Shane Ray To Visit Seahawks
Now that the draft is over, the Shane Ray free agency tour can resume. The free agent edge rusher will meet with the Seahawks tomorrow, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter).
Seattle is clearly on the lookout for pass rushing help after trading Frank Clark prior to the draft. The Seahawks hosted Ziggy Ansah earlier this week, and although they added TCU defensive end L.J. Collier in the first round, they are still a bit undermanned on the edge.
Ray, whom Denver selected in the first round of the 2015 draft, hasn’t exactly lived up to his draft pedigree, but he has shown flashes of promise. The 25-year-old (26 in May) amassed four sacks as a reserve in his rookie season and tallied a career-high eight sacks in 2016. Injuries have derailed him somewhat, however, as he has just two sacks in the last two years combined.
But he would have a good chance to get his career back on track in Seattle. He has also met with the Colts and Raiders, so teams are obviously interested in seeing what he can do.
Packers Sign Darnell Savage Jr.
The Packers have already signed first-round draft pick Darnell Savage Jr. to his rookie contract, as NFL Insider Adam Caplan tweets. Savage is the first 2019 first-round choice to put pen to paper.
Savage was Green Bay’s second choice in the first round, and the Packers traded two fourth-round selections to move up nine spots to land the Maryland product with the No. 21 overall pick. Savage, a safety, has a great chance to become an instant starter alongside free agent acquisition Adrian Amos and should help solidify the Packers’ defensive backfield. He represents yet another example of the Packers’ attempts to shore up their defense this offseason.
Savage’s stock rose pretty dramatically in the weeks leading up to the draft. He put himself on the map as a junior with 59 tackles, eight pass breakups, and three interceptions, and he delivered yet again last year with four picks, two pass breakups, and 52 tackles (5.5 tackles for loss). He really impressed in workouts, however, and evaluators began to see him in a whole new light.
At 5’11 and 198 pounds, Savage lacks ideal size for the next level. However, the Packers feel that his athleticism, combined with his football IQ and his instincts, will make him a success story in the NFL.
Savage’s contract will be a standard four-year pact with a fifth-year option, and he will earn $12.5MM over the first four years of the deal.
Maxx Williams To Sign With Cardinals
Free agent tight end Maxx Williams has agreed to sign with the Cardinals, as Williams himself tweeted. He will have a chance to rejuvenate his career in Arizona, whose tight end depth chart is not particularly imposing.
Williams, whom the Ravens selected in the second round of the 2015 draft, entered the league with plenty of promise. Baltimore actually traded up to land the Minnesota product, and the club had visions of him catching deep passes down the seam and creating mismatches with linebackers in the passing game.
And while Williams showed flashes of that ability, injuries have hampered him throughout his professional career, and after the Ravens selected Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews in the 2018 draft and re-signed Nick Boyle this offseason, it was clear that Williams’ time in Baltimore could be coming to an end.
But while he never blossomed into the receiver the Ravens hoped he could be, he has become a solid blocker, and he is just 25, so he may yet realize some of his former potential as a pass catcher. The Cardinals signed Charles Clay this offseason and made UCLA product Caleb Johnson this year’s Mr. Irrelevant with the final pick of last week’s draft, and the club is also rostering Ricky Seals-Jones, but none of those players are going to prevent Williams from getting an extended look.
Williams follows former Ravens teammate Terrell Suggs to the desert.
Seahawks To Decline Germain Ifedi’s Fifth-Year Option
The Seahawks will decline the fifth-year option for 2016 first-rounder Germain Ifedi, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Ifedi will now be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2019 season.
Ifedi was the 31st overall pick of the 2016 draft, and he played 13 games (all starts) at right guard during his rookie campaign. He kicked out to right tackle for each of the last two years, and he started 31 of a possible 32 games regular season games during that time.
But his play has not been particularly great, and he graded out as an average tackle in 2018, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. He may even end up losing his starting job this year, as George Fant could push him for playing time.
On the other hand, Ifedi does represent a known commodity at a position that can be tricky to fill, so Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times suggests that the Seahawks could look to sign Ifedi to an extension that would allow them to carry the Texas A&M product at a lower cost than the $10.3MM 2020 option for tackles.
As our handy tracker shows, every team that is rostering a 2016 first-round pick has now made a decision on the fifth-year option for those players.
Giants Sixth-Rounder Corey Ballentine Shot
Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft yesterday, was shot in central Topeka just hours later, per Erika Hall of WIBW.com. Ballentine, a cornerback from Washburn, is expected to make a full recovery, and he could recover in a matter of weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots around 12:45am. Ballentine and Dwane Simmons, another Washburn football player, were both shot, but while Ballentine suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Simmons, 23, passed away in the street. Ballentine was taken to an area hospital.
The Giants have released the following statement (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post on Twitter):
“We are aware of the tragic situation and continue to gather information. We have spoken to Corey, and he is recovering in the hospital. Our thoughts are with Dwane Simmons’ family, friends and teammates and the rest of the Washburn community.”
Tyler Greever of WIBW says that Ballentine was very close to Simmons, and that Ballentine was supposed to discuss being selected by the Giants at 3pm today (Twitter links). Obviously, the interview has been postponed.
Ballentine has the athletic ability to eventually compete for a significant role in the Giants’ defensive backfield, and hopefully he will be able to bounce back from this tragic turn to the start of his professional career.
We here at PFR offer our condolences to Simmons’ friends and family.
Giants GM Dave Gettleman Defends Drafting Daniel Jones At No. 6
Giants GM Dave Gettleman has already dealt with plenty of criticism for selecting Duke QB Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick of this year’s draft. We heard on Friday that Gettleman may have been concerned that the Redskins — who held the No. 15 overall pick — were going to nab Jones, which forced him to take the former Blue Devil at No. 6 rather than wait until the Giants were on the clock again at No. 17.
And as Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv tweets, Gettleman says he knows for a fact that at least two teams would have taken Jones between pick nos. 6 and 17. Those two teams, according to Vacchiano’s sources, are the Redskins and Broncos.
However, ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweets that the Redskins were never going to draft Jones, and Russini says the Broncos were not interested in Jones either. Mike Klis of 9News tweets that Denver was not going to take any QB with its No. 10 overall selection, and that Drew Lock was the team’s top-rated quarterback. Klis says the Broncos were considering a trade into the back end of the first round to take Lock, but Jones was not on the radar at No. 10.
Of course, other clubs, like the Bengals (No. 11) or Dolphins (No. 13), could have been in the market for Jones in the first round, but it appears that the top two purported threats to Gettleman’s favorite QB weren’t threats at all.
If Jones ultimately is successful with Big Blue, this will all become an amusing footnote to the story of his career. But if he’s not, Gettleman will have a major blemish on his run as the team’s GM.
Chad Kelly Nearing Deal With Colts?
Former Mr. Irrelevant and current free agent Chad Kelly could be nearing a deal with the Colts, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Holder adds that an accord between the two sides has been “percolating” for awhile.
The Broncos selected Kelly with the final pick of the 2017 draft, which seemed like a good value pick on the surface. Kelly was once considered one of the top QB prospects in the nation, but his senior season at Ole Miss was cut short by a torn ACL and lateral meniscus, and he also came with plenty of character concerns. He missed his entire rookie campaign in Denver due to wrist and knee surgeries, but he opened the 2018 season as the backup to Case Keenum. He actually may have been on the verge of displacing the struggling Keenum in the starting lineup, but a bizarre October arrest led to his ouster from the team.
Since then, all we’ve heard about Kelly is that he has pleaded not guilty to the felony trespassing charge that stemmed from his arrest. But Indianapolis is apparently willing to give Kelly a shot at reviving his professional career. Kelly could compete with Jacoby Brissett for the team’s backup QB job, and he could even stick as the No. 3 signal-caller if the club elects to carry three QBs. Brissett is entering his contract year, so the Colts may be planning for the future of its backup quarterback situation.
Tim Graham of The Athletic agrees with Holder’s report, and he says that Central Connecticut State QB Jake Dolegala, who recently talked with the Colts about signing as an undrafted free agent, pulled out because his camp learned that Indy was prepared to sign Kelly (Twitter link).
Latest On Redskins’ RB Situation
The Redskins selected Stanford running back Bryce Love in the fourth round of the 2019 draft yesterday, and running back Derrius Guice — whom Washington drafted in the second round last year — promptly tweeted out a nonplussed emoji that drew plenty of attention on the NFL Network’s draft coverage. Guice later said his tweet was not a response to the Love selection at all, but regardless of his thoughts on the matter, the pick does set up an interesting dynamic in the team’s RB room.
Guice, of course, tore his ACL last August, thereby ending his rookie campaign before it started. There was a report in December that his recovery had hit a snag, though he was said to be sprinting at full-speed in February. The last we heard, Guice was aiming for a training camp return, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote this morning, head coach Jay Gruden expects the LSU product to be back prior to the start of training camp. Gruden also refuted the December report that Guice’s rehab was delayed, and he added that the Love selection is no reflection on Guice.
Gruden said, “[The Love pick] is no reflection of anybody. We just got an opportunity to draft one heck of a player with an unbelievable production at a big-time school.”
Love entered his final collegiate season as a potential Heisman candidate after a tremendous junior year, but he put together an underwhelming campaign before tearing his ACL in December. There has been some chatter that Love could redshirt his rookie season in Washington as he continues to recover, but Love himself said he plans to be ready to go by the middle of training camp.
That is probably a little ambitious, and Love may very well spend the entire season the PUP list. But if he is ready to suit up at some point this year, it would create a logjam in Washington. The team is also rostering Adrian Peterson — who signed a two-year pact in March — Chris Thompson, and Samaje Perine. As Florio notes, one or more of those players will be on the move when Love is ready to go.
Bills Undecided On Shaq Lawson’s Fifth-Year Option
The Bills remain uncertain as to whether they will exercise defensive end Shaq Lawson‘s fifth-year option for 2020, as Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. GM Brandon Beane has until May 2 to make the call.
It is understandably not an easy decision for Beane to make. Lawson, a 2016 first-rounder, was a trade/cut candidate last offseason, though he ultimately remained with the club. He appeared in 14 games (six starts), and he compiled four sacks for the second consecutive season. He actually set a career-high in defensive snaps, and he graded out as an above-average edge defender, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.
So while Lawson has some value, he has not exactly lived up to his draft pedigree, and the 2020 option would tie him to a $14MM+ salary. Of course, that salary is guaranteed for injury only, but if Lawson should get hurt, the Bills may be on the hook for that hefty sum.
Buffalo added top DT prospect Ed Oliver with their 2019 first-round pick in an effort to further bolster its front seven.
Latest On Telvin Smith, Jaguars
Last week, reports surfaced that Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith could be on the trade block. Smith, along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, ruffled the feathers of executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin when they failed to report to the team for voluntary workouts (which, in turn, compelled a number of football writers to remind Coughlin of the definition of “voluntary”).
The trade rumors intensified when the Jags selected Murray State linebacker Quincy Williams in the third round of the draft on Friday, and GM Dave Caldwell did not do much to quash the rumblings in his post-draft interview. Although Caldwell said that he did not receive any trade calls on Smith during the draft, he was cryptic when asked whether Smith would remain with the club in 2019.
“We’ll see,” Caldwell said. “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals” (via John Oesher of Jaguars.com on Twitter).
Coughlin, though, was quite clear that he expects Smith to stay with Jacksonville. He said, “Telvin Smith is a linebacker on our football team. We fully expect him to be here. That’s all there is to it. If you know something else, tell me.”
In response to the reports that Smith might be available via trade, Coughlin added, “What reports? Not that I know of.”
Smith would certainly be quite attractive to teams that still find themselves in need of a quality linebacker. The 2014 fifth-round pick just turned 28 and is a capable defender against the pass and the run. He’s also something of a playmaker, having recorded at least two interceptions in each of the past three seasons, and he has three career touchdowns.
Smith has been a full-time starter for the Jags since November of his rookie campaign. He is under club control through 2021 thanks to the four-year, $44MM extension he signed in October 2017.