Shane Carden

Workout Notes: 9/12/15

The Chiefs worked out former seventh-round pick Cam Johnson, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The linebacker spent the previous three seasons with the Colts, compiling five tackles in 13 appearances. A 49ers draft pick in 2012, Johnson was waived by Indy last week.

Let’s check out some more audition notes from around the league. All links are via Wilson, unless noted otherwise…

  • The Jaguars worked out wideout Shaq Evans and quarterbacks Shane Carden and McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Carden, an undrafted rookie, inked a deal with the Bears following the draft. Meanwhile, Bethel-Thompson, an undrafted rookie in 2011, is still looking to make his NFL debut (Twitter link).
  • The Packers auditioned a group of players: receivers Issac Blakeney, Titus Davis, and Marcus Lucas, defensive ends Nordly Capi and Derrick Lott, linebacker Jeff Luc, and quarterback Donovan Porterie (Twitter link).

Bears Claim Zac Dysert Off Waivers From Broncos

4:44pm: The Bears announced that running back Senorise Perry is headed to the IR, as Jahns tweets.

The Bears also claimed tight end Gannon Sinclair off waivers from the Cardinals and released guard Lucas Nix, per Jahns (link).

With that, the Bears are at the 75-man limit.

3:47pm: The Bears have claimed Zac Dysert, who was waived Monday by the Broncos, team sources tell Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune. Dysert is expected to play Thursday night in the Bears’ final preseason game against the Browns.

Dysert was a seventh-round pick out of Miami of Ohio in 2013 and Jahns hears that Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase is very high on him. Dysert spent the 2014 season on the Broncos’ practice squad, so he’s plenty familiar with the signal caller.

The Bears may need a viable backup for Week 1 against the Packers after Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion in preseason. As it stands, David Fales and Shane Carden are the Bears’ other two quarterbacks, but the UDFA Carden will be released, according to Jahns. Fales has missed most of training camp with an illness.

Draft Notes: Vikings, Rams, Patriots, Bears

The Vikings could have an exciting offense next season, and that’s because the front office dedicated last year’s draft picks to improving their team on that side of the ball. Although the organization had acquired some foundational players, including quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, head coach Mike Zimmer said his team was still considering offensive weapons in the first round of this year’s draft. Via Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune

“The Teddy thing was huge because that was really the number one priority of the organization. We had to get a quarterback we thought could take us to the next level. Honestly, we didn’t go into this draft saying this was going to be a defensive draft. We went in and we had offensive guys targeted, but they might have gotten picked before we could pick them.

When we picked Trae Waynes, there were three or four guys there we thought we would be happy with, but part of it with Trae was the position he plays. Typically when you draft those corners, you draft pretty high. Once it gets down lower, to the second round, they don’t produce like the higher picks. Knock on wood — we hope we’re drafting a little lower next year.”

Let’s take a look at some more draft notes from around the NFL…

  • The Rams were involved in the bidding for undrafted free agent La’el Collins, head coach Jeff Fisher told ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner“Yeah, we were involved in it,” Fisher said. “There were some things, we still had some unanswered questions at the time in which he made his decision but we were involved. We were told by them that we were in the final four, which is not necessarily a consolation but we were involved, yes.”
  • Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck contacted Collins to recruit him to their respective teams, tweets Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez. The reporter adds that the lineman seriously considered the Dolphins‘ pitch.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots would have willingly traded their first-rounder if an inquiring team had sweetened their offer. Ideally, the Patriots would have preferred an early second-round pick and a third-round pick in return. Reiss clarifies that the team is still please with their selection of Malcom Brown.
  • The Bears had been eyeing quarterback Shane Carden during the draft, and ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson writes that the team was thrilled about the opportunity to sign the player as an undrafted free agent. “He was actually a guy that we had good grades on, a guy that could have potentially been a draft pick,” Bears coach John Fox told Dickerson. “Our scouts, obviously, saw a lot more of him than the coaching staff. But he was productive, smart. He has good moxie, being able to execute in a pass offense that throws the ball quite a bit and was very productive.”

Bears To Sign 15 UDFAs

The Bears drafted just six players this weekend but agreed to terms with 15 undrafted free agents, per ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson.

  • Jonathan Anderson, LB, TCU
  • Qumain Black, CB, East Central (Okla.)
  • Bryce Callahan, CB, Rice
  • Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina
  • Jeremiah Detmer, K, Toledo
  • Jacoby Glenn, CB, Central Florida ($5K signing bonus, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune; Twitter link)
  • Chad Hamilton, OL, Coastal Carolina
  • Anthony Jefferson, S, UCLA ($5K signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun; Twitter link)
  • Cameron Jefferson, OL, Arkansas
  • Rick Lovato, LS, Old Dominion
  • Cameron Meredith, WR, Illinois State
  • Levi Norwood, WR, Baylor ($5K signing bonus, per Biggs; Twitter link)
  • Olsen Pierre, DL, Miami ($5K signing bonus, per Wilson on Twitter)
  • John Timu, LB, Washington ($5K signing bonus, reports Wilson on Twitter)
  • Brian Vogler, TE, Alabama ($4,500 signing bonus, according to Wilson, via Twitter)

Draft Notes: Mariota, Rams, Bengals, Ravens

The 2015 Senior Bowl will take place later this afternoon, and we should catch a glimpse of some future NFL stars. Let’s take a look at some notes regarding these prospects, including information about this year’s Heisman winner…

  • Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota has chosen Alan Zucker of Excel Sports for all off-field representation, tweets Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal.
  • The Rams are keeping an eye on East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden, writes Jim Thomas of the St.Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • The Bengals haven’t drafted a bona fide left tackle in the first round since Levi Jones in 2002. That may change this year, as Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com believes the team could pursue the position early in the draft. The writer focuses on LSU’s La’el Collins as a potential target.
  • The Ravens are fond of their young receivers, including Kamar Aiken, Marlon Brown and Michael Campanaro. Despite this, the organization is still doing their research on a number of wideout prospects, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that the organization met with Auburn receiver Sammie Coates earlier this week.
  • Wilson writes that the Ravens also met with Ohio State wideout Devin Smith. “It went really well,” Smith said. “They showed a lot of interest. They liked the things I did on the football field.”