Latest On Air Force WR Jalen Robinette
The Air Force Academy has blocked wide receiver Jalen Robinette from graduating for unknown reasons, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post details. The decision has put his professional football future in limbo. 
“Cadet Robinette was removed from the graduation lineup after academy leadership became aware of information that called into question cadet Robinette’s eligibility/qualification to graduate and commission,” Bowden said. “Cadet Robinette’s graduation and commissioning will be placed on hold while we further evaluate. Due to privacy-related concerns, we are unable to comment on the circumstances. We can say that the circumstances do not involve any allegations of criminal wrongdoing and are unrelated to cadet Robinette’s professional football pursuits.”
Heading into the draft, Robinette was seen as a potential Day 3 pick. Unfortunately for him, the Department of Defense rescinded a rule change from 2016 which allowed for players from the service academies to defer their service in order to pursue professional sports. After he was blocked from immediately jumping to the NFL, he intended on going to the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School as a graduate assistant. Now that his graduation has been put on hold, he could wind up having to serve as an enlisted member of the Air Force. Alternatively, he could be asked to pay back his tuition to the academy. The latter scenario wouldn’t be ideal for Robinette, but he could theoretically go pro and pay back his tuition with whatever signing bonus he receives.
Earlier this year, Robinette competed in rookie minicamps for the Patriots and Bills with the hope that he would be signed to a three-year undrafted free agent contract and placed on the reserve/military list while he fulfilled his active duty.
NFC South Teams Take On Int’l Players
The NFL announced that the teams of the NFC South will be carrying an additional overseas player on their practice squads during the upcoming season. This is part of the league’s flagship International Player Pathway program.
Now, the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers will all be operating with an 11-man practice squad while the rest of the league has ten. However, they don’t necessarily have an advantage over other clubs because these additional overseas players cannot be activated during the season.
Here is a look at the players who will be joining each taxi squad:
- Falcons: Alex Gray, TE – Gray, a former rugby star, is the first English rugby union professional to quit the sport to pursue American football. The 26-year-old was named the England Sevens player of the year in 2015. He not to be confused with the undrafted Appalachian State safety of the same name who joined the Bucs’ 90-man roster.
- Panthers: Efe Obada, DE – Obada, who grew up in the Netherlands and England, was on the Cowboys’ practice squad in 2010. Prior to the 2016 season, he also had brief stints with the Chiefs and Falcons.
- Saints: Alex Jenkins, DE – Jenkins was born and raised in England but actually has a background in American football. Back home, he played for the Bath City Academy and for the Bristol Aztecs before earning a spot on the Great Britain youth team. He played his college ball in San Antonio, Texas at the University of the Incarnate Word. He had 3.5 sacks in his senior year.
- Buccaneers: Eric Nzeocha, LB – Nzeocha is now the second German-born player to join up with the Bucs in franchise history. German safety Claudius Osei spent the 2005 campaign on Tampa Bay’s taxi squad as part of a similar program. Nzeocha’s brother Mark is a linebacker for the Cowboys.
Jets Meet With WR Kenbrell Thompkins
Free agent wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins visited the Jets today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Thompkins spent time with the Jets in 2015 and was slated to return to the team in 2016 before suffering a season-ending injury. 
Thompkins is perhaps best known for his time with the Patriots. In 2013, he caught 32 of the 69 passes sent in his direction for 466 yards and four scores. In the next season, he split time with the Patriots and Raiders and didn’t have quite the same level of success (21 catches, 262 yards). His 2015 season with the Jets saw him catch 17 passes for 165 yards, which was enough to convince the team to give him a restricted free agent tender.
The Jets made a move at wide receiver earlier this week when they waived/injured wide receiver Devin Smith and re-signed Deshon Foxx. The Jets have presently have 13 receivers on the 90-man roster, including Eric Decker, Quincy Enunwa, free agent pickup Quinton Patton, and 2017 draft picks ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen.
Extra Points: Bills, Clay, Floyd, Vikings
Charles Clay has a chronic knee problem and Bills coach Sean McDermott is worried.
“We are concerned with Charles’ knee situation,” McDermott said (via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News). “It’s something we have to manage moving forward in order to have him on the field for us, which is important moving forward. He’s a weapon for us.”
Clay came to Buffalo as a highly-paid restricted free agent in 2015 and they’re hoping that his knee will sort itself out in the long run. The deal calls for him to carry a $9MM cap number in each of the next three seasons and there’s not much of an escape hatch if his performance declines. The Bills cannot save money by releasing him until they get to 2019 and even then, they’d only recoup $4.5MM in cap room.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- There is no guaranteed money in Michael Floyd‘s one-year, $1.41MM deal with the Vikings, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets. In theory, Minnesota could cut Floyd before the season without financial penalty. On the flipside, Floyd’s deal could reportedly pay as much as $6MM if he reaches all of his incentives.
- Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn’t committed to having a fullback, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. Today in practice, Lorenzo Taliaferro was taking some reps at the position today along with undrafted free agent Ricky Ortiz. The decision of whether to utilize a fullback may impact the final makeup of Baltimore’s roster. The Ravens have five high-profile running backs on the roster in Terrance West, Danny Woodhead, Javorious Allen, Taliaferro, and Kenneth Dixon. Dixon is facing a four-game suspension to start the year.
- The Bills have named Terrance Gray college scouting director, per a club announcement. Gray spent the past eleven years in Minnesota’s scouting department.
- Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva hasn’t signed exclusive rights free agent tender, per NFLPA records, which means he signed a waiver in order to be on field for OTAs (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com). Back in February, it was reported that the Steelers are working to extend the lineman. For now, the ERFA is slated to play out the 2017 season for just $540K. Last year, he was the 24th best offensive tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
Bears To Sign WR Victor Cruz
The Bears are signing former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, according to Kimberly Jones and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It will be a one-year deal. 
As PFR’s Sam Robinson detailed recently, Cruz is a logical fit for Chicago. The Bears lost Alshon Jeffery in free agency this offseason (without much of a fight) and Kevin White cannot be counted upon given his injury concerns. The Bears added Kendall Wright and Markus Wheaton this spring to help fill the void and Cruz is the latest addition to bolster the WR group.
In addition to Cruz and the aforementioned Wright, White, and Wheaton, the Bears have Cameron Meredith atop the WR depth chart. Joshua Bellamy, Deonte Thompson, and Daniel Braverman are among the other WRs presently on the 90-man roster.
After missing the majority of the 2014 season and sitting out the entire 2015 season, the salsa-dancing fan favorite clearly lost a step in 2016 as he caught 39 passes for 586 yards and one touchdown in 15 games. However, the 30-year-old (31 in November) might be able to recapture some of his old magic if he is used in the slot.
In his best seasons, Cruz was a legitimate star for the Giants. He burst on to the scene in 2011 by catching 82 passes for 1,536 yards and nine scores. His encore saw him set a new career high with 86 grabs for 1,092 yards and ten touchdowns, earning him a trip to the Super Bowl.
Before agreeing to sign with Chicago, the Jaguars scheduled a visit with Cruz, but that was cancelled for unknown reasons. The Ravens also reportedly expressed interest in him.
Photo via Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Giants Cut Rahim Moore, Ishaq Williams
The Giants cut defensive back Rahim Moore and linebacker Ishaq Williams, according to a team announcement. 
The Giants signed Moore to reserve/futures deal back in January, but their interest in him dated back to at least March of 2016. The G-Men considered signing the safety in that offseason, but he ultimately joined the Browns on a one-year, $1.85MM deal. Moore was cut in early September and earned a tryout from the Giants in October 2016, but he ended up sitting out the entire season. Before all of that, Moore spent the first four years of his career in Denver and parlayed that into a three-year, $12MM free agent deal with Houston. The Texans dropped him after a disappointing 2015.
Williams, a Notre Dame product, joined the Giants as a UDFA in May 2016. Though he missed the final cut, he spent significant time on the taxi squad and even earned a promotion to the active roster in December.
Bills Sign LB Gerald Hodges
Bills coach Sean McDermott announced that the team is has signed linebacker Gerald Hodges (Twitter link via Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News). To make room, the Bills cut cornerback Charles Gaines.
Hodges only visited with two clubs — the Chiefs and Seahawks — during the first month of free agency. Recently, however, he has embarked on a tour that saw him meet with the Jets, Giants, Patriots, Jaguars, and Colts. However, it was his meeting with the Bills that has fostered a deal.
Hodges played on approximately half of the 49ers’ defensive snaps last year while grading out as the league’s No. 21 linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus. In his 15 games, the 26-year-old racked up 80 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions. He also was on the field for 73 special teams snaps.
The Bills’ linebacker group has already gone through some changes this year after the departures of Zach Brown and Lerentee McCray in free agency. The Bills project to start Reggie Ragland and Lorenzo Alexander at the OLB spots with Preston Brown in the middle, but the group behind them is looking a little thin. Ramon Humber and rookies Matt Milano and Tanner Vallejo figure to primarily pitch in as reserve OLBs, leaving them without a proven depth option for MLB. That’s where Hodges might come in handy for Buffalo.
Richard Sherman Wanted Cowboys Trade?
The Richard Sherman trade talk didn’t result in a trade this offseason, but things got serious enough for Sherman to daydream about where he might land. When things were bubbling earlier this year, Sherman told friends that he “allowed himself to imagine playing for the Cowboys,” Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com writes. 
We have no indication that there were ever talks between the Cowboys and Seahawks, but Sherman would have been a logical fit for Dallas on a football level. The Cowboys’ secondary was picked apart in free agency this year as cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr left along with safeties Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox. Cowboys did draft three cornerbacks to help replenish that group, but a similar approach didn’t do a whole lot for the Panthers last year. The addition of Sherman would give them a bonafide CB1 alongside Orlando Scandrick and immediately cement them as one of the best overall defenses in the league.
Of course, there would have been many barriers to a potential trade. For starters, the Cowboys were very tight against the cap this offseason, which is what caused them to lose talented members of the secondary in the first place. Even now, Dallas has just ~$3.5MM in cap space, according to Over The Cap. Even when considering that the Cowboys wouldn’t be responsible for Sherman’s $2.2MM prorated bonus, he’d still carry a hefty $11.431MM cap charge for 2017.
In addition to making room for Sherman under the cap, the Cowboys would have also had to part with a significant amount of draft capital in order to acquire him. At one point, the Seahawks’ asking price was reportedly a first-round pick in the 2017 and a conditional mid-rounder in 2018. That ask, understandably, was too rich for anyone’s blood.
A trade sending Sherman to Dallas was probably never going to happen, but the fact that he was picturing himself in a Cowboys jersey tells us that the trade talk was indeed serious. And, if Sherman and the Seahawks are unable to mend fences, his affinity for the Cowboys is something to keep in mind for next offseason. If Sherman declines, the Seahawks could release him and save $11MM while carrying just $2MM in dead money. If he continues to play like a top cornerback but is still at odds with the team, the Cowboys may have the cap flexibility to get something done.
Patriots To Waive WR Devin Street
Andrew Hawkins‘ chances of making the 53-man roster just got a bit better. The Patriots will waive wide receiver Devin Street, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Patriots Sign WR Andrew Hawkins]
Street, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Colts earlier this month. He hasn’t done much since entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2014, but he was thought to have a shot at making the Patriots’ final cut. Now, the team’s WR group is headlined by Cooks, Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, Hawkins, and special teams ace Matthew Slater.
Rival teams will have 24 hours to put a claim in on Street from the time his officially waived. If he clears waivers, he will be free to sign with any team.
AFC East Rumors: Jets, Richardson, Patriots
Tell us what you really think, Sheldon Richardson. On Tuesday, the Jets defensive lineman ripped former teammate Brandon Marshall. He says the Jets’ locker room atmosphere is better than it was last year. He elaborated by saying, “Let’s just say there are 15 reasons why it’s better” (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). The mention of “15” was a clear reference to Marshall’s jersey number.
The locker room may be better, but it’s not clear if the team will be any better than it was last year. As it stands, the rebuilding Jets might have the least talented roster in the NFL.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Andrew Hawkins declined four other offers so that he could play with the Patriots and catch passes from Tom Brady, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Hawkins inked a one-year deal with New England, but his place on the 53-man roster is not a sure thing given all of the talent New England has.
- Jets offensive coordinator John Morton says quarterbacks Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg will all get first team reps, as Peter Schrager of NFL.com tweets. It seems that the Jets have an open competition going for the starting job, though I personally view McCown as the odds-on favorite.
- Jets safety Calvin Pryor, who has been the subject of trade talk, showed up for OTAs on Wednesday (Twitter link via Mehta).