Draft Visits: Titans, Jags, Steelers, 49ers
Having hosted receiver Kevin White for a visit already, the Titans are scheduled to meet with Alabama wideout Amari Cooper next week, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter). While the two players are considered the top two prospects at their position, it would still be a surprise to see either player go as high as No. 2 to Tennessee, so perhaps the team is doing due diligence in case it trades down. Of course, I’d argue that the Titans have multiple positions that are bigger holes than wide receiver, but there’s no harm in exploring every potential option.
Here are more updates on upcoming draft visits, as well as some that have already happened:
- Another top-five team keeping its options open is Jacksonville, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the Jaguars have hosted Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon and Georgia’s Todd Gurley for pre-draft visits. Third overall is almost certainly too high to draft a running back, so the Jags could be doing their homework in case they make a draft-day trade.
- Rapoport also passes along an update on wide receiver DeVante Parker, tweeting that the former Louisville Cardinal has visits with the Jets, Titans, and Bears on his schedule. Parker has also visited the Jaguars and is meeting with the Vikings today.
- Virginia edge rusher Eli Harold, Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson, Utah defensive end Nate Orchard, and Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah all visited the Steelers today, tweets Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- Speaking of Harold, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), the Virginia product has visited or worked out for 14 teams, including the Bears, Jaguars, Saints, and Jets.
- The 49ers and Steelers will host Auburn receiver Sammie Coates for visits next week, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Coates has also visited the Browns and, as previously reported, the Dolphins.
- Per Wilson (via Twitter), USC tight end Randall Telfer has visited the Eagles, will visit the Patriots, and has a private meeting lined up with the Falcons.
- Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports (via Twitter) that that Sacramento State wide receiver DeAndre Carter worked out for the Cardinals this week, and will attend local pro days for the Raiders and 49ers next week.
Five Raiders RFAs Sign Tenders
8:28pm: Ross has signed his RFA tender, meaning all Raiders restricted free agents are now under contract, tweets Williamson.
3:15pm: Asante has also signed his RFA tender, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
11:34am: The Raiders had several players eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, and reportedly tendered contract offers to five of them. According to various reports, three of those players are set to sign their tenders for 2015. Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com says wide receiver Rod Streater and punter Marquette King are signing their tenders, while Bill Williamson of ESPN.com reports that receiver Andre Holmes will do the same.
Streater, 27, caught 60 balls for the Raiders in 2013 for 888 yards, and entered the 2014 campaign as one of the team’s starting wideouts. However, he went down during Oakland’s Week 3 game against the Patriots with a foot injury that ultimately required surgery and sidelined him for the rest of the year. He was the only restricted free agent to receive a second-round tender worth $2.356MM from the Raiders. Holmes and King both received $1.542MM tenders.
By signing the one-year offers, Streater, Holmes, and King will be locked up with Oakland for the 2015 season. Prior to signing the tenders, the restricted free agents could’ve signed offer sheets with rival suitors, which Oakland would’ve had the opportunity to match. Of course, Streater was unlikely to get any outside interest, since it would’ve cost a second-round pick to sign him away from the Raiders.
Defensive backs Larry Asante and Brandian Ross also reportedly received low-end RFA tenders from the Raiders, though it’s not clear if they’ve signed those offers yet.
Sean Richardson Signs Raiders’ Offer Sheet
7:19pm: The deal, which would be fully guaranteed, would include a $1MM base salary, a $1.35MM signing bonus, and a $200K reporting bonus, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.
5:01pm: A source tells Rapoport (Twitter link) that the Raiders’ offer sheet is for one year and $2.55MM.
3:56pm: The restricted free agent market has been fairly quiet over the last few weeks, but at least one team is looking to poach an RFA from another club. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), the Raiders have signed safety Sean Richardson to an offer sheet. The Packers, who tendered Richardson a contract offer, will have five days to match the offer, if they so choose.
Richardson, 25, has yet to play a major role on defense for the Packer since joining the team in 2012, logging a career-high 135 defensive snaps last season. However, he was a special teams ace for the club, recording 12 tackles in kick and punt coverage. The Raiders may view Richardson as a player capable of taking on a larger role on defense.
Green Bay assigned Richardson a low-end RFA tender worth $1.542MM, which gives the team the right of first refusal. However, the Packers won’t receive any draft pick compensation if they decide not to match the Raiders’ offer, allowing the young safety to head to Oakland.
NFL Won’t Vote On LA Proposals For 6 Months
Though a total of three clubs have produced two plans for stadiums in Los Angeles, — the Rams have proposed a location in Inglewood while the Chargers and Raiders have announced a joint proposal for a stadium in Carson — the NFL isn’t likely to vote on either project for at least six months, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
NFL executive Eric Grubman, who had lead the LA efforts, confirmed the league won’t vote on the issue at the owners’ meeting next month. “…[T]here’s been an awful lot of progress made on the two sites in Los Angeles, and it’s beginning to be tangible,” said Grubman. “But the fact is we’re not planning for a vote in May or any time soon. We have a process. It’s deliberate. There are steps that need to be taken, and I think that’s much more likely to be later in this calendar year at the soonest.”
Per Farmer, Grubman presented the latest on the LA situation to NFL owners last month in Phoenix, and he’ll do the same in San Francisco next month. Proponents of both the Inglewood and Carson plans will brief the owners on their respective proposals. But the league won’t vote on anything until both design and financing plans are finished, and a temporary stadium has been decided upon. As such, a vote isn’t likely until later this year, possibly in October or November.
Draft Notes: Pats, Titans, Falcons, Bucs
Today’s draft news..
- Florida State offensive guard Tre Jackson told Rhett Lewis of NFL Network (on Twitter) that he’s had extended conversations with the Patriots and has a visit scheduled with them on April 12th. If the Patriots select Jackson, it would reunite him with center Bryan Stork, Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter) notes. Stork was a former FSU notable and was a Pats fourth-round pick last year.
- A source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter) that Oklahoma offensive tackle Daryl Williams is visiting the Titans today. The former four-star recruit was an All-Big 12 selection last season.
- Boston College linebacker Josh Keyes worked out for the Falcons and Buccaneers, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder started every game last season at strongside linebacker and was named third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference as he recorded 63 tackles, 11.5 for losses and four sacks.
- Memphis cornerback Bobby McCain had a private meeting with the Buccaneers, league sources tell Wilson. McCain previously had private workouts with the Patriots and Colts. The All-Conference USA selection is projected as a late-round draft pick.
- FAU safety Damien Parms has pre-draft visits lined up with the Raiders and Cardinals, according to James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Michael Crabtree To Visit Raiders
MONDAY, 10:32am: The Raiders are hosting free agent receiver Crabtree today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 9:32am: After spending his entire NFL career with the 49ers, Michael Crabtree could be mulling the possibility of heading across the bay from San Francisco to Oakland. According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the free agent wideout has a visit scheduled next week with the Raiders.
Crabtree, 27, has only made one free agent visit so far, having met with the Dolphins, and appears to be in no rush to sign. The 49ers also maintain some interest in re-signing the six-year veteran, but a report last week indicated that Crabtree would rather sign with a team that places a greater emphasis on the passing game — it’s not clear if the Raiders will fit that bill, but Oakland certainly has the cap room to make Crabtree an aggressive offer if the team wants to bring him aboard.
The former 10th overall pick had reportedly been expecting to be a $9-10MM player, but his market “crashed” and he now appears likely to settle for a short-term, make-good contract rather than a longer-term deal.
The Raiders are viewed as a potential candidate to select a wide receiver – either Kevin White or Amari Cooper – in the first round of the draft later this month, and even if they signed Crabtree, I’m not sure that would change their plans. Oakland will likely retain both James Jones and Andre Holmes for the upcoming season, as well as tight end Mychal Rivera, but none of those players exceeded 700 receiving yards in 2014. Adding more weapons to Derek Carr‘s arsenal should only increase the young signal-caller’s chances to succeed.
East Notes: Crabtree, Dolphins, Draft, Pats
Refuting an earlier report, Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post writes that a Dolphins team source has “emphatically” denied that the club ever offered free agent receiver Michael Crabtree a contract that neared $3MM in value. In fact, the source tells Abramson, financial specifics never even came up during Crabtree’s visit to South Beach. Given the disparity between the two reports, it seems there’s a bit of confusion about Crabtree’s meeting with Dolphins brass — but either way, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be joining Miami.
More notes from the East divisions:
- The Dolphins hosted Hobart offensive lineman Ali Marpet for a visit last week, reports Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. Marpet, who is a projected mid-round pick, has also met with the Browns as part of the predraft process.
- Another Division II prospect, Henderson State receiver Darius Davis, has a visit scheduled with the Cowboys, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who notes that Davis will meet with Dallas later this week. Per Wilson, Davis already met with the Raiders last week.
- In response to a reader’s question, Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com writes that he doesn’t believe either Pierre Garcon or Kirk Cousins is likely to be traded by Washington. Garcon, especially, could be hard to deal given his large base salaries, but any trade would likely occur after the draft after other teams assess their remaining needs, adds Tandler.
- Mike Reiss of ESPN.com rounds up a few Patriots notes, examining the contributions of rookies on last year’s roster and wondering if New England might draft a receiver later this month.
AFC Mailbags: Chiefs, Jags, Raiders, Colts
It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s start off the morning with some notes from the AFC…
- Center is probably the Chiefs biggest need, but Adam Teicher says that doesn’t mean the organization will select an offensive lineman with their first-round pick. The team could instead pursue a veteran, and then address that future of the position in next year’s draft.
- If the Jaguars don’t select Amari Cooper or Kevin White with their first pick, Mike DiRocco believes the team will hold off on selecting a receiver until the middle rounds. The writer suggests Tyler Lockett, Phillip Dorsett, and Jamison Crowder as potential targets.
- Meanwhile, DiRocco lists running back, interior offensive line, free safety and linebacker as other positions of need for the Jaguars.
- The Raiders brought in some new faces via free agency, including center Rodney Hudson, safety Nate Allen, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton and defensive tackle Dan Williams. Despite this, Bill Williamson writes that he wishes the organization took “full advantage” of having the second-most cap room in the league.
- The Colts are fans of the running back depth in the draft, and Mike Wells says it’s “a necessity” for the organization to select a young player to pair with veteran Frank Gore.
West Draft Notes: Rams, Raiders, Chiefs
The Rams are focusing heavily on offensive lineman as they use their 30 allotted pre-draft visits, as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observes. According to Thomas (Twitter links), Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he’d be visiting the Rams, and Duke guard Laken Tomlinson visited the team earlier this week. Here’s more draft news out of the AFC and NFC West..
- Purdue tight end Gabe Holmes, who had a private workout last month with the Cardinals, paid a visit to the Raiders on Thursday, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Holmes projects as a potential late-round pick or undrafted free agent.
- After being dismissed from Iowa State last year following charges for fifth-degree theft, disorderly conduct, and criminal mischief, defensive lineman David Irving is visiting the Chiefs, Raiders, and Seahawks, a league source tells Wilson. According to Wilson, Irving previously worked out for the Bears, Patriots, and Giants, as well as the Chiefs, Raiders, and Seahawks.
- Miami of Ohio safety Harold Jones-Quartey is scheduled to visit the Chiefs next week, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
AFC Notes: Ridley, Jets, Bills, Dolphins
Stevan Ridley‘s Thursday visit with the Jets went long, leaving him to stay in the New York area overnight, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. There’s no word of a deal yet, but Ridley clearly has interest in joining Gang Green. Here’s more from the AFC..
- In today’s mailbag, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes that he doesn’t see the Bills trading for Evan Mathis. While the Eagles are looking to trade the veteran guard, his age and salary would probably be prohibitive for them. On top of that, the Eagles are clearly eager to move him, and that means he could be a free agent before long. The Bills could have interest in Mathis as a free agent, but it’s still not clear how aggressive they’d be in that situation.
- The Dolphins worked out former Buccaneers linebacker Ka’Lial Glaud, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Glaud took part in the NFL’s veteran combine.
- The Raiders should consider an extension for left tackle Donald Penn, Bill Williamson of ESPN.com opines. Penn signed a two-year, $9.6MM deal with Oakland last year and is entering the final year of his deal. Penn showed no signs of wearing down in 2014 and put together a nice bounce-back year for himself.
- Chargers GM Tom Telesco‘s recent moves in free agency made sense, but he didn’t add an impact player to the defensive front, Tom Krasovic of U-T San Diego writes. Signing Pernell McPhee, for instance, would’ve generated potential upgrades throughout the defense. Ultimately, the Bears took the gamble on the former backup and Krasovic wishes that it was the Bolts who rolled the dice on him.