Former Michigan defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, whose medical report at the NFL Scouting Combine last week was red-flagged because of a heart condition, said Sunday that an irregular EKG led to his withdrawal from athletic testing at the event.
Hurst told the NFL Network that he will undergo further tests at Michigan, adding he was “optimistic” he would be cleared to work out for scouts at the Michigan Pro Day on March 23.
A source told Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com that the diagnosis was a “very” serious issue for Hurst, who hadn’t been expected to have any hurdles with Combine evaluations. He played 38 straight games to finish his career in Ann Arbor.
Hurst was ranked as the 20th-best prospect by NFLDratfScout.com.
–The New York Jets, reportedly one of the four teams that will be in the final mix for expected free-agent-to-be Kirk Cousins, are making contingency plans.
SNY.tv’s Ralph Vacchiano, citing a team source, wrote that the Jets “are aware of the league-wide speculation that Cousins is ticketed for Minnesota and they are taking that threat seriously after some informal, preliminary talks with his camp this week.”
Other teams expected to be among finalists for Cousins are the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos.
“There’s a lot of situations that work out where your Plan A is never the plan that works out and Plan B or C works out even better,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. “They’re right next to each other so we feel good about it.”
Cousins, who has played two seasons for the Washington Redskins on a franchise tag, topped 4,000 yards for the third straight year in 2017. He finished with 4,093 yards, with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
–Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen has the physical traits that could make him the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, even after an uneven college career. If not No. 1, what about No. 2?
The New York Giants hold that pick after the Cleveland Browns’ No. 1 selection and Allen, based on comments to the New York Daily News, wouldn’t mind that destination. He had high praise after meeting with the Giants and new coach Pat Shurmur.
“I’d want to play for him because he just had this kind of silent vibe to him,” Allen told the Daily News. “He was kind of reserved, and at the same time I can feel his presence and understand how much he loves football, how much he knows football. He put me up on the board, he was talking over some things with me and it was just coming out of his mouth so quickly and so smooth, and he’s a brilliant mind. And he’s gonna be doing some really big things in New York.”
Allen had an impressive throwing session Saturday at the Combine, although his career accuracy at Wyoming — 56.2 percent — is a red flag that is a factor in preventing any consensus of opinion about Allen’s draft stock.
–What can’t Shaquem Griffin do? His inspirational story added yet another chapter when the 6-foot-1, 227-pound linebacker from Central Florida was clocked at a staggering 4.38 seconds in his first running of the 40-yard dash — one day after using a prosthetic on his amputated left hand to record 20 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press.
NFL Network host Rich Eisen said the unofficial time of 4.38 was the fastest time for a linebacker since at least 2003.
Despite winning the American Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year for UCF (the only undefeated FBS team in the country last season), Griffin was not even among the initial 300-plus players invited to the Combine. He received a late call-up only after wowing scouts at the Senior Bowl. He entered the Combine as a fourth- to fifth-round prospect — and rising — according to NFLDraftScout.com.