Seahawks Sign DE/LB David Bass
The Seahawks have signed edge defender David Bass, per an Instagram announcement from the player (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times).
Bass entered the NFL in 2013 as a seventh-round pick of the Raiders, though he never actually suited up for them. He instead spent his first two seasons in Chicago, where he totaled 20 appearances (two starts) and combined for four sacks.
Bass was a member of the Titans over the previous two years, setting career highs in games (16) and starts (seven) during a 1.5-sack, one-interception 2015 campaign. He made less of a defensive impact across 13 appearances last season, playing just over 20 percent of the Titans’ snaps and picking up 12 tackles, but partook in 45 percent of special teams snaps.
As of now, the 26-year-old Bass is in line to function as a defensive end for Seattle, writes Condotta. The Seahawks have no shortage of proven and/or familiar names at DE, including Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark and Dion Jordan, so Bass could have difficulty distinguishing himself as a defender if he makes their roster.
Jay Cutler Had “Strong” Interest In Texans
Before he signed with FOX to become a color commentator last week, longtime NFL quarterback Jay Cutler had “strong” interest in playing for the Texans, sources told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
While the Texans did kick the tires on Cutler after the Bears released him earlier this offseason, they elected against signing him, mainly because of Bill O’Brien. The head coach has a higher opinion of Tom Savage, who’s in line to open the season as the Texans’ starter. Long after considering Cutler, Houston traded up in the first round of last month’s draft to select former Clemson star Deshaun Watson, who they hope will serve as their long-term answer under center.
On the heels of an injury-marred 2016 in Chicago, the Jets were the only team that seriously mulled adding the 34-year-old Cutler as a stopgap. Cutler was reportedly uninterested in joining a rebuilding club, though, and prospective contenders didn’t want any part of him as a starter. Because of that, Cutler’s now a member of the media on what he calls a “permanent” basis.
AFC Notes: Chiefs, Ravens, Fins, Titans
As the Chiefs were preparing to trade up 17 spots in the first round of this year’s draft to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes 10th overall, they reached out to starting signal-caller Alex Smith to make sure he’d be OK with it, general manager John Dorsey told the NFL Network on Monday (via Conor Orr of NFL.com). “You know, Alex is the consummate professional,” said Dorsey. “He’s been through these types of situations before and we made sure we communicated with Alex leading up to the draft that we may make a move like this. And when we were on the clock and traded up with Buffalo, we made sure we again got in contact with Alex and he’s all on board with this.” Even after the addition of Mahomes, Smith knows the Chiefs are “his team,” per Dorsey, who praised the 33-year-old for owning “the fourth-winningest record” among QBs since his KC tenure began in 2013. The Chiefs have indeed posted an excellent regular-season mark (41-20) with Smith at the controls, but they’ve managed only one playoff win in three trips. Now, thanks in no small part to the Chiefs’ investment in Mahomes, Smith appears unlikely to last as their starter for much longer. The 12-year veteran’s contract will expire after the 2018 season.
More from the AFC:
- The Ravens are the best fit for free agent running back LeGarrette Blount, opines ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley, who writes that the ex-Patriot’s “bruising” style would be perfect for Baltimore’s offense. Moreover, running back is a need for the Ravens, Hensley points out. With Kenneth Dixon set to miss the opening quarter of the season on account of a suspension and Terrance West having led the team last year with a so-so 774 yards on 193 carries, it’s hard to argue with Hensley. PFR’s Zach Links recently made a case for Baltimore to sign Blount, who set a career high with 1,161 rushing yards and finished with an NFL-best 18 touchdowns on the ground last season.
- Retired quarterback Peyton Manning had a hand in the Dolphins’ late-winter acquisition of tight end Julius Thomas from the Jaguars, Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post details. Manning played in Indianapolis under now-Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christiansen, who contacted the future Hall of Famer about Thomas when Miami was considering trading for him. Thomas’ best seasons, the 2013 and ’14 campaigns, came in Denver with Manning under center (and now-Dolphins head coach Adam Gase at offensive coordinator). Having tossed 24 touchdown passes to Thomas during that two-year span, Manning offered Christiansen a positive review of the tight end, saying “that (Thomas) figured it out. (Thomas’) figure-it-out factor was high. That’s what you look for. There’s a guy who came in and probably didn’t know a whole bunch about football, or played very little. His experience was very minimal, and then (he) came in and figured it out and then worked.”
- The Titans are likely to promote Jon Salge to director of college scouting, a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Salge, a college scout who’s in his 11th year with the Titans, would replace the recently fired Blake Beddingfield.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/8/17
Monday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Josh Letuligasenoa, CB Raysean Pringle, RB William Stanback, LB David Talley, S Aaron Taylor (via Jason Wilde of ESPN, on Twitter)
- Cut: WR Antwan Goodley, LS Taybor Pepper
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Ricky Ali’ifua (Twitter links via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Cut: RB Darrin Reaves
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: LB/DE Royce LaFrance, TE Jake Stoneburner (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Chris Casher, LB Najee Harris, LB LaTroy Lewis
- Cut: S Ahmad Thomas, DL Jordan Wade (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: S Chanceller James, WR BJ Johnson, OL Richard Levy
- Cut: OL Bret Treadway
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Greg Mabin
Ravens’ Terrance West Signs RFA Tender
It took two months, but Ravens running back Terrance West has signed his restricted free agent tender, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
[RELATED: Should Ravens Sign LeGarrette Blount?]
The Ravens gave West an original-round tender, meaning any club that attempted to sign him would have had to surrender a fairly high pick for the 2014 third-rounder. Between that and West’s unspectacular production to this point (3.9 yards per carry on 426 attempts), it’s unsurprising that no one courted him when he was on the RFA market.
Formerly with the Browns and Titans, West is coming off his first full year in Baltimore, where he paced the team’s ball carriers in attempts (193), yards (774) and touchdowns (five) in 2016. The 26-year-old also totaled 34 catches for 236 yards and another score. With Kenneth Dixon set to serve a four-game suspension to open the season, West should again function as the Ravens’ top rushing option at the outset of 2017.
Along with locking up West for another year, the Ravens are keeping cornerback Sheldon Price, who signed his exclusive rights tender. Meanwhile, the team cut three players – running back Stephen Houston and 2017 undrafted free agents Zach Terrell (quarterback, Western Michigan) and Omarius Bryant (defensive end, Western Kentucky) – according to Zrebiec.
Eagles To Sign DT Charles Walker
Charles Walker, an undrafted defensive tackle from Oklahoma, is set to sign with the Eagles, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
While most undrafted free agents are relatively anonymous, Walker stands as a fairly notable player who didn’t hear his name called by any NFL team during the final weekend of April. Walker declared for the draft in November, thus concluding his career with the Sooners before their season ended. The decision drew ire from head coach Bob Stoops, who said, “Quitting on your teammates is hard to take as a coach.”
Even before Walker made the controversial choice to depart Oklahoma, there were questions from scouts regarding the 304-pounder’s work ethic, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller noted in November (Twitter link). At the time, though, Miller ranked Walker as the draft’s 35th-best prospect, so it’s fair to say the Eagles could be landing a high-reward player for a pittance. Walker will vie for a roster spot as a reserve behind Philadelphia’s enviable starting D-tackle duo of Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan, and backup Beau Allen‘s chest injury won’t hurt the rookie’s cause as he attempts to make the team.
Bills To Interview Brandon Beane Again
On Monday, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst became the fourth executive to interview for the Bills’ vacant general manager post, but only one has booked a second meeting with the team. That’s Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, who will head back to Buffalo for another sitdown with the club this week, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Beane has emerged as the favorite to land the job, per Schefter, which isn’t surprising when you consider his ties to first-year Bills head coach Sean McDermott. The two are familiar with each other from McDermott’s tenure in Carolina, where he served as the defensive coordinator over the previous six seasons.
Despite his inexperience as a head coach, McDermott has become arguably the most prominent voice in the Bills organization during his first few months in Buffalo. McDermott’s influence at Bills headquarters helped lead to ex-GM Doug Whaley‘s ouster, so Whaley’s successor will clearly have to share power with the coach to some degree.
Along with Gutekunst and Beane, the Bills have met with Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown regarding their GM position. As of now now, though, it seems that the job is Beane’s to lose.
Extra Points: Vikes, Lions, Jets, Cards
Thanks to the brutal knee injury he suffered last summer, there’s no guarantee Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will play football again. Nevertheless, head coach Mike Zimmer spoke encouragingly about Bridgewater’s future Friday, telling Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press that he’s optimistic the 24-year-old will be a Viking for the long haul (Twitter link). While Bridgewater is technically entering a contract year (the Vikings declined his fifth-year option for 2018 earlier this week), he won’t necessarily be a free agent next offseason. If Bridgewater starts the season on the physically unable to prepare list, he’d miss at least six games, causing his contract to toll, reports Mike Florio of the Pro Football Talk. Thus, Bridgewater would remain a Viking in 2018 for the same salary he’ll make this year ($1.354MM).
More from around the league:
- The odds of the Lions re-signing free agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin continue to decrease, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. The two sides haven’t had contact in over a month, notes Meinke, who points out that recent developments suggest Boldin won’t return to Detroit for a second year. The Lions used a third-round pick on wideout Kenny Golladay in last week’s draft, for one, and then gave away Boldin’s No. 80 to fourth-round tight end Michael Roberts. (Theoretically, Boldin could get that number back in a negotiation with Roberts, but Meinke regards it as a sign that the Lions are going in another direction.)
- The Jets released safety Marcus Gilchrist on Thursday, but they aren’t ruling out re-signing him “once he heals” from his knee injury, head coach Todd Bowles said Friday (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). The six-year veteran tore his patellar tendon last season, which limited him to 13 games and forced him to injured reserve in mid-December. Gilchrist has started in all of his appearances dating back to 2013, but it seems doubtful that streak would continue if he were to return to the Jets. Gang Green, after all, used its first- and second-round picks in the draft on safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.
- Before signing with the 49ers, notable undrafted free agent tight end Cole Hikutini drew interest from the Saints, Lions, Patriots, and Texans, tweets Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Hikutini, a Louisville product, was a favorite of many draftniks — Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, for instance, graded Hikutini as a fifth- or sixth-round selection. Ultimately, Hikutini landed a $20K guarantee from San Francisco.
- The possibility of free agent quarterback Blaine Gabbert signing with the Cardinals “remains alive,” tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. Gabbert has an important fan in Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, per Somers.
Zach Links and Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
AFC Notes: Watson, Kizer, Jets, Broncos
After the Texans traded up in the first round of the draft to select ex-Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson 12th overall, head coach Bill O’Brien declared that veteran signal-caller Tom Savage would start Week 1. Like O’Brien, general manager Rick Smith regards Savage as the favorite to land the job, but the executive isn’t as ready to hand him the role. In an interview with ESPN Radio’s Stephen A. Smith on Thursday, Rick Smith indicated that Watson will have a chance to compete with Savage in the coming months, per Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “We want to provide a competitive environment across the board. So [Watson will] compete,” Smith said. “[But] like I said, we feel good about Tom and his abilities to manage the offense. But yeah, [Watson] will come in, and just like every other guy on the roster, he’ll have time to play.”
More from the AFC:
- As is the case with Houston, the Browns are prepared to let their rookie signal-caller compete for a starting job. In Cleveland’s case, it’s second-rounder DeShone Kizer, who will be part of “an open competition” that could also feature Brock Osweiler, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan, GM Sashi Brown said Thursday on ESPN’s Mike and Mike (via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com). Meanwhile, speaking with Cleveland Browns Daily, head coach Hue Jackson lavished praise on Kizer, a former Notre Dame star who went 52nd in the draft. “He has the characteristics that we as an organization covet. He’s a big man,” Jackson said of the 6-foot-4, 233-pounder. “He has the AFC North stature that I love. He has a big arm. He’s very intelligent. He’s played in a real big-time football program. He understands the demands of playing the position. He understands the demands of being a quarterback and the face of the franchise.”
- Free agent quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson will attend the Jets‘ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Bethel-Thompson, 28, is certainly familiar with the workout circuit, as he’s spent time with five NFL clubs and one team each in the Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, and United Football League. He also took part in the Spring League earlier this year. Bethel-Thompson’s last NFL stint came with the Eagles, with whom he earned two stints in 2016. For Gang Green, Bethel-Thompson likely only represents an offeason option, as the club already boasts signal-callers Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg.
- The Broncos on Friday announced a restructuring of their front office under executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway. Director of pro personnel Tom Heckert has been promoted to senior personnel advisor, while A.J. Durso has been promoted to take Heckert’s previous post. Brian Stark, meanwhile, has been promoted from national scout to director of college scouting. Denver’s staff changes will help account for the loss of former scouting director Adam Peters, who left for a personnel role with the 49ers in January.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Seahawks Expect To Retain Richard Sherman
Less than two weeks ago, Seahawks general manager John Schneider wasn’t ready to rule out trading cornerback Richard Sherman. But with the draft having passed since then, it appears the team’s chance to deal the four-time Pro Bowler has gone by the wayside.
[RELATED: Earl Thomas On Track For Opener]
As a guest on the “Brock and Salk” show on 710 ESPN Seattle on Thursday, head coach Pete Carroll addressed the odds of a Sherman trade, saying (via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com): “I don’t think anybody’s going to offer us anything that would make it worthwhile, because there’s no draft involved and all that kind of stuff. But that’s always out there. There’s always opportunities to trade. But the likelihood is like zero percent, it seems like. Teams don’t want to give up stuff. They don’t want to trade at times like this, and it’s really hard to navigate through a trade with experienced players during draft time. It just doesn’t happen very often.”
While Sherman and the Seahawks had mutual interest in parting ways earlier this spring, no one was willing to meet the club’s asking price (reportedly a first-round pick this year and a conditional mid-rounder in 2018). Now, there’s “no animosity at all” between the two sides, according to Carroll, who believes his relationship with the 29-year-old is “as good as it’s ever been.” To Carroll, shopping Sherman was an example of the Seahawks doing their due diligence.
“We don’t want to trade guys,” he said. “We want to keep our guys. But we have to in an effort to always work to be better and help our team. We’ve got to listen and all that. So we went through that process. There was very open conversation about that.”
Now that Sherman will return to helm the Legion of Boom again in 2017, Carroll noted that the Seahawks need “to continue to dig into [Sherman] and make sure that he’s really at the height of his game, intensity-wise.” Sherman wasn’t necessarily at the height of his game, performance-wise, in 2016, but he still served as a top-notch defender. In the fifth straight 16-start season of his career, the six-year veteran tallied four interceptions and 13 passes defensed, and ranked among Pro Football Focus’ 15 best corners.