- Former Bears offensive lineman Matt Slauson left his visit with the Bills without a contract, tweets Michael Gehlken of San Diego Union-Tribune. The 30-year-old is also set to meet with the Chargers, who Gehlken says are “very much in the mix.”
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All along, Matt Slauson has planned on visiting both the Chargers and the Bills and he will not rush his decision, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets. After wrapping up his visit with San Diego on Wednesday, the center/guard is now meeting with team brass in Buffalo. Slauson doesn’t have a deal with the Bolts yet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything one way or the other.
- Linebacker Jatavis Brown inked his rookie contract with the Chargers, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. The Akron product was taken in the fifth-round.
In the wake of his release from the Bears’ roster, veteran offensive lineman Matt Slauson didn’t waste much time setting up visits as he looks for a new NFL home. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Slauson has visits lined up with the Chargers and Bills.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that the visit to San Diego is taking place today, with a trip to Buffalo expected to follow. Other teams could be in play for Slauson as well, according to Biggs.
Chicago’s primary left guard since 2013, Slauson played with the Bears for the last three seasons, starting all 37 games in which he played. However, after the Bears signed Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen in free agency, then selected Kansas State guard Cody Whitehair, Slauson became expendable, and was cut by the club following the draft.
As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links) notes, Slauson has some connections to members of the Bills’ coaching staff, including head coach Rex Ryan and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who previously coached the 30-year-old with the Jets and Bears, respectively. Buffalo, having created some cap room after extending Cordy Glenn, is looking at Slauson as a possible right tackle, a source tells Rodak.
The Chargers, meanwhile, having a coaching connection of their own to the ex-Bear — new assistant offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was Slauson’s offensive line coach in 2012 with the Jets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Steelers announced that they’ve agreed to terms with 10 undrafted rookie free agents. One UDFA — tight end Jay Rome — was also announced as part of the Chargers’ UDFA class, so there’s obviously been some confusion on the part of either Pittsburgh or San Diego. We’ll include Rome here for now, but he might end up wearing blue and gold.
- Johnny Maxey, DL, Mars Hill
- Tyriq McCord, LB, Miami ($7K bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Will Monday, P, Duke
- Giorgio Newberry, DL, Florida State
- Christian Powell, RB Colorado
- David Reeves, TE Duke ($2K bonus, per Wilson)
- Jay Rome, TE, Georgia
- Quinton Schooley, OL NC State
- Canaan Severin, WR, Virginia
- Devaunte Sigler, DL, Jacksonville State
The Chargers have become the first club to announce its list of undrafted rookie free agent signings. San Diego has signed the following 20 UDFAs:
- Mike Bercovici, QB, Arizona State
- Terrell Chestnut, CB, West Virginia
- Kenneth Farrow, RB, Houston
- Tyler Johnstone, T, Oregon
- Sebastian Johansson, G, Marshall
- Jamaal Jones, WR, Montana
- Chris Landrum, LB, Jacksonville State
- Mike McQueen, G, Ohio ($5K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Adrian McDonald, S, Houston
- Tyler Marcordes, LB, Georgia Tech
- Spencer Pulley, C, Vanderbilt
- Shaq Petteway, LB, West Virginia
- Zeth Ramsay, T, Colorado Mesa
- Deandre Reaves, WR, Marshall
- Jay Rome, TE, Georgia (ultimately signed instead with Steelers)
- Larry Scott, CB, Oregon State
- Chris Swain, RB, Navy
- Dominique Williams, WR, Washington State
- Trevor Williams, CB, Penn State
- Carlos Wray, DE, Duke
With the draft set to kick off in less than 3o minutes, let’s take a quick look at some draft rumors from around the NFL…
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that multiple teams are talking with the Browns about acquiring the first pick of the fourth round. Schefter believes these inquiring teams are targeting a quarterback with the pick.
- Entering the day with five sixth-round picks, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe says it’s “likely to quite likely” that the Patriots move up to the fourth or fifth round (Twitter link).
- With only five picks in this year’s draft, the Rams have been focusing in on potential undrafted free agents, tweets ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
- Chargers general manager Tom Telesco is expected to use his fourth-round pick for the first time, tweets Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The team’s last fourth-round pick was Ladarius Green in 2012.
- The Bears will have seven selections on Saturday, and Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune writes that the organization is optimistic about their gameplan. “There’s a lot of good players in the draft tomorrow,” said general manager Ryan Pace. “And now we’ve got a lot of swings at those players.”
Having traded up on Thursday night to nab Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, the Broncos may now be in a better position to negotiate a long-term deal with star pass rusher Von Miller, suggests Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link).
Lynch’s rookie contract will likely call for cap hits that range from about $1.7MM in 2016 to $3MM by his fourth year in 2019, meaning Denver may not have much money tied up in the quarterback position for the next few years. While a Broncos source who spoke to Cole cautioned that the team still needs to make sure it has room to extend players like wideout Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Brandon Marshall, there’s some optimism between the team and Miller’s camp that a long-term pact can eventually be reached.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- The Jets have in fact fielded calls on Muhammad Wilkerson in recent weeks, but no serious suitors emerged, according to sources who spoke with Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. On Thursday night, GM Mike Maccagnan confirmed that a Wilkerson deal is now unlikely.
- Kevin Byrne of BaltimoreRavens.com takes a behind-the-scenes look at the Ravens‘ process last night as their No. 6 pick approached, including how the Laremy Tunsil video affected the team’s decision. Meanwhile, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald examines the thinking of the team that did take Tunsil, at No. 13: the Dolphins.
- The NFL’s stance on having a franchise in Las Vegas is “evolving,” per commissioner Roger Goodell, but Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) hears that the league still wouldn’t want a team like the Raiders to have any part-owners who have a stake in a Vegas casino.
- Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com explores the Browns‘ day-one draft decisions, noting that plenty of execs around the league are skeptical about the team’s approach and the selection of Baylor wideout Corey Coleman.
- Houston defensive tackle Tomme Mark got calls from the Chargers and Raiders and has drawn interest from Texans as a late-rounder or a priority free agent, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
The first round of the 2016 draft ended when the Seahawks selected offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, but there are still quite a few interesting options left on the board — which isn’t surprising given the depth of this draft class.
The most high-profile name is UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, who was projected as a top-five pick but wasn’t chosen, presumably because of health concerns. A cadre of defensive tackles, including Chris Jones, Jarran Reed, A’Shawn Robinson, Andrew Billings, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Kevin Dodd are still left, as is linebacker Reggie Ragland and cornerback Mackensie Alexander. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Connor Cook, running back Derrick Henry, wide receiver Sterling Shepard, tight end Hunter Henry, and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair are still available.
More from the draft, as we look forward to rounds two and three on Friday…
- The Broncos talked to every team starting with the Falcons at No. 17 about a move up to draft Paxton Lynch, John Elway tells Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Elway adds that Denver will continue to look at other quarterback options, and might still bring in a veteran QB.
- The Cowboys spent more time with Lynch than any other team club did, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Dallas was considering trading back up into the first round, per reports, but stopped their efforts once Lynch was drafted by Denver.
- Although a report tonight indicated that new Bills edge rusher Shaq Lawson would require shoulder surgery at some point, Lawson says that report is false, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link). Such a procedure would reportedly force Lawson out of action for four-to-six months.
- GM Dave Gettleman said the Panthers received seven calls from teams interested in acquiring the No. 30 pick, but he was comfortable staying put and drafting defensive tackle Vernon Butler (Twitter link via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer).
- Chargers GM Tom Telesco said his team may have the opportunity to trade down in the second round on Friday, tweets Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The team holds the fourth pick of the second round (No. 35 overall).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
The Chargers had been intending to draft Joey Bosa “for months”, a source tells Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com (Twitter links), who adds that San Diego was extremely happy when the Eagles traded up to No.2, since that deal meant that Bosa would likely slip to pick No. 3. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco spoke with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer for over an hour on Monday night, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), which may have helped the Chargers solidify their pick.
Here’s more draft news as the first round action continues…
- The Ravens drafted Ronnie Stanley at No. 6, but they originally had another offensive tackle in mind. According to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link), Baltimore was prepared to select Laremy Tunsil, but a video posted earlier tonight of Tunsil smoking out of a bong “scared them off.”
- Before selecting running back Elliott, the Cowboys considered trading out of the No. 4 pick, tweets Schefter. According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Dallas was discussing a pick swap with the Ravens before drafting Ezekiel Elliott. Baltimore, per Moore, wanted Jalen Ramsey, who ultimately went fifth overall.
- The Dolphins are a potential suitor for linebacker Myles Jack, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, who says he’s heard “over and over” that Jack could be a target for Miami. Jack’s health, specifically a 2015 knee injury, could force him to tumble down the draft board, but the Dolphins could be ready to catch him at No. 13.