Browns Acquire No. 96 Pick From Pats
The No. 96 overall pick is the last pick of the day that can be traded, and the Patriots have indeed traded it, sending to the Browns. Cleveland used the selection to take Washington State defensive tackle Xavier Cooper. The night’s last three picks – including New England’s No. 97 selection – are compensatory selections, which can’t be dealt.
According to the NFL Network, the Patriots receive a fourth-round pick (No. 111), a fifth-round pick (147), and a sixth-round pick (202) in exchange for No. 96 and a seventh-rounder (No. 219).
Chiefs Acquire No. 76 Pick From Vikings
The Chiefs have moved up four spots in the third round of the draft, acquiring the No. 76 from the Vikings (Twitter link). Minnesota GM Rick Spielman had talked earlier this week about wanting to pick up extra picks, and he’ll do so here, sliding down to No. 80 — the Vikes receive a sixth-round pick (No. 193) as part of the swap (Twitter link).
With that 76th pick, the Chiefs selected a wide receiver, adding Georgia speedster Chris Conley to the roster. Conley figures to be a deep threat to complement noteworthy free agent signee Jeremy Maclin in Kansas City.
Texans Acquire No. 70 Pick From Jets
The Texans have acquired the 70th overall pick from the Jets and used it to selected Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong. Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links) reported the trade, which sees Jets GM Mike Maccagnan striking a deal with his old team.
According to Mike Wilkering of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link), in exchange for moving down 12 spots to No. 82, the Jets also received a fifth-round pick (No. 152), a seventh-round pick (No. 229), and wide receiver DeVier Posey.
Posey, 26, has 22 career receptions for the Texans in his three NFL seasons. Meanwhile, that 229th pick was initially acquired by Houston earlier tonight from Cleveland.
Texans Acquire 43rd Pick From Browns
The Texans have swung a deal with the Browns, moving up to the 43rd overall pick, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Houston will also receive a seventh-rounder from Cleveland (the 229th pick), while the Browns will get a second-, fourth-, and sixth-rounder (the 51st, 116th and 195th selections), reports Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
With the 43rd pick, the Texans chose Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney.
Pauline’s Latest: Mannion, Grayson, Sample
With day two of the NFL draft getting underway, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net points out a few players to keep an eye on tonight. Here are the highlights from Pauline:
- The representatives for Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion are “pretty confident” he’ll come off the board quickly in the second round, writes Pauline. As for Garrett Grayson, there’s a chance he lands in the third round — the Bills and Jets are looking hard at Grayson, and the Rams, Broncos, and Washington are also in the mix.
- According to Pauline, many people believe Florida Atlantic cornerback D’Joun Smith will be selected in the second round tonight, which would be much earlier than expected.
- Safety James Sample, who is receiving interest from the Seahawks and Ravens, could also come off the board earlier than anticipated, per Pauline.
- South Carolina guard A.J. Cann likely won’t last long tonight. The Dolphins would love to nab Cann at No. 47, but the Jets have him graded highly and pick 37th, writes Pauline.
Colts Release Josh Cribbs
The Colts have released return specialist Josh Cribbs, the team announced today in a press release. Because he’s a 10-year veteran, Cribbs won’t be subjected to waivers, and will immediately be free to sign with another team.
Cribbs, 31, was one of the most explosive punt and kick returners in the league earlier in his career, tallying 11 total return touchdowns — three on punts and eight more on kicks. After joining the Colts last year, the Kent State product didn’t make an impact on 19 punt returns, averaging just 6.6 yards, but his kick return average was an impressive 32.0 yards per return on 19 attempts.
The Colts drafted wide receiver Phillip Dorsett out of Miami last night, and I expect the first-round rookie to take over most – if not all – of the Colts’ return duties.
La’el Collins Won’t Sign If Drafted On Day 3
As we wait to see whether a team decides to take a chance on LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Collins and his camp are formulating a plan to salvage his value. According to Schefter (Twitter link), if Collins isn’t selected tonight, he’ll decline to sign a contract and will resubmit his name next year for the 2016 draft.
If Collins were to be selected on Saturday in the sixth round, for instance, the idea is that he wouldn’t sign his rookie contract with that team. Based on my reading on the CBA, Collins would then have the opportunity to be drafted in 2016 by any team except the club that drafted him in 2015.
It’s not clear yet if Collins and his reps will go through with this plan, or if it’s an effort to create leverage, but it makes some sense if the offensive lineman’s camp is confident he’ll be cleared in the ongoing police investigation in Baton Rouge. Collins is currently scheduled to speak to police in Louisiana on Monday.
If teams were to head into next year’s draft confident in Collins’ character, it could restore his value, making him an early pick and landing him a larger contract. Still, it would be a risky play to sit out an entire season, particularly since concerns about his character could persist throughout the year.
Texans Sign Stevie Brown
FRIDAY, 4:13pm: The Texans have officially signed Brown, the team announced today in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 4:57pm: It’s a one-year deal for Brown, tweets Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
4:51pm: Former Giants safety Stevie Brown won’t be returning to New York, according to Kimberly Jones of NFL Network (Twitter link), who hears from Brown himself that the veteran free agent has agreed to terms with the Texans.
About a week and a half ago, we heard that Brown was narrowing down his options,, with the Giants, Cowboys, Falcons, and Raiders said to be among his suitors. A subsequent report suggested that the defensive back would probably re-sign with the Giants, but he paid a visit to Houston last week, and apparently liked what he saw and heard from the Texans.
Brown, 27, didn’t quite have the same impact for the Giants in 2014 that he did in 2012, when he racked up eight interceptions for a staggering 307 return yards. Still, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he was a solid contributor in the secondary, playing well against the run despite being occasionally burned in coverage. With Antrel Rolle headed to Chicago and Quintin Demps still on the open market, it’s a little surprising the Giants didn’t re-sign Brown to help plug their hole at safety.
Like the Giants, the Texans may have a pair of new starting safeties in 2015. The team is reportedly shopping D.J. Swearinger after having watched Kendrick Lewis sign in Baltimore. Danieal Manning remains unsigned as well, but the Texans did bring in one outside free agent, snatching Rahim Moore from Denver.
Brown is the second NFC East free agent to make the move to Houston this week — former Eagles running back Chris Polk also signed with the the Texans.
West Rumors: Rivers, Floyd, Cards, Rams
While Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers isn’t going to be traded, all signs so far have pointed to him playing out the 2015 season without a new contract in place. Still, as Rivers said on Friday, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, that remains a fluid situation.
“A lot of moving parts and lots to think about,” Rivers said. “Location, family, team … All I can say at this point regarding an extension is I’m willing to listen to anything. I’m also willing to play it out. I’m just fired up to be the Chargers QB in 2015.”
While we wait to see if the Chargers and Rivers move forward with extension discussions, let’s round up a few more items from around the NFL’s two West divisions….
- According to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), the Cardinals are willing to listen to trade inquiries on wide receiver Michael Floyd, but no one has expressed interest so far. I imagine most teams are open to listening to calls about most players, but the fact that this tidbit is out there without Floyd having generated any interest suggests that the team is very open to the idea. Arizona picked up Floyd’s fifth-year option this week.
- The Cardinals tried to move up ahead of the Steelers in the first round last night, in the hopes of landing Bud Dupree, tweets Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910. Of course, Arizona didn’t end up completing a trade, and Pittsburgh selected the Kentucky pass rusher.
- There’s “absolutely nothing” going on between the Rams and free agent guard Justin Blalock at this point, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). After not picking an offensive lineman in round one, the Rams will almost certainly have to address their line at some point today or tomorrow.
Top Teams In Round Two Taking Calls
3:54pm: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) adds the Seahawks and Falcons to the list of teams that may want to move up to the early part of the second round.
3:36pm: There were only two trades completed during the first round of the NFL draft last night, but it sounds like the action could pick up tonight when the second round gets underway. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter), both the Titans and Buccaneers, picking 33rd and 34th respectively, have fielded calls for their picks. Breer adds that clubs interested in moving up may be targeting wide receivers and/or offensive linemen.
Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms that the Titans and other teams at the top of the second round are indeed receiving trade inquiries. According to Schefter, one team with interest in moving up is the Steelers.
It’s not clear which player the Steelers would be targeting if they were to move up in the second round, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that the team has its eye on a particular cornerback, and may have to move up to land him. If Pittsburgh doesn’t get that player, the team may wait until the third round to take a corner, according to Dulac.
There’s no shortage of teams that may have interest in moving up in the second round. Earlier today, Marc Sessler of NFL.com identified the Cowboys, Browns, Cardinals, Lions, and Saints as candidates to trade up; other clubs that have an excess of picks and may not want to use them all include the Colts, Texans, 49ers, Chiefs, and Broncos.