Draft Rumors: 49ers, Jets, Fins, Mixon,
The 49ers are willing to trade the second pick in the draft, which has been the case since at least February. They’ll “listen to anything,” said general manager John Lynch, who revealed that teams have shown interest in acquiring the selection (via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area). Regardless of whether they trade the choice, the 49ers won’t have top prospects like Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas or Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey in for pre-draft visits. “I think we know those guys pretty well,” stated Lynch (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). They did work out Cal quarterback Davis Webb on Tuesday, per Wagoner. Webb is gaining momentum as a potential first-rounder.
More on the draft:
- The Jets worked out North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky on March 30, but they’ll take another look at the 22-year-old Thursday in the form of a pre-draft visit, reports Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. There are some members of the organization who are quite bullish on Trubisky, Mehta writes. The quarterback-needy Jets, who are set to pick sixth, have also met twice with Texas Tech signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
- With their first-rounder, No. 30, the Steelers plan to select the best defensive back available, says Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (video link). That could be Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers, whom GM Kevin Colbert “loves,” according to Kinkhabwala. Head coach Mike Tomlin said last month that the Steelers need DBs capable of playing man coverage, noting that New England quarterback Tom Brady roasted their secondary in January’s AFC championship game.
- The Dolphins’ previously reported visit with Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton took place Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.The team also hosted Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis, who, like Charlton, is a prospective first-rounder. PFR’s Dallas Robinson currently has Miami taking Charlton at No. 22 overall.
- Speaking of the Dolphins, they’ll meet with Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt this week, and he’ll also visit the Saints, 49ers and Broncos in the coming days, relays Jeremy Bregman of NFL.com. The brother of Texans superstar J.J. Watt may end up coming off the board in Round 1.
- Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon is “absolutely in play” for the Vikings in Round 2 (No. 48 overall), Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller told Matt Vensel, Andrew Krammer and Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. Along with Minnesota, the Saints, Bengals and Raiders have shown the most interest in Mixon, per Miller. The Raiders seem like a curious fit, though, given Mixon’s past and owner Mark Davis’ zero tolerance policy regarding domestic violence.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/17
The latest minor moves…
- Jets center Wesley Johnson signed his restricted free agent tender on Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Gang Green tendered Johnson at a second-round level, entitling him to a $2.75MM salary in 2017. The 26-year-old logged career highs in appearances (15) and starts (eight) last season, and with longtime stalwart Nick Mangold no longer in the fold, Johnson is poised to take over as the Jets’ No. 1 center.
Giants Offering Johnathan Hankins $28MM
Over a month since the start of free agency, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins surprisingly remains available, having not found any offers to his liking. The Giants, with whom Hankins spent the first four seasons of his career, have had an offer on the table to re-sign him since before the market opened. It turns out it’s a four-year, $28MM proposal, reports Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
It’s unclear exactly how much guaranteed money Big Blue is including in its offer, but Schwartz notes that it’s similar to the pact fellow D-tackle Nick Fairley signed with the Saints last month. Fairley’s contract, also worth $28MM over four years, includes $14MM in guarantees. While such a deal hasn’t appealed to Hankins, it’s fair to call it a generous offer at this stage of free agency. A source Schwartz spoke to agrees, saying, “At some point, you got to be pragmatic about it.”
Hankins, whom most teams view as a two-down player, has generated little legitimate interest outside of New York this offseason. Both the Dolphins and the Colts have kicked the tires, but the former would only add him as a rotational player and the latter is uninterested in his asking price, which started out at $15MM per year before quickly dropping to $10MM annually, according to Schwartz.
While Hankins, 25, is coming off the second 16-start season of his four-year career, he has racked up just three sacks (all in 2016) since a seven-sack 2014. He also ranked a subpar 72nd in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen last season. As such, the Giants don’t regard him as a must-sign player, relays Schwartz, who writes that the team could rescind the offer if it addresses the middle of its D-line in the draft.
South Notes: Falcons, Saints, Bucs, Texans
The Falcons expect to lock up Devonta Freeman with an extension in the coming months, but the running back told Sporting News’ Alex Marvez he won’t skip the team’s offseason football activities if a new deal doesn’t come. “I’m doing everything,” said Freeman. “I love these guys. I love football.” Freeman was planning to seek “elite” money as of January, though it’s unclear if that remains the case. For now, he’s in line to make just under $1.8MM next season – the final year of his rookie contract – after combining for 2,100-plus rushing yards, 27 touchdowns (22 on the ground, five receiving) and 127 catches from 2015-16.
More from the South divisions:
- When free agent running back Adrian Peterson visited the Patriots earlier this month, they put him through a workout. That wasn’t the case with the Saints, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Peterson’s meeting with the Saints reportedly “went well,” and it seems each side has interest in working out an agreement.
- Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is on his way to Tampa Bay to visit the Buccaneers, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Cook, who was college teammates with Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston in 2014, joins Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon as the second draft-bound runner Tampa Bay has eyed in the past week. Cook figures to come off the board in the first round. The Buccaneers are slated to pick 19th.
- The Saints hosted UCLA defensive end Takkarist McKinley on Monday, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). Even though he’s amid a monthslong recovery from shoulder surgery, McKinley could go in the opening round, where New Orleans has two selections (Nos. 11 and 32). McKinley’s coming off a 10-sack season, one-third of the Saints’ 27th-ranked total from 2016.
- Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp visited the Texans on Wednesday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The guard seems likely to come off the board somewhere in the 20s, which is in the neighborhood of the Texans’ pick (No. 25). In Houston, Lamp would presumably unseat left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, who has disappointed since going 44th overall in 2014. Although Su’a-Filo started a career-high 15 games last season, Pro Football Focus ranked him as one of the NFL’s worst guards.
Terrance Knighton To Retire
Free agent defensive tackle Terrance Knighton is retiring after eight NFL seasons, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). The 30-year-old will pursue a career in coaching, Schefter adds.
A third-round pick out of Temple in 2009, Knighton spent the first four years of his playing career with the Jaguars before signing with the Broncos in 2013. Knighton was at his best in Denver, where he started in all 32 of his regular-season appearances overall and, in 2014, was part of the NFL’s second-best run defense. The man known as “Pot Roast” finished as Pro Football Focus’ 12th-ranked D-tackle that year, and he left the Broncos the next offseason to sign with the Redskins.
Knighton started in all 15 of his appearances in Washington in 2015, which will go down as his final season. Although he inked a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Patriots last April, he was unable to make the eventual Super Bowl champions’ roster. They cut Knighton prior to Week 1, and he nearly went on to reunite with the Redskins. However, no deal materialized after he met with them in October.
Knighton’s career concludes with 108 appearances, 96 of which were starts, as well as 14 sacks. PFR wishes him well as he looks to enter the coaching ranks.
Raiders Work Out Ego Ferguson
Free agent defensive tackle Ego Ferguson worked out for the Raiders on Wednesday, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
Ferguson is looking for his second new team of the offseason, having previously joined the Packers via waivers after the Bears cut him March 31. Ferguson failed a physical with the Packers, however, leading to his release less than a week after Chicago jettisoned him.
The 25-year-old Ferguson still has youth on his side, and he was a second-round pick in 2014, but his pro career has been a disappointment thus far. The ex-LSU standout didn’t start in any of his 16 appearances as a rookie, nor did he make a huge impact statistically (24 tackles, two sacks), and has since missed 28 of 32 regular-season on account of injuries and a suspension. Ferguson sat out all of last year with a shoulder malady.
The Raiders currently have four D-tackles on their roster in Jihad Ward, Dan Williams, Justin Ellis and Darius Latham.
Shareece Wright Visits Bills
Free agent cornerback Shareece Wright visited the Bills on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the team.
The 30-year-old Wright has been on the open market since the Ravens released him March 7, and he hadn’t garnered any known interest until his meeting with Buffalo. Wright, also an ex-Charger, started between six and 14 games in each of the previous four seasons – including nine in 2016 – so he’d lend some experience to a Bills team that’s largely bereft at corner after No. 1 man Ronald Darby. The six-year veteran has gone three straight seasons without an interception, though, and ranked a below-average 75th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 111 qualified corners in 2016.
If the Bills sign Wright, he’ll go down as the third offseason addition to their cornerback corps, joining free agent pickups Marcus Cromartie and Leonard Johnson. Those two are clear downgrades from the corners the Bills have lost this offseason, however, with Stephon Gilmore having signed with the Patriots and Nickell Robey-Coleman having somewhat surprisingly gotten his release.
AFC East Notes: Bills, QBs, Fins, Alie-Cox
The Bills have shown significant interest in prospective first-round quarterbacks of late, but it could be a ploy to trade down from the 10th overall pick, suggests Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. By publicly meeting with signal-callers, including North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, the Bills might be trying to coax a QB-needy team into moving up to No. 10. Head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged that possibility Wednesday, telling WKSE-FM in Buffalo (via Mike Rodak of ESPN): “We’ll take a look at those [quarterbacks], but it doesn’t mean we’re taking a quarterback. Maybe these last three or four trips were just kind of all a smokescreen, right? It’s kind of like hiding your presents from your kids. You kind of put them in different spots and see, right? We’ll just see.” However, the Bills didn’t want the news of their meetings with QBs to leak, according to Greg Gabriel of 670theScore. Further, the fact that owner Terry Pegula has been on hand for workouts with QBs implies the Bills, despite having Tyrod Taylor, view the position as a major need, posits Gabriel (Twitter links).
More on Buffalo and one of its division rivals:
- Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey visited the Bills on Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Having lost Stephon Gilmore and Nickell Robey-Coleman this offseason, Buffalo is in dire need of corners. PFR’s Dallas Robinson currently has Humphrey going 13th overall, right in the vicinity of the Bills’ selection.
- The Dolphins were among 30 teams in attendance for former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball player Mo Alie-Cox‘s workout Tuesday, but just one of three to meet with him afterward, per the Richmond Times Dispatch (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). As a free agent, Alie-Cox could sign anywhere immediately, and he’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of ex-college basketball players who became successful NFL tight ends.
- If Tennesee defensive end Derek Barnett is on the board for the Dolphins’ first-round pick, No. 22, they’ll seriously consider selecting him, writes Jackson. Barnett may end up going in the top 10, though, which would take Miami out of the running if it stays put.
Colts Unlikely To Sign Johnathan Hankins
Free agent Johnathan Hankins‘ visit to the Colts on Tuesday didn’t lead to a deal, as the defensive tackle left town without agreeing to a contract, reports Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. It doesn’t appear the two sides will eventually find common ground, either, according to Holder.
Although Hankins has been on the market for over a month, he continues to hold out for more than teams are interested in paying. That includes the Colts, who are unwilling to meet Hankins’ demands despite having over $30MM in cap space. Hankins hasn’t exactly encountered a robust market for his services this offseason; the only reported offer to come his way has been from the Giants, with whom he spent the first four seasons of his career. That proposal has been on the table for the 25-year-old since before free agency began, and the Giants continue holding out hope he’ll accept it.
As for the Colts, they’re likely to focus a good deal of attention on the D-line in the draft if nothing materializes with Hankins, per Holder. After finishing 2016 last in the NFL in DVOA against the run, the Colts’ only notable acquisition along the line this offseason has been Jabaal Sheard. They could look to further bolster the unit with the 15th overall pick, then.
Big Ben Wants Steelers To Take TE?
Is Ben Roethlisberger pushing the Steelers to take a tight end in this year’s draft? According to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com, Big Ben was at the team’s headquarters within the last two weeks and pushed coach Mike Tomlin to get him “some more help” in the form of a tight end. Meanwhile, in a statement to Pro Football Talk, Roethlisberger issued something of a denial: 
“The report of me lobbying to draft a tight end or pass catcher is wrong. Coaches and teammates know I love the guys we have and always believe we can win. I trust the organization to do their best selecting players to help us, and and every year they tell me generally the positions they are exploring, but I have not lobbied or demanded we add a tight end or pass catcher or any other position through the draft or free agency.”
Last year, the Steelers thought they landed themselves a star tight end when they signed Ladarius Green in free agency. Unfortunately, injuries and possibly post-concussion symptoms kept him from doing much. Jesse James did alright in the starting role, but he’s far from an elite option.
Tight ends O.J. Howard and David Njoku are considered to be big-time talents, but they’ll probably both be off the board when the Steelers pick at No. 30 overall. With later picks, the Steelers could consider tight ends like Gerald Everett, Evan Engram, and Jake Butt.