HEADLINES

Michael Scherer

West Notes: Rams, 49ers, Broncos, Raiders

February 16th, 2018 at 9:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Two Rams defenders — linebacker Mark Barron and Kayvon Webster — recently underwent shoulder surgery, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). While Barron’s operation will allow him to be ready for training camp, Webster might not be available due to the torn Achilles which ended his 2017 campaign. Indeed, Webster had his shoulder procedure now so that he can rehabilitate both injuries at the same time, per Rapoport. Los Angeles will be counting on the 27-year-old Webster next season, as No. 1 cornerback Trumaine Johnson is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency and won’t be franchise-tagged for a third consecutive campaign. Webster, who followed Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips from Denver last offseason, is entering his contract year.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two West divisions:

  • Daniel Kilgore‘s new three-year deal with the 49ers is worth nearly $12MM and and contains $7MM in guarantees, tweets Rapoport. Kilgore, who was roughly a month away from becoming a free agent, said he accepted a team-friendly contract so San Francisco can ink quality free agents this offseason, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The 30-year-old Kilgore was a backup or injured for much of the first five years of his career, but he’s started 29 games for the 49ers over the past two seasons. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus ranked Kilgore as just the 23rd-best center in the league in 2017, but San Francisco is clearly higher on him than that finish would indicate.
  • The Broncos and the Seahawks are two teams who could dictate the 2018 offseason, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes. While one recent report indicated Denver wideouts Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are likely to stick on the club’s 2018 roster, other general mangers believe one or both will be available on the trade market. The Broncos are also trying to land a franchise quarterback and deal cornerback Aqib Talib, meaning they’ll be heavily involved in transactional machinations over the next few weeks. Seattle, meanwhile, is facing change at multiple areas along its vaunted defense, as injuries to Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor could cloud the team’s plans.
  • Free agent linebacker Michael Scherer recently worked out for the Raiders, reports veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Scherer, a Missouri product, appeared in 26 games for the Tigers from 2014-15 before a knee injury ended his senior season after seven contests in 2016. He’s yet to land an NFL contract, but he did audition for the Bears and Giants last year.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Cowboys, Giants

August 22nd, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While recent reports indicated LeGarrette Blount could lose his Eagles roster spot before the season gets underway, head coach Doug Pederson seemingly dismissed those insinuations today, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “LeGarrette Blount is a beast of a runner,” said Pederson. “I’m excited he’s here and he’s going to be a big part of our offense.” The Eagles signed Blount to a one-year deal that contains $400K guaranteed after he led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns a season ago. While there’s virtually no chance the 30-year-old Blount will match his 299 carries from 2016, he should be part of a Philadelphia backfield rotation that also includes Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, and Donnel Pumphrey.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • Last year’s Josh Brown episode could potentially factor into the NFL’s dealings with suspended Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out. Brown, of course, was banned for only a single game even after admitting to abusing his ex-wife. Arbitrator Harold Henderson upheld Brown’s suspension at the time, and he’ll also be hearing Elliott’s appeal of his own six-game ban. “Mitigating factors” lead to the NFL suspending Brown for only contest, but the league has never disclosed what those factors were, per Florio.
  • D.J. Fluker isn’t going to earn a starting spot along the Giants‘ offensive line, and it’s possible he won’t even make the club’s roster, opines James Kratch of NJ.com. New York signed the 26-year-old Fluker to a one-year, $3MM deal ($1.5MM guaranteed) this spring, but he’s made no push to steal Big Blue’s starting right guard job from John Jerry. The Giants aren’t giving Fluker the opportunity to compete at right tackle, so the former first-round pick could be shown the door in favor of journeyman Adam Gettis.
  • The Redskins spent heavily on their defensive line this spring, signing both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee to multi-year pacts. Thus far, McGee has been far more impressive in camp, but neither player has a lock on a starting job, as Mike Jones of the Washington Post writes. McClain, in fact, has performed so poorly that there’s been some noise he could be released, although that’s unlikely given the $7.25MM dead money hit that would come with the cut. Still, first-round rookie Jonathan Allen and others (such as Matt Ioannidis and Anthony Lanier) could be better bets for playing time.
  • After working out for the Bears last week, undrafted rookie linebacker Michael Scherer is set to audition for the Giants today, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). Scherer, a Missouri product, appeared in 26 games for the Tigers from 2014-15 before a knee injury ended his senior season after seven contests in 2016. Ranked as one of the 30 best undrafted linebackers following this year’s draft, Scherer has yet to land an NFL contract.

Extra Points: Chiefs, Jaguars, Williams

August 20th, 2017 at 9:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Andy Reid said the Chiefs might not have to choose between Charcandrick West or C.J. Spiller. The team might retain all four of its top running backs, Reid said (via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com).

“If we only keep three, then somebody’s going to get a heck of a player,” Reid said of a running back competition fronted by Spencer Ware and rookie Kareem Hunt. “… If we can keep all four, then that’s great.”

This may not be an automatic indication Kansas City plans keep both West and Spiller, and one could well be trade bait since both smaller backs might not make sense as Nos. 3-4 options. The Chiefs signed Ware and West to identical contracts during the 2016 offseason, and West has two years and barely $3MM remaining on his deal. He received the initial crack at replacing Jamaal Charles in 2015 and led the Chiefs in rushing that season with 634 yards (4.0 per carry). He operated as Ware’s backup last season but possesses top-end straight-line speed that could be useful on a team with less backfield depth.

Spiller caught on with the Chiefs in February after being cut by several teams. The former first-round pick is making the league minimum. Kansas City also has veteran fullback Anthony Sherman in line to occupy a roster spot.

The Jaguars’ quarterback situation has become a key topic this week; here’s the latest on that and other key stories as preseason Week 2 winds down.

  • Doug Marrone opened up the Jaguars‘ quarterback competition after Blake Bortles continued to struggle. But Chad Henne looks like he will be the only in-house challenger, with Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union noting Brandon Allen‘s inexperience (zero regular-season snaps) won’t be ideal in Week 1 against a Texans defense that ranked No. 1 last season. O’Halloran anticipates Henne receiving the nod. The Jags are not currently looking at outside options for this job. Allen is a second-year player out of Arkansas.
  • Aaron Colvin has come off the Jags’ Active/PUP list and resumed practicing in team drills for the first time since December 2011, and O’Halloran notes he’s still expected to be the team’s top nickel option. The fourth-year player is slated to line up in the slot inside of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Colvin confirmed he experienced a rehab setback this offseason while recovering from an ankle injury that took more than seven months to heal sufficiently.
  • Brandon Williams is playing like he will come out ahead of recent UFA addition Tramon Williams, although he’s now unlikely to usurp Justin Bethel in the Cardinals‘ competition to see who starts opposite Patrick Peterson this season. Bruce Arians said (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com) Williams played “really well” in the Cards’ game against the Bears on Saturday.
  • The Giants will work out offensive lineman Matt Rotheram on Monday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Rotheram has bounced around the league for the past two seasons, residing on the Packers and Lions’ practice squads in 2015 and ’16, respectively. The Lions signed him to a reserve/futures contract in January but cut him earlier this week.
  • Before signing linebacker Kelvin Sheppard to a deal, the Bears worked out fellow ‘backer Michael Scherer, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets.