Redskins Unlikely To Hire General Manager?
The Redskins have submitted a proposal to the NFL to restructure their front office without hiring a formal general manager, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links).
Team president Bruce Allen would likely remain in charge in a realignment, and probably would have retained final say even if a general manager were hired, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com hinted on Wednesday. Allen was essentially running the Redskins even when McCloughan was in town, according to Michael Lombardi of The Ringer (Twitter links), as Allen — despite his title — was effectively Washington’s GM while McCloughan was the team’s head personnel man.
Washington has been operating without a GM since it dismissed Scot McCloughan on the first day of the free agent period. La Canfora reported yesterday that the Redskins’ “most likely course” would be to promote a general manager from within, while Mike Jones of the Washington Post recently identified senior personnel executive Doug Williams as a potential candidate to take over as the club’s top decision-maker.
Restructuring the front office without hiring a general manager clearly wouldn’t lead to a Williams promotion to GM, but it could conceivably involve new titles for Williams and other staffers such as scout Alex Santos and contract negotiator Eric Schaffer, as La Canfora suggested yesterday.
Michael Oher Cited For Misdemeanor Assault
Panthers offensive tackle Michael Oher has been cited for misdemeanor assault after a Nashville Uber driver accused the veteran lineman of assault, according to a report from WSOCTV. Oher will appear for booking on May 8.
The driver alleges that he and Oher engaged in a disagreement on April 14 as Oher was being driven to downtown Nashville. After the driver put his hand on Oher’s face — an action the driver admits — Oher reportedly knocked the driver to the ground.
Oher, 30, had seemingly been dislodged from Carolina’s 2017 plans even before news of an alleged assault broke. The Panthers signed free agent Matt Kalil to displace Oher at left tackle, and subsequently drafted offensive lineman Taylor Moton in the second round. Moton figures to compete with Oher and Daryl Williams for time at right tackle.
Health questions could prevent Oher from even taking the field at any point in the near future, however, as Oher was still in the NFL’s concussion protocol as of early March. If the Panthers did decided to cut ties with Oher, they’d take on $3MM in dead money versus $2.5MM in cap savings. A post-June 1 release would create $4.5MM in cap space while only keeping $1MM in dead money on the cap.
Eagles Release OL Josh LeRibeus
The Eagles have released guard Josh LeRibeus and waived fullback Andrew Bonnet and running back Terrell Watson, the club announced today.
LeRibeus, 28, has the most NFL experience of the trio, as he started 11 games for Washington as recently as 2015. The former third-round pick didn’t make the Redskins’ roster in 2016 after having re-signed on a one-year deal. After spending last season on the workout circuit, LeRibeus eventually inked a futures contract with Philadelphia in January. Having played more than 700 offensive snaps in 2015, and offering the ability to play both guard and center, LeRibeus could find a role as a backup interior lineman in the near future.
Watson, meanwhile, has bounced around since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Azusa Pacific 2015. Before joining the Eagles last December, the 23-year-old Watson had spent time with the Bengals, Browns, and Broncos. Promoted to Philadelphia’s active roster at the tail end of last season, Watson appeared in his first career NFL game in Week 17, rushing nine times for 28 yards and one touchdown.
Texans LB Max Bullough Hit With Suspension
The NFL announced that Texans linebacker Max Bullough has been hit with a four-game suspension. The ban comes after a violation of the league’s PED policy. 
“As a dedicated member of this team, it is very disappointing to have to miss the first four games of the season and not be out there with my teammates,” Bullough said in a statement issued via social media. “I sincerely apologize to my family, the entire Texans organization, my teammates and our fans for this situation. It is my responsibility to know the ingredients of every supplement that I use, so I take full responsibility for what happened and will work as hard as I can to be ready to contribute when I return..”
Bullough, a Michigan State product, appeared in every game for Houston last season and even made three starts. He had 19 tackles in total, however, and only saw the field for 240 defensive snaps (129 snaps against the run, 94 on passing plays).
Bullough projects as the Texans’ first inside linebacker off of the bench, behind starters Brian Cushing and Benardrick McKinney. However, his four-game suspension could affect his standing with the team. Brian Peters, who was signed from the Vikings’ practice squad in 2015 on the same day that Bullough was promoted to Houston’s 53-man roster, is also in the fold at inside linebacker.
Jets Re-Sign LB Bruce Carter
The Jets have re-signed linebacker Bruce Carter, according to a team announcement. The news comes on the heels of safety Marcus Gilchrist and two other Jets players getting released. 
Carter was a starting linebacker with the Cowboys but he has not seen that kind of playing time in the last two years with the Buccaneers and Jets. After amassing just eleven tackles in 2016, the Jets put him on the backburner this offseason and it’s not clear if other teams had sincere interest in signing him. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but this is likely a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum.
The Jets added West Georgia linebacker Dylan Donahue in the fifth round of this year’s draft but they did not make any major additions to the LB group this offseason.
Jets Release S Marcus Gilchrist
The Jets announced that they have released safety Marcus Gilchrist. Gilchrist tore his patellar tendon last season, causing him to finish the year on IR. 
[RELATED: Jets To Have Open QB Competition]
Gilchrist was believed to be on the chopping block this offseason and the drafting of two safeties with the Jets’ first two picks cemented his fate. Gilchrist has now been let go midway through the four-year, $22MM deal he signed with the Jets prior to the 2015 season.
The Jets have designated Gilchrist as a post-June 1 cut, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets, meaning that the team will save more on this year’s cap while deferring $1.375MM into the ’18 cap. All in all, the Jets are saving $4.625MM against the books with the dead money spread out across two seasons.
In his injury-shortened season, Gilchrist graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 53 ranked safety out of 90 qualified players. His overall score of 77.1 roughly matched his work across the previous three seasons.
In addition to cutting Gilchrist, the Jets also waived cornerback Nick Marshall and fullback Chris Swain. Marshall was hit with a four-game suspension for PEDs earlier this offseason.
49ers Release RB Mike Davis
The 49ers have released running back Mike Davis, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Davis drew trade interest during the draft, so Rapoport expects him to find a market for his services now that he is available. 
[RELATED: 49ers Would’ve Drafted Reuben Foster No. 3]
Davis was a fourth-round pick in 2015 but he hasn’t done a whole lot in his two NFL seasons. Between 2015 and 2016, he has averaged just 2.0 yards per carry on 54 attempts. The Niners added running back Joe Williams in the fourth round of this year’s draft and they have five other veterans RBs under contract, so there wasn’t much room for Davis. The Niners are also expected to add Georgia Southern running back Matt Breida as an undrafted free agent.
Davis missed the second half of the 2016 season with a broken hand. He was slated to return from IR later in the season, but he never made it back on to the field.
Colts Sign 18 Undrafted Players
The Colts announced the signing of 18 undrafted players, bringing their roster to the 90-man max. Here’s the full list:
- Deyshawn Bond, OG (Cincinnati)
- Dalton Crossan, RB (New Hampshire)
- Darrell Daniels, TE (Washington)
- Trey Griffey, WR (Arizona)
- Thomas Hennessy, LS (Duke):
- Bug Howard, WR (North Carolina)
- Jerome Lane, WR (Akron)
- Chris Lyles, CB (Mississippi College)
- Christopher Muller, G (Rutgers)
- JoJo Natson, WR (Akron)
- Reggie Porter, CB (Utah)
- Brandon Radcliff, RB (Louisville)
- Rigoberto Sanchez, P (Hawaii)
- Garrett Sickels, OLB (Penn State)
- Jhaustin Thomas, DE (Iowa State)
- Jerry Ugokwe, OT (William & Mary)
- P.J. Walker, QB (Temple)
Sanchez has experience in both kicking and punting. Last year at Hawaii, he averaged 44.6 yards per punt and nailed all 13 of his field goal tries. According to Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter), Sanchez received a $12K bonus, which is rather high for a kicker.
Griffey is the son of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. The wide receiver had 23 catches for 382 yards and two scores in his final season at Arizona.
Walker is Temple’s all-time leader in completions, passing yards, and touchdowns. In 2016, he threw for 3,295 yards with 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. His yardage and TD totals marked a career high.
Cardinals To Meet With Daryl Washington
Daryl Washington has been cleared by the league to return to football, but the Cardinals have some questions first. Cardinals GM Steve Keim says the team wants to sit down with owner Michael Bidwell, coach Bruce Arians, and the linebacker to determine the next step. 
“To be quite honest with you, we have had dialogue with his agent, but have not have had a chance to talk with Daryl yet, just because of how busy we have been,” Keim told SiriusXM (transcript via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). “We will attend to that in the near future and obviously get a chance to talk to Daryl and see what is going on…There will be a sit-down…an educational briefing on ‘Just where have you been the last three years, what’s going on in your life?’ Once that meeting occurs, there will be a decision made.”
Washington earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2012 and he was still productive in 2013, but that’s the last we’ve seen of him on an NFL field. Washington was hit with an indefinite suspension in 2014 for a substance abuse violation, so the Cardinals say that they want to get caught up on the last three years.
Previous reports have indicated that the Cardinals are not interested in taking Washington back. At minimum, however, he’ll have an opportunity to make his case face-to-face with the team’s most important decision makers.
Lions, Executive Brian Xanders Part Ways
The Lions and executive Brian Xanders have parted ways, as Neil Stratton of Inside The League tweets. Xanders’ departure has been confirmed by Justin Rogers of The Detroit News (Twitter link). 
Xanders was hired by the previous regime in Detroit to serve as the club’s senior personnel executive. With no connections to current GM Bob Quinn, he lost some of his power in the last year and he’ll look for a better opportunity.
From 2009 through 2012, Xanders served as the Broncos’ GM. In recent years, he has been in the mix for multiple top jobs, including the Dolphins’ GM job in 2014 and the Browns’ search for a lead exec last year.
Former Lions GM Martin Mayhew is now with the 49ers’ Senior Personnel Executive, so that could be one potential fit for Xanders as he looks for his next job.