Saints Sign Mike McGlynn
The Saints have added some depth to their offensive line, signing veteran free agent Mike McGlynn to a contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). While terms of the agreement aren’t yet known, I’d expect it to be a one-year contract for something close to the minimum.
McGlynn, who turned 30 earlier this offseason, has spent time with the Eagles, Bengals, Colts, and Chiefs since entering the league in 2008, starting games for all four teams. In 2014, he played for Kansas City, acting as the team’s regular left guard for the majority of the season.
While McGlynn started 13 games for the Chiefs, his performance wasn’t overly impressive, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF graded McGlynn poorly as a pass blocker and even worse as a run blocker, placing him dead last out of 78 qualified guards.
The Saints may not count on McGlynn to play regularly for them during the 2015 season. New Orleans traded for Max Unger, who is expected to play center, and used a first-round pick on Andrus Peat, who may start his NFL career as a guard if Terron Armstead and Zach Strief continue to hold the tackle spots. The Saints dealt guard Ben Grubbs to the Chiefs earlier in the offseason, but still have Jahri Evans and Tim Lelito in the mix for their interior line spots.
As a corresponding move to the signing of McGlynn, the Saints have cut wide receiver Andy Tanner, according to Yates (Twitter link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com).
Giants’ Will Beatty Suffers Torn Pectoral
Giants offensive tackle Will Beatty has suffered a torn pectoral muscle, and is undergoing surgery to repair it, tweets Tom Rock of Newsday. Rock expects the recovery to be about five months, which would mean Beatty would likely miss at least the first half of the 2015 season. Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports first reported (via Twitter) that Beatty sustained the injury.
The injury is a huge blow for the Giants, who used their first-round pick in this year’s draft on a tackle in an effort to solidify their offensive line. Beatty was one of the league’s more effective left tackles in 2014, grading as a positive contributor as both a run- and pass-blocker, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF ranked him 14th overall out of 84 qualified players at the position.
With Beatty out, the Giants figure to lean more heavily on ninth overall pick Ereck Flowers right out of the gate. While Flowers may not be ready to play left tackle immediately, the Giants could potentially play him on the right side, with right tackle Justin Pugh shifting over to replace Beatty.
Bengals Sign Second-Rounder Jake Fisher
The Bengals have become the latest team to lock up one of their top draft picks, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed offensive lineman Jake Fisher to his rookie contract. Fisher was the 53rd overall pick in this year’s draft.
Having considered Fisher in the first round, the Bengals opted for Texas A&M tackle Cedric Ogbuehi instead, and were pleasantly surprised to see Fisher still on the board when their second-round pick came around. While Ogbuehi continues to recover from a torn ACL, Fisher should be ready to go immediately, though it’s not clear yet if he’ll start right away.
Fisher’s new deal should pay him about $4.26MM over four years, including a $1.358MM signing bonus up front, according to Over The Cap. Now that the lineman is under contract, only Ogbuehi and third-round tight end Tyler Kroft remain unsigned among the Bengals’ draftees. The team locked up third-round linebacker Paul Dawson, fourth-round defensive back Josh Shaw, and fourth-round defensive tackle Marcus Hardison earlier this week (Twitter link).
Cowboys Sign Randy Gregory
12:51pm: The Cowboys have officially signed Gregory, the team confirmed today (Twitter link).
12:45pm: The Cowboys have agreed to terms on a rookie contract for second-round pass rusher Randy Gregory, reports Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The agreement leaves Dallas with three unsigned picks, including first-round cornerback Byron Jones.
Gregory, the 60th overall pick out of Nebraska, was viewed as a probable top-10 pick based on talent alone, but a failed drug test at the combine and potential mental health concerns caused him to drop into the second round. Despite those off-field concerns, PFR readers were surprised not to see Gregory come off the board in round one — heading into the second round, he edged Landon Collins as the most surprising non-first-round pick in our poll.
Had Gregory been a top-10 selection, he would’ve been assured of a four-year contract worth upwards of $14MM fully guaranteed, with a signing bonus exceeding $8MM. After falling to No. 60, he’ll be in line instead for a four-year pact worth $3.815MM, with a signing bonus worth about $1.035MM, according to Over The Cap’s data.
While Gregory’s fall in the draft was an unfortunate turn of events for the young edge defender, it could turn out to be a boon for the Cowboys. After drafting Jones with their first-round pick, the Cowboys landed two more first-round talents, in Gregory and undrafted free agent La’el Collins.
Only 51 Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
Under the NFL’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, signing draft picks has become easier than ever before, making rookie holdouts a thing of the past. With contracts strictly slotted by draft position, teams and agents can haggle over guaranteed money, offsets, and a couple other factors, but for the most part, as soon as a player is drafted, he knows what his rookie contract will look like.
Given the lack of flexibility for rookie deals, it’s no surprise that only two and a half weeks after the 2015 draft ended, over 80% of this year’s draftees are now under contract with their respective teams. Of this year’s 256 draft picks, 205 have reached agreements with their clubs, while 51 remain unsigned, according to our tracker.
Should we expect lengthy holdups for those remaining 51 players? Probably not. As mentioned above, total guaranteed money can be a point of contention, particularly for first- and second-round picks, but it would be a surprise if any of the players currently unsigned are still without contracts when training camps get underway in July.
Here are a few other notes on 2015’s draft pick signings so far:
- Most of the remaining unsigned draftees – 36 of 51 – are first-, second-, or third-rounders, with the first round still having the most players left to sign, at 13.
- Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, the second overall pick, is the only player in the top seven who has yet to sign.
- Of the NFL’s 32 teams, 13 have finished signing their draft classes. The Ravens, Bills, Panthers, Bears, Texans, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, Jets, Eagles, Chargers, 49ers, and Washington have all taken care of all their draft business.
- The Rams are the only team in the NFL that has yet to sign a single draft pick, or at least to confirm that they’ve done so — I’d expect the club to formally announce all nine of its signings in one fell swoop.
- Besides the Rams, every team has signed its sixth-round picks. Similarly, in the fifth round, only two Raiders draftees and Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona remain unsigned. The delay with Cardona may be related to negotiating his obligations to the Navy.
NFC Notes: Rams, Garcia, Lions, Walsh
Former NFL signal-caller Jeff Garcia interviewed for the Rams‘ quarterbacks coach job earlier in the offseason, but the position ultimately went to Chris Weinke. Still, the club apparently liked what it saw from Garcia. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the Rams have added Garcia to their coaching staff as an offensive assistant for the coming season.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Lance Moore received a $40K signing bonus from the Lions and will get another $40K bonus if he’s on the team’s roster in Week 1, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As Birkett observes, the modest guaranteed money on the minimum salary deal hardly assures the veteran wideout of a regular season roster spot. Birkett also provides contract details for defensive lineman Corey Wootton ($150K guaranteed) and second-round running back Ameer Abdullah ($2.29MM guaranteed).
- Asked about a possible contract extension to keep him in Minnesota beyond the 2015 season, kicker Blair Walsh expressed optimism, but cautioned that he and the Vikings haven’t had serious talks yet. “We have to make sure we’re on the same page and the numbers match up,” Walsh told Alex Marvez and Bill Polian on SiriusXM NFL Radio (TwitLonger link). “That’s for management and my agent to discuss. I’ll be ready to talk about it when they are.”
- The Cowboys are happy to have cornerback Orlando Scandrick back at their offseason workouts, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Scandrick and the team continue to discuss the possibility of a new contract that would increase his salary for 2015.
- Seahawks defensive tackle Jesse Williams was diagnosed with papillary type 2 cancer and will undergo kidney surgery, the team announced this week.
Minor Moves: Tuesday
Here are Tuesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with any additional moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Colts have waived wide receiver Josh Lenz, who has spent a good chunk of the last two seasons on Indianapolis’ practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. Lenz had signed a reserve/futures contract with the Colts following the club’s elimination from the postseason back in January.
- The Steelers have claimed former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Gardner was previously attempting to hook on with the Pats as a wide receiver before his release on Monday. To make room, the Steelers waived wide receiver L’Damian Washington, according to Steelers PR man Burt Lauten (on Twitter).
- The Chargers waived tackle Bryce Quigley, a San Diego State product, to create roster room for Joe Barksdale, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets.
- Another player who signed a reserve/futures deal with his team this past winter, running back Demitrius Bronson has been waived by the Seahawks with an injured designation, writes Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. Bronson, who was on Seattle’s taxi squad for most of the 2014 campaign, suffered a hamstring injury earlier in the offseason.
- The Buccaneers have signed UDFA Antoine Everett, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter). To make room for the former McNeese St. guard, tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi was waived with an injured designation.
- Wide receiver Malcome Kennedy cleared waivers and was placed on the Saints‘ IR, Evan Woodbery of The Times Picayune tweets.
- The Chiefs signed running back Keshawn Hill, guard Melvin Meggs, center Dan Munye, and tackle Kelvin Palmer, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. To make room, KC cut fullback Manasseh Garner, tight end Earnest Pettway, and tackle Charles Sweeton.
Joe Barksdale, Chargers Agree To Deal
1:23pm: Barksdale gets a one-year, minimum salary contract from the Chargers, with a $350K signing bonus and an additional $1MM available in incentives, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Those incentives are very reachable, a source tells Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link), who adds that Barksdale will be rewarded if he starts.
12:40pm: The last unsigned player on PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents list has found a new home, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that offensive tackle Joe Barksdale has agreed to terms with the Chargers. Years and dollars on Barksdale’s new deal aren’t yet known.
When I ranked Barksdale 36th overall among available players at the start of 2015’s free agent period, I observed that, given the lack of steady, reliable offensive tackles on the market, Barksdale looked like a decent bet to land a deal similar to the $6MM-per-year pacts signed by Austin Howard and Anthony Collins in 2014.
According to various reports, Barksdale was seeking a contract in that range, or close to it, at the start of free agency. However, many teams in need of offensive line help opted to roll the dice on more affordable alternatives, or ones with more upside, such as the Jaguars with Jermey Parnell. As such, Barksdale’s asking price has likely been reduced significantly.
As our Dallas Robinson observed when he examined Barksdale’s free agent stock, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked the former Ram just 48th out of 84 qualified tackles. However, his +5.6 run-blocking grade placed him just outside the top 10 in that category.
Barksdale, who previously worked out for the Falcons and drew interest from the Titans and Rams, visited the Chargers this week before agreeing to terms with the team. Having re-signed King Dunlap to play left tackle and added Orlando Franklin as their probable starter at left guard, the Chargers are set on that side of the line, but have some question marks on the right side.
Although GM Tom Telesco suggested earlier in the offseason that he envisions D.J. Fluker playing right tackle in 2015, I’d expect Barksdale to challenge for the starting role at that spot, making Fluker a candidate to move inside.
Pats Won’t Appeal DeflateGate Penalties
1:00pm: A “high-ranking” NFL source tells Greg A. Bedard of SI.com (Twitter link) that Kraft’s decision not to appeal doesn’t come attached to any sort of deal for Brady.
12:17pm: While Tom Brady and the NFLPA continue to work through the appeal process for reducing Brady’s four-game suspension, the Patriots organization won’t fight the discipline handed down to the team by the NFL, owner Robert Kraft told reporters today. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, Kraft said his club would “reluctantly” accept the penalties levied by the league.
Besides suspending Brady for four games, the NFL also fined the Patriots $1MM, and took away the team’s first-round pick in 2016 and its fourth-round pick in 2017. The franchise would have had until this coming Thursday to appeal those penalties, but Kraft eliminated any suspense with today’s announcement, after admitting that his only two options were to end the drama or to extend it (Twitter link via Peter Schrager of Fox Sports).
In the wake of Kraft’s decision and announcement, it’s possible that Brady will stand down when it comes to fighting his own suspension, perhaps agreeing to a deal with the NFL. NFLPA spokesman George Atallah has tweeted that Brady’s appeal won’t be affected by Kraft’s decision, though the quarterback himself could decide to withdraw it. So far, there’s been no indication that will happen, but it’s fair to wonder – as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk did (via Twitter) – if those reported “back-channel” talks between the league and the Pats will result in a reduced suspension for Brady now that the team has accepted its punishment.
Prior to today, there had been some uncertainty about whether the Pats would challenge the league’s ruling. While Kraft originally released a statement earlier this month suggesting that he planned to accept the league’s findings and its decision, the team was reportedly surprised and angered by the severity of the penalties. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets, Kraft admitted in today’s statement that, “If I made the decision last week, it would be different than it is today.”
Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android
With the 2015 draft in the books, it’s contract extension season in the NFL, and you can follow all the latest news and rumors with the Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android devices! Here are some of the features of the app:
- Customize your home screen. The app has feeds for Pro Football Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, and Hoops Rumors by default, but if you’re more of a one- or two-sport person, you can easily remove and reorder feeds. You can also add a feed for any of the 92 NFL, MLB, or NBA teams, as well as the thousands of players in the archives of our three sites. Please note that the default ordering puts MLB Trade Rumors on your home screen, but you can easily go into Settings to reorder and add or remove feeds.
- In addition to customizing your feeds, you can also set up notifications at the sport, team, or even player level, and receive a notification as soon as a new article is posted on that topic.
- We’ve also allowed for filtering of all stories versus top stories, for what is shown on the home screen as well as for notifications. This allows you to limit yourself to just the most important news for a feed, if you prefer.
- Article sharing options are plentiful: choose Facebook, Twitter, email, and text message.
- Once you’ve clicked an article in a feed, you can swipe to read the next article in that feed.
Best of all? The Trade Rumors app is free! Download it today for iOS or Android.
