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Gavin Escobar

Browns Work Out Roberto Aguayo

December 19th, 2017 at 1:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns are kicking the tires on some notable names as the season winds down. Kicker Roberto Aguayo and tight end Gavin Escobar were among the players to audition for Cleveland on Monday, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Roberto Aguayo (Vertical)

Last year, the Bucs traded up to select Aguayo in the second-round. It was a perplexing move at the time and it backfired even quicker than anyone could have imagined. Prior to this season, the Buccaneers waived the kicker.

“You never feel good when you shatter someone’s dream,” GM Jason Licht said at the time. “That is always tough, especially someone you had such high hopes for. You don’t have good feelings about that. It is a little bit of a sense of, I don’t want to say relief, but we’ve ripped off the band-aid, and we move on. We’re moving forward.”

Luckily for the Bucs, the Bears claimed Aguayo and took on the remainder of his contract. He never saw live action in Chicago, however, and the Bears quickly waived him. This time around, there were no takers for his $400K+ salary guarantee. He went on to have a stint on the Panthers’ practice squad, but that too was short lived.

Escobar, also a former second-round draft pick, never blossomed into the downfield threat the Cowboys hoped he’d be. The tight end worked out for roughly one-third of the league’s teams this year and had a cup of coffee with Baltimore before being put back on to the free agent pile. He appeared in two games for the Ravens, but did not record a reception.

In Escobar’s four seasons with Dallas, he started just seven games. His had at least 100 receiving yards in his first two seasons, but combined for just 12 receptions, 94 yards, and two touchdowns in 2015 and 2016.

Quarterback Stephen Morris, punter Jeff Locke, and four other players also worked out for the Browns.

NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/17

December 4th, 2017 at 10:06pm CST by GregGoldstein

Here’s today’s workout news from around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

 

 

Ravens Activate RB Danny Woodhead

November 18th, 2017 at 11:20am CST by Ben Levine

The NFL’s worst passing offense is about to get a much-needed boost. The Ravens announced (via Twitter) that they have activated running back Danny Woodhead from the injured reserve. The veteran will be eligible to play tomorrow against the Packers. To make room on the roster, the team waived tight end Gavin Escobar.

Danny Woodhead (vertical)After signing a three-year deal with the organization during the offseason, Woodhead was placed on the injured reserve in September after he struggled to recover from a hamstring injury. While running back Alex Collins and his 5.6-yards-per-carry have looked solid, the team is in dire need of some receiving help. The Ravens currently rank dead last in passing yards and 27th in passing touchdowns, leading to an underwhelming 4-5 record. The 32-year-old Woodhead should certainly help in that regard, as he’ll provide quarterback Joe Flacco with another dependable target.

While the veteran missed the majority of the 2014 and 2016 seasons, he showcased his talents in 2013 and 2015. During those two campaigns, Woodhead averaged 78 receptions for 680 yards and six touchdowns. It may take the running back several weeks to get back in the swing of things, but he’ll presumably replace Javorius Allen as the Ravens’ main pass-catching back. The 26-year-old has been solid this season, hauling in 39 receptions for 189 yards.

Escobar, a 2013 second-round pick, joined the Ravens in October after having spent his entire four-year career with Dallas (plus a brief stint with the Chiefs). The 26-year-old went on to play in a pair of games for Baltimore, although he didn’t compile a single stat. In 64 career games, Escobar has 30 receptions for 333 yards and eight touchdowns.

Ravens Sign TE Gavin Escobar

October 23rd, 2017 at 10:55am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens have signed tight end Gavin Escobar and released offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom, the club announced today.Gavin Escobar (vertical)

Escobar, 26, never lived up his to second-round draft status, as he managed only 30 receptions and 333 yards over four seasons with the Cowboys. He inked a minimum salary benefit contract with the Chiefs in March, but was part of the club’s final cutdowns in September. Since then, Escobar has been on the workout circuit, and while he’s auditioned for a number of clubs, he hadn’t found a deal until now.

Baltimore currently has four tight ends on its roster, with Ben Watson, Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams, and Vince Mayle serving as the club’s depth at the position. Watson and Boyle have done most of receiving work for the Ravens this year, while Williams was inactive for Sunday’s contest with an ankle injury. Williams’ health questions could have conceivably led Baltimore to inking Escobar.

Bergstrom, meanwhile, was sent to Baltimore in a preseason trade but has since bounced on-and-off the Ravens’ roster. He’s appeared in four games this season but played just 32 total snaps.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/20/17

October 20th, 2017 at 4:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Bengals Work Out Four Tight Ends

October 16th, 2017 at 6:20pm CST by GregGoldstein

With Tyler Eifert out for the season after opting to undergo back surgery last week, the Bengals got an up close look at a number of free agent tight ends today.Larry Donnell (vertical) Cincinnati worked out veterans Larry Donnell, Jace Amaro, Gavin Escobar and John Phillips, tweets Adam Caplan of Sirius XM.

None of these options are particularly intriguing given the overall lack of production across the board, but it does show a pointed attempt to address a position that’s very much in flux with Eifert gone for the rest of the season.

Up to this point, the team has mostly relied on Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah to take snaps in Eifert’s place. Kroft, 25, has been the more offensively productive of the two, having caught 14 balls for 139 yards and two scores, which both came in the team’s first victory of the year two weeks ago against the Browns.

The Bengals had a bye in Week 6, but will look to build on their current two-game winning streak when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the AFC North division leading Steelers this coming Sunday.

NFC North Notes: Pack, Adams, Bears, Lions

October 3rd, 2017 at 9:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Even after absorbing a violent hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan last week, Packers wide receiver Davante Adams may be in line to play in Week 5, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Adams was taken to the hospital following the hit — which resulted in a two-game suspension for Trevathan — and thankfully escaped with only a concussion. If available, the 24-year-old Adams would be a boon to Green Bay’s offense against the Cowboys on Sunday, as he’s recorded 16 receptions, 219 yards, and two scores thus far in 2017.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

  • The Bears‘ decision to start rookie Mitch Trubisky over Mike Glennon speaks to the No. 2 overall selection’s development this year, opines Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. Trubisky, who started only 13 collegiate games before entering the NFL draft, was so raw that had to be taught how to take snaps under center in the spring, per Breer. But Trubisky has displayed so much improvement in the months since that Chicago formulated a plan to have the North Carolina product take starter’s practice reps in the fall. Of course, Glennon’s sub-par performance also made the Bears’ call a simple one, as the former Buccaneers ranks near the bottom of the league in nearly every quarterback metric.
  • The Lions took a look at tight ends Jace Amaro, Gavin Escobar, Cory Harkey, and David Johnson and linebackers Akeem Ayers, Andrew Gachkar, and Spencer Paysinger, today, reports veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Detroit’s linebacker auditions are particularly notable, as the club just lost base package starter Paul Worrilow to an MCL strain. All three of Ayers, Gachkar, and Paysinger appeared in at least 15 games a season ago, but were mostly relegated to special teams duty.
  • Offensive tackles Andrew Wylie, Stephen Evans, and Storm Norton, plus running back Joel Bouagnon, worked out for the Packers on Tuesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wylie went undrafted out of Eastern Michigan earlier this year, but signed with the Colts shortly thereafter. He took a spot on Indy’s practice squad until being waived in September. Bouagnon, too, is a rookie UDFA (Northern Illinois) who spent eight weeks with the Bears this summer.
  • The Bears auditioned safety Jordan Moore yesterday, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Moore, a rookie undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas at San Antonio, signed with the Falcons earlier this year but has been on the workout circuit since August.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/3/17

October 3rd, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

  • P Brock Miller (link)

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 9/22/17

September 22nd, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Friday’s workout updates (Twitter links via Howard Balzer):

Cleveland Browns

  • LB Austin Calitro

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

Panthers Not Interested In TE Gary Barnidge

September 19th, 2017 at 5:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although they’ll be without tight end Greg Olsen for at least eight weeks, the Panthers are not interested in free agent Gary Barnidge, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).Gary Barnidge (vertical)

Barnidge is no stranger to Carolina, as he spent the first four seasons of his career as a backup tight end with the Panthers. Set to turn 32 years old this week, Barnidge had been linked to Carolina earlier this offseason after being released by the Browns, but it’s not clear if any meeting was ever actually arranged.

Other clubs — including the Jaguars, Bills, and Broncos — have also been tied to Barnidge this year, but he has yet to land a contract. The Texans, who recently lost three tight ends to concussions, worked out Barnidge a week ago but didn’t offer him a deal. Bardnidge’s lack of a pact is a surprise given that he averaged 67 receptions, 828 yards, and six touchdowns over the past two seasons and graded as the league’s No. 1 pass-blocking tight end in 2016, per Pro Football Focus.

Without Olsen in tow, the Panthers will turn to veteran Ed Dickson — who’s angling to be used in an Olsen-esque manner — as their starting tight end. Chris Manhertz is the only other tight end on the roster, but Carolina promoted fullback Alex Armah (who played some tight end in college) to the active roster today.

Instead of Barnidge, the Panthers auditioned fellow tight ends Jace Amaro, Gavin Escobar, and Kellen Davis today, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. Amaro and Escobar are both failed former second-round picks, while Davis isn’t much of a receiver — he’s managed only three receptions over the past three seasons. Still, with Dickson set to take over the starting tight end role, Carolina is likely looking for an addition who excels at blocking.

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