NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• Per Western Michigan Football’s Twitter account, TE Brett Borske has received mini camp tryout invitations from the Buccaneers and Jets.
• Canadian DL Deionte Knight has also been invited to the Buccaneers’ rookie minicamp for a tryout. (Justin Dunk)
• Alabama A&M quarterback Aqeel Glass has been invited to the Buccaneers’ rookie minicamp. (Aaron Wilson)
• Former Alcorn State track athlete Bralon Robinson is headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a tryout. (Rick Stroud)

Panthers

Panthers HC Matt Rhule was fired up over the team’s “rare” draft haul, and believes Carolina added a bunch of long-term foundational pieces.

“I think it’s a rare time when we’re able to address need and take like what we thought was the best player possible,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “We feel like we have a really deep team now. We feel like, over the past couple of years, we’ve built depth. Scott’s done a great job of going out at the 53-cut at the end of the year and bringing guys in to build depth.”

Rhule said he didn’t believe the team would be able to get both OT Ikem Ekwonu and QB Matt Corral. Both players the team had high grades on, and Rhule said that the team even thought about Corral in the first round. 

“So, to me, Ickey has a chance to be an impact player—helping our offensive line which has been, obviously coming out of the season, something we wanted to improve,” he added. “Matt Corral’s a guy that we were talking about being a Day 1 pick for us. For whatever reason, he was available in the third round. We made the move to go get him.”

• PFN’s Aaron Wilson reports Panthers UDFA WR Ra’Shaun Henry is signing with a $100,000 portion of his base salary guaranteed and a $17,500 signing bonus.
• Panthers UDFA LB Khalan Tolson received a $20,000 signing bonus with a $65,000 portion of his base salary guaranteed. (Wilson)

Saints

• Nick Underhill notes that the Saints are expected to sign former Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu to a deal on Tuesday, officially putting pen to paper on a three-year, $33 million deal.
• PFN’s Aaron Wilson reports the Saints’ undrafted deal for Rashid Shaheed includes $222,000 total guaranteed with $207,000 of his base salary guaranteed and a $15,000 signing bonus.
• Saints UDFA S Smoke Monday‘s deal includes $120,000 total guaranteed with $100,000 of his base salary guaranteed and a $20,000 signing bonus. (Wilson)
• Former Baylor RB Abram Smith got $222,000 total guarantee with a $207,000 base salary portion guaranteed and a $15,000 signing bonus. (Wilson)
• Per his agency, former Villanova DE Malik Fisher has accepted a rookie mini-camp invitation from the New Orleans Saints.
• Minnesota DT Nyles Pinckney has been invited to participate in the New Orleans Saints rookie minicamp. (Wilson)