Jacquian Williams

Rams Rumors: Blalock, Fairley, Williams

A quick look at the Rams..

  • Free agent guard Justin Blalock plans on visiting the Rams but the Lions are also in the mix for him, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets. The Lions and Blalock haven’t finalized their plans for a meeting, but there have been discussions, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Rams have reached out to Lions free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley but no visit has been scheduled yet, according to Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Earlier today, we learned that the Lions will not be re-signing Fairley.
  • Giants free agent linebacker Jacquian Williams (on Twitter) says that his agent recently spoke with the Rams. Earlier this week, Williams told his Twitter followers that he has interest from five teams in total.

Free Agent Rumors: Fletcher, Williams, Gresham

The Vikings have expressed interest in pending free agent cornerback Bradley Fletcher, a source tells Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Fletcher had an off year for the Eagles in 2014, being ranked 92 out of 108 NFL cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus. He was much better in 2013, having been ranked 44 out of 110 players at the position. Here’s a look at the latest free agent rumors..

  • Giants free agent linebacker Jacquian Williams took to Twitter to let everyone know that he has interest from five teams.
  • If the Raiders don’t get a deal done with tight end Jermaine Gresham, the Browns are also among those with interest, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports tweets.
  • The Jaguars a team to watch for when it comes to linebacker Dan Skuta, but there are several interested, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. He could have expanded role with Jacksonville if he signs with them tomorrow, Caplan adds.
  • Pat McManamon of ESPN.com (on Twitter) doesn’t expect the Browns to lose any of their restricted free agents, but he thinks a team in need of a safety could think about adding Tashaun Gipson.
  • Bills tight end Lee Smith is expected to sign a big contract with another team tomorrow, Tim Graham of The Buffalo News tweets.

East Notes: Wallace, Williams, Alonso

Mike Wallace’s father sees the wide receiver remaining with the Dolphins, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. “Right now, he’s been talking to them,” Burnell Wallace said. “He thinks he’s going to stay there. He doesn’t have a problem staying. [But] they really don’t know. I really can’t give you a definitive answer.” The Dolphins must pay Wallace a $3MM bonus if he is on the roster on March 14th. More from the AFC and NFC East..

  • Starting linebacker Jacquian Williams will become a free agent and he’s unlikely to return to the Giants, Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger writes. The 26-year-old started all nine games at weakside linebacker last season, before a concussion ended his season early. He graded out positively in six of the first seven games, but finished with an overall grade of -4.0 in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus.
  • Trading linebacker Kiko Alonso was one of the first things Rex Ryan wanted to do when he was hired by the Bills, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rapoport speculates that Alonso wasn’t a good scheme fit for Ryan.
  • Running back has suddenly vaulted up the Eagles‘ list of needs and Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com looked at three possibilities they could pursue in the draft and free agency. In the draft, he identifies Todd Gurley (Georgia), T.J. Yeldon (Alabama), and Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) as possible targets. In free agency, he lists Mark Ingram, C.J. Spiller, and Justin Forsett.
  • With the Eagles in the market for a running back and Reuben Frank and Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com also examine Forsett as a potential free agent target. Mosher makes the case that as a patient, methodical runner who reads blocks well, Forsett is an ideal fit for Chip Kelly‘s offense.
  • John Kryk of the Toronto Sun wonders if the Bills agreed to trade for Matt Cassel for him to be their starter at quarterback or if they got him merely to push E.J. Manuel. Cassel, who turns 33 in May, started just three games for the Vikings in 2014 before a broken foot landing him on the injured reserve list, ending his season.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com ran down Washington‘s potential needs on the defensive line and the players that they could look into this offseason. Of course, the list starts with Ndamukong Suh but the question is, how hard will they chase him? Washington has $25MM in cap space, but other teams have even more.
  • The Jets need help at guard and Brian Costello of the New York Post identifies Mike Iupati, Orlando Franklin, James Carpenter, and Clint Boling as free agent possibilities.

Giants Sign Two Players, Place Two On IR

The exodus of Giants players to the team’s injured reserve list continued today, as linebacker Jacquian Williams and offensive lineman James Brewer became the 21st and 22nd Giants to land on IR, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. To replace the latest two roster casualties, the Giants promoted defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton from their practice squad and signed guard Adam Gettis from off the Steelers’ taxi squad, per Graziano (via Twitter).

While Brewer didn’t play a significant role for the Giants this season, Williams was one of the team’s starting linebackers, logging 571 defensive snaps on the year. Pro Football Focus’ overall grade (subscription required) for Williams was negative, but that figure was influenced in large part by a poor pass coverage rating — the linebacker was above average against the run, according to PFF. Both Brewer and Williams are suffering from concussions, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

Vacchiano adds (via Twitter) that the Giants completed their series of moves by replacing Hamilton on their practice squad with defensive back Thomas Gordon.

East Notes: Kiwanuka, Johnson, Redskins, ‘Fins

In his annual exercise naming the most overrated and underrated player on each team, Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com highlighted Mathias Kiwanuka as the Giant who isn’t living up to expectations. The advanced metrics bear that out — the 31-year-old Kiwanuka, who might be living off his first-round pedigree at this point, graded as the third-worst 4-3 defensive end in the NFL last season per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The Giants apparently also noticed a degradation of eight-year veteran’s skills — they required him to take a pay cut in March.

More from New York and the league’s two East divisions:

  • With Jon Beason likely to miss some regular season action with a foot injury, Jameel McClain is poised to take over at middle linebacker for the Giants, writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com in his latest mailbag. In that scenario, 2011 sixth-rounder Jacquian Williams would become the starter at weakside linebacker.
  • For a rookie playing in a complicated offense, Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson didn’t perform all that poorly in 2013. But, as he tells Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com, Johnson wants to show marked improvement next season. “I’m trying to be a dominant player. I know I have the ability,” said the 24-year-old. “It’s just a matter of being consistent with it because there’s times where I showed flashes of being a really good player, and then there’s other times where I didn’t. So I’m just trying to be more consistent this year.”
  • In a discussion examining potential 2014 breakout Redskins, Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com spotlighted running back Roy Helu and tight end Niles Paul, deducing that a pass-happy, Jay Gruden-led offense will lead to plenty of offensive production to go around.
  • Center Ted Larsen is hoping to break camp with the Dolphins following Mike Pouncey‘s injury, and is just one of several Miami undrafted rookies to watch for in 2014, according to James Walker of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins have officially begun renovations on Sun Life Stadium, the team announced on Twitter. The refurbishment is expected to include (via Fox Sports Florida) all new seating, concourse and concession upgrades, and new video screens, and will conclude before the 2016 season.