Jun 18 2013 - Jonathan Cyprien, 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.
Jun 18 2013 - Dwayne Gratz, 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.
Jun 13 2013 - Ken Parrish, The Jacksonville Jaguars signed two first-year players today in cornerback Lionel Smith and punter Ken Parrish, the club announced. Both players participated in the club's mandatory minicamp this week on a tryout basis.
Parrish, 6-2, 2010, has spent time with San Francisco, Philadelphia, the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007 with the 49ers. He finished his collegiate career at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania with a 40.3-yard average on 174 punts with 59 inside the 20. He was a two-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honoree.
Jun 13 2013 - Lionel Smith, The Jacksonville Jaguars signed two first-year players today in cornerback Lionel Smith and punter Ken Parrish, the club announced. Both players participated in the club's mandatory minicamp this week on a tryout basis.
Smith, 5-11, 184, has spent time with Dallas and Detroit since entering the league as a rookie free agent with the Cowboys in 2012. He spent time on the Lions' practice squad last season. The Bellaire, Texas native was a three-year letterman at Texas A&M where he started seven games as a senior and totaled 51 tackles and 16 passes defensed. He began his prep career at St. Bernard High School in Louisiana before transferring to Bellaire High School.
Jun 13 2013 - Maurice Jones, CB Maurice Jones was waived by the Bears.
Jun 13 2013 - Chris Houston, CB Chris Houston, who was a full participant throughout the OTAs and minicamp, was held out of team drills Thursday.
"A couple of guys had little tweaks here and there," coach Jim Schwartz said. "You know, it was three practices in a row and seven in two weeks, so you start to get a few groins and hamstrings. Nobody is long-term, but the last thing we want to do is take a little minor thing and then jam a guy up to where suddenly he's got to have four weeks of rehab instead of four weeks of training before training camp. Chris was one of those guys."
Jun 13 2013 - Ryan Broyles, WR Ryan Broyles was a three-day participant in minicamp, which was surprising and encouraging to the Lions.
"He's had a great rehab," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's working really hard. It's been a long time for him, second year in a row with an ACL. But, you know, every time he's gone out on the field he's made plays and he did the same thing today.
"He's still not 100 percent, but he's able to sort of pick and choose some spots in practice and he looked good."
Broyles was coming off ACL surgery on his other leg before last season and he didn't start competing in team drills until training camp. This year, he was doing individual work during OTAs and was a full participant in minicamp.
Jun 13 2013 - Darius Slay, 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."
Jun 13 2013 - Ezekiel Ansah, 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."
Jun 13 2013 - Mike Williams, Negotiations on a new contract between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Mike Williams, which accelerated following free agency and the NFL Draft, may produce an agreement within weeks, if not days.
"All I can say about that is that it's very close," Williams said.
Williams, selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, has averaged 64 catches through his first three seasons and had a career-best 996 yards and nine touchdowns in 2012. He is currently scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the 2013 season.
Bucs general manager Mark Dominik would like to get a deal completed before training camp.
Coach Greg Schiano said, "I see the changes in Mike over the last year. Mike is becoming such a more seasoned pro. Mike always had the passion for the game, way back from when I knew him when he was at Syracuse. I mean, this kid loves to play football. But all the little things about being a pro, I think Vincent (Jackson) has brought that into the room and certainly for Mike and for all those guys."
Jun 13 2013 - Jheranie Boyd, WR Jheranie Boyd was released by Tampa Bay.
Jun 13 2013 - Derek Hagan, The Bucs signed wide receiver Derek Hagan, a former third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2006, to a contract following a tryout at minicamp. Hagan, who joined the Bucs in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, is a receiver who spent time on the Raiders' roster last season, catching 20 passes for 259 yards. He became an unrestricted free agent in March. The 28 year old is joining his fifth team since entering the league with the Dolphins. He enjoyed his best NFL season in 2007, when he caught 27 passes for 373 yards for Miami. Another receiver, Jheranie Boyd, was released.
Jun 13 2013 - Landry Jones, 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.
Jun 13 2013 - Ryan Lee, OG Ryan Lee, who spent much of last season on New Orleans' practice squad, was signed by the Rams.
Jun 13 2013 - Chris Carr, CB Chris Carr was signed by the Saints. He played for San Diego last season.
Jun 13 2013 - Cameron Morrah, TE Cameron Morrah had his contract terminated by the 49ers. He was signed away from division-rival Seattle this offseason.
Jun 13 2013 - Scott Pillar, WR Scott Pillar was waived by the Redskins.
Jun 13 2013 - Denodus O'Bryant, RB Denodus O'Bryant was waived by the Colts.
Jun 13 2013 - Dwight Jones, WR Dwight Jones was waived by the Texans from the Did Not Report list.
Jun 13 2013 - DeAngelo Peterson, The Redskins placed defensive end Doug Worthington (biceps) and tight end DeAngelo Peterson (foot) on waived/injured list.
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