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Catching up with Noles in the NFL during free agency

I'm working against a deadline, so I thought this would be the perfect time to procrastinate and catch up with our Seminoles in the NFL, here in the midst of free agent season.

Free Agents Who've Signed

Lawrence Timmons was easily the biggest name Seminole changing teams this offseason. After spending 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, 8 of them as a starter, and winning a Super Bowl ring, Lawrence signed a 2-year, $12M ($11M guaranteed) contract with the Miami Dolphins. He'll take over as the middle linebacker in Miami's 4-3 defense after having spent the past several seasons as the buck inside linebacker in the Steelers' 3-4. His departure opens up an opportunity for Vince Williams, who impressed filling in for Ryan Shazier at the mack inside linebacker position last season, to take over the buck spot in Pittsburgh.

Menelik Watson had fallen out of favor in Oakland, where he'd always struggled to stay healthy. However, this offseason is showing how lucrative it is to be a competent offensive lineman in the NFL, and the Denver Broncos both needed offensive line help desperately and seen Menelik play up close, so they signed him to a 3-year, $18.5M contract. He will most likely vie for the starting right tackle spot and attempt to keep upright whoever ends up starting at quarterback for Denver.

Washington tendered restricted free agent Chris Thompson at the second round level. If he signs the tender, Thompson will earn $2.746M this season. Until then, he can still sign with another team, but Washington has the right to match the offer sheet and would receive a second round pick if they don't. It's reported that the team wants to work out a long term contract with Chris, who became an important part of Jay Gruden's offense in 2016 rather than just the change of pace/3rd down back he'd been before. Update: CT has signed his tender and will remain with Washington at least for this season.

Christian Jones signed a one year deal to stay in Chicago, where he's bounced around the linebacker corps, playing both inside and outside in the Bears' 3-4 as well as special teams last season. The terms weren't announced, but given it was an outright contract extension, you can bet it was smaller than the $1.797M tender that the Bears could have offered Christian, who was a restricted free agent.

Update: Dekoda Watson has signed a three year deal worth $6M with the San Francisco 49ers. He'd previously visited the Seahawks. It's unclear exactly how the Niners will use him, either as a special teams ace or as a major player at one of the linebacker positions in their new 4-3 defense because, well, let's just say the Niners roster is a fluid thing at the moment.

Update: EJ Manuel has signed with the Oakland Raiders to compete for the number 2 quarterback spot. He joins his first NFL quarterback coach, Todd Downing, who's now the Raiders' offensive coordinator. EJ talked about his lack of opportunities after signing his contract. No terms have been announced yet.

Update: Patrick Robinson has signed a one year, $1M deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were in desperate need of cornerback help.

Dax Dellenbach got a tryout with Tampa Bay during rookie minicamp last year, but didn't make the squad and was relegated to the grind of constantly trying out for various teams throughout the season, none of whom picked him up. That changed this offseason when the Bucs signed Dax to a futures contract, giving him a chance to be their new ongoing long snapper. Update: Dax has been cut post-rookie minicamp.

Rodney Smith continues to creep around the NFL. Unsigned since the 2016 training camp, Rodney was signed to a reserve future contract by Seattle in January.

This is really a missed signing from the last weeks of the 2016 season, but I should note that Reggie Northrup was signed to the LA Rams practice squad in December and to a reserve future contract in January. Just one season too late to see him do The Robot on Hard Knocks.

Players Who Were Cut

Patrick Robinson was cut by Indianapolis after just one year of a three-year contract. He had significant issues staying healthy, and the Colts' secondary was a mess all season long. At 29, he should still have enough left in the tank for one more contract, but he'll need to show teams he can stay healthy.

Garrison Sanborn was released from the Buffalo Bills, who are turning over their roster with a new head coach. The Bills' long snapper since they signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009, Garrison had a down year last season, responsible for several bad snaps on kicks and punts. Long snapper is a difficult position to break into because there are only 32 spots across the league and players tend to have significant longevity once they catch on. However, it's too early to tell whether this was Garrison's swan song or not. [Edit: The Bucs picked up Garrison. Competition between two Noles for the long snapper position in Tampa.] [Follow-up edit: Garrison won that competition mostly be default. Bucs cut Dellenbach post-rookie minicamp.]

Karlos Williams was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, just weeks after the NFL lifted his second substance abuse suspension early and the team signed him to a futures contract. Karlos had a completely lost 2016, starting the season with a substance abuse suspension, being cut by Buffalo after reporting to camp grossly overweight and blaming the situation on his fiancee's pregnancy, and being signed to the Pittsburgh practice squad before receiving his second suspension. Karlos impressed with his play during his rookie season in Buffalo, but it's unclear if any teams will want to put up with all the potential headaches that may come with signing him.

Update: Tre Jackson was released by the Patriots but claimed by the Rams. He joins Lamarcus Joyner in LA. [Second Update: Tre failed his physical and was released by the Rams.]

Other Offseason News

Christmas came extremely early for Jameis Winston as the Bucs signed veteran receiver DeSean Jackson. Not only does Jackson make for a good complement to number one receiver Mike Evans, he also provides a deep threat the likes of which Jameis has never had before. Jackson has consistently been in the top 10 in yards per catch, leading the league in that stat twice and coming in second last season. He's a great fit for Dirk Koetter's vertical scheme and should open up the field considerably for Jameis. I had the chance to see DJax a lot, first during my time in Philly and then after I moved to the DC area and DeSean went to Washington, and I am extremely psyched about this signing.

Ronald Darby is now cemented as the Bills' number one corner, as fellow 2016 starting corner Stephon Gilmore left to sign with the rival Patriots. It will be interesting to see how Buffalo chooses to fill the number 2 corner spot now.

One free agent who is not waiting for a team to call is Anquan Boldin. The Lions have stated they want him back, but Anquan is considering retirement as well as the possibility of joining other teams. If he does decide to retire, it will be the close of a great, borderline Hall of Fame career. If he decides to return, I hope he is able to sign with a contender and go after another Super Bowl ring. At the moment, though, his mind is primarily on his annual charity golf tournament.

Remaining Free Agents

  • Anquan Boldin (last team: Lions)
  • EJ Manuel (Bills) [signed by the Raiders]
  • Christian Ponder (Niners)
  • Patrick Robinson (Colts) [signed by the Eagles]
  • Garrison Sanborn (Bills) [signed by the Bucs]
  • Antone Smith (Bucs)
  • Dekoda Watson (Broncos) [signed by the Niners]
  • Karlos Williams (Steelers)

I'm sure I'm going to feel like procrastinating again sometime in the next few weeks, at which point I'll post another check in and provide my thoughts on the 2017 NFL Draft.

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