There was some concern that Missouri pass rusher Shane Ray, who is expected to come off the board early in the draft next Thursday night, would require surgery on a troublesome foot injury. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), Ray’s injury – which is similar to turf toe – was discovered during a team visit and prompted a visit to a foot specialist, who recommended rest rather than a surgical procedure, good news for the young edge defender.
Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link) hears that the Cowboys flagged Ray as needing surgery, but not all teams – and not all doctors, apparently – were convinced it was required.
Let’s check in on a few more Thursday draft updates….
- Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff is drawing “heavy interest” from teams drafting between the fifth and ninth spots in the first round, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link). The clubs currently in those spots? Washington, the Jets, the Bears, the Falcons, and the Giants.
- In addition to making 17 pre-draft visits to teams, Washington cornerback Marcus Peters had individual workouts for the Falcons, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Dolphins, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Speaking to Maggie Gray on SI Now, Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams said that most teams are telling him his DUI incident shouldn’t have a huge impact on his draft stock.
- Montana edge defender Zack Wagenmann, who is projected as a mid- to late-round pick, broke his foot recently during a private workout with an NFL team, writes Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Wagenmann won’t be able to participate in football-related activities for eight weeks, but is aiming to be ready for training camp.
- Caplan also passes along an update on Hobart offensive lineman Ali Marpet, reporting (via Twitter) that Marpet visited the Chargers earlier this week, and has worked out for the Cardinals, Bengals, and Texans.
- Besides confirming some of his previously-reported visits, T.J. Clemmings‘ draft diary for USA Today (via Tom Pelissero) added some new teams to his list of possible suitors. According to the Pittsburgh tackle himself, he visited the Bears and had a private workout with the Panthers. Clemmings will also privately work out for the Dolphins tomorrow.
- Florida linebacker Neiron Ball has made pre-draft visits with the Patriots, Broncos, Buccaneers, and Texans, writes Wilson. Ball has also worked out privately for the Falcons, Rams, Steelers, Cardinals, and Texans.