Packers Sign 15 UDFAs
Busy day in Green Bay. The Packers have signed 15 undrafted free agents while also formally signing five of their draft picks. The complete rundown is below.
Draft pick signings:
- DeAngelo Yancey, WR, Purdue (fifth round)
- Aaron Jones, RB, Texas-El Paso (fifth round)
- Kofi Amichia, G, South Florida (sixth round)
- Devante Mays, RB, Utah State (seventh round)
- Malachi Dupre, WR, Louisiana State (seventh round)
As a senior at Purdue, Yancey hauled in 49 receptions for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns. Yancey offers good size for the position at 6’2″, but scouts aren’t sure if he’ll be able to make it in the NFL because of his lack of speed burst. He’s also struggled with drops throughout his career, as NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein writes.
UDFAs:
- Donatello Brown, CB (Valdosta State)
- Johnathan Calvin, LB (Mississippi State)
- Michael Clark, WR (Marshall St.)
- Montay Crockett, WR (Georgia Southern)
- Thomas Evans, G (Richmond)
- Geoff Gray, G (Manitoba)
- Cody Heiman, LB (Washburn)
- Taysom Hill, QB (Brigham Young)
- Izaah Lunsford, DT (Bowling Green St.)
- Adam Pankey, G/T (West Virginia)
- Aaron Peck, TE (Fresno State)
- Kalif Phillips, RB (Charlotte)
- Lenzy Pipkins, CB (Oklahoma State)
- David Rivers, CB (Youngstown State)
- Justin Vogel, P (Miami)
Clark, who played basketball at St. Francis before transferring to Marshall to play football, has only one year of organized football on his resume.
Bills Sign 13 UDFAs
The Bills have signed 13 undrafted free agents. Here’s the full list:
- RB Jordan Johnson (Buffalo)
- G Greg Pyke (Georgia)
- DT Nigel Williams (Virginia Tech)
- TE Keith Towbridge (Louisville)
- G Zach Voytek (New Haven)
- S Jeremy Tyler (West Virginia)
- TE Jason Croom (Tennessee)
- P Austin Rehkow (Idaho)
- S B.T. Sanders (Nicholls State)
- WR Daikiel Shorts (West Virginia)
- DE Marquavius Lewis (South Carolina)
- CB Marcus Sayles (West Georgia)
- WR Brandon Reilly (Nebraska)
The signing of Johnson, a Buffalo product and graduate of nearby Sweet Home High school, should make fans happy. He could perhaps find inspiration in fellow UB running back Branden Oliver who went undrafted out of college but went on to make an impact in the NFL.
The Bills’ roster now stands at 92, so we should see at least a couple of cuts go down shortly.
Jets To Audition RB Khiry Robinson
The Jets are bringing running back Khiry Robinson back on a tryout basis, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. Robinson signed with the Jets before the 2016 season but a pair of unfortunate injuries limited him to just one game in green. 
Robinson broke his leg during the Jets’ preseason finale last year. He managed to return to the field in December only to injure his leg yet again and was subsequently placed on the injured reserve. In his one game with the Jets, the running back totaled 22 yards on eight carries.
Robinson’s best season came in 2014 with the Saints when he had 362 rushing yards and three touchdowns off of 76 carries. He also added another eight receptions for 63 yards in that campaign.
The Jets’ current RB depth chart features Bilal Powell, Matt Forte, Brandon Wilds, Brandon Burks, Romar Morris, and sixth-round running back Elijah McGuire.
Buccaneers To Audition WR Riley Cooper
Former Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper will try out for the Buccaneers during their rookie camp, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Cooper, 29 in September, has not been heard from since he was released by Philly more than a year ago. 
[RELATED: Buccaneers Sign 14 UDFAs, Cut Two Players]
At this stage, it sounds like Cooper may have to settle for a one-year, non-guaranteed pact and it’s no certainty that he can make the Bucs’ roster. Cooper was a favorite of former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, but coach Doug Pederson & Co. didn’t hold him in the same esteem. Not long ago, Cooper signed a five-year, $25MM deal with the team that included $10MM in guarantees. Now, he’s on the fringe of the NFL.
Cooper’s best season came in 2013 when he established new career-highs in receptions (47), receiving yards (835), and receiving touchdowns (8). He followed that up with a decent 2014 season (55 catches, 557 yards, three touchdowns), but his targets decreased by more than 50% in the following season.
Ravens Sign Rookie CB Marlon Humphrey
The Ravens announced that they have signed first-round cornerback Marlon Humphrey. In addition to the Alabama product, linebacker Tyus Bowser (second round), guard Nico Siragusa (fourth round), offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (fifth round), and safety Chuck Carr (sixth round) have also inked their deals. 
Humphrey was widely ranked as one of the top three cornerbacks available in what was a very deep class for the position. Depending on who you asked, some talent evaluators had him as the second-best corner on the board, behind Marshon Lattimore but ahead of Gareon Conley and Adoree’ Jackson. Humphrey wound up becoming the second cornerback drafted when the Ravens selected him at No. 16, though Conley’s draft week incident might have had something to do with that.
Humphrey, a 6’1″, 196-pound athlete, had 36 total tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defensed in his final year at Alabama. One of those interceptions was a pick six in the season opener against USC.
With those five under contract, only two Ravens draft picks remain unsigned. Baltimore will look to finalize things with third-round defensive end Chris Wormley and third-round linebacker Tim Williams in the coming days.
Jets Sign 8 Undrafted Free Agents
The Jets have signed eight undrafted free agents, according to a team announcement:
- Austin Calitro, LB (Villanova)
- Xavier Coleman, CB (Portland State)
- Brisly Estime, WR/PR (Syracuse)
- Anthony Firkser, FB/TE (Harvard)
- Patrick Gamble, DL (Georgia Tech)
- Connor Harris, LB (Lindenwood)
- Javarius Leamon, OT (South Carolina State)
- Gabe Marks, WR (Washington State)
Marks left Washington State as the Pac-12’s record holder for career receptions, but still didn’t hear his name called after 250+ selections on draft weekend. Some believe that Marks went undrafted because of the perception that his stats were inflated by the Cougars’ pass-heavy offense. For his part, Marks rejects that notion.
“Guys are trying to call us ‘system receivers’ like that’s a thing,’’ Marks told the Seattle Times in February. “It’s not a thing. You’ve still got to do it. It doesn’t matter the system that you are in. You’ve still got to catch the ball. Somebody has to catch the ball and score the touchdowns. If you just put some guy out there that couldn’t play, it wouldn’t work. I just get an opportunity to catch more passes — I can understand that. But I’m still getting open. So the whole ‘system receiver’ thing kind of bothers me a little bit.”
Estime probably had interest from at least one other team since he received an above-average $15K package ($5K bonus, $10K base) to sign with the Jets (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
Bengals Sign 13 Undrafted Rookies
The Bengals have signed a baker’s dozen of undrafted free agents:
- Brandon Bell, LB (Penn State)
- Cethan Carter, TE/FB (Nebraska)
- Demetrious Cox, S (Michigan State)
- Karel Hamilton, WR (Samford)
- Darrin Laufasa, FB (UTEP)
- Landon Lechler, OT (North Dakota St.)
- Monty Madaris, WR (Michigan State)
- Hardy Nickerson Jr., LB (Illinois)
- Kent Perkins, OL (Texas)
- Dustin Stanton, OL (Oregon State)
- Josh Tupou, DT (Colorado)
- Jarveon Williams, RB (Texas-San Antonio)
- Stanley Williams, RB (Kentucky)
Nickerson is the son of Hardy Nickerson Sr., a former Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL coach. The elder Nickerson currently serves as Illinois’ defensive coordinator and that allowed him to coach his son towards the end of his collegiate career. Nickerson Jr. has been lauded for his work ethic, but some scouts question whether he can stick at the next level.
“He may get a legacy grade from some teams based on his tackle production and his bloodlines, but I’m struggling to find consistent tape of him where he looks like an NFL linebacker,” a regional scout for an NFC team told NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
The Bengals already have five running backs under contract, including rookie Joe Mixon, so tailbacks Jarveon Williams and Stanley Williams may be facing an uphill battle as they try to make the final cut.
Raiders Looking To Add Middle Linebacker
The Raiders are in the market for a middle linebacker. Coach Jack Del Rio tells the NFL Network that MLB is the team’s biggest area of need. 
“I don’t know that we’ve adequately addressed our middle linebacker position, to be honest,” Del Rio said (transcript Scott Bair of via NBC Bay Area). “I think we have some work to do there. The rest of our roster is pretty well situated, but we’ll be looking for a linebacker and we’ll continue to look, whether it’s the waiver wire, trades or available guys out there, veterans on the street. We’ll continue to look.”
The Raiders did select Wake Forest’s Marquel Lee in the fifth round, but it sounds like Oakland wants to add someone in the middle that can make an impact right away. The Raiders could fill that void by circling back to free agent Perry Riley and GM Reggie McKenzie recently said that the door isn’t completely closed on a reunion.
Riley, 29, had 48 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection in eleven games for Oakland last season. He’s one of the most high-profile linebackers available, but we haven’t heard much about him since free agency opened in March. Despite the apparent lack of interest, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus indicate that Riley actually had a career year in 2016 with an 84.8 overall score that dwarfs his work in the previous three seasons. He ranked as the 15th best linebacker in the NFL last year, per PFF.
Jay Cutler Retires, Signs With FOX
Former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is retiring in order to pursue a new career. He’s joining FOX’s NFL team, as Peter Schrager of NFL Network tweets. Cutler will be in a three-man booth alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and fellow color commentator Charles Davis. 
Before deciding to go to FOX, Cutler had real discussions with the Jets and less-promising talks with the Texans, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In a statement issued to Adam Jahns of the Sun Times, Cutler admits that he did not find a ton of interest on the open market this offseason.
“I don’t know if retirement is the right word; I don’t feel that anyone ever really retires from the NFL. You are either forced to leave, or you lose the desire to do what’s required to keep going. I’m in between those situations at this point in my life,” Cutler said.
Not everyone is convinced that Cutler is done playing football, however. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (video link) gets the sense that he would get back on the field if a team offered him a starting job and starter money to go along with it. In theory, the three-man booth protects FOX against Cutler leaving to join a team midseason because Burkhardt and Davis could move forward as a two-man team.
Cutler wasn’t necessarily warm and fuzzy towards the media during his playing days, so it will be interesting to see him in the broadcast booth. However, Cutler has extensive experience playing in the NFC and that should help his transition to FOX. Those close to Cutler also say that he’s well-suited for TV.
“I think Jay Cutler would be on point as an analyst,” guard Kyle Long told Jahns. “He’s one of the most cerebral guys I’ve ever played with, one of the most well-spoken guys I’ve played with. Whether the public knows it or not, he actually is a funny, nice, cool guy. [Media members] have seen that side of him sometimes. You’ve also seen Jay when he’s having maybe not the best day. Unfortunately, that’s kind of the all-encompassing stigma there. But I think if you see him in a suit and he’s got his hair done and he’s got that beard lined up, people will fall in love with Jay Cutler again.”
In his 11 NFL seasons for the Broncos and Bears, Cutler amassed a career 68-71 record. With the Bears, he went 52-52 across eight seasons (including the playoffs). His best season came in 2008 for Denver when he threw for more than 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. That season earned Cutler his sole career Pro Bowl selection. In 2016, he made five starts and was a far cry from the best version of himself.fre
Vikings In Talks With WR Michael Floyd
Free agent wide receiver Michael Floyd is in talks with the Vikings and other clubs, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Patriots free agent hopes to have a deal by end of next week. 
Floyd was arrested late last year in Arizona for a “Super Extreme DUI” and other charges related to his drunk driving. He could have faced up to six months in jail, but he reached a deal with prosecutors in February to shorten his sentence to 24 days in jail plus 96 days in home confinement. Assuming Floyd’s house arrest forbids him from leaving his home for work, it might be a few weeks before he can join a team for workouts.
Floyd will likely be suspended for at least two games and it’s possible that he could get a longer ban since this is his second DUI arrest. Still, the Vikings and other clubs likely see him as a low-risk, high-reward type of signing. Minnesota seems pretty set from WR1-WR4, but Floyd could push Isaac Fruechte and late draft picks Rodney Adams and Stacy Coley for a roster spot.
The Patriots reportedly expressed interest in re-signing Floyd, and Floyd himself indicated he’d like to return to the team, but the addition of Brandin Cooks could hurt his chances of remaining in New England. With Cooks and Julian Edelman at the top of the WR depth chart, it’s a sardine-packed bunch with Malcolm Mitchell, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, and Matthew Slater in support. Recent waiver wire addition Devin Street will also be fighting for a roster spot.