Anthony Barr - Pro Football Rumors

Draft Visits: Matthews, Colts, Aikens, Bills

April 22nd, 2014 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Texans continue to do their due diligence on every player near the top of the draft board, as they’re set to host Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews for a visit this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests that the Texans’ myriad pre-draft visits with top prospects could be designed to keep teams guessing about which player Houston actually wants, laying the groundwork to potentially trade down from No. 1. Meanwhile, Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that Matthews will visit the Falcons before heading to Houston later in the week for his Texans visit.

Here are a few more miscellaneous draft notes, as we inch a little closer to May 8:

After meeting with the Dolphins on Monday, Clemson wideout Martavis Bryant is visiting the Colts today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Wilson also adds the Panthers and Steelers to the list of clubs that have hosted Bryant for visits so far.
In a separate NFP report, Wilson provides an update on Liberty cornerback Walt Aikens, who is visiting the Colts, Packers, and Bengals this week. According to Wilson, in addition to previously reported visits and workouts, Aikens has also visited the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Buccaneers, and worked out for Cowboys and Jaguars.
According to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago (via Twitter), the Bears traveled to Los Angeles late last month to conduct a private workout with UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr.
The Bills hosted Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans, USC offensive lineman Marcus Martin and Georgia Southern running back Jerick McKinnon today, says Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton has visited with a long list of teams, including the Patriots, Cardinals, Rams, and Lions, tweets ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan.
Auburn cornerback Chris Davis worked out for the Falcons, Colts, and Patriots, among other clubs, according to Caplan (via Twitter).

AFC Notes: CJ2K, Manziel, Clowney, Texans

April 21st, 2014 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

The specific financial details of Chris Johnson‘s two-year deal with the Jets have leaked, as Aaron Wilson details at the National Football Post. The $8MM contract includes a $3MM signing bonus and a $1MM non-guaranteed base salary for 2014. If the Jets want to keep the veteran running back for a second season, they’ll owe him a $500K option bonus on the 22nd day before the 2015 league year begins. For 2015, Johnson would have a $3.5MM base salary and a $1MM escalator.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

David Climer of the Tennessean wonders if Johnson’s agent was responsible for getting the running back cut by the Titans, since it seems as if he didn’t thoroughly explore the possibility of his client accepting a pay cut. However, Climer ultimately concludes that both sides were probably ready for a change anyway.
Johnny Manziel‘s and Jadeveon Clowney‘s visits with the Texans are happening today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). Both prospects should have a chance to make their case to be the first overall pick.
We heard yesterday that the Jets are bringing in cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Darqueze Dennard for pre-draft visits this week, and we can add another name to that list, after Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert tweeted that he’ll visit the Jets today. According to Gilbert, he’ll also be visiting the Broncos, Lions, and Falcons.
Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has already visited six NFL teams, including the Dolphins.
UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr and Wisconsin defensive tackle Beau Allen are visiting the Steelers today, tweets ESPN.com’s Scott Brown.
The Raiders are conducting a private workout for Purdue offensive tackle Kevin Pamphile today, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter).

King’s Latest: Draft, Texans, Jags, Cards, Rams

April 21st, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

As usual, Peter King of TheMMQB.com has kicked off the week by sharing a number of interesting tidbits that can be found in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column. Let’s dive right in and round up several of the highlights from King….

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on this year’s crop of quarterbacks: “There’s no Andrew Luck, no Peyton Manning. It is such a mixed bag with each player — every one of them has positives, every one of them has negatives. And if that’s the way you end up feeling, why don’t you just wait till later in the draft, and take someone with the first pick you’re sure will help you right now?”
One friend of Texans general manager Rick Smith tells King that the GM prefers Buffalo’s Khalil Mack over Jadeveon Clowney. King adds that he thinks Houston will try to choose a sure thing with the No. 1 pick, which could mean Mack, Clowney, or Greg Robinson, but may rule out the top quarterbacks.
At No. 3 overall, the Jaguars want a pass rusher “badly” and would be a good fit for Mack or Clowney, depending on who is still available, says King.
Top tight end Eric Ebron recently suggested he thinks the Lions will draft him, though King is skeptical the club would go that route with its first pick.
The Cardinals are “sweet on” signal-callers Derek Carr and A.J. McCarron. King says he expects Arizona to draft a QB within the first two rounds and the Rams to take one within the first three.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandin Cooks are drawing interest from the Steelers, who are weighing the possibility of drafting a wideout in the first round.
In King’s view, current draft risers include Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin, and Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence. Players whose stock may be falling include Louisville signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater, UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, and Alabama tackle Cyrus Kouandjio.

East Rumors: Eagles, Barr, Johnson, Cowboys

April 17th, 2014 at 9:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Chad ~~Ochocinco~~ Johnson, who last lined up in the NFL for the Patriots, is headed north of the border to join up with the Montreal Alouettes. Johnson, who totaled 766 receptions for more than 11,000 yards and 67 touchdowns in 11 NFL seasons, was signed by the Dolphins in 2012, but was released that summer following his arrest due to a domestic incident. The 36-year-old recently worked out for the Alouettes and GM Jim Popp indicated over the weekend that talks between the two sides had “escalated.” Here’s the latest out of the AFC and NFC East..

The Eagles‘ biggest need at this stage of the offseason is finding a pass-rusher and the best case scenario would be UCLA’s Anthony Barr falling to No. 22, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Barr was considered a likely top-10 pick earlier in the draft process, but Berman hears that it’s conceivable that the former Bruin could slip into the 20s. Meanwhile, the depth of the wide receiver position in this year’s class has been well documented and it’s not a stretch to say the Eagles will potentially come out of the draft with two wideouts.
With Chris Johnson‘s speed, the Jets offense can be a whole different animal, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Johnson isn’t a panacea for offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s offense, Mehta writes, but he still possesses the ability to turn garbage into gold in open spaces.
The Cowboys hosted about 50 prospects at Dallas Day, including four quarterbacks: North Texas’ Derek Thompson, SMU’s Garrett Gilbert, Missouri’s James Franklin, and TCU’s Casey Pachall, tweets Gil Brandt of NFL.com. Missouri’s Donovan Bonner and Matt White were also in attendance, tweets Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Panthers, Cards, Saints

April 15th, 2014 at 4:27pm CST by Luke Adams

After hosting prospects such as defensive linemen Aaron Donald and Kony Ealy on Monday, the Cowboys are being visited by the likes of Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan, UCLA’s Anthony Barr, and Boise State’s Demarcus Lawrence today, writes David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com adds (via Twitter) that Northwest Missouri State cornerback Brandon Dixon is also visiting the club today.

Here’s more out of the NFC:

A player like Donald may not be available at No. 16, but there’s no guarantee the Cowboys will be keeping that pick, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who points out that in the 25 drafts Jerry Jones has overseen, the team has traded up or down 20 times.
The Panthers worked out LSU receivers Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry today in Baton Rouge, according to David Newton of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) provides the specifics on Thomas DeCoud‘s two-year contract with the Panthers, which has a base value of $3.525MM. That includes a $500K signing bonus and base salaries of $900K (2014) and $1.675MM (2015). Meanwhile, Alex Hall‘s one-year deal with the Panthers is for the minimum, but included a modest $10K signing bonus, tweets Wilson.
Colorado State center Weston Richburg visited with the Cardinals on Monday, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
Ohio State’s Bradley Roby and Lindenwood’s Pierre Desir are among the five cornerbacks visiting the Saints today, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. The other three – Justin Gilbert, Aaron Colvin, and Demetri Goodson – had been previously reported.
Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter) that Stanford offensive tackle Cameron Fleming visited the Redskins today, while ESPN.com’s John Keim tweets that Demarcus Lawrence is also scheduled to visit Washington.
D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution lists more than a dozen players who worked out at the Falcons‘ local prospect day today, including Tennessee running back Rajion Neal and Georgia Tech safety Jemea Thomas, among others.

Pre-Draft Visits: Ravens, Barr, Ellington

April 14th, 2014 at 8:00pm CST by Rob DiRe

Towson running back Terrance West met with the Ravens today, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. West will visit the Vikings tomorrow and the Seahawks on Wednesday.

Here are some other notes on pre-draft visits from around the NFL:

Morgan State guard Karim Barton also visited the Ravens as a local prospect, reported Wilson (via Twitter).
Linebacker Anthony Barr of UCLA will be getting busy, with multiple visits scheduled over the next two weeks, reports Ross Jones of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). Among his scheduled visits are the Cowboys, Vikings, Steelers, Falcons and Eagles.
Receiver Bruce Ellington of South Carolina is visiting a few teams this week, including the Rams, Cardinals, and Patriots, and has already worked out for the Falcons, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 and and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The cousin of Cardinals’ running back Andre Ellington is the fourth receiver to visit the Rams, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post Dispatch (via Twitter).

Extra Points: CJ2K, Bradford, Pryor, Vikings

April 14th, 2014 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

After Chris Johnson was released by the Titans, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the veteran running back was likely to find a new team last week. However, Johnson remains on the market. Now Florio writes that if CJ2K is going to a find a new home before the draft, he expects it to happen within the next few days. As Florio writes, most NFL teams will be focusing almost exclusively on the draft in the coming weeks, so if a club is going to engage in negotiations for the former 2,000-yard rusher, that team would probably prefer to get it done sooner rather than later.

As we wait to see if Florio’s latest prediction works out, let’s round up several more items from around the NFL….

Although he makes it clear that he’s not reporting that the Rams are shopping or even considering dealing quarterback Sam Bradford, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com makes a case for why the club should do exactly that, speaking to a few executives around the league to attempt to gauge Bradford’s current value.
Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, who has previously visited the Titans and Bears, is meeting with the Saints today and has visits lined up later in the week with the Bengals and Jets, reports Gil Brandt of NFL.com (via Twitter). Considered one of the top two safeties in this year’s draft class, Pryor is viewed as a likely first-round pick.
The Vikings have a big day of pre-draft visits lined up for Thursday, and linebackers Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr will be among the players in attendance, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Barr will also be visiting the Eagles next week, a source tells Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com.
Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post passes along updates on a couple prospects, reporting that North Dakota State offensive tackle Billy Turner is visiting the Cowboys today and the Rams and Vikings later, and writing that Tennessee State offensive lineman Kadeem Edwards has met with the Dolphins, Titans, Colts, and Panthers.
The Falcons hosted Montana linebacker Jordan Tripp for a pre-draft visit today, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.

Titans Notes: Draft Visits, Locker, RBs

April 8th, 2014 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we heard that UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr has a visit scheduled this week with the Jaguars. However, before he heads to Jacksonville, Barr will visit with the Titans today, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (Twitter link). The young linebacker is one of several prospects the Titans are hosting, so let’s turn to Wyatt for a few more updates on the club….

Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and Colorado State linebacker Shaquil Barrett recently paid pre-draft visits to the Titans, says Wyatt (Twitter links).
Tennessee offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James also has a visit lined up with the Titans this week, according to Wyatt (via Twitter).
As he continues to recover from foot surgery, Jake Locker recognizes that he’s entering a make-or-break season in Tennessee (link via Wyatt). The Titans have no plans to exercise Locker’s fifth-year option, so the signal-caller will have to prove with his play on the field in 2014 that the club doesn’t need to pursue potential replacements.
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt confirmed that his team is still on the lookout for running back help, as Wyatt details. “We are not at our number that we’d carry into training camp,” Whisenhunt said. “So we are going to look at … having enough players at that position.” Given the lack of notable running backs left on the free agent market, it may be a position the club addresses in the draft.

Jaguars To Host Bridgewater, Carr, Others

April 8th, 2014 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

8:44am: Rapoport and Schefter pass along word of a few more pre-draft visits for the Jaguars, with Rapoport tweeting that linebacker Anthony Barr will be in town tomorrow, while Schefter reports (via Twitter) that quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Jimmy Garoppolo are also on the schedule.

8:37am: As we noted last night, one of 2014’s top quarterback prospects, Johnny Manziel, is set to pay the Jaguars a visit this week, but he won’t be the only notable prospect in town over the next couple days. Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports that quarterback Derek Carr will also meet with the Jags, while Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that linebacker Khalil Mack will visit the team, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says (via Twitter) offensive tackle Greg Robinson will also be in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars hold the No. 3 overall pick in next month’s draft and appear to be considering a variety of players and positions. Manziel and Robinson are perhaps the more likely members of this group to be top-three picks, but Mack is viewed as the best linebacker available, and Carr is, at worst, considered the best signal-caller available outside of the top three of Manziel, Blake Bortles, and Teddy Bridgewater.

Schefter adds that Mack will travel on to St. Louis to meet with the Rams following his visit with the Jaguars.

Draft Updates: Clowney, Bortles, Robinson

April 2nd, 2014 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

With no throws to make or brooms to evade, Jadeveon Clowney‘s Pro Day may not have had the fanfare of Johnny Manziel‘s event at Texas A&M, but plenty of coaches and executives showed up to watch Clowney at South Carolina today. Following his Pro Day, Clowney will make visits to work out for the Rams and Falcons, he confirmed today, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

Here’s more on May’s draft and the 2014 class of prospects:

The Browns are conducting their private workout with Blake Bortles today, a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson is visiting the Rams in St. Louis today, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link) hears from several sources that Clemson cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who had dinner with GM Trent Baalke following his Pro Day, is drawing “heavy interest” from the 49ers.
The Panthers worked out Wyoming defensive back Marqueston Huff today and will do the same for Wyoming wideout Robert Herron and quarterback Brett Smith on Thursday, says Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter links).
According to Brandt (via Twitter), Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning has nine workouts lined up with nine NFL teams, including the Jaguars, Browns, and Patriots.
Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (all Twitter links) passes along details on three prospects visiting the Titans: Auburn running back Tre Mason, who left Nashville today; West Virginia running back Charles Sims, who will visit later this week; and UCLA edge defender Anthony Barr, who will be in town next Tuesday.
The Bills hosted Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby, Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, and Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier today, according to the team.