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Greg Ellingson

Workout Updates: Seahawks, Patriots, Ravens

December 27th, 2016 at 5:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Seahawks, with a below-average rushing attack and Thomas Rawls nursing a shoulder injury, worked out five free agent running backs Tuesday, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Stevan Ridley, Jonas Gray, Dan Herron, LaMichael James and Dominique Williams all auditioned for the club. The most established member of the group is Ridley, who has been available since Atlanta released him Nov. 23. The 27-year-old has just one appearance and three carries to his name this season and has seen his playing time sharply decline since a 1,263-yard campaign with New England in 2012. Gray, also an ex-Pat, has made little impact since averaging 4.6 yards per attempt on 89 carries in 2014, his rookie year. He hasn’t found an employer since the Jaguars waived him Aug. 17.

Along with those rushers, defensive back L.J. McCray visited the Seahawks, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The Seahawks agreed to acquire McCray from the 49ers back in early September, but the deal fell through after he failed his physical. San Francisco then cut McCray, who hasn’t landed anywhere since.

More workouts from Tuesday:

  • The Patriots auditioned linebacker Arthur Brown, according to Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link). Both the Jaguars and Jets have cut Brown this month. He entered the league in 2013 as Baltimore’s second-round pick.
  • Cornerbacks Tharold Simon and Steve Williams tried out for the Ravens, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Simon made nine appearances earlier this season with the Cardinals, who cut him last week. He’s better known for his 11-appearance, five-start tenure with Seattle from 2014-15. Williams, meanwhile, moved on and off the Rams’ roster multiple times this year. He has totaled six appearances this season (five with San Diego) after playing in 14 games with the Chargers and intercepting two passes last year.
  • The Falcons worked out three tight ends – Orson Charles, Darion Griswold and Joel Ruiz – and defensive end Martin Ifedi, reports Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com (Twitter link). Griswold and Ifedi ended up signing with their practice squad.
  • The Dolphins also took a look at the aforementioned Tharold Simon, who joined fellow corner Demetrius McCray and two tight ends – Gabe Hughes and Chris Pantale – tweets Caplan.
  • Tight end Rob Housler showcased himself to the Colts, relays Caplan (Twitter link). The five-year veteran has 109 catches, nearly all of which (105) came with Arizona from 2011-14.
  • The Eagles auditioned wide receiver Greg Ellingson, cornerback Tay Glover-Wright and Canadian Football League punter Richie Leone, according to Caplan (Twitter links).
  • Defensive ends Rufus Johnson and Rakim Cox worked out for the Lions (Twitter links via Caplan and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
  • Linebackers Deon Lacey and Glenn Love tried out for the Cardinals, per Balzer (Twitter link).

Workout Notes: Eagles, Seahawks, Bears

December 13th, 2016 at 10:28am CST by Zachary Links

Tuesday is typically the big day for player auditions, but plenty of workouts went down on Monday as well. Here’s the rundown, with all links going to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan on Twitter, unless noted otherwise:

  • The Chiefs worked out a number of notable veteran linebackers on Monday.
  • Guard Dallas Thomas worked out for the Eagles (link). Thomas, a third-round pick by Miami in 2013, started 26 games during his four-year career with Miami. He was cut earlier this year and has been unable to find work despite auditions with Detroit, Tennessee, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
  • The Seahawks worked out linebackers Ron Thompson and Junior Sylvestre (link). Sylvestre was in camp with the Colts the past two years and was on IR last year.
  • The Raiders worked out quarterback Keith Wenning, wide receiver Rodney Smith, and linebacker Beniquez Brown (link).
  • The Bears worked out fullback Malcolm Johnson (link). He was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2015 draft by Cleveland.
  • The Bears also auditioned six other players, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Of those six, five of them were wide receivers and five of them played this past season in the CFL. The group was headlined by Derel Walker, the CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2015 and a two-time All-Star. The 25-year-old finished second in the CFL this season with 1,589 yards. The group also included CFL standout wide receivers like Greg Ellingson, Kenny Shaw, and Diontae Spencer. Guard Derek Dennis, who spent this past season with the Calgary Stampeders, showed his stuff, as well as indoor league receiver Orlandus Harris. As Biggs notes, the Bears haven’t had a lot of success with CFL imports in recent years.