South Notes: Glennon, Bucs, Falcons, Titans
The Buccaneers are currently carrying three quarterbacks on their roster, but with the club expected to add another one in next Thursday’s draft, one of those three could be on the move. ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan indicated on WDAE 620 AM in Tampa Bay this week that, while the Bucs have denied shopping Mike Glennon, Caplan thinks he’s “as good as gone” (link via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune).
“It’s obvious to me and people around the league that [the Bucs] are going to try to move him,” Caplan said.
Following up on his comments, via Twitter, Caplan suggested he doesn’t think Tampa Bay should move Glennon unless the team can land a third-round pick in return, given the 24-year-old’s impressive rookie season.
Here’s more on the Bucs and a few more NFC and AFC South clubs:
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests (via Twitter) that the Buccaneers will likely be open to moving down in the draft. As Rapoport notes, Bucs GM Jason Licht previously worked under Bill Belichick, who has made a habit of trading down.
- Free agent tight end Bear Pascoe is meeting with and working out for the Falcons today, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Giants.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com gives the Titans a grade of C for their moves in free agency, which included signing linebacker Wesley Woodyard and offensive tackle Michael Oher, as well as letting cornerback Alterraun Verner walk.
- Wide receivers Brian Robiskie and Jheranie Boyd are participating in the Titans‘ minicamp on a tryout basis, tweets ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky.
- He won’t be drafted as high as fellow Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, but Hakeem Smith was a four-time All-Conference selection and had private workouts with the Titans and Falcons, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- The Texans and Jaguars are among the teams that have expressed interest in Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). According to Wilson, the Ravens, Bears, and Dolphins are a few other clubs with interest.
Giants Pick Up Prince Amukamara’s Option
The Giants have exercised their fifth-year option on Prince Amukamara‘s rookie deal, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The move ensures that the cornerback remains under contract with the team through the 2015 season.
Amukamara, 24, has steadily assumed a larger role in the Giants’ secondary in recent years, starting all 16 games for the club in 2013 and playing over 1,100 defensive snaps. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the 2011 first-rounder played well as a full-time starter last season, ranking 34th among 110 qualified cornerbacks, with excellent grades against the run.
Still, the Giants’ decision on Amukamara wasn’t viewed as a slam dunk. The team added Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Walter Thurmond to shore up the cornerback position this offseason, and there are some lingering questions about Amukamara’s durability. When Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com broke down the 32 decisions in April, he predicted that the Giants wouldn’t exercise their option on the former 19th overall pick.
Now that it has been picked up though, that 2015 option will be worth $6.898MM. For now, it’s guaranteed for injury only, though it will become fully guaranteed on the first day of the 2015 league year. You can keep tabs on all of this year’s fifth-year option decisions with our tracker.
Texans Notes: Clowney, Draft, RBs, Watt
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle provided a few Texans-related insights on Twitter today, suggesting that he believes Jadeveon Clowney will be the pick if the team doesn’t trade down from No. 1. If the Texans do indeed pass on someone like Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles to grab a pass rusher like Clowney or Khalil Mack, McClain isn’t sure which signal-caller the club would be targeting later in the draft.
Here’s more on the Texans:
- Texans GM Rick Smith would like to acquire as many picks as possible in this draft, particularly in the first three rounds, so there’s a chance he trades the team’s second-round pick, according to McClain.
- In McClain’s view, it would cost a team like the Falcons their first-round pick this year and next, along with this year’s second- and fourth-round picks to trade up to the Texans’ spot at No. 1. McClain doesn’t believe Smith would send the first overall pick to Atlanta for this year’s first- and second-rounders and next year’s first-rounder. If that’s true, I’d be surprised to see the Texans move the pick.
- For what it’s worth, Smith indicated yesterday on Fox Sports Southwest that he “absolutely” knows who he wants to take with the first overall pick.
- According to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter), the Texans have done “a lot of work” on running backs, and could potentially draft one before the end of the third round. The club lost top backup Ben Tate in free agency this offseason.
- Last week, former agent Joel Corry and former team executive Ari Nissim published the first installment of a mock contract negotiation between J.J. Watt‘s agent and the Texans. Today, the second part of the series is up at the National Football Post, as the two sides continue to discuss a hypothetical deal for Watt.
Draft Notes: Manziel, Bridgewater, Giants
As a companion piece to his cover story in Sports Illustrated, Peter King of TheMMQB.com conducts a virtual roundtable with former quarterbacks and coaches on the value of Johnny Manziel. Meanwhile, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports says no QB in this year’s class has improved his stock more over the last few weeks than Manziel, who has quelled many concerns about potential off-field distractions (Twitter links). According to Glazer (via Twitter), one team that didn’t rank Manziel among its top four signal-callers a month ago now has him at No. 1.
Here are a few more Thursday draft updates:
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk questions whether Teddy Bridgewater‘s stock is really falling as much as has been suggested, or if teams always had questions and concerns about the Louisville quarterback, with the media playing catch-up on that perception.
- In a piece for CBSSports.com, former agent Joel Corry takes a look at how the 2011 CBA has affected teams’ approaches to the draft. As one front office exec tells Corry, the fifth-year option for first-rounders may result in teams near the back of the top 10 wanting to trade down, in order to get that fifth-year option at a more reasonable price.
- “Word on the street” suggests that the Giants prefer Zack Martin to fellow offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who identifies 10 potential candidates for New York’s first-round pick.
- Dixie State tight end Joe Don Duncan, who was unable to work out at the combine due to a broken foot, has been medically cleared and had a Pro Day in California for NFL teams, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd paid a pre-draft visit to the Falcons, according to Wilson. Boyd is projected to be a mid-to-late-round pick.
PFR Commenting Policy
Comments of this nature are not allowed at Pro Football Rumors:
- Attacks or insults towards other commenters, the post author, journalists, teams, players, or agents.
- Inappropriate language, including swearing and related censor bypass attempts, lewdness, insults, and crude terms for body parts, bodily functions, and physical acts. Overall, we don’t want any language that a parent would not want their kid to see.
- Juvenile comments or extensive use of text message-type spelling.
- Writing comments in all or mostly caps.
- Spam-type links or self-promotion.
- Comments about how you’re sick of this topic or it’s not newsworthy.
- No inappropriate avatars or images are allowed.
- Anything else we deem bad for business.
If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us. Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances. Remaining civil is not that difficult though, and most commenters have no problems doing so, as well as helping rein each other in. We are grateful for all of our longtime commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure. This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.