Tag Archives: Eron Riley

New York Jets sign former Duke WR Eron Riley to 53-Man roster

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In case you missed it, I caught up with Eron Riley last month to discuss his journey through the NFL and the challenges that he faced in breaking through and getting a chance. Now, it seems like his opportunity has finally arrived. The New York Jets signed Riley from the Denver Broncos’ practice squad this morning.

Riley was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009 before catching on with the Broncos in Oct. 2010. The Jets will be Riley’s third NFL franchise, but he is yet to play an NFL snap.

When one team signs a player from another team’s practice squad, they must place that player on the active roster. Although there is no guarantee he will be active on this Sunday, the Jets do need depth at the wide receiver position. After dealing veteran wideout Derrick Mason last week, they are left with just three wide receivers who have made a catch this season. With their offense struggling, the Jets have given rookie fifth round selection Jeremy Kerley a chance to contribute. It is possible that they will give another young receiver a chance to stretch the field once Riley gets acclimated and learns the playbook.

Ex-Duke WR Riley Makes Ravens Practice Squad

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3842371445_9bc0301ed2_bRecent Duke grads Cameron Goldberg, Mike Tauiliili and Eron Riley all failed to make the cut when the 53-man rosters of the Chiefs, Colts and Ravens were announced over the weekend.  Riley, however, seems to have the inside track on suiting up in an NFL game this year.

That’s because Riley was added to the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad today, fresh off a solid performance in the team’s final preseason game against Atlanta. Riley had two catches for 62 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown catch that helped seal the Ravens’ 20-3 win. Video highlights of Riley’s big game can be seen here.

With the Baltimore wideout corps beset with injuries to key contributors Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Marcus Smith, Riley was able to pick up additional work throughout camp and make a strong enough impression to be one of the eight players on the team’s practice squad. But Riley isn’t the only wideout in the group of eight, as the Ravens also tabbed former Virginia Tech wideout Brandon Harper for inclusion on their practice squad.

Goldberg Confirms Signing With Chiefs, Not Ravens

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After the NFL Draft concluded Sunday, GoDuke.com reported that offensive tackle Cameron Goldberg had signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. By Tuesday, reports had surfaced on the Baltimore Ravens’ Web site about Goldberg signing for the Ravens–not the Chiefs.

On Wednesday morning, however, Duke spokesman Ben Blevins confirmed that Goldberg will indeed be playing for the Chiefs, not the Ravens.

According to Blevins, the Ravens’ Web site, which reported the signing, was incorrect. Blevins said Goldberg didn’t know where that report would have come from, but that the offensive tackle will be reporting to Chiefs mini camp in the near future.

The Ravens signed Eron Riley, Duke’s standout wide reciever, after the draft.

Goldberg, Riley Sign NFL UFA Deals

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Although no Duke player was selected during the seven rounds of the 2009 NFL Draft, at least two former Blue Devil players will have a shot at a NFL roster this summer. Offensive Lineman Cameron Goldberg (Chiefs) and Wide Reciever Eron Riley (Ravens) each signed contracts as undrafted free agents on Sunday after the completion of the Draft’s final rounds.

Both Riley and Goldberg performed well at Duke’s Pro Timing Day on March 17, with Riley running a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash and Goldberg putting up an impressive 37 reps of 225 lbs. on the bench press. Both numbers would have placed Riley and Goldberg within the top 5 of performers at their position in those drills.

And for Riley, spending the summer in an NFL camp sure beats his backup option—working in his father’s auto repair shop.

Riley’s 4.36 40 Boosts Draft Prospects

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Former Blue Devil wide receiver Eron Riley proved through his four years at Duke that he had size, excellent hands and big play ability, but most draft evaluations of the 6-foot-3, 185-lb. wideout raised doubt as to whether he had the top-end speed necessary to succeed at the next level.

Riley may have put some of those doubts to rest at Duke’s Pro Day on Monday.

In front of NFL scouts and player personnel officials, Riley apparently ran a 4.36 40-yard dash, head coach David Cutcliffe said Tuesday. The tryout was closed to the media so we at the Sports Blog didn’t see the drill firsthand, but a legitimate sub-4.4 40 time is likely to provide a crucial boost to Riley’s stock a little more than a month away from the NFL Draft on April 25-26.

More than perhaps any other metric in football talent evaluation, the 40-yard dash can either make or break a player’s draft hopes. A quick 40 time could lead a player to jump all the way to the first round, while a misstep or poor time can mean that a marginal draft prospect won’t even have a shot at being selected in the late rounds.

That said, there is plenty of debate about how legitimate 40-times are and what role they should play in the evaluation process of pro prospects. Legend has it that Deion Sanders once ran a 4.17 40-yard dash while wearing high tops during his Florida State pro day in 1989. 40 times as fast as that these are almost always recorded on hand-held stopwatches, which can bring into question the legitimacy of such measurements. According to an excellent April 2005 piece on the 40-yard dash by Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the margin of error that must be taken into account with hand-timed 40 times is surprisingly wide:

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One Year Later, Paul Johnson vs. David Cutcliffe

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Given the way he’s molded the program and shifted public perception in so little time, it’s hard to fathom that David Cutcliffe has only been at Duke for less than a year. It’s even more difficult to imagine someone else in the largest office of Yoh Football Center, but if Duke had lured its first choice to Durham, Cutcliffe might still be in Knoxville, Tenn. (or waiting to find a new job at this point, but that’s irrelevant).

Exactly 12 months ago yesterday, Duke President Richard Brodhead, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask and former athletic director Joe Alleva flew to the Washington, D.C. area to court Navy head coach Paul Johnson, the architect of the the Midshipmen’s vaunted triple-option offense and the hottest coach riding the yearly carousel. Even in a 24-hour news cycle of conjecture, it became clear that Duke wanted Johnson to replace Ted Roof, and, at one point, was prepared to give him $2 million to move South. Johnson weighed lucrative offers from Duke, Southern Methodist and Georgia Tech before finally balking at the Blue Devils and traveling even farther South—all the way to Atlanta to take over a middling Yellow Jacket program.

Less than two weeks later, Cutcliffe was introduced on a rainy Saturday and the memory of Johnson’s public rebuke had been long forgotten. It was only mentioned this season when Cutcliffe and Johnsons’ teams met on the field in October, with the Yellow Jackets trouncing the Blue Devils 27-0. Both teams, to be fair, had seasons that exceeded expectations. For Johnson, recently named the ACC Coach of the Year, and Georgia Tech, that meant a 9-3 record, an appearance in the Chick-fil-A bowl, a rivalry win over Georgia. For Duke and Cutcliffe, the so-called Dawn of a New Day amounted to four wins, an away victory over a bowl-bound SEC team, the first ACC win since 2004 and the elimination of complete apathy and pessimism from the fan base.

On the one-year anniversary of Duke players’ short flight, though, it’s worth revisiting the situation: Knowing what it knows now, would Duke rather have Cutcliffe or Johnson? Continue reading →