Transactions: March 13

Signed

Neville Gallimore DT: In college, Gallimore was never that productive. Ten sacks and 78 total pressures in four seasons isn’t terrible, but aren’t straight-to-the-NFL numbers either. But he did sometimes show flashes of brilliance, a top motor and a frame to get bigger. It seemed to many as though he just needed to have bad habits coached out of him and new ones put in their place.

So, the Cowboys drafted him in 2020’s third round. And, in four seasons, he gave them just 47 total pressures and no help against the run. He signed as a free agent with Miami in 2024, but was cut and ended up with the Rams. He had 3 sacks in 2024, but just nine total pressures, and no improvement against the run. He did show up big in the playoffs, though, with 3½ sacks in two games (although he was still shredded in the run game).

I can see drafting a guy with sloppy technique and trying to fix him, but Gallimore has been through five NFL seasons, and three coaching staffs (and it’s not like he didn’t get good coaching at Oklahoma), without showing any real improvement. So, maybe he’s the rusher he looked like in the 2024 playoffs, or maybe he’s the replacement-level guy we’ve seen for years.

There’s hope that this isn’t another example of Ballard’s blind spot when it comes to defensive linemen, but remember how delighted we all were when they signed Davis last season.

Spencer Shrader K: The Colts signed Shrader out of Notre Dame last season. Although he went 4 for 4 on XP and 2 for 2 on FG, and was okay on kickoffs, he couldn’t unseat Gay and his giant contract. So, the Colts cut him, but brought him back when Gay was injured for Game 1 against the Texans. He went 3 for 3 on XP and kicked 5 of 5 touchbacks, but they cut him when Gay returned. Shrader played one game with the Jets, hitting 1-1 of FG and 3 of 3 touchbacks. Finally, he played two with the Chiefs, going 6 of 6 on XP and 1 of 1 on FG and 9 of 10 touchbacks. So, his NFL statistics are 9 of 9 on XP, 2 of 2 on FG (with a long of 45) and 17 of his 18 kickoffs went for touchbacks (and the other one lost the Bills 7 yards).

Shrader certainly can be an NFL kicker, and probably quite a good one. And, this time, Gay’s contract is a lot easier to cut.

Edit: accidentally put Shrader's longest NFL kick at 54 yards, I transposed the digits when I was typing 45.