Raiders To Release Kevin Boothe
The Raiders appear to be in the process of removing a handful of veteran players from their roster, having already reportedly informed wideout James Jones and linebacker Miles Burris they’ll be cut. Now, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter), the team is also parting ways with a veteran offensive lineman, releasing former Giant Kevin Boothe.
Boothe, 31, was a regular at guard – and occasionally center – for the Giants, starting every one of the team’s games in 2012 and 2013. However, his playing time took a hit when he headed to Oakland for the 2014 season — while he appeared in nine games, he wasn’t a starter for the Raiders, and played just 19 overall offensive snaps.
Boothe would have earned a base salary of $1.175MM to go along with a workout bonus of $125K if he’d remained on the roster for the 2015 season, but he didn’t have any bonus money or guaranteed salary left on his deal, so the Raiders won’t be on the hook for any dead money.
Joe Barksdale Worked Out For Falcons
After not addressing their offensive line in the draft until the seventh round, the Falcons appear to still be on the lookout for veteran help along the line. According to Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange (via Twitter), Atlanta brought in free agent offensive tackle Joe Barksdale today for a tryout.
At the start of the free agency period in March, it appeared that Barksdale would be one of the more attractive tackles available, but he hasn’t generated much interest. While the Rams and Titans have shown some interest, other teams opted for free agents with less experience than Barksdale, who has been a starter in St. Louis in recent years.
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.
Minor Moves: Monday
With the draft now in the books, we can expect plenty of roster shuffling in the coming days and weeks, as teams ready their 90-man rosters for training camp. Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league:
4:20pm:
- The Broncos have waived offensive tackles Paul Cornick and Jeremy Kelley, according to the Denver Post (Twitter link). Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link) expects the Bears to have interest in Cornick, who started six games in Dener last season. Of course, new Bears head coach John Fox and OC Adam Gase were previously with the Broncos.
- The Falcons have signed former Titans fullback Collin Mooney, the team announced today (Twitter link). It’s a multiyear pact for Mooney, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Syracuse linebacker Cameron Lynch is the latest rookie free agent to join the Rams, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The 49ers have waived linebacker Chase Thomas with a non-football injury designation, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Thomas tore his ACL in the offseason.
- The Buccaneers have claimed offensive lineman Reid Fragel off waivers from the Falcons, per Wilson (via Twitter). The move reunites the ex-Falcon with his old offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter.
- The Packers have cut offensive lineman Joe Madsen, tweets Wilson. Madsen finished the year on the team’s practice squad before signing a futures contract.
10:46am:
- The Colts have cut several players from their roster today, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, who tweets that the team waived wide receiver Kadron Boone, defensive end Gannon Conway, offensive lineman Matt Hall, and former Olympic medalist Jeff Demps.
- Washington has parted ways with veteran edge defender Gabe Miller, according to his agent Brett Tessler (Twitter link). The former fifth-round pick saw his first regular-season NFL action last season.
- Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (Twitter link) adds Maryland linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil to the list of UDFAs signed by the Titans.
Saints Sign 13 UDFAs, Cut Three Players
The Saints have announced a slew of post-draft roster moves, confirming in a press release that they’ve added 13 undrafted free agents to their roster and cut three players who were on last year’s squad.
According to the team, safety Marcus Ball and inside linebacker Kyle Knox have been waived. Both players were contributors on special teams in 2014, and Ball also saw a little action on defense. Safety Ty Zimmerman was also cut by the club.
The Saints’ full list of undrafted free agent signees is as follows:
- Tavaris Barnes, DL, Clemson
- Kaleb Eulls, DL, Mississippi State
- Doniel Gambrell, G, Notre Dame College
- R.J. Harris, WR, New Hampshire
- Sean Hickey, T, Syracuse ($10K bonus, plus $12.5K guaranteed salary, per Aaron Wilson)
- Malcolme Kennedy, WR, Texas A&M
- Cyril Lemon, G, North Texas ($6K bonus, per Wilson)
- Ashaad Mabry, DL, Texas-San Antonio
- Markus Pierce-Brewster, LB, West Texas A&M
- Bobby Richardson, DL, Indiana
- Stephon Sanders, LB, SMU
- Harold Spears, TE, New Hampshire
- Jack Tabb, TE, North Carolina ($3.5K bonus, per Wilson)
Washington Cuts 13 Players
Following the conclusion of this weekend’s draft, Washington has made significant changes to its roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that the club has waived or released 13 players. The players who were waived by Washington will have to go unclaimed before becoming free agents, while the veterans who were released will be able to seek new jobs immediately.
Here’s the full list of players cut by GM Scot McCloughan and his team:
Waived:
- Isaako Aaitui, NT
- Steve Beauharnais, LB
- Braylon Bell, WR
- Edawn Coughman, T
- Kenny Horsley, DL
- Rishaw Johnson, G
- Gabe Miller, LB (previously reported)
- Ty Nsekhe, T
- Kenny Okoro, CB
- Jerry Rice Jr., WR
- Trey Wolfe, CB
Released:
- Ricky Sapp, LB
- Austin Spitler, LB
Bills Sign Alex Carrington
2:29pm: The Bills have officially signed Carrington, the club confirmed today in a press release.
11:19am: After not addressing the defensive line in the draft, the Bills will add some depth to the unit, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport reports that veteran defensive lineman Alex Carrington is signing with Buffalo, having visited the club today.
For Carrington, it’s a reunion of sorts, as he spent the first several years of his career with the Bills, playing there from 2010 to 2013. After spending time in St. Louis in 2014, the former third-round pick will return to a Bills team that has a new coaching staff in place, led by head coach Rex Ryan.
Carrington will sign a one-year deal with the Bills, per Rapoport. I expect Carrington will be given an opportunity to earn a roster spot this summer, though he’s unlikely to see significant playing time unless the team sustains multiple injuries on its defensive front.
NFC Notes: 49ers, Barksdale, Winston
Although 49ers fullback Bruce Miller won’t face a more serious assault charge, he has been charged with misdemeanor vandalism for a domestic incident in which he allegedly threw his girlfriend’s phone against a wall, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. If he’s convicted, Miller faces up to a year in jail.
Miller wasn’t participating in the 49ers’ offseason program while Santa Clara police were investigating the incident, and it appears he’ll continue to stay away from the team. Sources tell Maiocco that the 49ers and Miller have agreed to remain apart as the legal process moves toward a conclusion.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), Joe Barksdale remains interested in re-signing with the Rams, who were said over the weekend to maintain interest in the free agent offensive tackle. However, there have been no talks today between the two sides.
- The Buccaneers‘ agreement with first overall pick Jameis Winston includes a clause prohibiting the QB from playing professional baseball during the life of his rookie contract, says Peter King of TheMMQB.com.
- There were three quarterbacks that piqued the Cowboys‘ interest in this year’s draft class, but once the draft got underway, the team never considered trading up to grab a signal-caller, according to owner Jerry Jones (link via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News).
- As the Rams‘ 41st overall pick neared on Friday, the team received trade inquiries from the Chiefs, Eagles, Texans, Steelers, Panthers, and Cowboys, writes Michael Silver of NFL.com. After fielding offers from every team except Dallas, the Rams elected to strike a deal with the Panthers, who used the pick to grab wide receiver Devin Funchess.
- Anthony Patch has been let go as the Eagles‘ director of college scouting, sources tell Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Changes to scouting departments typically happen following the draft, particularly for teams like the Eagles, who underwent front office changes earlier in the offseason.
Vikings Pick Up Options On Harrison, Kalil
1:33pm: The Vikings have officially exercised their options on Smith and Kalil, the team announced in a press release.
9:43am: The Vikings intend to exercise their fifth-year options on safety Harrison Smith and offensive tackle Matt Kalil, a source tells Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Smith’s option was viewed as a lock to be picked up, but Kalil’s outlook remained uncertain until today.
Since entering the league as the 29th overall pick in 2012, Smith has evolved into one of the NFL’s most effective free safeties — in 2014, he had his best year yet, compiling 92 tackles, five interceptions, and three sacks for the Vikes.
Kalil, on the other hand, has struggled. Although he earned a Pro Bowl berth in his rookie season, and has started all 48 regular season games at left tackle for Minnesota since being selected fourth overall, the 25-year-old has regressed over the last couple years, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required). PFF assigned Kalil a -21.1 grade as a pass blocker in 2014, which ranked 83rd out of 84 qualified tackles.
While Smith will earn a relatively modest $5.728MM for the 2016 season, Kalil’s option is significantly more expensive, at $11.096MM. Still, neither player’s salary is fully guaranteed until the first day of the 2016 league year, so as long as Kalil doesn’t sustain a significant injury, the Vikes will still be able to move on from him after this season if they so choose.
Colts Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents
The Colts have announced their undrafted free agent class of 2015, and Kevin Bowen of Colts.com has the details on the 15 players the team added to its roster following the draft. Here are the names of Indianapolis’ new UDFAs:
- Bryan Bennett, QB, Southeastern Louisiana
- Quan Bray, WR, Auburn ($5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
- Donald Celiscar, CB, Western Michigan
- Cody Galea, LB, San Diego Stat
- Terrell Hartsfield, DE, Cincinnati
- Zach Hodges, LB, Harvard
- Joshua Mitchell, CB, Nebraska
- Ezell Ruffin, WR, San Diego State
- Al-Hajj Shabazz, CB, West Chester
- Jean Sifrin, TE, Massachusetts
- Justin Sinz, TE, Purdue
- Robert Smith, S, Clemson
- Junior Sylvestre, LB, Toledo
- Tyler Varga, RB, Yale
- Brandon Vitabile, C, Northwestern
Raiders To Cut Miles Burris
A year after starting all 16 games for the Raiders, linebacker Miles Burris will find himself looking for a new NFL home. Burris announced today on Instagram that the Raiders have informed him he’ll be waived.
“Nothing but respect and love for the Oakland Raiders,” Burris wrote in his statement. “Grateful for the opportunity they gave me. Grew up coming to Raider games as a kid and got to live my dream of playing in the same stadium for the team closest to my hometown. I’m thankful to everyone in the organization and all my teammates. This is goodbye to Oakland but I’m not done yet.”
Burris, who turns 27 next month, piled up 110 tackles in 1,096 defensive snaps for the Raiders last season, but didn’t record a single interception, sack, or forced fumble. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him as the least effective inside linebacker in the NFL by a wide margin — Burris’ -23.2 grade as a run defender alone was worse than any other linebacker’s overall grade, and PFF also ranked him as the NFL’s worst ILB in pass coverage.
Burris will be the second notable veteran cut by the Raiders following the draft, with James Jones also reportedly receiving his release from the club.