HEADLINES

Roger Lewis

NFC Rumors: Freeman, Giants, Eagles, Vikings

July 24th, 2017 at 9:01pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons are set to begin training camp this week, but Thomas Dimitroff said he’ll be focused on working out a contract with running back Devonta Freeman. The general manager told ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure that he’d like to have a deal finalized by Thursday at the latest (Twitter link).

We’ve heard reports throughout the offseason that the two sides would ultimately agree on a new deal, with owner Arthur Blank recently stating that an extension was coming “fairly soon.” Meanwhile, while Freeman is obviously seeking a new contract, he’s more than willing to wait for a deal that is reflective of his talent. Over the past two years, the running back has collected at least 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns per season, and he’s averaged 63 receptions during that same span.

Last week, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com wondered if the extension delay could be attributed to uneasy negotiations. Earlier today, former agent Joel Corry tweeted that Freeman’s camp should “insist” that the recently-rejected contract offer to Le’Veon Bell “reflects the top” of the running back market.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the NFC…

  • Giants wide receiver Roger Lewis is no longer facing charge of operating a vehicle while impaired, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. Of course, the 23-year-old could still face punishment from the NFL even though he is legally in the clear. Last year, Lewis appeared in 13 games for the G-Men and finished with seven catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
  • It sounds like Eagles fifth round pick Shelton Gibson may be a longshot to make the Eagles’ 53-man roster. The wide receiver is “by no means where he wants to be or where we want him to be,” said head coach Doug Pederson (Twitter link via Brandon Lee Gowton of SB Nation).
  • Meanwhile, Pederson discussed the Eagles‘ decision to move on from receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, who was waived earlier this month. “With the additions of some of the young guys picked up this spring, we just felt like it was in his interest and our best interest to let him find another suitor and keep developing our younger guys in that role,” Pederson said (via Zach Berman of Philly.com). The former second-round pick was traded to the Eagles last offseason, and he finished his lone season in Philly with 36 receptions for 392 yards and two touchdowns.
  • With Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray, and Jerick McKinnon ahead of him on the Vikings‘ depth chart, C.J. Ham knows that playing fullback gives him the best chance at making the 53-man roster, Mark Craig of the Star Tribune writes. Although he is still listed as a running back, the Vikings have been transitioning him to fullback since the middle of OTAs. The Vikings are unsure as to whether they’ll carry a true fullback or if they’ll just rely on reserve tight ends to do some lead blocking. “That’s part of the [evaluation]; Do we keep a fullback on the roster or do we add more tight ends,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “That should all shake out here in this preseason. If a guy is going to play say 10 plays a game, he’s also got to be really good on special teams to make the squad.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Giants WR Roger Lewis Arrested For OVI

June 5th, 2017 at 11:27am CST by Zachary Links

Giants wide receiver Roger Lewis was arrested on Sunday and charged with operating a vehicle while impaired, the Reynoldsburg, Ohio Police Department confirmed (via James Kratch of NJ Advance Media on Twitter). TMZ Sports first reported the arrest yesterday. Neither the player nor the Giants have commented, and Lewis will presumably face potential discipline from the NFL.

Roger LewisLewis was reportedly pulled over when officers observed him speeding in a vehicle with “overly tinted windows.” The officers noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and they observed that the 23-year-old appeared to be impaired. The wideout “was released from jail on his own recognizance,” according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com.

The 2016 undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green appeared in 13 games (one start) for New York last season, hauling in seven catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Lewis also collected five tackles on special teams.

Lewis was competing with Dwayne Harris and Tavarres King for snaps behind Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard.

Extra Points: L. Williams, Giants, Zumwalt

June 26th, 2016 at 12:45pm CST by Rory Parks

Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams was one of the more impressive rookies in the league in 2015, and with a full professional season under his belt, he says he is ready to take his game to the next level. Said Williams, “I know the playbook now, so I don’t have to think as much when I’m out there, I can just play. It’s less pressure now that I’m not a rookie anymore, and I don’t have to have that tag or label on me. It’s just been more comfortable overall this year” (article via Kaylee Pofahl of The New York Post).

After racking up 63 tackles and three sacks last season, Williams indicated that he has put a special emphasis on his pass rush during offseason workouts in an effort to become a more complete player. As Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com writes, Williams and defensive line cohort Sheldon Richardson are two big reasons why New York has not made more of an effort to sign Muhammad Wilkerson to a long-term deal.

Now let’s take a look at some more links from around the league:

  • Mark Herzlich, despite being a former undrafted free agent who is neither a star nor a starter, has defied the odds and has played five seasons in the NFL, all with the Giants, with season number six right around the corner. He is by all accounts a good person whose battle with cancer has been inspirational and, thus far, successful, but his on-field contributions have been fairly limited. However, even though one of Herzlich’s biggest fans in former head coach Tom Coughlin is gone, he still has plenty of supporters, including team president and co-owner John Mara. As Paul Schwartz of The New York Post writes, Herzlich has simply made himself exceedingly popular both on and off the field, and therefore difficult to cut. There is something to be said for positive influences in a locker room, and Herzlich’s contributions in that regard have allowed him to carve out a surprising NFL career.
  • Giants wide receiver Roger Lewis, who signed with the club as a UDFA this year, was charged with two counts of raping a girl, with whom he had prior sexual relations, when he was 18. He ultimately was acquitted of one of the charges and pleaded down another for an admission he lied to police during the investigation, and he now has the opportunity to live out his NFL dream, despite not hearing his name called on draft weekend. He has draft-worthy ability, but teams likely shied away from him as a result of the not-too-distant criminal charges, as Matt Schneldman of The New York Post writes. As a UDFA on a team loaded with wide receiver talent, Lewis has a major uphill battle to make Big Blue’s roster, but at this point he is playing with house money and is simply grateful for the chance to play and to further remove himself from his troubled past. He has shown flashes in offseason workouts and could get a chance with another club if he is unable to land a spot with the Giants.
  • Jordan Zumwalt, the Steelers‘ sixth-round pick in 2014, spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons on injured reserve with a hip injury, and the hip surgery that ended his 2015 campaign before it started took over five hours to complete and included a brutal recovery/rehabilitation period. Now hopefully healthy, Zumwalt has been working exclusively at inside linebacker in offseason workouts, as Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, and he still has a chance to make the club in that role as the Steelers seek to replace Sean Spence and Terence Garvin. The odds, however, remain stacked against him.
  • Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune looks at five veteran Buccaneers who could be on the roster bubble, a list headlined by tight end Brandon Myers and right tackle Gosder Cherilus.

Giants Sign Eli Apple, Other Draftees, 14 UDFAs

May 6th, 2016 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy morning for the Giants as their rookie minicamp opens. The team announced today that it has signed four draft picks, including first-round cornerback Eli Apple, along with 14 undrafted free agents.Eli Apple

In addition to locking up Apple, the Giants have signed second-round wide receiver Sterling Shepard, fifth-round running back Paul Perkins, and sixth-round tight end Jerell Adams. Only the team’s third- and fourth-round picks – safety Darian Thompson and linebacker B.J. Goodson – remain unsigned.

Apple’s four-year rookie contract will feature a fifth-year option for 2020, and is worth $15.152MM in total, including a $9.22MM signing bonus. The other rookie deals are far more modest, including Shepard’s, which has a total value of $5.945MM, with a $2.523MM signing bonus.

Here’s the complete list of 14 undrafted free agents that have joined the Giants:

Draft Rumors: Jack, No. 3 Overall, Spence, Conklin

April 19th, 2016 at 7:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The notion that Myles Jack‘s surgically repaired knee is a “time bomb” is greatly exaggerated, sources tell CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who writes that the torn meniscus the UCLA linebacker suffered last year should not meaningfully alter his draft stock. “This kid is a great player. His change of direction is awesome. This is getting totally blown out of proportion,” said an executive. All the teams La Canfora spoke with indicated that Jack won’t last beyond the top 15. The Jaguars, who hold the fifth selection, “seem locked into” Jack, says ESPN’s Mel Kiper (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union).

More of the latest draft rumors:

  • The Chargers are generating plenty of interest in regards to the third overall selection, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). On the possibility of trading the pick, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said last month, “It’s certainly an option. We’ll just follow it through and see where it goes.”
  • Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence is arguably the best pass rusher in this year’s draft class, but he’s likely to last until the second round because of off-field issues in college, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report offers (video link). Teams view Spence as a good kid, but there’s concern that the drug problems which got him dismissed from Ohio State will resurface in the NFL, per Cole.
  • Michigan State offensive tackle and prospective first-rounder Jack Conklin has met with or worked out for the Titans, Bills, Chargers, Steelers, Falcons, Jets, Colts, Buccaneers and Lions, he told SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
  • Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett worked out for and/or visited the Panthers, Titans, Falcons, Patriots, Chargers, Packers and previously reported Jets, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter).
  • Arizona State receiver Devin Lucien visited the Bengals on Tuesday, per Getlin, who notes that he has also visited with/and or worked out for the Cardinals, Patriots and Rams (via Twitter).
  • Bowling Green receiver Roger Lewis has visited with or worked out for the Bengals, Cowboys, Patriots, Seahawks, Vikings and Chargers, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN. Lewis is a potential third- or fourth-round pick, notes Caplan.
  • Auburn cornerback Blake Countess has drawn interest from 13 teams, including Washington, the Ravens and Giants, writes Aaron Wilson of NFPost.com.

Draft Rumors: Robinson, Panthers, Jets

April 7th, 2016 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

Alabama defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson will visit the Lions, Panthers, and Jets in the coming days, Eddie Borsilli of SiriusXM tweets. Robinson, who likely projects as a defensive tackle for a team running a 4-3 scheme or a defensive end for a 3-4 defense, is considered one of the top defensive linemen available this spring. A Consensus All-American in his junior year, Robinson recorded 46 tackles (7.5 for a loss) to go along with his 3.5 sacks. After helping his team win a National Championship this past season, Robinson seems poised to enter the league as a first-round draft pick.

The latest draft rumors:

  • Multiple teams have taken Bowling Green wide receiver Roger Lewis and Arizona wide receiver Cayleb Jones off their boards due to off-field issues, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets.
  • UCLA offensive lineman Caleb Benenoch is set to visit the Titans and Texans, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The athletic offensive lineman is widely viewed as a second-round prospect.
  • Stanford tight end Austin Hooper visited the Titans and Bears earlier this week, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. The 6’4″, 254-pound athlete is a likely top-50 pick, Getlin adds.
  • So far, Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds has had workouts with the Ravens, Patriots, and Titans, according to freelance reporter Jenna Laine (via Twitter).
  • Ohio State safety Vonn Bell has (or has had) meetings, workouts and/or visits with the Falcons, Steelers, and Titans, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
  • Houston corner William Jackson III visited the Ravens last week and will meet with the Raiders on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Norfolk State linebacker Deon King has worked out privately for the Broncos, Raiders, 49ers, Colts, and Washington and will visit with the Cowboys, according to Wilson. King finished his collegiate career with 372 tackles, 52.5 tackles for losses, 22 sacks, five fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles and three interceptions. King was an All-American selection and a three-time all-conference selection.