Eric Rogers

NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/17

Here’s today’s workout news from around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

 

 

NFL Workout Updates: 11/28/17

Here are today’s workout updates, courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer unless otherwise noted.

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

  • DL Marcus Hardison

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 11/21/17

Here’s the workout news from Tuesday.

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Jets

49ers Cut 13 Players

The 49ers have released 13 players, including linebacker Jayson DiManche and wide receiver Eric Rogers. Here’s the full list:

DiManche was just signed on April 7th, so his stint in San Francisco lasted less than one month. We haven’t seen DiManche in live action since 2015 when he appeared in one game for the Browns. Prior to that, he spent two seasons with the Bengals.

Rogers, a former CFL standout, was a practice field favorite of Chip Kelly last offseason until an unfortunate injury shut him down for the season. This week, the 49ers signed undrafted Baylor wide receiver K.D. Cannon and that only further crowded the wide receiver position in SF. With Rogers and Harper out of the picture, the team still has nine receivers under contract.

49ers Cut Jerome Simpson, Eight Others, Place Eric Rogers On IR

The 49ers released Jerome Simpson and waived eight other players, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (on Twitter). They also placed coveted ex-CFL wide receiver Eric Rogers on IR after he tore his ACL earlier this month.

Here are the other players San Francisco cut today:

Originally a Bengals second-round pick in 2008, Simpson has seen action in seven seasons — with Cincinnati from 2008-11, Minnesota from 2012-13 and with the 49ers last year — but saw a suspension derail his most recent one. The 30-year-old wideout signed a two-year, $1.73MM deal with San Francisco before last season but saw a substance-abuse policy suspension shelve him for six games. Simpson, who recorded 700-yard+ seasons with the Bengals and Vikings, made just five receptions for 54 yards in 2015.

The 49ers, who have to make four cuts to get to the 75-man limit by the Tuesday-afternoon deadline, do not owe Simpson any guaranteed money.

Rogers, who chose to sign with the 49ers because of Chip Kelly‘s presence, received the most lucrative deal for a CFL refugee since Cameron Wake in 2009. He fielded offers from nearly half the league after re-establishing his stock, one that didn’t initially attract much NFL interest after signing with the Cowboys as a UDFA in 2013.

Gaskins played in nine games for the Niners last season, receiving 16 carries and gaining 38 yards as a rookie.

49ers WR Eric Rogers Done For Season

CFL import Eric Rogers has suffered an ACL tear and will not be able to play this season, coach Chip Kelly told reporters (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Rogers signed with San Francisco in January and was given the most lucrative deal for a CFL player since the Dolphins signed Cameron Wake back in 2009. Eric Rogers

Rogers, 25, visited 16 NFL teams over the winter and had 13 contract offers to sort through. Ultimately, Rogers chose to sign with the Niners because of Kelly. When Rogers visited the Eagles in December, Kelly took time out of his busy schedule to attend the workout in person. Weeks later, Kelly was hired by SF, and the wide receiver knew that was where he wanted to be.

“When he got hired by the Niners, he called me two or three hours after it got announced that they were going to hire him,” Rogers said. “He basically told me, ‘I guess I had to come to Cali to sign you since you’re a Cali boy.’ So he still had that kind of recruitment in him like he was at Oregon. He was like, ‘You’re the first player I called and I want you to be the first player I sign at my new job.’”

Rogers, who played his college ball at Cal Lutheran, signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2013, but didn’t earn a regular season roster spot. After joining the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League, Rogers headed to the CFL in 2014 and had his breakout season with Calgary in 2015. In 17 games for the Stampeders last season, Rogers racked up 87 receptions for 1,448 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Colts, Chargers, Giants, Titans, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Eagles, Vikings, Bears, Browns, and Redskins were among the teams to give Rogers a look during his NFL tour.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers Sign CFL WR Eric Rogers

THURSDAY, 2:55pm: The 49ers have officially signed Rogers to a two-year contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 2:48pm: After auditioning for half the teams in the NFL over the last several weeks, standout Canadian Football League wide receiver Eric Rogers has made his decision. Rogers has agreed to sign with the 49ers, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Calgary Stampeders let Rogers out of his CFL contract early so that he could sign with San Francisco.Eric Rogers

According to Schefter, the Niners are giving Rogers the most lucrative deal for a CFL player since the Dolphins signed Cameron Wake back in 2009. It’s a two-year contract with a $125K signing bonus, $75K in other bonuses, and a minimum base salary that includes a $100K guarantee, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Schefter adds (via Twitter) that the wideout, who turns 25 next month, visited 16 teams and had 13 contract offers to sort through.

Rogers, who played his college ball at Cal Lutheran, signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2013, but didn’t earn a regular-season roster spot. After joining the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League, Rogers headed to the CFL in 2014 and had his breakout season with Calgary in 2015. In 17 games for the Stampeders this past season, Rogers racked up 87 receptions for 1,448 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Rogers’ return to the NFL will see him playing under new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly, whose fast-paced offense should provide a challenge for the CFL star. San Francisco receiver Torrey Smith joked last week when Kelly’s hiring was reported that he “might have to start running right now to get in shape” (Twitter link).

The Colts, Chargers, Giants, Titans, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Eagles, Vikings, Bears, Browns, and Washington were among the teams to give Rogers a look during his whirlwind NFL tour.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: E. Rogers, Lions, Cousins, Morstead

Standout CFL receiver Eric Rogers is signing with the 49ers, but it was a visit to the Eagles that helped convince him to choose San Francisco. As he explains to Scott Mitchell of the Calgary Sun, Rogers was impressed at a December workout with the Eagles that head coach Chip Kelly took the time to attend and to meet with him despite Philadelphia having a game to play a couple days later. Kelly’s enthusiasm for the Calgary Stampeders star didn’t dim at all when he became the Niners’ new head coach.

“When he got hired by the Niners, he called me two or three hours after it got announced that they were going to hire him,” Rogers said. “He basically told me, ‘I guess I had to come to Cali to sign you since you’re a Cali boy.’ So he still had that kind of recruitment in him like he was at Oregon. He was like, ‘You’re the first player I called and I want you to be the first player I sign at my new job.'”

As we look forward to seeing if Rogers can earn a roster spot and make an impact for the 49ers this season, let’s check in on a few more items from out of the NFC….

  • During an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, new Lions general manager Bob Quinn said that he approached the decision of whether or not to retain head coach Jim Caldwell with an open mind (link via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com). “We had a series of meetings,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t just one day or one hour. It was over a couple of days and a dozen hours. Really, get to know you sessions. My philosophy and his philosophy meshed.”
  • With Kirk Cousins in line for a new contract, Washington will aim to build its roster around the quarterback, and will have to build its salary cap strategy around his new deal, writes Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post. Former agent Joel Corry tells Tesfatsion that he doesn’t expect Cousins to agree to a team-friendly long-term deal like the ones signed by Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton.
  • Mike Triplett of ESPN.com doesn’t expect the Saints to cut Thomas Morstead this offseason, but says the team will have to consider it, since the veteran punter – who has a $4.45MM cap hit in 2016 – may be a luxury the team can’t afford. I suggested as much back in September in my preview of New Orleans’ cap outlook for ’16.
  • Former Falcons tackle Lamar Holmes continued to work out for NFL teams this week, auditioning on Wednesday for the Cowboys, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Holmes spent most of the 2015 season on the PUP list before being cut by Atlanta with an injury settlement.

Extra Points: LA, Chip, Rice, Bucs, Jets

Negotiations between the Rams and Chargers are going well, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole (video link), as the Bolts continue their quest to leave San Diego for Los Angeles. Cole offers a couple of reasons why the Rams hope the Chargers – not the Raiders – join them as LA’s second NFL team. The Rams believe marketing the Raiders in LA would be a challenge, given their past history in the city. Further, the Rams don’t want the Raiders’ rowdy fans in the state-of-the-art stadium and shopping complex they’re building in Inglewood. It appears the Rams won’t have to worry about it, as Cole expects they’ll reach a deal with the Chargers – perhaps in the next two weeks.

More from around the league:

  • New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly had control over the 53-man roster in Philadelphia, but that won’t be the case in San Francisco. Kelly says he’s “real comfortable with” general manager Trent Baalke controlling the 53-man roster, per the team’s Twitter account. Kelly also claims to be comfortable with quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. “Obviously Kap is an extremely talented football player and you need a good quarterback to win,” Kelly said, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. “But I was also impressed from the film I watched in terms of how Blaine played this year. Both of those players made this an attractive situation.”
  • Free agent running back Ray Rice is “still hopeful” about a return to the NFL, he told Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. Rice, of course, hasn’t been able to find work in the league the last two years as a result of a domestic-violence incident. “I’m not ready to give it up. My second chance, it might take a little longer than I expected, but you know what? I know I still have a lot of game left. I’m not worried about that part of it,” Rice said. The soon-to-be 29-year-old averaged a paltry 3.1 yards per carry in 2013, which currently stands as his final season.
  • Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter told Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio the notion that he used other head coaching vacancies as leverage so the Bucs would fire Lovie Smith and promote him is “total, 100 percent B.S.”
  • Before CFL receiver Eric Rogers agreed to a deal with San Francisco on Wednesday, the Jets made him an offer, tweets the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta.

Extra Points: Shula, Irvin, Falcons, Packers

Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula made it known during the head coaching hiring cycle that he wasn’t interested in taking interviews until Carolina’s playoff run was complete, preferring to focus on the task at hand. While it’s certainly an admirable approach, it may have cost him at least one job, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins never reached out to Shula because they wanted to hire a head coach quickly. Miami did become the first franchise to hire a new HC, agreeing to terms with Adam Gase on January 9.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Although Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin recently told the media that he’d be willing to accept less money to stay with the Seahawks, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com isn’t necessarily buying it. Irvin is an Atlanta native, and the Falcons would be offering him a chance to reunite with ex-Seattle coordinator Dan Quinn. Plus, notes McClure, Atlanta has shown a willingness to spend on defensive acquisitions in the past.
  • In other Falcons news, receiver Devin Hester is set to face a three-to-six month recovery after undergoing toe surgery today, according to McClure. Hester, who missed 11 games in 2015 due to the injury, might miss some offseason work, but should be healthy by the start of the 2016 season.
  • The Packers and GM Ted Thompson are interested in Mississippi State linebacker Beniquez Brown, a source tells Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net. Brown is a potential third-round pick, in the estimation of Pauline.
  • CFL receiver Eric Rogers recently worked out for the Colts, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). This is Rogers’ third PFR mention today, so it’s clear that he’s getting attention around the league.