NFL Workout Updates: 10/29/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise specified.
Buffalo Bills
- QB Kyle Allen (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- T Antonio Garcia, T De’Ondre Wesley (link)
New York Giants
- LB Jonathan Anderson, CB De’Vante Bausby, DE Will Clark, QB Connor Cook, WR Marcus Easley, WR Brittan Golden, DT Woodrow Hamilton, RB Akeem Hunt, T Roubbens Joseph, LB Corey Nelson, DT Chris Okoye, WR Francis Owusu, LS Taybor Pepper, T Dan Skipper, LB Aaron Wallace, S Terrell Williams (Twitter links via Balzer and ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan)
Seattle Seahawks
- S Michael Cirino, LB James Onwualu (link)
Tennessee Titans
- FB Dimitri Flowers, FB Jalson Fowler, FB Malcolm Johnson, FB Aaron Ripkowski (Twitter link via Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)
Washington Redskins
- S Kurtis Drummond, S Kelcie McCray, S Jason Thompson, S J.J. Wilcox (link)
Seahawks Activate TE Ed Dickson
Ed Dickson is in line to make his Seahawks debut on Sunday. The team activated its free agent addition from the reserve/NFI list on Saturday.
The veteran tight end missed all of training camp because of injuries, though Pete Carroll said the soft-tissue maladies not being too serious allowed Dickson to ramp up work in advance of what looks like a Week 8 debut. He returned to practice this week.
The Seahawks waived second-year UDFA tight end Tyrone Swoopes to clear a roster spot.
Signing a three-year, $10.7MM contract with the Seahawks in advance of his age-31 season, Dickson will help a Seattle team that lost Jimmy Graham in free agency. Will Dissly is on IR, and Nick Vannett leads all active-roster Seattle tight ends with 110 receiving yards. Vannett’s also battled injury trouble this season.
Dickson started 12 games for the Panthers last season, filling in for much of the slate as Greg Olsen‘s injury replacement. He caught 30 passes for 437 yards last season. That total represents the second-best of Dickson’s career, making this activation a potentially critical depth aid for the 3-3 Seahawks.
Seahawks Still Awaiting Word On Kendricks
- Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks has been suspended indefinitely by the league, and while he’s working to negotiate an agreement with the league office, there’s still no word on when he’ll be able to return. Coach Peter Carroll “says he has been in communication” with the league and while there’s been no “definitive word” they’re “hoping for more clarity early next week”, according to Bob Condotta of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kendricks was suspended due to being charged with insider trading, which led to his release from the Browns earlier this year.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/24/18
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Arizona Cardinals
- TE Ethan Wolf; K Zane Gonzalez
Cincinnati Bengals
- TE Marcus Lucas
Cleveland Browns
- WR Deontez Alexander, Marcus Tucker; CB Linden Stephens; LB Corey Nelson
Detroit Lions
- RBs Gerald Holmes, Jalen Simmons; DE Anthony Lanier; DT Josh Banks
Houston Texans
- TE Khari Lee
Indianapolis Colts
- WRs C.J. Board, Montay Crockett, Chad Hansen; DT Zaycoven Henderson; S A.J. Howard
Jacksonville Jaguars
- LBs Richie Brown, Colton Jumper, Mike Needham, Aaron Wallace; CB Breon Borders; S Jack Tocho
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings
- T Andrew Lauderdale
Oakland Raiders
- OTs Darius James, Jamar McGloster, De’Ondre Wesley; Gs Maurquice Shakir, Isaiah Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- G J.J. Dielman; S Justin Currie
Tennessee Titans
- RB Ralph Webb; TE Khari Lee; DT Vincent Valentine; LBs Vontarrius Dora, Gimel President
Seahawks DE Frank Clark Would Accept Franchise Tag
Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark is scheduled to become a free agent next spring, but the star edge defender wouldn’t have a problem accepting the franchise tag in lieu of a long-term deal, as his agent Erik Burkhardt explained to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com.
“Frank and I are not scared of the franchise tag,” Burkhardt said. “That’s going to come in at about $18 million next year for a D-end on a one-year, fully guaranteed deal. It’s what [Lions defensive end Ezekiel] Ansah and [Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus] Lawrence have done. They get that top-of-the-market value for one year, and 12 months later will get their long-term deal as well. That’s winning.”
Seattle has already indicated that it will not use the franchise tag on veteran safety Earl Thomas, and given that the club doesn’t have any other obvious candidates for the tender, Clark could get tagged on a one-year deal worth more than $17.5MM. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll says negotiations with Clark are “ongoing,” tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, but Clark also has a loss-of-value insurance policy in the event that his contract prospects are diminished by injury.
“I’m not saying a deal won’t get done,” Burkhardt said in explaining why he won’t rush Clark into a pact. “I’m just saying Frank and I don’t feel any panic or urgency to do an early deal just for the sake of doing an early deal. Athletes today prepare their whole lives to potentially get one big contract, and Frank has put himself in position to do that.”
Clark, 25, was selected in the second round of the 2015 draft and began contributing immediately, posting three sacks during his rookie campaign. Since that time, he’s played on roughly two-thirds of Seattle’s snaps in each season, and recorded 24.5 sacks in 37 games. This year arguably marks Clark’s best campaign to date, and Pro Football Focus grades him as the NFL’s No. 20 edge defender among 101 qualifiers.
If Clark does hit free agency, he’ll join an impressive list of available pass rushers that could include Lawrence, Ansah, Trey Flowers, Jadeveon Clowney, and Dee Ford, among others.
K.J. Wright, Ed Dickson To Debut Sunday
- Both K.J. Wright and Ed Dickson are expected to make their season debuts for the Seahawks on Sunday, Pete Carroll said (via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson). An arthroscopic knee surgery and a setback kept Wright out for this long. Dickson’s spent time on the NFI list because of a quad injury. The Seahawks signed Dickson to a three-year, $10.7MM deal this offseason.
- The Seahawks placed safety T.J. Green on their exempt list, and Carroll said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, on Twitter) Green simply didn’t want to play football anymore. The former second-round pick out of Clemson hadn’t seen action with the Seahawks. He’d started 11 games prior to the Colts cutting him two months ago.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/23/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Deatrick Nichols
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OG Sean Harlow
- Cut: C J.C. Hassenauer
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB Devante Mays
Denver Broncos
- Cut: OG Avery Gennesy
Houston Texans
- Signed: OLB Daeshon Hall
- Cut: RB Josh Ferguson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Rolan Milligan
- Cut: QB Phillip Walker
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Raymond Davison, T Pace Murphy
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR Austin Proehl
- Cut: WR Steven Mitchell
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Jalen Myrick, OT Adam Bisnowaty
- Cut: DT Curtis Cothran
- Placed on injured list: DE Jonathan Wynn
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: RB Donnel Pumphrey
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Aaron Burbridge
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DB Justin Currie, OG J.J. Dielman
- Cut: RB Lavon Coleman, LB Azeem Victor
NFL Workout Updates: 10/22/18
Here’s a rundown of today’s NFL workouts. Each workout comes from Howard Balzer’s (on Twitter), unless noted otherwise:
Arizona Cardinals
- G Oday Aboushi, TE John Phillips, TE Gavin Escobar, G Austin Pasztor, S Rolan Milligan, S Fish Smithson
Cleveland Browns
- RBs Charcandrick West, RB Devante Mays, LB Corey Nelson, CB Jalen Myrick (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Houston Texans
- CB Tony Lippett
Los Angeles Rams
- WR Jace Billingsley, WR Chad Hansen, WR Austin Proehl
Seattle Seahawks
- DE Damontre Moore (Twitter link via Caplan)
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB Deatrick Nichols
Seattle Seahawks
- Claimed off waivers: LB Emmanuel Ellerbee (from Chargers)
- Placed On Exempt List (left team): S T.J. Green
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Riley Bullough
- Placed on IR: LB Kwon Alexander, LB Jack Cichy
Latest On Future Of Seahawks
- Chargers DE Joey Bosa will make his debut on November 4 against the Seahawks, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. That is the return date that the team has been targeting for some time, and Bosa will obviously provide a huge boost to the team’s pass rush and playoff aspirations.
- La Canfora confirms a report from earlier this week that the Seahawks will eventually be sold in the wake of Paul Allen‘s death. Allen, who has no heirs and who did not intend to pass on the team to a specific person, did make plans and stipulations just the same. The NFL is reserving comment at this time and will allow the Seahawks to make Allen’s plans public when they choose to, but sources expect that the transfer of the team — likely for a price exceeding $2.3 billion — will take a similar course as the eventual sale of the Bills after Ralph Wilson‘s passing. In that case, Wilson had put a framework in place for the Bills to remain in Buffalo, and the team was ultimately sold to Terry Pegula, who already had strong ties to the region.