Earl Thomas On Track For Season Opener
The Seahawks expect safety Earl Thomas to be available for the start of the 2017 campaign, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
Thomas, of course, hinted at retirement after breaking his leg in December, but ultimately indicated he’d be back for the 2017 season. The news that Thomas is on track to return for the season opener doesn’t come as a significant surprise, as Carroll said in March that Thomas was “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery. When healthy, Thomas is considered the best deep safety in the NFL, so his absence — for any length of time — would represent a massive blow to a stingy Seattle defense. Signed through 2018, Thomas is set to have cap charges of $10.4MM in each of the next two seasons.
Thomas’ secondary mate Kam Chancellor, meanwhile, is still working his way back from multiple ankle surgeries and isn’t yet at full speed, tweets Condotta. Chancellor, like Thomas, is an excellent player when healthy, but injury concerns have sidelined him in recent years. He’s missed 11 total games over the past three seasons, although those absences were caused by injuries to his hip, groin, and tailbone (not ankle). Recently, Carroll admitted the Seahawks would like to work out a new deal with Chancellor, who’s entering a contract season.
Seattle has added reinforcements in the defensive backfield this offseason, so the club should be well-prepared if Thomas and/or Chancellor are forced to miss any time. In addition to making a value signing in Bradley McDougald, the Seahawks used a third-round pick to draft Michigan safety Delano Hill.
Redskins Sign Eight Undrafted Free Agents
The Redskins have announced the signing of the following eight undrafted college free agents:
- Brandon Banks, DL (Charlotte)
- Tyler Catalina, OL (Georgia)
- Levern Jacobs, WR (Maryland)
- Kyle Kalis, G (Michigan)
- Zach Pascal, WR (Old Dominion)
- Ondre Pipkins, DL (Texas Tech)
- James Quick, WR (Louisville)
- Fish Smithson, S (Kansas)
Patriots To Work Out DT Ego Ferguson
The Patriots plan to work out free agent defensive tackle Ego Ferguson, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Like fellow free agent Taylor Mays, Ferguson will participate in New England’s upcoming rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
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Ferguson, 25, appeared in all 16 games during his rookie campaign with the Bears in 2014, but injuries have limited him to just four contests since that season. Chicago reportedly shopped the former second-round pick last fall, but didn’t find any takers. After spending the entire 2016 season on injured reserve, Ferguson was waived in early April and claimed by the division-rival Packers. Ferguson failed his physical with Green Bay, though, and once again hit the free agent market. He’s since auditioned for the Raiders.
The Patriots have consistently added to their defensive line throughout the offseason by adding veterans such as Kony Ealy and Lawrence Guy and draft picks like Derek Rivers and Deatrich Wise, so it’s tough to see how Ferguson could hypothetically fit on New England’s roster. Alan Branch — who re-signed on a two-year deal in March — and Malcolm Brown are the projected starters at defensive tackle, while 2016 third-rounder Vincent Valentine is also available on the inside.
49ers Sign Five Draft Picks, 16 UDFAs
The 49ers are making quick work of their 2017 draft class, as the club announced today that they’ve signed defensive back Adrian Colbert, defensive lineman D.J. Jones, tight end George Kittle, defensive lineman Pita Taumoepenu, and wide receiver Trent Taylor to rookie contracts. San Francisco also confirmed the previously-reported signing of fourth-round running back Joe Williams.
Additionally, the 49ers have announced the signing of 16 undrafted college free agents:
- Victor Bolden, WR (Oregon State)
- Kendrick Bourne, WR (Eastern Washington)
- Matt Breida, RB (Georgia Southern) ($5K bonus, $25K guaranteed base salary, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today)
- John Flynn, OL (Montana State)
- Zach Franklin, CB (Washburn)
- Malik Golden, S (Penn State) ($3K bonus, $12K guaranteed base salary)
- Evan Goodman, OL (Arizona State)
- Cole Hikutini, TE (Louisville) ($10K bonus, $10K guaranteed base salary)
- Lorenzo Jerome, DB (Saint Francis)
- Erik Magnuson, OL (Michigan)
- Tyler McCloskey, FB (Houston)
- Nick Mullens, QB (Southern Mississippi)
- Donavin Newsom, LB (Missouri)
- Noble Nwachukwu, DL (West Virginia)
- Bret Treadway, OL (Lamar)
- Darrell Williams Jr., OL (Western Kentucky)
Bears To Sign Jaye Howard
The Bears have agreed to a one-year deal with defensive lineman Jaye Howard, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Chicago had an offer out to Howard as of Wednesday, but the 28-year-old was supposed to visit other clubs after being released by the Chiefs last month. Instead, he’ll join the Bears and likely serve in a rotational capacity on steadily improving front seven. Currently, Mitch Unrein, Akiem Hicks, and Eddie Goldman are Chicago’s projected starters along the defensive line, but Howard, Jonathan Bullard, John Jenkins, and Will Sutton give the Bears enviable depth.
Howard only suited up eight times and made five starts last year, as a hip injury ended his season in November. During his limited action in 2016, Howard added 23 tackles and a sack, and ranked 55th in performance among Pro Football Focus‘ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Redskins Unlikely To Hire General Manager?
The Redskins have submitted a proposal to the NFL to restructure their front office without hiring a formal general manager, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links).
Team president Bruce Allen would likely remain in charge in a realignment, and probably would have retained final say even if a general manager were hired, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com hinted on Wednesday. Allen was essentially running the Redskins even when McCloughan was in town, according to Michael Lombardi of The Ringer (Twitter links), as Allen — despite his title — was effectively Washington’s GM while McCloughan was the team’s head personnel man.
Washington has been operating without a GM since it dismissed Scot McCloughan on the first day of the free agent period. La Canfora reported yesterday that the Redskins’ “most likely course” would be to promote a general manager from within, while Mike Jones of the Washington Post recently identified senior personnel executive Doug Williams as a potential candidate to take over as the club’s top decision-maker.
Restructuring the front office without hiring a general manager clearly wouldn’t lead to a Williams promotion to GM, but it could conceivably involve new titles for Williams and other staffers such as scout Alex Santos and contract negotiator Eric Schaffer, as La Canfora suggested yesterday.
Michael Oher Cited For Misdemeanor Assault
Panthers offensive tackle Michael Oher has been cited for misdemeanor assault after a Nashville Uber driver accused the veteran lineman of assault, according to a report from WSOCTV. Oher will appear for booking on May 8.
The driver alleges that he and Oher engaged in a disagreement on April 14 as Oher was being driven to downtown Nashville. After the driver put his hand on Oher’s face — an action the driver admits — Oher reportedly knocked the driver to the ground.
Oher, 30, had seemingly been dislodged from Carolina’s 2017 plans even before news of an alleged assault broke. The Panthers signed free agent Matt Kalil to displace Oher at left tackle, and subsequently drafted offensive lineman Taylor Moton in the second round. Moton figures to compete with Oher and Daryl Williams for time at right tackle.
Health questions could prevent Oher from even taking the field at any point in the near future, however, as Oher was still in the NFL’s concussion protocol as of early March. If the Panthers did decided to cut ties with Oher, they’d take on $3MM in dead money versus $2.5MM in cap savings. A post-June 1 release would create $4.5MM in cap space while only keeping $1MM in dead money on the cap.
Eagles Release OL Josh LeRibeus
The Eagles have released guard Josh LeRibeus and waived fullback Andrew Bonnet and running back Terrell Watson, the club announced today.
LeRibeus, 28, has the most NFL experience of the trio, as he started 11 games for Washington as recently as 2015. The former third-round pick didn’t make the Redskins’ roster in 2016 after having re-signed on a one-year deal. After spending last season on the workout circuit, LeRibeus eventually inked a futures contract with Philadelphia in January. Having played more than 700 offensive snaps in 2015, and offering the ability to play both guard and center, LeRibeus could find a role as a backup interior lineman in the near future.
Watson, meanwhile, has bounced around since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Azusa Pacific 2015. Before joining the Eagles last December, the 23-year-old Watson had spent time with the Bengals, Browns, and Broncos. Promoted to Philadelphia’s active roster at the tail end of last season, Watson appeared in his first career NFL game in Week 17, rushing nine times for 28 yards and one touchdown.
Latest On Bills’ General Manager Search
Panthers executive Brandon Beane‘s interview for the Bills’ general manager position will take place on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twittter link).
Beane is one of two known candidates for the Buffalo vacancy, as the club also has plans to meet with Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine on Thursday. Meanwhile, while the Bills haven’t formally requested a meeting with Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory, he is “on [Buffalo’s] list,” tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, who adds the Bills could look to interview Gregory in the near future.
Running back LeSean McCoy has his own preferred candidate for the GM position, as he took to Twitter on Wednesday to advocate for Chiefs co-director of player personnel Brett Veach for the Bills position. Veach worked for the Eagles when McCoy was drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft, and was in fact pushing for McCoy to be Philadelphia’selection, tweets former NFL scout Dan Hatman. Needless to say, McCoy has no say in the Buffalo search process, and Veach hasn’t been contacted as of yet.
Jaguars Hosting Safety Aaron Williams
The Jaguars are meeting with free agent safety Aaron Williams today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Williams, 27, has suffered severe neck injuries in each of the past two seasons, and despite the inherent risk in continuing his career, Williams has no plans to retire at this time. A six-year NFL veteran, Williams has been a starter for the majority of his NFL tenure, posting seven interceptions and 183 tackles through 59 total games. Health concerns have only allowed him to play in 10 contests from 2015-16, however.
In Jacksonville, Williams would be a clear-cut reserve, as the Jaguars have invested heavily in the safety position during the past two offseasons. Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church are each in the midst of multi-year contracts, so Williams wouldn’t have a shot at a starting job. However, he’d give the Jaguars high-level depth, and could also contribute on special teams and in three-safety looks.
Williams, whom Buffalo released on the first day of the 2017 league year, is PFR’s No. 9 free agent safety.