Falcons Add 21 UDFAs
The Falcons have announced deals with 21 undrafted free agents. Here they are:
- Travis Averill, C (Boise State)
- Marcelis Branch, S (Robert Morris)
- Daniel Brunskill, OL (San Diego State)
- Deante Burton, WR (Kansas State)
- Reginald Davis III, WR (Texas Tech)
- Darius English, LB (South Carolina)
- Wil Freeman, OT (Southern Mississippi)
- Jarnor Jones, CB (Iowa State)
- J’terius Jones, DE (Miami of Ohio)
- Cam Keizur, C (Portland State)
- Andreas Knappe, OT (UConn)
- Robert Leff, OG (Auburn)
- Josh Magee, WR (South Alabama)
- Quincy Mauger, S (Georgia)
- Jordan Moore, S (University of Texas at San Antonio)
- Chris Odom, DE (Arkansas State)
- Tyler Renew, FB (Citadel)
- Taylor Reynolds, CB (James Madison)
- Christian Tago, LB (San Jose State)
- Alek Torgerson, QB (Penn)
- Deron Washington, S (Pittsburg State)
Buccaneers Sign 14 UDFAs, Cut Two Players
The Buccaneers have announced agreements with 14 undrafted free agents. Here’s the group:
- Anthony Auclair, TE (Laval)
- Deondre Barnett, DE (Southern Illinois)
- Richie Brown, LB (Mississippi State)
- Riley Bullough, LB (Michigan Stte)
- Maurice Fleming, CB (West Virginia)
- Cole Gardner, OT (Eastern Michigan)
- Alex Gray, S, (Appalachian State)
- Korren Kirven, OT (Alabama)
- Sefo Liufau, QB (Colorado)
- Greg Mabin, CB (Iowa)
- Paul Magloire, LB (Arizona)
- Jonathan Moxey, CB (Boise State)
- Thomas Sperbeck, WR (Boise State)
- Bobo Wilson, WR (Florida State)
To clear room on their 90-man roster for those players, the Buccaneers cut offensive lineman Ben Gottschalk and tight end Kivon Cartwright on Monday, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Both Gottschalk (2014) and Cartwright (2016) went unpicked in their respective draft years. Gottschalk is the only of the two who has seen NFL action, having appeared in two of the Bucs’ games last season.
Eagles To Decline Marcus Smith’s Option
The Eagles will not exercise defensive end Marcus Smith‘s option for 2018, reports Zach Berman of Philly.com.
Fifth-year options are guaranteed for injury only, meaning the Eagles would not have necessarily committed themselves to Smith had they picked it up. Nevertheless, they didn’t want to take an $8.718MM risk on a player who has disappointed since going 26th overall in the 2014 draft.
Smith, a former Louisville Cardinal, hasn’t started in any of his 37 professional appearances, and he has totaled just four sacks. The 25-year-old is coming off his first 16-game season, in which he put up 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 268 defensive snaps. He was a bigger factor on special teams, playing over 40 percent of the unit’s snaps. That’s clearly not what the Eagles had in mind when they invested a first-round pick in him.
Looking to next season, potentially Smith’s last in Philadelphia, he could face even more of an uphill battle to make a defensive impact, as Berman notes. With two new additions – first-rounder Derek Barnett and free agent pickup Chris Long – joining Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry, the Eagles have plenty of non-Smith options at defensive end.
Seahawks Sign QB Jake Heaps
The Seahawks have signed quarterback Jake Heaps, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). Heaps will now rejoin the organization he spent time with last season.
Heaps, who played college football at three different schools (BYU, Kansas and Miami), went undrafted in 2015. He then served on the Jets’ practice squad and played in the now-defunct Fall Experimental Football League before signing with Seattle last May. Heaps didn’t make the Seahawks’ season-opening roster in 2016, but they quickly brought him back as a member of their practice squad. However, Seattle cut him again in October, and he didn’t catch on anywhere else.
Now, the 25-year-old Heaps once again joins Trevone Boykin to comprise the Seahawks’ contingent of signal-callers behind starter Russell Wilson. Although Heaps is probably a long shot to stick with the club, it’s worth noting that Boykin was arrested twice in an 11-day span earlier this offseason – perhaps putting his roster spot in jeopardy.
After Boykin’s first arrest, which led to charges for marijuana possession and public intoxication, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated the team would go forward with him. Police in Texas later picked up Boykin on a possible parole violation, but there hasn’t been any word from the Seahawks regarding his status since then.
Vikings Add 13 UDFAs
The Vikings have agreed to contracts with 13 undrafted free agents, reports Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. Here’s the list:
- Tashawn Bower, DE (LSU)
- Dylan Bradley, DT (Southern Mississippi)
- Aviante Collins, OT (TCU)
- Nick Fett, OT (Iowa State)
- Caleb Kidder, DE (Montana)
- Wes Lunt, QB (Illinois)
- Sam McCaskill, DE (Boise State)
- Terrell Newby, RB (Nebraska)
- Josiah Price, TE (Michigan State)
- Horace Richardson, CB (Southern Methodist)
- R.J. Shelton, WR (Michigan State)
- Shaan Washington, LB (Texas A&M)
- Eric Wilson, LB (Cincinnati)
Bower ($45K) and Bradley ($40K) received the largest financial commitments of the bunch, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Bower set personal bests in tackles (34), tackles for loss (5.5) and sacks (four) last season. Bradley was more productive than Bower, albeit against inferior competition, with 64 tackles, 15.5 for loss, and 8.5 sacks in 2016.
Bears Host DL Jaye Howard On Visit
Former Chiefs defensive lineman Jaye Howard is visiting the Bears, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The 28-year-old Howard became a free agent when the Chiefs released him April 23 in a cost-cutting move. Howard, a fourth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2012, joined the Chiefs in his second year and ended up spending four seasons with the club. Kansas City was quite reliant on Howard from 2014-16, when he started in 29 of 40 regular-season appearances and piled up 7.5 sacks, 5.5 of which came in 2015.
Howard only suited up eight times and made five starts last year, as a hip injury ended his season in November. During his limited action in 2016, Howard added 23 tackles and a sack, and ranked 55th in performance among Pro Football Focus‘ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
If he signs with Chicago – which, like Kansas City, utilizes a 3-4 defensive alignment – Howard would figure to line up at both tackle and end, as he has previously. The Bears finished last season 28th in DVOA against the run, so Howard could perhaps help them improve in that aspect. He’d also provide insurance behind nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who missed most of last season, and give the Bears another end option to join a group including Akiem Hicks, Mitch Unrein and 2016 third-rounder Jonathan Bullard.
Jaguars Sign 16 UDFAs, Cut 11 Players
The Jaguars announced that they have signed 16 undrafted free agents. In order to make room, they have released eleven players from the roster. Here’s the full rundown:
Signed:
- Caleb Bluiett, TE (Texas)
- Keelan Cole, WR (Kentucky Wesleyan)
- Parker Collins, C (Appalachian State)
- Tim Cook, RB (Oregon State)
- Jeremy Cutrer, CB (Middle Tennessee)
- P.J. Davis, LB (Georgia Tech)
- Hunter Dimick, DE (Utah)
- Amba Etta-Tawo, WR (Syracuse)
- Avery Gennesy, G (Texas A&M)
- Justin Horton, LB (Jacksonville)
- Tueni Lupeamanu, DT (Idaho)
- I’Tavius Mathers, RB (Middle Tennessee State)
- Charlie Miller, S (Dartmouth)
- Carroll Phillips, DE (Illinois)
- Ezra Robinson, CB (Tennessee State)
- Kenneth Walker, WR (UCLA)
Released:
- E.J. Bibbs, TE
- Bronson Hill, RB
- Colin Kelly, OL
- Sean Porter, LB
- Daryl Richardson, RB
- Gannon Sinclair, TE
- Elijah Shumate, S
- Arturo Uzdavinis, OL
- Greg Van Roten, OL
- Tony Washington, WR
- Raphael Kirby, LB
Dimick led the Pac-12 in sacks last season with 13.5 and earned a first-team All-Conference selection. Prior to the draft, one NFC West Coast scout told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com that Dimick’s work ethic is admirable, but his lack of natural talent may inhibit him at the next level.
“He’s more try-hard than talented. His effort is great. I love how hard he plays, but when you are as sawed-off as he is on the edge and you can’t unlock your hips, I don’t know how he is going to see the field,” the scout said.
Horton got $25K guaranteed from the Jaguars between his $5K bonus and $20K guaranteed base, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets.
The Jags’ roster is now at the 90-man max.
Vikings Decline Teddy Bridgewater’s Option
As expected, the Vikings have declined Teddy Bridgewater‘s fifth-year option. The news was confirmed by the team today as it picked up the 2018 option for linebacker Anthony Barr. 
Recently, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer admitted that he has “no idea” whether Bridgewater will be able to play in 2017. With that kind of uncertainty surrounding the one-time face of the franchise, it’s hard to argue with the Vikings’ decision. The 2018 option is not a full guarantee, but it is guaranteed for injury and the Vikings could not reasonably take that kind of risk since Bridgewater may never be the same player.
In fact, we don’t know for sure that Bridgewater can return to football after suffering a gruesome leg injury last summer. For now, the Vikings will plan on having Sam Bradford as the starting QB with new pickup Case Keenum as the backup.
Bills To Interview Panthers Exec Brandon Beane
The Bills’ general manager search is underway. Buffalo has asked permission to speak with Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane about their GM vacancy, a league source tells ESPN.com’s Wendi Nix (Twitter link).
Soon after the Bills fired Doug Whaley, Beane’s name emerged as a potential candidate for the gig. The exec has a shared history with new Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and while the Panthers will try to keep him, they cannot prevent him from accepting a GM position elsewhere if it includes final say over the 53-man roster. It remains to be seen whether McDermott, who reportedly had control over the Bills’ draft last week, would be willing to cede that control.
The name of Chiefs executive Brett Veach is also circulating in personnel circles as a candidate for the Bills’ GM job, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports hears (on Twitter).
Vikings Pick Up Anthony Barr’s Option
The Vikings are exercising their fifth-year option on linebacker Anthony Barr, a source tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). The move was expected, but we did not have confirmation of it until today. 
In 2016, Barr started in every regular season game for the Vikings and totaled 70 tackles, two sacks, four passes defensed, and one fumble recovery. For the second straight season, he earned a Pro Bowl nomination for his work.
Interestingly, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus gave Barr a dreadful 43.1 overall score, despite him earning the fifth-highest pass rush mark of any qualified linebacker. This comes after being ranked in the top 30 amongst qualified linebackers as a rookie and earning a stellar 91.7 score in 2015.
Barr is now scheduled to earn $12.306MM is 2018, as shown in PFR’s Fifth-Year Option Tracker for 2014 first round picks.