HEADLINES

Anthony Larry

Extra Points: Cowboys, Burfict, Savage

May 15th, 2014 at 10:04pm CST by Zachary Links

In this week’s chat, a reader asked Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News which Dallas professional sports coach will be the first to get fired. While Rangers skipper Ron Washington is in some trouble, Cowlishaw believes there’s even more pressure on Cowboys coach Jason Garrett to succeed. Another 8-8 season wouldn’t bode well for Garrett’s future but at the same time, Jerry Jones is very fond of him. More from around the NFL..

  • Reps for Vontaze Burfict met with the Bengals this week and sides are making progress on a new deal, sources tell Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). As it stands, the linebacker is set to earn $570K in 2014 before reaching restricted free agency.
  • Tom Savage‘s deal with the Texans is a four-year pact worth $2.52MM, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter). As previously reported, Savage’s signing bonus is just over $300K. The fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh picked up interest from a number of teams in April including the Patriots, but ultimately Houston snagged him. Now, Savage will vie with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, and T.J. Yates for playing time under center.
  • Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links) runs down the rookies who will be attending camp with the Eagles: linebacker Blaze Caponegro, tight end Jamie Childers, linebacker Ryan Donohue, linebacker Anthony Larry, center Mackey MacPherson, defensive back Davon Morgan, and tackle Baker Steinkuhler.
  • Dolphins General Manager Dennis Hickey told SiriusXM NFL Radio (on Twitter) that Billy Turner, a third-round tackle out of North Dakota State, will play guard. Hickey went on to say (link) that first-round Ju’Wuan James was a highly-targeted player for the Dolphins, which was a bit of an open secret heading into the draft. Miami is expecting the athletic, strong tackle to “play right away.”

Extra Points: Lions, 49ers, Dalton, Draft

May 2nd, 2014 at 10:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Longtime Lions scout Silas McKinnie is retiring after next week’s draft, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The retirement of McKinnie, who has been with the team as a regional and personnel scout since 2003, leaves the Lions with two vacancies in their front office. In January, Lions assistant director of pro personnel Miller McCalmon stepped down after five seasons with the team and 35 years in the NFL. Here’s more from around the league:

  • While there has been a lot of attention placed on troubled defensive talent Aldon Smith, 49ers teammate NaVorro Bowman is an example of a player who turned things around despite off-the-field incidents in the past, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • One NFL team exec spoke with CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry (on Twitter) about an interesting trade idea that won’t happen: a swap between the Bengals and Vikings centered on quarterback Andy Dalton and the Vikings pick at No. 8. Minnesota is said to be looking hard at quarterback options with their top pick, including UCF’s Blake Bortles.
  • After talking to four GMs, Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports says (via Twitter) the consensus top five draft picks seem to be Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, Sammy Watkins, Greg Robinson, and Jake Matthews, in some order.
  • Eastern Washington edge rusher Anthony Larry had private workouts with the Patriots and Eagles, and has also drawn interest from the Packers, Seahawks, Chargers, Ravens, and Browns, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Larry won’t come off the board early, but he’ll either be a Day 3 pick or a priority free agent, according to Wilson.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Packers, Falcons, Bucs, Eagles

April 30th, 2014 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Packers re-signed Sam Shields earlier in the offseason, ensuring that the 26-year-old remains under contract with the team through the 2017 season and that cornerback won’t be an immediate area of need. Still, as Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, GM Ted Thompson has demonstrated repeatedly that he places significant value on the position, so despite the presence of Shields and Tramon Williams, the Packers still may be eyeing cornerbacks in next week’s draft.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • It was a given that the Falcons would pick up Julio Jones‘ fifth-year option, as they did yesterday, but the next step for the club will be locking up the receiver to a longer-term contract, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Head coach Mike Smith recently said he expects Jones to be a Falcon for “a long, long time.”
  • Based on comments by head coach Lovie Smith, it doesn’t sound like the Buccaneers will be drafting a quarterback with the No. 7 pick, writes Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. A report last week suggested Johnny Manziel was on the short list of players Tampa Bay is “heavily considering” with that pick.
  • Appearing on SportsRadio 94-WIP in Philadelphia, Eagles GM Howie Roseman confirmed that he expects his club to land at least one wide receiver in next week’s draft (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
  • The Eagles recently met with Eastern Washington edge rusher Anthony Larry, BYU safety Daniel Sorensen, and UMass tight end Rob Blanchflower, says Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Pats, Bills, Dolphins

March 31st, 2014 at 4:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at a handful of rumblings from the AFC East…

  • Receiver Jacoby Ford and offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger both visited the Jets today, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News confirmed the news on Twitter.
  • The Patriots worked out Eastern Washington defensive end Anthony Larry, tweets Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net. As Pauline points out, Larry’s ability to play linebacker and rush the passer is similar to current Patriot Rob Ninkovich, who recently turned 30-years-old.
  • The Patriots are still in need of a defensive end and a defensive tackle, opines Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. Considering the team’s depth, the Patriots can think in the long-term, which Reiss believes is the “ideal scenario.”
  • With rumors swirling regarding DeSean Jackson‘s eventual destination, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com evaluates whether a deal would work out for the Bills. Rodak focuses on positives (like the similarities between Chip Kelly‘s system in Philadelphia and Bills offensive coordinator Nate Hackett‘s system in Buffalo) and the obvious negatives (the potential price tag and behavioral issues).
  • The Dolphins have become a fan of “show me” contracts, and ESPN.com’s James Walker looks at the team’s current batch of players on one-year deals. This includes Louis Delmas, Knowshon Moreno and Cortland Finnegan.