Jets S Marcus Maye Discusses Extension Negotiations
The Jets slapped safety Marcus Maye with the franchise tag earlier this offseason, but the two sides couldn’t agree on an extension during the ensuing negotiations. When asked about the stalled discussions and a lack of a long-term deal, Maye admitted that he stopped thinking about it once training camp started.
“Once that was over with, I just put it to the side and got back to the basics of playing football,” he said (via Jack Bell of the team’s website). “Once I get on the grass I never worry about anything else.”
Fortunately for the Jets, Maye seems to be prioritizing his on-field status over his salary. When asked if winning or salary was more important, the defensive back made it clear that it’s the former.
“Winning games is first, that’s what you play the game for,” Maye said. “Also taking care of your family and making sure you’re set up for the future. Control the controllables. If you have no control over something, there’s no point in getting all upset. If you’re not here to win games, then what are you doing this for?”
Entering his fifth NFL season, Maye is the longest-tenured Jets player on the roster. The former second-round pick has started each of his 54 games in the NFL, and that includes 32-straight starts between 2019 and 2020. Last season, the 28-year-old finished with a career-high 88 tackles to go along with two sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He’s expected to start alongside Lamarcus Joyner at safety.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/21
Here are Friday’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Keelan Doss, LB James Vaughters
- Released: RB D’Onta Foreman
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jalen Camp, CB Antonio Phillips
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Tyler Davis, CB Marvell Tell
- Released: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Tyler Vaughns
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Cortez Broughton, CB Shakur Brown, LB Christian Rozeboom
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Marquel Lee
- Released: LB Max Richardson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: S Antoine Brooks, RB Buddy Howell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Milo Eifler, CB Jamal Perry
- Released: RB Jordan Scarlett
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Ryan Izzo
- Released: G Jake Burton, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, OL Brett Heggie, WR Damion Willis
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Tanner Hudson, LB Rashad Smith, CB Dee Virgin, WR Isaiah Zuber
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: G Phil Haynes
Washington Football Team
- Signed: K Eddy Pineiro
Raiders To Add WR David Moore To Practice Squad
Despite having a history with new Panthers GM Scott Fitterer and having pocketed more than $1MM fully guaranteed, David Moore did not make Carolina’s 53-man roster. Two days after his release, the former Seahawks wideout landed another gig.
The Raiders are signing Moore to their practice squad, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Moore, 26, will be the most experienced pass catcher on Las Vegas’ taxi unit, but after the NFL expanded P-squads to 16 players last year, numerous veterans have landed such deals to continue their careers.
Moore served as a complementary option in Seattle but twice exceeded 400 receiving yards in a season, doing so in 2018 and ’20. He totaled 11 touchdown receptions between those campaigns, adding two more in 2019. Moore signed a two-year, $4.75MM deal with the Panthers in March.
The Raiders already have veterans Willie Snead and Zay Jones on their active roster. Moore provides additional insurance for a team set to rely on homegrown young wideouts. Las Vegas also released John Brown earlier this week.
Patriots Still Open To Trading Stephon Gilmore?
The Patriots have yet to resolve Stephon Gilmore‘s contract issue, and they are now set to be without the All-Pro cornerback for at least six games. Gilmore will reside on New England’s reserve/PUP list to start the season.
While it would stand to reason the Pats will be eager to have Gilmore back in their starting lineup when he recovers from his troublesome quadriceps injury, there may not be a future here beyond 2021. On that note, the team is not believed to have ruled out a Gilmore trade, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes.
This topic surfaced in March but did not gain much steam. After a report indicated the Pats were open to trading Gilmore, news emerged shortly after stating that the team was not actively shopping the 10th-year corner. Gilmore trade rumors have come up on a few occasions over the past year and change. The Pats discussed Gilmore with other teams during the 2020 draft and set a high price for the accomplished defender at last year’s trade deadline. Nothing came to pass, and Gilmore remains attached to his 2017 contract. He is set to make just $7MM in base salary this season, the final year of the deal.
Optimism existed on a revised Gilmore deal last month, Graziano adds, but nothing has changed contractually. The 30-year-old corner did not attend minicamp or practice during training camp. Still, a Pats team with more realistic playoff aspirations this year would stand to benefit from a healthy Gilmore, who would lead their cornerback corps. It would seemingly take a strong offer for the Pats to give up the prospect of Gilmore leading a group that houses J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones and Jalen Mills.
Of course, the Pats have an extensive history of parting with veteran contributors just before Week 1 or early in the season. The team made Lawyer Milloy a surprise cut in September 2003, traded Richard Seymour to the Raiders in September 2009, traded Randy Moss to the Vikings in October 2010 and dealt Logan Mankins to the Buccaneers in September 2014.
A Gilmore trade could bring back an attractive haul for the Pats, even if a first-round pick is unrealistic — especially with Gilmore not being available until Week 7 at the earliest. A team that acquires the former Defensive Player of the Year would do so likely knowing a big-ticket extension will need to follow, unless said team is fine with a rental scenario. Gilmore’s camp was not expecting Jalen Ramsey-level money from the Pats, but the sides having not agreed to anything nearly two months after Gilmore went public about his dissatisfaction may extend this uncertain situation into the regular season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/3/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Robert Alford
Baltimore Ravens
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Deon Cain
Houston Texans
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Taywan Taylor
New York Jets
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Jamison Crowder; Crowder contracted the coronavirus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: DL Henry Mondeaux
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: LB Cam Gill
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on IR: DB Brady Breeze
Cardinals Add WR Josh Doctson To P-Squad
Josh Doctson is back in the NFL. The former first-round pick latched on with the Cardinals on Friday, agreeing to join their practice squad.
The veteran wide receiver auditioned for the Cards last month. This will end a lengthy stay in free agency and give Doctson a chance to move back onto a regular-season roster for the first time in nearly two years.
Although Doctson caught on with the Jets in 2020, he opted out of last season and then saw Gang Green cut him earlier this year. Doctson’s most recent instance of being on a 53-man roster in-season came in 2019. The Vikings, however, cut him in November of that year.
The TCU product operated as a starter for multiple Washington teams in the late 2010s, eclipsing 500 receiving yards in 2017 and ’18, but the 2016 first-rounder has been unable to stick with another team for a full season since.
Doctson will join the likes of Rasul Douglas and Chris Banjo on Arizona’s taxi squad. The team also signed defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter, cornerback Antonio Hamilton and offensive lineman Michal Menet to its P-squad. For the second straight year, teams can carry up to 16 players on practice squads.
Titans Add MyCole Pruitt To Practice Squad
After a brief stay in San Francisco, MyCole Pruitt will return to Tennessee. The Titans are adding their multiyear tight end contributor to the practice squad Friday.
The blocking tight end played with Tennessee over the past three seasons. Pruitt initially caught on with Tennessee via the practice squad three years ago but ascended to the active roster after Delanie Walker‘s September 2018 injury. He will return to a team that lost Jonnu Smith in free agency.
Pruitt, 29, signed with the 49ers in June but did not make their initial 53-man roster earlier this week. The Vikings draftee started 15 games for the Titans over the past three years and graded as a top-10 run-blocking tight end in 2020, per Pro Football Focus, contributing to Derrick Henry‘s 2,000-yard season.
Tennessee currently has Anthony Firkser in place to succeed Smith as its top tight end, but Geoff Swaim resides on its reserve/COVID-19 list. To make room for Pruitt, the Titans released tight end Miller Forristall from their practice squad.
Additionally, the Titans moved outside linebacker Harold Landry off their reserve/COVID-19 list. Landry spent nearly two weeks on Tennessee’s coronavirus list.
Seahawks Trade Ahkello Witherspoon To Steelers
The Seahawks are trading cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the Steelers (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, the Steelers will send a 2023 fifth-round choice to Seattle.
Witherspoon left the rival 49ers to join the Seahawks in March. A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, Witherspoon turned in a strong rookie campaign for SF. Then, he regressed in his second pro season. He was benched several times in 2018, and he ultimately graded out as the worst full-time corner that year, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
He did show some signs of life in his platform season, however. Though he started just four games and appeared in only 32% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps in 2020 — both career-low marks — PFF considered him a top-10 corner in terms of coverage ability. In addition to the Seahawks, the Jets, Broncos, and Panthers also showed interest in Witherspoon. Now, he’ll try to fortify the Steelers’ secondary.
Colts Revise Ryan Kelly’s Contract
The Colts have converted $9MM of Ryan Kelly‘s salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). As a result, they’ll have an additional $6.75MM in cap room to work with. 
[RELATED: Colts Place Hilton On IR]
Kelly, who was recently activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list, signed a four-year, $50MM re-up with the Colts exactly one year ago. The former first-round pick received $34MM in guaranteed cash as a part of the deal, making him the highest-paid center in the league at the time of signing. He’s since been leapfrogged by Frank Ragnow (Lions; $13.5MM) and Corey Linsley (Chargers; $12.5MM).
The Colts drafted Kelly No. 18 overall in 2016. The Alabama product made his first Pro Bowl in 2019 as the Colts placed third in Pro Football Focus’ O-line rankings. He earned Pro Bowl nod N0. 2 last year and the Colts are hoping for more of the same, especially with star guard Quenton Nelson at less than 100%.
Raiders, Yannick Ngakoue Rework Deal
The Raiders have restructured Yannick Ngakoue‘s contract (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The defensive end will have $12MM of his salary converted into a signing bonus to free up $8MM in cap room for the Raiders. The Raiders also added three void years to the deal to make it all work.
The will allow the Raiders to add KJ Wright and his new contract to the books. Plus, they’ll have extra cash to upgrade elsewhere during the year.
Ngakoue inked a two-year, $26MM deal with the Raiders back in March. The basics of the pact remain unchanged — Ngakoue will earn the same amount of money and remain under club control until the spring of 2023.
Jon Gruden has long been a fan of Ngakoue. Ditto for old friend Gus Bradley, his defensive coordinator in Las Vegas. The Raiders hope that Ngakoue will help to restore their once feared pass rush, which hasn’t been the same since the Khalil Mack trade.
Ngakoue, 26, is set to enter his sixth season as a pro. With 45.5 career sacks to his credit, he’s a potential difference-maker — even if the Ravens didn’t use him all that much in the playoffs. He’s not particularly strong against the run, but he averaged over nine sacks per season over his first four years in the league, and he has also demonstrated some serious play-making ability. He forced 14 fumbles in that stretch and he was directly responsible for five of the 12 defensive touchdowns the Jaguars scored between 2016 and 2019.