Draft Rumors: Watson, 49ers, Texans
Here’s a rundown of the latest NFL Draft news:
- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is visiting the 49ers on Monday and Tuesday before meeting with the Cardinals on Wednesday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Niners, of course, own the No. 2 overall pick and the Cards are at No. 13.
- The Bills worked out UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky on Sunday, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Owner Terry Pegula was there, along with head coach Sean McDermott. In our mock draft from last week, Dallas Robinson has the Bills passing on Trubisky in order to take a wide receiver.
- The Texans worked out Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson on Friday before flying to the 49ers over the weekend. Next up is a Panthers workout on Tuesday (Twitter link via Rapoport). Carolina has already met with Robinson, so this could be a sign of serious interest. The Panthers own the No. 8 overall pick.
- Safety Jamal Adams, who had a strong showing at LSU’s Pro Day, is visiting the Panthers today (Monday), Rapoport tweets. Rapoport wonders aloud whether he’ll be available at No. 8.
- Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman has workouts for Steelers, Bills, Chiefs, and Patriots, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Marshawn Lynch Interested In Patriots
Marshawn Lynch has privately expressed interest in playing for Patriots if talks break off with the Raiders, Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald tweets. He remains focused on returning to the NFL as a Raider, but he is at least viewing the Pats as a Plan B. 
Lynch met with the Raiders last week and the belief, to this point, has been that he would only return to football with Oakland. The Seahawks still hold Lynch’s rights, so any union with the Patriots or Raiders would require him to be released or traded.
The Patriots do not have a clear need at running back after signing Rex Burkhead this offseason and re-signing Branden Bolden last week. Dion Lewis, James White, and D.J. Foster are also on the roster and a reunion with free agent LeGarrette Blount remains a possibility. There’s also the (outside) chance of the team circling back to Adrian Peterson after last week’s workout.
Lynch was held back by injuries in 2015 due to nagging injuries, but he had a strong 2014 with 4.7 yards per carry and a career-high 13 touchdowns on the ground. He’s still only 30 years old and, theoretically, would be returning to football with fresh legs.
Bills Sign QB T.J. Yates
The Bills announced the signing of T.J. Yates. It’s a one-year deal for the veteran quarterback. 
Yates hooked on with the Dolphins late last season but Miami’s addition of David Fales left him without a spot on the depth chart. Now, he projects to be the Bills’ third option behind starter Tyrod Taylor and youngster Cardale Jones. Of course, if the Bills’ flirtations with quarterbacks in this year’s draft are to be taken seriously, then Yates might not be long for Buffalo.
Yates, 30 next month, has only seven regular starts on his resume. He does, however, have two playoff starts to his credit thanks to his time with the Texans.
Eagles Sign QB Matt McGloin
The Eagles agreed to terms with quarterback Matt McGloin, according to a team announcement. The former Raiders gets a one-year contract in Philly. 
McGloin, rated as one of Pro Football Rumors’ top remaining free agent QBs, was not expected back in Oakland for 2017. Last month, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio spoke openly about the idea of using Connor Cook as the team’s No. 2 QB or bringing in an outside arm for that role. When EJ Manuel was signed to a free agent deal, that pretty much closed the door shut on a potential McGloin return.
“I think, for us, we want to develop [Cook] first as our backup quarterback. He’s the guy we know we have right now,” Del Rio said. “But there’s always competition in this league, and I wouldn’t close the door there, to say we wouldn’t make it competitive for him.”
“Moxy” McGloin now projects to be the third QB on the depth chart in Philly behind Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, though he is not a lock for the 53-man roster. Last year, the Eagles kept 2 QBs on the roster with one on the practice squad.
Latest On LeGarrette Blount
The Patriots made an offer to LeGarrette Blount weeks ago, but they have not moved at all from their original proposal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. In order to get more money out of New England, Blount will need to drum up a market for his services. So far, it doesn’t sound like there has been much outside interest. 
Blount is without a competing offer and actually hasn’t taken a visit with any other teams yet. Until he can get that leverage, the two sides may continue to be in a holding pattern. For what it’s worth, there is strong interest on both sides in a return, but the Patriots are trying to take a cold, numbers oriented approach to the negotiations. Meanwhile, Blount doesn’t want to come back on a deal that would have him earning less than offseason acquisition Rex Burkhead.
Blount, 30, is now coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He had career highs in carries (299), yards (1,161) and touchdowns (an NFL-leading 18). Still, the running back depth chart is crowded and the Patriots historically have had success in replacing valuable vets.
Bears Release CB Tracy Porter
The Bears released cornerback Tracy Porter, according to a team announcement. Porter had two years to go on the three-year, $12MM deal he signed with the Bears in 2016. Now, the Bears will carry $600K in dead money for the coming season.
The former Super Bowl hero had a decent 2015 season with Chicago, but he was unable to reprise that performance last year as he played though a knee injury. Porter finished 2016 as the 107th ranked cornerback out of 111 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. Now, the Bears are moving on from the 30-year-old (31 in August) as they look to improve their secondary.
This offseason, the Bears added free agents Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper. Even after cutting Porter, the Bears still have eight corners under contract and they are expected to consider cornerback prospects early on in the draft. At No. 3 overall, Ohio State star Marshon Lattimore is expected to be in the mix.
Bills Sign DE Ian Seau
The Bills have signed defensive end Ian Seau, according to a team announcement. He is the nephew of the late Junior Seau. 
Seau joined the Rams last offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada. He survived the initial rounds of cuts, but he was let go in advance of the 53-man deadline. Seau went on to audition for teams during the 2016 season, including the Broncos, but he was unable to find a new team.
Seau, a 6’3″, 250 pound lineman, had 10 sacks, 18.5 tackles for a loss, and 43 total tackles as a senior at Nevada. The Bills’ offseason workout program is already underway, so Buffalo will quickly find out what he has to offer.
Late last week, the Bills signed cornerback Marcus Cromartie plus seven other players. They also hosted quarterback T.J. Yates on a visit, but there’s no deal yet.
Extra Points: Chargers, Steelers, Osweiler
Some assorted notes from around the NFL on this Sunday evening…
- Chargers general manager Tom Telesco and his staff have been preparing for the upcoming draft for more than a year, and ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams writes that they were prepping with former defensive coordinator John Pagano’s system in mind. However, despite the addition of head coach Anthony Lynn and new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, Telesco says the team’s plans haven’t been disrupted.
- The Chargers acquiring Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman “makes too much sense to ever happen,” writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Besides Sherman’s connection with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, Florio notes that the California native’s temperament would benefit a team that’s seeking “a dynamic personality.” The writer wonders if the Chargers’ 38th-overall pick would be of any interest to Seattle.
- Now that Lawrence Timmons has departed the Steelers for Miami, Vince Williams projects to start at inside linebacker for Pittsburgh alongside Ryan Shazier. Of course, the Steelers did pursue Dont’a Hightower in free agency, and as Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, the team’s draft strategy will say a lot about Williams’ future with the club. If the Steelers select an inside linebacker in the first three rounds of the draft — and this year’s class of inside linebackers is very thin — then that would suggest that their faith in Williams is rather shaky.
- Nothing has changed on the Brock Osweiler front. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Browns will continue to look to trade Osweiler over draft weekend, and if they cannot find a taker, they will continue to pursue a trade over the coming months. Otherwise, they will simply cut him. Cabot believes the team will still try to add a veteran that can start for them in 2017, and if Osweiler is still on the roster when the regular season rolls around, it will be because they failed to find someone they like better.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Rams, Peterson, Lions, Bucs
The Rams have made some major changes to their scouting department. According to Jason La Canfora (via Twitter), the team has informed four evaluators that they won’t be back next season. This includes Director of Pro Personnel Ran Carthon, who had held that role for the past five seasons.
Meanwhile, Neil Stratton of InsideTheLeague.com reports (via Twitter) that area scouts Danton Barto, Evan Ardoin and Sean Gustus have also been dismissed. The trio had spent a combined 17 years with the organization.
While the timing may be curious, Michael Gehlken of ProFootballTalk.com notes that the Browns made a similar move around this time last season.
Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…
- Free agent running back Adrian Peterson has confirmed to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson that he will indeed be meeting with the Saints (Twitter link). The veteran will travel to New Orleans on Monday and visit with the Saints on Tuesday. The 32-year-old appeared in only three games last season, compiling 72 yards on 37 carries. The Saints are currently rostering four running backs in Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet, Daniel Lasco, and Marcus Murphy.
- Laken Tomlinson, the Lions‘ first-round pick in 2015, started 14 games as a rookie and entered the 2016 campaign as the club’s starting left guard. However, he eventually lost his job to rookie Graham Glasgow and only returned to the starting lineup when Glasgow was shifted to center to fill in for the injured Travis Swanson. Glasgow will enter 2017 as the favorite to be the starting left guard, and given that Detroit is also high on guard Joe Dahl, who was selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft, Tomlinson may be fighting just to stay on the roster, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes. Making things more difficult for him is the fact that Glasgow and Dahl were selected by current GM Bob Quinn, who inherited Tomlinson from the previous regime. Just last week, Quinn indicated that Tomlinson would not be cut prior to training camp, but a poor performance over the summer could certainly lead to his ouster.
- We learned earlier today that running back Doug Martin has met with the Buccaneers and is expected to be present for the beginning of the club’s offseason program on Monday.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
The Spring League Announces Camp Roster
Since we learned last year that there’d be a spring football league in 2017, several former NFL stars have committed to the endeavor. Today, The Spring League announced (via Twitter) their full training camp roster.
As was previously reported, defensive end Greg Hardy, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., and running back Ben Tate were among the major names to have committed to the league. Former cornerback Brandon Browner was reportedly involved, but he was curiously omitted from the training camp roster. Former Giants and Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw is seemingly the biggest addition to the roster since the last update.
The Spring League is composed of four teams, with the rosters comprised of veteran free agents. Ultimately, six games will be played between April 5 through April 26. Players who are currently on NFL rosters are not eligible to participate.
The full training camp roster can be found below:
Quarterbacks
Running backs
- Zachary Bauman
- Kelsey Young
- Josh Robinson
- Ben Tate
- Noel Devine
- Ahmad Bradshaw
- Anthony Dixon
- Alvester Alexander
Fullbacks
- Adam Cox
- Jonathan Amosa