Draft Pick Signings: 5/25/17
The latest draft picks to sign their first NFL contracts:
- The Cardinals have signed their second-round selection, former Washington safety Budda Baker, leaving first-round linebacker Haason Reddick as the only member of their seven-pick class without a contract. Baker, whom Arizona drafted after trading up from No. 45 overall to No. 36 in a deal with the Bears, closed out his college career last year with an All-America season, piling up 70 tackles (9.5 for loss), three sacks and two interceptions. He should emerge as the Cardinals’ long-term answer at strong safety, potentially giving the team an enviable tandem with Baker and free safety Tyrann Mathieu.
- The Buccaneers have inked second-round safety Justin Evans to a deal, tweets FanRag’s Roy Cummings. With Evans under contract, the only one of the Bucs’ six picks who’s unsigned is third-rounder Chris Godwin. Evans, the 50th pick, played the previous two seasons at Texas A&M, breaking out as a playmaker in 2016 with four interceptions. The 6-foot, 199-pound Evans is an “extremely physical hitter,” per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, who notes that he has the makings of a “plus NFL starter.”
- The Jets now have eight of their nine selections under contract, having signed third-round wide receiver ArDarius Stewart (first-round safety Jamal Adams is the lone straggler). The 5-11, 204-pound Stewart went 79th overall after emerging as a legitimate weapon at Alabama in 2015 and combining for 117 receptions and 12 touchdowns in his final two years with the Crimson Tide. Stewart now joins Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson and fourth-rounder Chad Hansen as intriguing Jets wideouts who are 25 or younger.
- The Titans have signed the 155th overall pick, fifth-round linebacker Jayon Brown. The ex-UCLA Bruin ended his college tenure in 2016 with career highs in tackles (119), tackles for loss (7.5), interceptions (three) and sacks (two), though Zierlein pegs the 6-foot, 231-pounder as an undersized player who “lacks the functional strength to become anything more than a sub-package cover linebacker.”
- The Vikings have finally gotten to work on signing their 11 picks, having come to terms with fifth-round receiver Rodney Adams (No. 170 overall) and seventh-round defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo (No. 220), per Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. Formerly with both Toledo and South Florida, the speedy Adams is likely to make an impact as a kick returner and/or a fourth or fifth receiver early in his career, according to Zierlein. Odenigbo, meanwhile, was a prolific sack artist at Northwestern, where he took down opposing quarterbacks 23 times over four seasons – including a personal-best 10 in 2016.
Extra Points: Kap, Lions, Bolts, Texans
Although the Lions are lacking a veteran backup quarterback, they’ve given no consideration to signing free agent Colin Kaepernick, head coach Jim Caldwell said Wednesday (via Nate Atkins of MLive.com). Caldwell respects Kaepernick’s ability – “I don’t think that his skill level has diminished to the point where he would be completely ineffective in this league,” he said – but the Lions will go forward with Jake Rudock and Brad Kaaya behind Matthew Stafford.
While Caldwell seems somewhat bullish on Kaepernick, questions regarding the 29-year-old have been mounting around the NFL since 2013 – his second full season as a starter – details Mike Sando of ESPN.com. Back then, one agent told Sando: “I don’t think he’s a very good quarterback. I think he is an incredible athlete.” More recently, Sando spoke earlier this month with various evaluators who addressed the fact that Kaepernick remains unsigned. “I do think he is getting kind of screwed,” said one team executive. But a personnel director noted: “You bring him in, and it is a media onslaught. It is not good or bad. It’s just, every time there is a social issue or anything that comes up, they are going to call him, they are going to want his feedback. Is that wrong? No, it’s not wrong. But he has thrust himself out there, much like Tim Tebow has with other various items or agendas. Is it really worth it?”
As Kaepernick waits to see if Seattle will end up as his next landing spot, here’s more from around the league:
- The Chargers’ first-round pick, wide receiver Mike Williams, could be falling behind early on account of a back injury that he suffered on the first day of rookie minicamp nearly two weeks ago. Williams, the seventh overall selection, hasn’t been able to take the field during OTAs, leading to some concern from head coach Anthony Lynn. “I’d like to see him out there next week because he’s getting behind right now, and we’ve got to get him back out on the field,” Lynn said (via Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com). “If he wasn’t a rookie it would be different. But he has so much to learn, and some of this you can only learn on the field.” Williams is the second first-rounder in a row to start off inauspiciously for the Chargers, whose top pick in 2016, Joey Bosa, didn’t debut until October on account of a contentious holdout and a hamstring injury. Of course, those initial roadblocks didn’t prevent Bosa from having an excellent rookie season.
- Texans offensive lineman David Quessenberry returned to the practice field Tuesday for the first time since being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in June 2014, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The 2013 sixth-round pick was set to enter his second season before the diagnosis temporarily derailed his life and career. Fortunately, Quessenberry went into remission in 2015 and then wrapped up his chemotherapy treatment this past April.
- Like Quessenberry, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater took to the practice field for the first time in a while on Tuesday (a devastating knee injury had kept Bridgewater completely out of action since last August). The 24-year-old then ventured to Dallas on Wednesday for a medical checkup that yielded positive news, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Edward Lewis of NFL.com). Bridgewater’s doctor told him that “he’s making progress in his rehab and lateral movement,” writes Lewis.
AFC Notes: Broncos, Steelers, Browns, Colts
Broncos general manager John Elway is entering a contract year, but the franchise icon expects to sign an extension by the start of the season, reports Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post (Twitter links). “Yep. I don’t think there will be any doubt,” said Elway, who added that he has no interest in leaving Denver. After thriving as the Broncos’ quarterback from 1983-1998, a stretch in which he won two Super Bowls and made nine Pro Bowls, the Hall of Famer’s success has continued with the organization away from the field. Since Elway took over as the Broncos’ GM five years ago, the club has gone 59-31 with four playoff appearances and another Super Bowl title.
More from the AFC:
- Speaking with reporters (including Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) on Tuesday, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was unwilling to say whether he plans to continue his career beyond the upcoming season. “I never commit to anyone more than one year,” stated the 35-year-old Roethlisberger, who indicated that he did seriously consider retiring after last season. “Did you think I was lying?” he said.
- One of Roethlisberger’s teammates, wide receiver Martavis Bryant, realizes his career is hanging in the balance as a result of the two suspensions he has incurred in three years (via Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today). “I know it’s my last chance,” acknowledged Bryant, who’s back after missing all of last season on account of a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. The 25-year-old doesn’t expect any more off-field slip-ups going forward. Regarding the past year, Bryant stated: “I developed better habits. I changed who I hang around. I’ve become a family man. I just had a son, he’s seven weeks. It’s really me developing my life and getting back on track.”
- Speaking of troubled receivers, the chances of Josh Gordon ever playing for the Browns again are slim to none, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland opines (on Twitter). The suspended Gordon, whom the NFL denied reinstatement two weeks ago, can reapply in the fall.
- The Colts still aren’t sure when safety Clayton Geathers will return from the season-ending neck injury he suffered last December, writes Kevin Bowen of the team’s website. Geathers, who underwent surgery on a bulging disc in March, started in all nine of his appearances as a second-year player in 2016. If Geathers is healthy during the upcoming season, he should be in line to start alongside free safety Malik Hooker, the Colts’ first-round pick. Otherwise, that role could go to T.J. Green.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Redskins, Eagles, 49ers, Vikes
Quarterback Kirk Cousins indicated Wednesday that contract talks between him and the Redskins will go down to the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players, per JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. “Deadlines do deals,” said Cousins, who added that July 15 “will be a telling date, as it was last summer.” Cousins and the team weren’t able to find common ground then, leading him to play last season under the $19.95MM franchise tag. As of now, Cousins is set to make around $24MM as the Redskins’ franchise player in 2017, and that number will climb to $34MM-plus if the club tags him again next offseason. While astronomical, that figure wouldn’t necessarily scare off Washington, according to president Bruce Allen.
More from the NFC:
- The Eagles’ Jordan Matthews was a potential trade candidate earlier in the offseason, but he referred to those rumors as “fake news” and “alternative facts” on Tuesday, writes Zach Berman of Philly.com. “I don’t really care about that stuff, bro,” he continued. “I feel like it’s the NFL – everybody has a price. Those talks, they happen. It really doesn’t faze me in any way.” Regardless of whether the Eagles shopped Matthews, who’s now part of a much more accomplished receiving corps than he was last year in light of the acquisitions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, he might not be long for Philadelphia. Matthews’ contract is set to expire after the season, and the Eagles haven’t yet made an effort to extend him. “I haven’t really talked to anybody about that,” said the 24-year-old Matthews, a three-year veteran who already has 225 catches and 19 touchdowns on his resume.
- Coming off the second major injury of his career, a torn Achilles, longtime 49ers starting inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman will have to compete with free agent signing Malcolm Smith and first-round pick Reuben Foster for snaps, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Bowman, a three-time first-team All-Pro who has started in all 68 of his appearances since 2011, vowed Monday that he’ll relegate Smith and Foster to the bench (via Branch). “I won’t be on the sideline. I’m going to tell you that now,” declared Bowman, who revealed that he spoke with GM John Lynch regarding a recent trade rumor. “He mentioned that it was a rumor,” Bowman said of Lynch. “Things were misinterpreted. And I also heard about the guy who reported it who wanted some type of attention. … But the NFL knows what type of player I am. Injuries are part of the game. I’ve done everything I needed to get back to where I am today. I’m ahead of schedule. I don’t feel anything in my Achilles or my knee. And guys can see that out on the field.”
- Receiver Michael Floyd‘s deal with the Vikings features a $1.16MM base salary and per-game roster bonuses of up to $250K, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.
Giants Sign Devin Taylor
The Giants have signed defensive end Devin Taylor to a one-year contract, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The addition of Taylor is the second of the evening for New York, which reached a deal with safety Duke Ihenacho earlier Wednesday.
[RELATED: Updated Giants Depth Chart]
The 27-year-old Taylor went to Detroit in the fourth round of the 2013 draft and ended up spending his first four seasons there, appearing in 61 of a possible 64 games and totaling 18 starts. Taylor also registered a respectable 15 sacks, 11.5 of which came from 2015-16 (four last year), and is coming off his first 16-start campaign. But Pro Football Focus wasn’t exactly enamored of Taylor’s output in 2016, as it ranked his performance 108th among 109 qualified defensive ends, and he drew no known interest in free agency before his meeting with the Giants this week.
Unlike the Lions, the Giants won’t lean on Taylor as a starter. Big Blue already has an elite defensive end duo in Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul, so Taylor will give the club further depth behind those two. Taylor offers the most proven track record among a group of backup Giants DEs that includes Romeo Okwara, Owa Odighizuwa and fifth-round rookie Avery Moss, among others.
Giants To Sign Duke Ihenacho
The Giants have agreed to a deal with free agent safety Duke Ihenacho, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
A five-year veteran, Ihenacho spent the previous three seasons as a member of one of the Giants’ NFC East rivals, the Redskins, with whom he appeared in 19 games and started 11. The majority of those appearances (15) and starts (10) came in 2016 for the 27-year-old Ihenacho, who amassed 60 tackles and ranked 78th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 90 qualified safeties.
The Giants have one of the premier strong safeties in the NFL, Landon Collins, as well as a prospective starter at free safety in Darian Thompson. With Thompson on the shelf for the majority of 2016, his rookie year, on account of a Lisfranc injury, Andrew Adams started in 13 games and graded as PFF’s 39th-best safety. Now, he and Ihenacho figure to serve as the Giants’ top reserves at the back of their defense.
Browns Add Ryan Grigson To Front Office
The Browns have announced the hiring of former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson as a senior personnel executive. Grigson will report to vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry, who worked under Grigson in Indianapolis from 2012-15.
“Ryan brings valuable experience to our personnel group,” said Browns GM Sashi Brown. “He was raised as a road-scout and has been evaluating talent in this league for almost 20 years. We place a premium on that experience and on his passion for football. Ryan has much to offer to any personnel department and we are pleased that he chose to join our staff.”
Grigson had been out of work since the Colts fired him in January, which ended a five-year run atop their football department. Grigson’s tenure in Indianapolis began with a flourish, as his first draft included the likes of Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen – all of whom helped the Colts win 11 games each year from 2012-14 and earn playoff berths. However, Grigson ultimately struggled to put enough talent around Luck, the crown jewel of the franchise, and had difficulty coexisting with head coach Chuck Pagano. Thanks in part to those factors, particularly the inability to support Luck, the Colts went .500 in each of the previous two seasons and owner Jim Irsay elected to part with Grigson.
Prior to his hiring in Indy, Grigson worked in scouting capacities with the Rams and Eagles from 1999-2011. He’ll return to that type of role with the Browns.
Brock Osweiler To Compete For No. 1 Job
Oft-derided quarterback Brock Osweiler raised eyebrows Wednesday when he said he showed enough on film over the past two years to continue as a starter, but he might actually have a shot to earn the No. 1 job in Cleveland, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).
Since Cleveland acquired Osweiler and a second-round pick from the Texans in a stunning trade in March, the 26-year-old’s existence on the Browns “has changed dramatically,” reports Rapoport. Osweiler is a “far, far different quarterback” than he was with the Texans last season, says Rapoport, who expects the 6-foot-8, 235-pounder to compete for a starting role with the Browns.
When Cleveland landed Osweiler, the early belief was that they did so just to acquire second-rounder at the cost of his $16MM salary, and that he wouldn’t be on the Browns come September. It remains possible Osweiler won’t make the Browns, but it could help his cause that they didn’t address the quarterback position via free agency or another trade, nor did they use one of their two first-round picks on a signal-caller. The Browns instead waited until the second round, selecting former Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer at No. 52 overall. Like Osweiler, Kizer will compete to start, though he’s certainly not a lock to take the reins immediately.
As Rapoport notes, Osweiler intrigued enough in Denver two years ago to have both the Broncos and Texans offer him sizable contracts in free agency the ensuing offseason. Osweiler was hardly spectacular with the Broncos in 2015, but if he resembles that version of himself more than his disastrous 2016 form in the coming months, he could beat out the inexperienced trio of Kizer, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan to emerge as the Browns’ season-opening starter.
Dolphins Sign Charles Harris
The Dolphins have signed their first-round pick, former Missouri defensive end Charles Harris, according to a team announcement. As the 22nd overall selection, Harris will receive a four-year deal worth upward of $10.84MM, including a $6MM-plus signing bonus.
The 6-foot-3, 253-pound Harris debuted at Missouri in 2014 and developed into a force for the Tigers from 2015-16, combining for 30.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks en route to a pair of second-team all-SEC selections over those two seasons. Now Harris, whom Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compares to Rams edge defender Connor Barwin, will give Miami another pass-rushing threat to join Cameron Wake, Andre Branch and William Hayes.
With Harris under contract, the Dolphins have now signed their entire seven-player draft class. After finishing last season 19th in the NFL in defensive DVOA, the Dolphins addressed that side of the ball with their first- through third-round choices, grabbing Harris, ex-Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan and former Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley.
Extra Points: Cousins, Fitz, Bills, L. Green
Franchise-tagged quarterback Kirk Cousins has spoken highly of Redskins brass lately, but it remains doubtful that the two sides will agree to a long-term contract by the July 15 deadline, writes Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Cousins has little incentive to take Washington’s $20MM-per-year offer, observes Tandler, as he’s set to make a fully guaranteed ~$24MM as the team’s franchise player this season and could earn another $34MM in 2018 in the unlikely event it places the franchise tag on him again. Otherwise, Cousins could be in position next offseason to hit free agency and ink a lucrative contract with either the Redskins or someone else.
More from around the NFL:
- Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s one-year, $3MM deal with the Buccaneers could be worth up to $5MM, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). With Fitzpatrick now off the board, the only remaining free agent QBs who started a game in 2016 are Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Shaun Hill, notes Field Yates of ESPN (on Twitter). In case you missed it, Tampa Bay did not consider signing Kaepernick before it tabbed Fitzpatrick to serve as Jameis Winston‘s backup in 2017.
- The Bills made a few changes to their scouting staff Friday, most notably hiring former Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey as a senior college scout, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Hickey only lasted as Miami’s GM from 2014-15, but he previously worked in a scouting capacity for several years in Tampa Bay. Along with Hickey, the Bills added scouts Gerald Dixon, Doug Majeski and Brian Fisher, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The team dismissed all three last month, but they’ll return in newly hired GM Brandon Beane‘s front office.
- Speaking of the Bills, quarterback Tyrod Taylor has gotten off to a nice start in OTAs in new offensive coordinator Rick Dennison‘s system, says James Palmer of NFL Network (video link). Taylor is familiar with both Dennison and the Gary Kubiak-created system the Bills are using, as the passer studied it in Baltimore as Joe Flacco‘s backup from 2011-14 (Dennison was the Ravens’ QBs coach in 2014). Moreover, Kubiak has always regarded Taylor as a good fit for the system, per Palmer. That could bode well for Taylor as he enters a crucial season in Buffalo, which will have the opportunity to easily escape his contract next winter.
- Although injuries (especially to the head) have beset tight end Ladarius Green in recent years, he’s not planning to retire. After the Steelers released the 26-year-old on Thursday, a player Green spoke with told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that he’s hoping to catch on elsewhere as a free agent (Twitter link). Ankle and head issues limited Green to six games and 18 receptions in 2016, the first season of a four-year, $20MM contract.