HEADLINES

Preston Parker

East Notes: Cowboys, Wake, Parker, Eagles

April 19th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interview on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones identified the pass rush as his club’s top need heading into the draft, as Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. “Ultimately we want to find a dominant type of pass rusher,” Jones said. “Obviously that’s easier said than done.” If Dallas keeps the No. 4 overall pick rather than moving up or down, top pass rushers like Joey Bosa and DeForest Buckner will likely be available, so it will be interesting to see the club’s approach in the draft.

Let’s check out some other updates from out of the NFL’s East divisions…

  • Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald believes it makes sense for the Dolphins to gauge defensive end Cameron Wake‘s value on the trade market, arguing that not doing so would be “shortsighted.” In Salguero’s view, if Miami can land a second- or third-round pick for the veteran pass rusher, that would be more valuable in the long term for the club than keeping Wake.
  • Former Giants wide receiver Preston Parker, who appeared in two games for Big Blue last season, was arrested in Palm Beach on Monday night for possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and resisting arrest, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Parker caught 36 balls for the Giants in 2014, but was the cut by the team last September, and this incident won’t help him find a new job.
  • The Eagles are bringing in four veteran free agents for tryouts this week, tweets Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Defensive tackle Ken Bishop, fullback Michael Zordich, wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, and wide receiver T.J. Graham will get a look at Philadelphia’s minicamp.
  • Patriots defensive lineman Alan Branch doesn’t agree with the notion that his former teammate Dominique Easley, who was cut by New England last week, was a problem in the locker room, as Chris Mason of the Boston Herald details.

Extra Points: Gabbert, Pitta, Archer

November 9th, 2015 at 8:39pm CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but 49ers coach Jim Tomsula announced that Blaine Gabbert will start for SF once again when the Niners take on the Seahawks in Week 11, as Taylor Price of 49ers.com writes. Gabbert completed 15 of 25 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday’s Week 9 home win over the Falcons and, at least for now, it sounds like former starter Colin Kaepernick should make himself comfortable on the bench.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • A decision will be made by Wednesday on whether tight end Dennis Pitta makes a comeback this season from his second serious hip injury, as Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. According to Ravens coach John Harbaugh, the decision comes down to Pitta’s long-term health, not his ability to play again. “He did look good in practice,” Harbaugh said. “We had a tough time covering him. He was doing stuff for the look team and made a bunch of plays out there. He just kind of looked like his old self out there. But don’t construe that as saying that he’s ready to go, because it’s not about that. The doctors are going to take a hard look at that, and help him decide, is this safe? It’s going to be based on how the hip is responding to the practices.” Pitta, 30, enjoyed his best season in 2012 when he helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl, catching 61 passes for 669 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season, followed by 14 catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns during the playoffs.
  • The Saints worked out former Giants wide receiver Preston Parker on Monday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Parker, 28, has 85 career receptions for 1,057 yards and five touchdowns.
  • Running back Dri Archer has passed on ten offers to join practice squads, including an offer from the Steelers, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. Archer, a third-round pick in 2014, instead plans to wait and see whether any opportunities arise to join a 53-man roster. Florio speculates that his opening might be with the Patriots now that Dion Lewis is done for the year.

Giants Sign Kenrick Ellis, Cut Preston Parker

September 22nd, 2015 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

9:54am: The team has now officially confirmed the pair of transactions.

9:50am: The team has yet to make an official announcement, but it appears the corresponding move for the Giants’ addition of Ellis will be to cut wide receiver Preston Parker — Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Parker is being let go.

After catching 36 balls for the Giants a year ago, Parker has five receptions through the club’s first two games of 2015, but has racked up just as many dropped passes, many of them costly. The wideout doesn’t have any bonus money on his contract, so his release won’t leave New York with any additional dead money on the cap.

9:43am: After surviving the initial cutdown to 53 players, defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis was a surprise roster casualty for the Giants earlier this month, when the team needed to clear room for a pair of waiver claims. Two and a half weeks later, however, Ellis is returning to the Giants, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who reports that the team is re-signing the ex-Jet to the 53-man roster.

Ellis, 27, signed a one-year deal with the Giants earlier this year that included $500K in guarantees, so the club has already absorbed that same total in dead money for the upcoming season. His new pact will presumably be non-guaranteed. As a reserve for the Jets during the first four years of his career, Ellis appeared in 47 games, starting five.

As Raanan points out, Giants defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins (hamstring), Jay Bromley (knee) and Markus Kuhn (knee) all showed up on the club’s initial injury report this week, so with a Thursday night game against Washington right around the corner, it makes sense that New York would bring in some veteran depth at the position.