HEADLINES

Obi Melifonwu

Raiders Release S Obi Melifonwu

August 23rd, 2018 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have waived/injured safety Obi Melifonwu, according to a press release from the team. The move will help create room for the signing of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Per league procedure, Melifonwu will be placed on injured reserve if he clears waivers on Friday. Given Melifonwu’s inability to stay healthy, that may be the likely outcome. After that, the Raiders will probably work out an injury settlement to terminate his deal, making him a free agent.

Melifonwu was looking to carve out a role on Jon Gruden‘s team this year, but he has so far been unable to bounce back from hip surgery. Earlier this offseason, Gruden indicated that he wasn’t very optimistic about the UConn product’s outlook

“It doesn’t look close at all,” the head coach said of the 2017 second-round pick. “I’ll leave it at that. He doesn’t look close, to me, at all...I haven’t seen much of Obi except in the training room.”

The good news is that the Raiders have plenty of other options at safety, including Karl Joseph, Reggie Nelson, and Marcus Gilchrist. It’s also possible that DRC will be asked to contribute in the middle of the field.

Melifonwu appeared in just five games last year and finished out with just seven total tackles. That’s a far cry from his 118 tackles as a college senior.

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Paradis, Raiders

May 23rd, 2018 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Broncos center Matt Paradis said the team has not begun negotiations on a contract extension yet, but he would welcome those talks as he wants to stick around beyond 2018 (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic). Paradis signed a restricted free agent tender with the team earlier this offseason, keeping him under contract for one more year at a rate of $2.9MM. Paradis, 29 in October, has had operations on both hips, but has not missed a snap since taking over at center in 2015. The Broncos would ostensibly like to hold on to Paradis, though other impending free agents such as cornerback Bradley Roby will be a higher priority.

Here’s a look at the AFC West:

Raiders Place DB Obi Melifonwu On IR

December 15th, 2017 at 7:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders have activated cornerback Antonio Hamilton from injured reserve and placed safety Obi Melifonwu on IR, the club announced today.Obi Melifonwu (vertical)

Melifonwu, whom Oakland selected earlier this year with the 56th overall pick, will now see his lost rookie campaign come to an end. The former UConn Huskie underwent knee surgery in August and missed eight weeks, and has now had an operation on his hip, as head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters, including Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link).

While the Raiders had hoped Melifonwu would aid a pass defense which ranks dead last in DVOA, he ended up playing only 34 defensive snaps over five games. Oakland will need Melifonwu at full health in 2018, as the club is likely counting on him to step into the starting lineup given that veteran safety Reggie Nelson will hit free agency.

Hamilton, who went undrafted out of South Carolina State in 2016, has appeared in eight total games during his two-year NFL career. The 24-year-old will likely see most of his action on special teams as the season comes to a close, but he’ll also serve as a reserve cornerback behind T.J. Carrie, Sean Smith, and David Amerson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/17

November 5th, 2017 at 1:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Green Bay Packers

  • Promoted to active roster: CB Donatello Brown
  • Placed on injured reserve: S Kentrell Brice

Los Angeles Rams

Oakland Raiders

Raiders Designate Obi Melifonwu For Return

October 17th, 2017 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

When the Raiders put Obi Melifonwu on injured reserve to start the year, they did so with the hope that he could return mid-season. His recovery went according to schedule, and the second-round safety has been designated to return from IR two weeks from now, as Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Obi Melifonwu (vertical)

Melifonwu, the 56th pick in this year’s draft, wowed Raiders scouts in workouts after a strong four-year stretch at UConn. On campus, he tallied eight career interceptions with four of those picks coming in his final season. Melifonwu also notched a personal-best 118 tackles as a senior. Before the draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared him to the George Iloka of the Bengals.

Bair writes that Melifonwu’s primary task will be to cover tight ends and running backs in sub packages. Down the line, the team is hoping that he can step into a starting role.

West Notes: Raiders, Mahomes, Donald, Bolts

September 7th, 2017 at 6:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders decided to place second-round pick Obi Melifonwu on IR earlier this week, but the team is not counting on the safety missing his entire rookie season. Melifonwu is expected to return after eight weeks and be one of Oakland’s two IR-DTR players, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The UConn product is recovering from knee surgery and will use the season’s first two months to rehab. The Raiders have seen their top two draft picks struggle to see the field due to injuries thus far; Gareon Conley missed most of Oakland’s preseason work due to a shin malady. Both are eyed as contributors in a secondary that struggled throughout 2016.

Here’s the latest coming out of the West divisions before the defending AFC West champion Chiefs debut against the Super Bowl champion Patriots.

  • For now, new Cardinals guard Alex Boone will serve as a backup. “He’s just learning,” coach Bruce Arians told reporters (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). “We’ll see. Right now, it’d probably have to be an injury or someone really fail badly. … We’ll see. Right now, it’d probably have to be an injury or someone really fail badly.” Boone started for five straight seasons, lining up as a first-teamer for the 49ers and Vikings.
  • Despite Patrick Mahomes‘ impressive preseason, the Chiefs‘ plan remains to shelve the rookie quarterback throughout the 2017 season, Rapoport notes (video link). Rapoport also said the possibility of Mahomes sitting to start next season remains in play, adding the team drafted the Texas Tech product knowing he’d be a one- or two-year project. Rapoport adds the Chiefs believed Mahomes was the draft’s best quarterback and they thought four teams would pull the trigger to select him had they not made the trade up to No. 10. Alex Smith‘s contract may also dictate the franchise’s decision. The Chiefs can save $17MM by moving on from their longtime starter after this season, but it’s clear they see a firm line between Smith and Mahomes’ present readiness levels.
  • Chargers rookie Mike Williams is now off the PUP list but has yet to resume running routes full speed, Anthony Lynn said (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). Recovering from a back injury, Williams has resumed catching passes. Rapoport reported the first-round pick’s likely return date will be in October.
  • If the Rams are going to sign Aaron Donald to an extension, the deal will have to make the defensive lineman the NFL’s highest-paid defender. Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes the team understands this. Von Miller‘s six-year, $114.6MM contract represents that standard presently, and Ndamukong Suh‘s six-year, $114MM Dolphins deal is the high-water mark for interior defenders. Los Angeles is not expected to have Donald this week as his holdout stretches into Month 3.
  • Sebastian Janikowski‘s small pay cut — from $4MM to $3MM this season — induced Rapoport to suggest this adjustment would free up space for a potential Donald Penn payment (Twitter link). The Raiders left tackle recently returned to the team and is entering the final year of his contract, but it’s clear the 34-year-old blocker is not exactly a content employee.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/17

September 5th, 2017 at 5:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Raiders Sign Rookie Obi Melifonwu

July 26th, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders and second-round pick Obi Melifonwu have agreed to terms on a contract, agent Sean Stellato tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Obi Melifonwu (vertical)

Melifonwu, the 56th pick, went to the Raiders on the heels of a stellar four-year career at Connecticut, where he tallied eight interceptions. Four of those picks came last year for Melifonwu, who also notched a personal-best 118 tackles. There are some questions about Melifonwu’s instincts, but the 6-foot-4, 224-pounder should be effective around the line of scrimmage, per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, who likens him to the Bengals’ George Iloka.

With Melifonwu in the fold, every rookie from the second round down in the 2017 draft has now been signed to a contract. The only unsigned rookies left are 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas, Titans wide receiver Corey Davis, and one of Melifonwu’s soon-to-be Raiders teammates, cornerback Gareon Conley. The Raiders’ hope is that he and Melifonwu will immediately boost a defense that finished just 25th in DVOA against the pass last year.

AFC Draft Notes: Mixon, Raiders, Dolphins

April 29th, 2017 at 10:33am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted draft notes from around the AFC…

  • Half the league didn’t have embattled running back Joe Mixon on their draft board, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Meanwhile, other evaluators believe he was the best overall running back if they were only evaluating on-field skills. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter adds that only four teams said they would consider drafting Mixon. We can assume that one of those four organizations was the Bengals, who selected the running back in the second round.
  • The Raiders selected UConn safety Obi Melifonwu in the second round, although Rapoport tweets that the organization was close to selecting the defensive back in the first.
  • The Dolphins ultimately selected defensive end Charles Harris with the 22nd pick on Thursday night. However, if the Missouri product hadn’t been available, the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero says (via Twitter) that the team would have selected Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton.
  • The Broncos were rather committed to selecting Florida State defensive end DeMarcus Walker. In fact, general manager John Elway revealed that he was willing to trade up if he needed to. “We made a lot of attempts to get up in (second round) to trade for Walker,” Elway told Troy Renck of Denver7 (Twitter link). “Things worked out.” Walker was selected by the Broncos with the 51st overall pick.
  • Good news out of Houston: Rapoport tweets that the Texans don’t believe running back D’Onta Foreman needs surgery on the stress fracture in his foot. The team found “no progressions in the injury at rechecks,” which apparently made them comfortable enough to select him in the third round.

Draft Rumors: Lamp, Ross, Bengals, Hawks

April 22nd, 2017 at 4:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins have been looking for guard assistance for quite some time, and now that Laremy Tunsil will take over at left tackle, the team has an even bigger issue inside. This has put the Dolphins in the market for high-round help at guard, and Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com notes the team is “locked in” on Western Kentucky product Forrest Lamp with its first-round pick. The Dolphins did add Ted Larsen from the Bears, but guard remains the only offensive line position the team doesn’t have a long-term starter. Miami holds the draft’s No. 22 pick, and Pauline notes that defensive end resides as the other critical area the franchise wants to enhance. If a quality edge defender is on the board at 22, the Dolphins may pass and set their sights on a Day 2 guard, Pauline writes.

As for Lamp, Pauline hears the lowest he will drop will be the Falcons at No. 31. Atlanta lost Chris Chester to retirement to open a spot opposite Andy Levitre up front.

Here’s the latest coming from the 2017 draft prospect pool.

  • John Ross‘ medical history is causing some teams to drop him on their boards or remove the former Washington Huskies wideout from draftable lists entirely, Mike Mayock of NFL.com reports. Ross is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and underwent operations on both knees in 2015. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report listed the speedster as a possible Day 2 pick in light of these concerns.
  • However, the Bengals are hovering as a Ross suitor, Pauline reports. They have given Ross a clean bill of health, which looks to be the only issue between the receiver and a first-round selection. The Bengals, who pick at No. 9 (generally before Ross is being projected in mock drafts), took a wideout in the first round last year in Tyler Boyd. Boyd figures to have a bigger role in Cincinnati’s offense this season. The team also re-signed Brandon LaFell, crowding the receiver depth chart even before the draft.
  • East Carolina wideout Zay Jones is on the Seahawks‘ radar, per Pauline. They are expected to be prepared to take Jones in the second round, should the ex-Pirates pass-catcher fall to them at No. 58 overall. Todd McShay of ESPN.com (Insider link) places Jones as his fourth-best wide receiver prospect, and with three receivers potentially set to go in Round 1, that could be a stretch for Jones to make it to Seattle that late in Round 2. The Seahawks have taken two wideouts in the second round during this decade — Golden Tate and Paul Richardson.
  • Obi Melifonwu met with or auditioned for 14 teams, and just one — the Titans — viewed the Connecticut defensive back as a corner, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. The UConn safety talent blazed to a 4.40-second 40-yard dash clocking, making him an intriguing get either in the late first or early second round. In addition to the workout circuit, Wilson notes Melifonwu has attracted steady interest from the Ravens, Raiders, Colts and Jaguars. The Bengals attempted to schedule a workout with Melifonwu, but the popular commodity’s schedule didn’t have room.
  • An NFL personnel man and a scout believe the Packers‘ No. 29 pick will be coveted among teams antsy to snag one a quarterback. “I think there’s going to be some action there at the end of the first round,” the scout said, via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “With these quarterbacks, they need a five-year contract because they’re not ready. I think there will be a lot of movement coming up [into the first round]. With the depth of this draft at defensive end and safety and corner and tight end, I would be looking to trade down.” The personnel man added that the quarterbacks are going to “drive this draft.” With players like Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes expected to go before the Packers pick at 29, it’s conceivable talents like Davis Webb or DeShone Kizer could be coveted at the end of the round.
Load More Posts