NFC Notes: Calais Campbell, Grady Jarrett, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

New Buccaneers RB Chase Edmonds signed a two-year, $12.6 million deal with the Dolphins and found himself fighting for a roster spot just like he did during the start of his career with the Cardinals.

“You’re like, ‘Okay, things are finally turning around for yourself. Things are finally up and up,’ ” Edmonds said, via Rick Stroud of Tampa Bay Times. “And you know, last season was, just straight up, my worst season ever in all my years of football. Performance-wise, it was just not up to my standard at all. It’s very humbling. I remember coming into the NFL, my chip was just so big, being a (Football Championship Subdivision) guy. I always had to scrap and work for everything. And not that I lost that chip, but in Year 3, and Year 4, I was playing a lot of snaps. I was really one of the guys in the locker room and the human natural reaction is, like, content, you know what I mean? Like you just don’t have that same (drive).”

“That was the craziest thing,” Edmonds said of being moved around in Miami. “I remember last season, they moved me around so much in terms of training camp, almost like in the slot. I got a mental funk where I let one ball turn into a drop, and two drops turn into three. Prior to that, I had one drop my entire career. Obviously, that’s something I was going to address in the offseason and just continue to work.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to go to Tampa, and I’m grateful that I get to play with someone like (quarterback) Baker Mayfield,” Edmonds added on his new opportunity. “Someone else whose chip is huge. Just to feed off the energy and do things that people expect you to do, individually and collectively as a team.”

• According to Ryan Fowler, Florida LB Ventrell Miller has met with the Buccaneers, Chargers, and Seahawks. He has also had virtual meetings with the Giants and Ravens, as well as a scheduled visit with the Jaguars.

• Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker‘s top 30 visit schedule included a trip to the Buccaneers. (Jeremy Fowler)

Falcons

Falcons DL Grady Jarrett has been with the team for eight seasons but is happy to be joined by 15-year veteran DL Calais Campbell in what he expects will be a strong defensive group.

“To have a leader like Calais Campbell come in is going to be crazy,” Jarrett said, via AtlantaFalcons.com. “It’s almost like reminiscing of when we had Dwight Freeney come in my second year. When you get a legend of the game to come in, because Calais is that, it just raises the bar for everybody.”

“I envision this team being a really strong defensive team,” Jarrett added. “At the core, I think we’re going to be really strong up front on the offense and defensive line, so I think that’s really going to drive us forward.”

• Aaron Wilson reports the Falcons held a private workout for South Carolina CB Cam Smith with HC Arthur Smith and GM Terry Fontenot in attendance. 
• Per Josh Norris, SMU WR Rasheed Rice is visiting with the Falcons.

Panthers

After trading away WR D.J. Moore in order to get a potential future franchise quarterback, the Panthers had to figure out how to rebuild a suddenly barren receiving corps. Their first move was going after WR Adam Thielen, signing him to a three-year, $25 million deal that locks him in for two years and around $18 million. It’s a significant commitment to a 33-year-old receiver whose production has declined the past couple of seasons but the Panthers thought it was necessary. 

“He’s a little bit older of a guy, but I think sometimes you gotta maybe pay a little bit more money for a guy like him, that brings a lot more than just on-the-field production,” Panthers assistant GM Dan Morgan said via Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer.

The other big addition was WR DJ Chark, who the Panthers landed on a one-year, $5 million deal. In addition to the opportunity they could offer on offense, the presence of assistant HC Duce Staley, who coached Chark in Detroit last season, helped tipped the scales. 

“Duce was a big factor in D.J. coming here,” Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said. “He reached out to him once we hit free agency and he was a free agent. He reached out and said, ‘Hey, listen, here’s the role, what do you want to do? I’ve been with you, I know your toughness, I know you played injured last year with that ankle.’ And really, he recruited him.”