Edmund Kugbila

AFC Notes: Fins, Jones, Texans, Broncos, Colts

The Dolphins have not ruled out renegotiating, or even extending, the contract of safety Reshad Jones, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jones was planning a holdout in the hopes of landing an extension from Miami, and reportedly even mulled a season-long boycott, but eventually reported to camp in June. The 28-year-old Jones doesn’t seem very worried about his deal at this point, telling Jackson that he’s “just worried about helping [his] team win.”

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • Offensive tackle Chris Clark attracted interest from four teams over the offseason, and the free agent was able to use that leverage to land a two-year, $6MM deal from the Texans, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. Clark, who will act as Houston’s swing tackle, is set to serve in an especially valuable role given that starting left tackle Duane Brown is recovering from a torn quadriceps. But Clark might needed on the right side as well, as starter Derek Newton suffered a strained hamstring today and will be sidelined for a few weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
  • The Broncos don’t have a clear line of succession at owner, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post details, noting that the club is currently run by president/CEO Joe Ellis. Ellis is one of three trustees who will determine which of Pat Bowlen‘s seven children will take over as the team’s primary owner as Bowlen himself deals with Alzheimer’s disease. For now, though, Ellis, along with strong leadership by GM John Elway and head coach Gary Kubiak, have the team moving a good direction.
  • Although Eric Fisher‘s new contract is probably an overpay, the Chiefs are both spending on future performance and working under a “fear of the unknown,” writes Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap. With fewer qualified offensive tackles entering the league due to the prevalence of the spread offense in the NCAA, Kansas City was willing to extend Fisher now rather than wade into the draft to find a risky tackle option. Plus, given that Fisher was effectively guaranteed $15.3MM over the next two seasons, his new guarantee of $22MM isn’t completely out of left field.
  • The Colts are working out former Panthers offensive lineman Edmund Kugbila, Mike Chappell of Fox59 tweets. The Panthers selected Kugbila in the fourth round of the 2013 draft but he has yet to play a single professional snap due to various injuries.

Sunday Roundup: Kaep, Bradford, Washington

Afters weeks of anxious buildup, the 2016 NFL draft is now over, but we’ll still be discussing the fallout from the draft years down the line. Let’s take a look at some of that fallout right now, along with a couple of other notes:

  • The draft has come and gone, and Colin Kaepernick is still a 49er. As Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle writes, the 49ers‘ actions during the draft–i.e. waiting until the sixth round to pick up raw signal-caller Jeff Driskel, instead of drafting a more pro-ready prospect in the early rounds as many pundits anticipated–suggest that one of Kaepernick or Blaine Gabbert will be the team’s starter in 2016. And, since Kaepernick’s most likely suitors drafted quarterbacks of their own, it looks like we can finally put the Kaepernick rumors on ice for a little while.
  • We learned last night that the Eagles have not had any contact with Sam Bradford since Bradford requested a trade, and head coach Doug Pederson–who is installing a new offense that projected backup quarterback Chase Daniel is very familiar with–admitted that Bradford is losing valuable time, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes. Philadelphia continues to insist that Bradford is the starter, but that could change if he misses significant offseason time. When Pederson was asked at what point Bradford loses the role of presumptive starter, Pederson said, “I think it depends on when he does come back and how fast we can catch him up and put him in that situation and see where he’s at, at that time.”
  • Washington was widely lauded for its selection of TCU wideout Josh Doctson in the first round of the draft, but, as anticipated, his arrival probably means the end of Andre Roberts‘ tenure in the nation’s capital, as Mike Jones of The Washington Post writes. Likewise, Jones writes that the addition of Virginia Tech corner Kendall Fuller could allow the team to release Chris Culliver, whose health status is still uncertain after his ACL surgery and who is due an $8MM salary–with a $9.25MM cap number–in 2016.
  • During his post-draft press conference Saturday night, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie declined to tip his hand as to whether the club will pick up D.J. Hayden‘s fifth-year option, but as Jimmy Durkin of The Bay Area News Group points out, the team will almost certainly decline the $8.03MM option, thereby allowing Hayden to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2016 season. Durkin admits it was somewhat surprising that Oakland did not draft a corner over the past couple of days, as the Raiders are still thin at the position even after signing Sean Smith. The Raiders’ approach suggests that they expect Hayden to provide quality depth as a fourth corner, but he will have to prove himself in a big way in 2016 to remain with the club (and to remain in the league, for that matter).
  • Most GMs like to say that they do not reach for need during the draft and that they will select the best player available, regardless of position. As Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk writes, Panthers GM Dave Gettleman admitted last night that he adapted his strategy to make sure the team could adequately fill out its defensive back depth chart after the Josh Norman saga that ended when Norman signed with Washington. To that end, Carolina drafted three corners–James Bradberry, Daryl Worley, and Zack Sanchez–that looked like reaches to many fans. Gettleman insisted, though, that he did not reach, but he had to focus on corners to prevent a “position disaster.”
  • Greg Auman of The Tampa Bay Times expected the Buccaneers to draft one defensive end and one tackle, and while Tampa Bay did draft a DE (Noah Spence), the team did not grab a DT. As such, Auman expects the club to sign a DT before training camp opens (Twitter link).
  • Former Panthers offensive lineman Edmund Kugbila, whom Carolina selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft but who has yet to play a single professional snap due to various injuries, has been medically cleared to play and has several visits lined up, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

Minor Moves: Wednesday

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the NFL, with the latest transactions added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Raiders waived safety Terrell Pinson to make room for cornerback Chimdi Chekwa on the team’s 90-man roster, according to Steve Corkran (on Twitter). Pinson, a Louisiana Tech product, was signed as a UDFA earlier this month.
  • The Raiders announced that they have signed fifth-round linebacker Ben Heeney, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • The Browns have signed fourth-round defensive back Ibraheim Campbell to his rookie deal, the club announced today in a press release. No team selected more players than Cleveland in the 2015 draft, and the Browns now have 11 of their 12 picks under contract.
  • The Chargers swapped one signal-caller for another at the back of their roster today, officially signing former Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig and cutting quarterback Cole Stoudt.
  • The Packers have moved one step closer to locking up their draft class by signing third-round receiver Ty Montgomery, per Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com (via Twitter). After locking up Montgomery, the 205th draft pick to reach a deal with his team, Green Bay only has first-rounder Damarious Randall left to sign.
  • Former Chargers defensive tackle Chas Alecxih has signed with the Panthers, the team announced today (via Twitter). To make room for Alecxih, Carolina has parted ways with offensive lineman Edmund Kugbila. Kugbila, who will have to pass through waivers before hitting the open market, was a fourth-round pick back in 2013.
  • After inviting him to their rookie minicamp as a tryout player, the Colts have signed kicker Taylor Pontius to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). Pontius almost certainly won’t displace incumbent kicker Adam Vinatieri, but as Mike Wilkering of Pro Football Talk observes, a couple Vinatieri understudies have found starting jobs elsewhere in recent years.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Seahawks, Steelers, Cowboys

There were tons of housekeeping moves in the NFL yesterday and we’ll keep track of the latest here..

  • Former Steelers wide receiver David Gilreath signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks, agent Sean Stellato tells Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports 1 (on Twitter). Gilreath was cut by the Raiders after a short stint in June. The Seahawks also signed offensive guard C.J. Davis, according to agent Neil Schwartz (on Twitter).
  • The Seahawks cut tight end Chase Dixon and waived-injured offensive lineman Jared Smith, Wilson tweets. Seattle signed Smith to a reserve contract in February and added Dixon as a UDFA in May.
  • The Steelers cut linebacker Kion Wilson, Wilson tweets.
  • The Cowboys cut Tyronne Green with an injury settlement, Wilson tweets. The offensive guard was placed on the reserved/injured list late last month.
  • The Steelers signed defensive back Lew Toler, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Bills waived/injured cornerback Brandon Smith, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Mike Rodak of ESPN on Twitter).
  • The Bengals waived punter T.J. Conley, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter).
  • The Bills claimed center Jared Wheeler off waivers from the Panthers while the Bengals grabbed wide receiver Conner Vernon after he was waived by the Browns, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Panthers signed linebacker Anthony Morales, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Morales, will fill Edmund Kugbila‘s roster spot after he was waived-injured. Morales played at Weber State and had career totals of 342 tackles, five sacks, and 38 tackles for a loss.
  • The Texans signed nose tackle David Hunter, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). It’s a homecoming for Hunter, who plied his craft at the University of Houston. Hunter will provide depth on the interior of the defensive line with third-round pick Louis Nix on the PUP list.
  • The Buccaneers have been awarded linebacker Brandon Magee off waivers from the Browns, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Bengals have signed rookie wide receiver Jeremy Johnson, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). The SMU product was recently cut loose by the Patriots.

NFC Notes: Garrett, Mathis, Rudolph, Packers

After three straight 8-8 finishes, the 2014 season has been dubbed a make-or-break season for Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett by several NFL pundits, but owner Jerry Jones doesn’t think that’s necessarily the case. At least, that’s what he’s saying publicly (link via Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com).

“In terms of the record of this team, this is not a make-or-break situation for Jason,” Jones said. “Members of this staff, we’ve got a job to do. We obviously are gonna see what we’re doing this afternoon and what we’re doing the next day and the next day and the next day. … We’ve put a lot of effort in training as a franchise into Jason Garrett, and I want to take advantage of that.”

Let’s round up a few more items from around the NFC….

  • Although Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis wants a new contract and was considering a holdout, he ultimately decided to report to camp, determining that was the best course of action, according to Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com (Twitter links).
  • As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets, Vikings GM Rick Spielman expressed interest again today in locking up tight end Kyle Rudolph to a contract extension. Rudolph has indicated multiple times that he’d like to remain in Minnesota long term, so there seems to be mutual interest in working something out.
  • Speaking to reporters today, Packers GM Ted Thompson said his team’s three goals heading into the offseason were to re-sign as many of their own players as possible, selectively add players from other teams, and draft effectively (Twitter link via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com). In Thompson’s view, Green Bay was able to achieve those goals.
  • Panthers offensive lineman Edmund Kugbila will undergo back surgery and will miss the season, GM Dave Gettleman announced today (Twitter link).