06/18/13 - Jonathan Cyprien, FIU, Jaguars Safety Johnathan Cyprien and cornerback Dwayne Gratz signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are counting on both rookies to help revamp their secondary.
Cyprien was a second-round pick out of Florida International, where he was a four-year letterman and finished his career with 365, 13.5 tackles for loss, a school-record six forced fumbles and seven interceptions.
The 2012 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year was rated as the No. 29 overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com and the top strong safety available in April's draft.
NFLDraftScout.com analyst Rob Rang compared Cyprien to Green Bay's Morgan Burnett and predicted Cyrpien may struggle through some growing pains in coverage but should develop into one of the league's top young safeties before long.
06/18/13 - Dwayne Gratz, UConn, Jaguars Safety Johnathan Cyprien and cornerback Dwayne Gratz signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are counting on both rookies to help revamp their secondary.
Gratz was selected in the third round out of Connecticut, where he finished his career with 189 tackles, 30 passes defensed and eight interceptions.
Gratz was rated No. 55 overall by NFLDraftScout.com and No. 7 among cornerbacks. He has good size at 5-feet-11 and 201 pounds, but needs to display better route recognition and break on the ball with more explosiveness.
With the Jaguars' secondary void of its top three cornerbacks from a year ago, Gratz will make a strong bid to step into a starting role as a rookie.
06/13/13 - Maurice Jones, Temple, Undrafted CB Maurice Jones was waived by the Bears.
06/13/13 - Darius Slay, Miss St, Lions CB Darius Slay, who was a full participant in all three days of minicamp despite having arthroscopic knee surgery after the draft, caught the eye of defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham this week.
"I don't know if he knows he's in the NFL or not," Cunningham said, "That is a good thing, trust me. Somebody asked me about him, I said, 'He has no conscience.' That may be the No. 1 criteria for any corner you want on your team. He doesn't let things bother him. He's well-schooled and he's touched the ball a lot (during minicamp). He's had about three interceptions since he's come out, maybe four, knocked a couple balls down. So, we'll see. Again, Ziggy (Ansah) needs pads, Darius needs pads."
06/13/13 - Ezekiel Ansah, BYU, Lions DE Ziggy Ansah has shown coordinator Gunther Cunningham plenty through 10 OTAs and three days of minicamp.
"He's got a good feel for the game," Cunningham said of the 10th overall draft pick. "A lot of people say it's instincts. I've never heard of a human being having those (instincts).
"Maybe I'm wrong. Some doctor is going to call me saying you've got to learn things. But he has good eyes, you know, he sees the game and he shows up on some plays and amazes me. He has unique ability to slip gaps and show up. The tough thing right now is we don't have pads on. That's when the real things going to be in front of him. Hopefully, he'll be as good as we thought he was."
06/13/13 - Jheranie Boyd, N Carolina, Undrafted WR Jheranie Boyd was released by Tampa Bay.
06/13/13 - Landry Jones, Okla, Steelers QB Landry Jones signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who know have their entire draft class under contract.
Financial terms of the four-year deal were not disclosed.
Landry was drafted in the fourth round after setting an Oklahoma career record by starting 48 consecutive games. He als set school and Big 12 Conference career records by completing 1,388 of 2,183 passes for 16,646 yards and 123 touchdowns.
Landry isn't necessarily viewed as the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisbeger. While he set numerous passing records at Oklahoma, he never developed into the elite pro prospect the Sooners envisioned after a stellar freshman season taking over for Sam Bradford.
Jones needs to prove he can make solid progressions through his routes and make the transition to playing under center in the NFL. And while Jones has a strong arm, he lacks consistent accuracy to all levels.
This year, Jones will compete with veterans Bruce Gradkowski and John Parker Wilson as the Steelers attempt to get younger behind Roethlisberger after years of relying on Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich.
06/13/13 - Scott Pillar, Albright, Undrafted WR Scott Pillar was waived by the Redskins.
06/13/13 - Denodus O'Bryant, Lindenwood, Undrafted RB Denodus O'Bryant was waived by the Colts.
06/13/13 - Trey Wilson, Vanderbilt, Undrafted Austen Lane, a fifth-round pick out of Murray State in 2010, was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars along with rookie cornerback Trey Wilson.
06/11/13 - *Corey Lemonier, Auburn, 49ers The San Francisco 49ers signed third-round draft pick Corey Lemonier to a four-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Lemonier, 6-feet-3 and 255 pounds, is a pass rusher who started 26 of 39 career games at Auburn University, finishing with 100 tackles, 17 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The two-time All-SEC honoree fell to the third round despite intriguing raw skills after struggling down the stretch in 2012 - particularly against the run - and because many scouts feel he's a defensive end/linebacker 'tweener who doesn't fit all schemes.
A defensive end for the Tigers, he's expected to transition to outside linebacker in the 49ers' 3-4 scheme. San Francisco traded the No. 93 overall pick and a seventh-round pick to the Green Bay Packers to move up to select Lemonier with the No. 88 overall selection in April.
06/11/13 - Jason Schepler, N Illinois, Undrafted TE Jason Schepler signed a three-year deal with San Francisco.
06/11/13 - Alex Debniak, Stanford, Undrafted RB Alex Debniak was placed on reserve/injured from waived/injured by San Francisco.
06/11/13 - Terrell Sinkfield, Northern Iowa, Undrafted WR Terrell Sinkfield signed with Green Bay.
06/11/13 - Nick Speller, UMass, Undrafted OT Nick Speller had his contract terminated by Tampa Bay.
06/11/13 - Dewayne Cherrington, Miss St, Undrafted DT Dewayne Cherrington had his contract terminated by New England.
06/11/13 - Malik James, Langston, Undrafted DB Malik James was waived by Dallas.
06/11/13 - Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard, Ravens Rookie Kyle Juszczyk is now the starting fullback with Vonta Leach released.
Drafted in the fourth round out of Harvard after catching 125 career passes for 1,576 yards and 22 touchdowns, Juszczyk is regarded highly for his hands and versatility.
"He's exactly where we expected him to be," Harbaugh said of Juszczyk. "He's smart, of course. He has picked it up very quickly, which you would expect. He has skills, he has ball skills, good football player."
06/11/13 - Rupert Bryan, Jr., FIU, Undrafted TE Evan Rodriguez was claimed by the Miami Dolphins off waivers from the Chicago Bears.
The Dolphins waived running back Rupert Bryan to create a roster spot.
Rodriguez was a fourth-round pick in 2012 who caught four passes for 21 yards as a rookie while playing fullback and tight end. However, he had two alcohol-related arrests this offseason and the Bears decided to part ways with him.
06/10/13 - Will Davis, Utah St, Dolphins The Miami Dolphins signed cornerback Will Davis, a third-round pick out of Utah State. Terms were not disclosed.
Davis started 18 of 26 career games for the Aggies after transferring from De Anza (Calif.) College before the 2011 season. The first-team All-WAC player as a senior recorded interceptions in five consecutive games in 2012 and finished the season with 64 tackles.
He was a projected fifth-round pick by www.NFLDraftScout.com, which rated Davis as the No. 157 overall prospect and No. 19 cornerback available in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Ironically, NFLDraftScout.com's Rob Rang compared Davis before the draft to current Miami Dolphin Richard Marshall.
"Davis has intriguing natural athleticism for coverage and ball skills and may only need greater physicality to emerge as a starter in the NFL," Rang wrote.
The Dolphins traded back into the third round to select Davis, who will compete with Jamar Taylor and Nolan Carroll for the No. 3 and 4 cornerback spots.
06/09/13 - Vernon Kearney, Lane (TN), Undrafted DB Vernon Kearney signed with the Browns. Kearney participated in the club's minicamp this week on a tryout basis. He was originally signed by Buffalo as an undrafted free agent on April 29 and was waived on May 30. Kearney spent his first two seasons as a wide receiver at Lane College before switching to defensive back.
06/07/13 - Vernon Kearney, Lane (TN), Undrafted DB Vernon Kearney signed with Cleveland.
06/07/13 - Jeremy Lewis, Miami, Undrafted OG Jeremy Lewis signed with Tampa Bay.
06/07/13 - Adam Schiltz, Emporia St, Undrafted TE Adam Schiltz signed with Houston.
06/07/13 - Akeem Shavers, Purdue, Undrafted RB Akeem Shavers was waived by New England.
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