Eagles Hire Joe Douglas As Personnel Chief
MAY 11, 2:49pm: The Eagles have made the hirings of Joe Douglas and Andy Weidl official, announcing that Douglas is the new vice president of player personnel, while Weidl will be the assistant director of player personnel.
“I have known Joe for several years and have admired his work with both the Ravens and the Bears,” Howie Roseman said in a statement. “He is a guy that we had targeted from the outset. I feel that we are very fortunate to have him lead our player personnel department. (Ravens GM) Ozzie Newsome and (Bears GM) Ryan Pace spoke very highly of him and his work. He is passionate about football, passionate about scouting and he played a vital role in the success of the Ravens over the last decade.”
MAY 8, 7:32am: The Eagles are set to hire Douglas as a head of their personnel department, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Enquirer reports. The move is expected to become official on Monday, according to McLane.
MAY 4, 3:55pm: The Eagles are interviewing Joe Douglas for their personnel chief job, and there’s a very good chance the Bears executive will be hired following that meeting, according to multiple reports. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune first reported that Douglas, the Bears’ scouting director, would interview for the job opening in Philadelphia.
While Biggs referred to Douglas as a “very strong candidate,” several reporters since then have gone even further. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the interview is “believed to be a mere formality,” while Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic (Twitter link) has heard from multiple sources that the job is Douglas’ if he wants it. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com adds (via Twitter) that the Bears are “bracing” for Douglas’ departure.
Having parted ways with head coach Chip Kelly and top personnel executive Ed Marynowitz at the start of the 2016 offseason, the Eagles handed the reins back to Howie Roseman, but had been on the lookout for an outside hire to head up their personnel department, replacing Marynowitz. After interviewing candidates like Brandon Hunt, Morocco Brown, Dwayne Joseph, and Mark Dominik in the winter, the Eagles decided to put their search on hold until after the draft. Now, they appear to have identified their preferred target, in Douglas.
Douglas, who joined the Bears approximately a year ago, spent the previous 15 years with the Ravens, serving as Baltimore’s national scout from 2012 to 2015. Assuming he is offered the Eagles’ job and accepts it, Douglas is expected to bring Ravens East Coast scout Andy Weidl with him, assigning him a prominent scouting role, tweets Mosher.
Per Mosher (via Twitter), Philadelphia’s official interview with Douglas will take place on Thursday, so we should have an update soon on whether he’ll be leaving Chicago to take the Eagles’ job.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kiper: Bears Have Multiple UDFAs To Watch
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, draft guru Mel Kiper identifies 30 undrafted free agents to keep an eye on this summer. The Bills, Panthers, Bears, Broncos, Colts, Saints, Jets, 49ers each have two signees on the list, while the Buccaneers have an impressive four of the 30.
Bears Promote Mark Sadowski
- The Bears have promoted Mark Sadowski to director of college scouting, replacing Joe Douglas who is leaving for Philadelphia, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Bears Sign Several Draftees, UDFAs
The Bears announced 17 signings today, confirming several previously-reported moves and revealing some new ones (Twitter links). The team has signed seven of its 2016 draft picks and 10 undrafted free agents to fill out its offseason roster.
Of Chicago’s nine draftees, only one – fourth-round defensive back Deiondre’ Hall – had reportedly agreed to terms prior to day. However, the Bears have now locked up six more of their picks to go along with Hall. Here’s the full list of draft picks signed by the club:
- 2-56: Cody Whitehair, G (Kansas State)
- 4-113: Nick Kwiatkoski, LB (West Virginia)
- 4-124: Deon Bush, DB (Miami)
- 4-127: Deiondre’ Hall, DB (Northern Iowa) (previously reported)
- 5-150: Jordan Howard, RB (Indiana)
- 6-185: DeAndre Houston-Carson, S (William & Mary)
- 7-230: Daniel Braverman, WR (Western Michigan)
A pair of front-seven players – first-rounder Leonard Floyd and third-rounder Jonathan Bullard – have yet to sign their rookie contracts with the Bears, but the team has otherwise secured its draft class.
Meanwhile, in addition to confirming the eight undrafted free agent signings we passed along on Friday, the Bears added two more rookies – Liberty wide receiver Darrin Peterson and Oklahoma State cornerback Kevin Peterson – to their roster. The former received a $6K signing bonus from the team, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Bears Add Eight UDFAs
The Bears have submitted eight undrafted free agent signings to the NFL office, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Here’s the list:
- TE Ben Braunecker (Harvard)
- OL Dan Buchholz (Duquesne)
- CB Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State)
- LB Don Cherry (Villanova)
- LB Roy Robertson-Harris (UTEP)
- WR/KR Derek Keaton (Georgia Southern) [$3k signing bonus, Biggs tweets]
- OL John Kling (Buffalo)
- TE Joe Sommers (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) [$7,521 signing bonus, tweets Biggs]
Draft Pick Signings: Eagles, Packers, Bears, Colts
Checking in on the latest rookie signings from around the NFL…
- Two offensive linemen – third-rounder Isaac Seumalo and fifth-rounder Halapoulivaati Vaitai – have agreed to deals with the Eagles, the team tweeted. Seumalo went 79th in the draft after playing various positions, mostly center, along Oregon State’s O-line. Vaitai, the 164th pick, made 30 starts at tackle (primarily on the right side) during his TCU tenure.
- The Colts have signed fourth-round linebacker Antonio Morrison, the 125th overall choice, according to a team press release. Morrison was a four-year starter at Florida.
- Packers general manager Ted Thompson announced the signings of four draftees — fourth-rounders Blake Martinez (linebacker, Stanford) and Dean Lowry (defensive end, Northwestern), fifth-rounder Trevor Davis (receiver, California) and sixth-rounder Kyle Murphy (offensive tackle, Stanford). Those four were Green Bay’s final picks of this year’s draft. The team still has to lock up its top three selections, including first-round defensive lineman Kenny Clark.
- The Bears inked fourth-round defensive back Deiondre’ Hall to a four-year deal worth $2.85MM, including a $510,982 signing bonus, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Hall, the 127th pick, piled up 13 interceptions during his four years at Northern Iowa.
- The Vikings have signed fourth-round offensive lineman Willie Beavers and fifth-round linebacker Kentrell Brothers, per a team press release. Beavers was a stalwart at left tackle for Western Michigan before the Vikings grabbed him with the 121st choice, while Brothers – the 160th selection – was a prolific defensive playmaker at Missouri.
- The Steelers announced the signing of sixth-round linebacker Travis Feeney, a former University of Washington standout and the 220th overall pick.
Details On Brian Hoyer's Contract
- Brian Hoyer‘s one-year, $2MM deal with the Bears includes $750K in guaranteed cash, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Hoyer’s deal has a $250K base and could also bring him a $500K Super Bowl bonus. Click here for more on what Hoyer’s signing means for Chicago.
Eagles Interviewing Bears' Joe Douglas
- The Eagles requested and were granted permission to interview Bears college scouting director Joe Douglas for their personnel chief job, two sources tell Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Philadelphia put its search for the position on hold in February, with the intention of resuming it after the draft, and while Douglas isn’t a lock to get the job, he’s a “very strong candidate,” says Biggs.
Bears Cut D’Anthony Smith
- The Bears cut defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith, Wilson tweets.
Bears Release Matt Slauson
6:54pm: The Bears did not offer Slauson a chance to take a pay reduction, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. He carried a $2.89MM base salary for 2016. Slauson made just $2.75MM last year and resided as the Bears’ second-highest-paid lineman — behind Bobby Massie — going into the weekend.
6:01pm: A couple of hours after announcing Antrel Rolle‘s time in the Windy City would be limited to one year, the Bears moved on from a longer-tenured cog by releasing Matt Slauson, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (on Twitter).
Chicago’s primary left guard since 2013, Slauson played with the Bears for three seasons, starting every game in which he played. However, the Bears selected Kansas State guard Cody Whitehair, a prospect viewed by many as the top guard in the draft, and it looks like he’ll be given a strong chance to become Slauson’s successor at left guard as Kyle Long ventures back to right guard.
Entering his age-30 campaign, Slauson was set to make $3.4MM this season. The Bears, who also signed Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen to help out on the interior, will take on just more than $800K of dead money as a result of this transaction. Should the Bears designate Slauson as a post-June 1 cut, that amount can be spread over each of the final two years of his Chicago contract.
This also marks the second offensive line starter Chicago jettisoned this offseason; new Dolphins lineman Jermon Bushrod was released with a failed physical designation.
Second-year GM Ryan Pace praised Slauson and Rolle for their leadership (via Jahns, on Twitter).
Slauson should generate some interest on the free agent market for guard- or center-needy teams after he rebounded nicely from a malady-marred 2014 season in which a torn pectoral muscle limited him to five games. A former sixth-round selection of the Jets’ in 2009, Slauson shifted to center for much of last season due to 2015 rookie Hroniss Grasu‘s neck injury-induced eight-game absence and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-best player at that spot last season. Ramirez slotted in at No. 4. The former John Fox charge in Denver has extensive experience playing both center and guard.