2017 March - Pro Football Rumors

Seahawks To Meet With Gerald Hodges

March 21st, 2017 at 8:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Seahawks will host free agent linebacker Gerald Hodges on Wednesday, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Seattle, of course, already employs two of the league’s best linebackers in Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, but the club does need to replace the production void left by Mike Morgan, who remains unsigned at present. Hodges, 26, could fill that role after playing for the division rival 49ers for the past season-plus.

Hodges started 12 games in 2016, playing on roughly half of San Francisco’s defensive snaps while grading as the NFL’s No. 21 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus. In 15 total games, Hodges racked up 80 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions. He also chipped in on special teams (73 snaps).

Although he ranks as PFR’s third-best free agent linebacker, Hodges hasn’t generated much interest since the market opened. His only known visit came with the Chiefs earlier this month, but the two sides couldn’t agree to a pact.

Bears Sign Benny Cunningham

March 21st, 2017 at 8:02pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After hosting him for a visit today, the Bears have signed running back Benny Cunningham to a one-year deal, the club announced.

Cunningham, 26, will slot in behind Jordan Howard, Jeremy Langford, and Ka’Deem Carey on Chicago’s running back depth chart, but most of his impact will be as a kick returner. On 22 kick returns, Cunningham ranked third in the NFL with 27.2 yards per return in 2016, while the Bears lost 1.1 yards of field position in the return game, according to Football Outsiders.

While it’s not out of the question Cunningham could chip in on offense if injuries affect the Bears, he’s averaged only 43 carries during his four-year NFL career. Cunningham did put up a career high 45 receptions in 2014, so perhaps a passing game role is in his future. More likely, he’ll compete with Deonte Thompson (who was re-signed today) for return duties.

Cunningham ranked as PFR’s No. 9 free agent running back still on the board. He’d visited the Jets already this offseason, and had also been loosely linked to the Seahawks.

Ricky Jean-Francois To Visit Packers

March 21st, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois‘ next meeting will be with the Packers, as Jean-Francois himself tweets. The visit will take place on Wednesday, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Jean-Francois, 30, played in 32 games (eight starts) with the Redskins over the past two seasons. Last year, he saw action on roughly 40% of the club’s defensive snaps, racking up 32 tackles and 1.5 sacks in that span.

The Packers have expressed interest in Jean-Francois in the past, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). RJF would help Green Bay account for the loss of Datone Jones, who signed with the division rival Vikings, and Letroy Guion, who is suspended for the first four games of the 2017 campaign.

Jean-Francois ranks as PFR’s No. 5 free agent interior defender still on the board. Since being released by Washington, Jean-Francois has visited the Seahawks and Bears.

Bears Host RB Benny Cunningham

March 21st, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears are meeting with free agent running back Benny Cunningham on Tuesday, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, and have also re-signed wide receiver Deonte Thompson, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).

Given that clear-cut starter Jordan Howard is backed up by both Jeremy Langford and Ka’Deem Carey in Chicago, Cunningham would take on a purely special teams role with the Bears. The 26-year-old Cunningham didn’t play much on offense in 2016, anyway, as he managed only 21 carries for the Rams. His role as a returner, though, was far more clear.

On 22 kick returns, Cunningham ranked third in the NFL with 27.2 yards per return. Thompson, meanwhile, was Chicago’s kick returner last season, but only averaged 23 yards per return. The Bears lost 1.1 yards of field position on kick returns in 2016, according to Football Outsiders, so adding Cunningham could theoretically offer an improvement over Thompson.

Thompson is now under contract, however, which could lead the Bears to rethink a Cunningham acquisition. In contrast to Cunningham, Thompson played a bit of an offensive role last year, as he reeled in 22 of 36 targets for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

Lions Re-Sign Armonty Bryant

March 21st, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions have re-signed defensive end Armonty Bryant, the club announced today. It’s a one-year, minimum salary benefit deal that comes with a $40K signing bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Detroit claimed Bryant off waivers from the Browns last October, but a knee injury and a four-game PED suspension ensured he only played in five games with the club. During that span, Bryant managed three sacks on just 104 defensive snaps. Still only 26 years old, Bryant will compete for time at defensive end on a Lions team that hasn’t yet re-signed 2016 starter Devin Taylor.

Under the terms of the minimum salary benefit, Bryant will only count for $655K on Detroit’s salary cap despite earning $855K.

Draft Rumors: Jones, Mixon, Trubisky, 49ers

March 21st, 2017 at 5:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Washington cornerback Sidney Jones underwent surgery today to repair his torn Achilles, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jones, who suffered the devastating injury at his Pro Day earlier this month, is expected to resume running in four months. Projected to be selected in the first round before the Achilles tear, Jones himself tweeted today that he’ll be able to play during the 2017 season, though that could certainly be optimistic.

Here’s more on the 2017 draft:

Jones isn’t the only cornerback prospect to be hit by injury, as UCLA defensive back Fabian Moreau is believed to have suffered a pectoral injury while performing a bench press today, tweets Courtney Fallon of NFL.com, who cautions that the “full extent” of the injury is unclear at present. Rob Rang of CBSSports.com projected Moreau as a back-end first round pick (and the third-best cornerback on the board) before news of his injury broke.
UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky will work out for the Browns, Jets, 49ers, and Chiefs, among others, per Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Trubisky, considered one of the top-three signal-callers in this year’s class, is a surefire first-round pick and may be selected within the top five. Cleveland, for one, was said to be “strongly considering” Trubisky with the first overall pick, although that talk has died down recently.
Controversial running back Joe Mixon met with the Raiders on Monday, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Because Mixon is from the Bay Area, his visit with Oakland won’t count against the Raiders’ allotment of 30 predraft meetings. Although video has surfaced of Mixon physically assaulting a female, he’s still expected to be drafted next month and a number of clubs have preceded the Raiders in meeting with the Oklahoma back.

Falcons Sign Derrick Coleman, Two Others

March 21st, 2017 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons announced the signing of three players on Tuesday afternoon. They have added fullbacks Derrick Coleman and Soma Vainuku plus guard Hugh Thornton.

Prior to today, the Falcons didn’t have any fullbacks on the roster, so Coleman and Vainuku now make up their entire FB depth chart. Of course, when all is said and done, they could carry just one fullback, or possibly none if they do not care about prioritizing lead blocking. The Falcons lost one of the league’s best fullbacks this offseason when Patrick DiMarco signed with the Bills in free agency.

You might remember Coleman from his time with the Seahawks. An alleged hit-and-run incident in 2015 kept him out of football in 2016, but he avoided jail by agreeing to 240 hours of community service plus 12 months of community supervision. Although he is out of the woods in terms of legal trouble, he still has to serve a four-game NFL suspension. We had him ranked as one of the best remaining fullbacks on the board heading into Tuesday.

Thornton, 26 in June, started 32 games for the Colts from 2013-2015. The former third-round pick has been held back by injuries and has not seen regular season action since December 2015.

Saints To Re-Sign Sterling Moore

March 21st, 2017 at 3:11pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are re-signing cornerback Sterling Moore, according to Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). We had Moore ranked as one of the ten best cornerbacks remaining on the open market.

After earning only $760K last season under the terms of a minimum salary benefit contract, Moore was expected to get a pay bump for 2017. The Saints have yet to go out-of-house to improve their secondary this offseason. Right now, Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams are slated to start at the corner spots with Moore as one of their primary reserves. If the Saints can land restricted free agent Malcolm Butler, their secondary will be looking a whole lot stronger.

Moore, 27, joined the Saints last year after a one-year stint with the Bucs. He had 56 total tackles with two interceptions in his 13 games (12 starts). Moore graded as the Saints’ best corner, per Pro Football Focus, which placed Moore as the No. 65 CB league-wide.

Dolphins, Kiko Alonso Agree To Extension

March 21st, 2017 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins and linebacker Kiko Alonso have agreed to an extension, according to a source who spoke with Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth up to $29MM, an NFL source tells Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). That includes $18.5MM guaranteed. Alonso’s original deal, per the terms of the first-round tender assigned to him this offseason, was slated to expire after the 2017 season with a $3.91MM cap number.

The former second-round pick has yet to really cash in at the NFL level, but his new deal will likely change that. The 26-year-old (27 in August) has bounced around the NFL since entering the league in 2013. Alonso was dealt from the Bills to the Eagles in exchange for LeSean McCoy in 2015, and he was subsequently traded to the Dolphins along with Byron Maxwell last offseason. In between all of that, he missed the entire 2014 season due to injury.

In 2016, Alonso turned in one of his best seasons to date as he recorded 115 total tackles, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. He graded out as the 48th best linebacker in the NFL last season out of 87 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. His 72.9 mark was a huge improvement over his 2015 score, though not quite as strong as the 85.9 posting from his rookie year (2013).

Recently, he made it known that he has little interest in moving to outside linebacker in 2017. It remains to be seen what Miami has in mind for him, but his role was probably discussed before he signed on the dotted line.

Giants’ Dwayne Harris Takes Pay Cut

March 21st, 2017 at 2:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Giants wide receiver/kick returner Dwayne Harris had his contract restructured, according to NFLPA records obtained by ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. The Giants were reportedly thinking about cutting Harris if he did not agree to a pay cut.

Harris had three years left on his contract and was due a $2.975MM base salary plus a $25K workout bonus this year. Now, he’ll have a more modest base salary of $2.475MM for 2017, giving the Giants $500K in savings. This was the logical outcome for both parties since a release would have saved the G-Men just $1.4MM against the cap with $2.4MM left in dead money.

Last year, Harris returned 29 punts for 170 yards (5.9 average) and took back 22 kickoffs for 533 yards (24.2 average), leading to his first career Pro Bowl nod. He’ll turn 30 in September.