Snead Reflects On Austin Tenure
- The Rams bailed on wideout Tavon Austin, sending him to the Cowboys for a sixth-rounder. While the receiver never lived up to his four-year, $42MM contract, his former organization doesn’t believe his tenure was a failure. “[The deal] was never necessarily to be, hey, a No. 1 receiver,” said general manager Les Snead (via ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez). “But he was a weapon for us on special teams and in the offense. He led our team in touchdowns, and he had a lot of special-teams touchdowns called back. He was just a unique weapon on offense.”
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Rams Sign Seven Undrafted Free Agents
The Rams have agreed to terms with seven undrafted free agents, the club announced today:
- LaQuvionte Gonzalez, WR (Southeastern)
- Ricky Jeune, WR (Georgia Tech)
- Jeremiah Kolone, G (San Jose State)
- Curtis Mickell, DB (Southern Mississippi)
- Steven Mitchell, WR (USC)
- McKay Murphy, DT (Weber State)
- Tegray Scales, LB (Indiana)
Scales began his collegiate career at Indiana by earning freshman All-American honors before being named second-team All-Big Ten during his senior year. Per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, Scales is a “vocal leader” who offers “elite instincts,” but could struggle to add weight to what is already a small size. Scales put up a whopping 36.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, and also put up 13 sacks over that same period.
Cowboys Rumors: Austin, Witten, S, Draft
The Rams and Cowboys agreed on a deal that will send Tavon Austin to Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round pick, and the sides began discussing this trade on Thursday, Stephen Jones said (via Todd Archer of ESPN.com). Jones said the Rams had a third-day pick in mind as compensation for their former top-10 investment, one who renegotiated his pricey contract earlier this year in order to stay with the team that drafted him. Austin will become the Cowboys’ primary punt returner, Jerry Jones said (via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, on Twitter), and will take over those duties from Ryan Switzer — whom Dallas traded to Oakland shortly after the Austin deal was agreed upon. Austin, 27, was a part-time kick and punt returner for the Rams last season. He will also function as primarily a running back with the Cowboys, who envision him taking over Lance Dunbar‘s old role as the team’s primary receiving back. Jason Garrett said (via Machota, on Twitter) the goal will be to get the ball to Austin in a variety of ways, so it sounds like Dallas intends to keep the 5-foot-9 performer in a gadget role.
Here’s the latest from Dallas:
- While Jerry Jones said Jason Witten would take a few days before announcing a decision about his 2018 status, the owner now is backing off that stance. It may take longer. “As I saw Troy [Aikman] say, that’s his decision, and he’s got the time to make it,” Jones said, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “He deserves the time to make that. I don’t have a timeline on it. I do know that when we left [Friday], he certainly thought he wanted the weekend to come to some conclusion. … I want to emphasize again how we like our tight ends that we’ve got on the roster that would be on the roster if we don’t have Witten, but certainly Dalton [Schultz] was noted as what we thought was the best blocker of the tight ends.” The Eagles traded one spot in front of their rivals in Round 2 to select Dallas Goedert. Witten may well inform the Cowboys of his decision early next week, but Dallas brass doesn’t appear to be rushing him. The Cowboys selected Stanford’s Schultz in the fourth round.
- The team wants to bring in competition for Xavier Woods at free safety, Machota tweets. The Cowboys did not draft a safety this weekend but will remain on the lookout for one. This is a unique year to need a safety, with several experienced ones still available. Eric Reid, Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro are without teams. However, Machota notes (on Twitter) Jerry Jones declined to comment when asked if Reid would be a possibility for the Cowboys. The former Pro Bowler is in a strange position, being part of the Colin Kaepernick-led protest movement but profiling as a player who is an upper-echelon starter at a lower-profile position. Jones has been a vocal opponent of these protests, probably the leader among the owners against them, so it would be a surprise if Reid ended up in Dallas.
- The Cowboys were able to draft defensive end Dorance Armstrong in the fourth round, but Jerry Jones said (via Machota, on Twitter) they nearly traded two fourth-round picks to acquire a third-rounder to draft the Kansas pass rusher.
Redskins Get No. 197 Pick From Rams
Another Rams trade went down in this sixth round. Los Angeles sent the No. 197 overall choice to Washington, continuing the Rams’ spree of maneuvers over the past hour.
The Redskins used the selection to draft Alabama linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton. The Rams will get the No. 205 and No. 231 picks from the Redskins in exchange for Nos. 197 and 256, per John Keim of ESPN.com.
This is the second time the “Mr. Irrelevant” selection has changed hands. It recently went from Atlanta to Los Angeles.
Hamilton played a significant role for the past two Crimson Tide teams, helping Alabama win another national title in 2017. He registered 14.5 tackles for loss between the 2016 and ’17 campaigns. He made a career-high 64 tackles in 2016. Hamilton will join former Tide defensive mates Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson and Da’Ron Payne in Washington.
Rams Trade No. 194 Pick To Falcons
The Rams moved another of their extensive collection of sixth-round picks, trading the No. 194 choice to the Falcons in exchange for two seventh-round selections, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com tweets.
Los Angeles will collect Nos. 244 and 256, the latter being the final pick in this draft, from Atlanta. Thanks to their aggressive offseason, the Rams still hold three picks between Nos. 192 and 197. They now own two picks in the seventh round as well.
LSU wide receiver Russell Gage will stay in the southeast as a result of this trade. Gage has incredibly modest numbers for an NFL draft pick — 26 career catches, 347 yards, five total touchdowns — but he’ll attempt to earn a roster spot with the Falcons.
Atlanta still owns its own sixth-round pick, No. 200, but now has no seventh-round selections after dealing both of them to their 2017 first-round playoff opponent. The Falcons had not made a pick since the fourth round, with Gage being the fifth member of their 2018 draft class.
Rams Move Into Broncos’ No. 160 Slot
Having just acquired a seventh sixth-round selection in this year’s draft in the Tavon Austin trade, the Rams used that capital to move up into Round 5.
The Rams sent two of those sixth-rounders (Nos. 183 and 217) to the Broncos to move into the No. 160 spot. Los Angeles used the pick to take Oklahoma edge defender Ogbonnia Okoronkwo.
Despite making big trades to help their defense, the Rams are thinner on the edge. Okoronkwo provided consistent pressure for the Sooners, totaling 29 tackles for loss and 17 sacks over the past two seasons. He’s the third sack artist to head to the Rams this draft, following Stephen F. Austin’s John Franklin-Myers and Virginia’s Micah Kiser.
This marks the second time in the past several minutes the Broncos have traded down in the fifth round. Previously, Denver did not have a pick past Round 5. This was because of multiple trades they made in a busy offseason. They now own three because of these Saturday deals.
Rams To Trade Tavon Austin To Cowboys
The Tavon Austin era with the Rams looks to be over, and he’ll attempt to restore his career on a team that just lost its highest-profile wideout.
Austin will head to the Cowboys as part of this exchange, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The No. 8 pick in the 2013 draft, Austin will go to Dallas for the No. 192 overall pick.
A slot target/gadget specialist, Austin fell out of favor with the Rams despite being signed to a memorable contract nearly two years ago. He caught just 13 passes for 47 yards during Sean McVay’s debut season, a year after he established a career high with 509 air yards for what was the league’s worst passing attack.
Austin joins a Cowboys team that has some depth in the slot/gadget department, employing Cole Beasley and Ryan Switzer. However, Austin’s speed could be attractive to the Cowboys, who are ready to take a chance on him. The 5-foot-9 West Virginia alum has one season remaining on his contract, one he restructured in March in order to stay with the Rams. He’s attached to a $7MM cap number and is signed only through the 2018 season.
For the Rams, they now own an incredible stake in this year’s sixth round. Los Angeles now has seven sixth-round picks.
Panthers Acquire No. 136 From Rams
The Panthers have acquired pick No. 136 from the Rams in exchange for Nos. 147 and 197, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Panthers used their newly-acquired pick on New Mexico State wideout Jaleel Scott. The six-foot-six receiver had a breakout campaign in 2017, hauling in 76 receptions for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns. He’ll provide quarterback Joe Flacco with another talented target, and Scott will instantly become the tallest wideout on the team.
The Ravens have added a number of offensive pieces during the draft, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, lineman Orlando Brown, and tight ends Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews.
Raiders Trade With Rams, Select Arden Key
Arden Key‘s slide looks to have stopped. The Raiders have moved into the No. 87 draft position and are selecting the LSU edge defender.
The Rams traded out of the No. 87 slot and will drop back two positions in this third round, with Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) Los Angeles will also collect a a sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 217) in this exchange.
Key was projected by some to be a first-round pick earlier in the pre-draft process, and he joins former LSU teammate Derrius Guice as Tigers to endure lengthy slips during draft weekend.
A dominant player in 2016 with an LSU-record 12.5 sacks, the 6-foot-6 Key spent time in rehab for marijuana usage and was overweight for his final season in Baton Rouge, La. But Key is viewed as a first-round-level talent, and he’ll join an edge-rushing contingent and is set to play behind Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin.
Browns, Colts Lead League In Cap Space
The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:
- Browns – $69.5MM
- Colts – $59.8MM
- 49ers – $43.8MM
- Titans – $35.8MM
- Texans -$35.6MM
- Bears – $24.1MM
- Jets – $21.9MM
- Bills – $19.4MM
- Jaguars – $18.6MM
- Cardinals – $18.1MM
- Redskins -$17.1MM
- Bengals – $16.8MM
- Packers – $16.2MM
- Vikings – $15.5MM
- Broncos – $14.6MM
- Patriots – $13.8MM
- Buccaneers – $12.3MM
- Cowboys -$11.9MM
- Chargers – $11.4MM
- Lions – $9.4MM
- Giants -$9.4MM
- Ravens – $8.8MM
- Seahawks – $7.6MM
- Chiefs – $6.7MM
- Saints – $5.7MM
- Panthers – $5.2MM
- Dolphins – $2.9MM
- Eagles – $2.2MM
- Steelers – $2MM
- Raiders – $1.8MM
- Falcons – $1.3MM
- Rams – $264K