Minor NFL Transactions: 5/13/17
Today’s minor moves:
- The Steelers have waived running back Dreamius Smith, the club announced on Friday. Smith, 24, originally entered the league as a Chargers undrafted free agent in 2015, and spent most of his rookie campaign on San Diego’s practice squad before being promoted for one contest near the end of that year. He’d signed a futures deal with Pittsburgh in January, but the Steelers didn’t have an opening at running back after drafting James Conner in the third round.
- The Giants have swapped out three roster spots at the back end of their roster, signing running back Khalid Abdullah, cornerback SaQwan Edwards, and safety Trey Robinson while waiving cornerback Nigel Tribune, wide receiver Rob Wheelwright, and running back Daryl Virgies, tweets James Kratch of NJ.com. New York also formally announced the signing of undrafted free agent offensive lineman Chad Wheeler, who reportedly landed a $20K bonus.
- The Rams have waived guard Alex Kozan and cornerback Ishmael Adams, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Both players were signed as undrafted college free agents earlier this month, but didn’t make it to Los Angeles’ rookie minicamp.
Broncos Sign 17 Undrafted Free Agents
The Broncos announced that they’ve signed the following 17 undrafted college free agents:
- Erik Austell, OL (Charleston Southern)
- Josh Banderas, LB (Nebraska)
- Dante Barnett, S (Kansas State)
- Jamal Carter, S (Miami)
- Ken Ekanem, DE/LB (Virginia Tech)
- Jerrol Garcia-Williams, LB (Hawaii)
- Deon Hollins, LB (UCLA)
- Cameron Hunt, T (Oregon)
- Tyrique Jarrett, DT (Pittsburgh)
- Anthony Nash, WR (Duke)
- Dontrell Nelson, CB (Memphis)
- Marcus Rios, CB (UCLA)
- Kyle Sloter, QB (Northern Colorado)
- Shakir Soto, DL (Pittsburgh)
- Orion Stewart, DB (Baylor)
- Dymonte Thomas, S (Michigan)
- Elijah Wilkinson, OL (Massachusetts)
Browns’ Howard Wilson Fractures Kneecap
The top cornerback investment the Browns made this offseason, Howard Wilson will be out a “significant” amount of time after fracturing his patella Friday, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter). The injury occurred on the first day of the team’s rookie minicamp.
Cleveland selected Wilson in the fourth round. He was projected to play a potentially key role as a reserve corner. Now, Wilson could be out for the season, although the team is holding out hope the severe injury won’t erase his rookie campaign, Cabot tweets. The Browns confirmed Wilson will undergo surgery and miss time during the 2017 season.
Hue Jackson said Sashi Brown will attempt to replace Wilson by signing another corner, Cabot reports.
This marks the second severe knee injury in the past three years for Wilson, who saw his sophomore slate at Houston end after three games due to a torn ACL. Wilson already signed his rookie contract.
The Browns traded up with the Broncos to No. 126 for the right to draft Wilson. The 6-foot-1 defender intercepted five passes in 2016 and represented some of the Browns’ depth at this position, along with second-year players Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Trey Caldwell.
AFC South Notes: Albert, O’Brien, Hooker
Doug Marrone was emphatic today when declaring he still hasn’t heard from recently acquired left tackle Branden Albert, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. The new full-time Jaguars coach seemed to indicate Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell have checked in with him about the situation involving the AWOL trade acquisition.
“I just want to know so when you ask me, I can answer it or when [Coughlin or Caldwell] asks, I can answer them,” Marrone said, via O’Halloran. “They ask me, ‘Have you talked to him? Is he going to come? Is he going to play?’ I don’t know. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had a player on the [franchise] tag and they would say, ‘Hey, I’m not signing the tag, I’m not going to [show up], but I’m going to be working out and training.’ … You just want to know where everyone is at and that’s all I was expecting [from Albert].”
Albert cannot be fined until June 13, when the Jags convene for their mandatory minicamp. O’Halloran reports that when Albert came to Jacksonville for a post-trade press conference in March, a source indicated a new contract wasn’t coming for the 32-year-old blocker. The tackle market then exploded, with less proven players like Matt Kalil, Riley Reiff and Russell Okung all signing for at least $11MM per year and each receiving at least $24MM in guarantees. This leads O’Halloran to believe Albert had a change of heart about playing on his Dolphins-constructed contract this season. Albert is now the 15th-highest-paid left tackle, in terms of AAV. The two-time Pro Bowler’s deal has no guaranteed money remaining.
Here’s the latest from the AFC South.
- The Jaguars are lining up Cam Robinson exclusively at left tackle, O’Halloran tweets. Arriving as a second-round pick from Alabama, Robinson was believed to be viewed as either a tackle or guard. The Jags have some uncertainty at left guard despite re-signing Patrick Omameh, so an ideal setup may be Albert at left tackle and Robinson at left guard. With Albert’s status unknown, the franchise is not arranging its pieces this way.
- After the Texans again sputtered on offense in 2016, the team parted ways with OC George Godsey without bringing in a new coordinator. Bill O’Brien confirmed he’s running the offense and will continue to do so. “I’ve been probably doing more coaching myself in the last four or five weeks than I’ve done in the three years that I’ve been here,” O’Brien said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “I’m really involved in the offense and I’m having a lot of fun.” O’Brien categorized last season’s stretch-run arrangement as he and Godsey splitting up the play-calling duties. Barshop notes O’Brien will call plays this season.
- Malik Hooker will not participate in the Colts‘ rookie minicamp this weekend and will likely be held out until training camp, according to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. The first-round safety underwent surgeries in January to repair a torn labrum and address a hernia issue.
- The Jaguars are expected to give Leonard Fournette a fully guaranteed contract like the Panthers did for Christian McCaffrey, O’Halloran notes. McCaffrey’s $17.24MM deal as the No. 8 overall pick will be well shy of what O’Halloran expects to be a fully guaranteed pact for the No. 4 overall choice, who would earn $27.15MM. That amount would exceed the league’s top guarantee for a running back. Ezekiel Elliott‘s $24.97MM guarantee leads this position by a healthy margin presently, with LeSean McCoy having the top veteran-contract guarantee at $18.25MM.
Lease Issue Could Delay Raiders’ Vegas Move
The Raiders received resounding approval to relocate to Las Vegas in March, but the timetable for that trip isn’t certain. And a lease agreement could delay the franchise’s plans.
With the next NFL owners’ meeting occurring later this month, Raiders president Marc Badain said, via Regina Garcia Cano of the Associated Press, if the Raiders can’t reach a lease agreement with Las Vegas, a “distinct possibility” exists the team’s move will be delayed a year. Mark Davis‘ fellow owners must approve the lease before the project can go forward, per Adam Candee of the Las Vegas Sun.
“In order to approve a lease, you need full membership, and the league has four meetings a year: one in March, one in May, one in October and one in December,” Badain said following a public meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board. “So, if you miss the May deadline, you push to October, we would lose a year, and everybody wants to get this project going everybody wants to get these guys to work. So we didn’t want to miss that deadline.”
The present plan for the Raiders includes a move into their proposed $1.9 billion domed venue in 2020, but if the team can’t agree on a lease by the May 22 owners’ meetings in Chicago, it faces a prospect of this venture being delayed until 2021. Board chairman Steve Hill expressed confidence the agreement can be finalized, per Cano, who adds a 30-year lease is being discussed. A Thursday board meeting is on the agenda, with the subject of completing this lease front and center, Candee reports.
“The NFL has directly asked us to attempt to have a lease approved by the owners meeting,” Hill said. “There has been no ‘get this done or else’ type of approach on this request.”
The Raiders have a lease option to play in Oakland through the 2018 season, although a possible contingency plan — in case this season goes poorly with the lame-duck team playing in front of a fanbase that again saw the franchise agree to leave — may exist that would allow the Raiders to depart the Bay Area early and play in a temporary venue in Vegas. But UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium is not viewed as an NFL-ready site presently, so the above delay could conceivably keep the team in Oakland through 2020.
However, the Raiders’ current city may bail before then. The Raiders want to play in Oakland until their Vegas palace is ready, but Candee reports Coliseum authority officials want to end the parties’ relationship after the 2018 season. That would obviously put the Raiders in a tough spot, with one or two in-between years clouding the process.
Bills Giving Air Force WR Jalen Robinette Tryout
Jalen Robinette looked like a player set to be at worst a Day 3 pick entering draft week, but after a Department of Defense 11th-hour ruling, the standout Air Force wide receiver went undrafted. The reversal of a policy that allowed Navy’s Keenan Reynolds a path toward the Ravens’ roster as a rookie meant Robinette and fellow military academy-developed prospects could not be drafted.
But the Bills are taking a look at the yards-per-catch dynamo as part of their rookie camp, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post notes. One of 25 rookies the Bills are examining this weekend, Robinette may well have to wait until the 2019 season if this Buffalo setup ends up working out.
The Eagles also invited Air Force safety Weston Steelhammer to their rookie camp, and the Cardinals extended the same opportunity to linebacker Ryan Watson, per Jhabvala. Both of those rookie camps are also unfolding this weekend.
The new policy, similar to the one that required former Air Force (and current Falcons) lineman Ben Garland to serve two years before joining the 2012 Broncos, would force these talents to serve for 24 months before being eligible to pursue a professional sports career. Garland signed with the 2010 Broncos as a UDFA and was placed on the team’s reserve/military list before returning two years later.
However, Jhabvala reports that Robinette’s agent, David Lisko, is attempting to get the receiver and the rest of this class of military academy athletes grandfathered in under the old D.O.D. policy, since that’s the one the athletes were operating under this offseason. These athletes would need to have a professional contract to be eligible for the Ready Reserve program, which allows for the delay of service time. Teams at the most keep a few rookie-tryout players out of the dozens generally invited, so the trio has an uphill battle this weekend.
That said, someone like Robinette could be appealing since he was a projected draft pick. The 6-foot-3 target averaged 27.4 yards per catch — en route to 959 yards and six receiving touchdowns — last season.
Extra Points: Broncos, Barron, Vikings
The Broncos running back depth chart is currently crowded with intriguing names (including Jamaal Charles, C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker, and rookie De’Angelo Henderson), and head coach Vance Joseph expects to rely on a running back-by-committee approach.
“Every position on our football team is going to be competitive,” Joseph said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “The running back position, you need two or three guys who are going to carry the load. It’s no longer a one-guy position. I’m excited to have Jamaal, C.J., Book, even De’Angelo in the mix there. It’s a good group, it’s going to be competitive and that’s the way it should be.”
Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NFL…
- Previous defensive coordinators have used Mark Barron all around the field, but Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said he’ll solely be using the veteran at linebacker. “He’s really instinctive,” Phillips said (via ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez). “He’s got great speed, and we can utilize his coverage ability at linebacker. It gives you more options as far as things you want to do defensively. If you get a guy like that who can cover people, then we’re going to utilize that.”
- Former Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong will not be joining the Vikings, the player tweeted on Thursday night (via Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com). The 23-year-old participated in the team’s minicamp last week as a running back and safety. Armstrong later said that Vikings defensive backs coach Jerry Gray told him he’d be back for OTAs, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
- Free agent defensive end Bobby Richardson will be attending the Titans‘ rookie minicamp, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Richardson broke onto the scene as an undrafted rookie in 2015, playing in 15 games (11 starts) for the Saints while compiling 40 tackles and one interception. He’s bounced around since that time, spending time with the Redskins, Chiefs, and Broncos.
Poll: Where Will LeGarrette Blount Play In 2017?
LeGarrette Blount may have led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns last season, but the running back is still out of a job. The veteran’s big season was more based on opportunity than talent, as his 3.9-yards-per-carry was certainly underwhelming. Still, there’s presumably a handful of teams that could use a bruising running back of Blount’s caliber… but when will those teams finally make an offer?
We learned several weeks ago that both the Lions and Giants had expressed interest in the 30-year-old. Detroit is counting on Ameer Abdullah to be their main guy next season, with Theo Riddick serving as the team’s third-down back and Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington waiting in the wings. However, the 250-pound Blount would certainly provide a change of pace from the 190-pound Abdullah.
Meanwhile, New York’s depth chart currently features Paul Perkins, Shaun Draughn, Shane Vereen, and Orleans Darkwa. Much like the Lions, there are several intriguing names, but also like the Lions, no one fits Blount’s unique body type.
This interest was slightly complicated when the Patriots assigned the rare May 9 tender to the veteran. Thanks to the designation, a Blount departure would now count towards the compensatory draft pick formula. However, any signing team would only be required to sacrifice a compensatory pick if the contract exceeds $2.05MM. Considering Blount barely made over $1MM last season, that’s probably unlikely.
Following this designation, it was reported that two teams were “poised” to work out a contract with Blount, but the tender apparently caused them to pause. We could assume that these two mystery teams were the Lions and Giants, but the two organizations wouldn’t have any reason to back out of negotiations. For starters, Detroit doesn’t have any projected compensatory picks in 2018. The Giants do have a fourth-rounder, but there’s surely a way that the organization could sign Blount and keep that compensatory pick.
If Blount doesn’t sign the tender by July 22, New England will own his exclusive negotiating rights through Week 10. If the running back refuses to sign the tender, he’ll have to sit out the entire 2017 season. In this situation, it would make sense for the running back to return to the Patriots, although the team’s running back corps is rather crowded. The team already added Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee to a depth chart that includes James White and Dion Lewis.
Our own Zach Links previously explored the top-eight fits for Blount, with Detroit and New York leading the way. The article also noted that the running back could find a gig with the Packers, Ravens, Dolphins, Chiefs, Redskins, and Eagles.
So there seems to be three clear scenarios: Blount signs with a new team, Blount signs with the Patriots, or Blount sits out the 2017 season. How do you see it unfolding? Where do you think LeGarrette Blount will be playing next season? Let us know what you think in the comments.
NFC East: Giants, Rosas, Cowboys, Eagles
The fact that Aldrick Rosas is the only kicker on the Giants roster is an indication that the organization is willing to roll with the 22-year-old next season. Despite the former undrafted free agent having no NFL experience, special teams coordinator Tom Quinn is confident that his kicker will be prepared.
“We will try and simulate (games for) him and then you have the preseason to go with that,” Quinn told Ralph Vacchiano SNY.tv. “We’ve had a couple of nice young kickers in here with (Chris) Boswell (in 2015) and Brandon McManus (in 2014). They’ve gone on to do well. It’s not always perfect with the young guys. Sometimes there’s going to be a little bit of hiccups. We’ll see where we go with that.”
As Vacchiano points out, the Giants could easily sign a veteran free agent kicker to compete with Rosas. The team also has Travis Coons participating at the rookie minicamp this weekend. Quinn noted that with “no more two-a-days and limited practice,” the team would struggle to find “kicks” for multiple players.
Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NFC East…
- The Giants gave undrafted offensive lineman Chad Wheeler a $20,000 signing bonus, the highest among the team’s undrafted rookies. The Giants also have a need for an offensive tackle, which is why Dan Duggan of NJ.com believes Wheeler has a shot of making the team. The writer also lists defensive tackle Jarron Jones, offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker, wideout Travis Rudolph, linebacker Calvin Munson, cornerback Nigel Tribune, fullback Shane Smith, and safety Jadar Johnson among undrafted rooks who might have a shot at making the final roster.
- Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers earned an incredible $499,990 to play on the team’s practice squad last season. With Jason Witten‘s career winding down, the former sixth-round pick will have an opportunity to play a significant role in the team’s offense this season. “It’s night and day for [Gathers] in a good way from last year,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan told Matthew Martinez of the Star-Telegram. “When you know what you’re doing and you’ve got your body in football shape, it’s amazing what you can do, and that’s the biggest difference from where he was a year ago until now.”
- We learned yesterday that the Eagles agreed to pay second-round cornerback Sidney Jones his full 2017 base salary even if he spends the season on the NFI list.
Is The NFLPA Preparing For A Lockout?
The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in early 2021, and it looks like the NFL Player’s Association is already preparing for a potential work stoppage. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, the NFLPA’s board of representatives have approved a plan that would set aside millions of dollars into a “work-stoppage fund.”
Instead of immediately handing out the licensing royalties to players, the NFLPA is seemingly setting this money aside in case of a strike. Pelissero suggests the players will ultimately accumulate more than $90MM over the next four years, “on top of union dues that already are saved for that purpose.” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has already done an admirable job of collecting money since taking over the role in 2008, as the union has over $314 million in net assets.
2016 royalty money will still be handed out to players this fall, with the “equal share” starting to see an impact for the 2017 campaign. Pelissero reports that the “equal share” earnings for NFL players in 2015 was around $13,200, which ends up equaling out to more than $22MM. This number will surely be reduced as the NFLPA looks to save some money for a potential work stoppage. Any applicable royalties will also be placed into the fund until a player retires, unless there’s a strike before then. In that case, the collected royalty money will be allocated to the players immediately (as determined by the NFLPA board).
On the flip side, the NFL itself reportedly doesn’t have these financial contingencies in place. As the the writer notes, a matter of contention during the 2011 strike was the NFLPA’s assertion that the league had saved up more than $4 billion in TV revenue for a potential lockout.
The NFL has reportedly approached the NFLPA regarding a renegotiation multiple times, but to no avail. Pelissero suggests that “stadium credits” will surely be atop the list of sticking points, along with how money is allocated via the lucrative television deal. Offseason practice rules and Roger Goodell‘s “authority over discipline” will also surely be discussed.