Workout Notes: 2/9/16
NFL’s 2016 free agent period doesn’t officially open until March 9th, but players who didn’t finish the season on a roster – or who have since been cut – are free to work out with teams and sign contracts right away. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has several updates on those free agents who are visiting and/or auditioning for NFL teams, so let’s round up the latest:
- Before he agreed to sign a reserve/futures contract with Washington, former Steelers first-round defensive lineman Ziggy Hood tried out for the Raiders. Oakland also brought in former Fresno State edge defender Tristan Okpalaugo for a visit (Twitter links).
- Veteran defensive back Jeromy Miles and ex-Broncos tight end Dan Light recently auditioned for the Chiefs (Twitter link). Miles, who has appeared in 67 career regular-season games for the Bengals and Ravens, was cut last September by the Giants, while Light lost his practice squad spot in Denver following the team’s AFC Championship win over New England.
- The Bengals recently worked out – but did not sign – offensive tackle Sean Donnelly, safety Zach Elias, running back Alonzo Harris, running back Storm Johnson and wide receiver Rico Richardson (Twitter link). Those players were part of a larger group of eight, with the remaining three players earning contracts.
- Former Cowboys defensive tackle Ken Bishop, a seventh-round pick in 2014, worked out for the Buccaneers (Twitter link).
- Former Pitt offensive guard Jason Pinkston recently visited the Steelers (link). The Steelers also recently worked out linebacker Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo, wide receiver Issac Blakeney, long snapper Matt Dooley, defensive back Montell Garner, offensive guard Cole Manhart, wide receiver Tobais Palmer, cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz, and defensive tackle Josh Watson (Twitter links).
Workout Notes: 12/8/15
There were a plethora of workouts around the NFL today. Here they are:
- The Broncos worked out 17 players, all defenders. The full list comes courtesy of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio:
- DB Stevie Brown
- LB Deron Bruce
- DB Deveron Carr
- DB Chris Clemons
- DT Davon Coleman
- LB Henry Coley
- LB Aaron Davis
- DE Ray Drew
- LB Adrian Hubbard
- DT Kamal Johnson
- DB Antoine Lewis
- DB B.J. Lowery
- DB Mike McMillan
- DB Jeromy Miles
- LB Kevin Snyder
- DB Schon Thomas
- DB Tyrequek Zimmerman
- In addition to receiver Danario Alexander, the Bears worked out quarterback Zac Dysert, wideouts Issac Blakeney, Miles Gooch, Jeremy Kelley and J.J. Worton, and running back Trey Millard (Twitter links via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
- The Texans worked out linebackers Eric Martin and Tony Washington, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Colts auditioned wideout DeAndre Carter, defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin, and running back LaDarius Perkins and Daryl Richardson, Wilson tweets.
- The Jaguars worked out linebackers Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Mike Mohamed and Sean Porter, and running backs Jerome Smith and Jahwan Edwards (Twitter links via Wilson and Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
- The Packers worked out running backs Bronson HIll and Ross Scheuerman (Twitter link via Wilson).
- The Jets tried out linebacker Glenn Carson, offensive tackle Sean Hickey, tight end Marcel Jensen, guard Cole Manhardt and defensive back Robert Nelson, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports (on Twitter).
- The Giants worked out long snappers Andrew East and Tyler Ott before signing Danny Aiken, per Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
Workout Notes: Titans, Brown, Johnson, Dixon
Just over seven months after he announced his retirement from the NFL, cornerback Cortland Finnegan had a workout today with the Patriots. Finnegan, 31, was one of the league’s worst cornerbacks in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games. As such, it came as a bit of a surprise when Miami inked the former Ram to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2014. He might not be worthy of that kind of pay, but he could make for an intriguing depth option for the Pats or another team.
Here’s a rundown of today’s other workouts from around the NFL, with all links going to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post on Twitter, unless noted otherwise..
- The Titans worked out running backs Bryce Brown, Storm Johnson, George Arkinson and quarterback Michael German (link).
- Safety Ahmad Dixon worked out for the Bengals today, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Falcons worked out linebackers Emmanuel Acho, Carlos Fields, Khaseem Greene, and Ronald Powell (link).
- The Panthers tried out Nate Askew, Chykie Brown, Bradley Fletcher, Connor Hamlett, Douglas McNeil, Bear Pascoe, and cornerback Cassius Vaughn (Twitter links).
- The Bears worked out defensive backs Ri’Shard Anderson, Robert McClain, Brandian Ross, and Pierre Warren (link).
- The Broncos worked out Harold Spears, Paul Browning, DaVaris Daniels, Sage Harold, John Lowdermilk, Andrew McDonald, and Ryan Murphy (Twitter links).
- The Lions worked out Desmond Martin and Corey Washington (link).
- The Colts worked out Carrington Byndom and Jeromy Miles (link).
- The Dolphins worked out defensive backs Garry Peters and Kevin White (link).
- The Jaguars worked out wide receivers Jordan Leslie, Uzoma Nwachukwu, and L’Damian Washington (link).
- The Vikings worked out defensive lineman Chigbo Anunoby (link).
- The Patriots worked out center Jared Smith (link).
- The Jets worked out Greg Scruggs and Marcus Lucas (link).
- The Seahawks worked out Darius Eubanks, Danny Gorrer, Damaris Johnson, Nick Kasa, Horace Miller, Dontay Moch, Tyler Slavin, Matthew Wells (link). They also hosted Harold Spears and Dax Swanson (link).
- Washington worked out Tommy Streeter, Nick Harwell, Anthony Johnson, Toby Johnson, Ronald Powell, Kelcy Quarles, and Julius Warmsley (link).
Giants Trim Roster To 53 Players
The Giants have been one of the more interesting teams to watch, as cuts are made from 75 players to 53 — New York released several notable veteran players, including wide receiver James Jones, fullback Henry Hynoski, punter Steve Weatherford, and linebackers Jameel McClain and Ashlee Palmer.
In a press release today, the club confirmed those moves, along with the decision to place safety Nat Berhe on injured reserve, and announced the rest of the transactions made to get the roster down to 53 players. Here are those moves:
Released:
- CB Chykie Brown
- S Jeromy Miles
Waived:
- DL Brad Bars
- K Chris Boswell
- OL Emmett Cleary
- DB C.J. Conway
- OL Sean Donnelly
- LB Cole Farrand
- DB Chandler Fenner
- OL Adam Gettis
- DL Dominique Hamilton
- RB Kenneth Harper
- TE Adrien Robinson
- WR Julian Talley
Waived/injured:
- WR Corey Washington (shoulder)
Placed on injured reserve:
- OL Brett Jones (knee)
Giants Sign Jeromy Miles
FRIDAY, 6:17pm: Miles’ deal is for one year and worth $745K, Jordan Raanan of the New York Daily News reports. There is no guaranteed money in this team-friendly agreement, and should Miles head to injured reserve, IR salary language that would pay Miles a $413K split or a smaller lower settlement exists in the contract.
WEDNESDAY, 1:35pm: The Giants have officially announced the signing of Miles, waiving wide receiver Marcus Harris and safety Justin Currie. Harris received an injured designation.
WEDNESDAY, 9:56am: Miles will sign a one-year contract with the Giants later today, a source confirms to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:10am: Having lost their top three safeties from the 2014 season, the Giants continue to explore ways to replace that production, and their search has led them to a former Raven, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Caplan reports (via Twitter) that New York is expected to sign ex-Baltimore safety Jeromy Miles to a contract.
Miles, who turns 28 next week, began his career with the Bengals before joining the Ravens in 2013. Having played mostly on special teams during his first few seasons in the league, Miles saw 365 defensive snaps in 2014 and held his own, making 34 tackles, grabbing an interception, and forcing a pair of fumbles.
Antrel Rolle, Stevie Brown, Quintin Demps all left the Giants in free agency this offseason, leaving a significant hole at the safety position. The team opted not to address that hole in free agency, using a second-round pick on Landon Collins and experimenting with cornerbacks at the safety spot. Assuming Miles officially puts pen to paper and joins the Giants, he should provide the club more depth at the position, and will likely have the opportunity to earn regular playing time.
Extra Points: Nicks, Ravens, Miles, Draft
Outside of a visit to the 49ers, free agent receiver Hakeem Nicks hasn’t garnered any known interest on the open market. But the 27-year-old insists he’s not done in the NFL. “I’m nowhere near finished, man, and I want to prove that to the world and everybody,” Nicks told Mike Garfolo of FOX Sports. “That’s definitely my mentality, but I don’t even want to talk about it. I feel like I got into that situation last year talking about it. I’m about to just go out there and prove it.”
Here’s more from around the league…
- The Ravens have stayed in touch with safety Jeromy Miles, but there’s no deal between the two sides at this time, according to Aaron Wilson of The Balitmore Sun (via Twitter).
- Arizona State safety Damarious Randall will visit the Buccaneers on Sunday, and already had a private workout with the club, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
- Nebraska receiver Kenny Bell worked out for the Texans recently, and he’ll meet with the Colts on Wednesday, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
- Defensive end Marcus Rush already worked out for the Bengals and Raiders, and the Michigan State product will also take a visit with Cincinnati, per Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link).
- The Lions will take a look at Western Oregon receiver Tyrell Williams on Monday, while the Cardinals will meet with him later in the week, says Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Illinois tight end Matt LaCosse will take a predraft visit with the Packers on Friday, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
- Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com spoke with the general managers of two clubs — the Ravens and the Steelers — who usually pick near the end of the first round of the draft, and gauged each team’s strategy for acquiring value while picking in the 20s.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
FA Rumors: Clay, Miles, Johnson, Demps
We heard yesterday that the Bills may target tight end Charles Clay in free agency next month, but Clay remains very much in the Dolphins‘ plans, according to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Abramson that it would be “very surprising” if Clay doesn’t return to Miami for the 2015 season. As Abramson notes, while Buffalo’s interest in the tight end may be legit, it’s also fair to wonder if the Bills leaked word of that interest in order to potentially drive up Clay’s price for their division rivals in Miami.
Here are a few more notes from around the league on this year’s free-agents-to-be:
- The Ravens are expected to bring back safety and special-teamer Jeromy Miles, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next month, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. With just over two weeks until Miles would be able to sign with another club, it’s possible he dips his toe into the open market to gauge his value, but according to Wilson, a return to Baltimore appears likely.
- As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press details, there’s some confusion over whether Lions defensive end George Johnson is a restricted or unrestricted free agent this offseason. Johnson earned accrued seasons in 2011, 2012, and 2014, but his 2013 season is up for debate, since it seems he was paid for six weeks but was only on the Vikings’ roster for five Sundays. Players must be on a team’s 53-man roster for six weeks to earn an accrued season, and must accumulate four accrued seasons to be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
- As he prepares to enter the free agent market, Giants safety Quintin Demps has hired agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports.
- Mike Klis of the Denver Post takes a look at which Broncos free agents have the best chance of returning to Denver, speculating that Terrance Knighton, Orlando Franklin, Julius Thomas, Wes Welker, and Rahim Moore are all “probably gone.”
Ravens Re-Sign Jeromy Miles
The Ravens have re-signed Jeromy Miles to a one-year deal, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
Miles, a 26-year-old safety who has played for the Bengals and Ravens, played almost exclusively on special teams in 2013. If he signs for more than the minimum, it would be a surprise.
Ravens Rumors: Monroe, Mack, Jones
The latest out of Baltimore..
- Sources predict that the Ravens and offensive tackle Eugene Monroe will get a deal done before he can hit the open market, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The two sides were far apart last week but they have apparently made some serious progress since then. The offensive tackle market is quickly shrinking, with an number of players expected to quickly sign deals when free agency opens including Branden Albert (Dolphins), Jared Veldheer (Cardinals) and Rodger Saffold (Raiders).
- Meanwhile, if things don’t work out with Monroe, the Ravens’ backup plan is to make a run at Browns offensive lineman Alex Mack, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
- Wilson adds that the Ravens have had productive talks with wide receiver Jacoby Jones.
- There’s mutual interest in a return for special teams ace Jeromy Miles, Wilson tweets.
- Ravens aren’t close to a deal with middle linebacker Daryl Smith, sources tell Wilson (on Twitter). Smith, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday this week, saw a career high in sacks (5.0) with 57 solo tackles.