HEADLINES

Jonathan Woodard

Jaguars Waive Eight Players

August 29th, 2016 at 4:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars took a big step towards getting to tomorrow’s 75-man roster max. The team announced that the following players have been waived:

In addition to those cuts, offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach has been placed on IR, safety Earl Wolff has been waived/injured, and offensive lineman Luke Bowanko (hip) and defensive end Jonathan Woodard (Achilles) have been moved to the PUP list.

McCray is a former starting cornerback and was a member of GM David Caldwell’s first draft class. Evans is a former fourth-round pick of the Jets, one of many underwhelming draft choices by former GM John Idzik.

The Jaguars are now down to 78 players.

South Notes: Woodard, Collins, Colts, Brees

May 23rd, 2016 at 7:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The injury bug continues to bite the Jaguars, as 2016 seventh-round defensive end Jonathan Woodard will now miss the entirety of the season after tearing his Achilles, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Woodard probably wasn’t going to play a significant role in a Jacksonville edge rotation that includes Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler Jr., but the injury will obviously set him back in his development. The Jaguars, of course, are waiting for a status update on fifth overall pick Jalen Ramsey‘s knee, while last year, the club missed out on Fowler’s rookie season after he tore his ACL in camp.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two South divisions…

  • Falcons cornerback Jalen Collins told reporters that he “made a mistake” which led to his four-game suspension for PEDs (Twitter link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). However, he did not indicate whether he will file an appeal. Atlanta had hoped the Collins would be able to become a starter on the outside, allowing fellow corner Robert Alford to move into the slot full-time. That transition can still happen, of course, but now the club will have to make do without Collins for a quarter of the season — a realization which may have precipitated today’s workout of nickel corner Brandon Boykin.
  • Given that the Colts are on the lookout for veteran depth at wide receiver, the recently-released Brian Hartline could hold some intrigue for the club, as Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Indianapolis currently projects to start T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief at wideout, with the second-year Phillip Dorsett behind them. The Colts’ depth chart behind that trio is perilously thin, however, so Hartline could make some sense for the team.
  • Drew Brees is capable of becoming the league’s highest-paid player even at age 37, writes Jason Fitzgerald of the Sporting News. Entering the final year of his deal, and playing under a $30MM cap hit in 2016, Brees holds all the leverage in talks with the Saints. Fitzgerald details exactly how Brees can use New Orleans’ poor salary management against them as he seeks one more mega-deal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Pick Signings: Bucs, Dolphins, Bengals, Jags

May 7th, 2016 at 6:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Checking in on the latest rookie signings from around the NFL…

  • Fullback Dan Vitale signed his deal with the Buccaneers, GM Jason Licht tweets. Selected in the sixth round (No. 197 overall) and with the Bucs’ final pick, Vitale made his mark as a ball-carrier in the passing game. The Northwestern blocking back accumulated 135 receptions for 1,427 receiving yards with the Wildcats from 2012-15. He only received six carries in college.
  • The Dolphins signed sixth-round selections Jakeem Grant and Jordan Lucas, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). Miami traded up to No. 186 to take Grant, one of the best slot receivers in the draft despite standing 5-foot-7, and took Lucas — a defensive back from Penn State who’s seen time at both corner and safety with the Nittany Lions — at No. 204.
  • The Bengals made their first draft pick signing of the year by agreeing to terms with wide receiver Cody Core, whom they chose in the sixth round (No. 199 overall), Coley Harvey of ESPN.com tweets. Core’s deal will be for approximately $2.4MM and including a $127K signing bonus, Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
  • The Jaguars have signed defensive end Jonathan Woodard, reports John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter). The seventh-round pick owns the career sack record (30.5) at Central Arkansas. Woodard was one of three defensive ends to be selected by the Jaguars, joining Yannick Ngakoue (Maryland) and Tyrone Holmes (Montana).

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Titans, Conklin, Broncos, Raiders

April 5th, 2016 at 8:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he’s not the only standout tackle the Titans are eyeing. A source tells Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com that the team is expected to host Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin for a visit soon. Conklin isn’t a candidate to come off the board first, but if Tennessee ends up moving down in the first round, he could be in play for the Titans.

Here’s more from across the AFC:

  • Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott was hosted for a pre-draft visit by the Broncos today, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Prescott is unlikely to go in the first round, so the Broncos could look to target him in the second or third round of the draft.
  • Central Arkansas defensive end Jonathan Woodard had a visit scheduled with the Raiders on Monday and will meet with the Titans on Friday, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets.
  • Oklahoma State defensive lineman Emmanuel Ogbah recently paid a visit to the Bills and will soon visit the Texans, tweets Rand Getlin of the NFL Network.
  • Seth Walder of the New York Daily News provides some details on Brandon Marshall‘s civil trial stemming from an altercation outside a Manhattan nightclub in 2012. As Walder notes, Marshall didn’t face criminal charges at the time, but it’s unclear if the NFL might still consider discipline, should the Jets wideout lose the civil trial.
  • Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio today, Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett said he has a visit on Sunday with the Jets (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of FOX Sports). Vannett has frequently been linked to Gang Green in recent weeks, having already privately worked out for and met with the team.

Zach Links contributed to this post.