Patriots Draft Rumors: Lasco, Bullard
- Cal running back Daniel Lasco has received invites from the Texans, Raiders, and 49ers, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Lasco has also had private workouts with the Patriots and Eagles and he’ll take part in the Texans’ local pro day since he’s from Houston (via Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee on Twitter). Lasco turned heads with his performance in 2014 but he was held back by a hip injury in 2015.
- Florida defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard has visits and/or workouts on the books with the Lions, Jets, Titans, Seahawks, Raiders, Falcons, and Patriots, Getlin tweets.
Andy Mulumba Visits Patriots
- In addition to having hosted Johnson, the Chiefs are bringing in another defender, linebacker Andy Mulumba, for a visit, per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (Twitter link). Mulumba, who has played 22 games for the Packers during the last three seasons, also visited the Patriots, according to Hodkiewicz.
Details On New Pats TE Clay Harbor
- The Patriots added another tight end to their roster on Wednesday when they agreed to terms with ex-Jaguar Clay Harbor. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com takes a closer look at exactly what the Pats are getting in Harbor.
Patriots Draft Rumors: Bell, Boyd
- Ohio State safety Vonn Bell has (or has had) meetings, workouts and/or visits with the Jets, Patriots, Panthers, and Giants, Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports tweets.
- Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd confirmed that he has had workouts with the Cowboys, Patriots, Chargers, and Rams (Twitter link via SiriusXM). He’ll also have formal visits with the Panthers and Cowboys next week.
Patriots Work Out Jeff Cumberland, Mike Williams
On Wednesday, the Patriots worked out tight end Jeff Cumberland and wide receiver Mike Williams, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (Twitter links). Williams, a Syracuse product, is not to be confused with the former Lions first-round pick who shares his name. 
Cumberland, 29 in May, was released by the Jets prior to the start of free agency in an effort to free up cap space. As a vested veteran, Cumberland immediately became a free agent upon his release and did not have to go through waivers. The tight end caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Williams, a Buffalo native, signed with the Bills prior to the 2014 season and was expected to bolster the team’s passing game after the departure of Steve Johnson. Instead, he compiled just 142 yards and one touchdowns on eight receptions in 2014. Williams was reportedly unhappy in Buffalo and, in December of that year, the Bills decided to cut ties with him. Aside from a workout with the Giants in October of 2015, we haven’t heard much about the former fourth-round pick in recent months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nate Washington Contract Details
- Nate Washington, WR (Patriots): One year, minimum salary benefit. $478K split salary. $60K signing bonus. $20K workout bonus (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
Terrance Knighton Visits Pats, Washington
WEDNESDAY, 1:44pm: Having visited New England and Washington, Knighton is believed to be leaning toward signing with the Patriots, according to Anthony Gulizia of The Washington Times. It’s not clear whether both teams have made contract offers.
TUESDAY, 7:43pm: It appears that Washington does, in fact, want to see what sort of shape Knighton is in. According to John Keim of ESPN.com, if the team is satisfied with Pot Roast’s physical condition, he will likely return to Washington. Keim observes that Knighton has lost roughly 30 pounds this offseason, and although Washington deploys a nickel defense about 75% of the time, the team still needs someone who can play nose tackle at a fairly high level while still contributing in other packages. A slimmer Knighton could certainly be that player.
TUESDAY, 3:29pm: After meeting with the Pats, Knighton is visiting Washington, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a little odd that Pot Roast would be visiting the team he played for last season, particularly since there have been no changes at GM and head coach, but perhaps the team wants to get a first-hand look at what sort of shape Knighton is in.
MONDAY, 9:00am: The Patriots made an effort to sign Nick Fairley, but with Fairley heading to the Saints, Bill Belichick and the Pats aren’t wasting any time moving onto other potential targets. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), New England is hosting free agent defensive tackle Terrance Knighton for a visit today.
Knighton, who started his career in Jacksonville, spent two seasons in Denver before heading to Washington for the 2015 campaign. The 29-year-old has been very durable in his first seven NFL seasons, appearing in 108 total regular-season games, including 96 starts.
A nose tackle, in Washington’s 3-4 scheme, Pot Roast logged 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2015. Although he didn’t have quite the same impact last year that he did during his final season as a Bronco, Knighton ranked in the top half of Pro Football Focus’ list of qualified interior defenders, placing 58th out of 123 players. Predictably, PFF assigned Knighton a much grade as a run defender than as a pass rusher.
The Patriots don’t run a 3-4 base, so if they do sign Knighton, he wouldn’t play quite the same role that he did in D.C. Still, New England is in need of big bodies up front, having lost Akiem Hicks and Sealver Siliga in free agency earlier this month.
According to Rapoport (via Twitter), Washington also has interest in bringing back Knighton.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Patriots Sign E.J. Biggers
The Patriots have added some secondary depth, signing cornerback E.J. Biggers to a contract, league sources tell Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.
Biggers will get a one-year, minimum salary benefit contract that features just $25K in guaranteed money, in the form of a signing bonus. He’ll also be in line for up to $30K in per-game roster bonuses, plus a $25K roster bonus for reporting to training camp.
Biggers, 28, spent three seasons in Tampa Bay and two in Washington before joining the Eagles for the 2015 campaign. Outside of the 2012 season, when he started 12 games for the Bucs, he has been a part-time contributor for most of his NFL career, playing in nickel or dime packages on defense and contributing on special teams as well. In 2015, he recorded 39 tackles and seven passes defended.
New England’s cornerback group looks mostly the same in 2016 as it did in 2015, but Tarell Brown is one player eligible for free agency. Brown played 162 defensive snaps for the club last season, so Biggers will be a top candidate to take over those snaps going forward.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pats Interested In Keenan Reynolds
- The Patriots have gathered a ton of intel on Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com writes. The Annapolis star set the NCAA record for touchdowns with 88 and has drawn comparisons to Julian Edelman.
Miles Killebrew Set To Meet With Patriots
- Southern Utah safety Miles Killebrew is generating plenty of interest around the league, tweets Bleacher Report’s Luke Easterling. The defensive back is set to meet with the Buccaneers, Panthers, Titans, Cardinals, Patriots, and Falcons.
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