Lions To Audition Matt Asiata
Matt Asiata has a workout scheduled with the Lions, a source tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). In fact, Asiata will participate in Detroit’s upcoming rookie minicamp, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. This marks Asiata’s first known audition since he became a free agent in March. 
[RELATED: Lions In On LeGarrette Blount]
Asiata, 30 in July, first broke into the NFL as a UDFA signing in Minnesota in 2011. After several years with the team, the Vikings decided to part ways with Asiata this spring and allow him to go elsewhere in free agency. As has been the case with other veteran running backs, his market has been very slow to develop.
The Lions already have four running backs under contract in Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, and Dwayne Washington. However, they’re looking to add to the group, as evidenced by their interest in Asiata and LeGarrette Blount.
Asiata saw an increased workload in 2014 and 2016, seasons in which Adrian Peterson missed the majority of games. Last year, Asiata finished out with 402 yards off of 121 carries and six touchdowns. He also added 32 catches for 263 yards.
Victor Cruz Plans To Continue Playing
Victor Cruz hasn’t garnered much interest on the open market, but he’s not about to retire from football. The former Giants wide receiver says that he has no plans to quit and insists that he can “still play,” (Twitter link via Zach Braziller of the New York Post). 
Cruz was on the field for 15 regular season games last year but the Giants still released him this offseason in order to free up $7.5MM in cap space. The salsa dancing wide receiver visited the Panthers soon after being cut, but he left Charlotte, North Carolina without a deal. The Panthers have added three wide receivers this offseason via free agency, but that door theoretically could still be open after they did not select a wide receiver in the draft. Former Buccaneer Russell Shepard has the ability to play in all three wide receiver spots, but Cruz could be a consideration as a slot specialist.
Cruz caught 303 passes and 25 touchdowns as a member of the Giants. With millions of dollars in the bank and a Super Bowl ring, no one would blame the 30-year-old for retiring, but he sounds determined to take the field in 2017.
Bills Decline WR Sammy Watkins’ Option
The Bills are declining Sammy Watkins‘ fifth-year option, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. The move was expected, but we did not have confirmation of it until today. 
[RELATED: PFR’s Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]
Watkins has been great when on the field, but injuries have limited him to just 37 of 48 possible regular season games since entering the league. In 2016, he only appeared in eight contests.
Watkins is currently recovering from foot surgery and that was reportedly a major factor in Buffalo’s decision. If they exercised Watkins’ option and he suffered an injury, they would be saddled with him at a $13.26MM salary for 2018. Conversely, if he’s healthy and productive in 2017, they can retain him for another season via the franchise tag, which would cost an estimated $16MM.
In his three seasons, Watkins has averaged 66 catches, 1,064 yards, and seven touchdowns per 16 games. Unfortunately for Watkins and the Bills, he hasn’t played a full 16-game slate since his rookie season in 2014.
Cardinals Sign 17 Undrafted Players
The Cardinals announced that they have signed 17 undrafted free agents. Here’s the complete list:
- WR Carlton Agudosi (Rutgers)
- DT Collin Bevins (NW Missouri State)
- C Lucas Crowley (North Carolina)
- S Ironhead Gallon (Georgia Southern)
- S Gump Hayes (Arizona State)
- WR Krishawn Hogan (Marian)
- S Drico Johnson (Central Florida)
- OLB Tre’Von Johnson (Weber State)
- QB Trevor Knight (Texas A&M)
- CB Ryan Lewis (Pittsburgh)
- T Jonathan McLaughlin (Virginia Tech)
- S Cyril Noland-Lewis (Louisiana Tech)
- TE Ricky Seals-Jones (Texas A&M)
- CB Sojourn Shelton (Wisconsin)
- RB James Summers (East Carolina)
- DT Pasoni Tasini (Utah)
- TE Steven Wroblewski (Southern Utah)
The Cardinals apparently had some competition to sign Shelton as they gave him $25K to sign (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today). Coming out of Florida, Shelton was a four-star recruit and he went on to be a four-year starter for the Badgers. However, his lack of size probably prevented him from being drafted. The 5’9″, 177-pound corner will now look to make it from the Cardinals 90-man roster to the 53-man version.
49ers Cut 13 Players
The 49ers have released 13 players, including linebacker Jayson DiManche and wide receiver Eric Rogers. Here’s the full list:
- OL Alex Balducci
- S Marcus Ball
- LB Carl Bradford
- LB Jayson DiManche
- TE Je’Ron Hamm
- WR Chris Harper
- LB Wynton McManis
- P Brock Miller
- DL Zach Moore
- NT Mike Purcell
- WR Eric Rogers
- CB JaCorey Shepherd
- LB Shayne Skov
DiManche was just signed on April 7th, so his stint in San Francisco lasted less than one month. We haven’t seen DiManche in live action since 2015 when he appeared in one game for the Browns. Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Bengals.
Rogers, a former CFL standout, was a practice field favorite of Chip Kelly last offseason until an unfortunate injury shut him down for the season. This week, the 49ers signed undrafted Baylor wide receiver K.D. Cannon and that only further crowded the wide receiver position in SF. With Rogers and Harper out of the picture, the team still has nine receivers under contract.
Patriots Sign BYU LB Harvey Langi
Brigham Young linebacker Harvey Langi might have been the most wanted undrafted free agent of 2017. Langi received a $100K base salary guarantee and a $15K bonus to sign with the Patriots, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). 
Heading into the draft, Langi was viewed as a potential middle-round selection, but he did not hear his name called on Day 3. He’ll now try and make the Patriots’ 53-man roster as an inside linebacker, though he also has previous experience at defensive end. Despite not getting drafted, it’s safe to say that Langi had interest from several teams after things wrapped on Saturday. His $115K package is by far the most lucrative deal given to any UDFA, dwarfing the $62K collected by Colorado linebacker Jimmie Gilbert when he signed with the 49ers.
Langi’s 2015 season was arguably his best as he tallied 66 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 6.5 tackles for a loss in ten games. In his senior campaign, he had 57 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and 5.0 sacks in 13 games.
The Patriots also shelled out $31K to sign UCF defensive back D.J. Killings. Typically, UDFAs receive something closer to $5K to sign.
Lions, Giants In On LeGarrette Blount
The Lions and Giants are in play for LeGarrette Blount, league sources tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. The Giants’ interest has been known for a few weeks now, but the Lions connection is new. 
[RELATED: Lions Pick Up Eric Ebron’s Option]
The Lions did not select a running back in the draft but they might look to bring in some extra competition at the position. Ideally, the Lions would like to use Ameer Abdullah as their main ball carrier with Theo Riddick as the pass-catching specialist, but Abdullah’s health cannot be counted upon. Zach Zenner, who impressed at times last season, and Dwayne Washington round out the running back depth chart. If signed, Blount could potentially squeeze Washington out of Detroit.
Blount remains on the market after turning down a modest one-year offer from the Patriots. At this stage of the game, he may have to settle for a similar deal if he wants to find an NFL home.
Panthers Cut Tre Boston
The Panthers announced that they have released safety Tre Boston. Fullback Devon Johnson, cornerback Lou Young, and tackles Jack Rodgers and Jordan Rigsbee have also been shown the door. 
Less than two months ago, it was reported that “at least one team” had reached out to the Panthers to inquire about Boston. His release at this juncture of the offseason comes as a bit of a surprise since the Panthers did not draft a safety last week. Boston appeared in 15 games (10 starts) last season and was projected to return as the team’s starting free safety in 2017.
Boston graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 46 safety last season, putting him in a three-way tie with Jairus Byrd and George Iloka. Boston’s coverage grades were not as strong as Byrd or Iloka, but he made up ground with a better showing in terms of pass rush. Boston’s 78.1 overall score stands as a career high, though he was roughly on the same plane in 2014 and 2015.
The Panthers currently have 86 players on the roster. After dropping Boston, they still have eight safeties on the roster: Mike Adams, Kurt Coleman, Colin Jones, Dean Marlowe, Travell Dixon, Dezmen Southward, Brian Blechen, and L.J. McCray.
Bears To Sign OT Bradley Sowell
The Bears have agreed to sign tackle Bradley Sowell, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. Sowell spent the 2016 season with the Seahawks. 
Sowell appeared in ten games for Seattle last season and started in nine of those contests. A knee injury in October took a big chunk out of his season, but the good news is that he was able to avoid surgery.
The 27-year-old (28 in June) won’t be starting for Chicago, but he’ll have an opportunity to be one of the first tackles off of the bench if things go well this summer. After a season in which he graded out as one of Pro Football Focus’ worst qualified tackles, he’ll aim to get back on track in his new surroundings.
The Bears wound up with only five draft picks last week and their only addition to the offensive line came in the fifth round when they selected Jordan Morgan out of Kutztown. Sowell becomes the third outside addition to the offensive line this offseason, joining fellow free agent pickup Tom Compton.
Department Of Defense Changes Policy
Last summer, the Department of Defense changed its rules to allow graduates going into professional sports to fulfill their requirements in the reserves rather than active duty. Now, the DoD has changed its mind. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis signed an order to rescind the pro sports policy, meaning that athletes will be required to fulfill their active duty requirement before joining a professional sports team (link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post). 
This year, the rule change burned Air Force wide receiver Jalen Robinette. Robinette had a chance of being taken in the late rounds on Saturday, but the Air Force disclosed just prior to the draft that its athletes would have to serve in active duty. The rule change does not apply retroactively to Ravens wide receiver Keenan Reynolds, however (Twitter link via PFT).
The DoD’s flip-flop may hurt the ability of the service academies to recruit high-level football players going forward.