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Germain Ifedi

Pauline’s Latest: OTs, Steelers, Packers, Bucs

April 28th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

League insiders believe that as many as six offensive tackles could be selected in the first round of tonight’s draft, according to Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com. Laremy Tunsil, Ronnie Stanley, Jack Conklin, and Taylor Decker are the obvious names, but Jason Spriggs, Le’Raven Clark, and Germain Ifedi are also candidates to go off the board tonight. The clubs that have put the most research into offensive tackles, per Pauline? The Colts, Packers, Seahawks, Broncos, Panthers, and Steelers.

Let’s check out the latest draft rumors, all courtesy of Pauline:

  • Among the teams hoping to trade down tonight are the Falcons, Colts, Vikings, and Jets, according to Pauline. On the other side of the coin, the Cardinals, Panthers, and Broncos may like to trade up. Denver, presumably, would be targeting a quarterback in a trade-up scenario.
  • The Steelers will consider a cornerback at pick No. 25, but they’ll also look at offensive tackles, writes Pauline. Pittsburgh returns Alejandro Villanueva at tackle, and signed Ryan Harris this offseason, but an upgrade wouldn’t be out of the question.
  • The Packers might also like to find a new left tackle, says Pauline, as Green Bay would like to transition incumbent David Bakhtiari to left guard.
  • If pass rusher Noah Spence is still available at the end of the first round, a club might trade back up in order to draft him, per Pauline. The Buccaneers are one team to watch in such a situation.

Schrager’s Latest: Chargers, Buckner, Lynch

April 28th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest from Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (all links to go Twitter):

Reactions to D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s Retirement

April 9th, 2016 at 9:49am CST by Ben Levine

Following D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s surprising retirement announcement yesterday, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes that the former fourth-overall pick deserves to be applauded for his contribution to the Jets. The 32-year-old never missed a game during his ten-year career, and the writer believes he’ll eventually be honored in the organization’s Ring of Honor.

As we previously learned, the Jets asked Ferguson to take a sizable pay cut for the next season, but Cimini doesn’t believe Ferguson’s decision can entirely be attributed to money. The offensive tackle showed signs of decline last season, and instead of being “the guy who hangs on,” Ferguson simply decided to hang it up.

Let’s check out some more notes regarding Ferguson’s surprise retirement…

  • Despite the announcement, the retirement isn’t yet official. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets that the two sides were still working to finalize the paperwork.
  • There have been rumblings that the Jets were among four teams to inquire on the Titans‘ first-overall pick in this year’s draft, but Cimini believes it’d take too much for the team to move up from the 20th pick. The writer opines that a deal involving this year’s first, two future picks, and Muhammad Wilkerson could get it done, but he’s uncertain whether he’d want to “mortgage the future” for Laremy Tunsil.
  • Cimini focused on several offensive line prospects the Jets could pursue in this year’s draft, including Ohio State’s Taylor Decker, Texas A&M’s Germain Ifedi, and Indiana’s Jason Spriggs.
  • In regards to veterans, Cimini points to Broncos lineman Ryan Clady, who is reportedly on the trade block. Potential free agent targets include Will Beatty and Jake Long.

D’Brickashaw Ferguson To Retire

April 8th, 2016 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Jets reportedly asked D’Brickashaw Ferguson recently to take a pay cut, and while Ferguson has made a decision that will allow Gang Green to create plenty of cap room, it likely wasn’t the decision Jets fans had anticipated.D'Brickashaw Ferguson

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Ferguson has decided to retire after 10 NFL seasons. Cimini suggests that the veteran left tackle is “completely healthy,” and he doesn’t believe the Jets’ pay-cut request was an overriding factor in the 32-year-old’s decision. According to Cimini, Ferguson simply believed he could no longer play up to his usual standard.

The fourth overall pick in 2006, Ferguson didn’t miss a game in 10 years with the Jets, starting each of the 160 regular-season games he was eligible to play. During that stretch, he earned three Pro Bowl nods — those came in consecutive seasons, from 2009 to 2011.

Ferguson had been slated to count for $14.107MM against the Jets’ cap in 2016, which was somewhat problematic. New York is still trying to figure out what to do with Muhammad Wilkerson‘s $15.7MM cap hit, and the team also wants to bring back quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Ferguson’s decision to retire will create $9MM+ in cap savings, reducing his charge to just $5.014MM, which will give the Jets some additional flexibility.

Of course, while Ferguson’s retirement is a boon for the Jets’ cap, it creates some problems on the offensive line, where the team will have to find a solution at left tackle for 2016. There are some internal candidates and potential veteran solutions – Will Beatty is a free agent and Ryan Clady of the Broncos may be available – but the tackle position now figures to become a greater priority for New York in the draft. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle noted this morning (via Twitter) that the club has interest in Texas A&M tackle Germain Ifedi.

Although Ferguson’s decision to call it a career will affect the Jets’ plan for the rest of the offseason, it didn’t catch the club entirely off guard. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links), the veteran lineman had been mulling retirement for a while, and has kept the Jets in the loop throughout the process, so the team wasn’t blindsided by today’s news.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Draft Updates: Eagles, Hackenberg, Ifedi

April 7th, 2016 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

A report last Thursday indicated that Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg had a workout lined up with the Eagles this week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that it will happen tomorrow.

As Rapoport notes, Philadelphia is taking a look at all of the top QB prospects in this year’s draft class, so the club will be an interesting one to keep an eye on in three weeks. While some observers are convinced that new head coach Doug Pederson and the Eagles will take a signal-caller early, others believe it’s just a smoke-screen.

As we wait to see exactly what Pederson, Howie Roseman, and Co. have up their sleeves, let’s check in on some other draft updates from around the NFC….

  • We heard on Wednesday that Texas A&M tackle Germain Ifedi has a busy schedule of pre-draft visits and workouts. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds a couple more teams to the list of potential suitors for Ifedi, tweeting that the Vikings are hosting him for a visit and Seahawks assistant Tom Cable is working him out.
  • Ohio State safety Vonn Bell has a visit with the Rams on tap for early next week, per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link).
  • Jihad Ward of Illinois has 12 pre-draft visits lined up with teams, and is meeting with the Cardinals, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Ward transitioned from receiver/safety to the defensive line during his time as a JUCO player. In his first year with Illinois (his junior season), he recorded 51 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and four fumble recoveries.
  • Wisconsin safety Michael Caputo visited Washington today, Aaron Wilson tweets.
  • The Seahawks are slated to work out BYU flex tight end Terenn Houk, tweets Aaron Wilson.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Thomas, Mathieu, Browner, Draft

April 6th, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Broncos continue to reside up against the salary cap, ESPN.com’s Field Yates points out Demaryius Thomas‘ contract can help the Super Bowl champions clear $9.18MM worth of space.

A clause in the seventh-year wide receiver’s five-year, $70MM deal indicates the Broncos can convert any amount of Thomas’ $13MM 2016 salary into a signing bonus, which would then be spread out over the final four seasons of the pact, Yates reports. The Broncos reducing that salary to the veteran minimum of $760K would free up $9.18MM of cap space this year. The team currently resides in cap peril, with barely $1MM in space before signing Jared Crick on Wednesday, as it attempts to work out a Colin Kaepernick trade.

A Thomas restructure would make sense for the Broncos, who have many high-priced contracts on a cap sheet — although, Ryan Clady and Von Miller‘s respective $10.1 and $14.1MM numbers could well be reduced soon, or removed in Clady’s case — that doesn’t include a high-priced quarterback. Denver currently wants Kaepernick at $7MM for 2016 and ’17, but in 2017, the Broncos are as of now set to have $72.36MM of space — second-most in the league.

They’d have more room for a higher Thomas cap number with contracts like Clady’s and DeMarcus Ware‘s off their balance sheet after the 2016 league year. The Dolphins put a similar clause in Ndamukong Suh‘s deal last year.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

  • Rehabbing from the torn ACL he sustained in Week 15, Tyrann Mathieu said he would prefer to stay with the Cardinals long-term but acknowledges the negotiation could be tricky, with the versatile defensive back wanting a top-end contract but at a time when he’s coming off a second knee surgery, Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com writes in an expansive piece. “They have concerns, which is understandable,” Mathieu told Prisco. “I’ve had two knee surgeries. At the same time, they know who I am as a teammate, as a football player, what I mean to the community and what I can do on the football field. The easiest thing is to pay me as a safety. But if [Patrick Peterson‘s] guy goes down, I have to check Pat’s guy. For me, it’s about me being compensated for everything I do.” In late February, we heard the contract-year safety and the Cardinals were discussing an extension, but nothing has emerged from those talks as of yet.
  • Vernon Davis can earn up to $4.5MM in 2016 if he meets all the incentives of his Washington contract, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports. Davis’ deal is officially a one-year, $1.66MM pact, but the 12th-year tight end meeting those as-of-now unspecified performance incentives could more than double that.
  • Brandon Browner posted on his Instagram account (via Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com) that he played through a torn MCL last season with the Saints. The recently released cornerback said he tore the ligament in the Saints’ first preseason game. This would help explain a steep decline that resulted in Pro Football Focus bestowing by far its worst full-time cornerback grade on Browner in 2015.
  • Paxton Lynch has a Cowboys visit lined up for Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, and will trek to San Diego for a Chargers meeting soon after. The 49ers also sent multiple representatives to observe the Memphis prospect at his pro day Wednesday, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
  • The Bills received good value on a nontraditional quarterback accord last season and still employ Tyrod Taylor but are taking a wide-ranging glance of this year’s quarterback crop. Bills reps ate dinner with Lynch and plan to visit with Connor Cook, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The team also already met with Christian Hackenberg, per Albert Breer of NFL.com, and has done plenty of research on Jared Goff.
  • Lynch had multiple work-related meals Wednesday, with the Saints meeting with the first-round prospect over lunch, Rapoport tweets. Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld will also visit the Saints soon.
  • The Cowboys met with Carson Wentz on Wednesday, according to the team’s website. The North Dakota State prospect also worked extensively with Cowboys coaches at the Senior Bowl.
  • Germain Ifedi has a busy schedule upcoming after performing for teams at Texas A&M’s pro day Wednesday. The Aggies’ latest tackle prospect has a slew of visits and workouts booked, WalterFootball.com’s Tony Pauline reports. Ifedi’s visit itinerary features summits with the Lions, Panthers, Bears and Texans after having already met with the Titans and Dolphins. The Cardinals, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Panthers, Texans and Falcons have scheduled workouts with Ifedi.
  • Veteran quarterback Seth Lobato is working out for the Panthers, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Zach Links contributed to this report

Texans, Jonathan Grimes Agree To Deal

March 19th, 2016 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 9:40am: Grimes’ one-year deal with the Texans is worth $900K, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

FRIDAY, 10:42am: The Texans are bringing back running back Jonathan Grimes, according to agent Sunny Shah, who tweets that his client has agreed to a one-year contract to return to Houston. The deal will allow Grimes to return to the free agent market a year from now.Jonathan Grimes

Grimes, 26, wasn’t the primary option in Houston in 2015, even with Arian Foster out for the majority of the season, but he did earn a slightly increased role. In 14 games, he set new career highs in rushing attempts (56), rushing yards (282), receptions (26), receiving yards (173), and total touchdowns (two). Despite not receiving a ton of touches, the William & Mary product averaged 5.0 yards per carry and has a fan in head coach Bill O’Brien, as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

Foster is no longer in the picture heading into the 2016 season, but the Texans’ backfield should still be fairly crowded. The team signed Lamar Miller to a four-year deal, and the financial terms on that contract suggest he’ll be in line for a majority of the carries. In addition to Grimes, Alfred Blue – who had 183 carries in 2015 – will also return, and so will young speedster Akeem Hunt.

Having reached an agreement with Grimes, the Texans are also looking ahead to the draft today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who writes that the team worked out Texas A&M offensive linemen Germain Ifedi and Mike Matthews. Ifedi projects as a possible first-round pick, while Matthews is a potential late-round selection.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.