Johnson Bademosi

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/20

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Waived: CB Duke Thomas

Buffalo Bills

  • Placed on reserve/retired list: CB Ike Brown

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Saints Re-Sign Johnson Bademosi

The Saints are bringing back cornerback Johnson Bademosi, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Terms of the deal between New Orleans and the special teams ace are not yet known.

Bademosi spent time with the Browns, Lions, Patriots, Texans, and Dolphins before joining up with the Saints last year. His trip from Houston to Miami came courtesy of the Laremy Tunsil blockbuster. When he was dropped by the ‘Fins last October, the Saints scooped him up.

Meanwhile, the Saints are pushing hard to trade up in the first round of the NFL Draft. It won’t be easy for New Orleans to swing a deal – they’ve got only five picks in their possession and only two of those are inside of the first three rounds. They’re also not ruling out the possibility of drafting a quarterback. If they fall farther than expected, players like FIU’s James Morgan, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, and Washington’s Jacob Eason could be in consideration for GM Mickey Loomis if he’s serious about backstopping Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.

Saints Claim Janoris Jenkins

Former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins has been claimed off waivers by the Saints. With that, they’ll take on one of the league’s top cornerback talents, the ~$1.2MM still owed to the veteran for 2019, and, perhaps, some backlash.

[RELATED: Cowboys Deny Reaching Out To Sean Payton]

The Giants cut Jenkins last week after he used a slur for the mentally challenged and issued an apology that fell short with many. Controversy aside, he represents an enormous upgrade in the secondary – the kind of addition that is rarely, if ever, found in the late states of the regular season.

Jenkins will not be eligible to play tonight, when the Saints take on the Colts. Instead, the claim will be deferred, technically speaking, until next week, when the Saints take on the Titans.

The Saints are looking to Jenkins for coverage help as they gear up for a Super Bowl run and an attempt to lock down a first-round bye. His former team, meanwhile, is ticketed for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Jenkins is also under contract for 2020, though the $11.25MM he’s slated to earn next year is completely non-guaranteed. With that in mind, this profiles as a low-risk/high-reward scenario for the Saints.

The Texans and Chiefs were named as potential landing spots for the 31-year-old, but the Saints came away with the one-time Pro Bowler. Jackrabbit will now look to add on to his 84 tackles and four interceptions (already a career high) in 2019.

In addition to the Jenkins claim, the Saints promoted CB T.J. Green and DT Taylor Stallworth from the practice squad, placed CB Johnson Bademosi on IR, and waived DT T.Y. McGill.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/19

Here are today’s minor transactions:

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

  • Claimed: DL Jonathan Harris (from Bears)

Detroit Lions

Houston Texas

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Dolphins To Release DB Johnson Bademosi

One of the players acquired in the Laremy Tunsil deal, Johnson Bademosi received notice the Dolphins will release him, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

In addition to the draft picks the Texans sent to the Dolphins for Tunsil and Kenny Stills, they also dealt Bademosi and tackle Julie’n Davenport. Bademosi played in four Dolphins games but missed Sunday’s with an ankle injury.

A regular special-teamer, Bademosi spent time with the Browns, Lions, Patriots and Texans prior to the trade. He played mostly special teams in Miami but did see 30 defensive snaps between Weeks 3-4.

The Texans signed Bademosi in March 2018. Interestingly, Sunday was the first regular-season game the 29-year-old defender/special-teamer has missed in his eight-season career.

Texans Acquire Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills From Dolphins

The Texans are going full edge makeover on Saturday. Despite the Dolphins not being the team to land Jadeveon Clowney, they are finalizing a deal to send Laremy Tunsil to Houston, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This is a blockbuster. Kenny Stills will also head to Houston for a package of picks, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report (on Twitter) one of those will be a first-rounder. In fact, two of those picks will be first-rounders. The Texans are sending two first-rounders and a second-rounder to the Dolphins for Tunsil and Stills, the NFL.com trio adds (on Twitter). This is a massive return for the Dolphins’ now-Chris Grier-led front office.

The full details of the picks changing hands are as follows, courtesy of Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link). Miami will get first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 from Houston, and a second-rounder in 2021. The Texans will get a 2020 fourth-rounder as well as a 2021 sixth-rounder back from the Dolphins.

Additionally, the Dolphins will receive two players from the Texans as well. Tackle Julie’n Davenport and special-teamer Johnson Bademosi will head to Miami, Rapoport tweets. Davenport, a 2017 fourth-round pick, started 15 games for the Texans last season.

To recap, the Texans dealt Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks, acquired Carlos Hyde from the Chiefs, landed cornerback Keion Crossen from the Patriots and are now receiving Tunsil and Stills from the Dolphins. The Texans are operating without a GM. De facto GM Bill O’Brien has now given up a Khalil Mack-level haul for the Tunsil-headlined package.

With the Colts losing Andrew Luck, the Texans became the Las Vegas favorites to win the AFC South. The division champions in three of the past four seasons, the Texans are using Saturday as a springboard to solidify their position. This comes despite Houston drafting linemen in the first two rounds this year — Tytus Howard and Max Scharping — and signing Matt Kalil. The Texans were set to play Howard at guard and Kalil at tackle. Tunsil will now protect Deshaun Watson‘s blind side.

No quarterback since Jon Kitna in 2006 took more sacks than Watson did in 2018, 62. As a result, the Texans will have a nearly remade offensive front. Tunsil started 30 games for the Dolphins at left tackle since 2017. He played left guard in 2016. He was expected to be 2016’s No. 1 overall pick before a leaked video damaged his draft stock, dropping him to Miami at No. 13.

Tunsil became extension-eligible in January, and it’s a good bet the Texans — who just cleared Clowney’s $15.9MM tag price off their books — will begin discussions soon. Two years remain on Tunsil’s rookie contract. Unlike the Mack trade, there is no extension coming immediately, but Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that is in the Texans’ plans.

Stills functioned as Miami’s deep threat for four seasons. While he never matched his career-best yardage total for the 2014 Saints, Stills twice surpassed 700 yards and has scored 21 touchdowns over the past three years. He makes for an interesting fit alongside DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. The latter is one of the NFL’s better deep threats. Stills, 27, is under contract through 2020. Nearly $15MM remains on his deal.

The Dolphins resisted dealing Tunsil in a Clowney swap, but the rebuilding team will now have an additional first-round pick with which to work. This accelerates the Dolphins’ rebuild project and obviously weakens their 2019 roster. They will be perhaps the top contender for the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, which could well be a quarterback. Miami was the first team reported to be eyeing the 2020 signal-caller crop.

Texans To Sign Johnson Bademosi

Former Patriots’ special teams standout Johnson Bademosi has agreed to a two-year, $6.25MM deal with the Texans, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The new deal makes him the highest-paid special teams player in the NFL. 

Bademosi was traded from the Lions to the Patriots last September in a deal that netted Detroit a 2019 sixth-round pick. By allowing Bademosi to walk, the Patriots figure to recoup some draft capital. Bademosi is the Pats’ fifth compensatory free agent to depart, which should improve their draw in 2019.

Bademosi, 28 in July, could also see some time at cornerback for Houston. He made six starts at CB over the last two seasons.

The Texans made two moves of note in the secondary this week by adding Aaron Colvin and re-signing Johnathan Joseph. Meanwhile, safety Marcus Gilchrist left to sign with the Raiders.

Patriots To Acquire DB Johnson Bademosi

The Patriots have agreed to acquire defensive back Johnson Bademosi from the Lions, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit will pick up New England’s 2019 sixth-round pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Badedmosi, 27, started the first three games of his career in 2016, as he’s been mostly a reserve and special teamer through five NFL seasons. In 2016, Bademosi played on roughly a quarter of Detroit’s defensive snaps but saw action on more than half the club’s special teams plays. He’s entering the final season of a two-year deal and will make $1.3MM in base salary in 2017.

The Patriots are typically field one of the league’s best special teams units, so Bademosi will fit in nicely. Last year, New England ranked eighth in special teams DVOA. The Patriots had interest in signing Bademosi before he landed with the Lions last year, tweets Michael Lomardi of the Ringer.

Contract Details: Smith, Martin, Sweezy, Thornton

Here are some of the latest details on recently agreed-upon or signed contracts from around the NFL. All Twitter links are courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless otherwise indicated…

  • Sean Smith, CB (Raiders): Four years, $38MM. $20MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. 2016 $5.75MM base salary is guaranteed. 2017 $5MM salary guaranteed against injury upon signing. 2018 base: $8.25MM. 2019: $8.75MM. $500K annual Pro Bowl incentive. Smith has $4.25MM roster bonus guaranteed on third day of 2017 league year. (Twitter links). $15.25MM fully guaranteed in first 12 months of the deal, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter)
  • Byron Maxwell, CB (Dolphins): As part of restructure, gave back $1.5MM in cash on 2017 salary in exchange for $2MM guaranteed in ’17, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter)
  • Doug Martin, RB (Buccaneers): Five years, $35.75MM. $15MM guaranteed. $4MM roster bonus on March 14. Guaranteed base salaries of $4MM, $7MM in 2016, 2017. Salaries from 2018-20: $6.75MM, $7MM, $7MM. $1.44MM escalator for stats, playing time, Pro Bowls from 2017-20 (Twitter links)
  • J.R. Sweezy, G (Buccaneers): Five years, $32.5MM. $14.5MM guaranteed. $5MM roster bonus on March 15. Base salaries from 2016-20: $4.5MM, $2.5MM, $6.5MM, $5.75MM, $5.75MM. $2.75MM roster bonus in 2017. (Twitter link)
  • Cedric Thornton, DE (Cowboys): Four years, $17MM. $9MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. Base salaries 2016-19: $1MM (guaranteed), $3MM (guaranteed against injury), $4MM, $4MM. (Twitter link)
  • Tracy Porter, CB (Bears): Three years, $12MM. $4.25MM guaranteed. $900K signing bonus. $1.6MM roster bonus on March 30. Base salaries from 2016-18: $1.5MM, $3.5MM, $3.5MM. $1MM Pro Bowl bonus in each year. (Twitter links via Wilson and Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times)
  • Bilal Powell, RB (Jets): Three years, $11.25MM. $250MM signing bonus. 2016 base salary of $850K, which is guaranteed. $2.5MM of $3.75MM 2017 base salary guaranteed. (Twitter link)
  • Tony Bergstrom, C (Texans): Two years, $5.75MM. $750K signing bonus. $1.5MM guaranteed. Base salaries in 2016-17: $1.23MM (guaranteed), $2.63MM (guaranteed against injury). $750K roster bonus April 18. (Twitter links)
  • Johnson Bademosi, DB (Lions): Two years, $4.5MM. $2.9MM guaranteed. Base salaries in 2016-17: $1.1MM, $1.3MM. $50K annual workout bonus. $400K Pro Bowl incentive. (Twitter link)

Lions To Sign Johnson Bademosi

6:05pm: Bademosi’s deal ranks as one of the highest accords for special-teamers, with the Lions agreeing to pay the fifth-year defender $4.5MM over two years, with unspecified incentives potentially escalating that to $6MM, Schefter tweets.

5:31pm: Another player will be departing Cleveland in a fast-paced week for Browns exits, with the Lions reaching an agreement with Johnson Bademosi, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

A defensive back and top special-teamer for the Browns, Bademosi agreed to terms with Detroit on a two-year deal. After arriving from Stanford as a UDFA, Bademosi played in 62 games for the Browns from 2012-15, starting none.

The Browns have now lost Mitchell Schwartz, Alex Mack, Tashaun Gipson, Travis Benjamin and Bademosi in barely a day.