Ravens Rumors: Ricard, Bateman, OL
Baltimore will be without its four-time Pro Bowl fullback to start training camp, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN. Head coach John Harbaugh told the media last week that Patrick Ricard underwent hip surgery this offseason, meaning he’ll start training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
After five seasons of defensive line play at Maine, Ricard began his career playing on both sides of the ball for the Ravens, serving double duty as a defensive lineman and a fullback. Over the past four years, Ricard has played exclusively on the offensive side of the ball, routinely grading out as the league’s top fullback, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
With Ricard out, the Ravens will turn to former fifth-round pick Ben Mason. It’s no wonder Baltimore saw something it liked in Mason in the 2021 NFL Draft. Coming out of Michigan, Mason had just moved into a fullback/tight end role for the Wolverines after spending a season at defensive tackle as a junior. They must’ve seen a lot of Ricard in Mason, but without an immediate need for him, Mason failed to make the final 53-man roster that year.
Mason spent 2021 on the Patriots’ and Bears’ practice squads. After the season ended, Mason returned to Baltimore, spending last season on the practice squad. If Ricard is forced to miss extended time due to his hip surgery, Mason could finally get a chance to prove his worth.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of Charm City:
- Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman has had a rocky start to his NFL career. Despite obvious displays of the talent that got him drafted in the first round two years ago, Bateman has struggled to stay on the field. Over his first two seasons, Bateman has missed 17 total games, including a playoff game this past season. Groin surgery just before his rookie season forced him to miss five games and a Lisfranc surgery ended his season early last year. He’s not quite out of the woods yet, according to Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner. Harbaugh told the media that Bateman had received a cortisone shot “for healing purposes.” He seemed to hope that it would help keep the injury short-term, claiming that the shot would only sideline Bateman for a couple of days. “We just decided to let him keep rehabbing and make sure he’s ready to go for training camp,” Harbaugh explained.
- A couple weeks ago, we delved into the Ravens’ position battle at left guard. At the time, we mentioned drafted rookies Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and Andrew Vorhees. Vorhees will likely spend most, if not all, of his rookie season recovering from recent injuries, while we noted Aumavae-Laulu was projected as a developmental pick. The assessments on Aumavae-Laulu may have been a bit off as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic has reported that he appears to be very much in the mix for the starting left guard job. Harbaugh apparently made it very clear by featuring the sixth-round pick heavily in minicamp.
- Former first-round wide receiver Laquon Treadwell recently got another chance to stick on a roster by signing with Baltimore. Thanks to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, we now have a few details on his new contract. According to Wilson, Treadwell will receive the league veteran minimum on a one-year, $1.17MM deal.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/21/23
Today’s only minor transaction across the NFL:
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: WR Sam James
James was one of 26 undrafted free agents signed by the Rams in May. James decided to forgo his final year of eligibility granted to him due to COVID-19, cashing in on a season that saw him catch 46 passes for 745 yards and six touchdowns. His career numbers at West Virginia included 190 catches for 2,229 yards and 15 touchdowns.
A bit undersized, James faced long odds to make the team’s final 53-man roster. Despite his additional experience returning kicks in college, he had to compete with 12 other receivers on a roster that is certain to include Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson and very likely to include Ben Skowronek, Demarcus Robinson, and Tutu Atwell, as well.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/21/23
Another pair of signings of late-round picks today:
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Nick Hampton (fifth round, Appalachian State)
- T Warren McClendon (fifth round, Georgia)
The team with forty rookies on the roster signed two of them today to their initial four-year contracts. Hampton turned into a physical specimen over his time with the Mountaineers, gaining 40 pounds to reach his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame. He landed on the NFL’s radar after a redshirt junior season that saw him record 11.0 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. Injuries held him up from reaching those numbers again in 2022, but he still was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection in both of his final two seasons. He may need some time before he is considered an every-down NFL linebacker, but his experience as a standup pass rusher should get him some snaps in rotation with the Rams.
McClendon was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs, planted at the right tackle position. While he was never as lauded as former teammates Jamaree Salyer and Broderick Jones, who started on the opposite side of the line in each of the last two years, he didn’t allow a sack in the 2021 or 2022 seasons and earned first-team All-SEC honors as a team captain last year. McClendon provides an immediate benefit as depth in a room thin on tackles but should have the ability to move inside and help out at guard, as well, if necessary. With Hampton and McClendon now under contract, the team has six more draft picks to sign.
Pats Notes: Mapu, RB, Ryland, Cunningham
We’ve already written a bit about Patriots third-round pick Marte Mapu out of Sacramento State and his dual ability to play both linebacker and safety, a role he played in college. We had a feeling that the Patriots would see that ability and likely play him in the same role, and it looks like that may be exactly what they’re planning to do. They have him officially listed as a linebacker on their roster, but according to Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports, they have been utilizing him lately to fill the void left by former safety Devin McCourty, who retired back in March.
The Patriots are no strangers to experimenting with young players and moving them around the field. Mapu gives them a perfect opportunity to do just that. At only 216 pounds, Mapu is a bit too light to be a perfect fit at linebacker. In Sacramento, he played mostly an in-between role in the slot before lining up at linebacker in the Senior Bowl. At his first OTA practice in New England, he played linebacker; in the two practices after that, McCourty’s old safety role.
Not only does he feel comfortable playing both roles, but his teammates are also under the impression that the adjustment from FCS to NFL is coming easy to Mapu, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. His flexibility and progression have combined to earn him first-team snaps extremely early in his career, as reported by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
Here are a few more rumors coming out of Foxborough:
- After releasing James Robinson earlier this week, the Patriots may be looking to add another body to the position room, according to Karen Guregian of MassLive. The team will run with Rhamondre Stevenson as their No. 1 next year, no question, but the names behind him don’t inspire much confidence. Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris, and Ty Montgomery combined for 150 rushing yards last year. Strong and Montgomery are reportedly in the running to compete for a third down back role with Harris potentially slotting in as RB2, but one has to imagine the Patriots are considering their options. Obviously, Dalvin Cook is available, but if they’d like to pursue someone more used to working with another rusher, Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, and Kenyan Drake are interesting names to look out for.
- New England spent two draft picks on specialists this year, drafting Maryland kicker Chad Ryland in the fourth round and Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer in the sixth. Despite demonstrating the commitment to spend draft capital on the two, Guregian asserts that neither is a lock to replace the incumbent specialists, Nick Folk and Corliss Waitman. Guregian expects a heavy competition for both kicking jobs but doesn’t rule out the possibility of the losers of those battles landing on the team’s practice squad.
- Former Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham was highly sought after when he went undrafted this year. The Patriots landed his talents thanks to a deal that included $200K in guaranteed money. The money might not have been the only factor in Cunningham choosing New England as his professional destination, though. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, Cunningham told the media that “the Patriots were the only team before the draft to work him out at (wide receiver).” He’s listed as a quarterback on the team’s roster, but perhaps working him out at receiver gave Cunningham the impression that he would have more playing opportunities or a higher chance to make the 53-man roster.
Latest On Patriots’ CB Situation
In his rookie season, fourth-round pick Jack Jones graded out as the league’s 17th-best cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). His recent arrest is the latest of a series of off-field incidents. If the NFL hands out a punishment, the Patriots may need to figure out how to field a secondary without him.
New England was able to nab one of the draft’s best cornerback prospects in the middle of the first round in Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez. The 17th overall draft pick this year has gotten off to a hot start in New England. According to Karen Guregian of MassLive, Gonzalez is “on the fast track to get one of the starting boundary” positions at corner.
The Patriots seemingly had a desire for the upcoming season to move Jonathan Jones back to a more consistent slot role. Jones had spent the first six years of his career mostly in the slot for New England before shifting to the outside for 85 percent of his snaps last season. With Jack Jones establishing himself last year, the team could move Jonathan Jones back inside and let Jack handle boundary duties, giving the team a strong starting three.
Jack Jones was the favorite to start opposite Gonzalez, especially if Jonathan Jones were to move inside to nickelback. His arrest brings that scenario into question a bit more. After a tumultuous college career that included academic issues and another arrest, Jack Jones had trouble separating himself from that reputation after getting hit with a two-game suspension enforced by the Patriots for a violation of unspecified team rules last year. If the NFL sees this history and decides to make a statement after his most recent arrest, Jones could be facing a lengthy absence.
If Jones is forced to miss time, the Patriots luckily have another high-performing second year cornerback and, coincidentally, another Jones in Marcus Jones. Marcus made four starts as a rookie last year while playing mostly on the outside. He’s also a top return man for the Patriots, though, finishing his rookie year as a first-team All-Pro, so they might be hesitant to start him full-time on defense, as well. If they can afford to, though, he would fill in nicely during Jack Jones’s absence.
Myles Bryant is also set to contribute at cornerback for New England, both at slot and out wide, but the Patriots likely don’t want to have to rely on him starting full-time. Behind them, the team currently rosters Isaiah Bolden, Quandre Mosely, Rodney Randle, Ameer Speed, and Shaun Wade, but none of them are strong candidates to make the 53-man roster, let alone finish the offseason as a starter.
So, there you have it. If Jack Jones is forced to miss significant time due to his arrest, the Patriots have a good number of options. They can leave Jonathan Jones on the outside and count on Marcus Jones and Bryant to cover the bulk of responsibilities on the inside. They can also start Jonathan outside until bringing on a third cornerback and shift him to the slot while Marcus takes over on the outside. Or they can stick to the plan of moving Jonathan inside and give Marcus some run as a starter until Jack returns.
Rams, Cooper Kupp Agree On Restructured Contract
The Rams were able to free up some cap space on Wednesday by restructuring wide receiver Cooper Kupp‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. The team has a number of options for how to use that money, and we should see it spent in the coming weeks. 
Kupp signed a three-year, $80.1MM contract extension almost exactly a year prior after winning the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year Award. The Eastern Washington product earned the award for leading the league in all major receiving categories with 145 receptions for 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
The restructured deal converted $13.92MM of Kupp’s base salary into a signing bonus. The move opened up $10.44MM in cap space for Los Angeles. While Kupp’s cap hit for this year reduced by that amount, it still looms large at $17.36MM, and his future cap hits each increased by $3.48MM apiece.
The cap relief leaves the Rams with approximately $10.75MM of cap space for the 2023 season. While many LA fans held hopes that the move to open up space was a signal that the team was gearing up for a run at free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, they’ll likely end up disappointed. The more likely scenario is that the Rams need that money for players already in-house.
The Rams have a massive 40-man rookie class on their roster this summer. 26 of those rookies were signed as undrafted free agents, but the remaining 14 were draft picks. So far, Los Angeles has only signed four of those draft picks, leaving 10 rookies who still need to sign their initial four-year contracts. After getting those 10 rookies under contract, the team likely won’t have much of that cap space left over.
After missing eight games in 2022, Kupp will attempt a strong comeback in the coming season to live up to his massive contract. In the meantime, the cap space opened up by his restructured deal has some potential in-house responsibilities before the team can go shopping.
ILB Competition On Tap For Giants
The Giants made a big move this offseason to address the inside linebacker position in free agency, signing former Colts linebacker Bobby Okereke. Okereke will slot in as a sure starter in New York’s lineup, but who will the Giants decide on as the starter lining up next to Okereke?
In the past two years, New York has seen their options dwindle with an ACL tear leading to the eventual release of Blake Martinez and the benching and waiving of Tae Crowder. Okereke provides a strong presence on the inside of the linebacking corps, but the team still has questions next to him. Darrian Beavers, Jarrad Davis, and Micah McFadden are the three names that have been mentioned as candidates to start next to Okereke.
McFadden is typically the third name thrown into the conversation behind Beavers and Davis. This is a result of McFadden being seemingly cemented as Okereke’s backup. McFadden started next to Okereke while Beavers and Davis were dealing with injury this spring, but considering he plays the same position as Okereke, he’s not a favorite to share the field with him moving forward. This appears to be a battle mainly between Beavers and Davis.
Davis joined the team extremely late into the season last year. A former first-round pick, Davis had been starting less and less as his career progressed. Despite becoming a Giant with two weeks left in the regular season, Davis started in Week 18 before starting two playoff games for New York, an impressive feat with such a small amount of time in the building. With Beavers dealing with injury, Davis started early in the spring, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but found himself on the sideline with an undisclosed injury during minicamp.
Beavers missed his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL in Week 2 of the preseason last year. The Giants are reportedly extremely high on the 2022 sixth-round pick, whom they are hoping to have back by training camp. Once he does return, Beavers will provide immediate competition for Davis. During a Mailbag Q&A session, Duggan asserted his belief that Beavers will claim the starting job next to Okereke during training camp.
So, there you have it. Beavers, the young, unproven player coming off a major injury, is currently the expected favorite to start. Davis is slotted into the position for now, if healthy, and should have a chance to make a case to regain his status as a starter in training camp. If both are unavailable, McFadden can start in their place, though the team prefers that he back up Okereke instead of start next to him.
Saints IOL Cesar Ruiz Still Has Potential Future In New Orleans
In three years of professional football, interior offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz has struggled to live up to his first-round potential. Despite the Saints essentially echoing that sentiment by declining his fifth-year option, general manager Mickey Loomis seems to have implied that Ruiz still has a future with the team, according to Jeff Nowak of Audacy Sports. 
After excelling as a pass-blocking center at Michigan in college, Ruiz hasn’t been able to find the same success at the NFL level. He has spent most of his time in New Orleans as the team’s primary right guard while filling in at times at his old center position. Ruiz found starts as a rookie thanks to injuries to Andrus Peat and Nick Easton and became a full time starter in his sophomore season.
He’s started every game he’s appeared in since taking over as a starter but has missed four games over his career, including three to end the 2022 regular season. Ruiz suffered a Lisfranc injury that held him out of the team’s final games of the year. He hasn’t practiced since the injury but was scheduled this week for a procedure to remove hardware from the initial surgery to repair his foot. The follow-up procedure was set to take place yesterday, according to Jeff Duncan of nola.com, which should give him enough recovery time to be back for training camp.
Given his on-field and injury struggles, it’s hard to see where his future lies with the Saints. According to Nowak, Loomis referred to Ruiz as an “ascending player,” saying he has high expectations for the fourth-year player. So why decline his fifth-year option?
Declining Ruiz’s fifth-year option makes 2023 a contract year for the lineman. He’ll have one year to prove he deserves a fifth year with the team and beyond. This season, he’ll need to prove that he is improving and ascending, as his general manager hopes. He’ll also need to display an ability to rebound from the season-ending injury from last year. Lisfranc injuries have a tendency to linger, but if Ruiz’s health holds up throughout the season, Nowak feels that an eventual extension is inevitable.
New Orleans signed veteran center Billy Price this week, as well. The move could be insurance in case Ruiz is unable to recover fully. It could also be in service of the goal to keep Ruiz at guard full-time. Without Price, Ruiz is the team’s primary backup at center behind Erik McCoy. If Price can earn the backup role, it would allow Ruiz to focus solely on his work at guard, potentially helping him to ascend to a level worthy of an extension.
Cardinals’ Isaiah Simmons Making Move From LB To DB
When he was drafted as a top-ten pick in 2020, Cardinals defender Isaiah Simmons was lauded as a Swiss Army knife that could play all over the field. Despite being labeled a linebacker by the Cardinals over his first three seasons, he’s been utilized quite a bit in the secondary. Earlier this week, though, Simmons announced that, this year, he has solely been working with the defensive backs, and he will continue to do so moving forward, according to Cardinals staff writer Darren Urban. 
After making the opposite switch from safety to linebacker in his senior year at Clemson, Simmons displayed proficiency all over the field with a stat line that included over 100 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three interceptions, eight passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He hasn’t found quite the same success in Arizona but has shown a similar versatility.
Simmons had his best year in 2022, according to grades done by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). For the first time in his career, he spent a majority of his snaps aligned in the secondary. He spent 45 percent of his snaps aligned in the slot, 33 percent at linebacker, 12 percent on the defensive line, as well as a few snaps at safety and outside cornerback. As a result, Simmons returned his career-best grades in coverage and pass rush.
New head coach Jonathan Gannon scouted Simmons when he was the defensive backs coach in Indianapolis and admits that he had a vision for Simmons at the time. This, combined with the success Simmons found in the slot last season, is perhaps the biggest reason for the official position change.
Regardless, Simmons has committed himself to a dedicated position, claiming he’d prefer “to master defensive back first” before any potential work back at outside linebacker. This new change could end up being quite profitable for Simmons, as well. After his fifth-year option was declined by Arizona back in May, Simmons is headed into a contract year. If he continues to breakout in the secondary, this move could result in a large payday in the coming offseason.
Leonard Williams Open To Giants Extension
The Giants have already addressed their defensive line plenty this offseason with the extension of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and the free agent additions of defensive linemen A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Now, the next logical thing to address is the future of defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who is set to play out 2023 on the final year of his current contract. 
According to Ed Valentine of SB Nation, Williams has expressed interest in staying with the Giants beyond this year. However, it doesn’t seem that there has been much discussion in the direction of an extension. Williams, originally a top-ten draft pick for the Jets in 2015, went across the street to the Giants as a part of a midseason trade in 2019 and performed at a high level for New York in the first two full seasons with his new team. A nagging neck injury throughout the 2022 season led to a down year for Williams as he struggled to return to form throughout the season.
Williams already restructured the second year of his three-year contract last year to help create some cap space, so he’s shown a willingness to be flexible in an effort to help with team finances. He’s set for a massive $32.26MM cap hit in 2023, so it would likely behoove New York to work something out with Williams. We reported days ago, though, that the Giants may be willing to shoulder that financial burden into the year.
That report is bolstered by this new one of little discussion towards the goal of a new deal. The new information, though, tells us that Williams is “open to staying” with the Giants. It may not be up to him if he can’t get back to form in 2023, though. Another down year and he may have trouble convincing the G-Men to extend another contract offer.