th, 2021 at 8:51am CST by Sam Robinson

In the process of assembling a mostly new quarterback depth chart, the Jets will meet with an available veteran. Brian Hoyer will visit the Jets on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The 35-year-old passer spent the 2020 season with the Patriots, his third stint with the team, and has a history with new Jets coach Robert Saleh and OC Mike LaFleur. Hoyer was the first 49ers starter under Kyle Shanahan, opening the 2017 season in that role. Saleh and LaFleur were in their initial months as 49ers staffers that season as well.

The 49ers signed Hoyer to a two-year, $12MM deal in 2017 and used him as their starter in six games. The then-rebuilding team went 0-6 in those contests and eventually released Hoyer in-season, having acquired Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots. Hoyer finished that season replacing Garoppolo as Tom Brady‘s backup, a role he held earlier in his career and one he reprised in 2018.

Hoyer’s most extensive work came with the Browns in 2014, when McDaniel was on staff as a coaching intern, and the Texans in 2015. He went 7-6 as the Cleveland starter in ’14, before being benched for Johnny Manziel, and trekked to Houston and Chicago in the ensuing seasons. After Hoyer landed a three-year, $12MM Colts deal in 2019 — one the Colts shed in 2020 — he joined Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham as part of the Pats’ first post-Brady QB mix. Overall, Hoyer has played in 70 games and started 39 in his 12-season career.

Last season, the Jets featured Joe Flacco as Sam Darnold‘s backup. Both are now with other teams, with Flacco joining the Eagles ahead of this week’s Darnold trade, leaving Mike White and 2020 fourth-round pick James Morgan as the only QBs on Gang Green’s roster. The Jets are expected to add Zach Wilson at No. 2 overall, but they will almost certainly bring in a veteran mentor-type passer as well. Hoyer would qualify as such.

Lions Sign S Dean Marlowe

April 8th, 2021 at 8:32am CST by Sam Robinson

Dean Marlowe‘s Wednesday Lions visit will produce an agreement. The Lions signed the veteran safety Thursday, bringing him over from the Bills.

One of the numerous Panthers to trek to Buffalo during the current Bills regime’s time, Marlowe spent the past three seasons in western New York. He will now join a rebuilding Lions team.

Marlowe, 28, spent his first two NFL seasons in Carolina. But the James Madison product only played five games with the Panthers. He did not crack a game-day roster more than five times until the 2019 season. Last year, however, Marlowe suited up for 15 Bills regular-season games and made four starts. Despite limited experience on defense, Marlowe intercepted two passes — both in the Bills’ Week 17 rout of the Dolphins — and broke up three more last season.

The Lions hosted veteran backup safety Will Parks on a visit earlier this week but for now will go with Marlowe at the position. He will join a team in need at safety, with the Lions having traded Quandre Diggs in 2019 and having seen Duron Harmon‘s contract expire after last season. Detroit still rosters young safeties Will Harris and Tracy Walker; Pro Football Focus graded each near the bottom at the position in 2020.