2019 September - Pro Football Rumors

Colts To Sign QB Brian Hoyer

September 2nd, 2019 at 8:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have agreed to sign Brian Hoyer to a three-year, $12MM deal, as Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. The pact includes $9MM in guarantees, giving the veteran a whole lot of fiscal security.

For the Colts, the deal gives them additional experience under center in the wake of Andrew Luck‘s retirement. Jacoby Brissett – another ex-Patriot – will remain as the team’s QB1. Hoyer will be the top clipboard holder, so it remains to be seen what they’ll do with Chad Kelly when he returns from his two-game ban.

The Patriots wanted Hoyer back, but as Jeff Howe of The Athletic (on Twitter) notes, they were only willing to do a one-year deal. The Colts won out, in part because they were willing to sign the soon-to-be 34-year-old to a three-year contract.

Hoyer, a veteran journeyman, has started games for the Browns, Texans, Bears, and 49ers and has made other stops around the league. All in all, he’s got 37 starts to his credit across ten seasons.

Dolphins Release John Denney

September 2nd, 2019 at 8:32am CST by Zachary Links

The John Denney era could be over. On Monday morning, the Dolphins released their long snapper and longest-tenured player.

Denney, 40, was re-signed in February, setting the 40-year-old up for a 15th season in Miami. The good news is, that could still happen – the Dolphins are not rostering any other long snappers at the moment, so this could just be a bit of roster juggling from the Dolphins. Before the end of business on Tuesday, we should have a better picture of the Denney’s future.

Denney also boasts a streak of playing in 224 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. He’s tied for the longest streak ever for a long snapper and he’ll own that record outright if he plays somewhere in Week 1.

Four Teams Wanted Wendell Smallwood

September 2nd, 2019 at 8:29am CST by Zachary Links

Of all the players to hit the waiver wire over the weekend, Wendell Smallwood was the most popular. Before the former Eagles running back was ultimately grabbed by the Redskins, the Colts, Jaguars, and Bengals all placed claims on him, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).

The Redskins quietly boast a deep running back group with redshirt rookie Derrius Guice, future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, pass-catching specialist Chris Thompson, Byron Marshall, and Smallwood. Fun fact: No Eagles RB had more rushing yards over the last three years than Smallwood.

He would have been a logical fit for the Colts, Jags, and Bengals as well. For the Bengals, Smallwood would have provided depth behind Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard in the wake of Rodney Anderson’s season-ending torn ACL. The Colts, meanwhile, only just got Jordan Wilkins back on the practice field and they still await Jonathan Williams‘ return. And the Jaguars, who just had to place Alfred Blue on IR, likely preferred Smallwood to Tyler Ervin and Devine Ozigbo, the two RBs they picked up on Sunday.

Lions Re-Sign Logan Thomas

September 2nd, 2019 at 8:19am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have re-signed tight end Logan Thomas. To make room, they placed defensive end Austin Bryant on injured reserve.

Thomas, 28, entered the NFL as a quarterback in 2014, but transitioned to tight end in 2016 when he joined the Lions’ taxi squad. after a few years with the Bills, he returned to Detroit on a one-year deal in March. He was a victim of Saturday’s cuts, but he apparently didn’t stray too far from town.

Bryant, meanwhile, has been rehabbing his way back from a torn pectoral muscle. The fourth-round rookie probably rushed things a bit, however, and suffered another upper-body injury on the practice field. The Clemson product offers length and pass-rush ability that could be useful for the Lions in the second half of the season.

Chris Banjo Visiting Eagles

September 1st, 2019 at 9:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Special teams specialist Chris Banjo will meet with the Eagles on Monday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Saints dropped Banjo from the roster over the weekend, putting a scrappy safety in the mix for 31 other teams.

As a vested veteran, Banjo did not have to pass through the waiver wire before gaining contractual freedom. His stat line rarely shows it, but Banjo is a bonafide difference maker in the third facet of the game.

The Saints, it seemed, had big plans for Banjo after he re-signed on a one-year, $6.9MM deal with $2.65MM guaranteed. That wasn’t meant to be, but he could quickly catch on with another NFC contender.

New Saints LB Kiko Alonso Adjusts Deal

September 1st, 2019 at 9:35pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins planned to release linebacker Kiko Alonso until the Saints agreed to a swap sending fellow ‘backer Vince Biegel to South Beach. Before the deal was finalized, Alonso agreed to an adjusted contract to facilitate the trade, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.

The revised contract will give Alonso a fully-guaranteed $5MM – with no offsets – by next week. The Saints will pay $4MM of that sum while the Dolphins will kick in $1MM. Meanwhile, the last year of his contract remains untouched – Alonso is set to earn $6.4MM in base salary with an $8.2MM cap figure in 2020, though the Saints could escape that year with little financial consequence. Cutting Alonso before the start of the year would save $6.4MM against the cap with just $1.76MM in dead money.

Traditional metrics portray Alonso as a solid linebacker who can defend against the pass. But, despite his five interceptions over the last three years, he gets little love from the advanced metrics for his coverage ability.

Algorithms, schmalgorithms, is what the Saints say. Alonso’s help will be greatly appreciated in New Orleans while Alex Anzalone and Craig Robertson continue to heal up from injury.

Steelers Unlikely To Sign Javon Hargrave To Extension

September 1st, 2019 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

With Joe Haden‘s new deal in the books, the next man up would appear to be defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. However, a deal appears unlikely to come together before the start of the season and Hargrave is prepared to play out the final year of his contract before reaching free agency, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

This jibes with what we heard back in August – the Steelers are short on cap room and aren’t ready to meet the asking price of Hargraves, who is deployed largely a run-stuffer. Like most interior lineman specializing in stopping the ground game, he’s not quite a full-time player, though he has also been effective against the pass, as demonstrated by his 6.5 sacks last year.

It’s not hard to imagine the 26-year-old cashing in next March, just after his 27th birthday. If he sees more snaps this year and frustrated opposing quarterbacks even more, he could easily price himself out of Pittsburgh.

Steelers, Joe Haden Agree To Extension

September 1st, 2019 at 7:36pm CST by Zachary Links

At long last, Joe Haden has agreed to a new deal with the Steelers. Haden’s brand new two-year extension will pay him $22MM and keep him under club control through the 2021 campaign (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

As a part of the deal, Haden will receive a $16.8MM signing bonus. For this year, he’ll earn his previously slated $10MM/year salary.

We’re still waiting on the specific breakdown of the pact, but it’ll likely lessen Haden’s cap hit in the near term, giving the Steelers some additional flexibility.

After missing time in 2018 with an injury, Haden returned to play 15 games last season. He graded out as a top-40 cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus – that’s a notch below his best Browns years, but the 30-year-old remains an upper-echelon cover man.

The Steelers added cornerbacks this offseason, signing Steven Nelson and drafting Justin Layne in Round 3. Meanwhile, they’ll move forward with disappointing 2016 first-rounder Artie Burns after cutting him an $800K bonus check in August.

Haden, meanwhile, has brought consistency as a boundary corner, something the Steelers have sorely lacked. His new deal is sizable for a 30-year-old, but it also makes plenty of sense for the Steelers.

Cardinals Place Robert Alford On IR

September 1st, 2019 at 6:35pm CST by Zachary Links

On Sunday night, the Cardinals placed cornerback Robert Alford on injured reserve to make room for the arrival of Cassius Marsh. Alford suffered a tibia fracture earlier this month, which calls for at least another six weeks in recovery. By placing him on IR, the Cardinals have made him ineligible for at least eight games.

The Alford injury hurts Arizona, especially since star cornerback Patrick Peterson is serving a six-game suspension for a PED violation. The Cardinals will do their best to get by against the Lions, Ravens, Panthers, Seahawks, Bengals, and Falcons without P2, and the Giants and Saints (and perhaps others) without Alford.

If all goes well in Alford’s recovery, he could conceivably return for Arizona’s Oct. 31 game against the Niners. For now, the Cardinals will rely on Tramaine Brock and rookie Byron Murphy to start the season.

Colts To Meet With Brian Hoyer

September 1st, 2019 at 6:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts, finally, might have their backup quarterback situation solved. The club will meet with quarterback Brian Hoyer, fresh off of his Saturday release from the Patriots (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

Hoyer is now the frontrunner to become the new backup to Jacoby Brissett, if the two sides can agree to terms, Pelissero hears. We heard earlier today that the Colts had interest, though the Patriots are also mulling a reunion.

The Colts, of course, were forced to promote Brissett to the starting job following Andrew Luck‘s surprise retirement. Chad Kelly is on hand, but he’ll be suspended to start the season. Phillip Walker was a candidate to serve as Brissett’s backup, but he was a victim of Saturday’s giant list of cuts.

Hoyer, a veteran journeyman, has started games for the Browns, Texans, Bears, and 49ers and has made other stops around the league. All in all, he’s got 37 starts to his credit across ten seasons.