Falcons Sign Two Draft Picks
Today’s draft pick signings:
- The Falcons have agreed to terms with fourth-round guard Sean Harlow and fifth-round safety Damontae Kazee, the club announced today. Harlow, an Oregon State product, started 37 games at offensive tackle during his career with the Beavers. He’ll move to guard in the NFL, however, and he could conceivably have a shot to take Atlanta’s starting right guard job, especially after veteran Hugh Thornton announced his retirement earlier today. Kazee, meanwhile, holds the San Diego State record for career interceptions with 17, and will compete for time at nickelback with 2016 undrafted free agent Brian Poole.
Cardinals Sign CB Jumal Rolle
The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent cornerback Jumal Rolle, the club announced today. Rolle was originally tendered by the Ravens as a restricted free agent in March, but Baltimore quickly rescinded its original round offer, making Rolle a free agent.
Despite the fact that finding a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson was a glaring need for the Cardinals this offseason, Arizona surprisingly didn’t add a corner during the free agent period or during the draft. Additionally, only two of the Cards’ 17 undrafted free agent signings were cornerbacks. Having lost free agent Marcus Cooper to the Bears, Arizona’s options at cornerback behind Peterson now include Justin Bethel, Harlan Miller, Brandon Williams, Eli Bouke, and Trevon Hartfield.
Rolle, admittedly, probably isn’t the top-notch starting option the Cardinals may be looking for, as he’s never started a contest during his three-year NFL career. But Rolle does offer experience (18 career games) and can also to Arizona’s depth on special teams, where the club ranked a paltry 30th in DVOA last season.
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Catawba, the 26-year-old Rolle bounced around the league before landing in a stable reserve role for the Texans in 2014. After joining the Ravens late in the 2015 campaign, Rolle tore his Achilles during the following offseason and missed the entirety of the 2016 season.
Bills Hire Brandon Beane As GM
The Bills have announced former Panthers executive Brandon Beane as their new general manager. Beane’s contract will run concurrent with that of head coach Sean McDermott, meaning Beane is signed through the 2021 campaign, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Landing on Beane was always considered a likely outcome for Buffalo, especially given Beane’s ties with McDermott. The duo spent time together in Carolina, and will now form a tandem decision-making squad after Buffalo fired general manager Doug Whaley last week.
While it’s unclear who will have the final say over personnel choices and the makeup of the 53-man roster, there’s little doubt that McDermott is now firmly in place as a key operative in the Bills’ structure. Even with Whaley still in place during the draft, McDermott was reportedly essential as Buffalo made its picks. But McDermott’s familiarity with Beane should enable the club to quickly establish a new paradigm as it moves past the Whaley regime.
Beane wasn’t the only candidate for the Bills general manager position, as Buffalo also interviewed three other executives for the vacancy. Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown, and Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine were also considered for the position.
Jets Claim WR K.D. Cannon Off Waivers
The Jets have claimed former Baylor wide receiver K.D. Cannon off waivers from the 49ers, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. 
Cannon signed with San Francisco for an uncharacteristically high $45K bonus only to get cut days later. Now that the Jets have claimed him, they have assumed the burden.
Cannon, 21, declared for the draft after only three years at Baylor. In his final season with the Bears, Cannon posted 87 receptions for 1,215 yards and 13 touchdowns.
It was said that Cannon did not show a whole lot of hustle in rookie minicamp with the Niners and his weak showing led to a quick pink slip. Now, he’ll try to stick with the Jets. The Jets parted ways with Brandon Marshall this offseason and Robby Anderson could be in legal trouble, so they are covering their bases by taking a closer look at this young wide receiver.
Patriots Host LB Andrew Gachkar On Visit
The Patriots hosted free agent linebacker Andrew Gachkar on a visit Tuesday, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The seven-year veteran has played with Chargers and Cowboys. 
[RELATED: Patriots Won’t Re-Sign WR Michael Floyd]
Gachkar, 28, saw time in every possible regular season game for the Cowboys over the last two years. However, he has played primarily on special teams. In 2016, he saw only 76 snaps on defense with 45 of those reps coming in Week 17. The Patriots are likely looking at him as a special teamer and a depth option.
The Patriots had only four draft picks this year and they did not take a linebacker with any of those selections.
Seahawks Release CB Perrish Cox
The Seahawks have released the following players: 
- Chris Briggs, TE
- Ross Burbank, C
- Rodney Coe, DT
- Perrish Cox, CB
- George Farmer, RB
- Jamel Johnson, WR
- John Lunsford, K
- Terrence Magee, RB
Cox, 30, joined the Seahawks in January as insurance in the wake of DeShawn Shead‘s knee injury. Shead is not expected to be ready for Week 1, but the Seahawks do not feel that Cox is worth keeping around as an alternative. Before signing with Seattle, Cox was with the Titans. He intercepted three passes in 11 games for Tennessee in 2016.
With Lunsford out of the way, Blair Walsh stands as the only place kicker on Seattle’s roster.
Even after releasing Farmer and Magee, the Seahawks still have nine running backs under contract.
Guard Hugh Thornton Retires From NFL
Former Colts guard Hugh Thornton is retiring from the NFL. He signed a free agent deal with the Falcons in March, but he has decided to walk away from the game less than two months later. 
Thornton, 26 in June, started 32 games for the Colts from 2013-2015. The former third-round pick was held back by injuries and had not seen regular season action since December 2015. The reason for his retirement is not immediately known, but it’s safe to assume that his recovery has not gone according to plan.
The former third round pick was slated to be one of the top guard backups for Atlanta this year, offering support to Andy Levitre and Ryan Schraeder. Now, the Falcons will look to 2016 sixth round pick Wes Schweitzer and 2017 fourth round pick as the top reserves at the position.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
There are some within the 49ers organization that believe Colin Kaepernick may focus on social justice issues on a full-time basis rather than play football, Peter King of The MMQB writes. However, Dave Zirin of The Nation (on Twitter) has personally spoken to Kaepernick and the quarterback says that he is not moving on from football. He adds that the controversial QB is working out every day with the hope of landing a camp invite. 
[RELATED: 49ers Release RB DuJuan Harris]
So far, there has been no real interest in Kaepernick’s services this offseason. If Kaepernick has not even received an offer for a non-guaranteed deal enabling him to compete in training camp, then one has to imagine that his polarizing politics are keeping him out of the NFL. On top of that, some teams are apparently concerned about his vegan diet and his commitment to football, It’s not clear if Kaepernick has managed to bulk up this offseason or if he’s even looking to add pounds to his thinned out frame.
In 2016, Kaepernick threw for 16 touchdowns against four interceptions. He also averaged 7.2 yards per passing attempt (up from 6.2 in 2015) and finished second among QBs in rushing yards (468, on a lofty 6.8 per carry).
Buccaneers To Sign CB Robert McClain
The Buccaneers have signed cornerback Robert McClain, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. McClain played for Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Mike Smith when they were both in Atlanta. 
McClain was a quality corner under Smith’s watch, but his play has sharply regressed in recent years. Last year, the Panthers released him and that was a particularly bad look since the secondary was lousy overall. He later hooked on with the Chargers but didn’t find success there either. Overall, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 103 cornerback out of 111 qualified players in 2016.
McClain’s best year came with the Falcons in 2012, under Smith’s watch, though he also had a respectable year with Carolina in 2013. In every season since, he has been near the bottom of PFF’s CB standings.
The Bucs will start rising sophomore Vernon Hargreaves and Brent Grimes at corner. Josh Robinson, Jude Adjel-Barimah, and Javien Elliott are among those currently slated for reserve roles. The Bucs did not select a cornerback in the draft this year, though they did sign some CBs as UDFAs.
Chiefs Sign Six Players, Cut Seven
The Chiefs are making moves. The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that six players have been signed while seven others have been shown the door:
Signed:
- Ricky Ali’ifua, DL (previously reported)
- Emanuel Byrd, TE
- Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB
- Will Monday, P
- Devine Redding, RB
- Jamari Staples, WR
Cut:
- Vernon Harris, CB
- Anas Hasic, WR
- Wyatt Houston, TE
- Cory Johnson, DL
- Will Ratelle, FB
- Darrin Reaves, RB (previously reported)
- Kelvin Taylor, RB
Taylor was signed by the Chiefs just last week but was unable to stick on the roster. Before coming to KC, Taylor spent part of the 2016 season on the Seahawks’ practice squad and one game on the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, his odds of making the Chiefs’ final cut was never all that great anyway with Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, C.J. Spiller, and third-round pick Kareem Hunt already in the fold. Taylor, a former sixth-round pick, will now look to hook on elsewhere.
Jean-Baptiste auditioned for the Chiefs over the weekend. Selected in the second round of the 2014 draft by New Orleans, he has yet to live up to the hype. In his three seasons since being drafted, he has appeared in just four games.