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Gavin Escobar

Texans Work Out 8, Sign Cobi Hamilton

September 15th, 2017 at 4:30pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Fresh off their first win of the season, the Texans worked out a variety of offensive players on Friday, including the previously reported Gary Barnidge, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Fellow tight ends Larry Donnell, Gavin Escobar, David Johnson and MyCole Pruitt joined Barnidge in auditioning, while wide receivers Cobi Hamilton and Jordan, offensive lineman Jah Reid and quarterback Garrett Grayson were also on hand. The Texans saw enough from Hamilton to sign him to their practice squad, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Houston has an obvious need at tight end, with C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin and Stephen Anderson dealing with the aftereffects of concussions. Fiedorowicz is on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss a significant chunk of time, while neither Griffin nor Anderson dressed for the Texans’ 13-9 win over the Bengals on Thursday. As you’d expect, the tight end position was a non-factor for Houston against Cincinnati, as all 15 of quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s completions went to wide receivers and running backs.

Larry Donnell (vertical)

All of the tight ends the Texans looked at Friday come with NFL experience, though only Donnell and Escobar have extensive pro track records. Donnell had a 63-catch, six-touchdown season with the Giants in 2014, but his production has gone downhill since, thanks in part to injuries, and he hasn’t stuck anywhere since becoming a free agent in the offseason. The 28-year-old’s only employment since last season ended came in the form of a short stint in Baltimore, which signed him July 30 and released him Sept. 1.

Escobar, meanwhile, was a high pick in 2013, when Dallas took him in the second round, but he didn’t make much of a mark there behind all-time great Jason Witten. The 26-year-old, who caught 30 passes and eight TDs during his four-year Cowboys run, signed with the Chiefs as a free agent in March but didn’t crack their Week 1 roster.

Reid was a teammate of Escobar’s for a brief period in Kansas City, which released the tackle/guard on the final day of August. A veteran of 61 appearances and 18 starts, he’d provide depth along a Houston line that’s without its left tackle, holdout Duane Brown, and has already yielded 13 sacks in two weeks.

The other fairly notable player on this list is the Texans’ newest addition, Hamilton, who had been looking for work since the Steelers cut him Sept. 1. The Texans are already the sixth organization for the 26-year-old Hamilton, who’s coming off a career season (albeit a modest one) in Pittsburgh. Hamilton started in eight of 11 appearances and caught 17 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He added another four receptions and a TD in three playoff games last January.

As is the case at tight end, Houston’s receivers aren’t the picture of health. Both Bruce Ellington and Will Fuller missed Thursday’s game with injuries (the latter will be out until the fall), leaving the Texans wanting at wideout. Believe it or not, DeAndre Hopkins and Braxton Miller are their only receivers who have caught passes this season. Hamilton could be a factor sometime this year, then.

Jets Audition TE Gavin Escobar, OL Jah Reid

September 5th, 2017 at 6:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets worked out tight end Gavin Escobar, running back Juwan Thompson, and offensive lineman Jah Reid, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link) and Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link).Gavin Escobar (vertical)

[RELATED: Jets Sign WR Jeremy Kerley]

New York has been focusing extensively on tight ends in the past few days, as the club first claimed former Giant Will Tye off waivers before working out free agent Tim Wright, formerly of the Lions. 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 on Saturday.

Like Escobar, Thompson was cut over the weekend, as the Broncos handed him his walking papers after three seasons. The 25-year-old Thompson has never been much of an offensive contributor, and he rushed the ball a career-low eight times in 2016. The Jets have a pair of veterans leading their running back depth chart in Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, while rookie Elijah McGuire brings up the rear.

Reid, 29, is perhaps the best fit for the Jets’ current roster, as Gang Green is fielding one of the league’s worst offensive lines. Released by the Chiefs at the tail end of August, Reid has experience at both tackle and guard and 61 career appearances (18 starts) under his belt.

Chiefs Cut Players To Reach 53-Man Limit

September 2nd, 2017 at 4:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs are all legal eagle. Here’s how they got down to a 53-man roster:

Released:

PUP List:

Reserve/Injured:

Chiefs Release TE Gavin Escobar

September 2nd, 2017 at 8:30am CST by Ben Levine

Gavin Escobar signed with the Chiefs earlier this offseason, but it sounds like he’s not going to make it to the regular season. ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that the team has released the tight end.

Gavin Escobar (vertical)With Travis Kelce recovering from an injury and Demetrius Harris dealing with legal issues, the Chiefs brought in Escobar as a depth piece. With the 26-year-old being released, we can assume that former undrafted free agent Ross Travis earned a spot as the team’s third tight end.

Escobar, a 2013 second-round pick, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cowboys, starting seven games. His first two campaigns saw him compiling at least 100 receiving yards a year, but he saw a reduced role in 2015 and 2016. Over the past two seasons, Escobar has combined for only 12 receptions, 94 yards, and two touchdowns. The 26-year-old has also proven to be a capable special teamer, compiling eight tackles over his career.

Contract Details: Keenum, Gilberry, Escobar

April 7th, 2017 at 6:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest contract details, most of which come via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle:

  • Quarterback Case Keenum‘s one-year, $2MM pact with the Vikings features $750K in guarantees. There’s also a $250K signing bonus, $250K in incentives and $46,875 in per game active roster bonuses (Twitter link).
  • Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry‘s accord is worth $1.4MM, including a $300K signing bonus and a $100K workout bonus. He could make another $500K via sack incentives and $6,250 in per game active roster bonuses (Twitter link).
  • Running back Tim Hightower‘s one-year deal with the 49ers is worth $1.107MM, including $300K guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. He can earn an extra $400K in incentives for rushing yards.
  • Tight end Gavin Escobar‘s one-year Chiefs contract is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $855K, including $95K fully guaranteed. It also comes with an $80K signing bonus (Twitter link).
  • Lions linebacker Nick Bellore also inked a minimum salary benefit contract. Like Escobar, Bellore’s contract includes an $80K signing bonus (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Chiefs To Sign Gavin Escobar

March 31st, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Chiefs have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent tight end Gavin Escobar, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).

Gavin Escobar (vertical)

Escobar, who visited the Chiefs on Friday, will now join his second team since going in the second round of the 2013 draft. The 25-year-old spent the first four seasons of his career in Dallas, where he never developed into a serious receiving threat behind all-time great tight end Jason Witten.

Escobar averaged just 12 targets per year as a member of the Cowboys, with whom he totaled 30 catches and eight touchdowns in 62 regular-season games. Escobar hauled in a career-low four passes last year, and it’s worth mentioning that Pro Football Focus wasn’t enamored of his work as a blocker, either.

In Kansas City, Escobar will once again serve as depth behind a top-tier tight end, Travis Kelce. He’ll be the fifth TE in the organization, joining fellow reserves Demetrius Harris, James O’Shaughnessy, and Ross Travis.

Chiefs Host Gavin Escobar On Visit

March 31st, 2017 at 9:25am CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys free agent tight end Gavin Escobar is visiting the Chiefs today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). We have Escobar ranked as the fourth-best TE still available in free agency. Gavin Escobar (vertical)

[RELATED: Chiefs Host Rey Maualuga On Visit]

The Cowboys took Escobar in the second round of the 2013 draft with the hope that he would become a major receiving threat. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition. The San Diego State product had just 30 catches over four years with the Cowboys and they didn’t make much of an attempt to re-sign him this offseason. His best year came in 2014 when he had four touchdowns, but that came off of just nine catches.

The Chiefs currently have four tight ends under contract: Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, James O’Shaughnessy, and Ross Travis. Whether he signs with KC or another club, he’ll likely have to settle for a non-guaranteed deal.

Top 2017 Free Agents By Position 3.0: Offense

March 17th, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The initial wave of NFL free agency is now complete, and while many of the league’s top available players are now off the board, there are still plenty of quality options still on the open market.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each offensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by offensive position for 2017:

Quarterback:

  1. Jay Cutler
  2. Chase Daniel
  3. Ryan Fitzpatrick
  4. Colin Kaepernick
  5. Josh McCown
  6. Robert Griffin III
  7. Case Keenum
  8. Matt McGloin
  9. Mark Sanchez
  10. Christian Ponder
  11. Blaine Gabbert
  12. Ryan Nassib
  13. Shaun Hill
  14. Kellen Moore
  15. Austin Davis

Tony Romo is not a free agent…at least not yet. If the Cowboys do not find a suitable trade and release him, you’ll find him at the top of this list.

Laugh if you must, but Cutler is far and away the best quarterback available on the open market. While most of this year’s QB-needy teams are done with their free agent shopping, the Jets are still searching for their 2017 starter and no one would make more sense for them than Cutler. He’s not all that far removed from playing solid football and he’s a logical transitional option for the Jets until they can isolate a better, younger option for 2018. Jay Cutler (Vertical)

Kaepernick’s reps wisely told the press that he will be standing for the National Anthem this year. Still, Kaepernick is an outspoken guy who wants to use his platform to discuss hot button issues, so there’s no guarantee that the media circus around him will cease. Jets owner Woody Johnson loves seeing his team on the back pages of the New York tabloids, but even he has to have more sense than to entertain Kaepernick. McCown, who has been contact with the team, would be an okay choice if they can’t get something done with Cutler. Chase Daniel could be an option too, but there isn’t much game film on him.

Needless to say, the No. 3 ranked player on this list isn’t an option in New York.

Running back:

  1. Adrian Peterson
  2. LeGarrette Blount
  3. Jamaal Charles
  4. Rashad Jennings
  5. Tim Hightower
  6. DeAngelo Williams
  7. Chris Johnson
  8. Christine Michael
  9. Benny Cunningham
  10. Bobby Rainey
  11. Brandon Bolden
  12. Denard Robinson
  13. James Starks
  14. Matt Asiata
  15. Kenjon Barner

Honorable mention: DuJuan Harris, Antonio Andrews, Khiry Robinson

Adrian Peterson (vertical)The Vikings have moved on and Peterson will not be back in Minnesota. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess. When Peterson’s option was declined by the Vikings earlier this month, there were tons of stories (likely sourced by Peterson’s camp) about interest from a litany of contenders. Since then, each team – through anonymous sources – has denied being in the mix for the veteran. It would be easy to doubt Peterson at this juncture, but he has come back from serious injuries multiple times in his career and he is only one year removed from his stellar 2015 campaign. He gets the top spot over the bruising Blount as well as Charles, who hasn’t been healthy in a long while.

Jennings was brought to New York with the idea that he would be the team’s workhorse. Unfortunately, two of his three seasons with the G-Men were marred by injury. Jennings is currently putting his agility to good use on Dancing With The Stars and it remains to be seen how committed he is to football. After that, we have a trio of vets (Hightower, Williams, CJ2K) who could still advance the ball in limited spurts.

In case you’re wondering – Mike Gillislee is not listed here because he is a restricted free agent.

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Cowboys Place TE Gavin Escobar On IR

December 25th, 2015 at 3:20pm CST by Rory Parks

FRIDAY, 3:20pm: The Cowboys have formally placed Escobar on IR, adding defensive tackle Casey Walker to their 53-man roster in a corresponding move, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

TUESDAY, 8:03am: Per Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Garrett confirmed on Monday that Escobar will land on IR along with Tony Romo this week, so the Cowboys will open up two spots on their 53-man roster when the moves become official.

SUNDAY, 8:17am: Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar suffered a torn Achilles in last night’s loss to the Jets and has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, according to head coach Jason Garrett (Twitter link via Charean Williams of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Escobar, of course, has not become the receiving threat at tight end the Cowboys expected him to be when they selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft. He has caught just 26 passes for 303 yards and seven scores during his time with the club, and although the presence of Jason Witten has certainly played a role in Escobar’s lack of productivity, it is clear that Escobar has not developed as hoped.

The San Diego State product is under contract through the end of next season and is eligible to hit free agency in 2017, but at this point, it is fair to wonder whether he has played his last game in a Cowboys uniform.

East Notes: Jets, Cowboys

August 16th, 2015 at 9:04pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A look at the latest goings-on concerning a couple teams from the NFL’s two East-based divisions:

  • Jets head coach Todd Bowles had a talk with Geno Smith after the New York Post photographed the injured quarterback playing catch with a friend outside his apartment Saturday. “He shouldn’t be doing it right now,” Bowles said Sunday, according to the Associated Press. “We handled that internally. We had that discussion.” Smith had surgery Thursday on his broken jaw, which came from a punch by then-teammate IK Enemkpali on Tuesday. He’s expected to miss 6-10 weeks.
  • In better Jets news, rookie wide receiver Devin Smith is “very confident” he’ll be ready for Week 1, Newsday’s Kimberley A. Martin tweeted Sunday. Smith, a second-round pick from Ohio State, suffered broken ribs and punctured lungs early in training camp.
  • Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar has just 18 receptions since the team used a second-round pick on him in 2013, but head coach Jason Garrett spoke glowingly about the 24-year-old on Sunday. “He’s the right kind of guy, he works really hard at getting better every day and we’ve seen that progress,” Garrett said, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “When he gets an opportunity, he’ll be ready for it.”  Garrett went on to point to future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten’s presence as a reason for Escobar’s lack of productivity thus far.
  • The Cowboys worked out free agent receiver LaQuan Williams on Sunday, reports Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Williams, who has four career catches, was previously with Baltimore.
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