Tag: Laken Tomlinson

WATCH: Former Blue Devil Laken Tomlinson congratulates Graham Barton on NFL draft pick

Graham Barton joined Laken Tomlinson as one of eight Duke players taken in the first round of the NFL draft, and Tomlinson recorded a short video congratulating him.

Graham Barton became the eighth former Duke player drafted in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him off the board with the 26th pick.

Laken Tomlinson, another member of the elite club, took notice of the accomplishment. The Duke football team shared a short clip of the NFL veteran addressing his former Blue Devil after the selection.

“I’m so proud of you, man,” Tomlinson said. “I know about all the work you’ve been putting on in the trenches.”

“Keep grinding and making us proud. I can’t wait to see what you do next year on the field.”

Tomlinson, who also plays on the offensive line, was picked 28th overall by the Detroit Lions in 2015. At the time, he was the first first-rounder from the Duke program in almost 30 years.

He signed with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason after stints with the San Fransisco 49ers and the New York Jets.

Tomlinson, Barton, and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones are the only three Duke players taken on opening night since 1987.

Seahawks getting visit from veteran free agent G Greg Van Roten

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two.

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two. Last week general manager John Schneider told 710 Seattle that the team would be hosting a veteran offensive linemen or two, and earlier this week ESPN reported that the Seahawks were interested in free agent left guards Laken Tomlinson and Cody Whitehair.

Now we have reports of a meeting with yet another veteran free agent guard. According to Aaron Wilson, Greg Van Roten will be visiting today.

Van Roten (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) was originally undrafted out of Pennsylvania, but he’s gone on to a long career for a guard. All together he has appeared in 110 regular season games for five different teams, starting 71 of them.

Most recently Van Roten spent the 2023 season with the Raiders, where he put in over 1,000 snaps at right guard. PFF gave him a solid pass blocking grade (77.4) and a decent 68.5 run blocking grade for the year.

Now 34 years old, Van Roten is past his prime with the Panthers, but he should be relatively cheap in what’s been a wildly overpaid guard market this cycle. If he does sign, Van Roten would likely compete with second-year guard Anthony Bradford for the RG1 spot on the roster.

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Seahawks reportedly interested in 2 free agent left guards

According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, Seattle has shown interest in Laken Tomlinson and discussed bringing in Cody Whitehair for a visit.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider told ESPN radio last week the team would be bringing in a couple veteran free agent offensive linemen for visits. At the time he did not reveal who it would be, but we’ve since received word of the team’s interest in a couple linemen.

According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, Seattle has shown interest in Laken Tomlinson and discussed bringing in Cody Whitehair for a visit.

Tomlinson (6-foot-3, 323 pounds) was a first-round pick by the Lions back in the 2015 NFL draft. He played two seasons in Detroit, followed by five years with the 49ers and then two seasons with the Jets. All together he has appeared in 146 games, earning 138 starts. He has played his entire career at the left guard position, which happens to be Seattle’s greatest roster need.

Whitehair (6-foot-3, 316 pounds) was taken by the Bears in the second round of the following year’s draft. He spent the last eight seasons in Chicago, splitting his time between center and left guard.

Either one would answer a big question hanging over the team heading into the draft. However, right now the Seahawks only have about $2 million left in salary cap room for 2024 – and that doesn’t count what it will cost to sign their rookie class.

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Top 5 offensive guard free agent options for Raiders

5 Guards set to hit free agency who could be just what Raiders need

The Raiders need at guard is two-fold. As in they are going to need two of them. With it increasingly appearing as if the Raiders will let center Andre James leave in free agency, that could signal they will finally be moving Dylan Parham to center, leaving both guard spots in need of a new starter.

It’s said to be a strong class along the offensive line, but in the interest of not using all their picks to fill the OL (they need a tackle too), they would do well to try and get a starter in free agency first and possibly an insurance plan as a potential second starter in case the draft doesn’t fall their way.

These are the top five options to fill those roles.

Jets offseason primer: Team enters most important offseason in long time

Jets offseason primer: Team enters most important offseason in long time

With Super Bowl LVIII in the books and the Kansas City Chiefs cementing their dynasty by hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas, the road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans has officially begun and the Jets are ready to push all their chips to the middle of the table in hopes of heading to the Caesars’ Superdome on February 9, 2025.

With quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from his Achilles injury, the Jets are ready to be aggressive again this offseason, get back into contention and end a 13-year postseason drought. Here’s some of what the Jets are working with entering the offseason, including upcoming free agents and salary cap.

3 potential Commanders’ trade targets to fill positions of need

Could the Commanders look to the trade market to fill some of their holes in 2024?

The Washington Commanders will have plenty of holes to fill in 2024. The good news is that Washington holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and has more salary cap space than any other team in the NFL.

Adding to the excitement for Washington fans is there’s a new sheriff in town. The Commanders fired Ron Rivera after four lackluster seasons and hired general manager Adam Peters. Peters, the former assistant GM for the 49ers, was the most wanted GM candidate available.

In addition to Peters, Washington hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as the new head coach.

The Commanders can’t fill every hole this offseason, but there are multiple ways to address some of those needs. Washington could also look to the trade market for reinforcements, as some of the top free agents don’t always make it to the open market.

Bleacher Report recently previewed the offseason with a trade guide for all 32 NFL teams. There were three trade scenarios listed for the Commanders. We’ll look at each one and assess if it’s possible or not for Washington.

Robert Saleh provides injury updates on Breece Hall, Carl Lawson, and others

Robert Saleh provided injury updates for Breece Hall, Carl Lawson, and other Jets players on Wednesday.

The New York Jets are set to face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 1 in less than a month, and the team is currently dealing with a few injuries. During Wednesday’s joint practice session with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robert Saleh provided injury updates for Breece Hall, and Carl Lawson, among others.

Hall was activated from the PUP list by the Jets on Monday as he recovers from a torn ACL he sustained in 2022 and he has returned to practice in a limited fashion. Saleh is hoping that Hall can begin participating in team drills next week, which would inch him closer to being ready for Week 1.

Lawson has been sidelined from practice in recent weeks because of a back issue. While the veteran pass rusher needs more time to recover, Saleh iterated that the Jets are aiming for him to return to practice next week.

The offensive line has been experiencing a bevy of problems throughout the offseason, and it can ill afford to lose one of its set starters. Laken Tomlinson is considered day-to-day with a leg ailment, so it will be worth monitoring his status in the coming days.

The Jets have seemingly taken a cautious approach with Mekhi Becton this offseason, though, they could ramp up his workload soon. With the tackle situation needing to be figured out in the coming weeks, Becton is expected to get reps at right tackle soon.

Jets restructure contracts of Tomlinson, Reed and Conklin, creating $15.2 million in space

Jets restructure contracts of Tomlinson, Reed and Conklin

The Jets continued creating cap space as free agency — and the pursuit of a certain quarterback — loom on the horizon.

Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Jets restructured the contracts of guard Laken Tomlinson, cornerback D.J. Reed and tight end Tyler Conklin. The moves created $15.2 million in cap space.

All are under contract through 2024, making them easy restructure candidates. There are still some decisions to make, including the $15 million owed to Carl Lawson and the $10.5 owed to Corey Davis. Lawson and Jordan Whitehead could also be candidates for a restructured contract.

The Jets are under the salary cap now after these moves, roughly $20 million under, with potential for more. And as a quick reminder, the cap hit for Aaron Rodgers in 2023 would be just under $16 million for the Jets.

LOOK: New York Jets players start arriving for training camp

The #Jets are back in town:

The New York Jets are back to business.

On Tuesday, the team began arriving back at the team’s facilities ahead of Wednesday’s first 2022 training camp practice.

Check out some clips and photos of players arriving to Florham Park shared by the team below: