Jets Sign Leonard Williams
7:19pm: The Jets announced the deal, according to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. Counting Williams’ bonus and salary in 2015, he will earn more than $12MM this year, which is second on the team behind Darrelle Revis‘ $16MM.
5:56pm: Leonard Williams agreed to terms with the Jets on his first NFL contract, reports Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo on Twitter.
The No. 6 overall pick’s customary four-year deal will be worth $18.63MM, with an $11.81MM signing bonus.
The 20-year-old defensive lineman recorded 21 sacks and 36.5 backfield stops in three seasons with USC and was viewed by many draft experts as the best overall talent in the draft. Williams will join a loaded Jets defensive front that features 2011 first-rounder Muhammad Wilkerson and ’13 first-rounder Sheldon Richardson.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Williams became the first Trojan defensive end to earn repeat first-team All-American honors in 54 years when he landed on the AP’s top team in both 2013 and 2014.
Tom Brady Suspension Coming Next Week?
Roger Goodell is expected to suspend Tom Brady next week, sources informed Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
Sources close to Goodell have little doubt the commissioner is viewing DeflateGate as a “serious violation,” which will prompt, in Myers’ view, the highest-profile player suspended in the NFL’s 96 years. The Patriots are bracing for a suspension of Brady that could last as long as eight games, according to CSNNE.com’s Mike Girardi.
After the 37-year-old Brady landed as the notable figure in this week’s DeflateGate report, the Pats are preparing for what would be a startling suspension for a player of Brady’s caliber and one that could define defending Super Bowl champions’ season. Pundits and sources around the league have the potential Brady-less portion of the Pats season hovering between two and 16 games.
Myers does think the commissioner will be more lenient that Girardi’s report would lead you to believe, with a two-game suspension expected after possibly an appeal-induced reduction from four. But the Daily News reporter adds that the sources believe there is enough, between Brady’s alleged ordering of footballs to be deflated and lack of cooperation with Wells’ investigation by not turning over his cell phone, to warrant a suspension.
Myers’ sources said previous reports of a 16-game suspension are “way off,” however.
In the time span that appears to be the floor of a potential Brady suspension, the Patriots open the season with a home tilt against the Steelers before traveling to face the Bills. Jimmy Garoppolo enters his second year after having completed 19-of-27 passes as a rookie exclusively during inconsequential sequences. New England finished 11-5 in 2008, its last season that featured games without Brady’s services.
Seahawks Sign Four Draft Picks
The Seahawks are moving quickly to process deals with their draft choices, doing so with four of them on Friday, according to Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk.
Seattle signed guards Terry Poole and Mark Glowinski, who were both selected in the fourth round, along with fifth-round cornerback Tye Smith and sixth-round defensive end Obum Gwacham.
Second-round defensive end Frank Clark and third-round wideout Tyler Lockett are the NFC champions’ only unsigned selections.
Dante Fowler Jr. Out For Season
Barely a week after learning where he’d begin his NFL career, Dante Fowler Jr. will now have to wait much longer to do so.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter, the Jaguars rookie defensive end and No. 3 overall pick will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in a minicamp practice Friday.
The Florida pass-rusher suffered the tear in his left knee during the first hour of the team’s initial minicamp, going down in an 11-on-11 drill. Fowler was carted to the locker room after his workout was halted when his knee buckled during an exchange with offensive lineman Watts Dantzler.
Fowler notched 15 sacks last season and finished his three-year Gators career with 33. Picking No. 3 for the second straight year, the Jaguars were counting on Fowler to elevate their pass pursuit. Jacksonville boasted the seventh-best sack total in the league last season with 45 but finished 22nd in pass defense.
Thirty-three-year-old Chris Clemons finished with eight sacks last year — second to Sen’Derrick Marks‘ 8.5 on the team — and looks to again be the team’s most formidable pass-rusher on the edge. The Jags can likely no longer entertain the notion of cutting Clemons, who will turn 34 in October, like they did Jason Babin last June after this development, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Fowler has not yet signed his rookie contract but signed an injury-protection waiver, which mandates the Jaguars “negotiate in good faith,” per Schefter, via Twitter. He didn’t miss a game in his three years in Gainesville.
Dolphins Sign 16 Undrafted Free Agents
3:37pm: The Dolphins have added a couple more UDFAs to their roster, tweeting word of Marshall linebacker Neville Hewitt‘s signing, and listing former Maine wideout Damarr Aultman on their minicamp roster. Aultman got a $1.5K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson (Twitter link).
10:09am: The Dolphins are the latest team to officially confirm their undrafted free agent signings, announcing (via Twitter) the 14 players they’ve added to their roster. Here are the team’s newest additions:
- Mickey Baucus, OL, Arizona
- Matt Darr, P, Tennessee
- Ray Drew, DE, Georgia
- Andrew Franks, K, RPI
- Mike Hull, LB, Penn State
- Christion Jones, WR, Alabama
- Nigel King, WR, Kansas
- Mike Liedtke, OL, Illinois State
- Jeff Luc, LB, Cincinnati
- Ellis McCarthy, DE, UCLA
- Kendall Montgomery, DE, Bowling Green
- Dionte Savage, OL, Oklahoma
- Zach Vigil, LB, Utah State
- Aundrey Walker, OL, USC
Browns Sign Four Undrafted Free Agents
The Browns have officially signed four undrafted free agents, the team announced today in a press release. There may be more UDFA additions coming for the Browns – more players reportedly agreed to terms with the team earlier in the week – but for now, Cleveland’s UDFA class is one of the league’s smallest. Here are the club’s new rookie additions:
- Tyler Loos, OL, Northern Illinois
- Darrian Miller, OL, Kentucky ($5K bonus, plus $15K guaranteed salary, per Aaron Wilson)
- De’Ante Saunders, DB, Tennessee State
- Dylan Wynn, DL, Oregon State
David Garrard To Officially Retire
Although he hasn’t played in an NFL regular season game since 2010, David Garrard was hoping to make a comeback as recently as last August. Today, however, Garrard told Jaguars Today on 1010XL 92.5 in Jacksonville that he has decided to officially retire, and will do so as a Jaguar (Facebook link).
Garrard started 76 games for the Jaguars from 2002 through 2010 before catching on with the Dolphins in 2012 and the Jets in 2013. Injuries kept him off the field in both comeback attempts, and the 37-year-old has never played a regular season NFL contest for any team besides the Jaguars.
Over the course of his NFL career, Garrard had a winning record (39-37) as a starter, and earned a Pro Bowl berth for his performance in the 2009 season. Overall, he threw for more than 16,000 passing yards, compiled an 85.8 passer rating, and had an 89/54 TD-to-INT ratio.
Garrard’s retirement as a Jaguar comes just weeks after another longtime mainstay in Jacksonville – Maurice Jones-Drew – announced his retirement upon signing a one-day contract with the team.
Washington Signs 12 Undrafted FAs
FRIDAY, 3:08pm: Washington has added another player to its undrafted free agent class, announcing today in a press release that the team has signed former Duke offensive lineman Takoby Cofield. Field Yates of ESPN.com reported earlier this week (via Twitter) that Cofield would receive $25K in guaranteed money as part of his deal.
THURSDAY, 3:10pm: Washington has announced several of its undrafted free agent signings, confirming the names of 11 players who are joining the team’s roster, according to a press release. Here are the newest additions for general manager Scot McCloughan and company:
- Reggie Bell, WR, San Diego
- Brey Cook, OL, Arkansas
- Corey Crawford, DL, Clemson
- Dyshawn Davis, LB, Syracuse
- Connor Halliday, QB, Washington State
- Tony Jones, WR, Northwestern
- Ty Long, K, UAB
- Devin Mahina, TE, BYU
- Terrance Plummer, LB, Central Florida
- Tyler Rutenbeck, WR, Dubuque
- Trey Williams, RB, Texas A&M
Rams Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents
FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The Rams have officially announced their undrafted free agent signings, adding five more players to the list of 10 below, bringing their total to 15. Here are the five new names:
- Isiah Ferguson, WR, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Montell Garner, DB, South Alabama
- Matt Longacre, DL, Northwest Missouri State
- Cameron Lynch, LB, Syracuse
- Keshaun Malone, LB, Bacone
SUNDAY, 4:41pm: After adding nine picks in the 2015 NFL draft, the Rams have agreed to sign another 10 undrafted players, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
- Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas
- Imoan Claiborne, CB, Northwestern State
- Terrence Franks, RB, Texas State
- Jacob Hagen, S, Liberty
- Jay Hughes, S, Mississippi State
- Zach Laskey, FB, Georgia Tech ($3K bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun)
- Bradley Marquez, WR, Texas Tech
- Tyler Slavin, WR, New Mexico-Highlands
- Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT, Iowa ($15K bonus and $10K of base salary guaranteed, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press)
- Darrell Williams, T, South Florida
Pats Sign Seven Draftees, Seven UDFAs
The Patriots announced the signings of a number of rookies today, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed eight of their 11 draft picks, and another seven undrafted free agents. Two of those draft picks – fourth-rounder Tre’ Jackson and seventh-rounder Xzavier Dickson – had their deals previously reported, but six of the names are new, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that a ninth draftee has signed his contract as well.
The following picks have signed their contracts, per the team and Wilson:
- Jordan Richards, DB (second round)
- Geneo Grissom, DE (third round)
- Trey Flowers, DE (fourth round)
- Shaq Mason, OL (fourth round)
- Matthew Wells, OLB (sixth round)
- A.J. Derby, TE (sixth round)
- Darryl Roberts, CB (seventh round)
Of New England’s 11 draft picks, only first-rounder Malcom Brown and fifth-round long snapper Joe Cardona remain unsigned. In addition to locking up most of their draft class, the Pats have formally inked seven undrafted free agents to deals. Here are those players:
- David Andrews, C, Georgia
- Devin Gardner, WR, Michigan ($5K bonus, plus $10K guaranteed salary, per Dave Birkett)
- Chris Harper, WR, California ($15K bonus, plus $5K guaranteed salary, per Aaron Wilson)
- Jimmy Jean, DB, Alabama-Birmingham
- Brandon King, DB, Auburn
- Eric Patterson, DB, Ball State
- Vince Taylor, DL, Vanderbilt ($2.5K bonus, per Jeff Howe)