Ezekiel Elliott To Visit Bears
Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott is expected to be the first player off the board at his position, and is receiving attention from several teams picking in the first half of the first round. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets, Elliott said during an appearance on NFL Total Access that he has visits lined up with the Eagles (No. 8), Bears (No. 11), and Dolphins (No. 13). He has also previously met with Dallas.
Ted Larsen Contract Details
- Ted Larsen, OL (Bears): One year, $1.65MM. $350K signing bonus. Up to $200K in per-game roster bonuses. $50K workout bonus. Up to $750K in playing time incentives (Twitter link).
Bears Host Austin Hooper
- Stanford tight end Austin Hooper visited the Titans and Bears earlier this week, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. The 6’4″, 254-pound athlete is a likely top-50 pick, Getlin adds.
Bears To Meet With Germain Ifedi
- Germain Ifedi has a busy schedule upcoming after performing for teams at Texas A&M’s pro day Wednesday. The Aggies’ latest tackle prospect has a slew of visits and workouts booked, WalterFootball.com’s Tony Pauline reports. Ifedi’s visit itinerary features summits with the Lions, Panthers, Bears and Texans after having already met with the Titans and Dolphins. The Cardinals, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Panthers, Texans and Falcons have scheduled workouts with Ifedi.
Do Bears Make Sense For Muhammad Wilkerson?
- In a recent mailbag, a reader asked Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune whether the Bears would give up their first-round pick for Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. The Jets are willing to entertain trade offers from Wilkerson, but they’re not desperate enough to move him cheaply. Chicago, meanwhile, likely needs to build through the draft for a few years to put their plan in motion, and a Wilkerson deal would probably weaken its stockpile.
Roy Robertson-Harris To Work Out For Bears
- Texas-El Paso defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris will visit the Raiders and Chiefs and work out for the Bears and Vikings, Wilson tweets.
Bears Contract Details: Ramirez, Acho, Others
- Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune provides the details on a handful of recently-signed Bears contracts, reporting that offensive lineman Manny Ramirez, linebacker Sam Acho, wide receiver Deonte Thompson, and safety Chris Prosinski all received one-year, minimum salary benefit deals, with $80K signing bonuses.
Bears' GM Likes 2016 QB Class; Team To Meet With German WR
The Browns are set to meet with Stanford QB Kevin Hogan, according to Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). This is a potentially intriguing development, as Cleveland has been expected to take one of this year’s top quarterback prospects with the No. 2 overall pick despite having signed Robert Griffin III late last month. Hogan is considered more of a mid-round talent, but he certainly has his fans in the scouting community after setting a Stanford school record for victories (36). The Browns may just be doing their due diligence, but if they pass on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall selection with the intention of picking up a signal-caller like Hogan or Christian Hackenberg later in the draft, it could have major ramifications for the teams picking immediately behind Cleveland in the first round.
More of the latest draft-related news…
- German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer will host a private workout for teams Friday, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Boehringer, who could go as high as the fourth round, has already met with Minnesota officials. He also has visits scheduled with the Bears, Rams, Panthers, Chiefs and Broncos, per Andy Fenelon of NFL.com.
- The Bears look poised to draft a quarterback this year, writes John Mullin of CSNChicago.com, as the team dedicated a sizable amount of its interview time at the February combine to signal-callers. “It’s a good position in the draft,” general manager Ryan Pace said last month. “We’ve gotta be smart.” Other than entrenched starter Jay Cutler, the Bears’ in-house options under center include 2014 sixth-round pick David Fales and Matt Blanchard – who signed a reserve/futures contract in January.
- The Buccaneers invited Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee to their pro day, but the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is only doing private workouts and top-30 visits, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Higbee hauled in 38 passes, averaged 14.8 yards per catch, and racked up eight touchdowns last season.
- Former Georgia Tech and Florida linebacker Anthony Harrell will attend the Buccaneers’ local workout on April 15, Auman reports (on Twitter).
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Bears "Team To Watch" In Wilkerson Talks
- Though Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan has said he is not “actively pursuing” a trade involving defensive ed Muhammad Wilkerson, Cimini says the Bears are a “team to watch” as the draft approaches, noting that New York would instantly accept an offer of the No. 11 overall pick. Wilkerson, who was designated as the Jets’ franchise player, can be assigned the franchise tag again in 2017, essentially allowing Gang Green to lock him up for $34.5MM over two years.
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Bears Plan To Meet With Ndemkiche, Iannotti
- The Bears intend to meet with Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche and Southern Illinois quarterback Mark Iannotti in the next few weeks, writes John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. Nkemdiche is a first-round talent who may slip in the draft due to character concerns, while Iannotti is considered a late-round pick or UDFA.