There was plenty of news surrounding former Michigan Wolverines football players in the NFL this past weekend, including three who found new homes.
Defensive end Taco Charlton was cut by the Miami Dolphins on Thursday before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs just two days later, while a pair of Wolverine offensive linemen — Michael Schofield and tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty — each signed with the Carolina Panthers over the weekend.
Charlton is the headliner of the bunch, having been drafted as a first rounder by the Dallas Cowboys in 2017 before racking up four sacks and 46 tackles in 27 games with them.
He fell out of favor with the organization, however, and was released on Sept. 18, 2019, with the Dolphins claiming him off his waivers just a day later. Charlton played in 10 games with the club last year and finished with 21 tackles and a team-best five sacks, but was waived by the organization on Thursday.
Now having signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs, Charlton represents the sixth former Michigan player in Kansas City's organization (more than any other NFL franchise), joining defensive end Frank Clark, defensive end Mike Danna, quarterback Chad Henne, cornerback Lavert Hill and quarterback Shea Patterson.
"Classic low risk, high reward," Austin Johnson of Arrowhead Report explained. "The knocks on Charlton, a former first-round pick, are more related to effort than talent, and you have to think the Chiefs are betting on [Chiefs defensive line coach] Brendan Daly, [Kansas City safety] Tyrann Matthieu, and Frank Clark — a former teammate of Charlton’s at the University of Michigan — to light Taco’s competitive fire.
"If they succeed, this is a move that could pay major dividends in 2020."
"Taco Charlton is a [Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve] Spagnuolo defensive end through and through," Conner Christopherson (also of Arrowhead Report) added. "Though the Michigan product has bounced around the league since being drafted in the first round by the Cowboys, his strengths as a player could be improved upon under Spagnuolo.
"This type of low-risk, high-reward signing by Brett Veach has become a staple of his team-building philosophy in the past few years, banking on players drafted early in past drafts to resurrect their careers in KC.
"So far, it hasn't been a bad strategy, though there are some misses like [former first round linebacker pick] Darron Lee. Time will tell if Taco is another successful reclamation project, but it was worth a shot."
Schofield also found himself with a new team, signing a one-year deal with the Panthers after having been a staple on the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers' offensive line for the past three years.
He started all 32 games at right guard over the past two seasons, while earning the starting nod in five of the 15 outings he appeared in at right tackle in 2017. Schofield also started all 29 games he competed in with the Denver Broncos from 2015-16.
Joining him along Carolina's offensive front is Bushell-Beatty, who went undrafted out of Michigan following the 2018 season before signing a deal with the Washington Redskins as a free agent.
His deal didn't last, however, and he signed with Dallas in August after Washington cut him. After failing to make the Cowboys' 53-man roster for the 2019 campaign, Bushell-Beatty found himself in the XFL playing for the Houston Roughnecks.
The final bit of Wolverine NFL news surrounds New York Giants safety Jabrill Peppers, who saw the fifth-year option on his rookie contract picked up by the club, meaning he will be in New York through the 2021 season.
Peppers was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft, but was traded to the Giants in March of 2019 in a deal that sent wideout Odell Beckham to the Browns.
Peppers has started all 40 of the NFL games he has appeared in during his career, having racked up 210 tackles, three interceptions, 13 passes defended, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
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