Paxton Lynch - Pro Football Rumors

AFC Draft Updates: Lynch, Broncos, Bengals

April 12th, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

A previous report had indicated the Broncos were expected to bring in Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch this week, and Troy Renck of the Denver Post confirms (via Twitter) that visit is taking place on Tuesday. The Broncos, of course, continue to consider all their options at QB in the wake of Peyton Manning‘s retirement and Brock Osweiler‘s departure.

UCLA guard Alex Redmond, who is drawing plenty of attention leading up to the draft, visited the Bengals on Monday, per Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Florida wide receiver Demarcus Robinson is paying a visit to the Raiders on Tuesday, tweets Mike Kaye of First Coast News.
Houston offensive lineman Alex Cooper also visited the Raiders on Tuesday, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. Cooper participated in Houston’s local prospect workout on Saturday. Cooper started every game for UH at three different positions (left tackle, right tackle, and right guard) and served as a team captain.
The Colts are working out William & Mary middle linebacker Luke Rhodes, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Purdue offensive lineman David Hedelin is drawing interest from the Chiefs, Lions, Falcons, Broncos, Patriots, Washington, and Dolphins, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

AFC Notes: Jets, Broncos, Lewis, Jackson, Pats

April 10th, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here is the latest from around the AFC, starting with the conference’s latest trade partners.

Following D’Brickashaw Ferguson‘s retirement and the acquisition of Ryan Clady, the Jets have a little more cap space to work with as they try to re-sign quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. But according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, the talks between New York and Fitzpatrick aren’t being hampered by cap room — instead, the two sides merely have a difference of opinion on what Fitzpatrick is worth. Per Cimini, the Jets are actually offering more than the commonly reported $7-8MM average annual value.
Earlier today, Paxton Lynch‘s planned trip to the Jets’ facilities surfaced. The Memphis quarterback who’s regarded as the No. 3 passing prospect in this year’s draft is also expected to visit the Broncos this week, according to a Denver Post report. The Super Bowl champions hold pick No. 31 and would likely have to move up to acquire Lynch. Denver did pick up an additional fifth-round pick, giving the team two third-rounders and two fifths in addition to its usual allotment.
We first heard back in January that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had approached former offensive coordinator Hue Jackson with a plan to succeed him — and thus, retain him as play-caller, and Mike Silver of NFL.com (video link) provides a bit more detail on the proposal. Lewis and Jackson discussed a scenario where Lewis would agree to step down as head coach after two more seasons, allowing Jackson to take over. The duo presented the plan to Bengals owner Mike Brown, who wasn’t comfortable locking up such a proposition in writing. Jackson, of course, went on to accept the Browns’ head-coaching job, while Lewis was recently extended through 2017.
Former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds‘ visit with the Patriots has already been reported, but Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald dives deep into New England’s interest in the former Midshipman. The Patriots have apparently met with Reynolds several times, and worked him out multiple times in Annapolis. As Howe explores, New England has shown an affinity for Navy alums in the past.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

Draft Rumors: 4/10/16

April 10th, 2016 at 10:56am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some of today’s draft rumors. We will update this page as necessary throughout the day:

Memphis QB Paxton Lynch will meet with the Jets on Thursday, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). The Jets, of course, are still looking to bring back free agent signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the two sides remain far apart on contract terms. Lynch is widely-regarded as one of the top three quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Mehta confirms that Gang Green will also visit with Ohio State TE Nick Vannett tomorrow.
Alcorn State QB John Gibbs, Jr. worked out for the Texans at their local prospect workout yesterday, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. As we learned yesterday, prospects like Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah and UCLA OT Caleb Benenoch were also in attendance.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), there are several themes emerging with regards to the top CB prospects in this year’s draft. Some evaluators prefer Ohio State’s Eli Apple to Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III–Hargreaves has been ranked almost universally as the best corner in the draft outside of Jalen Ramsey–and some prefer Miami’s Artie Burns to Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander and Houston’s William Jackson III.
Western Michigan WR Daniel Braverman–who was not even invited to this year’s Scouting Combine–has already visited the Vikings, Saints, and Dolphins, and is set to visit with the Raiders, Seahawks, and Bengals this week, according to NFL Network’s Rand Getlin. (Twitter links). Braverman had a whopping 109 receptions for 1,367 yards last season.

AFC Notes: Taylor, Bolts, Browns, Jags, Steelers

April 8th, 2016 at 8:49pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Agent Adisa Bakari, frustrated that the Bills haven’t extended one of his clients – quarterback Tyrod Taylor – propped up the signal-caller Thursday and took shots at other facets of the club (Twitter link). Bakari told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the Bills missed the playoffs last season because of a poor showing by their defense and a lack of discipline, not Taylor – whose performance Bakari referred to as “exceptional.” Bakari isn’t wrong – the Bills had a below-average defense and led the league in penalties in 2015, and Taylor was terrific statistically during his 14-game debut as a starter – but Buffalo doesn’t seem convinced he’s its long-term solution. Taylor is entering a contract year and the Bills have explored several QB prospects as the draft nears, so his chances of staying in their uniform for the long haul don’t look great at the moment.

AFC Rumors: Taylor, Bills, Broncos, Steelers

April 7th, 2016 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Asked during an appearance on the NFL Network if Tyrod Taylor is the Bills‘ long-term solution at quarterback, Doug Whaley was somewhat non-committal in his answer.

“We want him to be, he wants to be, and time will tell,” the Bills GM said, as NFL.com’s Kevin Patra writes. “But we’re excited about what he did last year — he went 8-6 as a starter. There is a lot of excitement around our football team.… I’ll tell you this, I know he’s a big competitor and he’s going to want to raise his level of his game next year and take the next step and we are excited and we’re going to try to give him as much ammunition around him for him to succeed.”

So what does that mean for a potential contract extension? Whaley says he won’t rule out a new pact being agreed to this season, but it’d have to be at the “right price.” In the interim, the Bills are keeping their options open and meeting with some of the top QBs in this year’s draft.

Here’s more out of the AFC:

GM John Elway and the Broncos have inquired about Taylor, according to Benjamin Allbright of AM1340 in Denver (Twitter link). A trade probably isn’t likely, as the Bills prefer to hang onto their quarterback and the Broncos are just exploring all their options, but it’s an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak says the team worked out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch at his pro day on Wednesday, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. Denver will still bring Lynch in for an official pre-draft visit down the line, as Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post tweets.
The offensive line is definitely a priority for the Colts, but it appears they’re more focused on improving at center and guard rather than the tackle spots, Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes. “The interior of that offensive line, the center and two guard spots, is the focal point,” coach Chuck Pagano said. At the same time, there aren’t a ton of high-level interior lineman in this year’s class and Wells wouldn’t be surprised if they took a top pass-rusher or middle linebacker if there’s one on the board.
Auburn cornerback Jonathan Jones is visiting the Steelers today, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Akron outside linebacker Jatavis Brown and North Carolina Central cornerback Ryan Smith are also among the prospects in Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Thomas, Mathieu, Browner, Draft

April 6th, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Broncos continue to reside up against the salary cap, ESPN.com’s Field Yates points out Demaryius Thomas‘ contract can help the Super Bowl champions clear $9.18MM worth of space.

A clause in the seventh-year wide receiver’s five-year, $70MM deal indicates the Broncos can convert any amount of Thomas’ $13MM 2016 salary into a signing bonus, which would then be spread out over the final four seasons of the pact, Yates reports. The Broncos reducing that salary to the veteran minimum of $760K would free up $9.18MM of cap space this year. The team currently resides in cap peril, with barely $1MM in space before signing Jared Crick on Wednesday, as it attempts to work out a Colin Kaepernick trade.

A Thomas restructure would make sense for the Broncos, who have many high-priced contracts on a cap sheet — although, Ryan Clady and Von Miller‘s respective $10.1 and $14.1MM numbers could well be reduced soon, or removed in Clady’s case — that doesn’t include a high-priced quarterback. Denver currently wants Kaepernick at $7MM for 2016 and ’17, but in 2017, the Broncos are as of now set to have $72.36MM of space — second-most in the league.

They’d have more room for a higher Thomas cap number with contracts like Clady’s and DeMarcus Ware‘s off their balance sheet after the 2016 league year. The Dolphins put a similar clause in Ndamukong Suh‘s deal last year.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

Rehabbing from the torn ACL he sustained in Week 15, Tyrann Mathieu said he would prefer to stay with the Cardinals long-term but acknowledges the negotiation could be tricky, with the versatile defensive back wanting a top-end contract but at a time when he’s coming off a second knee surgery, Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com writes in an expansive piece. “They have concerns, which is understandable,” Mathieu told Prisco. “I’ve had two knee surgeries. At the same time, they know who I am as a teammate, as a football player, what I mean to the community and what I can do on the football field. The easiest thing is to pay me as a safety. But if [Patrick Peterson‘s] guy goes down, I have to check Pat’s guy. For me, it’s about me being compensated for everything I do.” In late February, we heard the contract-year safety and the Cardinals were discussing an extension, but nothing has emerged from those talks as of yet.
Vernon Davis can earn up to $4.5MM in 2016 if he meets all the incentives of his Washington contract, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports. Davis’ deal is officially a one-year, $1.66MM pact, but the 12th-year tight end meeting those as-of-now unspecified performance incentives could more than double that.
Brandon Browner posted on his Instagram account (via Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com) that he played through a torn MCL last season with the Saints. The recently released cornerback said he tore the ligament in the Saints’ first preseason game. This would help explain a steep decline that resulted in Pro Football Focus bestowing by far its worst full-time cornerback grade on Browner in 2015.
Paxton Lynch has a Cowboys visit lined up for Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, and will trek to San Diego for a Chargers meeting soon after. The 49ers also sent multiple representatives to observe the Memphis prospect at his pro day Wednesday, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
The Bills received good value on a nontraditional quarterback accord last season and still employ Tyrod Taylor but are taking a wide-ranging glance of this year’s quarterback crop. Bills reps ate dinner with Lynch and plan to visit with Connor Cook, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The team also already met with Christian Hackenberg, per Albert Breer of NFL.com, and has done plenty of research on Jared Goff.
Lynch had multiple work-related meals Wednesday, with the Saints meeting with the first-round prospect over lunch, Rapoport tweets. Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld will also visit the Saints soon.
The Cowboys met with Carson Wentz on Wednesday, according to the team’s website. The North Dakota State prospect also worked extensively with Cowboys coaches at the Senior Bowl.
Germain Ifedi has a busy schedule upcoming after performing for teams at Texas A&M’s pro day Wednesday. The Aggies’ latest tackle prospect has a slew of visits and workouts booked, WalterFootball.com’s Tony Pauline reports. Ifedi’s visit itinerary features summits with the Lions, Panthers, Bears and Texans after having already met with the Titans and Dolphins. The Cardinals, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Panthers, Texans and Falcons have scheduled workouts with Ifedi.
Veteran quarterback Seth Lobato is working out for the Panthers, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Zach Links contributed to this report

AFC Draft Updates: Bills, Lynch, Jags, Broncos

April 6th, 2016 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

Most NFL teams have at least one representative in attendance at the pro day for Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch on Wednesday, but the Bills got a closer look at the young signal-caller on Tuesday night, according to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, who reports that Buffalo took Lynch out for dinner (Twitter link via Mike Rodak).

The Bills have a quarterback they like in Tyrod Taylor, but Taylor has just one year remaining on his contract with the team, and an extension is not believed to be close, so it will be interesting to see if Buffalo nabs a QB early in this year’s draft. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman is in Memphis to check out Lynch.

Let’s round up a few more draft updates from across the AFC…

We can add Alabama center Ryan Kelly, Ole Miss left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and Oregon defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the extensive list of pre-draft visitors meeting with the Jaguars today, according to tweets from John Oehser of Jaguars.com and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
The Broncos remain in the market for running back help, and are hosting Utah RB Devontae Booker for a visit today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
According to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter links), Akron outside linebacker Jatavis Brown, Michigan State cornerback Arjen Colquhoun, and Baylor offensive lineman Blake Muir recently met with the Chiefs, who are hosting UTSA defensive tackle Brian Price for a visit today.
UCLA offensive tackle Caleb Benenoch, Florida safety Keanu Neal, Boise State safety Darian Thompson, and Temple cornerback Tavon Young are in Pittsburgh today to visit the Steelers, per Bob Labriola (Twitter link).
The Jets met extensively with Utah State linebacker Kyler Fackrell, a potential second-round pick, on Tuesday, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net, who tweets that Fackrell would fit a “big need” for Gang Green.

Cowboys Rumors: Hardy, Goff, Wentz

April 4th, 2016 at 7:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of Dallas:

Free agent defensive end Greg Hardy sat down for an interview with Adam Schefter of ESPN (video link) and claimed that he never put his hands on his alleged domestic assault victim. Hardy had another solid season as a pass rusher in 2015, recording six sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception in 12 games for the Cowboys. However, he remains on the open market thanks to his reputation for being difficult in the locker room and the PR backlash that his signing would bring for a team.
The Cowboys will bring in quarterbacks Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, Christian Hackenberg, Connor Cook, and Jacoby Brissett for visits, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. Hackenberg, Cook, and Brissett could be had later in the draft while Goff, Wentz, and Lynch are likely first round picks.
Laquon Treadwell will visit with the Cowboys tomorrow, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Shaq Lawson‘s long anticipated visit to the Cowboys took place on Monday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Alabama running back Derrick Henry will visit the Cowboys this week, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links) has the details on Joe Looney‘s two-year contract with Dallas. The interior lineman will get $1.675MM with a $100K signing bonus and salaries of $775K and $800K. He’ll also get a $250K play time incentive in 2016 and a $500K playtime incentive in 2017.
Jack Crawford‘s one-year deal will pay him $1.1MM but he can earn up to $1.6MM through incentives, Clarence Hill of The Star-Telegram tweets.

East Rumors: Eagles, Lynch, Jets, Dolphins, Toler

March 31st, 2016 at 8:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles‘ interest in taking a quarterback at No. 8 overall is “very real,” sources tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). The Eagles have made plans to work out Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, and Paxton Lynch and officials believe that they intend to select a QB in the first round. However, not everyone in the NFL is sold and some think that Philly is engaging in a ruse to make Chip Kelly‘s 49ers panic and trade up in the draft.

If the Eagles can trick the 49ers with a smoke screen, it will serve as more than a prank. Philly will have a better shot at taking one of the top available defensive players in the draft if San Francisco slides up to grab a quarterback.

Lynch has a pre-draft visit lined up with the Jets, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The Jets could be looking at Lynch and other quarterbacks in the draft as a contingency plan if they are unable to re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Dolphins are bringing in veteran cornerback Greg Toler for a visit tonight and Friday, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). Toler has made 25 starts for Indianapolis over the past two years.
The Bills announced that they have promoted two assistant coaches on offense. Pat Meyer has gone from football operations consultant to offensive assistant while Jason Vrable has been elevated from offensive quality control coach to the team’s assistant quarterbacks coach.

NFC Draft Rumors: Eagles, Lynch, Washington

March 30th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles will work out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch and it’s not just for kicks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Despite having Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel under contract, Rapoport says they’re serious about Lynch and they’re taking owner Jeffrey Lurie on each trip.

While we wait to see if the Eagles’ QB situation could get even weirder, here’s a look at some more draft news from the NFC:

Boston College linebacker Steven Daniels worked out for the Eagles on Wednesday, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (for WalterFootball.com). Daniels has also auditioned for New Orleans.
Coach Jay Gruden says he wants Washington to draft a developmental quarterback, as Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. “You have your starter. You got your quality backup. And you’ve got to have [another] one in the [quarterback meeting] room—whether it’s your third on the active roster or a practice squad guy—that you can develop,” Gruden said last week. Of course, Kirk Cousins will be the team’s starter with Colt McCoy as his primary understudy. However, Gruden would like to add a young QB who can be groomed without an immediate timeline.
The Buccaneers worked out UTSA tight end David Morgan on Tuesday, according to Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 (on Twitter). Morgan also worked out for Philadelphia recently.
The Falcons were at Stanford on Wednesday to work out tight end Austin Hooper and linebacker Blake Martinez, according to Tony Pauline for Walter Football. On Tuesday, Atlanta coaches were at Washington State to scope out Washington State offensive lineman Joseph Dahl, receiver Dominique Williams, and defensive lineman Destiny Vaeao.