HEADLINES

Ameer Abdullah

NFC Notes: Rams, Garcia, Lions, Walsh

May 20th, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Former NFL signal-caller Jeff Garcia interviewed for the Rams‘ quarterbacks coach job earlier in the offseason, but the position ultimately went to Chris Weinke. Still, the club apparently liked what it saw from Garcia. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter), the Rams have added Garcia to their coaching staff as an offensive assistant for the coming season.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • Lance Moore received a $40K signing bonus from the Lions and will get another $40K bonus if he’s on the team’s roster in Week 1, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As Birkett observes, the modest guaranteed money on the minimum salary deal hardly assures the veteran wideout of a regular season roster spot. Birkett also provides contract details for defensive lineman Corey Wootton ($150K guaranteed) and second-round running back Ameer Abdullah ($2.29MM guaranteed).
  • Asked about a possible contract extension to keep him in Minnesota beyond the 2015 season, kicker Blair Walsh expressed optimism, but cautioned that he and the Vikings haven’t had serious talks yet. “We have to make sure we’re on the same page and the numbers match up,” Walsh told Alex Marvez and Bill Polian on SiriusXM NFL Radio (TwitLonger link). “That’s for management and my agent to discuss. I’ll be ready to talk about it when they are.”
  • The Cowboys are happy to have cornerback Orlando Scandrick back at their offseason workouts, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. Scandrick and the team continue to discuss the possibility of a new contract that would increase his salary for 2015.
  • Seahawks defensive tackle Jesse Williams was diagnosed with papillary type 2 cancer and will undergo kidney surgery, the team announced this week.

Lions Sign Ameer Abdullah

May 13th, 2015 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have moved one step closer to completely locking up their 2015 draft class, announcing today that they’ve signed second-round running back Ameer Abdullah to his rookie deal. With Abdullah now under contract with the club, only first-round pick Laken Tomlinson remains unsigned.

Abdullah, the 54th overall pick in this year’s draft, was the fourth running back to come off the board, behind Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, and T.J. Yeldon. While Joique Bell may currently sit first on the Lions’ depth chart at the position, Abdullah is expected to play a major role in the backfield this year, and may also return kicks and/or punts for the team.

While Abdullah will count for a modest $756K hit against the Lions’ cap this season, he’ll earn a signing bonus of about $1.283MM now that he has inked his rookie contract. The four-year value of the rookie’s deal will be approximately $4.156MM, per Over The Cap.

Draft Notes: Winston, Gurley, Gordon

April 14th, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets, who hold the sixth overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, are in need of a franchise quarterback and have already worked out Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, one of the top two signal callers available. They’d also like to visit with Florida State’s Jameis Winston, who joins Mariota as a likely top five pick, but that meeting may not happen. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Winston was unable to meet with the Jets when they wanted him to and the sides are now having difficulty finding a time.

Here’s the rest of the latest draft news:

  • The Browns, who are in search of a running back, have already visited with Georgia’s Todd Gurley, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan, and will next meet with Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon. ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweets that Gordon will be in Cleveland for a visit Thursday that could last through Friday. Both Gordon and Gurley are potential first-round picks. The Browns hold the 12th and 19th overall selections.
  • Having worked out Mariota, the Chargers will next head to Los Angeles to do the same with UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
  • The receiver-needy Panthers will meet with Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman tonight and tomorrow, per Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). They’ll also work out USC’s Nelson Agholor, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
  • The Broncos will visit with Texas A&M offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi next Tuesday, writes Mike Klis of the Denver Post. Klis believes Ogbuehi could be a second-round target for the Broncos.
  • Mississippi State running back Josh Robinson recently visited with the Colts, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
  • San Jose State’s Akeem King, a former wide receiver who converted to safety, is drawing interest as a cornerback, tweets Matt Barrow of the Sacramento Bee. The Raiders, Falcons, Saints and Seahawks are all eyeing King.
  • The Falcons worked out Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, according to Ross Jones of FoxSports.com (Twitter link).
  • Cincinnati linebacker Jeff Luc will meet with both the Jets and Patriots prior to the draft, tweets Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller.

NFC Notes: Staley, Draft, Cowboys, Lions

April 6th, 2015 at 9:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers converted Joe Staley‘s option bonus to a signing bonus, affecting his cap number for 2015, as CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry (Twitter links) explains. Staley’s cap number has gone from $6.4MM to $7.6MM after his $6MM option bonus was converted. San Francisco, meanwhile, will get a salary cap credit of $1.2MM in 2016. The accounting move won’t result in a salary increase for the offensive tackle. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap explicates the transaction.

Here’s more the NFC…

  • The Buccaneers‘ private workout with Oregon QB Marcus Mariota is set for tomorrow in Eugene, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets.
  • The Cowboys have filled most their 30 allowed spots for draft visits, writes Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who reports the following players have headed or will head to Valley Ranch in the coming days: running backs T.J. Yeldon, Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Tevin Coleman, Jay Ajayi, and Ameer Adbullah; defensive lineman Bud Dupree and Danielle Hunter; linebacker Benardrick McKinney; and defensive backs Josh Shaw and Damarious Randall.
  • The Cowboys will also take a look at a defensive lineman tomorrow, as they’ll meet with UCLA DE Owa Odighizuma, per Rapoport (Twitter link), who adds that the former Bruin will also visit with the Saints. Odighizuma has already visited the Eagles.
  • Dallas will be flush with prospects on Tuesday, as the Cowboys will also visit with both versatile Washington product Shaq Thompson and UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks, according to Rapoport (Twitter link).
  • Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com takes an overview of the Lions’ roster, noting that while linebacker is a deep position group, Detroit could afford to spend draft resources on the interior of both the offensive and defensive lines.

Zach Links contributed to this post.