We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: QB Kenji Bahar
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Michael Warren
- Waived: RB Rakeem Boyd
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: G Parker Ehinger
- Waived: CB Rashaan Gaulden
The Titans made an unorthodox addition to their offensive line group Friday. They agreed to terms with Adam Coon, a Michigan alum who has not played football since high school.
Coon, however, established himself as one of the country’s top wrestlers. He was a three-time All-American heavyweight while at Michigan and recently participated in qualifying for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Coon did not end up qualifying for a spot on the U.S. squad and instead plans to try his hand in football.
While Coon enjoyed a decorated mat career with the Wolverines, going 116-15 at the Big Ten program, that success came a few years ago. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound aspiring blocker is now 26 and nine years removed from his most recent football season. Coon will likely compete for a guard spot, according to TennesseeTitans.com’s Jim Wyatt.
This certainly profiles as one of the more unusual UDFA signings in recent years, though select others have found recent success without their careers involving college football. Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata and Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox are two current players who carved out roles after playing other sports ahead of their respective NFL entrances. The Dolphins also signed college hoops standout Jibri Blount, son of Mel Blount, despite the younger Blount not playing college football. The NFL is expected to keep the 16-man practice squad setup from last year, opening the door for more developmental opportunities.
Tennessee used a second-round pick on Dillon Radunz and subsequently added two UDFA O-linemen this year. To make room for Coon on the roster, the Titans waived tackle Anthony McKinney with an injury designation.
Cam Newton did not finish the Patriots’ Friday OTA practice after suffering a hand injury, putting his availability for the remainder of the Pats’ offseason program in question.
This injury is believed to be minor, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who notes Newton suffered a bone bruise on his right hand (Twitter link). Newton banged his hand against a teammate’s helmet during practice. Although this almost certainly will not impact Newton’s status for training camp, the malady may sideline him from some of the team’s remaining offseason work.
The Patriots have four more OTA days next week before their three-day minicamp, which is scheduled to run from June 15-17. With Newton in competition with first-round pick Mac Jones for New England’s starting job, any extended absence stands to factor into this equation. After the Jones draft choice, Bill Belichick declared Newton remained the starter until further notice.
The former No. 1 overall pick struggled in his first Patriots season, continuing a post-Super Bowl 50 descent that has heavily involved injuries. The Pats re-signed Newton this offseason, but the one-year deal only came with $3.5MM fully guaranteed. They then used the No. 15 overall pick on Jones. New England has 2019 fourth-rounder Jarrett Stidham and the recently re-signed Brian Hoyer on its roster as well.
The Browns stopped Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah‘s draft-weekend slide, selecting him in the second round. More than a month later, the linebacker prospect signed his four-year rookie deal.
A reported heart issue is believed to have contributed to Osuwu-Koramoah’s fall to No. 52, but concerns appear to have been overblown. The former Notre Dame standout has been medically cleared and will be expected to play a major role on a retooled Cleveland defense to start his career.
Last season’s Butkus Award winner, Osusu-Koramoah entered the draft as Scouts Inc.’s No. 12 overall prospect. He came in ahead of No. 12 overall pick Micah Parsons here, but it took a second-round trade from the Browns — when they moved up seven spots — before the 221-pound defender heard his name called in Cleveland.
In addition to racking up 142 tackles between his junior and senior seasons, Owusu-Koramoah was a frequent presence in Fighting Irish opponents’ backfields. He totaled 24.5 tackles for loss in his final two seasons in South Bend. With Owusu-Koramoah signed, only two 2021 Browns draftees — first-rounder Greg Newsome and third-rounder Anthony Schwartz — have yet to ink their rookie contracts.
The Browns had previously invested significantly at the off-ball linebacker spots, giving Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey top-market money while current GM Andrew Berry was on staff. Neither deal worked out, and the team passed on a big-ticket Joe Schobert extension. Cleveland has rebooted at linebacker and continued to retool this offseason, signing former Colts starter Anthony Walker before drafting Owusu-Koramoah. Those two may well become the team’s three-down ‘backers this season.
After two seasons with the Chiefs, Bashaud Breeland will return to the NFC North. The veteran cornerback agreed to a deal with the Vikings on Friday, according to the team.
The Bears showed interest in Breeland, who played for the Packers in 2018. But the seven-year veteran will instead become the latest in a run of Vikings free agent corner signings. Minnesota added Patrick Peterson and brought back Mackensie Alexander this offseason. Earlier this week, the Vikes signed Tye Smith. Breeland will bring extensive experience to the Vikings’ secondary.
Since a long-term Panthers pact fell through in 2018, the former second-round pick has settled for one-year agreements. This is likely another one-year deal, with Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweeting Breeland can earn up to $4MM on this accord. Breeland has signed one-year contracts worth $3MM (2020), $2MM (’19) and $880K (’18) since leaving Washington.
Breeland spent the past two seasons as a key contributor for Chiefs Super Bowl-qualifying teams. The 29-year-old defender has started 88 career games and will be the second-most experienced corner on Minnesota’s roster. Pro Football Focus graded Breeland as a midlevel corner in 2020, slotting him 57th at the position. But PFF has viewed Peterson as a declining player in this span, slotting the All-Decade corner lower in each of the past two seasons. Like Peterson, Breeland has worked as an outside corner in recent years.
This signing would seem to add to the uncertainty surrounding Jeff Gladney. The 2020 first-round pick was arrested on an assault charge in April. Given the ugly details of that arrest, a suspension is likely for the former high-end prospect. On their respective short-term contracts, Breeland and Peterson stand to provide both starter upside and insurance against a lengthy Gladney ban.
The Jets have added some big names to their receiving corps this offseason, leaving their most productive target of the past two years in a bit of an uncertain place. Jamison Crowder is away from Jets OTAs and discussing his contract, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com.
The team is seeking a Crowder pay cut, Cimini adds. Crowder is entering the final season of a three-year, $28.5MM contract, but no guaranteed money remains on the deal. The Jets could release their top slot receiver without incurring any dead money, though Robert Saleh said Friday that Crowder will “absolutely” be with the Jets this season.
New York signed Corey Davis and used a high second-round pick on Elijah Moore, who resides as a presumptive Crowder long-term slot replacement. Gang Green also added Keelan Cole on a one-year, $5MM deal. Crowder came into the offseason as a potential cap casualty, but the Jets kept him. Their cap situation did not make cost-cutting moves necessary, but the seventh-year veteran wideout’s place with the team does not appear entirely secure.
Crowder’s 2021 cap charge ($10.375MM) is the third-largest figure on the team’s payroll; only recent signings Davis and Carl Lawson top that number. The Jets discussing a Crowder pay cut in June does not leave him with great options, considering he would not do as well on the open market at this juncture of the offseason. Only the Jaguars and Broncos have more cap space than the Jets’ $27MM-plus number, however.
Crowder has totaled 137 receptions for 1,532 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Jet. In a receiving corps that otherwise lacked reliability, the former Washington fourth-round pick provided the best semblance of pass-catching consistency on the Jets during their Sam Darnold years. As of now, Crowder will be set to work with new quarterback Zach Wilson.
Despite landing a one-year deal in free agency for a third straight offseason, Kevin Johnson will opt to step away from football. The Titans cornerback is retiring, according to the team.
Tennessee signed Johnson in March, giving him a one-year deal worth $2.25MM. The 28-year-old cornerback will wrap his career after six seasons. Injuries, unfortunately, played a significant part in the former first-round pick’s NFL run.
The Texans selected Johnson 16th overall in 2015 out of Wake Forest. He started 10 games as a rookie but was unable to stay on the field in subsequent years, shortening his time in Houston. Though Johnson bounced back to carve out roles in Buffalo and Cleveland, he will finish his career with one interception.
A broken foot began Johnson’s rough luck in 2016, limiting him to six games in his second season. In 2017, a sprained MCL cost him time. While Johnson played 12 games that season, he suited up for just one in 2018 after a severe concussion sidelined him that September. The Titans cut him in 2019, backtracking on a fifth-year option commitment it made the previous spring.
Johnson played out one-year deals with the Bills and Browns the past two seasons. Working as a depth piece for the two rising teams, the 6-foot defender helped both to the playoffs. However, Johnson was part of a Browns COVID-19 outbreak late last season. As a result, Cleveland’s primary slot corner was not on the field for the franchise’s first playoff win in 26 years.
Since signing Johnson, the Titans used first- and third-round picks on corners — Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden. Tennessee invested a second-round pick in Kristian Fulton last year and also signed Janoris Jenkins this March. The Titans’ new-look cornerback contingent will not include Johnson, but the team has been active in adding cover men over the past two offseasons.
The Seahawks are locking down their punter long-term. Michael Dickson agreed to a four-year extension to stay in Seattle on Friday, ESPN.com’s Mark Sanchez tweets.
It is a four-year, $14.5MM add-on for the fourth-year punter, with Mike Garafolo of NFL.com confirming the former quarterback’s report (via Twitter). This will tie Dickson to the Seahawks through the 2025 season. The former fifth-round pick will see $10.6MM in the contract’s first two years.
Performance-based incentives could take the contract north of $4MM per year, Garafolo adds (via Twitter). Rams perennial All-Pro Johnny Hekker resides as the NFL’s highest-paid punter, at $3.75MM per year.
The first of three punters drafted in 2018, Dickson quickly became one of the NFL’s best at the position. The strong-legged Australian earned first-team All-Pro recognition as a rookie and in 2020 averaged a career-high 49.6 yards per punt.
Dickson became the rare specialist to leave for the draft after his junior season, doing so after winning the Ray Guy Award in 2017 and finishing as the Big 12’s special teams player of the year as a sophomore. He now looks like the Seahawks’ long-term successor to Jon Ryan, who held this gig from 2006-2017.
Defensive tackle Geno Atkins is expected to be cleared by July 1, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). That’s good news for the free agent, who should be ready to go for training camp later in the month. RapSheet adds that multiple teams have expressed interest in Atkins.
Atkins have his torn rotator cuff checked out by Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper in a few weeks, Rapoport hears. For now, that’s just an appointment — not a Cowboys visit. Still, they may want to meet with Atkins while he’s in Dallas. If not, Atkins should hold appeal for plenty of other teams as a low-risk, high-reward type of signing. Even the Bengals have indicated that they’d be interested in a reunion, despite cutting him in March.
“Geno is one of the greatest players in franchise history and one of the best defensive tackles of the last decade,” exec Duke Tobin said in April. “He gave us what he had last year…We’ll see if there are things that can be worked out. If it is, great. If not, I think we’ve got other guys that can fill the role.”
Atkins fought through a shoulder injury throughout 2020. He suited up for just eight games in total, and, even when he was healthy, he wasn’t happy about his playing time. His final tally: zero sacks and zero starts. It was a sharp drop from his pre-extension season in 2017, when he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender.
Before all of that, he was a perennial Pro Bowler. Once he’s healthy, Atkins could be a difference-maker for contenders in need.
Keeping tabs on today’s late-round signings:
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: TE Jacob Harris (fourth round; UCF)