HEADLINES

James Hurst

Extra Points: Pats, Ravens, Lockett, Dansby

April 23rd, 2017 at 8:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

If a Malcolm Butler trade is going to occur, it will likely take place this week and come down to whether the Saints are ready to surrender their No. 32 overall pick or submit a proposal of a package involving their second-rounder (No. 42), Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes. Butler signed his $3.91MM RFA tender earlier this week to pave the way for a trade and Saints/Patriots talks continue, but it’s uncertain if the Saints want to unload a high draft pick and pay the 27-year-old Butler like a top-tier cornerback. Reiss gets the feeling the Patriots won’t have an issue with Butler playing on the RFA tender this season, as they would be able to fetch a compensatory pick after the season if/when Butler departs as a UFA in that scenario.

Here’s the latest from New England and the rest of the league as we enter draft week.

  • Aaron Hernandez‘s death closed all cases against him and could open the door to more issues between the NFL and NFLPA regarding the former Patriots tight end’s salary. The league and NFLPA agreed to table any grievance-related discussions until all criminal prosecution of Hernandez concluded, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. That having happened reopens those unresolved issues. Hernandez’s side was demanding $3.25MM in unpaid money from his 2012 signing bonus, and the NFLPA filed a grievance for the former tight end’s 2013 and 2014 guaranteed salaries (in addition to a 2014 guaranteed workout bonus). The NFL and the Patriots’ grievance sought repayment of all money given to Hernandez prior to the 2012 contract extension.
  • While initial reports indicated Ravens offensive lineman James Hurst had signed his restricted free agent tender, that doesn’t appear to be the case, tweets salary cap guru Ian Whetstone. Instead, Hurst looks to have agreed to a reduced one-year contract, similar to Baltimore RFA wide receiver Michael Campanaro. Under the terms of his original-round RFA tender, Hurst would have earned $1.797MM in 2017. But he will now will presumably take in a lesser total. Hurst, 25, started three games for the Ravens last season and played on roughly a quarter of the club’s offensive snaps.
  • Tyler Lockett expects to be ready for training camp, but the rehabbing Seahawks wideout has an uncertain timetable until then, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. Lockett broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg in Week 16 of last year and had surgery on Christmas Eve. Lockett told media, including Condotta, he’s aiming to be ready by camp but is viewing any earlier participation as a bonus.
  • The Cardinals did not view Karlos Dansby as a backup plan despite his age, contacting the 14th-year linebacker in the opening minutes of free agency, Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reports. Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal, the 35-year-old Dansby is expected to take Kevin Minter‘s place alongside Deone Bucannon at inside linebacker. The Cards allowed Minter to walk, and he signed a one-year, $4MM deal with the Bengals.
  • Two personnel men surveyed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bob McGinn regarding the 2017 draft said Ryan Ramczyk would profile as a second-round pick if this were a more traditional year for offensive line prospects. But with the prognosis grim for this year’s class, the Wisconsin blocker likely will vault into the first round. An AFC team’s staffer said this class of linemen was the worst he’s seen in 10 years.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this report.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/19/17

April 19th, 2017 at 4:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:

  • Restricted free agent offensive linemen James Hurst and Ryan Jensen have signed their tenders with the Ravens, as has exclusive rights free agent wide receiver Chris Matthews. The Ravens tendered both Hurst and Jensen at the lowest level last month, meaning they wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had either headed elsewhere by way of an unmatched offer sheet. Hurst, a tackle, is the more experienced of the two, having appeared in all 48 regular-season games and totaled 16 starts during his three-year career. Jensen has also been in the NFL for three years, but the interior blocker only has 19 appearances and nine starts to his name.
  • The Raiders have announced the signing of kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, who was with the team in each of the previous three training camps. The Italy native, undrafted from Cal in 2012, has also spent time with San Francisco, Green Bay and Detroit, but he hasn’t seen any regular-season action yet.
  • The Rams have waived defensive back Kevin Short, who spent time on their practice squad last year and then signed a reserve/futures contract in January. Interestingly, Short came to the pros directly from the JUCO level, having played at Fort Scott Community College (Kansas). He went undrafted in 2015, unsurprisingly, and suited up for the Chiefs’, Seahawks’ and Jets’ practice squads prior to joining LA’s taxi squad.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/7/17

March 7th, 2017 at 7:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:

RFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered:

ERFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered:

AFC Notes: Ravens, Manning, McCown, Colts

September 18th, 2015 at 7:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s look at some of the news coming from AFC teams’ camps as teams begin final preparations for Week 2.

  • Eugene Monroe will miss the Ravens‘ second game after sustaining a concussion in their first, Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com reports. James Hurst will likely start at left tackle. Hurst helped DeMarcus Ware receive a J.J. Watt-esque +10.6 grade from Pro Football Focus in the Ravens’ Week 1 loss to the Broncos. Breshad Perriman will also miss Week 2.
  • John Harbaugh deemed recently signed pass-rusher Jason Babin fit to suit up for the Ravens on Sunday, with the team likely using him in pass-pursuit situations behind Elvis Dumervil and Courtney Upshaw, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports.
  • Josh McCown did not believe he sustained a concussion on his end zone dive against the Jets and drove himself home from the Browns‘ facility after the game, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. Cleveland’s primary starter expected to be cleared for this week but will comply with the concussion protocol, Cabot notes. Mike Pettine seemed to acknowledge McCown endured a setback this week, according to Cabot, noting that such an occurrence resets the recovery clock in the concussion protocol.
  • Gary Kubiak‘s offense continues to be a dud with the Broncos thus far, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reports, with Peyton Manning‘s hot stretch coinciding with the 18-year veteran taking 31-of-37 snaps out of the shotgun following his second-quarter pick-six compared to being under center for seven of the 13 plays prior to Marcus Peters‘ interception, per Football Outsiders. “We’re trying to help him by running the football better and do some things,” Kubiak told media. “But we also know what he’s very comfortable doing, so we’re trying to somehow find a medium between the two and we think that will be good for our team.”
  • Joel Corry of CBSSports.com examines whether a potential Colts dynasty has been squandered due to the failure to form a quality roster around Andrew Luck. Corry’s chart of contenders’ quality players lists the Colts with having nine, a number well below their top-tier brethren; the Broncos have 17, the Patriots 15, the Packers 14 and the Seahawks 13 in this analysis.
  • Jonathan Cyprien (calf) is doubtful for the Jaguars‘ AFC Florida supremacy battle, while Luke Joeckel (ankle) is questionable, according to an Associated Press report.

Extra Points: Mathieu, Strozier, Ravens

May 18th, 2014 at 7:52pm CST by David Kipke

Cardinals GM Steve Keim says that he has not ruled out a Week 1 return for injured defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, according to Brent Sobleski of USA Today. After having an impactful start to his rookie campaign last season, Mathieu tore both his ACL and LCL in his left knee in a Week 14 matchup against the Rams. Lets look at a few other news bits from around the league:

  • In a mailbag post, John Clayton of ESPN wrote that rookie wide receivers were impressive around the league during rookie mini-camps. He noted that Sammy Watkins of the Bills and John Brown of the Cardinals shined particularly brightly.
  • The Ravens gave UDFA Jerry Rice Jr. good feedback following his workout with the team, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Although the UNLV product was not offered a deal, he is on the Ravens’ emergency list should they look further for additional receiving options.
  • The Ravens also are impressed with former North Carolina tackle James Hurst. Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times, points out that Hurst, who plays left tackle, would join the likes of Justin Tucker and Priest Holmes if he were to catch on as a major contributor with the Ravens as an UDFA.
  • Former BYU standout receiver Cody Hoffman is hoping to catch on with the Redskins, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.

Extra Points: Finley, Texans, Hurst, Falcons

May 15th, 2014 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

A Tuesday report on ESPN.com suggested that when the NFL announces its new drug policy, it will include relaxed rules involving the use of marijuana, but a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that’s not necessarily the case. While adjustments to the rules regarding marijuana use were discussed, a change was never formally proposed by other side and isn’t slated to be part of the tentative agreement that hinges on a solution for HGH testing.

Florio concedes that the current proposal could be modified to include an increase in the threshold required for a positive marijuana test or a decrease to the penalties for a violation, but for now, such an adjustment isn’t part of the deal.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Following the draft, Packers GM Ted Thompson suggested the team hadn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back tight end Jermichael Finley, and head coach Mike McCarthy echoed those comments yesterday in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, as Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com details. “[Finley] is going through a tough medical situation,” McCarthy said. “I think we all recognize that it was a serious injury. My understanding is he is doing everything and beyond to get himself ready. We’ll continue to watch that.”
  • In Mike Florio’s view, the Texans are more likely to trade or release disgruntled receiver Andre Johnson during the 2015 league year than to do anything with him this year. Florio cites an increasing base salary, though I believe by reaching escalators in previous seasons, Johnson’s 2014 salary is now $10MM, up from $6.5MM. In any case, I’m inclined to agree with Florio, since it would be much easier to find a potential trade partner when teams haven’t already addressed the receiver position, and Houston would be on the hook for less dead money in 2015.
  • North Carolina offensive tackle James Hurst went undrafted, but he certainly had no shortage of teams interested in him. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that Hurst chose to sign with the Ravens as a rookie free agent over 17 competing offers.
  • Catawba quarterback Danny O’Brien is among 24 players being invited to the Falcons‘ rookie minicamp to audition for a roster spot this week, the team announced today in a press release.
  • Buffalo receiver Fred Lee will participate in the Bills‘ rookie minicamp this week, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.

Ravens Sign 18 Undrafted Free Agents

May 13th, 2014 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 9:56am: The Ravens have announced an 18th UDFA signing, adding Montana Tech linebacker Ryan Jones to the list (Twitter link). Jones got a signing bonus of $1K, per Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 2:38pm: The Ravens have signed 17 players who went undrafted over the weekend, the team announced today in a press release. Here’s the complete list of rookie free agents Baltimore has added to its roster:

  • Xavius Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky ($1.5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Levi Brown, DT, Temple
  • Jeremy Butler, WR, Tennessee-Martin ($4K bonus)
  • Jace Davis, WR, Northern Colorado ($4K bonus)
  • Parker Graham, OT, Oklahoma State ($9K bonus)
  • Derrick Hopkins, DT, Virginia Tech ($10K bonus)
  • James Hurst, OT, North Carolina ($9K bonus)
  • Tramain Jacobs, CB, Texas A&M ($4.5K bonus)
  • Richie Leone, P, Houston
  • Jamie Meder, DT, Ashland ($3.5K bonus)
  • Dexter Moody, S, Albany State
  • Deji Olatoye, CB, North Carolina A&T ($6K bonus)
  • Zachary Orr, LB, North Texas ($3K bonus)
  • A.J. Pataiali’i, DT, Utah State ($1K bonus)
  • Avery Patterson, CB, Oregon ($3K bonus)
  • Sammy Seamster, CB, Middle Tennessee State ($8K bonus)
  • Brett Van Sloten, OT, Iowa ($6K bonus)