Patriots To Extend James White
The Patriots have agreed to a three-year contract extension with running back James White, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Financial terms aren’t yet available, but the deal will begin in 2018 and keep the Super Bowl LI hero under New England’s control through the 2020 campaign.
White is best known for his season-ending performance versus the Falcons, against whom he caught an eye-popping 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also added two more scores on the ground, including a 1-yard overtime plunge that gave the Patriots a 34-28 victory and locked up their fifth Lombardi Trophy.
While White was great on the sport’s biggest stage in February, he’s hardly a one-hit wonder. The 2014 fourth-round pick from Wisconsin has been a key pass-catching weapon for quarterback Tom Brady since 2015. Dating back to then, the 25-year-old has amassed 100 receptions and nine TDs, including 60 grabs and five scores last season.
White isn’t a No. 1-caliber runner, having totaled just 70 carries during his career, but he’ll undoubtedly continue serving as a key part of their passing attack going forward. Mike Gillislee could end up as New England’s go-to rusher if the Bills don’t match the offer he signed with the Patriots on Tuesday, and he’d add to a crowded backfield that already includes White, Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead, among others.
Draft Rumors: Mixon, Lattimore, Peppers
It was reportedly likely as of two weeks ago that Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon wouldn’t last beyond the third round of the draft, but now there’s “palpable buzz” that his stock is dropping, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Interestingly, one league source informed Florio that Mixon will go undrafted, which runs counter to the notion that many teams Mixon has met with are willing to forgive him for his sordid past. Mixon was caught on camera punching a woman in the face in 2014, and while he has since expressed remorse, his future NFL employer will undoubtedly face a public relations backlash upon adding him.
More on the upcoming draft:
- Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore visited the Jets on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). New York holds the sixth overall pick, with which it could theoretically take Lattimore, but it’s possible concerns over his health will cause him to slide out of the top 10. Should that happen, the Jets may still end up a candidate to draft Lattimore if they succeed in trading down.
- The Ravens hosted Michigan defender Jabrill Peppers on Tuesday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Peppers expects to serve as a safety in the pros, as do most teams with which he has spoken, but one sees the likely first- or second-rounder as a linebacker and another believes he’s capable of lining up on offense.
- The Cowboys are in need of pass-rush help, which could come in the form of Missouri defensive end Charles Harris. The club’s attraction to Harris is no secret, reports Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram, though she notes that he might be off the board by the time Dallas is on the clock at No. 28 overall.
- A couple of NFC West teams are eyeing Connecticut safety Obi Melifonwu, per Wilson (Twitter link). Melifonwu met with the 49ers on Tuesday and will visit the Seahawks on Wednesday. Speculatively, the 6-foot-4, 224-pounder could be a fit for the 49ers early in Round 2 (No. 34 overall) or the Seahawks late in the first (No. 26).
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/18/17
Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
- Free agent defensive tackle Drew Iddings will sign with the Panthers after the draft, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer. Iddings joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent last year, but they cut the ex-South Dakota standout prior to Week 1.
- Patriots tight end Matt Lengel, Cardinals offensive tackle John Wetzel and defensive tackle Olsen Pierre, and Seahawks running backs Terrence Magee and Troymaine Pope have signed their exclusive rights free agent tenders, per Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com and Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Wynn, Odighizuwa Staying With Giants
Giants defensive end Kerry Wynn will sign his restricted free agent tender and participate in the team’s offseason program, tweets Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com.
New York tendered Wynn at the lowest level last month, meaning the club would have not have received any compensation had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and it chose not to match the offer. There was risk of Wynn departing, too, as he visited the Patriots last Thursday. The Pats have been aggressive in pursuing other teams’ RFAs, evidenced most recently by their offer to Bills running back Mike Gillislee on Tuesday, but they declined to present a deal to Wynn. As such, he’s in line to make $1.797MM this year as a member of the Giants.
The 26-year-old Wynn has been a part-time player in New York, where he has started in seven of 34 appearances. All of those starts came in 2015 for Wynn, who amassed a career-high 53 tackles that season. That total dropped to a career-low eight in 14 appearances in 2016, when Wynn participated in just 10.4 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps. He was a more prominent member of their special teams unit, partaking in 28.1 percent of plays. Going forward, Wynn will continue to serve as depth behind star defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon.
Meanwhile, it appears Owa Odighizuwa will again join Wynn as a fellow reserve end next season. There has been confusion about Odighizuwa’s status since he implied he was stepping away from football in early April, but the 25-year-old was on hand for the beginning of the Giants’ program Tuesday, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link).
Raiders Release Dan Williams
The Raiders have released defensive tackle Dan Williams, according to a team announcement. In moving on from Williams, the Raiders have saved $4.5MM, which would have been his entire cap hit for 2017.
Williams, whom the Cardinals chose in the first round of the 2010 draft, spent the first five years of his career in Arizona before signing with the Raiders as a free agent in advance of the 2015 season. The 330-pounder ended up playing out half of the four-year, $25MM contract the Raiders gave him, also collecting $15.2MM in guarantees.
As was the case in Arizona, Williams played a prominent role while with Oakland. He appeared in all 32 of the team’s regular-season contests during his stint and started 26 of those games. Williams’ starts dipped from 15 in 2015 to 11 last year, though, and he tallied a career-low 17 tackles. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old impressed Pro Football Focus, which ranked Williams a solid 44th among 127 qualified interior defensive linemen and, even though he had just half a sack, awarded him a strong pass-rushing grade.
With Williams out of the picture, the Raiders are down to Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis and Darius Latham as their D-tackles. Of course, with the draft coming up, they could add more bodies to the mix in the coming weeks.
Extra Points: Ja. Peppers, Rams, Texans
Jabrill Peppers played both linebacker and cornerback at Michigan, but nearly all NFL teams view the draft-bound prospect as a safety, he told the Associated Press. Peppers is on board, saying, “I didn’t play safety, but I’m going to be a safety.” While one club informed Peppers it would use him at linebacker, another had an outside-the-box idea. “One team told me they thought I should play offense,” revealed Peppers, who did see time on that side of the ball at Michigan last season. Peppers rushed 27 times for 167 yards, caught two passes and scored three touchdowns. He also fared well in space as a punt returner, posting a Big Ten-leading 14.8-yard average on runbacks.
More from around the game:
- Ravens college scouting director Joe Hortiz is the Rams’ top choice to take over the same position in Los Angeles, reports CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (all Twitter links). The Rams have shown interest in Hortiz in the past, notes La Canfora, who adds that Baltimore wouldn’t be able to prevent him from leaving. Los Angeles started reshuffling its scouting department when it dismissed four evaluators on April 9.
- The Rams are also making changes on the field, with several familiar names apparently set to switch positions as the Sean McVay era begins, according to Myles Simmons of the team’s website. Contrary to a prior report, the signing of left tackle Andrew Whitworth will not force Greg Robinson to shift to guard; rather, Robinson will head to right tackle, leaving Rob Havenstein to move inside. Elsewhere, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner will play free safety and Maurice Alexander will take over at strong safety in the wake of the team’s addition of Nickell Robey-Coleman, who’s primed to handle Joyner’s old job as a slot corner. Finally, Robert Quinn is transitioning from defensive end to outside linebacker, though his role as a pass rusher will remain the same.
- Utah offensive tackle Garett Bolles visited the Texans on Monday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. With potential first-rounders in Bolles, Alabama’s Cam Robinson and Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk on their radar, it’s clear the Texans are strongly considering taking a tackle with the 25th pick in the draft.
- The surgery Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster underwent on his right rotator cuff in February won’t keep him out for any portion of training camp, his agent, Malki Kawa, announced Monday (on Twitter). The soon-to-be first-rounder is “ahead of schedule,” per Kawa.
Seahawks’ Garry Gilliam Signs Offer Sheet With 49ers
Seahawks restricted free agent right tackle Garry Gilliam has signed an offer sheet with the NFC West rival 49ers, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. It’s a one-year, $2.2MM contract, including $1.4MM in guarantees, report ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Kapadia (Twitter links). Seattle will have five days to match the proposal, but if the team lets Gilliam go, it won’t receive any compensation for the 2014 undrafted free agent because it only assigned him an original-round tender (worth $1.797MM, with nothing guaranteed).
The 49ers hosted Gilliam on a visit last Thursday and subsequently offered him a multiyear deal, but he rejected it. By taking a one-year offer, Gilliam has set himself up to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason at the age of 27.
Since entering the NFL, Gilliam has totaled 30 starts, nearly all of which (29) came over the past two seasons. Gilliam’s performance across 14 appearances last season ranked just 71st among Pro Football Focus‘ 78 qualified tackles, making him one of the least effective parts of one of the league’s worst offensive lines. The 49ers’ O-line was also woeful, though PFF ranked their top right tackle, Trenton Brown (No. 55), higher than Gilliam.
NFC Draft Visits: 49ers, Eagles, Panthers, Seahawks, Cowboys
The latest draft visits from the NFC:
- LSU safety Jamal Adams recently visited the 49ers, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Adams will come off the board somewhere in the top 10, though San Francisco’s first-rounder (No. 2 overall) could be too early to select him. The 49ers do want to trade down, however, and if that happens, perhaps they’ll look to Adams if he’s still available.
- The Eagles hosted Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett and Florida cornerback Quincy Wilson on Monday, according to Rapoport (Twitter links). Barnett joins Missouri’s Charles Harris as the second prospective first-round DE to visit the Eagles, owners of the 14th pick, in the past week. Barnett tallied 13 sacks last season, while no one on Philadelphia’s roster finished with more than 6.5. Wilson, meanwhile, could quickly become “a solid No. 2 cornerback” in the pros, opines NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who rates him as the 29th-best player in this year’s class.
- The Panthers, known to be in the market for running back help, had Ohio State’s Curtis Samuel in for a visit Monday, relays Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter link). Samuel’s stock seems to be rising because he can also contribute as a receiver and returner, perhaps making him the next Tyreek Hill type to hit the NFL. It’s possible he’ll still be on the board when the Panthers are on the clock in Round 2 (No. 40 overall).
- Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell met with the Seahawks on Monday, tweets Rapoport, and will visit the Cowboys later this week, reports Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram. McDowell is among the top D-tackle prospects in a weak class of interior defenders, and might be a fit for Seattle at No. 26 or Dallas at No. 28.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/17
The latest minor moves…
- Raiders defensive end Denico Autry has signed his RFA tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Raiders gave the 2014 undrafted free agent an original-round tender, leading to speculation that he could draw interest from elsewhere. Instead, Autry will return to the Raiders on the heels of back-to-back three-sack seasons. ERFAs Seth Roberts (WR) and Denver Kirkland (G) are also back in the fold, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter).
- The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Kache Palacio, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Palacio, a former fullback who went undrafted out of Washington State last year, spent most of 2016 on Seattle’s practice squad.
- Lions ERFAs Brandon Copeland (DE), Kerry Hyder (DT) and T.J. Jones (WR) have signed their tenders, tweets Birkett. Dolphins ERFAs Mike Hull (LB) and Anthony Steen (C) did the same earlier Monday, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Panthers have re-upped restricted free agent guard Andrew Norwell and a pair of exclusive rights free agents – center Tyler Larsen and punter Michael Palardy – writes Bryan Strickland of their website. Carolina used a second-round tender on Norwell, who will earn $2.746MM in 2017. Norwell combined for 29 starts over the previous two seasons and ranked 11th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified guards last year.
- Steelers RFA cornerback Ross Cockrell has inked his original-round tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Cockrell went in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, so the Steelers would have been entitled to a fourth-rounder had Cockrell signed elsewhere and they elected against matching the offer. The 25-year-old caught on with the Steelers in 2015 and has since totaled 31 appearances, 23 starts and two interceptions. Cockrell started in every Steelers game last year, and his performance ranked an improve 28th among 111 qualified corners at PFF.
- Chiefs RFA kicker Cairo Santos has signed his tender, per Schefter (on Twitter). Santos, undrafted in 2014, received a low tender; as such, Kansas City wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had he gone elsewhere. The three-year veteran has connected on 84.3 percent of field goal attempts, including 88.6 percent last season (good for fifth in the league).
- Lions offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas has signed his RFA tender, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions assigned Lucas an original-rounder tender last month, so they wouldn’t have gotten a pick had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and they chose not to match. Lucas is now slated to make $1.797MM this year in Detroit, where he has started in six of 35 career appearances.
- The Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, tight end Cameron Brate, linebacker Adarius Glanton, and wide receivers Adam Humphries and Freddie Martino, per Scott Smith of the team’s website. As a restricted free agent, Griffin is the only one of the bunch who could have potentially gone elsewhere (the rest were exclusive rights free agents). The Bucs tendered the 2013 undrafted free agent at an original-round level last month, and he’ll now try to win the No. 2 role behind Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay’s previous second-stringer, Mike Glennon, is now the Bears’ starter.
- RFA defensive back Marcus Burley and ERFA running back George Atkinson III are returning to the Browns, per a team announcement. Burley, undrafted in 2013, received an original-round tender. The former Seahawk is coming off his first year in Cleveland, where he appeared in 12 games and played just under 40 percent of the Browns’ special teams snaps.
- Fullback Tommy Bohanon and receiver Larry Pinkard have signed with the Jaguars, tweets the team’s account. Bohanon is the only with NFL experience, having logged 36 appearances and 14 starts as a Jet from 2013-15.
- Speaking of the Jets, they have re-signed linebacker Julian Stanford (via Randy Lange of the team’s site). The Jets could Stanford on Friday, but both sides knew that was only a procedural move. Last season was the first as a Jet for the 26-year-old Stanford, who appeared in nine games (two starts) and played about a quarter of their defensive snaps and a third of their special teams snaps.
Draft Rumors: Fournette, Foster, Robinson
LSU running back Leonard Fournette will visit the 49ers prior to the draft, reports Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. While the 49ers would reportedly like to trade down in Round 1, Fournette could be a possibility for them if they keep the second overall pick. San Francisco already has a productive No. 1 back in Carlos Hyde, whom general manager John Lynch spoke highly of last week, but there are whispers that the rookie executive wants to make change in the backfield.
More on the upcoming draft:
- The Jets hosted Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster on Monday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. As is the case with the 49ers, the Jets’ goal is to move down from their current first-round slot (No. 6). If a deal doesn’t come to fruition, though, they’ll likely be in the neighborhood of where Foster will come off the board.
- Offensive tackle Cam Robinson, who was teammates with Foster at Alabama, is drawing significant interest from the Texans. Houston worked out Robinson earlier this month, and he’s now in town for a two-day visit that will include another workout, according to Rapoport (Twitter link). The tackle-needy Texans are in line to pick 25th overall, but Robinson could be gone by then. The Bengals, owners of the ninth overall selection, met with Robinson over the weekend, Rapoport adds. In the event Robinson falls to the end of the first round, the Falcons (No. 31) will be a team to keep an eye on, writes Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com.
- Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is gaining momentum as a potential first-round pick, per Rob Rang of CBSSports.com. The fact that Awuzie has experience inside and at nickel makes him a candidate to step into the league and make an impact from the get-go, notes Rang, who lauds the 6-foot, 202-pounder’s “above-average size,” “impressive athleticism” and coverage “savvy.” Awuzie is on the radars of the Titans and Raiders, either of whom could grab him in the second half of the opening round.
- Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp will come off the board “very high” in the second round, according to CBS Sports’ Jason Canfora, who has heard comparisons between Kupp and the Patriots’ Julian Edelman.
- In advance of their meeting with Utah offensive tackle Garret Bolles on Tuesday, the Broncos hosted Wisconsin bookend Ryan Ramczyk on Monday, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Both players are first-round possibilities for Denver at No. 20 overall.