HEADLINES

Month: April 2018

Cowboys To Sign DE Kony Ealy

April 5th, 2018 at 6:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have agreed to terms with defensive end Kony Ealy on a one-year deal, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Ealy spent last season with the Jets. 

Ealy met with Dallas on Tuesday and agreed to terms roughly 48 hours later. He’ll now help to back up starters Demarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford, filling a role previously filled by Benson Mayowa.

Ealy, 26, was traded from the Panthers to the Patriots last offseason, but was cut by New England in the summer. The Jets picked him up him off of waivers, but the Cowboys also had a claim in on him. He went on to put together a solid season in New York, even though his stat line doesn’t jump off of the page.

For his work last year, Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 61 edge defender in the league, which actually placed him ahead of former teammate Julius Peppers, despite Peppers racking up eleven sacks.

Cardinals Claim 2 QBs Off Waivers

April 5th, 2018 at 3:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have added not just one, but two quarterbacks off of the waiver wire. On Thursday, Arizona was awarded QB Brandon Doughty from the Dolphins and QB Alek Torgersen from the Lions, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The signal callers join starter Sam Bradford and primary backup Mike Glennon on the Cards’ QB depth chart. Of course, the Cardinals will not carry more than three QBs on the final roster, so Doughty and Torgersen will be competing for one spot. There could also be additional veterans or rookies (both drafted and undrafted) thrown into the mix.

Torgersen played his college football at Penn before hooking on with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He missed the final cut and hooked on with the Redskins’ taxi squad before finishing out the year in Detroit.

Doughty, a seventh-round pick of Miami in 2016, re-upped with the team on a reserve/futures deal in January before being handed a pink slip this week. In his final year at Western Kentucky, Doughty completed 71.9% of his passes for 5,055 yards with 48 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.

Steelers Re-Sign WR Justin Hunter

April 5th, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Justin Hunter is back with the Steelers, according to an announcement from the team. Terms of his deal were not disclosed. The Steelers also confirmed the re-signing of running back Stevan Ridley.

Hunter seemed to hold serious promise when he entered the league as a second round pick of the Titans in 2013. Since then, he has spent time with three other teams with the Steelers being the most recent of the bunch. He has managed just 14 catches with the Bills, Dolphins, and Steelers over the last two campaigns. His best season came most productive season came in 2014 when he had 28 catches for 498 yards and three scores with the Titans, though he did manage four TDs with Buffalo in 2016.

Hunter won’t have the easiest path towards making the Steelers’ final cut. Ideally, he’d be a No. 5 WR type, but he doesn’t offer much in the way of special teams value. He has played only four special teams snaps during his six-year career.

Behind star Antonio Brown, the Steelers also have Juju Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant, and Darrius Heyward-Bey at wide receiver. As shown on Roster Resource, Trey Griffey (son of baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr), Justin Thomas, Marcus Tucker, and Tevin Jones are also among those looking to make the 53-man roster.

Texans Sign QB Joe Webb

April 5th, 2018 at 3:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have signed quarterback Joe Webb, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal worth $1.015MM. 

The Texans already had Brandon Weeden and Taylor Heinicke under contract as backups to Deshaun Watson, but Webb gives them an additional option to look at. In theory, Webb could also stick as a special teams contributor and/or a wide receiver given his past experience.

Last year, the 31-year-old appeared in all 16 games for the Bills, plus their Wild Card loss to the Jaguars. He played 39 snaps on offense during the regular season and 278 special teams snaps. His last significant action as a quarterback came in 2010 with the Vikings when he filled in for an injured Brett Favre.

The departure of Webb marks the sixth unrestricted free agent loss for the Bills this offseason.

Jets Meet With DT Johnathan Hankins

April 5th, 2018 at 1:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is visiting with the Jets, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The former Giants second-rounder was cut by the Colts in March after one year with the team. 

The Colts dropped Hankins as they switched to a 4-3 scheme, but the Jets are intrigued by the possibility of plugging Hankins in as their starting defensive tackle. Currently, Steve McLendon stands as the team’s top nose tackle in their 3-4 set.

Hankins recently met with the Redskins, but the two sides are said to be in a holding pattern. Washington may be unwilling to meet Hankins’ asking price, but the cash-flush Jets could have the room to pull off a deal.

Hankins, who turned 26 on Sunday, was the third-best run stopping defensive tackle in the league last year, per Pro Football Focus. Only Damon Harrison and Ndamukong Suh ranked better against ball carriers.

Broncos To Sign Marquette King

April 5th, 2018 at 1:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Things are moving quickly for the Broncos and punter Marquette King. Denver is expected to sign him to a three-year deal, a source tells Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). The contract is worth $7MM, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The base value of King’s deal is worth just $2MM, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post tweets, so he’ll have to hit certain incentives in order to realize the full $7MM potential value of his deal.

King was released by the Raiders late last week without much warning. Apparently, new head coach Jon Gruden was not a fan of King’s outspoken personality, but that did not dissuade other contenders from expressing interest in him. The Vikings quickly got in contact with King and it did not take long for the Broncos to get down to brass tacks with his agent.

King is perhaps the league’s best known punter thanks to his persona and is also among the very best in terms of performance. The Broncos have revamped their special teams unit this offseason and the addition of King is the latest, and perhaps most impactful, shakeup.

In 2017, King’s 47.4 yards per punt average was the sixth-highest in the NFL and his net average of 42.7 per try placed him third, behind only Brett Kern (Titans) and Johnny Hekker (Rams).

With King on board, the Broncos will likely shop incumbent punter Riley Dixon.

Broncos Meeting With Marquette King

April 5th, 2018 at 1:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Here we go. Former Raiders punter Marquette King is in Denver visiting with the Broncos, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

As we learned earlier today, King is hoping to join the Broncos in an effort to get some intra-divisional revenge on Jon Gruden. The Broncos, meanwhile, have interest in upgrading from Riley Dixon, who had an iffy year in 2017 after a strong showing as a rookie in 2016.

King led the NFL in punting yards in 2014 and earned a second-team All-Pro nod two years later. Last year, King’s 47.4 yards per punt average was the sixth-highest mark in the NFL and his net average of 42.7 per try was third. In Denver, the 29-year-old could boom punts further than ever.

East Notes: Dolphins, Pouncey, Cowboys

April 5th, 2018 at 1:06pm CST by Zachary Links

A look at some items out of the AFC and NFC East:

  • The Dolphins have replaced Mike Pouncey with Daniel Kilgore, but they do not believe that they have lost an elite center. “Mike was maybe the best or second-best center in the league two or three years ago,” a team source told Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. Kilgore, they feel, will give Miami a bump in run blocking, but not necessarily in pass protection. He also brings more size to the position and is something of an iron addict whereas Pouncey was never an enthusiastic weight room guy.
  • New Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn says he was “pretty much shocked, honestly” upon learning that he had been traded from the Rams to the Dolphins (Twitter links via Salguero). “It’s like this, this is the first time I’ve been traded. You commit yourself to someone and you have your family turn their back on you,” Quinn said. Quinn, 28 in May, racked up 8.5 sacks in 15 games for L.A. last season. He has 62.5 career sacks to his credit, dating back to 2011. The Bucs and Browns also explored trades for Quinn before he was shipped to Miami.
  • Defensive end Kony Ealy and the Cowboys remain in talks, Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram tweets. However, it might take a couple of days before a decision is made.

Contract Details: Browns, Janis, Wright

April 5th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the details of some recent free agent deals:

  • The Browns got former Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis on a one-year, $1.25MM deal with no guaranteed money, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets. He’ll have to make the 53-man roster to earn any cash, but the deal does include a $100K workout bonus. If he sticks, the contract will call for a $1.25MM cap number.
  • Wide receiver Kendall Wright’s deal with the Vikings is worth $1MM with $400K guaranteed, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune tweets. The pack includes an $800K base salary, $100K signing bonus, and a $100K workout bonus.
  • Tight end Bucky Hodges’ contract with the Jets is a two-year deal worth $1.075MM, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The pact includes a $25K roster bonus if he is on the 53-man roster in Week 1.
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