Mo Alie-Cox - Pro Football Rumors

NFC West Rumors: Hawks, Sherman, 49ers

April 18th, 2017 at 4:15pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although Richard Sherman doesn’t plan to attend the start of Seahawks workouts today, he is expected to report before OTAs, meaning he’ll be in attendance in early or mid May, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Sherman, of course, reportedly asked for a trade, and Seattle is now attempting to oblige him. After originally setting an ask of a first-round pick and another player, the Seahawks have reduced the Sherman price to a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional mid-round pick in 2018.

Here’s more from Seattle and the rest of the NFC West:

Before inking Seahawks restricted free agent Garry Gilliam to a one-year, $2.2MM deal, the 49ers approached Gilliam with two- and three-year offers, both of which were rejected, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. By agreeing to a one-year commitment, Gilliam affords himself the possibility of reaching unrestricted free agency in 2018. Seattle had the option of matching San Francisco’s offer sheet, and though the Seahawks had five days to make a decision, they used just over 12 hours to turn down the terms. Gilliam will earn $1.4MM in guarantees under his new 49ers pact, while his RFA tender with Seattle would have paid him $1.797MM in non-guaranteed base salary.
Defensive end Dion Jordan‘s one-year contract with the Seahawks is worth only $615K, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. The deal comes with a $25K workout bonus, but doesn’t contain any guarantees, meaning Seattle can move on without any dead money incurring on its salary cap. Additionally, Jordan agreed to a split salary: if he gets injured, the Seahawks will owe him only $378K. If Jordan does succeed this season, Seattle can keep him for 2018 as a restricted free agent. Because he entered the league as first-round pick, the Seahawks could use the original round tender to retain Jordan without worrying about another club signing him to an offer sheet.
Collegiate basketball player and aspiring tight end Mo Alie-Cox is scheduled to meet with the Seahawks today, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who adds Alie-Cox has a visit lined up with the Colts on Monday. 30 NFL clubs attended a recent Alie-Cox audition, and teams are now hoping to sign the 6’7″ hoopster to play offense. Alie-Cox is not eligible for the draft, and is able to sign an NFL contract immediately.

AFC East Notes: Bills, QBs, Fins, Alie-Cox

April 12th, 2017 at 5:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills have shown significant interest in prospective first-round quarterbacks of late, but it could be a ploy to trade down from the 10th overall pick, suggests Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. By publicly meeting with signal-callers, including North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, the Bills might be trying to coax a QB-needy team into moving up to No. 10. Head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged that possibility Wednesday, telling WKSE-FM in Buffalo (via Mike Rodak of ESPN): “We’ll take a look at those [quarterbacks], but it doesn’t mean we’re taking a quarterback. Maybe these last three or four trips were just kind of all a smokescreen, right? It’s kind of like hiding your presents from your kids. You kind of put them in different spots and see, right? We’ll just see.” However, the Bills didn’t want the news of their meetings with QBs to leak, according to Greg Gabriel of 670theScore. Further, the fact that owner Terry Pegula has been on hand for workouts with QBs implies the Bills, despite having Tyrod Taylor, view the position as a major need, posits Gabriel (Twitter links).

More on Buffalo and one of its division rivals:

Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey visited the Bills on Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Having lost Stephon Gilmore and Nickell Robey-Coleman this offseason, Buffalo is in dire need of corners. PFR’s Dallas Robinson currently has Humphrey going 13th overall, right in the vicinity of the Bills’ selection.
The Dolphins were among 30 teams in attendance for former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball player Mo Alie-Cox‘s workout Tuesday, but just one of three to meet with him afterward, per the Richmond Times Dispatch (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). As a free agent, Alie-Cox could sign anywhere immediately, and he’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of ex-college basketball players who became successful NFL tight ends.
If Tennesee defensive end Derek Barnett is on the board for the Dolphins’ first-round pick, No. 22, they’ll seriously consider selecting him, writes Jackson. Barnett may end up going in the top 10, though, which would take Miami out of the running if it stays put.

Six Teams To Meet With Mo Alie-Cox

April 12th, 2017 at 9:46am CST by Zachary Links

The jump from basketball to football may not be easy, but Mo Alie-Cox has plenty of believers in the NFL. The former Virginia Commonwealth University forward is already slated to visit the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Jets, Colts, Seahawks, and Chargers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. More teams could request to meet with the 6’7″ athlete, Rapoport adds.

Alie-Cox held an open audition for NFL teams recently and it seems like more than half the league had scouts in attendance. In addition to the aforementioned clubs, reps from the Bears, Lions, Dolphins, Vikings, 49ers, Browns, Patriots, Redskins, and Steelers were in the house (via Lane Casadonte of WTVR on Twitter).

Despite his lack of gridiron experience, teams are intrigued by Alie-Cox’s combination of size and athleticism. He is looking to play tight end and follow in the footsteps of Tony Gonzalez, Julius Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, and other TE standouts with basketball backgrounds. At the same time, he is open to playing other positions and he took requests from scouts to perform drills that were suited for different roles.

What really sets Alie-Cox apart from other young NFL hopefuls is that he is not draft eligible and, therefore, can be signed as a free agent. A team that is really high on the hoopster could see this as an opportunity to effectively acquire a late-round draft pick for nothing.

Hoops Player Mo Alie-Cox Drawing Interest

April 5th, 2017 at 10:16am CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, and Jimmy Graham all came from basketball backgrounds and went on to become top NFL tight ends. VCU’s Mo Alie-Cox is hoping to follow in their footsteps. The 6’7″ forward will be working out for teams on Tuesday, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport writes.

“The interest is widespread,” agent Joe Flanagan said. “Twenty clubs are already confirmed to be sending reps, with multiple tight end coaches.”

What makes Alie-Cox particularly interesting is that he is not draft eligible and can be signed by any team. Alie-Cox was “eligible for the 2016 NFL Draft and has remained a free agent since the conclusion of that draft,” a league spokesman confirmed to Rapoport.

Alie-Cox will perform typical pro day drills, then will open up the floor for teams to have him perform other drills, including drills that would showcase him at other positions. There’s no guarantee that the VCU product can make the transition from the hardwood to the gridiron, but more than half of the NFL’s teams are at least curious to see what he has to offer.