AFC Draft Pick Signings: 5/10/19
The latest 2019 draft pick signings from around the AFC:
- The Jets agreed to terms with two more rookies, signing fifth round linebacker Blake Cashman and sixth round cornerback Blessaun Austin. Cashman had 104 tackles at Minnesota last year, including 15 for a loss. He earned a second-team All-Big Ten selection for his work last year. Only third overall pick Quinnen Williams and third-rounders Jachai Polite and Chuma Edoga remain unsigned for New York.
- The Chargers inked two more players to their rookie deals, signing fifth round quarterback Easton Stick and fourth round linebacker Drue Tranquill. Stick, a North Dakota State product, was highly productive as a runner in college and many analysts projected a potential position change in the pros. That being said, the Chargers have said they plan on keeping Stick at quarterback. Tranquill is now wrapped up, and the Chargers can hopefully get his Notre Dame teammate, Jerry Tillery, signed soon. Most of the Chargers’ draft class remains unsigned as they just inked their first player earlier today.
- The Bengals signed a crop of five players, representing half of their class. They wrapped up fourth-rounders Renell Wren and Michael Jordan, sixth round running backs Trayveon Williams and Rodney Anderson, and seventh round cornerback Jordan Brown. Jordan, a Miami product, has some potential upside and could help replenish Cincinnati’s secondary. Williams, from Texas A&M, and Anderson, from Oklahoma, will be battling it out for a role behind Joe Mixon in the Bengals’ backfield. Anderson used to be seen as one of the nation’s top running backs, but injuries have derailed his career. This draft class will always be a monumental one for the Bengals, as it represents the first year of the post-Marvin Lewis era.
Seahawks Sign Al Woods
The Seahawks are making a late free agency move. The team has signed defensive tackle Al Woods, his representatives announced in a tweet.
Tom Pelissero followed up with a tweet, reporting that it’s a one-year, $2.25MM pact. It’s a solid chunk of change for Woods to land this late in the process. Woods met with the Seahawks last month, but it took a while for things to materialize. In all likelihood, the Seahawks were waiting for the deadline for signings to count toward the compensatory pick formula to pass.
He also met with the Lions back in March. Woods originally entered the league as a fourth round pick of the Saints back in 2010, and has bounced around the league ever since. The journeyman has been a member of six different teams, and finally settled in Indianapolis on a two-year, $4MM deal he signed in March of 2017. He played around 36% of the defensive snaps for the Colts last year, and started eight games. A run-stuffer primarily, he finished with 24 tackles and one pass defended.
Woods had a brief stint in Seattle back in 2011, so there’s some familiarity here. He’s also been with the Steelers, Buccaneers, and Titans during his time in the league. He turned 32 in March, and the Seahawks will likely use him in a situational role on running downs. He ended last year on injured reserve with a foot injury, but there’s no indication that it’s still bothering him.
Cardinals Sign Five Draft Picks, Wrap Up Draft Class
After signing Kyler Murray and a handful of others yesterday, the Cardinals wrapped up the rest of their picks today. Arizona announced the following signings:
- 2-62: WR Andy Isabella (UMass)
- 4-103: WR Hakeem Butler (Iowa State)
- 5-139: S Deionte Thompson (Alabama)
- 6-179: OL Lamont Gaillard (Georgia)
- 7-249: DL Michael Dogbe (Temple)
With that, every 2019 Cardinals draft pick is officially under contract. In Isabella and Butler, the Cards got two new weapons for Murray. Isabella is a speed-demon who played at a small school, but put up monster numbers. Undersized but blazing fast, Isabella racked up 102 receptions for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Minutemen.
Many people thought Butler would end up going earlier than he did, and a lot of mock drafts had him going sometime in the second round. He slipped to the fourth, where Arizona got him with the 103rd pick. Butler was also very productive in college, putting up 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns in his junior season at Iowa State before declaring for the draft.
Thompson is another player who had a notable tumble on draft day. For a while the Alabama product was considered one of the top safeties in the class, and a bunch of analysts thought he would go sometime on Day 2. He’ll now have a big chip on his shoulder, as he lasted all the way to the 139th pick.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/19
We’ve got a whole bunch of minor transactions from today as we head into the weekend:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Wes Hills, CB Nate Brooks
- Released: WR Bryant Mitchell, CB Jonathan Moxey, RB Brandon Wilds
Houston Texans
- Waived: S Mike Tyson
- Placed on IR: OLB Duke Ejiofor
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: RB Martez Carter, LB Chase Hansen, TE Jake Powell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Jay Liggins
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: DE Nate Orchard
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Brian Burt
Orchard, the former second round pick of the Browns, is probably the biggest name on this list. He was cut to make room for Ziggy Ansah, who the Seahawks officially announced today. Orchard had signed a one-year pact last month that didn’t contain any guaranteed money. It’s a pretty bad sign for his NFL future that he was apparently at the very bottom of the 90-man roster in Seattle.
Chiefs Cut WR Sammie Coates
Sammie Coates‘ stint with the Chiefs didn’t last very long. Kansas City is releasing the receiver, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Chiefs signed Coates back in February, and he only lasted a few months with his latest team. Coates entered the league as a third round pick of the Steelers back in 2015, and he initially showed some promise in Pittsburgh. In 2016 he started five games, and racked up 435 yards and two touchdowns.
He then got injured and was subsequently buried in Pittsburgh’s deep wide receiver group, so he was traded to the Browns just before the start of the 2017 season. He appeared in 12 games and started one in Cleveland, but ended up catching just six passes for 70 yards in Cleveland’s winless year.
After being released last March he latched on with Houston, and spent most of 2018 with the Texans. He caught only one pass last year, and the fact that he couldn’t stick on a 90-man roster through May isn’t a great sign for his NFL future. His phone won’t be ringing off the hook.
Patriots Sign Jarrett Stidham, Three Other Draft Picks
The day after signing Benjamin Watson, the Patriots have wrapped up most of their draft class. The team announced the signing of four of their remaining picks today. After inking second round pick Joejuan Williams and two others yesterday, only first round receiver N’Keal Harry and third-rounders defensive end Chase Winovich and running back Damien Harris remain unsigned.
- 4-118: OL Hjalte Froholdt (Arkansas)
- 4-133: QB Jarrett Stidham (Auburn)
- 5-163: P Jake Bailey (Stanford)
- 7:252: CB Ken Webster (Ole Miss)
The Patriots’ drafting of Stidham of course raised some eyebrows because of the position he plays. Stidham had a down year at Auburn in 2018, but many observers chalked that up more to the poor offense he was playing in rather than anything he was doing wrong. After his 2017 season the former Baylor transfer was thought of as a potential Day 2 pick, but his stock took a bit of a tumble last year. 
He’ll now get the chance to develop behind Tom Brady, and could potentially position himself as the heir apparent if he shows well. The Patriots have drafted a handful of quarterbacks in recent years, as early as the second round with Jimmy Garoppolo back in 2014. They drafted Jacoby Brissett in the third round in 2016, and both quarterbacks ended up getting traded.
Bailey was a bit of a surprising pick in the fifth round because the Patriots already had an established punter. Ryan Allen has been the team’s punter since 2013, and he just recently re-signed with the team in March. The drafting of Bailey so early would seem to suggest they aren’t entirely sold on Allen.
Froholdt is a Denmark native who has a lot of experience at both guard and center. New England has invested heavily at center this offseason, and Froholdt could be a nice developmental piece.
Bucs Shut Down Kendell Beckwith
Kendell Beckwith‘s season ended before it could even start. On Friday, the Buccaneers placed the linebacker on the reserve/non-football injury list. 
Beckwith showed promise as a rookie in 2017 as he notched 73 tackles, one sack, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to build off of that in 2018 thanks to a car accident that mangled his ankle. His surgically-repaired ankle continues to keep him off of the field and it’s not clear whether he’ll be able to resume playing in the future.
Beckwith has overcome adversity in the past – that standout rookie season game on the heels of an ACL tear that ended his final LSU campaign prematurely. Hopefully, he’ll be able to battle through his ankle injury and get on the gridiron again.
Jets Waive Rashard Robinson
On Friday, the Jets waived cornerback Rashard Robinson. Pink slips were also handed to wide receiver Stacy Coley and defensive lineman Charles Tapper. 
[RELATED: Jets Sign 16 Undrafted Free Agents]
The Jets acquired Robinson prior to the trade deadline in 2017 and gave up a 2018 fifth-round choice in the deal. Robinson went on to appear in 16 games for the Jets between ’17 and ’19, but tallied just nine tackles in total.
The Jets still need veteran help at the cornerback position, but they were unwilling to keep Robinson around at a paltry $2MM cap hit. By cutting him, the Jets will take that entire obligation off of the books.
Cowboys Sign Most Of Draft Class
The Cowboys have most of their draft signings out of the way. Everyone in Dallas’ draft class has agreed to, or signed, their rookie deals, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter), save for third-round guard Connor McGovern.
The following Cowboys rookies are now in the fold:
- 2-58: Trysten Hill, DT (Central Florida)
- 4-128: Tony Pollard, RB (Memphis)
- 5-158: Michael Jackson, CB (Miami)
- 5-165: Joe Jackson, DE (Miami)
- 6-213: Donovan Wilson, S (Texas A&M)
- 7-218: Mike Weber, RB (Ohio State)
- 7-241: Jalen Jelks, DE (Oregon)
Hill, a 6’2″, 315 pound defensive tackle, left UCF on a sour note and openly complained about his lack of playing time in the team’s Fiesta Bowl loss to LSU. Throughout the year, Hill clashed with coaches and started only once in the team’s eleven regular season games. Still, the Cowboys see big potential in this supersized lineman.
Pollard, meanwhile, offers upside as a runner and as a receiver. Last year, he saw 78 carries out of the backfield and averaged 7.1 yards per try. He also caught 39 passes for 458 yards, showing that he is a multi-talented threat.
Dolphins Sign 18 UDFAs
We’ll wrap up the 2019 undrated free agent process with the Dolphins, who have announced the signing of the following 18 UDFAs:
- Ryan Anderson, C (Wake Forrest)
- Shaq Calhoun, G (Mississippi State)
- Wesley Farnsworth, LS (Nevada)
- Terrill Hanks, LB (New Mexico State)
- Montre Hartage, DB (Northwestern)
- Dewayne Hendrix, DE (Pittsburgh)
- Tyler Horton, CB (Boise State)
- Trenton Irwin, WR (Stanford)
- Patrick Laird, RB (California)
- Jonathan Ledbetter, DE (Georgia)
- Aaron Monteiro, T (Boston College)
- Chris Myarick, TE (Temple)
- Nik Needham, CB (UTEP)
- Rob Rolle, S (Villanova)
- Cory Thomas, DT (Mississippi State)
- Tre’ Watson, LB (Maryland)
- Preston Williams, WR (Colorado State)
- Stone Wilson, P (FIU)
Most evaluators pegged Miami’s six-draft class as mediocre, but the Dolphins may have hit it out of the park with their undrafted free agents, as Thor Nystrom of Rotoworld ranked the Dolphins’ UDFAs as the second-best crop in the NFL (behind only the Saints). Calhoun is particularly interesting, as the poor state of Miami’s interior offensive line could give him a real chance at a roster spot. Williams, who was barred from testing at the scouting combine due to a 2017 altercation with a woman, is another Dolphins UDFA with a shot to make the 53-man roster, as Brad Kelly of The Draft Network writes.