Draft Rumors: Jets, Mahomes, Foster
It’s not a guarantee that the Jets will select a quarterback at No. 6 overall, but they’re certainly doing their homework in that area. Today, the Jets are meeting yet again with Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
Earlier this month, Mahomes did a private workout with Gang Green and he apparently did well enough to warrant further consideration. After the college season, Mahomes looked to be a second or third-round type of player. Now, all signs are pointing towards him going in the first round. It’s even possible that he could be the second QB off the board.
Here’s more NFL Draft news:
- The Saints are still evaluating linebackers and expected to have Reuben Foster in for a pre-draft visit on Wednesday, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Foster has already met with a number of clubs and has a busy schedule still ahead of him between now and the draft. He won’t be on the board for long and Dallas Robinson’s mock draft 1.0 has him going inside of the top ten.
- 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback coach Rich Scangarello flew to Chapel Hill, North Carolina last Thursday to work out Mitch Trubisky, a league source tells Schefter (on Twitter). If the latest rumors are to be believed, Trubisky might not be available when SF picks at No. 2.
- Cal quarterback Davis Webb is visiting the Seahawks today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Many believe he’s a first-round QB, Rapoport adds.
- The Jaguars are still doing their quarterback homework and they have scheduled a private workout next week with Pitt QB Nathan Peterman, a source tells Rapoport (on Twitter).
- The Raiders have scheduled cornerback Kevin King for a visit today (Wednesday). King is an Oakland-area native.
Rams To Decline Greg Robinson’s Option
The Rams are exercising the fifth-year option for Aaron Donald, but they won’t be doing the same for another 2014 first-round pick. Offensive tackle Greg Robinson, taken No. 2 overall that year, will not have his 2018 option picked up, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only, but that’s not a risk the Rams are willing to take. 
Robinson entered the league with huge promise, but so far he has been a massive bust. Last season, he was assigned a dreadful 38.0 overall score by the metrics at Pro Football Focus, ranking him as one of the seven worst qualified offensive tackles in the NFL. He had roughly similar showings in his previous two campaigns.
This year, the Rams are moving Robinson to the inside with the hope that he can finally produce. Free agent pickup Andrew Whitworth will hold down the left tackle spot while Robinson will have to fight for playing time behind projected starters Rodger Saffold and Cody Wichmann.
Just as the decision to trigger Donald’s option was a no-brainer, the same goes for the decision to decline Robinson’s option.
Tony Romo Hasn’t Filed Retirement Papers
Tony Romo has yet to officially file retirement paperwork with the NFL, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes. As Archer notes, the paperwork would be filed to the league and not the Cowboys since the team released him earlier this month. Regardless, whether or not Romo fills out those forms doesn’t mean a whole lot. 
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Even if Romo were to officially file for retirement tomorrow, it’s a quick and easy process to come out of retirement. If the quarterback filed his paperwork and changed his mind, all he would have to do is send a letter to Roger Goodell informing him of his decision. And, as a free agent, Romo is contractually unencumbered and could sign with any NFL team.
Romo, of course, is taking over for Phil Simms as CBS’ lead color analyst. That won’t do much to silence speculation about a potential return and the belief is that he has an easy out in his network contract if he chooses to return to football. He also didn’t do much to stop the chatter when he indicated that he isn’t 100% retired.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Romo said last week. “I think one of the hardest things was just not really knowing what direction — I mean right after the season I was playing football. That was a no-brainer for me at the time. And then I just, I feel like I do with all big decisions I’ve made in my life, you don’t want to make them emotional or quick, you want to kind of just soak in it, think about it and take your time and things start to reveal themselves I feel like. And you pray about it, go talk to your close family and people you trust, then you make the call and it feels right. It really does.”
Six Teams To Meet With Mo Alie-Cox
The jump from basketball to football may not be easy, but Mo Alie-Cox has plenty of believers in the NFL. The former Virginia Commonwealth University forward is already slated to visit the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Jets, Colts, Seahawks, and Chargers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. More teams could request to meet with the 6’7″ athlete, Rapoport adds. 
Alie-Cox held an open audition for NFL teams recently and it seems like more than half the league had scouts in attendance. In addition to the aforementioned clubs, reps from the Bears, Lions, Dolphins, Vikings, 49ers, Browns, Patriots, Redskins, and Steelers were in the house (via Lane Casadonte of WTVR on Twitter).
Despite his lack of gridiron experience, teams are intrigued by Alie-Cox’s combination of size and athleticism. He is looking to play tight end and follow in the footsteps of Tony Gonzalez, Julius Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, and other TE standouts with basketball backgrounds. At the same time, he is open to playing other positions and he took requests from scouts to perform drills that were suited for different roles.
What really sets Alie-Cox apart from other young NFL hopefuls is that he is not draft eligible and, therefore, can be signed as a free agent. A team that is really high on the hoopster could see this as an opportunity to effectively acquire a late-round draft pick for nothing.
Rams Exercise Aaron Donald’s Option
The Rams have exercised Aaron Donald‘s fifth-year option for the 2018 season, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The option is worth $6.892MM and is guaranteed for injury. The move was an absolute no-brainer for Los Angeles. 
Donald has been playing at an elite level in each of his three NFL seasons. Last year, Donald finished out as Pro Football Focus’ top ranked interior defender with a score of 95.8. Even Calais Campbell‘s career year (90.4) didn’t come close to taking the No. 1 spot from the Rams star. Remarkably, Donald had an even stronger showing in 2015 when he had a 96.6 score.
Donald, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2014 draft, is slated to play out 2017 at a $3.225MM cap figure. He’s on the books for roughly $6.9MM in 2018, but it’s more likely that the two sides will hammer out an extension between now and then.
A new deal for Donald should reset the market for defensive tackles. Currently, Ndamukong Suh has the top deal at six years and $114.4MM with $60MM guaranteed. Unlike Suh, Donald will not be negotiating his deal on the open market. However, a new pact this year would make him two years younger than Suh at the time of signing and the salary cap has increased significantly since Suh’s deal in 2015. There’s also this: Donald is arguably an even better player than Suh was in his prime.
While the Rams will be switching from a 4-3 to a hybrid 3-4 under Wade Phillips, the scheme change likely won’t impact Donald’s role in the defense or his ability to stifle opponents.
Colts Host Johnathan Hankins On Visit
One month after the start of free agency, Johnathan Hankins remains on the open market. It’s possible that we could see the defensive tackle – finally – find his NFL home. Hankins visited the Colts on Tuesday, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). 
The Colts, we presume, are the previously reported “mystery club” that jumped in the mix for Hankins. The 25-year-old is the best free agent still left on the board, but his market has developed at a snail’s pace. Today’s Colts meeting is his first visit of this free agent cycle.
Hankins is PFR’s best free agent interior defender left on the board and would give the Colts’ D-Line a major boost after the free agent departure of Zach Kerr. The Colts have upwards of $30MM in cap space, per Over The Cap, so the room to sign Hankins should certainly be there. The defensive tackle had visions of a monster multi-year deal when free agency opened, but at this point he might be willing/forced to settle for a reasonably-priced one-year deal.
So far the Dolphins and the incumbent Giants are the only teams known to have been in communication with Hankins. The Dolphins seem unwilling to commit big dollars to him, however, and the Giants will only go so far to retain him.
Linebacker James Laurinaitis Retires
James Laurinaitis is calling it a career. The linebacker announced via social media that he will retire instead of seeking an NFL home for the 2017 season. 
“The thing I’m going to miss the most is the locker room,” Laurinaitis wrote. “The conversations and relationships I built with all that I’ve battled with will be my favorite memories. Players, coaches, equipment staff, medical staff, community outreach, marketing, you name it, the people I’ve met through this game is what I’ll take with me. I’ve been blessed way more through football than I could’ve ever imagined.”
Laurinaitis was with the Rams for the first seven years of his career but the team left him behind before playing its first game in Los Angeles. Prior to the 2016 season, Laurinaitis hooked on with the Saints, but things did not go according to plan. After six games, the 30-year-old was placed on IR just as rookie Sheldon Rankins was designated for return from IR. The move meant that Laurinaitis could not take the field for the Saints again in 2016.
As a courtesy, New Orleans granted him his release, but he was unable to find work. Late-season auditions with the Lions and Chiefs did not result in an offer from either squad.
Laurinaitis will be best remembered for his many years as a starter in St. Louis. From 2009 through 2015, he was first string in every possible regular season game. The former second round pick had 16.5 career sacks and 870 total tackles.
Jaguars Release LB Dan Skuta
The Jaguars have released linebacker Dan Skuta, according to a team announcement. The move will save the Jaguars $4.1MM against this year’s cap.
Skuta, 31 later this month, came to Jacksonville on a five-year, $20.5MM deal two years ago. That free agent investment did not pan out. Skuta was demoted to a bench role in 2016 and turned in his worst campaign in the last four years, according to Pro Football Focus. Skuta’s 68.3 overall score would have placed him as the No. 62 ranked edge defender in the league last year, if he had enough snaps to qualify. He saw only 268 defensive snaps across his 13 games.
The Jaguars have revamped their reserve linebacker group this offseason with the signings of Lerentee McCray, Josh McNary, and Audie Cole. With Skuta gone, the Jags still have six outside linebackers on the roster and nine linebackers in total. Myles Jack, Paul Posluszny, and Telvin Smith currently project as the starters.
Skuta’s deal called for him to earn $4.1MM in each of the next three seasons, but none of that money was guaranteed.
Seahawks Drop Richard Sherman Price
Last week, Seahawks were telling teams that they would only part with Richard Sherman in exchange for “a very good player” plus a high draft pick, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. Already, it seems that asking price has dropped a bit. The Seahawks are now looking for a first-round pick in the upcoming draft plus a conditional mid-round choice in 2018, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.
For what it’s worth, Garafolo (Twitter link) says the asking price has always been a first-round pick plus a future mid-round choice. But, Salguero has a history of rock solid reporting and, with that in mind, it appears there has been a reduction in Seattle’s ask.
As former NFL executive Joe Banner suggested recently, Garafolo says the Darrelle Revis trade of 2013 could give us an idea of the kind of return that would come in a Sherman deal. The Jets received a first-round pick in 2013 and a fourth-round pick in 2014 in exchange for Revis, which is right in line with what Seattle is now asking for. That fourth-round pick was a conditional choice that would have blossomed into a third-round selection if Revis remained on the roster on the third day of the 2014 league year.
Either the market for Sherman isn’t quite as strong as the Seahawks anticipated or the Seahawks were intentionally setting an inflated sticker price to begin the sweepstakes. Now, one has to wonder if the Seahawks will be willing to take even less than the Revis package as we get closer to the draft.
If the Seahawks do not find a suitable deal for Sherman, they may have to work on mending some fences with their star cornerback.
Will Someone Other Than Garrett Go No. 1?
The No. 1 overall pick is an open and shut case – unless it isn’t. Popular thinking in recent weeks has Myles Garrett going to the Browns, but they’re not ruling out Leonard Fournette with the top selection. The LSU running back is a possibility, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, although JLC concedes that it’s still unlikely to happen. 
Garrett is widely considered to be the best talent in this year’s class at any position and would be a strong choice for the rebuilding Browns. By the same token, there are other quality defensive ends to be had early in the draft and the Browns have a stockpile of picks to use. Solomon Thomas, Derek Barnett, Charles Harris, Takkarist McKinley, Taco Charlton, and T.J. Watt all hold varying levels of promise and some of those names can be had as late as the second round. The Browns presently own four picks in the top 52 and five picks in the top 65. Passing on Garrett could come back to haunt them – the Texas A&M actually says that he’ll “punish” the Browns in the NFL if he doesn’t hear his name called at the top of the draft – but there are still alternatives to consider later on.
Fournette isn’t the only non-Garrett player to be mentioned in connection with the top pick. Though Mitch Trubisky‘s momentum has cooled significantly, it wasn’t long ago that he was thought to have a chance at going No. 1. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who considers Trubisky to be the BPA (best player available), but Cleveland has an obvious need under center. If the Browns really like Trubisky or Deshaun Watson, they could theoretically play it safe and shock the world by taking a quarterback at No. 1 instead of waiting for pick No. 12 or later.
With a few weeks to go until the draft, what does your gut tell you about the Browns’ intentions with the top pick? Will they select Garrett, a player who they have bestowed with an “astronomical grade”? Or will they go in a different direction and take someone else? Alternatively, if they trade the pick, do you envision the deal being for someone other than the Texas A&M star? Cast your vote below to choose between Garrett and the rest of the field.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.