- Though the Colts do need to find a suitable backup behind starting running back Frank Gore, Mike Wells of ESPN.com doesn’t think Arian Foster is the answer, given that the free agent back can’t seem to stay healthy. Darren Sproles, on the other hand, could be a fit, says Wells, but it doesn’t sound like the Eagles are in any rush to give him up.
- Robert Mathis‘ Colts contract expires after this season, but Colts.com’s Kevin Bowen expects that if the former All-Pro can perform like he did during his age-34 slate in 2015 and is willing to work with the Colts financially, there’s a path for another Mathis contract for 2017. Mathis, Trent Cole and Erik Walden‘s contracts expire after this season, leaving Indianapolis bereft of pass-rushers after 2016. As part of an extension signed during Mathis’ PED suspension in Sept. 2014, the 35-year-old outside linebacker is due a non-guaranteed $5MM this season.
- There’s no denying Anquan Boldin‘s professionalism, but ESPN.com’s Mike Wells says the veteran wideout may not necessarily be a fit for the Colts. The writer refers to the organization’s last three veteran receiver signings (Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hakeem Nicks, Andre Johnson) and their lack of production.
- The Colts have not had any discussions with Dwight Freeney regarding a return to Indy, tweets ESPN’s Mike Wells. The writer notes that the organization prefers to develop their younger pass rushers.
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- Bjoern Werner‘s minimum salary deal with the Jaguars gives him an $80K bonus if he makes the roster and an extra $300K if he reaches a certain sack total, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. Werner, 25, inked a prove-it deal with Jacksonville last week. The former first-round pick appeared in 38 games over the last three years for the Colts, including 16 starts. In that time, the Florida State alum registered 77 tackles (61 solo), 6.5 sacks, five passes defensed, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. However, the majority of Werner’s production came in his first two years in the league.
- The Colts named Todd Vasvari as their senior player personnel scout, Matt Terpening as the assistant director of college scouting, and Brandon Brown as an advanced scout, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Colts also named Chad Henry as their east regional scout and Joey Elliott as a pro scout (Twitter link).
Today’s minor moves:
- The Browns claimed kicker Jaden Oberkrom off waivers from the Jaguars, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Waived by the Jags on Monday to make room for veteran guard Jeff Linkenbach, Oberkrom kicked for four years at TCU, making 79-of-100 field goals for the Horned Frogs. He’ll join Travis Coons and Brad Craddock as Cleveland’s rostered kickers. However, the Browns are searching for help after Coons had four kicks blocked last season, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
- The Panthers have added wide receiver Avius Capers to the roster, as David Newton of ESPN.com tweets. Capers is a familiar face for the Panthers, having spent time with the team in training camp last year. As of this writing, Carolina has a dozen receivers on its roster.
- The Colts are signing former New Mexico State corner Winston Rose following a successful private workout, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Rose boasts a 4.37-second 40-yard-dash time and his speed has led to NFL attention.
- The Packers have signed safety Jermaine Whitehead, according to a source who spoke with Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Whitehead finished last season with Baltimore, who signed him late in the year off San Francisco’s practice squad.
Jets receiver Eric Decker told SiriusXM NFL on Tuesday afternoon that, right now, the Jets “have to move on without” free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, as a guest on NFL Total Access on Tuesday evening, he expressed confidence that the Jets and Fitzpatrick will ultimately get a deal done, writes Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.
“Something is going to happen. It might be before training camp, the day or two before, but I believe that he’ll be back on the team come this fall,” Decker said, though he did acknowledge that the two sides “are so far off” from each other when it comes to the quarterback’s dollar value.
In other NFL news…
- It looks as if Colts quarterback Andrew Luck‘s injury-plagued 2015 campaign is behind him. The four-year veteran is participating in Colts workouts with “no limitations,” he said Tuesday (via Mike Wells of ESPN.com). After appearing in all of the Colts’ games during his first three seasons, Luck missed nine contests last year with injuries to his kidney, ribs and shoulder, and experienced a precipitous statistical decline while on the field. Now, Luck “looks really good,” according to head coach Chuck Pagano. As of late April, the Colts were focusing on an extension for Luck, whose deal expires at the end of the upcoming season. It’s likely a new contract for the 26-year-old would make him one of the league’s highest-paid players.
- Chargers defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, who signed with the Bolts in free agency, spoke effusively about the team’s defensive personnel Monday (per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I was telling guys, there’s more talent on this defense than in Seattle. If you look at the draft, you’ve got four first-round draft picks. You’ve got five second-round draft picks, all total on defense. In Seattle, we only had two first rounders and one second rounder. Everybody else was pretty much down in the draft or undrafted.” Mebane is quite familiar with the Seahawks’ defense, of course, having spent the first nine years of his career in Seattle. Regardless of draft pedigree, however, the Seahawks has been among the NFL’s defensive elite over the past several years, whereas the Chargers’ stop unit was toward the bottom of the league in all notable categories last season. With Mebane and third overall pick Joey Bosa now aboard, at least some improvement should be in order this year.
- Chip Kelly understood Jarryd Hayne‘s decision to retire in light of a potential Olympic rugby opportunity, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. On the subject of Hayne, the NFL’s drug-testing protocol may keep him out of the Olympics despite American football having no presence in the Games. Prospective Olympic athletes must be in a World Anti-Doping Agency-compliant pool for at least six months, Jamie Marcuson of the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The NFL does not fall under the WADA umbrella, and former Australian Anti-Doping Agency chief Richard Ings told Marcuson that Hayne has “no chance” of playing for his native Fiji this August as a result. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Hayne’s exit strategy stemmed instead from the fact he didn’t have much of a chance to make the 49ers‘ 53-man roster.
- Titans safety Rashad Johnson told SiriusXM (Twitter link) that the Cardinals expressed some interest in having him back, but did not make an offer.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
- Despite the Colts‘ apparent need for a pass rusher (and the team’s tendency to add players older than 30), ESPN.com’s Mike Wells can’t envision the team bringing in free agent Dwight Freeney. The 36-year-old spent 11 seasons with Indy, and he played last season with the Cardinals, where he compiled eight sacks.
- The Colts don’t have much cornerback depth outside of Vontae Davis, Patrick Robinson and Darius Butler, writes Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. This could pave the way for an undrafted free agent to play a significant role on the team.
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- Former New Orleans scout Brendan Prophett is reportedly set to join the Lions as the team’s new director of pro scouting, and Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (Twitter link) hears that Prophett chose that position over a similar role in the Colts‘ front office.
- Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report argues that the Colts should act now to lock up quarterback Andrew Luck for the long term, even if it means making him the league’s highest-paid player after a disappointing, injury-plagued 2015 season.
- The Colts signed free agent tackle Jeremy Vujnovich and waived linebacker Anthony Sarao, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Vujnovich has spent the last two seasons on Green Bay’s practice squad.