2017 June - Pro Football Rumors

Colts’ David Parry Still Facing Jail Time

June 1st, 2017 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

David Parry isn’t totally out of the woods yet. The Colts defensive tackle reached a plea deal in April which gave him two years of probation instead of jail time on potential felony charges. However, he’s still facing separate charges from another court, as detailed by TMZ.

Back in February, Parry was said to have attacked a taxi cart driver, car(t)jacked said vehicle, and threatened police officers. The Maricopa County Superior Court gave him a break on three of the charges associated with his booze-fueled evening, but the consequences could be much greater when he appears in Scottsdale City Court next month. One of the remaining charges includes Arizona’s “Super Extreme” DUI, which carries a minimum 45-day jail sentence if he is convicted.

Colts GM Chris Ballard has suggested Parry’s place on the roster will be determined by his on-field performance, but a jail stint might hurt his standing with the club. On top of that, there’s also the matter of league discipline. Even without a felony conviction or a jail sentence, it seems like a suspension is in Parry’s future.

Parry, 25, has started in every possible game for the Colts over the last two years.

Colts To Sign RB Christine Michael

June 1st, 2017 at 2:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have signed running back Christine Michael, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, running back Brandon Radcliff has been cut.

The Colts’ running back depth chart is currently headlined by a 34-year-old Frank Gore. Robert Turbin, fourth-round rookie Marlon Mack, and Josh Ferguson are also on the roster. Michael will be competing for one of the spots behind Gore and he could apply some pressure to Ferguson, a 2016 UDFA who didn’t do much after garnering buzz last summer.

Michael was released by the Packers earlier this offseason as a part of the club’s effort to make room for the three running backs selected in the draft.

The Texas A&M product was once viewed as a high-upside player, but it’s not clear what C-Mike can bring to the table at this stage of his career. The running back averaged 5.1 yards per carry in a limited sample for the Seahawks in 2014, but he has not been able to replicate that success in the last two seasons.

This now marks Michael’s fifth NFL team after time spent with the Seahawks, Cowboys, Redskins, and Packers.

Latest On Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott

June 1st, 2017 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL’s investigation into Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott could be winding down. The NFL Players Association recently turned over phone records and other documents that league investigators have been seeking in their probe of domestic violence allegations against the running back, Tom Pelissero of USA Today writes.

The NFL was asking for Elliott’s phone records for a while, but the running back’s camp was reluctant to turn those over and the union was also putting up a battle for fear of setting a bad precedent. As Pelissero notes, phone records also became an issue in the Tom Brady Deflategate case. Ultimately, Brady’s unwillingness to fully cooperate with the investigation led to him being served with a controversial four-game suspension.

Last year, a woman accused Elliott of abusing her on two separate occasions in 2016. However, the 21-year-old was never arrested nor charged for either supposed incident. In one case, a key witness says Elliott’s accuser told her to lie to police about a separate incident. From a legal standpoint, there’s little evidence to pin Elliott for wrongdoing, but the NFL requires much less proof to dole out a suspension or fine. The league is also feeling increased pressure to come down hard on domestic violence cases in the wake of the Ray Rice fiasco.

The NFL opened its investigation in July, meaning that we are nearing its one-year mark.

James Ihedigbo Facing Suspension

June 1st, 2017 at 12:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent safety James Ihedigbo, linebacker Jason Fanaika, and long snapper Josh Latham will all have to serve suspensions if/when they sign with teams, according to Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com (on Twitter). They are all facing four-game bans, though the causes for each are not immediately clear.

Last year, Ihedigbo hooked on with the Bills in November and became a starter almost immediately. Unfortunately, the veteran landed on IR weeks later and never returned. In February, the veteran expressed interest in returning to Buffalo, but we haven’t heard his name mentioned much otherwise this offseason. The 33-year-old (34 in December) may be past his prime, but he’s not all that far removed from his best career year which came in 2014.

Fanaika signed a futures deal with the Steelers in the winter but did not make it into the summer with Pittsburgh. Latham was picked up by the Jets in February but was released in late April just prior to the draft.

Bucs Sign WR Chris Godwin, Wrap Draft Class

June 1st, 2017 at 10:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers announced the signing of third round wide receiver Chris Godwin. The deal means that every member of the team’s 2017 draft class has now been inked.

Godwin, a Penn State product, recorded 154 catches for 2,421 yards and 18 touchdowns over his three seasons on campus. With the Bucs, he can pitch in as both a slot receiver and an outside option, depending on how he’s needed. Godwin represents one of two major additions at wide receiver for the team this year, along with free agent pickup DeSean Jackson.

Here’s the complete rundown of Tampa Bay’s draft class:

1-19: O.J. Howard, TE (Alabama)
2-50: Justin Evans, S (Texas A&M)
3-84: Chris Godwin, WR (Penn State)
3-107: Kendell Beckwith, LB (LSU)
5-162: Jeremy McNichols, RB (Boise State)
7-223: Steve Tu’ikolovatu, DT (USC)

Jets Were Planning To Release Calvin Pryor

June 1st, 2017 at 10:14am CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but the Jets were planning to release Calvin Pryor before completing a Thursday morning trade with the Browns, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rather than cutting him outright, the Jets got something instead of nothing and the Browns got to scoop up the former first-round pick without competing with other clubs.

The Jets are hoping that linebacker Demario Davis will perform like he did during his first Jets stint. However, if he has regressed, they can cut him without financial penalty because his $3.7MM salary is not guaranteed. Had they released Pryor, they would have been on the hook for his $1.6MM salary.

Pryor’s shaky status with Gang Green has been the worst kept secret in football for much of the offseason. When the Jets used their first two draft picks on safeties, that all but sealed his fate. When Pryor skipped out on the early part of OTAs, something finally had to give.

Eagles Waive LB Steven Daniels

June 1st, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have waived linebacker Steven Daniels. It was a short stay for Daniels, who was claimed off waivers from the Redskins just last month.

In his final year at Boston College, Daniels tallied 82 total tackles, including 16.0 tackles for a loss and 6.0 sacks. The Redskins went on to use a seventh-round pick on him in 2016, but he never saw live action thanks to a torn labrum.

The Eagles did not select a linebacker in the draft this year (first-round pick Derek Barnett profiles more as a defensive end), so it seemed like Daniels had a shot at making the final cut. For one reason or another, he has been jettisoned long before that point.

Nigel Bradham, Jordan Hicks, and Mychal Kendricks project as the starting linebackers for the Eagles with Kamu Grugier-Hill, Najee Goode, Joe Walker, Alex McCalister, and fifth-round pick Nate Gerry among those pushing for reserve jobs.

Jets Trade Safety Calvin Pryor To Browns

June 1st, 2017 at 8:07am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are trading former first-round pick Calvin Pryor to the Browns, sources tell Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). In return, the Jets are getting linebacker Demario Davis, a player who spent multiple seasons as a starter in New York before leaving for Cleveland in free agency. The Browns have since confirmed the trade via press release.

“Calvin is a young, experienced safety that has upside,” said Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown. “We are pleased to be able to add him to our defensive back room and just like every player we acquire, we expect him to come in with a hard-working mindset ready to compete. DeMario is a guy that we developed the utmost respect for in his time with our team, not only as a professional but also as a person. We appreciate all he did for our organization in his time in Cleveland.”

Nicknamed the “Louisville Slugger,” Pryor was drafted by the old regime with the hope that his hard-hitting style would elevate the team’s secondary. Unfortunately, he has not been able to produce in his three NFL seasons and the new regime didn’t have much use for him after drafting LSU’s Jamal Adams No. 6 overall and Florida’s Marcus Maye in the second round. The Jets couldn’t find a trade partner for Pryor prior to the 2017 draft, but they have struck a deal today with Cleveland.

Pryor would probably like to start at strong safety for the Browns, but that job might already belong to first round pick Jabrill Peppers. Still, there’s no reason why he can’t find work as a key reserve. Although he doesn’t fit the Jets plans, the advanced metrics are higher on him than you might think. In his first two NFL seasons, Pro Football Focus had Pryor ranked as a top-50 safety in the NFL. Last year, he took a slight step back, but he still earned a better score than Derrick Kindred and Ibraheim Campbell, two safeties who are hoping to stick on the Browns’ 53-man roster.

Davis saw part-time action in his rookie season after being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft by the Jets, but started every game for the team from 2012-2015. In 2015, his final year with the Jets, he totaled 89 tackles to go along with a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery. Davis inked a two-year, $8MM deal with the Browns in March 2016 and he’s now headed back to New York to complete the final year of that pact. He’ll make a $3.7MM salary this year, though it is completely non-guaranteed.