- German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer had team visits with the Chiefs, Packers, and Vikings last week, as Andy Fenelon of NFL.com writes. On Monday and Tuesday, he met with the Rams, on Wednesday he’ll visit the Seahawks, and next week he’ll visit the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers. Boehringer started turning heads in the NFL last month and one scout estimated in March that he could go in the fourth round. Based on the number of teams interested in him, one has to wonder if Boehringer could go even earlier.
1:48pm: Vaccaro’s option will be worth $5.676MM, per Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
12:07pm: Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro has become the first player from the 2013 draft class to officially have his fifth-year option for 2017 exercised, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, who reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans has picked up Vaccaro’s option.
Vaccaro, 25, has been a full-time starter at safety since joining the Saints three years ago as the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He played all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2015, and while he failed to record an interception for the first time, he set new career highs in tackles (104) and sacks (three).
Pro Football Focus viewed Vaccaro’s play favorably in 2015 as well, ranking him 27th out of 89 qualified players. Out of that group, only five safeties received a higher grade as a run defender than Vaccaro.
As is always the case under the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, first-round picks have an extra year available on their four-year rookie contracts, but their teams must decide whether to exercise or decline that option year well in advance. The deadline for 2017 option decisions for 2013’s first-rouners is May 3rd.
The fifth-year option amount for safeties drafted in 2012’s first round is $5.278MM for 2016, so the 2017 figure should be a little higher than that. However, that salary doesn’t become fully guaranteed unless a player remains on his team’s roster on the first day of the 2017 league year, next March. For now, Vaccaro’s 2017 option salary will be guaranteed for injury only.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Myles Jack told SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) that he has only worked out for the Dolphins and Saints so far. The UCLA linebacker, widely considered to be one of the top talents in the 2016 draft, is pegged to go No. 2 overall to the Browns in PFR’s (v. 1.0) mock draft. The Saints (No. 12 overall) and the Dolphins (No. 13 overall) may have to move up in the draft order if they want to land the athletic prospect.
- LSU linebacker Deion Jones has already visited the Saints, Ravens, and Jets, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). Jones is now set to visit the Eagles and Colts this week. He also had solo workouts with the 49ers, Dolphins, Titans, Lions, Falcons, and Panthers (link).
- In addition to meeting with San Francisco, Goff will visit the Saints, Eagles, and Jets in the coming days, tweets Michael Silver of the NFL Network. Unless Goff slips a little in the draft, at least two of those clubs would likely have to trade up to have a chance to land the Cal QB, so the fact that he’s meeting with those teams is interesting.
- After a busy few days last week, Middle Tennessee State defensive back Kevin Byard will be on the move again this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Byard will be visiting the Cardinals today and the Rams tomorrow, followed by the Saints and Bengals.
- In addition to making previously-reported visits to the Panthers, Lions, and Saints this week, Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed will also make trips to meet with the Bills and Bears, tweets Rapoport.
Though the Giants did express some interest in left tackle Ryan Clady before he was shipped from the Broncos to the Jets, talks never became serious because of the draft pick compensation required, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. The Jets ultimately swapped a fifth-round pick for Clady and a seventh-rounder, a price that was apparently too steep for the Giants. Big Blue may have had more definitive interest in Clady had he been released by Denver, per Raanan.
Let’s take a look at a few more Giants note, all courtesy of Raanan…
- Another barrier to Clady joining the Giants was the presence of Ereck Flowers, whom New York wants to keep at left tackle, writes Raanan. However, the club still wants to add depth along the offensive line, so they could spend a mid-round pick on a tackle to compete with Marshall Newhouse and Bobby Hart on the right side.
- One offensive line option who likely won’t be considered is tackle Will Beatty, whom the Giants released in early March. Though Raanan reports that Beatty, who tore his pectoral muscle and missed the entire 2015 season, is expected to be near full strength before the summer, both the Giants and Beatty have decided to move in different directions.
- Former Cardinals cornerback Jerraud Powers visited the Giants at the tail end of March, and the club is thought to have made an offer worth roughly $2MM, according to Raanan. Powers is said to be looking for more money, so while he remains an option for the New York, no signing appears to be imminent.
- Free agent linebacker Kelvin Sheppard announced this morning that he would be signing with the Giants, and Raanan confirms that Sheppard is expected to be with the team on Monday. Sheppard wasn’t the only linebacker on New York’s radar, per Rannan, who says the club also had interest in Nate Stupar before he joined the Saints.
- Western Michigan WR Daniel Braverman–who was not even invited to this year’s Scouting Combine–has already visited the Vikings, Saints, and Dolphins, and is set to visit with the Raiders, Seahawks, and Bengals this week, according to NFL Network’s Rand Getlin. (Twitter links). Braverman had a whopping 109 receptions for 1,367 yards last season.
Former Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans late Saturday night, according to Wilborn P. Nobles III of The Times-Picayune. More details were provided by CBSNews.com, which reported that Smith’s Mercedes SUV was rear-ended by a Hummer H2, and the impact caused Smith’s SUV to rear-end the vehicle in front of him, driven by one of Smith’s friends.
At approximately 11:30pm, Smith exited his vehicle and began arguing with the driver of the Hummer, who has not yet been identified but who is reportedly 30 years old. The driver allegedly “unloaded a fusillade of bullets” at Smith and his vehicle–a witness said she heard six to eight gunshots–and Smith was ultimately found slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle, which appeared to have a bullet hole in the windshield.
Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith’s wife was shot in the leg multiple times, but is expected to survive. The driver of the Hummer and another person have been apprehended and are being questioned, and the gun used in the shooting has been recovered.
The Smith family has issued the following statement (Twitter link via Evan Woodberry of The Times-Picayune):
“On behalf of the Smith family, we are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers. We ask that you continue to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father, and friend.”
Smith was a highly productive player for the Saints after being selected by the club in the first round of the 2004 draft. The Ohio State product, who also excelled at the collegiate level, posted 67.5 career sacks, including double-digit sack totals in 2006–when he earned his first and only Pro Bowl nod–and 2009. He was also an integral part of the Saints’ Super Bowl run in 2009. He did sign on with the Patriots prior to the 2014 campaign, but he was released by New England before the regular season began.
We at PFR offer our thoughts and condolences to Smith’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Maryland corner Sean Davis is attracting a ton of interest around the league, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who writes that Davis has met or will meet with 16 clubs, including the Texans, Cowboys, Saints, Cardinals, Dolphins, Lions, Browns, Colts, Seahawks, Ravens, Washington, Raiders, 49ers, Steelers, Bengals, Bills, and Titans. Wilson also confirms previous reports that Davis has met with the Patriots and Ravens.
- The Saints are bringing in a fourth quarterback in signing second-year passer Griffin Neal, Concordia College coach Terry Horan relays (via Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com). It’s a three-year rookie contract for Neal, per Horan. A product of Division III Concordia, Neal attended Tulane’s pro day held at the Saints’ facility last month despite not being a draft-eligible prospect, and the Saints offered him a tryout for Friday, Terrell reports. After spending 2015 playing with a semi-pro team in Germany, Neal will enter a crowded competition behind Drew Brees, with Luke McCown and Garrett Grayson residing as New Orleans’ backups.