Extra Points: Pats, Ravens, Bears, Keller
The Patriots raised eyebrows this week with a string of quarterback draft prospect visits, and overthecap.com’s Aaron Fitzgerald says the team has structured its salary cap to allow for the addition of Tom Brady‘s successor.
Miscellaneous lunchtime news, notes and links. . .
- The Ravens are expected to draft a safety, and ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley discusses the merits of three of the top available, saying Northern Illinois’ Jimmie Ward might be the best fit. Last year’s first-rounder, Matt Elam, who did not produce an abundance of impact plays as a rookie, is expected to be used closer to the line of scrimmage more often next season. Says Hensley: “The Ravens can’t afford for Elam to disappear so much in games this year.”
- Dustin Keller, who tore his ACL, MCL and PCL and also dislocated the knee last August, is not yet 100 percent, but “hasn’t been ruled out and remains on the Dolphins’ radar,” writes ESPN.com’s James Walker.
- A brief, position-by-position analysis of the Jaguars’ off-season moves is provided by Jacksonville.com’s Ryan O’Halloran, who describes under-the-radar free agent acquisition Dekoda Watson as an “ascending player.”
- During an edition of ESPN’s First Draft podcast (listen here), ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay campaigns for the Bears to draft Pittsburgh three-technique Aaron Donald 14th overall, saying the team’s Plan B would be “panic” in a scenario where Donald is off the board. McShay also called Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert the most overrated player in the draft.
- Georgia Tech pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu, recovered from a torn hamstring injury, worked out for scouts at GT’s pro day yesterday, and has visits scheduled with the Colts, Eagles and Patriots.
- A list of reported prospect workouts/visits as well as head coach and general manager sightings at various pro days can be found on NFL.com.
Pre-Draft Visits: Garopollo, Cooks, Lee
The Browns brought Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in for a private visit earlier today, writes Jeff Schudel of the Morning Journal (he writes March 4, but he most likely means April 4). Schudel examines the idea of the Browns selecting a position other than quarterback at the top of the first round, and looking to grab the rookie signal caller with the 26th pick in the first round, or the third pick in round two.
Schudel writes that Browns star receiver Josh Gordon believes the team will take a quarterback with the fourth pick, and that Teddy Bridgewater would be his choice.
Here are some notes from some other pre-draft visits:
- Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks is visiting the Jets, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Cooks also has received interest from the Patriots and the Panthers.
- In addition to Cooks, the Patriots have expressed interest in receivers Marqise Lee of USC, Mike Evans of Texas A&M, Odell Beckham Jr. of LSU, and Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State, according to Doug Kyed of NESN (via Twitter).
- The Saints have scheduled a visit with Lee, but have not yet set a date to meet with Cooks, reports Larry Holder of NOLA.com (via Twitter).
- The Giants worked out quarterback Rusty Smith, reports Howard Balzer of LockerDome.com (via Twitter). Smith appeared in three games for the Titans between 2010 and 2012, throwing no touchdowns and four interceptions.
- Balzer also notes that Kurt Coleman visited the Colts, and while he is not an ideal candidate to replace the departed Antoine Bethea, he could add depth to the safety position
AFC Pre-Draft Visits: Bills, Patriots, Titans
The Bills are hosting a few pre-draft visits today, writes Chris Brown of BufalloBills.com. North Carolina’s star tight end Eric Ebron could be in play for the team in the first round. The Bills are also meeting with defensive end Scott Crichton of Oregon State and LSU’s bruising running back Jeremy Hill. Brown writes that Crichton is projected as a second-round pick and Hill as a mid-round selection.
Here are some other players visiting with AFC teams:
- The Patriots are bringing in Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig for their local pro day, writes Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. The team already hosted the top quarterback talents, who they are unlikely to draft, but Retig would more likely be a late-round pick. Retig will be able to workout with the team, because he is part of a local visit.
- Another late-round quarterback, Brock Jensen of North Dakota State, has visits scheduled with both the Browns and the Bengals, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter).
- The Steelers will be hosting visits from Minnesota safety Brock Vereen, and South Carolina wide receiver Bruce Ellington, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Wilson also reports that Titans hosted Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and Colorado State linebacker Shaquil Barrett. Jernigan is expected to be a first-round pick.
- Wide receiver Eric Thomas of Troy University has a visit with the Colts, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
Patriots To Release Adrian Wilson
Not long after we published a post identifying the notable defenders still on the free agent market, another big name is about to become available. The Patriots have informed veteran safety Adrian Wilson that he’ll be released today, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter). Wilson himself broke the news a little earlier, tweeting: “Thank you to the Patriots organization for the opportunity. I look forward to the future.”
After spending 12 seasons with the Cardinals, Wilson was set to play for the Patriots in 2013, but tore his Achilles in the team’s preseason finale and missed the entire season. According to Garafolo, however, the 34-year-old will be healthy for the 2014 season and wants to continue his playing career. Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link) believes a return to the Cards is unlikely for Wilson, but considering he isn’t far removed from his most recent Pro Bowl season (2011), the former third-round pick should receive some interest.
For New England, Wilson became expendable when the club decided to re-sign a former Patriot, adding Patrick Chung to the safety mix earlier this week. Wilson had a cap number of about $1.833MM, so cutting him will leave the team with about $667K in dead money on the books for 2014, creating about $1.667MM in cap savings.
Patriots Sign Patrick Chung
FRIDAY, 12:50pm: Chung gets a one-year deal with a base salary of $740K, a $60K signing bonus, a $60K workout bonus, and $240K in per-game roster bonuses, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com.
THURSDAY, 12:54pm: The Patriots have officially signed Chung, the team announced today in a press release.
12:30pm: Following the Eagles’ release of Patrick Chung, the Patriots will bring the veteran safety back to New England, according to Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com. Curran tweets that Chung is re-signing with the Pats.
Chung, who was drafted 34th overall by the Patriots in 2009, spent four seasons in New England and started 30 games for the team, but never developed into the kind of impact player the Pats likely envisioned. The 26-year-old regressed further during his lone season in Philadelphia, placing 71st among 86 qualified safeties according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required), and failing to grab an interception for the first time in his career. That prompted his release, which came on the first day of free agency last month.
Returning to the Patriots for his second stint with the team, Chung figures to start out in a reserve role, though he’ll likely be given the opportunity to compete for playing time this summer.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Bills, Jets
Ryan Mallett hasn’t had much of an opportunity to prove himself as a starting-caliber quarterback since joining the league in 2011. Tom Brady‘s backup is entering the final season of his contract and there have been rumblings that team’s could be interested in trading for the former Razorback. If the Pats did decide to pull the trigger and trade Mallett, they aren’t likely to get much back, writes Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. Reiss actually has little faith that the team would get anything of use in return, and thinks Mallett is more valuable even as an expiring-contract backup than as a trade asset.
Let’s take a look at some more rumblings from around the AFC East…
- In the same article, Reiss discusses his confidence that Devin McCourty will sign an extension with the Patriots. Reiss expects to see a new contract as early as this offseason.
- Reiss also addresses Ryan Wendell‘s new contract with the Patriots, stating that the new deal doesn’t guarantee that Wendell will be starting this season. Reiss sees the offensive lineman as more of a backup and believes that the team will continue to look at upgrading the position.
- The Bills announced that Mary Wilson, wife of the team’s late founder and owner, will now be the controlling owner, according to a post on BuffaloBills.com. Meanwhile, a source tells Tim Graham of The Buffalo News that the team won’t “ease” into the sale process and that a deal could come as soon as October.
- Wide receiver Brandin Cooks has scheduled a pre-draft visit with the Jets, reports Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Burleson, Pats, Jets
As we noted this morning, Jordan Rodgers represents the latest signee for a Dolphins team that has been busy over the last couple days. However, even though the team has reportedly inked Rodgers, Michael Rios, and Kevin Cone to deals in the last 24 hours or so, those weren’t the only lesser-known players brought in for workouts. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details, ex-Texans receiver Lestar Jean, and former West Virginia receiver J.D. Woods also auditioned for the club on Wednesday, but left without contracts.
Here’s more from around the AFC East:
- The Dolphins continue to look at receivers and will bring in Nate Burleson for a visit today, reports Steve Wyche of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald is a little surprised by the news, since he doesn’t think Burleson would be more than the No. 5 receiver in Miami, and doesn’t think the former Lion would have interest in being buried so deep on the depth chart.
- Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty was in Florida with Vince Wilfork last week when the veteran nose tackle signed the new deal that will keep him in New England. McCourty tells Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald that he played a role in helping convince Wilfork to remain a Pat, joking that “he kind of owes me a little percent of his contract.”
- The Jets are “very intrigued” by Florida State wideout Kelvin Benjamin, a team source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Benjamin will be paying a visit to the Jets, according to Mehta.
Draft Notes: 49ers, Patriots, Verrett
At the beginning of the offseason, it was thought the 49ers might target a receiver in the first round, but with the draft a month away, cornerback has become the team’s top draft need, writes Doug Williams of NBC Bay Area.
In other draft prospect news…
- TCU cornerback Jason Verrett has visits lined up with the Steelers, Jets and Cardinals, according to Fox’s Alex Marvez (via Twitter). All three teams value speed, athleticism and man-coverage skills. Verrett boasts sub-4.4 speed and outstanding leaping ability.
- Drafting Aaron Dobson in the second round last year won’t preclude the Patriots from taking a receiver in the first round this year, writes NESN’s Doug Kyed, who lists five prospects who would be good fits.
- When asked about the likelihood of a quarterback run in the draft’s top ten picks (consequently pushing down highly regarded prospects at positions of need), Lions GM Martin Mayhew acknowledged momentum might be slowing on that scenario. “I think (if) you said that a month ago, everybody would have signed off on that,” Mayhew told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But if you say that now, you don’t know how it’s going to go with the quarterbacks.”
- Middle Tennessee State guard Josh Walker worked out for the Ravens and will also work out for the Saints and Colts, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. A potential late-round pick, Walker was not invited to the Combine.
Extra Points: Flacco, Ford, Falcons, Jags, Pats
Here’s a few miscellaneous news-and-notes items from around the league:
- Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who signed a six-year, $120.6MM contract a year ago, but ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley says Flacco “actually has manageable salary cap numbers for this year and 2015.”
- Jacoby Ford, who signed with the Jets yesterday, picked New York over the Browns, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (via Twitter).
- Prior to last season, the Falcons “firmly believed” Lamar Holmes had Pro Bowl potential, but now ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure believes the team should spend the sixth overall pick on a franchise tackle. As for Holmes? “He could be a decent backup…”
- With the Jaguars bringing Toby Gerhart and Jordan Todman into the fold, there won’t be many reps available for Denard Robinson, especially if he doesn’t improve his catching and blocking, writes ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco.
- There are still a handful of noteworthy, low-risk, budget friendly free agents available for the Patriots, who have $8MM in cap space, writes NESN’s Doug Kyed.
Draft Updates: Quarterbacks, Mack, Tuitt
Here’s a handful of early-evening draft notes:
- Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will visit the Titans later this month, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean (via Twitter).
- The Browns will host a handful of quarterback prospects this week, including Blake Bortles (Central Florida, today), Derek Carr (Fresno State), Garoppolo, Tom Savage (Pittsburgh) and Keith Wenning (Ball State), according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (via Twitter), who says Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel will be in Cleveland later this month.
- Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack, regarded as an elite defensive prospect, worked out for the Falcons today, per NFL.com’s Gil Brandt (via Twitter).
- Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt worked out for the Rams on Tuesday, and is scheduled to work out for the Steelers and Patriots this week, according to Brandt (via Twitter).
- The Bears, in desperate need of professional starting safeties, hosted Washington State’s Deone Bucannon, according to ESPNChicago.com’s Jeff Dickerson.
- Several of the Rams’ 30 allotted pre-draft visits are taking place this week, according to ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner, who mentions Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert, Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews and Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald in addition to those reported previously.