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Aaron Ripkowski

North Rumors: Browns, Gordon, Kuhn, Packers

April 11th, 2016 at 8:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, the football world was rocked by the news that embattled Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon has apparently failed another drug test, putting his NFL future in jeopardy. However, top execs in the Cleveland front office probably weren’t all that shocked. The Browns were getting the sense for weeks that Gordon wasn’t going to be reinstated anytime soon and felt that it was possible that he might not get reinstated at all, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. The league office had concerns about who Gordon was continuing to associate with (link) and, after some initial optimism, the Browns started to fear the worst.

While we wait to learn more about Gordon, here’s the latest from the North divisions:

  • With one week to go before the start of the Packers‘ offseason program, veteran fullback John Kuhn remains unsigned, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Agent Kevin Gold says he is still waiting to hear whether the Packers will re-sign Kuhn or instead roll with second-year player Aaron Ripkowski. In 2015, the Packers did not re-up Kuhn until April 13th, so it’s possible that he could still be in the mix for 2016.
  • Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), tight end Hunter Henry said he has had five or six workouts with teams, but has only visited one club so far — the Bears. The former Arkansas Razorback is widely viewed as the top tight end in the draft.
  • The Lions, with wide receiver Corey Fuller already on their roster, will take a look at another Fuller brother this week, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who reports that Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller is visiting Detroit.

Draft Pick Signings: Thursday

May 7th, 2015 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the next few weeks, as the league’s 32 teams lock up their draft picks, we’ll dedicate individual posts to first- and second-round picks reaching agreements with their respective clubs. Already today, for instance, we’ve passed along word of Trae Waynes signing with the Vikings and Nelson Agholor reaching a deal with the Eagles.

However, given the lack of drama involved in rookie contract negotiations under the new CBA, news on players who were selected in the third round or later will be relegated to round-up posts. Here are Thursday’s mid- to late-round picks who signed their deals, with any additional updates added to the top of the page throughout the day:

4:52pm:

  • In addition to confirming the signing of Deon Simon (noted below), the Jets also announced the signings of third-round outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin and fourth-round quarterback Bryce Petty, per a team release.
  • The Vikings are gradually agreeing to terms with nearly their entire draft class over the course of the day. Chris Tomasson (Twitter links) has updates on two more, reporting that fifth-round tight end MyCole Pruitt, fifth-round wideout Stefon Diggs, and seventh-round offensive lineman Austin Shepherd have all reached deals with the club.
  • The Ravens have signed fifth-round guard Robert Myers and sixth-round wide receiver Darren Waller, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
  • The Seahawks have signed fifth-round cornerback Tye Smith, tweets Terry Blount of ESPN.com.

3:50pm:

  • The Vikings have officially added three more draftees to the roster, agreeing to terms with sixth-round defensive lineman B.J. Dubose and seventh-round linebacker Edmond Robinson, according to reports from Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links). In addition to those late-rounders, fourth-round offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings has signed his deal, tweets agent Mike McCartney.
  • Sixth-round lineman Kristjan Sokoli has signed his four-year rookie deal with the Seahawks, tweets agent Brett Tessler. A defensive lineman at Buffalo, Sokoli will be moving over to the offensive line in Seattle.
  • Jets seventh-round defensive tackle Deon Simon and Patriots seventh-round defensive end Xzavier Dickson have signed their rookie deals, according to tweets from their respective agencies. Simon will get a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $73K, while Dickson’s bonus will be worth about $53K.

2:43pm:

  • Sixth-round offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson has agreed to terms with the Vikings and will officially sign when he arrives at the team’s facility, tweets Darren Wolfson of KSTP. Thompson is the second Vikes draftee to reach a deal with the club.
  • Another Packers draftee has agreed to terms with the team, per Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Post-Gazette, who tweets that the club has struck a deal with sixth-rounder fullback Aaron Ripkowski. Ripkowski was the first of three players selected by the Packers in the sixth round, and is also the first one to reach an agreement with the team.
  • The Browns have signed sixth-round tight end Randall Telfer, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Telfer will receive a signing bonus of just under $118K.

1:48pm:

  • The Packers have agreed to terms on four-year rookie contracts with fifth-round quarterback Brett Hundley and fourth-round linebacker Jake Ryan, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). Green Bay is expected to lock up most or all of the rest of its late-round picks by the end of the day, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
  • The Ravens have agreed to contract terms with fourth-round defensive back Tray Walker, reports Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link). The final player selected in the fourth round, as a supplemental pick, Walker will count for about $521K against the cap in 2015.
  • Seventh-round center Austin Reiter has agreed to terms on his rookie contract with Washington, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. Reiter will receive a signing bonus worth just under $75K.

Draft Notes: Winston, Gregory, Steelers, Rams

April 14th, 2015 at 9:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL announced (via Twitter) that 26 prospects will attend the draft in Chicago later this month, but neither of the two biggest names — quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota — will be present to hear their respective names called. Receiver Amari Cooper, also expected to be a top-five pick, will also skip the event, but the likes of Leonard Williams, Kevin White, and Dante Fowler Jr. will be on hand.

Let’s look at some more draft news as we get closer to April 30:

  • Winston reportedly scored a 27 on the Wonderlic, the NFL’s predraft intelligence test, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, who notes Winston’s mark is just one shy of Peyton Manning‘s grade in 1998. It’s unclear what role the Wonderlic plays in teams’ draft decisions, but it’s an interesting note nonetheless.
  • We previously heard that Nebraska edge rusher Randy Gregory was set to visit Pittsburgh at some point this week, and it looks like he’ll meet with the Steelers on Thursday, writes Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • In the market for offensive line help, the Rams met with guards Ali Marpet, Tre Jackson, and Jamil Douglas today, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Oklahoma fullback Aaron Ripkowski met with the Packers today, tweets Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net.
  • Texas long snapper Nate Boyer (a former Green Beret whose story can be read here) has a predraft visit lined up with the 49ers, he tells Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • More from the Bay Area: The 49ers have maintained heavy interest in a pair of LSU players — linebacker Kwon Alexander and running back Terrence Magee — a source tells Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).