Dolphins Sign First-Round DE Jaelan Phillips
The Dolphins have their other first-round pick under wraps. After quickly signing Jaylen Waddle in mid-May, they’ve now inked the 18th overall pick from that weekend.
Miami has signed defensive end Jaelan Phillips to his rookie contract, the team announced Wednesday. A Miami product, Phillips won’t have to move very far to start his pro career. A decorated recruit out of high school, Phillips started his college career at UCLA and was very highly regarded. Unfortunately concussions and other injuries caused him to medically retire from football in 2018, before he reversed course and returned to play at Miami last year.
Phillips was a second-team All-American for the Hurricanes last season, as he finished with 15.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 10 games. Scouts were very high on his talent, although there were naturally some concerns about his medicals.
Clearly teams felt comfortable enough, as he was a consensus first-rounder entering the draft. It’s often been stated that had it not been for his medical issues at UCLA, he would’ve been a top-ten pick.
The Dolphins don’t have a ton at edge rusher after cutting Kyle Van Noy this offseason, so Phillips should see a lot of immediate playing time if he’s ready. Miami now has four of their seven picks locked up.
Ravens’ Ja’Wuan James Could Play In 2021?
The Ravens recently signed Ja’Wuan James to a two-year deal worth around $9MM. It’ll pay him a minimum salary in 2021 with around $8MM coming in 2022, as James of course tore his Achilles earlier this offseason while working out away from the Broncos’ facility.
Denver then cut him while voiding his hefty salary. James has since filed a grievance looking to recover $10MM in 2021 salary and $5MM in 2022 salary, but in the meantime is a member of the Ravens. It was initially assumed Baltimore signed him as a long-term future investment, but it turns out he could return to play sooner than previously thought.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said yesterday that James hasn’t been ruled out for 2021 and could return to the field in November of December, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That being said, Harbaugh added it’s not something they’re counting on, just that it’s a possibility.
The Ravens also signed Alejandro Villanueva to be their new starting tackle opposite Ronnie Stanley after trading Orlando Brown Jr., but it’s possible James will be viewed as an upgrade over Villanueva once he’s healthy.
James’ time in Denver was plagued by injuries, but he was a very solid starter for Miami before that.
Saints Sign Entire Draft Class, Restructure Marshon Lattimore
The Saints just knocked out a big order of business. New Orleans has signed their entire draft class to their rookie deals, as Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweeted.
To create the cap space necessary for these deals, the team restructured cornerback Marshon Lattimore‘s contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. They converted his “$10.2M fifth year option to a $990K base salary and the rest in a roster bonus with voidable years,” he reports. Rapsheet adds that the team will “keep working on an extension” with Lattimore.
The six-man draft class includes defensive end Payton Turner (first-round; Houston), linebacker Pete Werner (second-round; Ohio State), cornerback Paulson Adebo (third-round; Stanford), quarterback Ian Book (fourth-round; Notre Dame), offensive tackle Landon Young (sixth-round; Kentucky), and wide receiver Kawaan Baker (seventh-round; South Alabama).
It’s great they got this out of the way as the offseason starts to heat up with mandatory minicamps. The Saints had been in a terrible cap situation at the end of 2020, but GM Mickey Loomis has always been able to work some magic.
Texans Wanted Kellen Mond At No. 67?
The Texans just drafted Davis Mills in the third-round, giving them some quarterback insurance as they wait for the Deshaun Watson saga to play out.
Tyrod Taylor is also on the roster, but if Watson ends up traded or suspended it seems like there’s a good chance the rookie from Stanford makes some starts. New head coach David Culley recently raved about Mills, but as it turns out it sounds like the Texans originally had their eye on a different signal-caller. Houston was planning to take Texas A&M passer Kellen Mond at 67 before the Vikings nabbed him at 66, Mond’s father Kevin told Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“(There was a) phone call from his agent, text message, and the agent said, ‘Hey, the Houston Texans are getting ready to select (Mond) at pick 67,’” the elder Mond said. “It wasn’t supposed to be Mills,” he added. “It was going to be Kellen.”
Getting drafted by the Texans would’ve meant staying in his home state, but Kevin said that Kellen is happy to be headed to Minnesota.
Mond might’ve had a better path to immediate playing time in Houston, but going to the Vikings might prove to be better long-term. He’ll start his pro career behind Kirk Cousins, but if the Vikings elect to move on from Cousins after this season he’ll definitely be in the mix as a potential successor.
Falcons Host 5 For Tryouts
The Falcons are starting mandatory minicamp this week, and they’ll host five new tryout players, a couple of whom have some real NFL experience, the team announced Tuesday.
Atlanta is bringing in defensive tackle Miles Brown, linebackers Sharif Finch and Jeff Holland, offensive lineman Wyatt Miller, and wide receiver Jaleel Scott. Brown is a 2019 UDFA from Wofford, who played nine games for the Cardinals as a rookie in a rotational role as a nose tackle. He spent much of last season on the Titans’ practice squad.
Finsh is a 2018 UDFA from Temple who played a real role with the Titans initially. He appeared in 15 games for Tennessee as a rookie, finishing with 27 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He played in eight the following year, making three starts, and adding another two sacks. Waived toward the end of the year, he’s since had short stints with the Bengals, Raiders, Bears and Jets. He appeared in three games for New York last year, and was just cut by them last week.
Holland is a 2018 UDFA from Auburn who played in three games for the Broncos as a rookie and has bounced around offseason rosters and practice squads since. He was out of the league in 2020. Miller is a tackle from UCF who has never appeared in a regular season NFL game. He was on the Seahawks’ practice squad for a bit last year.
Finally, Scott is perhaps the biggest name on this list. The Ravens drafted him in the fourth-round out of New Mexico State back in 2018, but he didn’t pan out. He missed his entire rookie year due to injury, then played sparingly in 2019. He was cut and scooped up by the Jets last season, spending most of the year on the practice squad. He did appear in one game for them, and actually started it, catching one pass for 16 yards. With Julio Jones getting traded, perhaps Scott will be able to stick as the team takes flyers on new receivers.
Mason Rudolph Wants To Start For Steelers in 2022
The Steelers have an uncertain future under center beyond this season. Ben Roethlisberger was almost pushed out after 2020, before a restructure was worked out to bring him back for one more year.
The team hasn’t anointed a clear heir apparent, but Mason Rudolph is making it clear he wants it to be him. “That’s my goal, to be a starting quarterback in this league, and for my team,” Rudolph said Tuesday, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Rudolph hasn’t exactly looked like a franchise quarterback during his pro starts to date, but he does have the advantage of being the only Pittsburgh signal-caller under contract for 2022 at the moment. The Steelers recently gave him a one-year extension through 2022 worth $5MM with a $2MM signing bonus.
That’s not insignificant money, so Rudolph could have a real shot at succeeding Roethlisberger. Most likely, the team just wanted to make sure they had a somewhat competent insurance option.
Rudolph received eight starts in 2019 due to Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury, but was ineffective and benched a couple of times in favor of UDFA Devlin Hodges.
He was better in his lone 2020 start in Week 17 when the Steelers rested starters against the Browns, but still isn’t the most inspiring option as a full-time starter. He’ll turn 26 next month. The Steelers also have Dwayne Haskins and Joshua Dobbs on the roster for 2020.
Bucs Sign Second-Round QB Kyle Trask
A potential Tom Brady successor is officially under contract. The Buccaneers have inked second-round pick Kyle Trask to his rookie deal, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
It’s a four-year pact worth $5.535MM with a signing bonus of $1.385MM for the Florida product. The move comes right as the Bucs are starting their mandatory minicamp. It’s a welcome development for the most recent 64th pick, as he’ll need to focus on all the practice time he can get as a backup quarterback not likely to see the regular season field anytime soon.
Trask had an unusual path to the pros, as he didn’t start a game in high school after his freshman year while backing up eventual Houston and Miami star D’Eriq King. Trask was recruited by Florida nonetheless, and became the starter in his junior year in 2019 after an injury to Feleipe Franks.
Trask thrived under Dan Mullen, and became a Heisman contender in 2020. He set numerous records for the Gators, throwing for 43 touchdowns in 12 games.
In the early draft process there was some buzz he could sneak into the first-round, but he ultimately almost slipped to the third until Tampa nabbed him with the last pick of the second. The Buccaneers also have Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin on the roster behind Brady, who are likely competing for one backup spot next to Trask.
Cowboys’ La’el Collins ‘Ready To Rock’ After Missing 2020
The Cowboys’ offensive line declined sharply in 2020 due to injuries, and a large part of that was La’el Collins missing the entire season after undergoing hip surgery.
Fortunately it seems like his recovery has been going smoothly, and the starting tackle recently pulled back the curtain on that process and what led to the surgery for Jonny Auping of the team’s official site. “It was something that had been lingering for a while,” Collins revealed of his hip issues. “I couldn’t get down to what was going on. I kept working on it and it came down to the point where something had to be done.”
“It was tough,” he continued. “I kept going back and forth with myself. If I had to get the surgery done I was going to have to miss the season. It wasn’t something I was looking forward to at all. But it was something that had to be done. Now, I feel good. And I’m ready to rock.”
“To be honest with you, I’m just starting to feel like myself,” Collins said before adding that “all the hard work is definitely paying off.” The big fella said he’s doing pretty much everything at OTAs, although the team is being cautious and limiting him when he competes directly against defenders.
Before missing all of 2020 Collins had been quite reliable, starting at least 15 games in each of the previous three seasons. An UDFA out of LSU in 2015, Collins turned into a great find for the Cowboys.
He signed a five-year, $50MM extension with the team just before the start of the 2019 season. In an effort to ensure his health moving forward, Collins also said he’s lost some weight. Auping writes that “he currently weighs 313 pounds, which would be the lowest he’s ever played at.”
He was listed at 323 last season. No matter what weight he’s playing at, his return will be a big boost for Dak Prescott as he makes a comeback of his own.
AFC Notes: Browns, Fisher, Broncos, Fleming
The Browns made some front office hires recently, and for one spot they simply plucked a player off their roster. Cleveland has hired Anthony Fabiano as a scouting assistant, the team announced in a release alongside a bunch of other names. Fabiano is a 2016 UDFA from Harvard, who spent the past handful of years bouncing around the bottom of various teams’ rosters as an offensive lineman.
He started a game for the Browns as a rookie in 2016, and then started another for the Colts in 2017. All told, he spent at least a bit of time with nine different teams. He was signed by the Browns back in January right as their season was about to end, and didn’t appear in a game. Given his Ivy League education, it’s not too surprising he had an easy time transitioning to the front office.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- It was initially reported that Eric Fisher‘s one-year deal with the Colts would pay him $9.4MM in 2021, but it turns out it’s a bit less than that. Fisher’s 2021 compensation will actually be $8.38MM, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets. It’s only $6MM guaranteed. It includes a $4MM signing bonus, a $2MM guaranteed salary, and then $2.38MM in per game active roster bonuses. Wilson also notes that it’s technically a two-year pact with 2022 automatically voiding for cap purposes.
- Fisher isn’t the only AFC offensive lineman we have new contract details on. Cameron Fleming signed with the Broncos last month as further right tackle insurance after the Ja’Wuan James season-ending injury, and it was initially just reported as a one-year deal worth “up to” $3.67MM. Turns out it’s a one-year deal with a base value of only $1.67MM, with $1MM in guarantees, John Clayton of DenverFan.com writes. That would seem to indicate Fleming has $2MM in incentives available for this season. The Broncos have also signed Bobby Massie, so they have some options opposite Garett Bolles.
CFL WR/TE Jevon Cottoy To Work Out For 49ers, Others Interested
A CFL player is starting to build some serious NFL buzz. WR/TE Jevon Cottoy will work out for the 49ers this coming week, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.
Pelissero reports that Cottoy has already worked out for the Texans, Raiders, Patriots, and Saints, adding that there’s “significant interest” in him. As Pelissero points out, he’s got good size at 6’5 and 230 pounds. Unlike many players who attempt to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, Cottoy isn’t a former American player who wasn’t able to make it in the pros right out of college.
Cottoy grew up in Calgary and rose through the football ranks entirely in Canada. He’s still only 24 and has just one year of CFL experience under his belt, in 2019. The 2020 CFL season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Kyle Shanahan loves to get creative on offense, and the team has brought in other hybrid players before like RB/WR Jalen Hurd and versatile fullback Kyle Juszczyk, so San Francisco’s interest isn’t too surprising. It sounds like the odds are better than not that Cottoy will end up signing somewhere.