Roundup: Multiple NFL teams make offseason moves
HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders signed firstround draft pick Brock Bowers, a tight end taken 13th overall from Georgia.
Bowers is slotted to make $18.14 million over four years, according to Spotrac.
He was one of six drafted players the Raiders announced Thursday as having signed with the club, including cornerback Decamerion Richardson (fourth round, Mississippi State), linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (fifth, Ohio State), running back Dylan Laube (sixth, New Hampshire), safety Trey Taylor (seventh, Air Force) and cornerback M.J. Devonshire (seventh, Pittsburgh).
The only Raiders draft picks who remain unsigned are offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze. Powers-Johnson was selected in the second round out of Oregon and Glaze in the third from Maryland.
Bowers is the only two-time winner of the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end. He caught 56 passes for 714 yards and six touchdowns last season.
“His position is tight end, but we saw him as a playmaker and offensive weapon,” Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly said Wednesday. “There is by no means any pressure on him to come in and attain any numbers. We need him to come in, learn this system, get acclimated to this city, meet his teammates.”
The Raiders also drafted a tight end last year, taking Michael Mayer in the second round out of Notre Dame. He caught 27 passes for 304 yards and two TDs last season.
SAINTS SIGN THEIR TOP DRAFT CHOICE, OFFENSIVE TACKLE TALIESE FUAGA
METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Saints have signed their first-round draft choice, tackle
Taliese Fuaga, to a four-year contract.
The club announced the agreement on Thursday, a day before the opening of the Saints’ threeday rookie camp.
The 6-foot-6, 324-pound Fuaga’s prospects for playing immediately — if not starting — are high. Andrus Peat, who played both guard and tackle last season, left in free agency for Las Vegas. Meanwhile, James Hurst, who also played guard and tackle, retired.
Adding to the Saints’ precarious situation up front is the fact that starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk had offseason surgery to address a nagging knee injury. Coach Dennis Allen has described his prognosis as “up in the air.”
Meanwhile, 2022 first-round draft choice Trevor Penning did not perform reliably enough to hold down a starting spot in 2023 after missing much of 2022 with a foot injury. New Orleans has by no means given up on Penning, but the pace at which he improves remains to be seen.
This upcoming season, the Saints’ offense will change systems under new coordinator Klint Kubiak, whose scheme is expected to emphasize outside zone runs — a good fit for a prospect such as Fuaga, whose ability to run and block in space was seen as a strength.
Fuaga started all 12 games at right tackle in 2023 for Oregon State, which averaged nearly 5 yards per rush, and he was selected first-team All-Pac-12 last season.
Fuaga was the fourth offensive tackle drafted (after Joe Alt at No. 5, JC Latham at No. 7 and Olumuyiwa Fashanu and No. 11 ).
In the NFL, rookie contracts are determined primarily by a scale in the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Because he was selected 14th overall, Fuaga’s guaranteed, four-year deal was projected to be worth in the range of $17 million. The club did not release financial details.
LA RAMS TRADE WR BEN SKOWRONEK TO TEXANS IN DRAFT PICK SWAP
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams have traded receiver Ben Skowronek to the Houston Texans in a swap of late-round draft picks.
Houston got Skowronek and a seventh-round pick in 2026 for a sixth-round pick in 2026 in the trade announced Thursday.
Skowronek was a seventh-round draft choice from Notre Dame who played his way into a significant role on offense and special teams during his three seasons with the Rams.
He notably had two catches for 12 yards as a rookie in the Rams’ Super Bowl victory while playing 46 snaps on offense after Odell Beckham Jr.’s injury. He became a regular in coach Sean McVay’s offense during the Rams’ dismal 2022 season, catching 39 passes for 376 yards and even lining up extensively as a fullback while starting 11 games.
Skowronek primarily contributed last season on special teams, serving as a team captain for the Rams. He has 58 receptions for 575 yards and one touchdown in his three-year career.
WILL LEVIS SEES THE TITANS’ OFFSEASON ADDITIONS AS PROOF TEAM WANTS TO WIN NOW
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Titans quarterback Will Levis couldn’t be happier at seeing all the new teammates Tennessee has added this offseason both through free agency and the NFL draft.
The Titans not only hired an offensive-minded coach in Brian Callahan, general manager Ran Carthon signed veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley in March and just added someone in Tyler Boyd who knows Callahan well from five seasons together in Cincinnati.
That’s not including using the seventh overall pick on JC Latham, a player Tennessee hopes will be a significant upgrade and fix at left tackle.