They say that home is where the heart is and Andre Johnson‘s heart told him to head east to Miami this offseason, as he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
“I always had a dream of playing at home. I was a huge Dolphins fan,” Johnson said. “But they never called.”
With no apparent interest from the Dolphins, the former University of Miami star instead joined up with former Hurricanes teammate Frank Gore in Indianapolis. Here’s more from around the league..
- Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle looks like the most likely player to get taken in the supplemental draft but Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears that he looked “good, not great” at his recent pro day workout. At least six teams remain interested in Battle, who profiles most likely as a right tackle but possibly a left tackle depending on the scheme he’d play in. Battle has been compared to D.J. Fluker out of Alabama, a first-round pick in the 2013 draft, but he has also been flagged as someone with off-the-field issues. Those issues could drop Battle to the fifth or sixth round but he could also go as high as the fourth, based on what Cole is hearing.
- Fourteen teams have inquired about former UConn tight end Sean McQuillan over the past few days, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The Raiders, Dolphins, and Lions attended a recent workout of his and McQuillan performed up to expectations – he didn’t drop a pass and he ran sharp routes. McQuillan was arrested this spring following a fight with his roommate and he was denied entrance into school.
- The NFL has hired Rod Graves as its new senior V.P. of football administration and club services, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Graves spent roughly a year in the Jets’ front office but is better known for his time as GM of the Cardinals. A league source tells Florio that the NFL has hired Graves to “oversee all club and game-related initiatives concerning the Competition Committee, general managers, and head coaches.” In Florio’s estimation, Graves’ central duty will be to prevent hiccups from becoming national scandals like DeflateGate.
I’m curious to see if Battle lands with a team that expects him to come in and compete for a starting job right away, or if he’ll be viewed as more of a longer-term project. I kind of like the Niners as a fit — they’re a team that likes to stockpile young offensive line depth, and they did have their starting right tackle unexpectedly retire a few weeks ago. They also currently have a couple extra 2016 draft picks.