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.
Colts Sign Four Draft Picks
After signing first-round pick Ryan Kelly on Wednesday night, the Colts have agreed to terms with four more players from their 2016 draft class. The team has announced deals with fourth-round defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, fifth-round offensive tackle Joe Haeg, seventh-round linebacker Trevor Bates, and seventh-round center Austin Blythe.
Ridgeway, an early-entry player from Texas, broke out in his sophomore year with 47 total tackles, 6 sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss. In his junior year, he had 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks. Those numbers weren’t quite as gaudy as 2014, but they were enough to draw the interest of the Colts around the middle of the draft.
Those rookies will join a Colts team that has now welcomed 21 undrafted free agents. To help make room for their new additions, the Colts waived offensive lineman Khaled Holmes and three other players.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts, Ryan Kelly Agree To Deal
The Colts have agreed to terms with their first-round pick, center Ryan Kelly, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes. Kelly was the No. 18 overall pick in last week’s draft. 
Kelly was a consensus All-American in 2015 and following two collegiate seasons in which he did not allow a sack, he was widely projected to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft. Last week, Peter Schrager of FOX Sports reported prior to the draft that Kelly had a chance of going in the top twenty and his floor was believed to be No. 21 where Washington was picking. The Colts did not want to bypass the chance to grab the draft’s best center and pounced on the Alabama product at No. 18.
According to his slot, Kelly will receive a four-year, $10.45MM deal with a $5.8MM signing bonus. Kelly now becomes the second first-round pick from this year’s draft to agree to terms with his team. On Wednesday morning, safety Keanu Neal inked his deal with the Falcons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Colts Cut Eze Obiora
- The Colts have waived Nigerian-born outside linebacker Eze Obiora, according to a press release from the team. Obiora, who signed a contract with the club following the 2015 season, has yet to make his NFL debut.
Colts Cut Khaled Holmes, Three Others
The Colts have waived offensive lineman Khaled Holmes and three other players, the team announced today in a press release. Tight end Cameron Clear, long snapper Forrest Hill, and tackle Mitchell Van Dyk will join Holmes on the free agent market, assuming they clear waivers.
Holmes, 26, is the most notable player in the group, having been a fourth-round pick in 2013 out of USC. The interior lineman started nine games for the Colts since joining the team, including seven in 2015. However, he played primarily at center in Indianapolis, and the club’s decision to draft Ryan Kelly in the first round on Thursday made Holmes expendable.
The salary cap impact of today’s moves will be negligible for the Colts. All four players were on minimum salary contracts, and only Holmes had any dead money left on his deal. His release will clear his non-guaranteed $675K base salary from Indianapolis’ books, leaving about $105K in dead money on the cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Cowboys, Lynch, Jaguars, Falcons
The Cowboys reportedly made an effort to trade back into the first round to take a shot at drafting quarterback Paxton Lynch, and though the club ultimately stayed put, Jerry Jones conveyed regret that Dallas didn’t make the deal. “I probably should have overpaid,” says Jones, according to Drew Davidson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link).
Here’s the latest on the draft as the undrafted free agent signing frenzy gets underway…
- The Jaguars have a fifth-year option decision to make, as the club will have the choice of extending left tackle Luke Joeckel‘s contract through the 2017 season. Jacksonville GM Dave Caldwell says he’ll speak with Joeckel about the option on Monday, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link).
- “Heck no” was Falcons head coach Dan Quinn‘s response when asked if receiver Devin Hester had been cleared for any activity after undergoing toe surgery in January, reports Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. GM Thomas Dimitroff said in February that Atlanta will re-evaluate Hester’s status with the club when he’s fully healthy.
- Pass rush was an area of need for the Colts, but the prospects that appealed to GM Ryan Grigson came off the board early, he tells Mike Chappelle of FOX59 (Twitter link), adding that Indianapolis wasn’t going to allow need to trump its board.
Colts Working On Andrew Luck Extension
Now that the draft is winding down, the primary piece of business for the Colts this offseason will be whether or not they can come to a long-term agreement with Andrew Luck.
While that accord looks like a matter of when, not if, Jim Irsay confirmed the sides have been engaged in “serious” discussions, Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com reports (on Twitter). Indianpolis’ owner added that he sees no reason the Colts and Luck can’t reach an accord before training camp.
We heard last month the Colts wanted to sign Luck to an extension by July 4. That arbitrary date doesn’t hold much significance, though, as Irsay confirmed today, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (on Twitter).
Although Luck is coming off his worst season as a pro after injuries limited him to seven starts for a Colts team that slunk out of the playoff race largely as a result of their quarterback play, a extension for the former Stanford signal-caller is expected to either become the new standard for quarterback salaries or close to it. Right now, Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers represent the NFL’s $22MM-per-year club, with Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning — who each agreed to extensions last year — being the $21MM-per-year group.
The 2012 No. 1 pick, Luck completed 55% of his passes in his fourth season, one that featured the Colts come into the season with Super Bowl expectations after qualifying for the AFC championship in 2014. Prior to that, however, Luck led the NFL in touchdown passes with 40 in 2014, the Colts’ third straight 11-5 season after they went 2-14 in the year between the Peyton Manning and Luck eras.
As of now, Luck is under contract for his fifth season on a fifth-year option worth $16.155MM. He won’t be eligible for a franchise tag until 2017.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Draft Rumors: Glennon, Vikings, Colts, Giants
Jason Licht said the Buccaneers did not engage in any trade discussions involving quarterback Mike Glennon, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter), who added Licht and Dirk Koetter are “happy to have him.”
Jameis Winston‘s backup has not played since 2014 and was speculated as a trade target for quarterback-needy teams, joining Nick Foles, A.J. McCarron and the now-released Brian Hoyer in that regard. A 2013 third-round pick, Glennon is entering his contract year and as of now would net the Bucs a low-round compensatory selection if he departs in free agency.
The 26-year-old owns a 5-13 record during his starts as a rookie and then in 2014, completing 58.8% of his passes and throwing 29 touchdown passes compared to 15 interceptions before receding into a practice-only player once the Bucs drafted Winston.
Here’s the latest from Day 3 of the draft, beginning with a bit of history.
- German League standout Moritz Boehringer informed the Vikings he’d sign with the team as a free agent after the draft, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, but those assurances evidently weren’t enough for the Vikings, who took the wide receiver project in the sixth round. A Vikings fan since he saw some Adrian Peterson YouTube videos in 2011, the 6-foot-4, 229-pound Boehringer is responsible for a landmark draft moment: he’s the first foreign-born player selected who didn’t attend a North American college (Twitter links courtesy of Tommason).
- The Giants are going to add between 12 and 15 undrafted free agents, which is a slightly heightened figure from recent years, NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan tweets.
- We heard earlier the Steelers were trying to move into the fifth round in order to select potentially a running back or quarterback, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets, but balked when the players they targeted were no longer on the board.
- The Colts had some issues on their offensive front last year but did not necessarily intend to devote half of their initial six picks during the draft to the line, Jim Irsay told media (including Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com). Ryan Kelly and Le’Raven Clark went to Indianapolis in the first and third rounds, respectively, with the team adding Carson Wentz‘s top blocker at North Dakota State in guard Joe Haeg in the fifth.
Packers Acquire 48th Pick From Colts
The Packers have acquired the 48th overall pick from the Colts, reports Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). In return, the Colts will get three choices this year from the Packers – a second-rounder (No. 57), fourth-rounder (No. 125) and seventh-rounder (No. 248) – according to Mike Chappell of FOX59 (Twitter link). The Packers selected Indiana offensive tackle Jason Spriggs with their newly acquired pick.
Spriggs started 46 games for Indiana and could be the long-term solution at left tackle for the Packers, whose current starter – David Bakhtiari – is a year away from free agency. General manager Ted Thompson isn’t one to give away draft picks, so moving multiple selections for Spriggs is a significant vote of confidence in the young lineman.
Pauline’s Latest: OTs, Steelers, Packers, Bucs
League insiders believe that as many as six offensive tackles could be selected in the first round of tonight’s draft, according to Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com. Laremy Tunsil, Ronnie Stanley, Jack Conklin, and Taylor Decker are the obvious names, but Jason Spriggs, Le’Raven Clark, and Germain Ifedi are also candidates to go off the board tonight. The clubs that have put the most research into offensive tackles, per Pauline? The Colts, Packers, Seahawks, Broncos, Panthers, and Steelers.
Let’s check out the latest draft rumors, all courtesy of Pauline:
- Among the teams hoping to trade down tonight are the Falcons, Colts, Vikings, and Jets, according to Pauline. On the other side of the coin, the Cardinals, Panthers, and Broncos may like to trade up. Denver, presumably, would be targeting a quarterback in a trade-up scenario.
- The Steelers will consider a cornerback at pick No. 25, but they’ll also look at offensive tackles, writes Pauline. Pittsburgh returns Alejandro Villanueva at tackle, and signed Ryan Harris this offseason, but an upgrade wouldn’t be out of the question.
- The Packers might also like to find a new left tackle, says Pauline, as Green Bay would like to transition incumbent David Bakhtiari to left guard.
- If pass rusher Noah Spence is still available at the end of the first round, a club might trade back up in order to draft him, per Pauline. The Buccaneers are one team to watch in such a situation.