Tag: Ed Dickson

Falcons sign veteran TE Luke Stocker, OL Scottie Dill

The Falcons announced on Friday that they signed veteran tight end Luke Stocker along with undrafted free agent OL Scottie Dill.

The Falcons announced on Friday that they signed veteran tight end Luke Stocker along with undrafted free agent OL Scottie Dill.

Over his nine-year NFL career, Stocker, 32, has 76 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns.

He had a quiet year in Atlanta last season, catching eight passes for 53 receiving yards. But he’s a better blocker than Hayden Hurst, so he has some value in the running game.

As for Dill, the 6-foot-7, 300-pound rookie offensive lineman played at Memphis and should compete for a swing tackle spot and potentially land on the team’s practice squad.

Ultimately, the Falcons had very little veteran depth at tight end outside of Hurst. Stocker gives them exactly what they were looking for in someone who knows the system and can step in if needed.

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Report: TE Luke Stocker visited the Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons don’t have a ton of experience at the tight end position and reportedly brought in free agent Luke Stocker for a visit, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Atlanta Falcons don’t have a ton of experience at the tight end position and reportedly brought in free agent Luke Stocker for a visit on Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Considering offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter likes to heavily involve the tight end position, it makes sense that Atlanta would add a veteran to help transition away from Austin Hooper.

You have to wonder if the team will consider kicking the tires on one of the veteran free-agent options still on the market, such as Delanie Walker or Ed Dickson.

Stocker, 32, knows the system and would provide good depth in case of an injury to Hayden Hurst. As a member of the Falcons in 2019, Stocker caught eight passes for 53 receiving yards.

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5 former Panthers players who could be worth bringing back for 2020

Here are five free agents who used to play for the Panthers they should consider.

If it happens, the 2020 NFL season is going to be a unique one. Teams have been unable to hold any kind of offseason program to date except in a virtual setting and the league is looking at cancelling half of the preseason schedule. This means that teams with continuity and familiarity will have an advantage over those that don’t.

That’s bad news for the Carolina Panthers, who have lost more snaps from 2019 than any team in the league by a huge margin. Bringing back some familiar faces could help. Here are five free agents who used to play for the Panthers they should consider.

TE Ed Dickson

Ed Dickson
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The loss of Greg Olsen hit the Panthers hard and they haven’t made any significant additions at tight end since. Especially after Seth DeValve was released due to a non football injury, the team could use more depth at this position. Dickson was never a star, but at the very least he would bring experience to a young and unproven tight end room that needs it. In 2018 with the Seahawks, Dickson scored three touchdowns and caught 12 of 13 targets from Russell Wilson. For the league minimum, he’s worth a look.

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The 9 worst free agent signings in the John Schneider era

The Seattle Seahawks have had a lot of success under general manager John Schneider, but he has made his fair share of mistakes as well.

The Seattle Seahawks, under general manager John Schneider, built a near-dynasty in the early part of the decade thanks to a handful of excellent, career-defining draft selections – including Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas – all who well outperformed their draft spot.

Schneider also proved capable of making excellent trades to help the team, including acquiring Marshawn Lynch back in 2010 and more recent trades for Jadeveon Clowney and Quandre Diggs.

Perhaps Schneider’s biggest area of weakness is on the free agent market. Despite excellent, under the radar signings like Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Bradley McDougald and the undrafted addition of Doug Baldwin, the Seahawks have also dished out a handful of ugly deals that, at times, hampered the franchise’s bottom line while hurting the product on the field.

Here is a look at the nine worst free agent signings during Schneider’s tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, starting with a few who just missed the cut:

CB Jamar Taylor (2019)

CB Byron Maxwell (2018)

K Sebastian Janikowski (2018)

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Russell Wilson’s deferred 35 million dollar signing bonus is due

The star quarterback cashes in with a $35 million dollar signing bonus, which was due on April 1. Bobby Wagner earned $8 million as well.

Talk about a large payday.

Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson, as part of his massive four-year, 140 million dollar contract extension, is owed a $35 million dollar signing bonus payment by Wednesday, April 1.

Wilson is one of a handful of players who is cashing out on Wednesday, including teammate Bobby Wagner ($8M) as well as linebacker Shaq Thompson ($8M) quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ($8M) defensive tackle Gerald McCoy ($2M) and safey Eric Reid – who is owed $2M from the Panthers despite being released by the team last week.

Wilson’s contract made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, and he responded by having quite possibly his best season to date in 2019, posting a 106.3 quarterback rating with 4,111 yards, a 66.1% completion rate and a whopping 31-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio, while leading the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and a loss in the divisional round to the Packers.

Wagner signed a three-year, 54-million dollar extension last summer as well, and he’ll collect a nice little payday after posting another excellent season in the Emerald City, racking up a league-leading 159 tackles while earning a fourth consecutive All-Pro nod.

These figures do not impact Seattle’s cap space, which got a little bigger yesterday after the team let go of safety Tedric Thompson and tight end Ed Dickson.

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Seattle Seahawks release veteran tight end Ed Dickson

The Seattle Seahawks cleared $5.3 million in cap space with the release of both tight end Ed Dickson and free safety Tedric Thompson.

The Seattle Seahawks continued their quest to clear cap space on Tuesday, reportedly releasing veteran tight end Ed Dickson, according to a tweet from NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

The move comes shortly after a report indicated the team plans to cut safety Tedric Thompson, and the two moves combined would save the Seahawks $5.3 million dollars in cap space – potentially alluding to another signing or the return of Jadeveon Clowney.

Dickson, 32, spent all of 2019 on the injured reserve, save for a few days where he was activated and subsequently placed back on IR without making an appearance in a game.

Dickson also missed the first half of the 2018 season with injuries as well, returning to catch three touchdowns and 12 total receptions in 10 games down the stretch.

Dickson’s release was all but guaranteed after the team signed free agent Greg Olsen and reportedly came to terms with both Luke Willson and Jacob Hollister, giving them three tight ends alongside presumed starter Will Dissly.

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A look at 4 Seattle Seahawks who could become cap casualties

The Seattle Seahawks are in the market for superstars, and acquiring any might require them to cut some players to clear cap space.

The Seattle Seahawks are in the market for superstars this offseason, and while they have more cap space than usual they are still going to have a hard time affording top-tier talent on the open market, unless they make some chances to their roster.

The signing of Greg Olsen and the re-signing of Jarran Reed sucked up a huge chunk of Seattle’s cap space, and any chance of re-signing Jadeveon Clowney or bringing in another quality free agent likely rests in the team’s ability to shed some salary.

Here are four players who could find themselves looking for a new job this offseason, starting with the most obvious candidate.

Tight End Ed Dickson

Cutting veteran tight end Ed Dickson would save the Seahawks $3.8 million dollars, and seems like a no-brainer following the team’s addition of Olsen and the reported return of both Jacob Hollister and Luke Willson.

With four tight ends already in the fold, and Dickson unable to play a single game last year thanks to injuries, it seems like a near certainty he will be released soon.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old may have a hard time finding another gig, although his experience and strength as a blocker should land him another opportunity before he has to call it a career.

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Seahawks making attempts to re-sign Clowney and Reed

The Seattle Seahawks are planning to bring back both Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed, but cap space limitations will make that difficult.

The Seattle Seahawks are making attempts to re-sign both defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

With the new salary cap officially announced at $198.2 million per team, a roughly $10 million raise from last year, the Seahawks some flexibility to work with. However – the anticipated salary cap increase was a tad over $200 million, and this smaller increase could actually work against the Seahawks.

The team currently has roughly $44 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, a solid number that will likely go up if the team releases veteran Ed Dickson, a move they are expected to make to save $3.8 million.

Center Justin Britt is a potential cap casualty as well, and releasing the pair would give Seattle nearly $60 million to work with.

Clowney is almost certainly going to command $18-20 million annually, and Reed made it clear he is looking for more than the $8-10 million many are projecting for him.

Committing half their available cap space to two defensive linemen is a difficult task for any general manager, especially for a team that finished near the bottom in pass rushing last year even with those two in the fold.

Free agency is expected to begin on time, despite rampant concerns surrounding COVID-19, which means the Seahawks can begin negotiating with their own free agents on Monday, March 16.

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The significance of TE Greg Olsen signing with Seahawks for 2020

The Greg Olsen signing shakes up the Seattle Seahawks’ tight end unit and precedes the team’s decisions on Jacob Hollister and Ed Dickson.

The Seattle Seahawks recently agreed to terms with veteran tight end Greg Olsen on a one-year, $7 million deal ahead of the start of the new league year, giving quarterback Russell Wilson a new target to throw to for the 2020 season.

Now that Olsen is under contract and Will Dissly is returning from injury, Seattle’s tight end unit should be something to keep an eye on. With Jacob Hollister being a restricted free agent and Ed Dickson’s status up in the air after spending the 2019 season on injured reserve, the Seahawks now have two tight ends who are locked in to make the roster. Olsen’s leadership should prove valuable to Dissly and Hollister if the latter stays in the Emerald City.

Of course, Olsen also has a few question marks, primarily his age and durability. He is 35 years old and has not played a full season since 2016, missing a total of 16 games in the following two years due to foot injuries.

However, Olsen has still been able to produce when he has been healthy, and he will be far from Wilson’s only reliable target with Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Dissly leading the charge, provided they avoid injuries of their own.

This is Seattle’s first move in an offseason with numerous decisions to be made.

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Seahawks designate Ethan Pocic to return from injured reserve

The Seattle Seahawks designated center/guard Ethan Pocic to return from injured reserve. He will be eligible to play starting December 15.

The Seattle Seahawks designated versatile offensive lineman Ethan Pocic to return from the injured reserve on Thursday.

Pocic is now eligible to return to practice right away, but he cannot play until December 15, when the Seahawks take on the Panthers in Carolina.

Additionally, Pocic will not take up a spot on the 53-man roster until the team officially activates him. His designation to return also means Seattle can no longer activate anyone else from IR this season. They used the first of their two allotted returns on veteran tight end Ed Dickson, who was unfortunately placed back on the IR a few days later.

Pocic only appeared in two games this season, starting one, before getting hurt and eventually landing on injured reserve. His return will be welcome for a team that lost starting center Justin Britt to a season-ending knee injury – as they are now starting Joey Hunt at center which left them with no backup who is capable of playing that position.

Pocic has also proven himself capable of playing both guard spots and even tackle as well, making him a really nice option to have on the bench. Plus, if Hunt continues to struggle in pass protection, Pocic could see regular time at center before the season is up.

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