Kadeem Williams

Minor Moves: Steelers, 49ers, Saints, Cards

The Steelers announced that they have signed two of their draft picks: fifth-round offensive lineman Wesley Johnson and sixth-round linebacker Jordan Zumwalt. Johnson, a 6’5″, 297 pound lineman out of Vanderbilt University, was taken with the 173rd overall pick and offers experience all over the O-line. Zumwalt, a UCLA product who stands at 6’4″ and 235 pounds, was the 192nd overall selection. He started 30 of 50 games played in his career, compiling 256 tackles (164 solo), two sacks, 22 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and two blocked kicks. With the signings, Pittsburgh has now signed four of their nine selections from the 2014 NFL Draft. Here’s the rest of tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Cardinals are signing former Arizona State wide receiver Kevin Ozier to a three-year contract following a successful rookie minicamp, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The Cardinals also signed tackle Cory Brandon to a two-year deal, his agent tells Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and they went on to announce the signings of cornerback Jimmy Legree and running back Jalen Parmele (link).
  • To make room for the above signings, the Cardinals cut LeQuan Lewis, Tim Cornett, Kadeem Williams, and Corey Washington, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The 49ers announced that they signed fourth-round wide receiver Bruce Ellington. The No. 106 overall pick out of South Carolina finished last season with 106 catches for 1,586 yards and 16 touchdowns.
  • The Saints inked tackle Jason Weaver and waived receiver Chris Givens, writes Katherine Terrell of The Times-PIcayune. Weaver, a former Edna Karr player, signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2013 and spent training camp with the Bengals last year before spending the regular season on the Dolphins practice squad. Givens was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012 but never saw a regular season snap.
  • The Cowboys waived-injured Jarrod Pughsley and Evan Wilson to sign offensive guards Tyronne Green and Darius Morris, Wilson (of the Baltimore Sun).
  • The Rams signed wide receiver Diontae Spencer, according to Wilson (via Twitter). The McNeese State product had some interest in April but went undrafted.

Cardinals Announce 15 UDFA Signings

The Cardinals have signed 15 undrafted free agents, reports Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.

Here are all of the Cardinals’ signings:

  • Zach Bauman, RB, Northern Arizona
  • Jonathan Brown, LB, Illinois (9K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Glenn Carson, LB, Penn State
  • Chandler Catanzaro, K, Clemson
  • Tim Cornett, RB, UNLV
  • Bruce Gaston, DT, Purdue
  • Kelvin Palmer, OT, Baylor
  • Kelsey Pope, WR, Samford
  • Justin Renfrow, DT, Miami
  • Brandon Sermons, CB, UCLA
  • Kevin Smith, WR, Washington
  • Anthony Steen, OG, Alabama ($12K bonus, per Wilson)
  • Corey Washington, WR, Newberry
  • Todd Washington, CB, Southeastern Louisiana
  • Kadeem Williams, OT, Albany

Draft Updates: Bucs, Bills, McCarron, Savage

A handful of teams picking at the top of next week’s draft have expressed an openness to move down in the first round, and we can add the Buccaneers to this list. Speaking to reporters today, including Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht didn’t rule out the possibility of trading down.

“That’s definitely something we’d look into,” Licht said. “We’ve already reached out to teams. If our player isn’t there, we’d be open to conversations about moving back.”

Here are several more draft-related items for Tuesday afternoon:

  • Within his latest mock draft at ESPN.com, Todd McShay cites three league sources who have told him in the past week that the Bills are trying to trade up from No. 9. According to McShay, if Buffalo does make a move, it will likely be to land Jadeveon Clowney, Sammy Watkins, or Greg Robinson.
  • Appearing on The Paul Finebaum Show, Alabama signal-caller A.J. McCarron suggested he’s been told he could be drafted as high as 16th in the draft, which is the spot the Cowboys currently hold (link via Andrew Gribble of AL.com).
  • Pittsburgh quarterback Tom Savage quietly made a pre-draft visit to the Jets last week, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
  • After previously identifying a few teams who hosted Northern Illinois safety Jimmie Ward, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com names a few more, tweeting that Ward also visited the Colts, Saints, Texans, and Vikings.
  • LSU guard Trai Turner has worked out privately for the Lions, Buccaneers, Panthers, Falcons, and Saints, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Wilson adds that Turner also visited the Cowboys, Cardinals, Colts, and Dolphins.
  • Kansas wide receiver and special teams ace Josh Ford has drawn interest from the Packers, Panthers, Texans, Jets, and Chiefs, tweets Wilson.
  • The Giants, Jets, and Lions were among the teams to host Maryland cornerback Dexter McDougle for a pre-draft visit, writes Wilson.
  • Finally, Wilson reports that Wisconsin defensive tackle Beau Allen had a total of eight visits and three private workouts, and tweets that Albany tackle Kadeem Williams has been informed he’s on an AFC South team’s draft board.

East Notes: Revis, Roberts, Bills, Giants, Jets

Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap wonders what the Patriots‘ offseason might have looked like if Darrelle Revis hadn’t become available. Of course, the Pats have never been the type of team to commit major money and years to a cornerback. However, with Revis willing to sign was it essentially a one-year deal with a franchise tender, New England was able to add a top flight talent on a low-risk move. All things considered, the Pats didn’t have a ton of room to work with this winter and came away with two major upgrades for their secondary in Revis and Brandon Browner and Fitzgerald gives them the appropriate credit. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East..

  • Andre Roberts thought he was going to step into the No. 2 receiver role for the Redskins when he signed with them this offseason, but the arrival of DeSean Jackson has put that into serious doubt, writes ESPN.com’s John Keim. The 26-year-old was frustrated by his role after four seasons with the Cardinals but he might be facing more of the same in D.C. with Jackson and Pierre Garcon in the fold.
  • The Bills hosted Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde, Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Liberty cornerback Walt Aikens today, writes Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.
  • In addition to the Buccaneers, former Boston College and Florida lineman Matt Patchan told Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter) that he has already worked out for the Patriots. Patchan’s next trip is to the 49ers on Monday.
  • Albany State offensive tackle Kadeem Williams met with Giants coach Tom Coughlin after his workout today, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. His next workout will be with the Meadlowlands’ other tenants, the Jets. Williams worked out for the Buccaneers and Chargers in late March.
  • Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News doesn’t expect nose tackle Josh Brent to be back with the Cowboys in 2014, but he says that the possiblity is not completely closed. If the Cowboys don’t get what they want in the draft and still find themselves thin at the defensive line, it could still be in the cards. Brent, of course, hasn’t been on the field since 2012 following the tragic car accident that claimed Jerry Brown.

Draft Notes: Manziel, Fiedorowicz, Lee, Latimer

While plenty of schools have held their Pro Days within the last few weeks, none have included more media members or notable guests than Texas A&M’s, which was attended by former president George H.W. Bush, among others. Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans, and the Aggies also attracted interest from most NFL teams, with representatives from 30 clubs showing up to check out the A&M prospects — only the Bears and Browns weren’t in attendance, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link).

According to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter links), GMs for the Jets, Texans, Vikings, Rams, Steelers, Jaguars, Bills, and Lions, along with head coaches for the Texans, Vikings, Jaguars, Steelers, Lions, Buccaneers, Eagles, and Raiders were in attendance today.

Meanwhile, Manziel will meet privately with the Texans, Jaguars, Bucs, and Raiders today, as well as the Vikings tomorrow, says Breer (Twitter links). And although the Browns didn’t show up today, they have a private workout lined up with the young quarterback, according to Williams (via Twitter).

Here’s more on the 2014 draft class:

  • Iowa tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz is scheduled to work out privately for the Cowboys and Texans on Friday, and also has plans to visit the Bucs, Lions, Falcons, and Patriots in the next few weeks, writes Jeff Arnold at ChicagoFootball.com. The Packers and Panthers have also expressed interest in Fiedorowicz, according to the tight end.
  • The Ravens are hosting USC wide receiver Marqise Lee for a visit this week, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Albany offensive tackle Kadeem Williams worked out for the Bucs and Chargers, and moved well in positional drills, a source tells Wilson (Twitter link).
  • Indiana receiver Cody Latimer has visits lined up with the Panthers, Raiders, Eagles, Bills, and Lions, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter links).
  • Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig will work out for the Falcons tomorrow, tweets Pauline.
  • The Dolphins are scheduled to work out a pair of Monmouth players, tight end Mike McLafferty and cornerback Tevrin Brandon, according to Pauline (Twitter link).
  • Syracuse cornerback Keon Lyn has visits scheduled with the Dolphins, Lions, and Raiders, says Pauline (via Twitter).

Extra Points: Hali, Penn, Prospect Visits

Chiefs‘ pass rusher Tamba Hali received a $2MM roster bonus on Thursday, assuring his place on the team in 2014, reports Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). He credits Joel Corry of the National Football Post with first noticing. Hali was one half of the terrorizing pair of quarterback killers that helped get the Chiefs’ defense off to such a hot start (the other half being Justin Houston). He would have been tough to replace, and it would have been somewhat of a surprise had he been released for cap space.

Here are a few other notes from around the NFL:

  • New Raider Donald Penn went on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss his tumultuous offseason, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “The way Tampa did me kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I kind of wish they were on the schedule, but they’re not,” said Penn. “I built a great relationship there. But the way they did it at the end, it wasn’t right in my book. I’m a grown man and they could have treated me like a grown man.”
  • Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans is taking an official visit with the Jets, reports Tony Pauline of Draftinsider.net (via Twitter). Evans is considered the second best receiver in the draft, and a potential top-ten pick.
  • The Jets will also work out offensive tackle Kadeem Williams out of Albany, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Williams will also work out for the Giants.
  • Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews went on SiriusXM NFL Radio to discuss teams interested in the wide receiving talent, reports Alex Marvez of Fox Sports 1. Matthews announced he will have pre-draft visits with both the Titans and Panthers.