2018 March - Pro Football Rumors

Marcus Martin To Visit Lions, Cowboys

March 17th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Ben Levine

Versatile offensive lineman Marcus Martin has a pair of meetings coming up. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter) that Martin will visit the Lions and Cowboys.

The 2014 third-round pick out of USC spent the first three-seasons of his career with the 49ers, including a 2015 campaign where he started 14 games. However, the lineman only played in four games (two starts) in 2016 before landing on the injured reserve. After being waived by San Francisco last offseason, he was claimed by the Browns. He ultimately didn’t take the field for a single game for Cleveland.

Considering Martin’s ability to play both offensive guard and center, he’d be an easy fit as a reserve for any team.

Raiders Sign LB Kyle Wilber

March 17th, 2018 at 12:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Kyle Wilber has found a new home. The Raiders announced that they have signed the free agent linebacker.

The 2012 fourth-round pick had spent his entire six-year career with the Cowboys, and he’s missed only a single regular season game over the past two seasons. The 28-year-old finished last season with 10 tackles and one forced fumble in 16 games. His best season came back in 2013, when he had 44 tackles and a pair of sacks.

Wilber will have plenty of competition for playing time, as the Raiders seemingly have their starters in Bruce Irvin, Marquel Lee, and Tahir Whitehead. Wilber will compete with Cory James, Nicholas Morrow, Shilique Calhoun, and Brady Sheldon for playing time. Wilber will probably most contribute on special teams.

WR Terrelle Pryor To Visit Seahawks

March 17th, 2018 at 12:14pm CST by Ben Levine

Terrelle Pryor will be meeting with the Seahawks tomorrow, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com also has details on the visit. The reporter notes that quarterback Russell Wilson is “recruiting him hard.”

We heard earlier this week that the Seahawks (along with the Rams) had some interest in the versatile receiver. The Browns have also been connected to their former player.

After being converted to receiver, Pryor had a breakout campaign in 2016, hauling in 77 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns. He also compiled 21 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries. This performance earned him a one-year, $8MM deal from the Redskins, but he ultimately disappointed during his stint in Washington.

In nine games (two starts), Pryor had 20 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him 109th among 166 receiver candidates, a far cry from his above-average grade in 2017. Still, Pryor did enough to earn the 19th spot on our list of the top remaining free agents.

Seattle already lost Paul Richardson to Washington. The Seahawks are still rostering a number of wideouts, including Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, and the recently-signed Jaron Brown.

OL Jeremiah Sirles To Visit Panthers

March 17th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Ben Levine

Jeremiah Sirles has his first (reported) visit. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the offensive guard is set to meet with the Panthers on Monday.

We heard earlier this month that the Vikings weren’t going to tender the former undrafted free agent out of Nebraska, making him a free agent. Previous reports indicated that the Vikings could retain on the lineman on a lesser deal.

Sirles has played mostly at guard throughout his career, but he made ten starts at right tackle for the Vikings in 2016. Categorized as a tackle by Pro Football Focus, Sirles was ranked No. 48 at the position with a poor 45.2 overall score. The 26-year-old has appeared in 28 games (14 starts) over the past two seasons.

The Panthers are currently rostering a number of lineman, so Sirles would certainly have some competition for snaps should he join the organization.

Titans Release DT Sylvester Williams

March 17th, 2018 at 11:26am CST by Ben Levine

Sylvester Williams‘s stint with the Titans has ended after one season. Paul Kuharsky tweets that Tennessee will release the defensive tackle. The reporter notes that the move will save the team $3.67MM while leaving $666K in dead cap.

Despite the move, Williams is still optimistic about his future in the NFL.

“I believe in myself,” Williams told ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe (Twitter link). “My best football is ahead of me.”

Williams signed a three-year deal with the Titans last offseason. The former first-round pick never lived up to his expectations during his time with the Broncos, and it was more of the same during his tenure in Tennessee. The 29-year-old finished the 2017 season with 20 tackles and zero sacks in 15 games (11 starts). Despite his underwhelming numbers, Williams was still rated as a middle-of-the-road interior defender by Pro Football Focus, ranking 67th among 122 candidates.

The move leaves the Titans with only one defensive tackle on their roster in Antwaun Woods.

Cowboys To Release Orlando Scandrick

March 17th, 2018 at 11:23am CST by Ben Levine

Orlando Scandrick has been granted his request. ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports (via Twitter) that the Cowboys will release the cornerback. Earlier this week, Scandrick had requested his release from Dallas.

Scandrick was scheduled to carry a $5.28MM cap hit in 2018. They will designate him as a post-June 1 cut, the team confirmed. By moving on from him, the Cowboys will now save $3MM as opposed to $1.4MM.

The Cowboys won’t save a whole lot of money by releasing Scandrick, but his performance last year seemingly necessitated the move. In 2017, Scandrick totaled 38 tackles and graded out as one of the ten worst qualified cornerbacks in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. Of course, the 31-year-old could have just had an off year, as he previously earned a second-team All-Pro nod in 2014.

The Cowboys nearly traded Scandrick to the Saints during the 2017 draft, but ultimately did not come to terms on a deal that would have brought safety Kenny Vaccaro to Dallas. Reports from late February indicated that the organization was looking to trade the veteran.

Scandrick’s release doesn’t necessarily impact the top of the Cowboys cornerback depth chart. The team is currently projected to start Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis, with Anthony Brown slotted in as the top reserve.

QB Matt Barkley Signs With Bengals

March 17th, 2018 at 10:41am CST by Ben Levine

Andy Dalton has a new backup. Quarterback Matt Barkley tweeted this morning that he has signed with the Bengals. The Bengals have confirmed that it’s a two-year deal.

The 2013 fourth-round pick out of USC has bounced around the league during his five-year career, as he’s had stints with the Eagles, Cardinals, Bears, and 49ers. After being released by San Francisco at the end of the 2017 preseason, Barkley caught on with Arizona this past November. However, he didn’t end up taking the field for his new club.

Barkley received his most playing time back in 2016 with the Bears, when he appeared in seven games (six starts). He ultimately completed 59.7-percent of his passes for 1,611 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Cincinnati has presumably been seeking a backup quarterback all offseason, especially after A.J. McCarron left to take the Bills starting gig. Other than Dalton, the Bengals are only rostering quarterback Jeff Driskel.

Jets Acquire No. 3 Pick From Colts

March 17th, 2018 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets are moving up. The team has acquired the third-overall pick from the Colts (via Indy’s Twitter). In exchange, the Jets have sent Indy their first-rounder (No. 6) a pair of upcoming seconds (No. 37 and No. 49), and a 2019 second-round pick.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Jets “explored all options,” including the possibility of adding the top-overall pick from the Browns. Meanwhile, the Colts heard offers from several teams, but they ultimately felt good about the package they received from the Jets.

The general consensus seems to be that the Jets will ultimately use their new pick to take a quarterback. By acquiring the selection, the organization is assuring that they can take one of the top prospects in the draft, a list that includes Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield. Of course, choosing a quarterback with the third pick will only complicate the Jets’ quarterback plans heading into 2018.

Assuming they take a quarterback in the draft, the team will clearly be leaning on the youngster to lead the organization in the future. However, for at least next season, the Jets would likely turn to veteran Josh McCown for the starting gig. After re-signing McCown earlier this week, the organization reportedly told the signal-caller that he’ll be their starter next season. The Jets also added Teddy Bridgewater, and they’re rostering Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg, and Joel Stave. At least two of those latter three quarterbacks will be let go prior to the season.

In recent years, we’ve seen several teams trade into a top-three selection in the draft. Last season, the Bears moved up to No. 2 and sent San Francisco No. 3, No. 67, and No. 111. In 2017, the Titans traded the No. 1 pick (along with No. 113 and No. 177) to the Rams for No. 15, No. 43, No. 45, and No. 76 (along with a first- and third-rounder in 2017). That same year, the Browns traded No. 2 (and a conditional fifth-rounder) to Philly for No. 8, No. 77, No. 100, a 2017 first-rounder, and a 2018 second-rounder.

What does this all mean? Well, it seems like both teams could justify the haul they gave up/received. According to ProFootballTalk.com’s “Draft Trade Chart,” Indy received solid value for the No. 3 pick. That selection was given a value of 2,200, and their new 2018 selections equal out to a 2,540 value (that also doesn’t account for the 2019 second-rounder). From that perspective, you could argue that the Colts won the trade. However, when you consider the trades from previous seasons, the Jets did an admirable job of not including an additional first-rounder in the package.

E.J. Gaines To Visit Cardinals

March 17th, 2018 at 9:19am CST by Ben Levine

The Cardinals are eyeing a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports (via Twitter) that Arizona will meet with E.J. Gaines today. The Texans had previously shown interest in the free agent cornerback.

Gaines, 26, appeared in 11 games for the Bills a season ago after being traded as part of the Sammy Watkins deal. During that time, Gaines ranked 12th in Pro Football Focus‘ cornerback grades and ninth in FO’s success rate. For that effort, PFR ranked Gaines as the fourth-best corner on the market and the No. 18 free agent overall. His final numbers included 48 tackles, nine passes defended, and one interception.

Arizona could surely use some reinforcement opposite Peterson. The team’s other cornerback options include Brandon Williams, C.J. Goodwin, Ronald Zamort, Jonathan Moxey, Jarell Carter, and Louis Young.

Vikings Interested In Bringing Back WR Jarius Wright

March 17th, 2018 at 9:10am CST by Ben Levine

Receiver Jarius Wright‘s tenure with the Vikings may not be over, after all. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets that the organization is interested in bring back the 28-year-old. The team released Wright yesterday, freeing up $2.64 MM in cap space (while counting towards $2.12 MM in dead money).

In 2017, the slot receiver notched 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He added another six catches for 107 yards in two postseason games. Drafted by the team in the fourth round in 2012, Wright logged 153 receptions for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Wright was a solid contributor with the Vikings and earned a 75.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. If Wright does return to Minnesota, he’ll likely regain his spot on the depth chart behind Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Laquon Treadwell.