Panthers To Cut WR Russell Shepard?
It sounds like Russell Shepard‘s time in Carolina will come to an end. The Panthers asked the wide receiver to take a pay cut and indications are he won’t take one, which likely will lead to his release, David Newton of ESPN.com tweets. 
Shepard signed with the Panthers last offseason after spending the previous four years with the rival Buccaneers. The Panthers were reportedly one of six teams to pursue Shepard last year, but the Panthers won out with a three-year deal worth roughly $10.5MM. After just 17 catches for 202 yards and one touchdown, the Panthers are moving on. The Panthers will save $2.125MM against the cap with $1.4MM in dead money if they release Shepard.
The Panthers didn’t want to give up on Shepard entirely, but he simply wasn’t worth the money after the Panthers acquired veteran Torrey Smith and invested a first-round pick in D.J. Moore.
Last year, the Bills and Lions were among the clubs to express interest in Shepard. The Buccaneers also showed some level of interest in retaining him.
Jets Audition OL Byron Bell
Veteran offensive lineman Byron Bell will work out for the Jets on Monday, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Bell has started in 74 games across six NFL seasons. 
Bell spent the first four seasons of his career with the Panthers before hooking on with the Titans in 2015. He missed all of 2016 with a foot injury, but returned in 2017 with the Cowboys where he appeared in 12 games at left tackle and made two starts. Bell’s 243 snaps last year were the lowest of any of his career seasons.
Bell hasn’t been a regular starter since 2015, but he could have an opportunity to unseat right tackle Brandon Shell in camp, which would put him opposite of Kelvin Beachum. Even if that’s not in the cards for Bell at this stage of his career, he could see some burn off of the bench at both tackle and guard.
So far this offseason, the Jets’ biggest additions to the offensive line have been on the interior. Former Redskin Spencer Long is the Jets’ new starter at center while ex-Lion Travis Swanson will serve as his backup.
Colts Meet With Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro
The Colts are taking a look at two of the best safeties left on the free agent market. Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro will meet with the Colts on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The market has been slow to develop for veteran safeties this year as many clubs opted to go for younger and cheaper alternatives in the draft. The Colts already have one high-potential safety in Malik Hooker and either Boston or Vaccaro would provide them with another quality starter in the secondary. Last week, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked both players in the top 10 of the remaining free agents on defense.
The Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants expressed interest in Boston back in March, but we haven’t heard much on that front in recent weeks. Needless to say, it has been a frustrating offseason for the former Charger.
“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”
Vaccaro, meanwhile, met with the Dolphins in April, but left Miami without a deal. The lack of interest has been surprising given Vaccaro’s starting experience and ability to play slot cornerback, but he is coming off of a down season in New Orleans.
Neither player is without warts, but the Colts may have an opportunity to add one or both of them at an extremely discounted rate.
Lions Sign RB Kerryon Johnson
Kerryon Johnson is officially a member of the Lions. On Friday, the Auburn running back inked his rookie contract. 
The Lions sent their No. 51 overall choice plus a fourth-round pick to the Patriots for the 43rd pick in order to select Johnson. He’ll have an opportunity to get significant playing time right out of the gate in the Lions’ mishmash backfield. Veteran LeGarrette Blount still projects as the team’s top ball carrier with Theo Riddick as a pass-catching specialist, but Johnson could tilt things in his favor with a strong summer. For what it’s worth, Riddick says he’s not concerned about losing ground to Johnson.
“It’s never a conflict,” Riddick said recently (via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press). “I put my teammates first. I was always taught that as a player, as a young kid, and I continue to put that out. So, it really doesn’t affect me. Even, again, with Blount being here I’m just trying to get him to soak up the playbook as fast as possible, because if I can do that then that helps us all. I just want to win.”
In addition to Blount and Riddick, the Lions also have Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington, and former second-round pick Ameer Abdullah under contract.
Johnson holds the potential to be a three-down back in the NFL, but some evaluators worry that his running style and frame will make him injury prone. He didn’t seem to have any trouble at Auburn, however, as he ran for 1,391 yards and 18 touchdowns in his final year on campus. He also recorded 24 catches for 194 yards and two scores.
Bills Sign 12 UDFAs
The Bills have added a dozen undrafted free agents to their roster. Here’s the list, in full:
- G Gerhard de Beer (Arizona)
- DE Mat Boesen (TCU)
- OT Ike Boettger (Iowa)
- CB Ryan Carter (Clemson)
- K Tyler Davis (Penn State)
- RB Keith Ford (Texas A&M)
- WR Robert Foster (Alabama)
- DE Mike Love (South Florida)
- OT Mo Porter (Baylor)
- WR Cam Phillips (Virginia Tech)
- LB Corey Thompson (LSU)
- CB Levi Wallace (Alabama)
Foster played for Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll at the University of Alabama, so Daboll is already familiar with what he provides. He wasn’t a major contributor in college, but he did have 14 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown last year. Foster impressed evaluators at the combine with a 4.41 second 40-yard-dash and his build gives the Bills some hope that he can stick at the next level.
Phillips, on the other hand, was a big performer in college. At Virginia Tech, he caught 147 passes in his final two seasons for nearly 2,100 yards and 12 TDs.
Giants Sign 11 UDFAs
The Giants have formally signed eleven undrafted free agents:
- TE Stephen Baggett (East Carolina)
- C Evan Brown (SMU)
- S Sean Chandler (Temple)
- DT Tyrell Chavis (Penn State)
- CB Aaron Davis (Georgia)
- WR Jawill Davis (Bethune-Cookman)
- LB Tae Davis (Tenn.-Chattanooga)
- CB Bryon Fields (Duke)
- G Nick Gates (Nebraska)
- CB Grant Haley (Penn State)
- T Tyler Howell (Missouri)
Chandler received a $35K bonus to sign with the Giants, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Chandler gave Temple solid production throughout his four-year tenure and offers the kind of toughness that GM Dave Gettleman appreciates. He’s definitely undersized at 5’11”, but his higher-than-average bonus indicates that there were at least a few NFL GMs eager to see what he can do in camp.
Howell was a part of Missouri’s impressive 2016 offensive line, which finished first nationally in tackles for loss allowed (2.92 per game), the lowest for any team since at least 2005.
Titans Sign 22 UDFAs
The Titans have signed a host of undrafted free agents to their offseason roster. Here’s the full rundown:
- P/K Austin Barnard (Samford)
- WR Cameron Batson (Texas Tech)
- WR Deontay Burnett (USC)
- RB Dalyn Dawkins (Colorado State)
- ILB Nick DeLuca (North Dakota State)
- OT Matthew Diaz (Wagner)
- DE Matt Dickerson (UCLA)
- C Nico Falah (USC)
- OLB Sharif Finch (Temple)
- CB Rico Gafford (Wyoming)
- CB Elijaah Goins (Ohio State)
- S Joshua Kalu (Nebraska)
- CB Ryan McKinley (Montana)
- OT Elijah Nkansah (Toledo)
- DT Mike Ramsay (Duke)
- RB Larry Rose (New Mexico State)
- WR Devin Ross (Colorado)
- OG Aaron Stinnie (James Madison)
- WR Jordan Veasy (California)
- RB Akrum Wadley (Iowa)
- S Damon Webb (Ohio State)
- TE Ethan Wolf (Tennessee)
Finch received a larger-than-average $42K guarantee to sign with the Titans (as noted by NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, on Twitter), so he may have a better shot than most of making the final cut. Finch, a 6’5″, 250-pound edge rusher, recorded five blocked punts at Temple using his exceptional wingspan. While he lacks pass rushing technique, the Titans probably feel that he has potential as a special teams contributor.
The Titans had only a four-man draft class this year, which necessitated a large UDFA class.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Dolphins, Patriots
Kicker Chandler Catanzaro chose not to re-sign with the Jets because he didn’t want to play in the cold, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears. Instead of braving the elements, Catanzaro opted to join the Buccaneers this offseason on a three-year, $9.75MM deal with $3.75MM guaranteed.
It would be easy to chide Catanzaro for his weather preferences, but it’s hard to blame him for his choice after a brutal winter in the tri-state area. He also came away with a solid deal from the Buccaneers that puts him just outside of the top ten on an average annual basis at his position.
Catanzaro will look to stabilize the Bucs’ kicking after two years of struggles with Roberto Aguayo, Nick Folk, and Patrick Murray. Meanwhile,the Jets will pit newcomer Taylor Bertolet against veterans Cairo Santos and Nick Rose for their vacancy.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill remains on track in his recovery from a torn ACL, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Should Tannehill go down with another injury, head coach Adam Gase says the team will not reprise last year’s Jay Cutler situation. The Dolphins have Brock Osweiler and David Fales under contract as backups to the 29-year-old (30 in July).
- Patriots left guard Joe Thuney is set to undergo foot surgery, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Right now, the belief is that the operation will not affect his regular season availability, but it’s a situation to keep an eye on. In theory, the Pats could slide first-round offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn to the interior if they need to fill that hole.
- The Bills met with running back Kenjon Barner this week, but he signed with the Panthers on Friday morning.
Panthers Sign RB Kenjon Barner
Free agent running back Kenjon Barner is signing with the Panthers, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Barner also visited the Bills before agreeing to terms with Carolina. 
The Panthers added C.J. Anderson earlier this week, but they found themselves in the running back market again after losing Fozzy Whittaker to a season-ending ACL tear. Barner ranks no higher than third at his position thanks to the presence of Christian McCaffrey and Anderson, but he can provide valuable depth as well as some support in the return game.
Barner, a 2013 sixth-round pick by the Panthers, spent the last three seasons with the Eagles. In 2015 and 2016, he was productive despite limited snaps, compiling 253 rushing yards on only 55 carries (4.6 yards per attempt). Last offseason, he signed a one-year free agent deal with the Chargers but returned to Philly after he missed the Bolts’ final 53-man cut. He saw less time at running back than ever in 2017, but he did average a respectable 8.9 yards per punt return.
Colts Sign First-Round Pick Quenton Nelson
The Colts have officially signed the bulk of their draft class. On Friday, the team announced deals with the following picks: 
- 1-6: Quenton Nelson, G (Notre Dame)
- 2-52: Kemoko Turay, DE (Rutgers)
- 2-64: Tyquan Lewis, DE (Ohio State)
- 4-104: Nyheim Hines, RB (North Carolina State)
- 5-159: Daurice Fountain, WR (Northern Iowa)
- 5-169: Jordan Wilkins, RB (Mississippi)
- 6-185: Deon Cain, WR (Clemson)
- 7-221: Matthew Adams, LB (Houston)
- 7-235: Zaire Franklin, LB (Syracuse)
The Colts wound up with an oversized draft class of eleven players, but they have only two rookies left to sign. Once second round linebacker Darius Leonard and second round guard Braden Smith put pen to paper, they’ll be done.
Nelson was widely regarded as one of the best overall talents in this year’s draft, but the early run on quarterbacks helped guide him to the Colts at No. 6. Frankly, that worked out great for the Colts as they desperately need to protect quarterback Andrew Luck this season. The QB fever allowed Chris Ballard to land this year’s top rated offensive lineman in the draft while adding two 2018 second-round picks and a 2019 second-round choice from the Jets as he moved down from No. 3 to No. 6. It’s too early to grade any team’s draft, but everyone can agree that the Colts did well for themselves in terms of value.
Nelson, a 6’5″, 235-pound lineman, boasts tremendous power and the ability to act as a double team blocker. Many feel that Nelson is one of the best bets to succeed out of this year’s top 10.
“He’s so unique because he’s big, but he’s not fat. He’s one of the best run blockers I’ve ever evaluated, but he’s not a liability in pass protection like Mike Iupati is,” one NFC team personnel executive told NFL.com before the draft. “He’s also an alpha who can bring and ass-kicking mindset into your position room.”