Adam Hayward

Redskins Release LB Adam Hayward

The Redskins announced that they have released linebacker Adam Hayward. Prior to being cut loose, Hayward was slated to enter his third season in D.C. Adam Hayward (vertical)

Hayward, 32, spent his entire career with the Buccaneers before signing with the Redskins in March of 2014. Upon joining his new team, Hayward was named special teams captain. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending leg injury against the 49ers midway through the season. In 2014, the former sixth-round pick played almost exclusively on special teams, appearing in just 14 defensive snaps.

Hayward was then sidelined for the entire 2015 season when he tore his ACL during the preseason. As shown on Roster Resource, Washington still has Will Compton, Steven Daniels, Carlos Fields, Mason Foster, Terence Garvin, Perry Riley Jr., and Martrell Spaight in its inside linebacker group. With Hayward out of the picture, the Redskins 90-man roster is down to 89 players.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Wilkerson, Pats, Giants

We have known for some time that the Jets are looking to trade Muhammad Wilkerson, who is an immensely talented but also highly expensive and potentially movable asset. Wilkerson, who has not yet signed his franchise tender, is not expected to show up tomorrow for the start of New York’s voluntary offseason program, as we learned last night, and Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com does not expect him to sign the tender anytime soon.

But Cimini believes that the only way a Wilkerson trade makes sense is if the team is able to use him to land one of the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft, Carson Wentz or Jared Goff. And now that the Rams have grabbed the No. 1 overall selection from the Titans, the only way that the Jets can assure of themselves of Wentz or Goff is if they swing a deal with the Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick. The Browns, who of course have a number of roster holes to fill and a good deal of cap space, may be willing to swap first-round picks with the Jets, while netting Wilkerson and a few more draft picks in the process, and then select a quarterback from the second-tier of this year’s class of signal-callers. The question, though, is whether Wilkerson would want to sign a long-term deal with the Browns, which is probably not the case, even though the Browns could meet his contractual demands.

This is just my speculation, but unless the Browns select a player other than Wentz or Goff with the No. 2 overall pick–assuming of course, that the Rams take one of the two with the No. 1 selection–then it’s hard to imagine the Jets moving Wilkerson. As Cimini writes, it does not make much sense for Gang Green to use Wilkerson as a trade chip to move up to select a player like Memphis QB Paxton Lynch, who may fall to the Jets anyway and who is not a considerably more promising prospect than, say, Michigan State’s Connor Cook.

Let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:

  • As Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has developed a “blind spot” for former Florida and current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and his program, and Reiss believes Belichick needs to reevaluate his reliance on Meyer. Reiss observes that Chad Jackson, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, Aaron Hernandez, and now Dominique Easley have all produced poor results considering their draft position, and all were products of Meyer’s program.
  • Paul Schwartz of The New York Post examines what the Giants might do to address their back seven in this month’s draft, and he writes that the team would “definitely” select a corner with the No. 10 overall selection, particularly if Vernon Hargreaves III is still available–which become a little more likely after the Rams-Titans blockbuster trade–but that the No. 10 pick is a little too high for Eli Apple or Mackensie Alexander. Schwartz believes it is also too high for the only inside linebacker that could reasonably be considered at that spot, Alabama’s Reggie Ragland. The team seems content to go into 2016 with a youngster at free safety to pair with Landon Collins, and while Jalen Ramsey will be long gone by the time the Giants are on the board, there are a number of worthwhile Day 2 and Day 3 targets that could step in and compete with New York’s current crop of safeties. Schwartz names Karl Joseph, Justin Simmons, and Keanu Neal as a few possibilities.
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com reports that Washington is likely to release Andre Roberts and perhaps Adam Hayward at some point in the near future, which would give the club enough cap room to sign its draft picks and still have about $5MM to roll over into next year (unless Jordan Reed gets a contract extension).
  • In the same piece, Tandler also observes that Noah Spence, who visited Washington last week, may be a perfect fit for the team’s No. 21 overall selection. Spence has some off-field red flags, but he is arguably the best pure pass rusher in this year’s draft, and given Junior Galette‘s potential departure at the end of the 2016 season, Spence could make a great deal of sense.

Adam Hayward Tears ACL, Out For Year

SATURDAY, 12:05pm: Washington has put Hayward on the IR, reports Mike Jones of The Washington Post (via Twitter).

FRIDAY, 10:00am: Washington linebacker and special-teamer Adam Hayward left Thursday’s game against the Lions with a knee injury, and according to John Keim of ESPN.com, Hayward has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. The injury will land Hayward on IR, sidelining him for the entire 2015 season.

A longtime reserve linebacker for the Buccaneers, Hayward signed a three-year contract with Washington before the 2014 season. In his first year with the club, the former sixth-round pick played almost exclusively on special teams, appearing in just 14 defensive snaps. In kick and punt coverage, Hayward was a key contributor for Washington, accumulating eight tackles before a leg injury forced him to miss the last five weeks of the season.

It’s the second big blow for Washinton’s special teams, as the team also lost tight end Niles Paul to a season-ending injury earlier this month. With Hayward and Paul out for the year, fullback Darrel Young figures to head up the special teams unit heading into the season.

In other injury news out of Washington, Robert Griffin III left last night’s game with a concussion, as Zac Boyer of the Washington Times writes. However, Mike Jones of the Washington Post tweets that the concussion isn’t believed to be severe, and it’s possible RGIII could return to the field next week against Baltimore, so it sounds like his regular-season availability isn’t in jeopardy for now.

Washington Places Adam Hayward On IR

Washington announced that it has placed linebacker Adam Hayward on IR, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Taking his place on the active roster will be fellow linebacker Steve Beauharnais.

Hayward, 30, came to Washington on a three-year, $3MM deal this offseason. The deal includes just $300K guaranteed. Hayward spent his entire career with the Buccaneers before testing the market this offseason and joining up with Washington.

Beauharnais, 24, was signed to Washington’s practice squad in October. The former Pats seventh round pick saw a bit of time in two games for New England last season. Beauharnais worked out for a number of teams this season before landing in Washington with audition stops in Oakland, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, and many more.

Injury Updates: Sunday

We don’t pass along news on every injury here at Pro Football Rumors, but we’ll keep tabs on those injuries that may be serious enough to warrant a player heading to IR, or his team making a roster move in order to make up for his absence.

This list will be updated as more information becomes available, as always, with news added to the top of the list as it trickles in.

  • Washington linebacker Adam Hayward will miss the rest of the season with a broken bone in his kneecap, reports Mike Jones of the Washington Post.
  • Texans‘ quarterback Ryan Mallett practiced and played with a right pectoral injury this past week, and will likely miss several weeks, reports John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). He will undergo an MRI to confirm, but the team expects Ryan Fitzpatrick to start next week against the Titans.
  • Dolphins‘ cornerback Jamar Taylor suffered a shoulder injury that could end his season, reports Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. If that is true, he will be the third Miami defensive back to have his season end this November.
  • NFL interception leader and Browns‘ safety Tashaun Gipson left the game with a knee injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the season, writes Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. He will undergo an MRI Monday to confirm the severeness of the injury.

Earlier Updates

  • Bengals’ offensive tackle Andre Smith exited today’s game against the Texans with a possible triceps injury. He will have an MRI on Monday to see the extent of the injury, reports Coley Harvey of ESPN (via Twitter). If Smith has a torn triceps, he will likely miss the remainder of the season.
  • Washington cornerback Tracy Porter joined a long list of defensive backs who were off the field when he exited with a right shoulder injury, reports Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com (via Twitter). Porter was ruled out for the game, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), and could leave the team thin at corner if he misses an extended period of time.
  • Titans‘ linebacker Kamerion Wimbley suffered a hamstring injury in the loss to the Eagles earlier today, reports Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter).
  • Dolphins‘ first-round pick Ja’Wuan James started at left tackle, but was forced out of the game due to a stinger and failed to return, writes James Walker of ESPN (via Twitter). With Branden Albert already out for the season, the team could be very thin at that position.

Extra Points: Cardinals, Lions, Redskins

Here are a handful of extra notes to wrap up this Saturday evening…

NFC Notes: Rams, Redskins, Cowboys, Falcons

The upcoming season has long been targeted as the year the Rams will be legitimate contenders. Accordingly, the team has “margin for error next to zero in the NFL draft,” says ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. The Rams have been quiet in free agency, instead relying on the development of their young team and the potential to bolster the roster with draft picks, including two in the top 13, the first of which (No. 2 overall) is on the auction block. Wagoner asserts the time is now for the team to close the gap on Seattle and San Francisco, especially in the trenches. “…the most glaring difference between the Rams and their NFC West foes last year was how overmatched they were on the offensive line,” says Wagoner, who mentions tackles Greg Robinson (Auburn) and Jake Matthews (Texas A&M) as potential plug-and-play, impact options.

Other morning news and notes in the NFC:

  • The Redskins have signed three inside linebackers this offseason, but the linebacker corps isn’t settled yet, writes Mike Jones of the Washington Post: “The Redskins would like for [Perry] Riley to emerge as the leader of the defense, and become an extension of [defensive coordinator] Jim Haslett. But that could take some time. Riley led Washington in tackles last season, but he tended to disappear at times.” Meanwhile, the other inside linebacker spot is “up for grabs” with Adam Hayward, Akeem Jordan and Darryl Sharpton set to compete.
  • With Miles Austin out of the Cowboys’ plans, the team is open to adding a veteran receiver, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Calvin Watkins, who calls free agent Nate Burleson a “perfect fit.”
  • The Cardinals will look to add depth and size on defense in the draft, writes ESPN.com’s John Weinfuss. More specifically, the team is searching for a prospect to groom as Darnell Dockett‘s replacement, a taller, more athletic safety capable of matching with tight ends and another body at inside linebacker.
  • The Falcons, in desperate need of pass rush, will have a private workout with with UCLA rush linebacker Anthony Barr before the end of the month, according to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. Barr could be an option for the No. 6 pick if South Carolina’s Jadaveon Clowney is off the board. Buffalo’s Khalil Mack could also fit the bill, but he does not have a visit scheduled with the Falcons as of Friday.
  • The Lions could have their pick of defensive backs with the 10th overall selection, speculates Dustin Hockensmith of pennlive.com.

Redskins Sign Adam Hayward

7:13pm: Hayward gets $3MM with $300K guaranteed, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

4:29pm: Linebacker Adam Hayward has agreed to a three-year deal with the Redskins, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The 29-year-old Hayward spent his entire career with the Buccaneers before testing the market this offseason. He has only started 13 games in Tampa Bay since his rookie year in 2007.