HEADLINES

Month: April 2018

Bears Expected To Sign Earl Watford

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Earl Watford visited the Bears on Monday, and that that summit is expected to lead to a contract agreement. The Bears are expected to sign the UFA offensive lineman, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.

A Watford signing would reunite him with former Cardinals line mates Bobby Massie and Bradley Sowell, while supplying depth to the Bears’ offensive front.

With the Bears having released Josh Sitton earlier this offseason, and Kyle Long enduring more three more surgical procedures this offseason (story via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com), there’s a route to the starting lineup for Watford. The former fourth-round Cardinals pick started nine games for the Cards last season and 11 in 2016. The Jaguars initially signed Watford last March but released him later in the year, and he wound up back in Arizona.

Chicago does not have an obvious replacement for Sitton on its current roster, and Watford would bring the most experience among the candidates to start at left guard opposite Long. Eric Kush and 2017 fifth-rounder Jordan Morgan are also expected to be in that mix, per Biggs, adding that Watford could be a candidate for a swing role if he’s beaten out for a starting spot. Both Kush and Morgan underwent surgery in recent months, and Long will not participate in OTAs, per Biggs.

Pro Football Focus has graded Watford as one of the worst full-time blockers in the game over the past two seasons, however, but the 27-year-old James Madison product has made 22 starts over the past three years.

Dolphins Put In Claim For TE Clive Walford

April 3rd, 2018 at 11:52am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets were awarded former Raiders tight end Clive Walford off waivers on Monday, but another AFC East club was also interested. The Dolphins put in a waiver claim for Walford, and were in fact the only other club to have done so, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Offseason waivers claims are awarded in the same order as the NFL draft, so the Jets were able to use their higher priority in order to land Walford. Miami is clearly on the lookout for a new tight end after cutting ties with veteran Julius Thomas earlier this year, and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald recently reported the Dolphins are prepared to explore the trade market at the position. At present, Miami’s tight end depth chart is headlined by A.J. Derby, MarQueis Gray, and Thomas Duarte.

Walford would have given the Dolphins a youthful option that also has experience, as the former third-round pick is still only 26 years old but has 44 games under his belt. Although he averaged 30 receptions, 344 yards, and three touchdowns during his first two years in Oakland, Walford cratered with only nine catches and 80 yards a season ago.

Robby Anderson Has Felony Charge Dropped

April 3rd, 2018 at 10:57am CST by Dallas Robinson

Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson has had felony charges stemming from a January arrest dropped, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com. However, Anderson is also still facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving from that same incident.

Anderson, 24, was originally hit with nine charges after being arrested and threatening to sexually assault the wife of the arresting officer, but the three felonies — second-degree felony harm to a public servant or family, third-degree felony fleeing/eluding police while lights/siren active and third-degree felony speeding — have been dropped.

Unfortunately, Anderson is also facing felony charges from a separate episode, as he was arrested last May after getting into a fight at a Miami music festival. Anderson is looking at charges of felony resisting arrest with violence and obstruction of police for that incident. Of course, the NFL could (and likely will) choose to impose a suspension on Anderson, regardless of the legal outcome of any of his cases.

Anderson enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Jets in 2017, registering 63 receptions for 941 yards and seven touchdowns in his second seasons in the league. A big-play threat, Anderson recorded six of his seven scoring grabs from more than 20 yards away from the goal line. New York has seemingly hedged against a possible Anderson ban by inking fellow pass-catchers Terrelle Pryor and Andre Roberts this offseason.

Eagles To Sign LB Paul Worrilow

April 3rd, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Eagles have agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Paul Worrilow, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

Worrilow, 27, played on the majority of the Falcons’ snaps from 2013-15, but has since been relegated to backup duty. A former undrafted free agent, Worrilow spent the 2017 campaign with the Lions, where he started eight games but saw only 25% playtime, third-most among Detroit linebackers. Instead, most of his action came on special teams, where Worrilow played more than 60% of the Lions’ snaps. All told, Worrilow managed 20 tackles, one fumble recovery, and one pass defensed during his lone season in the Motor City.

Philadelphia ranked 16th in special teams DVOA a season ago, and the club has since added reserve linebackers with ST experience. Worrilow joins fellow free agent addition Corey Nelson and incumbent Kamu Grugier-Hill as ‘backers who will see most of their time on special teams, as Nigel Bradham, Jordan Hicks, and Mychal Kendricks are currently projected to start in the Eagles’ base 4-3 defense.

Jets To Sign C Travis Swanson

April 3rd, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets are expected to sign former Lions center Travis Swanson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Swanson will almost certainly join New York as a reserve, as the Jets already signed former Redskin Spencer Long last month to be their starting center. While Swanson could also conceivably play guard, Gang Green is also set — for now — with James Carpenter and Brian Winters. While Winters is under contract through the 2020 campaign, Carpenter is only signed through 2018, and New York could create $4.7MM in cap space by cutting ties with the 29-year-old.

But based on his 2017 production, Swanson may be better served as a depth piece. Although he was a Detroit starter for the past three years, Swanson was not effective last season, as Pro Football Focus graded the former third-round pick as a bottom-five center. Football Outsiders, meanwhile, charted the Lions with the fewest adjusted line yards when running behind its center in 2017.

With Swanson now off the board, the interior line market is now extremely weak. The best unsigned options remaining include Alex Boone, Jahri Evans, Luke Joeckel, Brian Schwenke, and Shawn Lauvao.

Latest On Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski

April 3rd, 2018 at 9:04am CST by Dallas Robinson

Multiple teams are planning to call the Patriots in regards to tight end Rob Gronkowski‘s availability, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).

Despite February rumors that Gronkowski could choose to retire this offseason, most subsequent reports have indicated the 28-year-old All Pro intends to return in 2018. Gronkowski has reportedly been working out at Tom Brady‘s Sports Therapy Center, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) reported Monday that nothing has changed in terms of Gronk’s status. Indeed, there may never be a formal announcement from Gronkowski — he may simply show up for offseason workouts and continue his career.

While Gronkowski seems intent on playing in 2018, it’s possible that he won’t be suiting up in New England. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick hasn’t been afraid to deal stars in the past. Edge rusher Chandler Jones, defensive lineman Richard Seymour, guard Logan Mankins, and linebacker Jamie Collins are among the players Belichick & Co. have traded, often times for what seemed like pennies on the dollar.

Plus, Belichick and Gronkowski’s relationship appears to be at a low point, as Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com recently reported the Patriots head coach may not believe Gronkowski is “all in” at this juncture. Gronkowski, for his part, is reportedly frustrated with Belichick and others in the New England organization, and is put off by the club’s “high-strung” culture. Those differences, per Darlington, aren’t believed to be irreconcilable.

Gronkowski, of course, is still a dominant player when healthy. In 2017, Gronk was on the field for 14 games, and managed 69 receptions, 1,084 yards, and eight touchdowns, all of which placed him within the top-five among tight ends. He’s signed through the 2019 campaign, with base salaries of $8MM and $9MM over the next two respective seasons.

Raiders Sign WR/KR Dwayne Harris

April 2nd, 2018 at 9:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders may have located Cordarrelle Patterson‘s replacement on Monday night. They signed veteran return man Dwayne Harris.

Released by the Giants late last month, Harris spent most of the past three seasons as Big Blue’s primary kick returner. Oakland trading Patterson to New England vacated the team’s kick-return job, and Harris will bring extensive experience to that role.

Harris has a notable connection to the Raiders. The former Cowboys return man will be reunited with new Silver and Black special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Dallas’ ST boss from 2012-17. Harris spent two seasons playing for Bisaccia before signing with the Giants as a free agent in 2015.

While Patterson is a more accomplished return man, with two first-team All-Pro honors on his resume, Harris has extensive seasoning as a dual-threat returner whereas Patterson only returns kickoffs. Harris worked as the Giants’ kick and punt returner for the past three seasons, doing so en route to a Pro Bowl nod in 2016. Harris, who signed a five-year contract to head to New York three years ago, spent most of last season on IR with a broken foot.

Set for his age-31 season, Harris stands to be one of the game’s older return men. He’s notched four career return touchdowns — three on punts, one via kickoff — and has sporadic experience as a wide receiver. Most of that work came for the 2016 Giants, who saw him catch 36 passes for 396 yards and four TDs. The Raiders relied on Patterson as a receiver off the bench last season. He caught 31 passes in his lone Raider season. Harris almost certainly won’t be expected to do that.

Draft Rumors: Browns, Allen, Jets, Giants

April 2nd, 2018 at 8:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Baker Mayfield will be the first of the big four passers to visit the Browns. The Oklahoma product is flying into Cleveland on Monday night to begin his visit, one that will last through Tuesday as well, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Josh Allen‘s meeting at Browns headquarters in Berea, Ohio, will commence on Wednesday, Cabot reports, and Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are coming in shortly after that. Three of these powwows are expected to be completed by the end of this week, with Cabot reporting one may occur early next week. Hue Jackson said last week he is “very close” to determining which of these QBs will be his preference going into the draft. The Browns are widely expected to select a quarterback at No. 1 overall. John Dorsey said he wants these QBs to visit consecutively to allow for easier comparisons between them.

Mayfield will visit the Giants and Jets next week, and both he and Rosen are meeting with seven teams. The only difference between these prospects’ schedules thus far is the Dolphins have not arranged a Rosen meetup, while the Chargers have, and the Bolts are not known to have set up a Mayfield summit.

Here’s more out of Cleveland and some other NFL cities as draft month begins.

  • Jets representatives will fly to Wyoming to work out Allen this week, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), before the 6-foot-5 signal-caller visits their Florham Park, N.J., facility shortly after. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports the Jets meeting will take place early this week as well. The Jets have been connected to Allen for months and were rumored to be planning a workout soon.
  • The Allen/Browns connection should not be dismissed, Rapoport notes (video link). Citing a source who’s known Dorsey for a long time, the new Cleveland GM has long preferred big-armed passers. Patrick Mahomes qualifies as the latest such investment, and although the former NFL linebacker was not a high-ranking Packers exec when they traded for Brett Favre in 1992, Dorsey was a scout for Green Bay at the time. He was with the Packers as their director of college scouting when the team made the Aaron Rodgers pick in 2005. Alex Smith is the outlier, but the Chiefs held the No. 1 pick in a 2013 draft that was not flush with quarterback upside. Allen is viewed as the top arm talent in this draft.
  • Should the Browns make this decision and bring Allen to northeast Ohio, the expectation is the Giants will draft Darnold. Surveying various executives and scouts, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets every one of them said the Giants would take Darnold if Allen goes to the Browns. Dave Gettleman has not been as direct as Dorsey and Jackson have about the position his team is targeting in Round 1, and it’s not certain the Giants are going to draft a quarterback despite theirs having recently turned 37.
  • Lamar Jackson will not count toward one of the Dolphins‘ 30 visits since he went to high school in the Miami area, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. The Dolphins have not been linked to a Jackson meeting just yet, but they were on hand at the Louisville phenom’s pro day. And since a meeting will be fairly easy to set up, it’s likely the Fins will host the dual-threat passer.
  • Hayden Hurst will visit the Jaguars on Tuesday, Rapoport tweets. Rated by many as the top tight end in this year’s class, the South Carolina product will meet with a team that just released one of its cornerstone players in Marcedes Lewis. Jacksonville has been busy at this position this offseason, agreeing to deals with Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul. But the team looks to be exploring the notion of further investing at tight end with the No. 29 overall pick.

Steelers To Host S Nat Berhe

April 2nd, 2018 at 7:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the safety market resides at an odd standstill, the Steelers made their move early by signing Morgan Burnett. They’re now on the lookout for depth.

Former Giants safety Nat Berhe will visit the Steelers, according to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com (via Twitter).

Berhe served as depth for the Giants and a special teams presence. Although the San Diego State alum played just 39 defensive snaps last season, he led Big Blue with 10 special teams stops last season. Only two Steelers had more in 2017. Berhe missed the entire 2015 season with a calf injury and played in only seven games, starting two, in 2016. But the former fifth-round pick bounced back to suit up for 15 Giants games last season.

The Steelers still have former second-round pick Sean Davis, but he’s hoping to bounce back after a season Pro Football Focus deemed the worst among full-time safeties. Pittsburgh cut Mike Mitchell earlier this offseason, and he remains a free agent.

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