Roy Robertson-Harris

Roy Robertson-Harris Signs Bears Tender

Bears defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris signed his second-round tender, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). With that, he’ll return for another season in Chicago while earning just over $3.2MM. 

Robertson-Harris was set for restricted free agency, but the Bears didn’t want to let him get away. The $3.2MM+ tender was enough to scare off any possible suitors – any team that signed him to an unmatched offer sheet would have had to pay a steep tax in draft capital. Since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent, there would’ve been no compensation for the Bears had they tendered and lost him at the original-round level.

The UTEP product spent his entire 2016 rookie season on the reserve/NFI list, but earned his spot on the team in 2017. Ever since, he’s been getting more and more time on the field. Last year, he appeared in 15 games and started seven, racking up 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended from the interior. All together, he played on more than 50 percent of Chicago’s defensive snaps.

Bears Place Second-Round Tender On DL Roy Robertson-Harris

The Bears are looking to keep Roy Robertson-Harris in the fold. The team tendered a contract to the impending restricted free agent, they announced in a release, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that it’s a second-round tender to help ensure no team poaches him away.

Robertson-Harris will still be free to sign an offer sheet with another team when free agency opens, but the Bears will have the opportunity to match. Should they decline to match, that team would have to give the Bears their second-round pick. Since Robertson-Harris certainly isn’t a star player, it virtually guarantees that no other team will present him with an offer and risk giving up the pick.

Since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2016, there would’ve been no compensation for the Bears had they tendered him at the original-round level and he walked in free agency. It represents a nice pay bump for the UTEP product, as the second-round tender projects to clock in at a little above $3.2MM for 2020.

He spent his entire rookie season on the reserve/NFI list but made the team in 2017, and his role has slowly grown in each of the past three seasons. He played his biggest part yet this past season when he appeared in 15 games and started seven, racking up 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended from the interior. All told, he played a hair over 50 percent of the defensive snaps.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/19

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: OL Brant Weiss (Alliance of American Football)

Chicago Bears

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/19

Here is the latest news involving restricted free agents and exclusive-rights free agents, with updates coming throughout the day:

ERFA

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

RFA

Tendered at second-round level: 

Tendered at original-round level:

Non-tendered: 

Bears Reach 75 Man Limit

The Bears have reached the 75-man roster limit in advance of the 3pm CT deadline. The full list of today’s moves is below

Placed on IR:

Waived:

  • LB Jarrett Grace

Waived/Injured:

Placed On NFI list:

  • OLB Roy Robertson-Harris

Shaw left Soldier Field in an ambulance over the weekend after breaking his right leg. Prior to the injury, he was fighting for the team’s third-string quarterback job behind Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer. David Fales and Matt Blanchard will now duke it out for the third-string QB job.

Grasu, a second-year center, tore his ACL earlier this month, robbing the Bears of one of their most important offensive linemen.

Bears Add Eight UDFAs

The Bears have submitted eight undrafted free agent signings to the NFL office, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Here’s the list:

  • TE Ben Braunecker (Harvard)
  • OL Dan Buchholz (Duquesne)
  • CB Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State)
  • LB Don Cherry (Villanova)
  • LB Roy Robertson-Harris (UTEP)
  • WR/KR Derek Keaton (Georgia Southern) [$3k signing bonus, Biggs tweets]
  • OL John Kling (Buffalo)
  • TE Joe Sommers (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) [$7,521 signing bonus, tweets Biggs]

NFC Rumors: Treadwell, Giants, Packers, Rams, Britt

Here’s a look at the NFC:

  • Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell identified the Giants and Bears last month as two teams that had shown interest in him. Now, he’ll visit both of those clubs. Rand Getlin of the NFL Network tweets that Treadwell will visit the Giants on Monday, then the Bears after that.
  • With seven members of the Packers‘ 2016 free agent class still unsigned, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com explores whether or not Green Bay will eventually re-sign players like fullback John Kuhn, linebacker Mike Neal, and others.
  • Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt has signed with agent Fadde Mikhail for representation, as Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal tweets. Britt, a Rutgers product, was formally repped by SportsTrust Advisors. Britt, 28 in September, caught 36 passes for 681 yards and three touchdowns in 2015. That was a step back from 2015 when he hauled in 48 passes for 748 yards and three scores. Britt is scheduled to carry a cap number of $4.85MM this season before hitting the open market.
  • The Cardinals met with Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott on Thursday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
  • Texas-El Paso defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris is set to visit the Packers next, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
  • Linebacker Leonard Floyd has been visiting the Bears over the past two days, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Stanley, Nkemdiche, Cowboys, Bills, Bucs, Bills

Ronnie Stanley of Notre Dame is considered by most as a top 10 lock, but not all teams agree, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net writes (for PhiladelphiaEagles.com). Some scouts are worried about the left tackle’s athleticism and others just see him as flat out overrated, and that’s causing his stock to drop. It’s possible then that Stanley will go from the top 10 to somewhere in the middle of the first round.

Here are the latest draft rumors from around the NFL:

  • Ole Miss defensive end Robert Nkemdiche will meet with the Jaguars on Wednesday and the Ravens on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Nkemdiche met with Arizona on Monday and will check in with Oakland today.
  • Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins is visiting the Bills, Buccaneers, and Cowboys this week, as Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. Garafolo wonders if Dallas might be considering a trade back from No. 4 to take Rankins.
  • Indiana left tackle Jason Spriggs is gaining momentum and “several personnel people believe he’s a lock to be selected in the bottom third of round one,” Pauline writes.
  • Rees Odhiambo will take visits with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, and Dolphins and has a workout with the Saints, per Rapoport (on Twitter).
  • Former Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock has worked out for Patriots, Lions, Ravens and Vikings, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. He’s also scheduled to meet with the Dolphins this week.
  • Middle Tennessee State defensive back Kevin Byard will work out for the Panthers on Tuesday, visit the Falcons on Wednesday, visit the Chiefs on Thursday, and visit the Packers on Friday, as Wilson tweets.
  • Texas-El Paso defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris will visit the Raiders and Chiefs and work out for the Bears and Vikings, Wilson tweets.
  • Southern Mississippi offensive lineman Norman Price is generating some buzz as of late, Pauline writes.
  • Western Kentucky cornerback Prince Charles Iworah is vaulting up draft boards and could land in the fourth round, Pauline writes.

Draft Rumors: Ramsey, Alexander, Ravens, Steelers

The Titans, who hold the top pick in this year’s draft, have scheduled a visit with Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, writes Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. Most expect the Titans to take Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil first overall, but they’re nonetheless doing their homework on Ramsey. Should Ramsey get past the Titans, he’ll have a potential suitor in the Cowboys, who pick fourth and have already met with him, tweets Rand Getlin of NFL.com.

More draft news. . .

  • In addition to his previously reported visit with San Francisco, Clemson cornerback and prospective first-round pick Mackensie Alexander will meet with the NFC West rival Rams, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
  • Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones worked out for the Ravens on Friday, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. Jones, who projects as a slot cornerback and a return specialist, is viewed as a third- to fourth-round pick. The Baltimore-area native has said that playing for the Ravens would be a “dream come true.” In total, the Ravens had about 40 to 50 players in for a workout, including Jones and two Maryland defenders – Sean Davis (DB) and Quinton Jefferson (DT) – Zrebiec tweets.
  • The Steelers hosted four prospects Friday – safeties Deon Bush (Miami) and Jeremy Cash (Duke), Georgia Tech cornerback David White, and LSU offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins – per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Hawkins is the second O-lineman the Steelers have met with over the last two days, joining Indiana’s Jason Spriggs (link via Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com).
  • The Buccaneers sent offensive line coach George Warhop to Cincinnati on Friday to work out tackle Justin Murray, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
  • The Vikings had an assistant spend time on Thursday after Washington’s pro day with linebacker Travis Feeney, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Feeney had a strong showing at the combine but, unfortunately, had to undergo hernia surgery afterward.
  • Miami defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu has picked up interest from the Chargers, Panthers, Eagles, Cardinals, and Broncos, according to Mike Kaye of First Coast News (via Twitter).
  • The Titans and Vikings met with Indiana defensive tackle Darius Latham on Friday, Pauline reports. Off-field issues, including two suspensions in college, could hurt Latham’s draft stock. If not, he might go as high as the third round.
  • UTEP defender Roy Robertson-Harris is drawing attention, having met with the 49ers and Panthers. He also has visits and/or workouts scheduled with the Raiders, Chiefs, Bears and Vikings.

Zach Links contributed to this report.