HEADLINES

Month: June 2021

This Date In Transactions History: Dolphins Sign Chad Johnson

June 11th, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

In the summer of 2012, the Dolphins were less-than-enamored with their options at wide receiver. The Dolphins had just recently traded Brandon Marshall – fresh off of his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season – to the Bears for a pair of third-round picks. Then, in the draft, they did not select a wide receiver until the sixth round. 

‘‘You would like to have some players make it easy and distinguish themselves, maybe make the picture a little bit clearer,’’ head coach Joe Philbin said (via The Boston Globe). ‘‘We have to catch the ball more consistently at every position on offense, because it is not quite where it needs to be.’’

After missing out on the first and second wave of free agent wide receivers, the Dolphins placed a call to Drew Rosenhaus to inquire on Chad Ochocinco (née Chad Johnson). On June 11, 2012, the Dolphins inked the eccentric veteran to a one-year deal.

Ochocinco’s career credentials were as impressive as his touchdown celebrations were inventive. To that point, he had 766 catches for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns, six Pro Bowl nods, and two First-Team All-Pro selections.

However, the receiver’s best days were spent with the Bengals and he looked like a shell of his former self with the Patriots in the 2011 season. In his lone campaign with New England, Johnson had just 15 catches for 276 yards and one touchdown and was targeted just 32 times in total. Johnson clearly didn’t mesh with the Patriots’ offense and he didn’t impress in his two intra-divisional games against the Dolphins either. Against Miami, he had just one catch in each of those two games.

Ochocinco – who changed his name back to Johnson shortly after signing with Miami – didn’t mesh with Philbin and the rest of the staff. The melding of personalities turned out to be the least of his issues. In August, Johnson was arrested on domestic battery charges. Johnson proclaimed his innocence, but the Dolphins released him the very next day. Thanks to “Hard Knocks,” we have video of Philbin’s final conversation with Johnson.

Johnson’s deal with the Dolphins up being his final NFL contract. Johnson went on to play for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 2014 and was suspended for the 2015 season when he skipped mandatory practices. He re-emerged in 2017 to play in a single game for the Monterrey Fundidores of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional de México, where he scored on a 41-yard touchdown reception in the Fundidores’ winning effort.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson Was Willing To Rework Deal

June 10th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Russell Wilson may have denied that he asked for a trade, but he did make one acknowledgement today. The Seahawks quarterback told reporters that he approached the team about restructuring his contract (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson on Twitter).

[RELATED: Russell Wilson Denies He Requested Trade]

“We’ve talked about it,” Wilson said (via SI.com). “Pete and I have talked about it for sure. Me and him had a long conversation about it, I brought it up and he talked about it too and we both, you know, in the sense of just doing whatever it takes to win. … If the situation calls for it. Like I said, winning’s everything.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Wilson has reworked his deal; as Henderson notes, Wilson and the organization pulled off a similar move in 2017. For Wilson, the move makes plenty of sense; he’s helping the team’s books while taking little risk in converting signing bonus to salary. It’s a bit more complicated for the organization. While the team could have easily saved around $12MM in space this offseason by making a simple tweak to Wilson’s contract, the team would be compromising future flexibility in what’s already an uncertain future at the position.

Plus, as Pete Carroll noted, the organization found other ways to the open up the necessary cap space for signings and draft picks, making the whole conversation about a Wilson restructuring irrelevant.

“As always, we have all of the options available to us,” Carroll said recently (via Peter Socotch of NBC Sports Northwest). “We have talked about all of that, as we do every year. What are our possibilities? Where do we need to go? What do we need to do, if we get to certain levels of need to stay in compliance (with the cap)?”

Wilson still has three seasons and $69 million remaining on his contract. The 32-year-old earned his eighth-career Pro Bowl nod in 2020 after completing a career-high 68.8-percent of his passes for 4,212 yards and a career-high 40 touchdowns.

Bills Worried About Tight End Depth?

June 10th, 2021 at 8:39pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills may be seeking some reinforcement at tight end. Josina Anderson tweets that “apprehensions with production [and] consistency at the Bills tight end spot are still a topic of conversation” within the organization.

With all due respect to the team’s tight ends, this assessment makes plenty of sense. Josh Allen threw for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns last season, but the group of tight ends barely cracked 400 receiving yards. 2019 third-rounder Dawson Knox will continue to lead the depth chart, and the 24-year-old has averaged only 25 yards per game through his first two years in the NFL (27 games).

The Bills did bring in veteran Jacob Hollister this offseason, but the veteran isn’t known for his pass-catching prowess. The organization also added undrafted free agent Quintin Morris, pairing the additions with holdovers like Tommy Sweeney and Nate Becker. Considering the lack of inspiring options, Anderson notes that the situation is “something to keep an eye on,” especially considering the availability of Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. If Buffalo ends up pulling off that kind of deal, it sounds like the current grouping of tight ends would be ready for the extra reinforcement.

“How I look at that stuff is whoever they bring in, that’s just great competition for the room,” Knox said (via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle). “I love that Jacob’s (Hollister) here now, he’s a great dude. No matter who they bring in, whether it’s a rookie or an All-Pro like Zach, I think it’ll be great just to elevate the competition. Iron sharpens iron and that’s a big philosophy that I have.”

Raiders DT Solomon Thomas Ahead Of Schedule

June 10th, 2021 at 7:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Solomon Thomas is ahead of schedule in his comeback from a torn ACL. The Raiders defensive tackle told reporters that his knee is feeling good and he’s excited to take the field with his new squad.

“I missed football,” Thomas said (via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). “Last season, I had to spend the whole season on a couch. I had fun watching, but I missed the game. … So now just being able to come to practice and be in the locker room gives me energy.”

The former third-overall pick disappointed during his first three years with the 49ers, and his tenure with the organization ended with him sitting on IR. The defensive lineman tore his ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 campaign, ending his season (ant tenure with San Francisco) prematurely.

It’s been nine months since the 25-year-old went under the knife, and Hill notes that the 25-year-old had another procedure on his ankle in December. So, after signing a one-year deal with the Raiders in March, Thomas is anxious to start practicing.

“It’s been a long journey,” he said. “A lot of hard work. … It was a mental struggle for sure. Anytime I looked too far forward, I would get stressed, I would get frustrated. But I had a great treatment team, and when I could take it day by day and just put in the work, we got better and better every day and we’re ahead of the curve.”

S Obi Melifonwu Worked Out For Jets

June 10th, 2021 at 7:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Obi Melifonwu could be heading back to the AFC East. The former second-round pick worked out for the Jets today, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).

The safety was a highly touted prospect coming out of UConn, and the Raiders ended up using a second-round pick (No. 56) to select the defensive back in 2017. Two stints on the IR limited Melifonwu to only five games during his rookie season, and he was ultimately released by the Raiders midway through his sophomore campaign. He appeared in a pair of games for the Patriots during the second half of that 2018 season, and he ended up spending much of the next year on New England’s practice squad.

Melifonwu was released last April, but he didn’t end up getting another gig during the 2020 season. He signed a futures contract with the 49ers back in January, but he was waived less than four months later.

In total, the 27-year-old has seen time in seven career games, having compiled 10 tackles. Melifonwu turned heads with his speed (4.4-second 40-yard dash time) and athleticism (44-inch vertical), so it isn’t a surprise that the Jets are kicking the tires on a safety with that skill set.

Russell Wilson Denies He Requested Trade

June 10th, 2021 at 5:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks’ foundation may well be stronger than it appeared a few months ago. Late in an offseason in which Russell Wilson was mentioned in trade rumors, the 10th-year quarterback appears comfortably in the fold with his team.

Although Wilson said the list of acceptable trade destinations — Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans — his agent revealed was accurate, the superstar quarterback added that he never requested a trade out of Seattle (Twitter link via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta). While identifying prospective trade partners can be considered in the trade-request realm, Wilson attempted to differentiate the two Thursday.

Wilson’s issues with Pete Carroll and the Seahawks’ offensive line came to light this offseason. But the 32-year-old passer said he and his head coach are in a good place and that he engaged in offseason talks with GM John Schneider and team president Chuck Arnold following the trade rumblings, per Condotta (Twitter links). Wilson attributed his winter comments about the offensive line to “frustration” and noted Thursday that he bears some of the blame for the protection issues, Condotta tweets.

Continuing to diffuse the situation, Wilson said he has “always wanted to play” in Seattle and that he would like to stay in the Pacific Northwest for the remainder of his career, Condotta and ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson note (Twitter links). Wilson, whom the Bears attempted to acquire via trade, is under contract through 2023.

The Seahawks gave Wilson input into their offensive coordinator search, which ended with Rams assistant Shane Waldron coming in to replace Brian Schottenheimer, and traded for seven-year Raiders starting guard Gabe Jackson. While Seattle’s offensive front does not look like a top-tier unit, Jackson’s presence should help. The Seahawks also selected a prospective No. 3 wide receiver — Western Michigan’s D’Wayne Eskridge — with their top draft choice.

Through a big-picture lens, this saga may not be finished. But for 2021, Wilson departure drama looks to have ceased. The seven-time Pro Bowler, who informed multiple Seahawks free agents he was not going anywhere, gave no indication any franchise-altering trade will take place in the near future.

Chiefs’ Kyle Long Suffers Knee Injury

June 10th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Zachary Links

4:25pm: Andy Reid said Thursday afternoon Long might need surgery on his latest injury. That said, Reid does not think the veteran blocker sustained ligament damage, per Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star (Twitter links). This update makes Long’s setback sound a bit more serious, but avoiding ligament damage would be key for his chances at being ready for his new team by Week 1.

9:44am: Chiefs guard Kyle Long suffered a lower leg injury that could keep him out of training camp (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport). Fortunately, it doesn’t appear to be too serious. There’s a chance that Long could be ready by Week 1, even if he’s forced to sit out much of training camp and the preseason. 

[RELATED: Chiefs’ Charvarius Ward Signs Second-Round Tender]

Long joined the defending AFC champs on a one-year deal worth up to $5MM in March. Previous to that, the 2013 first-round pick spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, earning three Pro Bowl appearances and a second-team All-Pro nod in 2014. However, he dealt with a long list of injuries between 2016 and 2019, averaging only 7.5 games per season over that four-year span. After being limited to only four games in 2019, Long announced his retirement last offseason. The Bears subsequently declined his option.

Now, he’s set to make his NFL return, once he’s healthy. He’s just one piece of the Chiefs’ revamped offensive line, starting a few spots over from fellow guard Joe Thuney and big-ticket acquisition Orlando Brown.

Kyle Shanahan Addresses 49ers Passing On Julio Jones

June 10th, 2021 at 4:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

As a string of teams dropped out of the Julio Jones sweepstakes last week, the Titans and 49ers loomed as the All-Pro receiver’s most likely destinations. The Titans ended up winning out, landing Jones for a second-round pick and swaps of later-round choices.

Although Kyle Shanahan coached Jones for two seasons in Atlanta, the San Francisco HC pointed to his team’s draft capital — heavily impacted by April’s Trey Lance trade-up — as a reason why Jones ended up in Tennessee. The 49ers discussed Jones with the Falcons but are not believed to have made a firm offer.

“Everyone knows we don’t have a first-round pick,” Shanahan said of the 49ers’ 2022 draft arsenal, via 49ersWebZone.com. “But what happens when you don’t have a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick, and you lose a number of guys in free agency, which you never can for sure count on? Then you end up going into a draft, and you’ve got to get six new spots, but all you have is a third- and a fifth-round pick. It’s kind of tough to build your team that way and to consistently do it.”

The 49ers have indeed been trigger-happy with pick-for-player trades in recent years. Prior to unloading their 2022 and ’23 first-rounders to move up nine spots for Lance, the team traded third- and fourth-round picks for Emmanuel Sanders at the 2019 trade deadline and shipped third- and fifth-round picks for Trent Williams last April. They did go the other way in 2020 as well, acquiring a first-round pick for DeForest Buckner. But the Lance move ranks as one of the priciest trades in draft history. It will affect how the 49ers proceed going forward.

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are set to reprise their roles as the 49ers’ starting wideouts this coming season. They did not play together often in 2020. Jones will team with A.J. Brown to comprise a flashier Titans receiving duo, but tandem is unlikely to be together for too long. Jones being 32 also appears to have played a part in the 49ers not competing with the Titans for him.

“Everyone knows the player [Jones] is, but it’s not as simple as that,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got to build a team. It’s not just year to year. You’ve got to build it for the future. … He’s going to definitely help Tennessee. And everyone knows how special he is, but you’ve got to think about the short-term and the long-term, and that’s why those things are so risky for everybody.”

San Francisco is on track to use lower-profile players alongside Samuel and Aiyuk. The team re-signed ex-Jones sidekick Mohamed Sanu and has veteran Travis Benjamin and former first-round pick Kevin White on its roster. Former Broncos wideout DaeSean Hamilton nearly became a 49er, in a trade that would have cost less than a Jones swap, but his ACL tear scuttled that transaction.

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