Eagles Interested In DT Terrell McClain
The Eagles are interested in defensive tackle Terrell McClain, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Of course, they’re not alone in that regard. 
The Dolphins and 49ers both met with McClain earlier this month. And, on Thursday, the Cowboys will sit down with the 29-year-old (30 in July). The Falcons are also said to have interest in the veteran, though they have yet to schedule a meeting with him.
McClain signed a four-year, $12MM+ deal with the Redskins last year. His $3.25MM base salary was scheduled to become fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2018 league year, but Washington tweaked the deal to make it guaranteed for injury only. With no real financial obligation to McClain, the Redskins released him in late April.
McClain didn’t look great last year, but he had a career year in 2016 with 39 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He would make an interesting addition for the defending champs since defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan might not be available for the season opener. Haloti Ngata projects to step into his role, but McClain could help provide additional depth off the bench.
Saints Work Out Matt Elam
The Saints are briniging safety Matt Elam in for a tryout, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Elam will join the team for its rookie minicamp this weekend. 
Elam, a former first round pick of the Ravens, hasn’t done a whole lot on the field. Elam struggled as a starter in his first two NFL seasons and he missed the entire 2015 campaign thanks to a biceps tear in training camp. Then, after losing much of 2016 to a knee injury, Elam showed very little in the nine games that he did appear in.
Elam is perhaps better known to football fans for his missteps off of the field. Elam’s was arrested in February 2017 when police say he was caught while holding 126 grams of marijuana and three grams of oxycodone. Then, in May, he was arrested for grand theft and battery. Eventually, Elam had all charges against him dropped and he has already served a six-game ban from the NFL as a free agent. If Elam were to sign with the Saints, he would be free to play right away.
Across three seasons with the Ravens, Elam has 130 career tackles to his credit. He started in 26 of his 41 games for the Ravens.
The Saints project to start Marcus Williams and Vonn Bell at safety with veterans Kurt Coleman and Chris Banjo in support.
Cardinals To Sign FB Derrick Coleman
Derrick Coleman agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal puts the veteran in line to be Arizona’s new starting fullback. 
Coleman, 28 in October, appeared in all 16 of the Falcons’ regular season games in 2017. He is regarded as one of the best at his position, but his market was slow to develop this offseason as most teams do not utilize a fullback in their offense. Known mostly for his blocking ability, Coleman has just three catches in his last two NFL seasons and 13 grabs across four active years in the league.
Coleman made headlines for the wrong reasons during his Seahawks tenure. An alleged hit-and-run incident in 2015 kept him out of football in 2016, but he avoided jail by agreeing community service plus 12 months of community supervision.
Coleman joins a roster that already has several fringe running backs competing for work. Beyond starter David Johnson, Elijhaa Penny, and fourth-round rookie Chase Edmunds, D.J. Foster, T.J. Logan, and Bronson Hill are fighting to make the final cut.
NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Prescott, ‘Skins
The Cowboys are already planning to back up a Brinks truck for quarterback Dak Prescott when the times comes, as Charean Williams of PFT writes.
“Yeah, you know at that position, it kind of is what it is,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “You kind of, when the time comes, [expect to pay him]. I know Dak is going to have a good year this year. I hope it’s up there. It’s going to be as he deserves. He was a fourth-round pick. No one deserves to get paid fairly more than he does. We all see what some of the other guys are who aren’t Aaron Rodgers, who aren’t Matt Ryan [are getting paid]. He’s going to do well. We certainly know that’s going to happen. We’ve got that planned in our budgeting for the salary cap. I just want Dak to go out and be MVP this year of the NFL. That’s what I want. Then, we’ll deal with that.”
For now, Prescott is under contract through the 2019 season with below market cap numbers of $726K and $815K in the next two years. Per NFL rules, Prescott cannot renegotiate his deal until after the 2018 season is through.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- The Cowboys are on the lookout for safety help, Williams writes. For now, Xavier Woods is penciled in as the starter at free safety following Byron Jones‘ shift to cornerback. “Absolutely. I mean, we don’t ever quit looking in terms of player acquisition,” Jones said. “One of the things that is unique is, when you have players with versatility, it probably makes you feel a little better…We feel like, overall, we’re very comfortable and confident where we are. But there’s still a lot of work to do between now and the start of the season.”
- The Redskins let go of longtime scout Scott Campbell who spent 17 years with the club and was the director of college scouting through the 2017 draft, as Mike Florio of PFT tweets. The team says that they simply did not offer Campbell a new contract after the expiration of his old deal, but that’s really a matter of semantics.
- Earlier today, we rounded up other news on the Cowboys, including items on Randy Gregory‘s reinstatement and the team’s post-Jason Witten plans.
Eagles Sign Entire Draft Class
The Eagles have wrapped up their entire draft class, the team announced. The following rookies are now officially under contract with the defending champs: 
- 2-49: Dallas Goedert, TE (South Dakota State)
- 4-125: Avonte Maddox, CB (Pittsburgh)
- 4-130: Josh Sweat, DE (Florida State)
- 6-206: Matt Pryor, T (TCU)
- 7-233: Jordan Mailata, T (Australia)
Goedert was the Eagles’ top pick in this year’s class after they shipped their No. 32 overall pick and a fourth-round choice (No. 132) to the Ravens for a second-rounder (No. 52), fourth-rounder (No. 125) and a second-round pick in 2019. The Ravens used the final pick in the first round on Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Eagles, meanwhile, moved up from No. 52 to No 49 in a deal with the Cowboys to land Goedert.
Goedert was regarded by some as the best tight end in this year’s class, but South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst (No. 25, Ravens) and Penn State’s Mike Gesicki (No. 42, Dolphins), both went ahead of him. The South Dakota State star is now out to prove that he can dominate at a much higher level of competition. Last year, he tallied 92 receptions for 1,293 yards and eleven touchdowns.
Maddox may have a chance to contribute right off the bat following the departure of cornerback Patrick Robinson. Although he is undersized at 5’9″, evaluators say that he plays with the toughness necessary to succeed in the NFL.
Sweat, meanwhile, offers serious potential with a 4.53 second 40-yard-dash time and a track record of serious pass rushing ability. Although he tallied 12.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last year, some teams were warded off by the injuries that sidelined him in high school and in the 2016 season.
Patriots Work Out DT Ra’Shede Hageman
Former Falcons defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman worked out for the Patriots on Wednesday, according to the league’s transaction wire. This marks the first workout of the offseason for the free agent. 
Hageman was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2016 and teams have been keeping their distance from him ever since. Last year, Hageman was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list prior to the start of the season and the Falcons subsequently waived him. After that, he was hit with a six-week suspension by the league, a ban which he fulfilled as a free agent.
The Seahawks expressed interest in Hageman last month, but things didn’t really develop beyond that point. The Pats are the first team to bring him in for an audition this spring.
Hageman was a second-round pick in 2014 after he put together an impressive highlight reel at the University of Minnesota. Before he was let go by the Falcons, team coaches were reportedly enamored with his progress.
The Patriots will have to take a deep look into his situation before getting into business with him, but Hageman could be a low-cost and potentially high reward signing for them. The Patriots have Lawrence Guy, Danny Shelton, and Malcom Brown in their defensive tackle rotation, but Hageman would give them another talented option in the mix.
Hageman appeared in 44 of Atlanta’s 48 regular-season games during his time there with 15 total starts. The majority of his work came in 2015, when he tallied career highs in starts (11), defensive snaps (419) and tackles (27).
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/9/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: S Harlan Miller, DT Peli Anau
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: G Isaiah Williams
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: G Daronte Bouldin
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Dom Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Mike Person
Cowboys Rumors: Gregory, Witten, Crawford
The latest out of Dallas:
- Cowboys defensive end Tyrone Crawford has spoken to the league the last couple of weeks to argue for the reinstatement of suspended defensive lineman Randy Gregory, Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram tweets. Crawford’s believe is that it is best for Gregory to be around the team as he looks to get his personal life and football career back on track. The Cowboys are hopeful that Gregory will be allowed to play in 2018, but they are not banking on him playing.
- The Cowboys not interested in adding a veteran tight end to make up for Jason Witten retiring, Jon Machota of the Dallas News tweets. Instead, as exec Stephen Jones has said in the past, the team wants to give the opportunity to the tight ends already on the roster. Not counting UDFA’s, the Cowboys’ TE depth chart is comprised of Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz, and Rico Gathers.
- Kansas head coach David Beaty believes defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. fell to the Cowboys in the fourth round because of his weight and lack of quickness at the combine and pro day (link via Jori Epstein of the Dallas News). Assuming Armstrong gets his conditioning in order, Beaty believes the Cowboys have a tremendous steal on their hands. In 2016, Armstrong had a breakout year with ten sacks for the Jayhawks.
Saints Not Planning To Sign Running Back
Mark Ingram is set to serve a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, but the Saints aren’t planning to sign a veteran as a fill-in, a team official tells Steve Wyche of the NFL Network (on Twitter). It was widely believed that the Saints would consider options on the open market, but they are apparently comfortable with leading rusher Alvin Kamara and their current backups. 
The Saints are high on former Bills rusher Jonathan Williams, as well as sixth-round Louisiana Tech product Boston Scott, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Their confidence in both players – as well as the presence of Trey Edmunds and Daniel Lasco – is apparently enough for the team to stand pat while Ingram misses the first month of regular season action.
Had the Saints delved into the free agent market, they could have evaluated players such as DeMarco Murray, Orleans Darkwa, and Alfred Morris. PFR’s Dallas Robinson recently listed Murray and Darkwa as two of the top ten offensive players remaining on the open market. Things should pick up for Darkwa in the coming weeks after having a cumbersome plate removed from his leg.
Ingram is out of conventional options to fight his four-game ban, but a statement from his agency indicates that he could seek legal action to fight the suspension. Assuming the suspension stands following his unsuccessful appeal, he’ll lose out on $1.27MM in base salary and bonuses.
Latest On Raiders’ Donald Penn
Raiders tackle Donald Penn will not face charges stemming from an incident with his wife in late April, according to TMZ. It was reported that Penn slapped his wife’s behind and poured a drink on her head, but the two later issued a joint statement downplaying the incident.
“The office rejected this case because of lack of corroboration and on the ground that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction on the domestic violence matter,” an L.A. City Attorney’s Office spokesperson told TMZ. “Bottom line, lack of sufficient evidence.”
Of course, Penn isn’t necessarily out of the woods in terms of league discipline. Per the terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, the league office reserves the right to suspend and/or fine players for improper off-the-field activity, even when charges are not pursued.
Still, the odds of a suspension have dramatically decreased with the news. In all likelihood, the Raiders will have Penn in the lineup when they open the season on Sept. 10 against the Rams.
Penn has started in all but four of his career games with the Bucs and Raiders and he did not miss a game until last year when he was sidelined with a foot injury. Despite the late-season malady, he earned his third career Pro Bowl nod.
Last year, Penn graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 23 ranked tackle in the NFL. In 2016, he ranked as the 12th best tackle in the league.