Rams Host Sean Lissemore On Visit
The Rams are meeting with nose tackle Sean Lissemore, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The veteran, who was most recently with the Chargers, played briefly for Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips when both men were in Dallas. 
[RELATED: Rams Sign QB Dan Orlovsky]
Lissemore, 30 in September, played in 41 games for the Bolts between 2013 and 2015, including 13 starts during that span. Unfortunately, he suffered a major shoulder injury last August which ended his 2016 season before it even began. The visit with the Rams is probably a sign that the William and Mary product has been cleared to play football again.
The Rams have Michael Brockers starting at nose tackle, but they’re still working to figure out who his backups will be. After parting ways with Tyrunn Walker, the Rams are left with Mike Purcell, rookie Tanzel Smart, and untested 2015 UDFA Louis Trinca-Pasat as reserve options.
For his career, Lissemore has 135 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and one interception to his credit.
Ravens Interested In Colin Kaepernick
The Ravens have interest in Colin Kaepernick. Coach John Harbaugh confirmed to reporters that the team is planning to bring in another quarterback and signing Kaepernick “depends on what Kaepernick wants to do,” (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun). 
“I’ve known Colin through my brother for many years. And we talked and then got to know him very well when he scrimmaged here. He and I have been talking throughout the summer a number of times,” Harbaugh said. “We had some great conversations on the phone and it’s really been a pleasure to talk to him and get to know him. I like history and politics too, and we’ve had some debates, and it’s been fun. And he’s a great guy. He’s a guy right now that’s being talked about. We’ll just see what happens with that. Only speculation right now. He’s a really good football player and like I said, I do believe he’ll be playing int he National Football League this year.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Ravens have made at least an informal offer to Kaepernick and he is mulling it over. If that’s the case, it’s possible that Kaepernick is looking for more in the way of base guarantees or incentives in the event that he takes a significant number of snaps this year.
Still, beggars can’t be choosers and Kaepernick might not have a ton of other options at the moment. Until now, the Seahawks were the only team willing to go on record with interest in Kaepernick, though the two sides did not exchange offers after his workout in June. If Kaepernick declines an opportunity to join up with Baltimore, he may have to wait for a QB injury elsewhere in the league to get his next chance.
From a pure football perspective, Kaepernick may be the most talented QB remaining on the open market. However, teams continue to shy away from him because of the specter of a locker room distraction. The Ravens may be the club to finally put a stop to the Kaepernick saga and give him an opportunity for 2017.
Flacco, Ryan Mallett, and Dustin Vaughan are currently the only quarterbacks on the Ravens’ roster. Vaughan, 26, has never taken a snap in an NFL game.
Cardinals Meet With CB Tramon Williams
Former Browns cornerback Tramon Williams is flying to Arizona for a visit with the Cardinals, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The get-together comes on the heels of a meeting with Brandon Flowers on Wednesday. 
[REL,ATED: Cardinals Meet With CB Brandon Flowers]
Williams started 22 games over his two seasons in Cleveland. Last year, he appeared in 12 games (seven starts) and he finished 2016 with 36 tackles, five passes defended, and one interception – his lowest totals since 2007. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus also indicated that he has lost a step. He finished out as PFF’s No. 73 cornerback out of 111 qualified players.
Williams can’t offer the same version of himself that we saw with the Packers earlier in his career, but he can still provide the Cardinals with some veteran know-how in the secondary. He’s probably being looked at as a backup since coach Bruce Arians indicated that Flowers was not being evaluated as a starter.
Ravens’ John Urschel Retires From NFL
It’s not uncommon for players to announce their retirement as training camp gets underway. It is, however, unusual for a 26-year-old to do it. Ravens center John Urschel says he’s walking away from football. 
“This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Urschel participated in all of the Ravens’ offseason camps, but it seems that he is opting to pursue a career in mathematics instead. He’s a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at MIT and is said to be a straight-A student, so there should be no shortage of options for him after football.
Meanwhile, his surprise retirement leaves the Ravens with a definite void in the middle of the offensive line. Urschel was slated to be the Ravens’ starting center and now that Jeremy Zuttah is no longer in the picture, the Ravens are without a clear cut plan B.
Now that the Ravens are in the market for a center, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them circle back to former Jets standout Nick Mangold.
Saints, Orlando Franklin Discussing Deal
Former Chargers guard Orlando Franklin visited the Saints on Wednesday and is discussing a deal with them, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Saints Don’t Expect Nick Fairley Return]
Franklin would be a logical fit for the Saints given the injuries they are dealing with on the offensive line. Left tackle Terron Armstead still has 3-5 months to go in his recovery after undergoing surgery on his torn labrum. It’s also not a certainty that center Max Unger will be ready for Week 1 after he had surgery earlier this year to fix a lingering foot issue. Both players are currently on the PUP list along with guard Senio Kelemete, a leading candidate to fill in for Unger if he misses time.
Franklin also met with the Jets on Tuesday.
Cowboys To Sign RB Ronnie Hillman
The Cowboys are signing veteran running back Ronnie Hillman, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hillman auditioned for the Cowboys earlier this week, along with ex-Jaguars running back Denard Robinson.
[RELATED: Zac Dysert Likely To Miss Season]
Dallas already has Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris, and Darren McFadden on the depth chart, but they’re reportedly still looking for someone to fill Lance Dunbar‘s shoes in the RB4 role. Hillman could be the man for the job and that could spell bad news for undrafted running back Jahad Thomas and fullback Keith Smith.
Hillman was once a key part of the Broncos’ offense, but he has not been the same player since his surprising release from Denver before last season. Hillman appeared in eight games with the Chargers and Vikings, compiling only 131 yards on 41 carries (3.2 yards per carry). In 2015, however, he posted career highs in yards (863) and yards per carry (4.2).
Zac Dysert Likely To Miss Season
A year after dealing with significant summertime injuries to quarterbacks Tony Romo and Kellen Moore, the Cowboys’ depth chart under center has already taken a hit in 2017 – albeit a minor one. Zac Dysert underwent surgery to fix a herniated disc and is likely to miss the season, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
In a best-case scenario, Dallas wouldn’t have needed Dysert this season, as the team’s hope is that starter Dak Prescott and his top backup, Moore, will stay healthy through 2017. But Dysert’s injury leaves only undrafted rookie Cooper Rush behind Moore, which could force the team to search for depth from outside the organization. Dysert’s loss doesn’t exactly deprive the Cowboys of an experienced option, though, considering the 27-year-old has never appeared in a regular-season game.
The Cowboys added Dysert as a waiver claim from the Cardinals in June. The 2013 seventh-round pick from Miami of Ohio has spent time with seven NFL organizations.
Extra Points: Gilchrist, Titans, Kaepernick
Free agent safety Marcus Gilchrist has been cleared for action and is lining up visits for next week, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Gilchrist tore his patellar tendon while with the Jets last season and wound up on the injured reserve in mid-December. The six-year veteran has combined for 91 appearances and 69 starts with the Chargers and Jets since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in 2011. Gilchrist started in all 61 of his appearances from 2013-16, when he combined for eight interceptions. He picked off two passes in 13 games last season en route a passable 53rd-place ranking among Pro Football Focus’ 90 qualified safeties.
More from around the league:
- Titans rookie wide receiver Corey Davis could be headed toward a holdout as the team gets ready to start training camp Friday, writes Jason Wolf of the Tennessean. Davis, the fifth overall pick, is one of three unsigned first-rounders, and it seems the ex-Western Michigan star is haggling with the Titans over offset language. The Titans have typically included offset language in rookie deals and “are reluctant to change precedent,” writes Wolf.
- In a piece laying out the best fits for some of the top free agents remaining on the board, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com names Seattle as the most logical destination for quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The 29-year-old met with the Seahawks in May, but they never exchanged offers and the club went on to sign the unproven Austin Davis instead. He and Trevone Boykin are all the Seahawks have behind Russell Wilson, leading Seifert to argue that they should circle back to Kaepernick. The former 49er is also better than all of the Jets’ signal-callers (Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty), contends Seifert. Regardless of whether that’s true, the rebuilding outfit looks unlikely to add Kaepernick or any other experienced free agent to its current mix of passers.
- Both the Kaepernick-less Seahawks and Jets rank toward the bottom of the league when it comes to the quality of their backup QBs, opines Field Yates of ESPN.com (Insider required and recommended). No one’s in worse shape than the Colts, though, observes Yates. Their fallback to Andrew Luck is Scott Tolzien, who has been horrid across nine career appearances with the Packers and Colts. He got into three contests last year and could see time this season if Luck’s shoulder continues to be an issue.
- Along with the previously reported Kitt O’Brien, the Dolphins worked out fellow guards Connor Bozick and Isame Faciane on Wednesday, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Dolphins are content with their current choices at guard, per Jackson, which explains why they didn’t sign any of those unproven players or look at more established free agents.
AFC Notes: Steelers, Bengals, Broncos
Contract extensions may be in the offing for Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin, writes Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Colbert’s contract will expire after next year’s draft, while Tomlin is still under wraps for two more seasons. That’s typically when the Steelers have worked to extend their head coaches in the past, observes Bouchette. They’ve had just three since 1969, the year of Chuck Noll‘s hiring. Bill Cowher also came before Tomlin, who has mimicked those two with a resoundingly successful run in Pittsburgh. The Tomlin-led club has made the playoffs seven times out of 10, including last year, and hasn’t finished with fewer than eight wins in a season. Overall, the Steelers have gone 103-57 with a Super Bowl victory and two AFC championships under Tomlin.
More from the AFC:
- One of Tomlin’s AFC North rivals, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, seems less secure in his role. Lewis is in a contract year, but owner Mike Brown indicated Tuesday that he’ll go at his own pace on a potential extension for the coach, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. Still, Brown is satisfied with Lewis, who trails only the Patriots’ Bill Belichick in tenure among head coaches. “That should tell you how I feel about him. He has my respect, my regard, my confidence,” said Brown. “We’ve been through this before. Sometimes it was an additional prod. Heck, we all know how it went last year. We wish it had gone better, so maybe we’ll see a better year this year and things will sort out then.” The Bengals stumbled to a 6-9-1 mark in 2016, snapping a five-year playoff streak and giving them a 118-103-3 record during Lewis’ 14-season stint. Amazingly, the team has lost all seven of its postseason games with Lewis at the helm.
- Even though he has been cleared for everything, Broncos coach Vance Joseph says that the team will be approaching things cautiously with Jamaal Charles in an effort to keep him fresh for the season. That makes James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter) wonder if that means Charles has already made the team. For all of his career accomplishments, it has been said that Charles may only have a 50/50 shot of making the final cut.
- The executive who signed Charles in free agency this year, John Elway, received a promotion when the Broncos awarded him a contract extension Monday, reports Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. The Hall of Fame quarterback is now Denver’s president of football operations/general manager. He had been their executive VP of football operations/GM since 2011.
- The Ravens had expressed interest in running back Bobby Rainey even before Kenneth Dixon went down with a meniscus injury, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Baltimore had been in contact with Rainey throughout the summer, per Hensley, but news of Dixon’s impending operation presumably sped up contract talks and led to his signing Tuesday. Rainey, who had also drawn interest from the Jets earlier this year, joins a backfield that includes Terrance West, Danny Woodhead, Buck Allen, and Lorenzo Taliaferro.
Dallas Robinson and Zach Links contributed to this post.
Joe Flacco Dealing With Back Injury
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is preparing to sit out three to six weeks with a disc issue in his back, report Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). A worst-case scenario could put Flacco’s status for the Ravens’ Sept. 10 season opener in jeopardy, but the team only expects him to miss a week, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
If Flacco’s injury proves to be serious, the Ravens may choose to scour the free agent and trade markets for available quarterbacks. There are, of course, much-discussed unsigned QBs in Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III. Those two offer vastly different skill sets than Flacco and backup Ryan Mallett, but it may be worth noting in Kaepernick’s case that he played under Jim Harbaugh, the brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, in San Francisco. Kaepernick is also familiar with senior offensive assistant Greg Roman, who was once the 49ers’ O-coordinator.
Other available options include Christian Ponder, Shaun Hill and Zach Mettenberger, and anyone the Ravens bring in would initially join Dustin Vaughan behind Mallett. The team re-signed Mallett to a one-year, $2MM deal in March. Mallett hasn’t been effective since debuting with the Patriots in 2012, though, which could give a newcomer a chance to unseat him and become Baltimore’s top backup.
Flacco, meanwhile, is the unquestioned No. 1 with the Ravens, but the 32-year-old has taken steps backward since their latest playoff campaign in 2014. The onetime Super Bowl champion struggled over 10 games in 2015 and then succumbed to a torn ACL that November. While Flacco returned last year to start all of Baltimore’s games, he posted pedestrian numbers for an 8-8 team.