Buccaneers sign top pick Winston
WASHINGTON, May 2, (RTRS): The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have signed number one overall pick Jameis Winston.
General manager Jason Licht announced Friday that Winston signed his rookie contract. The former Florida State quarterback will get $25.35 million over four years, including a $16.7 million signing bonus, according to reports from NFL Media and ESPN.com.
“It’s something we wanted to do,” Licht said. “And it was something where they had no reluctancy either. It was fairly smooth. We wanted Jameis to start off on the right foot. There’s no reason to punish Jameis. He’s going to be treated contractually in terms of money just like any other first overall pick.”
The Buccaneers and Winston downplayed a photo of the quarterback posing in front of a serving of Alaskan king crab legs as he celebrated being drafted number one.
General manager Jason denied a report that the team told Winston to remove the picture. Winston was celebrating with his family and apparently trying to poke some fun at his past, which includes a civil citation for taking crab legs from a Tallahassee, Fla., grocery store.
Licht
LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins, whose draft destiny is unclear amid a murder investigation, will reenter the draft in 2016 if he is not selected in the second or third round.
Collins, one of the top remaining prospects in the NFL draft, is scheduled to talk to police on Monday regarding a murder case in Baton Rouge, La., and his attorney has communicated his situation to security directors of all 32 NFL teams with the hope that they will not remove him from their draft boards, according to reports by NFL Media on Friday.
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers says he is “willing to listen to anything” regarding a contract extension but he didn’t seem committed to remaining the team’s quarterback after 2015.
On Friday, Rivers told U-T San Diego that there are “a lot of moving parts and lots to think about: location, family, team. ... All I can say at this point regarding an extension is I’m willing to listen to anything. I’m also willing to play it out. I’m just fired up to be the Chargers’ QB in 2015.”
Chip Kelly wanted Marcus Mariota and doesn’t deny the Philadelphia Eagles took a swing at the Oregon quarterback recruited to Eugene by Kelly.
But Kelly said the Eagles did not offer veteran players to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Tennessee Titans to move up from number 20 to get the first or second pick.
The Tennessee Titans have been searching for a franchise quarterback for 10 years — ever since they traded Steve McNair to Baltimore in 2005. Marcus Mariota, drafted second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday, comes to town as the new face of the franchise.
St Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy wants to be traded after the team’s selection of Todd Gurley with the number 10 pick in the NFL Draft.
The Indianapolis Colts released return specialist and wide receiver Josh Cribbs on Friday after one season with the team.
Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle will not face charges following a February domestic disturbance in Kansas, the Wichita city attorney’s office said Friday.
Chicago Bears defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff was given one year of probation after pleading guilty to a DWI charge.
For absolute pro-football junkies, the National Football League is for the first time ever providing on-location coverage of later rounds of the NFL draft, starting Saturday, May 2, at 12 p.m. ET.