HEADLINES

Laken Tomlinson

49ers To Pass On Laken Tomlinson’s Option?

April 30th, 2018 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers made the decision to pick up the fifth-year option of their own 2015 first-round pick, signifying Arik Armstead is under control for two more seasons. However, they have another decision to make by Thursday — on the Lions’ 2015 first-round choice — and it doesn’t look like such a move will be in the cards.

San Francisco is set to pass on Laken Tomlinson‘s 2019 option, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. While the team has until Thursday to finalize its decision, Maiocco and the Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows (Twitter link) don’t believe that will happen.

It would cost the 49ers $9.625MM to pick up Tomlinson’s option. That’s slightly more than what Armstead’s will cost, but Tomlinson has been a better bet to be on the field during his career. He started 32 regular-season games for the Lions from 2015-16 and broke with the 49ers’ starters in 15 games last year.

This would make 2o18 a contract year for Tomlinson, who played well for the 2017 49ers and would be an interesting name on the 2019 UFA market if, in fact, he made it there. San Francisco has big money tied to Joe Staley, but his career is winding down. The 49ers signed Weston Richburg this offseason, however, and added Jonathan Cooper on a cheaper veteran accord.

The 49ers are projected to possess more than $54MM next offseason. While it’s too early for that amount to matter too much, it would appear the team could afford to keep Tomlinson in 2019. But it’s not certain he’ll have the same role by then, with Maiocco noting he, Cooper, Zane Beadles and 2017 UDFA Erik Magnuson will compete for the guard spots this summer. However, Tomlinson — acquired for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft — may have the inside track considering how he performed last season.

NFC West Rumors: 49ers, Suh, Seahawks

March 31st, 2018 at 2:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Because of the lack of a solidified position, Jimmie Ward has enjoyed a unique start to his career. He’s been shuttled between cornerback and safety throughout his run with the 49ers, and despite returning to play for the same defensive coordinator in a second consecutive for the first time as a pro, Ward still doesn’t have a surefire position. Robert Saleh used him at safety last season after Jim O’Neil stationed him at cornerback in 2016. He saw action at both spots under Eric Mangini in 2015. Now, the 49ers are again ready to see if he can play outside corner again.

“Jimmie Ward is a guy who’s played some outside corner in his career,” John Lynch said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “We’re going to experiment with that this offseason and see if that’s viable and give him some time there.”

The 49ers have Richard Sherman and Ahkello Witherspoon penciled in as cornerback starters, and Maiocco reports they don’t intend to re-sign Eric Reid. So, keeping Ward at safety would make more sense from a personnel standpoint. But the team nevertheless intends to persist experimenting with the fifth-year player as a corner. However, Maiocco notes the 49ers view 2017 seventh-rounder Adrian Colbert as a possible starting-caliber safety alongside Jaquiski Tartt.

Here’s the latest from the NFC West:

  • Speaking of positioning, the Rams will play Ndamukong Suh at nose tackle in their 3-4 base set, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers will play outside in Wade Phillips‘ base set, and Suh will play a position at which he’s lined up around 3 percent of his career, per Gonzalez. “Those are things that we talked about with Ndamukong,” Sean McVay said earlier this week. “We wanted to make sure, ‘Hey, do you feel good about the way we envision you?” Suh, who’s played only for teams that utilized 4-3 sets in his eight-year career, will see plenty of time as a 4-3 defensive tackle once the Rams are in sub packages. Los Angeles used sub sets 70 percent of the time last season.
  • Expected to be in the mix for wide receivers this offseason, the 49ers instead backed off of this year’s top UFA targets. Maiocco reports they weren’t interested in either Sammy Watkins or Allen Robinson but are expected to target a wideout in the draft. “What you don’t want to do is have a bunch of guys who are OK but are paid like the best,” Kyle Shanahan said. “That’s where you get in trouble and have to stay away from in free agency. It’s usually why the draft is the best way to go.” San Francisco extended Marquise Goodwin this offseason and has Pierre Garcon due back as well.
  • UFA signee Jonathan Cooper will line up at right guard initially for the 49ers. Laken Tomlinson will slot in at left guard, per Maiocco, who adds a slimmed-down Joshua Garnett will compete with Cooper for the right guard job. Tomlinson started 15 games at left guard for the 49ers last season. Last year’s right guard, Brandon Fusco, left in free agency. A 2016 first-rounder, Garnett started 11 games as a rookie.
  • The Seahawks are again in need of a backup quarterback. The team waived Trevone Boykin, and Austin Davis remains unsigned. Colin Kaepernick does not appear to be in the team’s plans, per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Kaepernick visited the Seahawks last year before the team signed Davis. Geno Smith met with the team this week, and Mark Sanchez has also been linked to Seattle. Sanchez’s former backup with the Jets, Kellen Clemens, also has ties to new Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer. The 34-year-old backup could interest the Seahawks, per Henderson. Clemens also worked under Schottenheimer with the Rams.

Extra Points: Landry, Dolphins, Steelers, Bell

August 31st, 2017 at 2:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from around the NFL:

  • The NFL has video of the alleged domestic incident that took place between Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry and his girlfriend earlier this year, Andy Slater of WINZ writes. Afterwards, Landry’s girlfriend refused to cooperate with authorities and later called it a false story. Still, the matter is under scrutiny from the Broward County State Attorney’s office as well as the league office.
  • In 2016, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell demanded $15MM per year in a rap song he made. In a recent freestyle, Bell indicated that he wants $17MM per year, as Adam Bitner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. This offseason, Bell turned down a multi-year contract offer worth $12MM per season, opting instead to earn $12.12MM on the franchise tender. He’s been staying away from the team, but he will end his holdout on Friday.
  • 49ers guard Joshua Garnett appears destined for injured reserve to open the season, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Barring any further setbacks, it sounds like he’ll be able to return from IR midseason, however. The news on Garnett likely explains the team’s acquisition of Laken Tomlinson on Thursday morning.

NFC Notes: Rams, Peterson, Lions, Bucs

April 9th, 2017 at 8:36pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams have made some major changes to their scouting department. According to Jason La Canfora (via Twitter), the team has informed four evaluators that they won’t be back next season. This includes Director of Pro Personnel Ran Carthon, who had held that role for the past five seasons.

Meanwhile, Neil Stratton of InsideTheLeague.com reports (via Twitter) that area scouts Danton Barto, Evan Ardoin and Sean Gustus have also been dismissed. The trio had spent a combined 17 years with the organization.

While the timing may be curious, Michael Gehlken of ProFootballTalk.com notes that the Browns made a similar move around this time last season.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

  • Free agent running back Adrian Peterson has confirmed to ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson that he will indeed be meeting with the Saints (Twitter link). The veteran will travel to New Orleans on Monday and visit with the Saints on Tuesday. The 32-year-old appeared in only three games last season, compiling 72 yards on 37 carries. The Saints are currently rostering four running backs in Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet, Daniel Lasco, and Marcus Murphy.
  • Laken Tomlinson, the Lions‘ first-round pick in 2015, started 14 games as a rookie and entered the 2016 campaign as the club’s starting left guard. However, he eventually lost his job to rookie Graham Glasgow and only returned to the starting lineup when Glasgow was shifted to center to fill in for the injured Travis Swanson. Glasgow will enter 2017 as the favorite to be the starting left guard, and given that Detroit is also high on guard Joe Dahl, who was selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft, Tomlinson may be fighting just to stay on the roster, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes. Making things more difficult for him is the fact that Glasgow and Dahl were selected by current GM Bob Quinn, who inherited Tomlinson from the previous regime. Just last week, Quinn indicated that Tomlinson would not be cut prior to training camp, but a poor performance over the summer could certainly lead to his ouster.
  • We learned earlier today that running back Doug Martin has met with the Buccaneers and is expected to be present for the beginning of the club’s offseason program on Monday.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Lions, Long, Bush

April 1st, 2017 at 11:41am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL this morning…

  • There were rumors that veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata could consider retirement, but the 33-year-old decided to return to the Lions for the 2017-18 campaign. Coach Jim Caldwell is certainly happy that the defensive lineman will be sticking around. “Obviously, when you get to (have) played as many years as he has, you never know,” Caldwell said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “And I think once a guy gets about eight, nine years (in), that’s certainly always a possibility. But certainly we’re glad that he’s coming back.”
  • Lions offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson may have lost his starting gig last season, but general manager Bob Quinn made it sound like the first-round pick will be returning. “Laken’s still here,” Quinn told Birkett. “Laken’s going to compete at the left guard spot, and we’ll head into training camp and OTAs with really good depth and really good competition across the board.”
  • Chris Long‘s contract with the Eagles includes options from the 2018 to 2021 season, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The total deal could max out at $11.25MM, and he’ll essentially earn $2.25MM each season from 2019 through 2021.
  • Safety Rafael Bush‘s one-year deal with the Saints is worth $885K, reports Wilson (via Twitter). $775K of that will come via the player’s salary (with $100K guaranteed), with another $80K coming via a signing bonus.

NFC North Notes: Cutler, Kalil, Lions

September 25th, 2016 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Parks

After Monday night’s ugly loss to Philadelphia, Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune writes that the end of Jay Cutler‘s tenure with the Bears felt as real as it ever has. Each year since former head coach Lovie Smith was fired at the end of the 2012 season, the Bears have asked themselves whether they prefer Cutler to an alternative, and each year, the answer has been yes.

However, after looking at the success that rookie Carson Wentz had against them last week, and as they prepare for rookie signal-caller Dak Prescott this week, the Bears’ quarterback calculus could change sooner rather than later. After all, it could be tough for GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox to continue with a 33-year-old quarterback who has a 50-49 record and only one playoff victory in seven-plus seasons in Chicago, particularly a quarterback they inherited who has no more guaranteed money left on his deal as of 2017.

The problem is that a quarterback has not been the best player on the board when the Bears have been on the clock in the past two seasons, and it would not have made sense for the team to reach for a signal-caller when they had a solid quarterback on the roster with guaranteed money still to be paid. But with no succession plan in place, the Bears may have no choice but to grab a QB in the 2017 draft and hope they can find someone to lift them out of their cycle of mediocrity.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from the NFC North:

  • With Matt Kalil on IR, many have wondered if the Vikings–who demonstrated they were “all in” on the 2016 season with the Sam Bradford trade–could deal for a replacement left tackle, like Cleveland’s Joe Thomas. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Minnesota will not make such a trade.
  • Earlier today, we learned there is a good chance that Adrian Peterson could return to the Vikings next year, despite much speculation to the contrary.
  • Lions DE Ziggy Ansah is expected to be out through at least next week as he continues to battle a high ankle sprain, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Ansah will get a second opinion on that injury later this week.
  • Lions LG Laken Tomlinson has had a very disappointing start to the season, but Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Detroit has no other choice but to continue relying on last year’s No. 28 overall selection, as 2016 fifth-rounder Joe Dahl does not appear ready to step into the starting lineup.

Extra Points: Attaochu, Bowman, Bridgewater

July 5th, 2015 at 8:20pm CST by Rob DiRe

Earlier today, Rory Parks gave us a roundup of some notes from some early Sunday NFL news, including an update on Chris Borland‘s post-NFL life, Marcus Mariota’s potential holdout, and a couple of notes on the Saints, Browns, and Broncos.

Now, for anyone who was too busy watching the USA defeat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup, here are a couple more pieces of NFL news that trickled across the landscape this evening:

  • Second-year pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu only had two sacks in limited snaps as a rookie, but is focused on improving that number in 2015, writes Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. He writes that Attaochu trained in combine-related drills for much of last offseason, but is focused on football-specific drills and getting reps in practice to prepare him for an increased role with the Chargers this year.
  • The Dolphins signed Zackary Bowman this offseason to compete for the starting cornerback job across from Brent Grimes, but right now the leader for that spot is Jamar Taylor, writes James Walker of ESPN. Bowman hasn’t stood out in minicamps, and Walker writes he has about a 50 percent chance of making the final roster, depending on how many cornerbacks the team keeps on the depth chart.
  • The Vikings are excited about Teddy Bridgewater and how he got stronger as the season went on in 2014, especially offensive coordinator Norv Turner, writes Tom Pelissero of USA Today in his offseason report. With Adrian Peterson, Kyle Rudolph, Matt Kalil, and Brandon Fusco all back healthy on available, and Mike Wallace added to the fold, Bridgewater is ready to break out as leader of the offense.
  • Detroit Lions’ beat writer Dave Birkett addressed a number of issues on a Q&A with Ste Hoare of TheRouteTree.com. Birkett believes that Ameer Abdullah will begin the season as a complement to Joique Bell in the role Reggie Bush filled, but expects him to eventually emerge as the feature back. He also addresses the concern that first-round pick Laken Tomlinson’s interest in the medical field could leave him to an early retirement in the vain of Borland, but Birkett does not believe the team is worried and writes that the Lions encourage his interests off-the-field.

Lions Sign First Round Pick Laken Tomlinson

June 11th, 2015 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions announced that they have signed first-round guard Laken Tomlinson. The Duke product was taken with the No. 28 overall pick.

The Lions originally owned the No. 23 pick in the draft but they moved back in a deal with the Broncos in order to add veteran center/guard Manny Ramirez. Tomlinson is expected to start for the Lions at left guard this year in place of Rob Sims. There’s change elsewhere on the offensive line too as Travis Swanson will be the starter at center in place of longtime staple Dominic Raiola.

The rookie wage scale calls for Tomlinson to earn just over $8MM over a four year period. With Tomlinson signed, the Lions now have their entire draft class under contract.

West Draft Notes: Rams, Raiders, Chiefs

April 3rd, 2015 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Extra Points: 49ers, Gase, Phillips

January 21st, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers continued to pursue Adam Gase as offensive coordinator after bypassing him for their head coaching position, a source told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. They were not successful, however, as Gase landed with the Bears earlier tonight. More from around the NFL..

  • Former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips could draw interest from the Broncos and Raiders as a defensive coordinator candidate, according to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Raiders are hiring Marcus Robertson as their new defensive backs coach, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The team is still on the hunt for its next defensive coordinator, however. Veteran Charles Woodson pushed for the hire, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).
  • Former Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano interviewed with the 49ers for their tight ends coach position, a league source told Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Bears met with a pair of Chicago natives at the Senior Bowl, according to Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times (on Twitter). Defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat (Iowa) and guard Laken Tomlinson (Duke) met with reps from the team.
  • Long rumored to be headed across the Bay, former Raiders defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is joining the 49ers as the team’s linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant, reports Jim Trotter of ESPN (via Twitter). While Tarver may have some input on the play-calling, the Niners are still on the lookout for a defensive coordinator.