Minor NFL Transactions: 5/8/17
Monday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Josh Letuligasenoa, CB Raysean Pringle, RB William Stanback, LB David Talley, S Aaron Taylor (via Jason Wilde of ESPN, on Twitter)
- Cut: WR Antwan Goodley, LS Taybor Pepper
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Ricky Ali’ifua (Twitter links via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Cut: RB Darrin Reaves
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: LB/DE Royce LaFrance, TE Jake Stoneburner (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Chris Casher, LB Najee Harris, LB LaTroy Lewis
- Cut: S Ahmad Thomas, DL Jordan Wade (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Chanceller James, WR BJ Johnson, OL Richard Levy
- Cut: OL Bret Treadway
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Greg Mabin
Ravens’ Terrance West Signs RFA Tender
It took two months, but Ravens running back Terrance West has signed his restricted free agent tender, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
[RELATED: Should Ravens Sign LeGarrette Blount?]
The Ravens gave West an original-round tender, meaning any club that attempted to sign him would have had to surrender a fairly high pick for the 2014 third-rounder. Between that and West’s unspectacular production to this point (3.9 yards per carry on 426 attempts), it’s unsurprising that no one courted him when he was on the RFA market.
Formerly with the Browns and Titans, West is coming off his first full year in Baltimore, where he paced the team’s ball carriers in attempts (193), yards (774) and touchdowns (five) in 2016. The 26-year-old also totaled 34 catches for 236 yards and another score. With Kenneth Dixon set to serve a four-game suspension to open the season, West should again function as the Ravens’ top rushing option at the outset of 2017.
Along with locking up West for another year, the Ravens are keeping cornerback Sheldon Price, who signed his exclusive rights tender. Meanwhile, the team cut three players – running back Stephen Houston and 2017 undrafted free agents Zach Terrell (quarterback, Western Michigan) and Omarius Bryant (defensive end, Western Kentucky) – according to Zrebiec.
Eagles To Sign DT Charles Walker
Charles Walker, an undrafted defensive tackle from Oklahoma, is set to sign with the Eagles, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
While most undrafted free agents are relatively anonymous, Walker stands as a fairly notable player who didn’t hear his name called by any NFL team during the final weekend of April. Walker declared for the draft in November, thus concluding his career with the Sooners before their season ended. The decision drew ire from head coach Bob Stoops, who said, “Quitting on your teammates is hard to take as a coach.”
Even before Walker made the controversial choice to depart Oklahoma, there were questions from scouts regarding the 304-pounder’s work ethic, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller noted in November (Twitter link). At the time, though, Miller ranked Walker as the draft’s 35th-best prospect, so it’s fair to say the Eagles could be landing a high-reward player for a pittance. Walker will vie for a roster spot as a reserve behind Philadelphia’s enviable starting D-tackle duo of Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan, and backup Beau Allen‘s chest injury won’t hurt the rookie’s cause as he attempts to make the team.
Bills To Interview Brandon Beane Again
On Monday, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst became the fourth executive to interview for the Bills’ vacant general manager post, but only one has booked a second meeting with the team. That’s Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, who will head back to Buffalo for another sitdown with the club this week, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Beane has emerged as the favorite to land the job, per Schefter, which isn’t surprising when you consider his ties to first-year Bills head coach Sean McDermott. The two are familiar with each other from McDermott’s tenure in Carolina, where he served as the defensive coordinator over the previous six seasons.
Despite his inexperience as a head coach, McDermott has become arguably the most prominent voice in the Bills organization during his first few months in Buffalo. McDermott’s influence at Bills headquarters helped lead to ex-GM Doug Whaley‘s ouster, so Whaley’s successor will clearly have to share power with the coach to some degree.
Along with Gutekunst and Beane, the Bills have met with Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown regarding their GM position. As of now now, though, it seems that the job is Beane’s to lose.
Seahawks Claim RB Mike Davis Off Waivers
Mike Davis is staying in the NFC West. The Seahawks have claimed the running back off waivers from the 49ers, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Seahawks Expect To Retain Richard Sherman]
The Seahawks selected Oklahoma running back Chris Carson with one of the final picks in the draft but they’re still looking into reserve options to slot behind Eddie Lacy, Thomas Rawls, and C.J. Prosise. Troymaine Pope, 2016 fifth-round pick Alex Collins, J.D. McKissic, Terrence Magee, and Tre Madden are also vying for a roster spot.
The 49ers informed Davis of his release last week. Davis, a fourth-round pick in 2015, hasn’t done a whole lot in his two NFL seasons. Last year, he suffered a broken hand midway through the season and never returned to action even though he was slated to be the team’s one IR-DTR player. Between 2015 and 2016, he has averaged just 2.0 yards per carry on 54 attempts for the 49ers.
10 Centers The Saints Could Pursue
Saints center Max Unger went under the knife to help fix an issue with his foot, and that surgery will cause him to miss the start of the season. With no exact timetable in place for his return, the Saints will likely consider out-of-house options to help fill the void.
With some help from PFR’s Dallas Robinson, here are centers that New Orleans could look into acquiring:
- Nick Mangold (free agent): Mangold remains on the open market and he stands as the most obvious choice for the Saints to consider. The Saints would be hard-pressed to find anyone with a resume as impressive as Mangold’s and the seven-time Pro Bowler probably wouldn’t cost all that much at this stage of the offseason. At the same time, there’s a reason why he is still available here in May and word of clubs asking him to change positions isn’t exactly encouraging.
- Jason Kelce (Eagles): Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com was quick to connect the dots on Monday morning after word of Unger’s injury broke. The Eagles reportedly have had Kelce on the trading block for some time now and the Saints would now be a logical landing spot for him. The Eagles beat writer suggests that a Kelce deal could see running back Mark Ingram going to Philly, but I personally have a hard time seeing that happen. If the Saints are unable to meet the Eagles’ asking price for Kelce, however, they might be able to swing a deal for another interesting option on their roster.
- Stefen Wisniewski (Eagles): If the Eagles were to trade Kelce, Wisniewski or guard Isaac Seumalo would be the top candidates to step into the starting role. However, Wisniewski himself would make lots of sense as a stopgap for the Saints. Wisniewski was a starter for five straight years with the Raiders and Jaguars before landing with the Eagles as a reserve. In addition to that starting experience, he also offers experience at guard, so he could be used at multiple spots once Unger returns to action. Pro Football Focus ranked him 39th among 72 eligible guards last season with strong marks for his pass blocking skills.
- Joe Hawley (Buccaneers): The Buccaneers are moving Ali Marpet to center and he could very well wind up as the starter. There’s also Evan Dietrich-Smith and guard/tackle Ken Pamphile to consider for the No. 1 job and that could make Hawley expendable. The 28-year-old (29 in October) has been the Bucs’ primary center for the last two years, but he could be on the outside looking in after camp concludes. This offseason, he re-signed with the team on a two-year, $5.5MM deal with just $1MM guaranteed. It’s an affordable deal that the Saints could easily wiggle out of next year, if need be. Alternatively, the Bucs may want to dangle Dietrich-Smith in New Orleans’ direction.
- Tim Barnes (49ers): Barnes just showed up in San Francisco, but indications are that the Niners will use Jeremy Zuttah as their starting center in 2o17. Before getting cut this offseason, Barnes spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as the Rams’ starter. Another Niner, Daniel Kilgore, could have appeal for the Saints.
- Cameron Erving (Browns): The Browns are planning to move Erving to right tackle now that J.C. Tretter is in town, but perhaps the Saints would be interested in seeing what he can do in the middle. Then again, he was shifted to right tackle last year after performing poorly in 12 games at center.
- Matt Slauson (Chargers): Slauson isn’t guaranteed to start this year thanks to the presence of Max Tuerk, Forrest Lamp, and Dan Feeney. All three players are rookies (Tuerk didn’t play in 2016 thanks to his knee injury) but the team is high on each of them. In theory, Slauson could be shifted over to guard with Tuerk starting in the middle, but it’s also possible that Feeney starts at right guard over him. Slauson would be a valuable swing reserve for Los Angeles, but the Bolts might also be willing to trade him thanks to their glut of O-Line options.
- Joe Berger (Vikings): Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sees third round rookie Pat Elflein as a center, and that could potentially make Berger expendable. Berger, 35 later this month, has started 68 games over the course of his career. He graded out as the 12th best guard in the entire NFL last season, according to PFF. He earned an even stronger overall score in 2015 when he primarily played in the middle. Berger still has plenty in the tank, so it would be harder to pry him away than some of the other names on this list.
49ers To Release RB DuJuan Harris
The 49ers are parting ways with running back DuJuan Harris. Harris took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to bid farewell to San Francisco: 
[RELATED: 49ers Waive WR K.D. Cannon]
“Its been real! I’m blessed for the memories and it was great being a part of this legendary organization. All love, see y’all later!,” Harris wrote.
The 49ers re-signed Harris to a one-year deal in late March, but the running back depth chart has become quite crowded since then. A pair of moves in April brought Tim Hightower and Kapri Bibbs into the fold and the selection of Utah running back Joe Williams in the fourth round only contributed to the logjam.
Harris, 28, first joined the 49ers in 2015 when he was plucked from the Ravens’ practice squad. This past season, he averaged 3.6 yards per carry on 38 attempts in ten games. He also added eight receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Bears To Sign LB Dan Skuta
The Bears have signed outside linebacker Dan Skuta, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal, according to a team announcement. 
Skuta was released by the Jaguars roughly one month ago in a move that saved the team $4.1MM against the 2017 cap. In late April, he visited with the Patriots, but he left New England without a deal.
The 31-year-old came to Jacksonville in 2015 after notching five sacks as a reserve with the Niners. Unfortunately, he did not live up to the five-year, $20.5MM pact. Last year, he appeared in just 24.8% of the Jags’ snaps and made just two starts in his 13 games.
The Bears have a fairly deep OLB group with projected starters Willie Young and Leonard Floyd and reserves including Pernell McPhee, Sam Acho, and Lamarr Houston. However, Houston could be a cap casualty this summer since the team can release him for $5.01MM in savings versus just $1.98MM in dead money. As it stands, he’s projected to carry a hefty $6.99MM cap number in the fourth year of a five-year, $35MM deal.
NFC Rumors: Unger, Saints, Howard, Bears
While Max Unger recovers from surgery, the Saints could fill the gap from within and use center/guard Senio Kelemete as the starter in the middle, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) suggests. Center Jack Allen is also on the roster, but Rapoport seems to think that Kelemete would have the leg up.
Here’s more out of the NFC:
- Jaye Howard‘s deal with the Bears calls for a base salary of $775K but can make up to $4MM with incentives, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Chiefs will be keeping a close eye on Howard’s performance thanks to the offset language in his contract. The Chiefs can recoup up to $3.75MM in cap space if Howard maxes out his incentives.
- If UDFA quarterback Taysom Hill works out for the Packers, it could enable the team to trade backup Brett Hundley for something of value this summer, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel opines. The BYU product offers high-level athleticism for the position and at the age of 27, he may be more mature than your average UDFA. In theory, Joe Callahan could ascent to the QB2 spot with Hill taking over as the new third-stringer. The Packers nearly traded Hundley during Day 2 of the draft this year.
- The Cardinals worked out quarterback Blaine Gabbert on Thursday, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). We learned last week that Arizona had interest in the former No. 10 overall pick and an audition was on the way. The Cardinals already have three signal callers on the roster in Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, and Zac Dysert.
Bills Interview Packers’ Brian Gutekunst
The Bills interviewed Packers Director of Player Personnel Brian Gutekunst on Monday (today) for the GM job, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He now the fourth known candidate for the position. The Bills have since confirmed the news via press release.
Gutekunst has long been considered a top GM candidate and the Packers have not promised him that he will be the successor to Ted Thompson. However, it’s not a given that Gutekunst will leave for the Bills even if he’s offered the gig. This offseason, he was considered to be the favorite for the 49ers’ vacancy before withdrawing his name from consideration. Apparently, he received a new deal from the Packers (read: pay raise) that kept him from leaving.
After coach Sean McDermott effectively ran this year’s draft in Buffalo, it’s not clear if the Bills’ next GM will have final say over the 53-man roster. Gutekunst turned down an opportunity to run things in San Francisco in which he would have ceded some control to Kyle Shanahan, so this position might not suit him either.
So far, the Bills have also interviewed Eagles’ director of college scouting Trey Brown, Panthers executive Brandon Beane, and Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine.