Tavon Young Suffers Torn ACL
Ravens cornerback Tavon Young suffered a torn ACL in practice on Thursday, costing the team a notable defender well before the start of the season, reports Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.
A fourth-round pick last year, Young became a key part of the Ravens as a rookie, appearing in all 16 of their games (11 starts) and finishing fifth among their defenders in snaps (832). The former Temple Owl hardly looked out of place during those snaps, either, ranking an impressive 26th in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 111 qualified corners. Young also racked up 50 tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defensed.
The loss of Young is the latest significant change to the Ravens’ secondary in advance of the upcoming season. The team added name-brand newcomers in fellow cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Marlon Humphrey, a first-round pick, as well as big-money safety Tony Jefferson. Those three figured to join Young, among others, as integral pieces of the Ravens’ defensive backfield in 2017, but Young now looks likely to miss most or all of the season. His role as Baltimore’s nickel corner will go to either Lardarius Webb or Maurice Canady, according to Hensley.
Packers Release Jake Schum
The Packers have released punter Jake Schum and signed undrafted free agent wide receiver Colby Pearson, according to a team announcement.
The 2016 campaign was the only one in Green Bay for Schum, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Browns in 2012 but didn’t see regular-season action until 2015 with the Buccaneers.
Schum, 28, joined the Packers last August via waivers, and he went on to appear in all 16 of their regular-season games and finish 27th in both yards per punt and punts inside the 20, and 24th in net average. All told, Football Outsiders gave the Packers’ special teams unit roughly league-average grades last year in the punting department. That evidently didn’t suffice for Green Bay, whose lone punter is undrafted rookie Justin Vogel, formerly with Miami.
The 6-foot, 210-pound Pearson racked up 76 catches and eight touchdowns at BYU, where he appeared in 30 games from 2014-16. He totaled career highs in receptions (38), yards (384) and scores (four) last season.
49ers To Audition Elvis Dumervil
Free agent linebacker Elvis Dumervil will work out for the 49ers within the next couple days, reports Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
Although Dumervil’s among the most accomplished pass rushers in the NFL, the 33-year-old didn’t generate any reported interest between the Ravens releasing him March 8 and the 49ers deciding to bring him in for a workout. Injuries limited Dumervil to eight games in 2016, his fourth and final year in Baltimore, but he still totaled three sacks, two forced fumbles, and drew a strong pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus.
Prior to last season, Dumervil hadn’t missed more than two games in a campaign since his rookie year, 2006, when he sat out three as a member of the Broncos. Notably, Dumervil was a teammate of then-safety and now-49ers general manager John Lynch in his first two seasons. Between Denver and Baltimore, Dumervil racked up 99 sacks – including a personal- and league-high 17 in 2009 – 23 forced fumbles and five Pro Bowl nods over 10 seasons.
In San Francisco, Dumervil would play the role of a Leo linebacker, notes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The 49ers didn’t address the position with a high selection during the draft, and in-house Leo candidate Aaron Lynch has battled weight problems in recent months. Dumervil, it seems, would provide more of a sure thing and add a pass-rushing threat to a team that finished a below-average 19th in the league in sacks in 2016.
49ers Sign CB Will Davis
The 49ers have signed cornerback Will Davis, according to a team announcement. To make room, the team has waived wide receiver Rashad Ross. 
Davis has suffered two ACL tears over the course of his career. The first happened in 2014 as a member of the Dolphins and his second ACL tear went down in 2015, just weeks after the Ravens acquired him via trade. All in all, he has only 20 games to his credit over four seasons, thanks in part to the injury. We have not seen Davis on the field since November of last year when the Ravens cut him loose.
Ross originally signed with the Niners on a Reserve/Future back in January. He will be free to sign with any team unless he is claimed in the next 24 hours.
Colts’ David Parry Still Facing Jail Time
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
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
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
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
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
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. 
[RELATED: Jets Trade Safety Calvin Pryor To Browns]
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.