AFC Links: Watkins, Shorts, Keisel, Raiders
Last night we not only passed along some Browns notes, but also asked whether Johnny Manziel’s off-the-field conduct was among the NFL’s most intriguing storylines. Let’s take a look at some more news from Cleveland, as well as the rest of the AFC:
- Sammy Watkins revealed to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal that Browns general manager Ray Farmer met with him in Clemson just a few days before the start of last month’s draft. Watkins, of course, was thought to be an option for the Browns at pick No. 4, but Cleveland ultimately traded the pick to the Bills, who selected the 21-year-old receiver.
- Negotiations between the Jaguars and Cecil Shorts could take awhile, but Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com thinks an extension could be signed sometime during the first half of the season. DiRocco agrees with a recent assessment that Doug Baldwin‘s contract with the Seahawks could be a template for a new Shorts deal, but cautions that if Shorts demands No. 1 receiver money, an agreement could stall.
- In his latest mailbag, Scott Brown of ESPN.com writes that he still expects the Steelers to re-sign veteran Brett Keisel, though a reunion may not come until just before the start of training camp. Keisel would serve as a mentor to second-round pick Stephon Tuitt, and act as part of a rotation with the rookie and Cam Thomas.
- 2011 Steelers fifth-round linebacker Chris Carter might be facing his last chance in Pittsburgh, according to R.J. Schaffer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following the release of LaMarr Woodley, there is room for another pass-rusher to step up for the Steelers, but rumors persist that the team might add veteran James Harrison.
- The Raiders still have more than $10MM left in cap space, and ESPN.com’s Paul Guiterrez wonders if the team should look to spend that money, while questioning why Oakland did not look into signing Brandon Flowers. Personally, I think it makes more sense for the Raiders to roll over that cap space into 2015, as there aren’t any high-impact free agents left on the market.
Patriots Sign Dominique Easley
2:05pm: 80% of Easley’s rookie contract is guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
1:45pm: Another first-round pick has signed his rookie contract, as the Patriots announced today in a press release that they’ve locked up defensive tackle Dominique Easley. The agreement for Easley leaves just five draft picks unsigned, including two first-rounders — Justin Gilbert of the Browns and Taylor Lewan of the Titans.
Easley, 22, was drafted 29th overall by the Patriots, perhaps seeing his stock slip a little leading up to the draft because he’s recovering from a torn ACL. While the Pats may not be counting on the former Florida standout to contribute on the defensive line in New England, Easley has plenty of upside and should develop into productive regular after he gets healthy.
Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, Easley should be in line for a signing bonus worth around $3.632MM, with an overall four-year value of $7.304MM on his rookie deal. Since Easley is a first-rounder, his pact also features a fifth-year team option, which the Pats can exercise to keep him under contract for the 2018 season.
In addition to signing Easley, the Pats filled the 90th spot on the roster by signing rookie free agent Chris Martin to a contract, the team announced. Martin, a former Central Florida offensive lineman, signed with the Texans following the draft, but was cut last month — he was reportedly waived with a failed physical designation, but presumably he’ll be healthy enough to participate in New England’s training camp next month.
Browns Sign Second-Rounder Joel Bitonio
The Browns announced they have agreed to terms with their second-round pick, offensive lineman Joel Bitonio (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). According to our draft tracker, Bitonio’s signing means there are only six draft picks who remain unsigned, including one of Cleveland’s first-rounders, cornerback Justin Gilbert.
Bitonio, 22, was selected with the No. 35 overall pick out of Nevada. Though he started 38 games at tackle while in college, he is expected to serve as the left guard on the Browns’ offensive front, where he will line up between All-Pros Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. In this scenario, John Greco, who played the majority of snaps at left guard for Cleveland in 2013, will likely shift to the right side, replacing the departed Shawn Lauvao.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, Bitonio is in line for a four-year deal with a total value of ~$5.462MM, with a signing bonus of approximately $2.292MM, and a 2014 cap hit of about $993K.
Dolphins Sign Ju’Wuan James
One of eight 2014 draftees who had yet to officially sign his rookie contract has done so today. First-round offensive tackle Ju’Wuan James tweeted out a photo that shows him inking his deal with the Dolphins, accompanied by the caption “Happy to officially be apart of the @MiamiDolphins for many years to come #FinsUp.”
James, the 19th overall selection in last month’s draft, will be in line for a signing bonus worth nearly $4.45MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at OverTheCap.com. The four-year contract, which will include a fifth-year team option for the 2018 season, will have an overall value in the neighborhood of $8.428MM, and that total is fully guaranteed, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
With James locked up, the Dolphins have one unsigned pick remaining, in third-round tackle Billy Turner. I wouldn’t be surprised if the club was working on finalizing that deal as well, with the intention of formally announcing both signings at once. Besides the two Dolphins linemen, six other draftees have yet to put pen to paper, including three first-rounders. You can check out our tracker for all the updates.
Bucs Sign Austin Seferian-Jenkins
JUNE 19: The Bucs’ deal with Seferian-Jenkins is now official, tweets Smith.
JUNE 12: The Bucs have agreed to terms with tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter). An official release is expected soon.
The 21-year-old Washington standout was selected in the second round with the 38th overall pick. Like many of today’s NFL tight ends, Seferian-Jenkins has a basketball background and the 6’6″ athlete was a member of the Huskies basketball team in his frosh year. The Bucs thought highly of the underclassman and made him the second TE selected in the draft, ahead of Jace Amaro, Troy Niklas, and C.J. Fiedorowicz. Most projected Seferian-Jenkins as a second round choice but there were teams reportedly considering him in the later part of the first round.
Over the course of three seasons at Washington, Seferian-Jenkins hauled in 146 catches for 1840 yards and 21 touchdowns. His talent hasn’t been questioned but he did raise a red flag for teams in March of 2013 when he was arrested for a DUI.
After signing third round tailback Charles Sims earlier today, Tampa Bay has now signed or agreed to terms with every player in its 2014 draft class, as shown in PFR’s running list.
Steelers Sign Second-Rounder Stephon Tuitt
The Steelers have become the latest team to lock up their entire 2014 draft class, announcing today (via Twitter) that second-round defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt has signed his rookie contract.
Tuitt, 21, played his college ball at Notre Dame, racking up 19.5 sacks in his last two seasons with the Fighting Irish. As the 46th overall pick in last month’s draft, Tuitt will receive a signing bonus worth around $1.672MM, per Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at OverTheCap.com. The overall four-year value of his contract will be about $4.609MM.
I wrote yesterday that only 13 draftees remained unsigned, and since then, five more have been locked up, meaning just eight have yet to put pen to paper. Now that the Steelers have secured all their draftees, only five teams still have picks to sign.
Jaguars Sign Blake Bortles
8:15am: There are no offsets in Bortles’ deal, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports.
8:07am: The Jaguars have locked up the third overall pick from last month’s draft, announcing today that they’ve signed quarterback Blake Bortles. As a first-rounder, Bortles’ four-year rookie deal will also feature a fifth-year club option for the 2018 season.
“It’s awesome,” Bortles said of signing his contract. “It’s awesome to be able to kind of put this in the past. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, signing your first contract. It’s a cool feeling.”
The first quarterback selected in the draft, Bortles will receive a signing bonus worth in the neighborhood of $13.342MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at Over the Cap. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes (via Twitter) that the entire amount ($20.65MM+) of Bortles’ four-year deal is guaranteed, though it’s not clear whether offsets are included in the agreement.
By signing Bortles, who currently ranks behind Chad Henne on the team’s depth chart, the Jaguars move a step closer toward locking up their draft class. Two of Henne’s and Bortles’ targets, second-round receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson, remain unsigned, as our tracker indicates.
Cowboys Sign Demarcus Lawrence
WEDNESDAY, 8:11am: Lawrence formally signed his rookie contract with the Cowboys this morning, according to agent David Canter (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 8:24pm: The Cowboys expect to ink their lone remaining unsigned draft pick this week. Demarcus Lawrence is the last of the Mohicans amongst the Cowboys’ nine draft picks, but both sides believe that they’re on the cusp of completing his deal, writes Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News.
Lawrence’s agent has been out of the country, delaying the process, but the Cowboys believe his deal should be completed by the end of the week. For his part, the second-round pick out of Boise State says he’s not worried about being the only one left unsigned. He also made it clear that he’s not holding out for anything special, so it sounds like the delay is purely procedural. Lawrence is one of a dozen 2014 NFL draftees who have yet to sign their deals.
There will be significant pressure on Lawrence to perform in his freshman campaign. Lawrence was drafted to help fill the void left by the release of DeMarcus Ware and there will be added heat for everyone in the front seven thanks to the absence of Sean Lee.
Jets Sign Dexter McDougle
The Jets announced that they have signed former Maryland cornerback Dexter McDougle to a four-year deal, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). McDougle was the club’s third-round pick. With the cornerback in the fold, the Jets have now inked all 12 of their draft picks from this year’s class, as shown in PFR’s running list.
The Jets, who cut Antonio Cromartie this offseason, must think highly of McDougle. The Jets passed on top CBs like Darqueze Dennard, Jason Verrett, and Bradley Roby in order to take Louisville safety Calvin Pryor in the first round. Rather than try and hit on the next tier of corners in the second round, they tabbed Texas A&M tight end Jace Amaro. After taking McDougle, the Jets didn’t select another corner until the sixth round.
As ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini recently wrote, Jets coach Rex Ryan wasn’t entirely sold on McDougle prior to the draft. However, his concerns were assuaged by defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman and others.
Titans Sign Second-Rounder Bishop Sankey
The Titans have locked up their second round pick, agent Jason Bernstein announced today, tweeting that running back Bishop Sankey has signed his rookie contract with the club (hat tip to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan). The deal will keep Sankey under contract through the 2017 season.
The 54th overall pick, Sankey was the first running back off the board in last month’s draft, and was the Titans’ second pick after offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, who remains unsigned. As I detailed earlier this afternoon, Sankey and Lewan were two of just 13 picks who had yet to put pen to paper, so the running back’s agreement means we’re down to just 12 unsigned draftees now.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, Sankey’s signing bonus will be worth about $1.115MM, while the overall value of his four-year pact amounts to around $3.843MM.