HEADLINES

Month: June 2022

Eagles Sign S Jaquiski Tartt

June 17th, 2022 at 4:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Turning the page at safety from its Rodney McLeod–Malcolm Jenkins era this offseason, with McLeod following Jenkins out the door, the Eagles entered the week with some questions on their defensive back line. They added a veteran to help answer those Friday.

The team announced an agreement with former 49ers starter Jaquiski Tartt. It’s a one-year deal. Tartt will join veteran Anthony Harris as the most accomplished safeties on Philadelphia’s roster.

Tartt, 30, continued to battle back from injuries to remain a 49ers starter. He spent three games on IR last season but started 17 of the team’s 20 contests (counting San Francisco’s three playoff tilts). Although Tartt’s NFC championship interception muff will not soon be forgotten, given the conclusion of that game, he has been one of the league’s longer-tenured safety starters. Since coming into the NFL as a 2015 second-round pick, Tartt has started 64 games.

Injuries have prevented the Division I-FCS product from making more lineup appearances. A broken arm sidelined Tartt in 2017 — a nine-game season — while a shoulder malady limited him to eight games in 2018. Rib trouble cost Tartt four games during the 49ers’ Super Bowl LIV-qualifying season, though Tartt was on the field for the team’s playoff run. A turf toe bout ended his 2020 campaign after just seven games. That lingered into the 49ers’ training camp last year, when he began it on the active/PUP list. But Tartt is coming off a relatively healthy year, save for a three-game IR stint due to a knee contusion.

Tartt scored a two-year, $13MM extension in April 2018 but re-signed with the 49ers on a league-minimum deal last year. It is likely Tartt’s Eagles deal comes in closer to the latter accord. The 49ers were not expected to re-sign him. With Philadelphia, Tartt will have a chance to start opposite Harris. The Eagles were prepared to give Marcus Epps a clear path toward that job, and while the two-year Philly spot starter might still move into the lineup full-time, Tartt represents experienced competition for that post.

Lions Sign DE Josh Paschal, Wrap Draft Class

June 17th, 2022 at 3:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions made a clear effort to upgrade at defensive end in the draft. The second of those pass rushers added is now under contract, wrapping up the draft pick-signing portion of Detroit’s offseason.

Second-round pick Josh Paschal signed his four-year rookie contract Friday. This comes weeks after the Lions inked Aidan Hutchinson to his four-year pact (feat. the fifth-year option).

As the No. 46 overall pick, Paschal will be in line to see a hefty portion of his rookie deal guaranteed. Every first-round pick thus far has received a fully guaranteed deal, with a handful to start the second round receiving three years fully guaranteed. No. 44 overall pick John Metchie received two years fully guaranteed and 56% of his third-year salary locked in at signing. Paschal’s camp likely pushed for a similar setup.

A Kentucky product, Paschal did not put up big sack numbers in the SEC. He registered 13 in five seasons with the Wildcats, topping out at five last year. The 268-pound performer did post 15 tackles for loss last year and has contributed as an inside pass rusher as well. Paschal and Hutchinson join a Lions defensive line housing pass rushers Michael Brockers, Romeo and Julian Okwara. The Lions, who cut Trey Flowers after three seasons, will certainly lean on Hutchinson this season. How much Paschal contributes remains to be seen.

Here is the Lions’ 2022 draft class:

Round 1: No. 2 Aidan Hutchinson, DE (Michigan) (signed)
Round 1: No. 12 (from Vikings) Jameson Williams, WR (Alabama) (signed)
Round 2: No. 46 (from Vikings) Josh Paschal, DE (Kentucky) (signed)
Round 3: No. 97 Kerby Joseph, S (Illinois) (signed)
Round 5: No. 177 James Mitchell, TE (Virginia Tech) (signed)
Round 6: No. 188 (from Seahawks through Jaguars and Eagles) Malcolm Rodriguez, LB (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 217 James Houston, DE (Jackson State) (signed)
Round 7: No. 237 (from Saints through Eagles) Chase Lucas, CB (Arizona State) (signed)

Falcons Sign OL Jonotthan Harrison, Cut RB Jeremy McNichols

June 17th, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jonotthan Harrison‘s Atlanta stopover for Falcons minicamp this week produced an agreement. The veteran offensive lineman signed with the Falcons following his minicamp audition.

In addition to signing Harrison, the Falcons added defensive lineman Jalen Dalton. To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Falcons released running back Jeremy McNichols and waived wide receiver Austin Trammell.

Although Harrison has been in the NFL since 2014, he has not played in a regular-season game in three years. The former Colts and Jets starting center has spent the past two years bouncing on and off the Giants’ practice squad. Harrison, 30, caught on with the Giants in 2020 but did not play in a game for the team. The former UDFA has started 42 regular-season, including 10 as a rookie for a Colts team that ventured to the AFC championship game and 10 in 2019 with the Jets.

The Falcons signed McNichols earlier this offseason. The rebuilding NFC South squad does not feature much in the way of high-level investments in the backfield, but it did use a fifth-round pick on BYU’s Tyler Allgeier and sign Damien Williams earlier this offseason. Also re-signed, Cordarrelle Patterson is expected to begin the season as the team’s starter.

McNichols, 26, played in 30 Titans games over the past two seasons. He received a look to be the team’s primary Derrick Henry replacement last season, but that role ended up going primarily to D’Onta Foreman.

A former Bears UDFA in 2019, Dalton has not played in a regular-season game. He joined Harrison at this week’s tryout. Trammell, who caught on with the Falcons as a 2021 UDFA, played in two games for the team last season.

Deshaun Watson’s Camp, NFLPA Expecting Lengthy Suspension For Browns QB

June 17th, 2022 at 1:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although two more women have filed civil lawsuits against Deshaun Watson since the Browns traded for him, the NFL was on the homestretch of its lengthy investigation prior to those suits emerging. Watson’s camp is expecting a “significant” suspension, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

While careful not to predict a precise punishment, a source informed Maske the NFL will likely seek a year-long suspension. A league presentation on the case to the NFLPA and Watson’s representatives has led the union to expect a lengthy ban. The NFL’s punishment may indeed be near, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noting the NFLPA is bracing for an “unprecedented” ban in this case. The steady stream of Watson news to emerge since the trade has become a concern for NFL higher-ups, per Florio, who adds some in the league office do not believe Watson should be cleared to play until these issues are resolved.

[RELATED: Browns Not Looking To Void Watson’s Guarantees]

The prospect of Watson being sidelined throughout the course of the civil suits does not seem realistic, based on Roger Goodell‘s comments this spring and his handling of the situation since the lawsuits began to emerge in March 2021. The NFL did not place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list last year, relying on the Texans to deactivate their former starter for all 17 games. Watson’s 2021 trade request and the Texans’ rebuilding approach last season also contributed to the team’s decision to deactivate the Pro Bowler.

The Browns almost certainly would not follow suit, considering the historic compensation package they sent to the Texans for Watson and the record-shattering contract they authorized upon doing so. Citing conversations with the NFLPA, Goodell said after a second Texas grand jury did not recommend charges against Watson he would not be placed on the exempt list. That opens the door to Watson receiving punishment this year and when the civil suits eventually conclude. Cleveland’s front office structured Watson’s contract — perhaps the most divisive deal in modern NFL history — in a way to protect him from a 2022 suspension, giving him a mere $1MM salary this season.

The timeline for Watson’s civil suits also would make the prospect of Watson being banned until they are resolved unlikely. After August 1, the civil suits will pause until March 1, 2023. Both Watson’s legal team and the Tony Buzbee-led attorney for the plaintiffs agreed on that timeline. Parking Watson on paid leave until these suits are all resolved runs the risk of the embattled QB being sidelined into the 2023 season, due to the high number of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault.

Since the 24th accuser’s suit surfaced, a New York Times report added more detail and startling number to this saga. The report indicated Watson received massages from at least 66 women between fall 2019 and spring 2021. In the days since, Watson news has continued to circulate. Houston police detective Kamesha Baker said during a recent civil deposition she believed Watson committed sexual assault, USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer notes. Ten women filed criminal complaints against Watson, but they did not lead to charges. Two of those 10 accusers are not part of the ongoing civil cases. Prior to these news items coming out, the NFL had concluded its meetings with Watson. It is possible the league had all of this information beforehand. If not, more meetings could ensue, further muddying this saga.

Independent arbitrator Sue Robinson will render the punishment, and the NFL would handle an appeal. The NFLPA would move to defend Watson during an appeal process — one Maske notes the NFL wants completed by the time the Browns report to training camp July 27. Watson has continued to deny all wrongdoing and said as much again this week from Browns minicamp, but the sixth-year veteran faces the prospect of missing back-to-back seasons.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/17/22

June 17th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest mid- and late-round picks to sign their four-year rookie contracts:

Cleveland Browns

New England Patriots

  • RB Pierre Strong (fourth round, South Dakota State)

The Browns made York the highest-drafted kicker since 2016 (Roberto Aguayo, Round 2) by selecting him 124th overall. The team was eyeing Evan McPherson in the 2021 draft, and after seeing the Bengals pounce on the talented specialist, the Browns decided to make an early move for York. LSU’s kicker for three seasons, York earned second-team All-America acclaim in 2020. York will be poised to take over Browns kicking duties, which Chase McLaughlin held last season. Cleveland has gone through a number of kickers in the past decade. The team has not featured the same primary kicker in consecutive seasons since Billy Cundiff from 2013-14.

Chosen 127th overall, Strong surpassed 1,000 yards three times during his career at the Division I-FCS program, doing so in each season not interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He amassed a Division I-FCS-best 1,668 rushing yards last season. Strong will join a Patriots backfield that features Damien Harris, who is going into a contract year, and Rhamondre Stevenson.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Commanders, Staff, Toney, Giants, Eagles

June 17th, 2022 at 12:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys and Commanders each ran afoul of NFL offseason rules during their OTA workouts this year. As a result, each team will lose 2023 practice time and each squad’s head coach received a six-figure fine. Both Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera received $100K fines for workouts deemed over the line, the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins and ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano note (Twitter link). Washington will be short two OTA days in 2023 due to excessive contact. This marks the second consecutive year McCarthy received a fine for offseason overwork. He received a $50K fine last year, with the Cowboys being docked $100K and a 2022 OTA for 2021 violations. The Cowboys will be docked one OTA day in 2023. OTAs do not hold the role they once did, and teams have begun to limit offseason activities on their own. The Eagles will go into training camp after not holding a mandatory minicamp. But Dallas and Washington will need to make minor adjustments to their 2023 offseason schedules.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • Injuries wrecked the Giants‘ offense last season, sidelining starters at just about every position. Some new issues cropped up this offseason. Neither Kenny Golladay nor Kadarius Toney participated fully at any point during Big Blue’s offseason program, per NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt, who adds Toney is dealing with a new knee injury (Golladay’s issue is unknown). Toney injuries have become a recurring problem for the Giants. Ankle, oblique and quadriceps issues limited Toney to 10 games last season, one that began after he missed most of training camp due to a hamstring problem. This year’s camp becomes more important for the 2021 first-rounder as a result of last year’s run of setbacks.
  • Toney still projects as part of Brian Daboll‘s first 53-man roster; Darius Slayton might not. The Dave Gettleman-era investment has been mentioned in trade rumors, and The Athletic’s Dan Duggan views the former fifth-round pick as unlikely to be part of this year’s Giants edition (subscription required). The Giants are likely to continue shopping Slayton up until cut day, Duggan adds, as he would be their No. 5 receiver if everyone is healthy. Almost no one in the team’s top four (Golladay, Toney, Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson) being healthy could point to Slayton staying. Shepard is still recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered last season. A two-time 700-yard receiver, Slayton is due a $2.54MM salary in 2022.
  • Both Shane Lemieux and Nick Gates were lost for the season early in the Giants’ miserable 2021 slate. While Lemieux is favored to start at left guard this season, Rosenblatt notes Gates might not return to action at all this season. This is not an out-of-the-blue development. Then-HC Joe Judge said Gates’ leg fracture sustained in Week 2 of last season could be career-threatening. That said, a report earlier this year gave Gates better odds at returning. The Giants gave Gates — a 16-game center starter in 2020 — a two-year, $6.82MM extension two years ago. But offseason addition Jon Feliciano is ticketed to take over at center.
  • The Eagles lost nearly all of their high-ranking front office staffers this offseason, seeing four of them leave for assistant GM gigs elsewhere. One of those, Andy Weidl, is now Omar Khan‘s right-hand man in Pittsburgh. Weidl worked with the Eagles for more than six years, and although he took over the team’s VP of player personnel post after Joe Douglas became the Jets’ GM in 2019, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes Howie Roseman did not give Weidl as much input as Douglas had. This became an understandable source of friction for Weidl. The Eagles went in a different direction with their new Roseman right-hand men, promoting staffers without traditional scouting backgrounds (Jon Ferrari and Alec Hallaby) to assistant GM posts.

Latest On Titans WR Treylon Burks

June 17th, 2022 at 11:23am CST by Sam Robinson

Considering the player the Titans gave up to acquire the pick that became Treylon Burks, the first-round wide receiver represents not just a long-term investment but one pivotal to Tennessee’s 2022 season. So far, the Titans have not seen too much of Burks.

Tennessee, which traded A.J. Brown to Philadelphia for a package headlined by this year’s No. 18 overall pick, saw its Brown heir apparent miss OTAs time and then miss all of the team’s minicamp. Mike Vrabel did not provide a reason for Burks’ unavailability this week.

Burks was slowed during OTAs and later missed practice time due to asthma. While Titans wide receivers coach Rob Moore praised Burks’ progression in their offensive system, via The Tennessean’s Ben Arthur, his unspecified minicamp absence does provide a bit of an early concern.

Earlier this offseason, SI.com’s Albert Breer noted weight issues have followed Burks for a bit. Listed at 225 pounds, Burks, according to some teams ahead of the draft, played in the 240s at points during his Arkansas career and was over 230 during some of his pre-draft workouts. While the big-bodied target obviously played well enough to warrant a top-20 selection, nearly hitting 1,000 yards in 2020’s COVID 19-shortened season and surpassing 1,100 as a junior in 2021, the SEC standout does enter the NFL with some uncertainty.

The Jon Robinson-era Titans have not shied away from first-rounders with potential red flags. They hit on 2019 first-rounder Jeffery Simmons, who was coming off an offseason ACL tear ahead of his rookie season. Simmons has become one of the NFL’s top interior defensive linemen. But the team missed badly on 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Wilson, who was off the Titans’ roster by 2021 after a three-snap rookie season. Caleb Farley missed Tennessee’s offseason program and some of training camp last year, due to the two back surgeries he had undergone. Farley, who suffered a torn ACL during his freshman year at Virginia Tech, went down due to another ACL tear three games into his rookie season.

Tennessee cut Julio Jones after what turned out to be a misfire — one that cost the team a second-round pick. Recent trade acquisition Robert Woods, obtained for just a 2023 sixth-round pick, is coming off a torn ACL he sustained in November. The Titans do not have much in the way of notable investments at receiver behind Burks and Woods, though former UDFA Nick Westbrook-Ikhine showed some promise last season. This amplifies the importance of their Woods-Burks duo producing. Training camp will be a key step for both.

Panthers Concerned About Jimmy Garoppolo’s Health?

June 17th, 2022 at 10:15am CST by Sam Robinson

Panthers-Browns talks about Baker Mayfield have reheated, to some degree, this week. The former Cleveland starter has been consistently connected to Carolina this offseason. San Francisco’s four-plus-year starter has not.

Jimmy Garoppolo‘s March shoulder surgery altered his trade market, effectively pausing it for what could be a four-plus-month stretch. The Browns have not blinked yet on dealing Mayfield, with money at the heart of the slowdown in their Panthers talks. The money remaining on Garoppolo’s deal is also an issue for Carolina, but The Athletic’s Joe Person notes some in the Panthers organization are concerned about Garoppolo’s health (subscription required).

The procedure on Garoppolo’s right shoulder followed a surgery on a thumb injury that plagued the veteran quarterback in the playoffs. Garoppolo, 30, also missed a game due to a calf injury midway through last season. The former Patriots backup missed most of the 2018 season after an ACL tear and was shut down after six games into the 2020 campaign because of a high ankle sprain — one he initially suffered in Week 2 of that season.

The injuries Mayfield battled for most of last season resulted in a steep performance drop-off and represent part of the reason he is on the outs in Cleveland, but they have not affected his trade market to the degree Garoppolo’s shoulder ailment has his. Garoppolo is expected to be ready to throw again in July, but with the Panthers perhaps prepared to pull the trigger on a veteran QB soon — if, indeed, they finally add to their Sam Darnold–Matt Corral passer setup — are they willing to wait for Garoppolo?

A $24.2MM base salary would come with Garoppolo, as of now, but Person adds the Panthers are not open to taking on that amount. Garoppolo could agree to adjust his deal, in an effort to land in a better situation, but the ninth-year veteran could also balk at doing so in an effort to hit free agency. A refusal by Garoppolo to drop his 2022 price would apply pressure to the 49ers to release him. Garoppolo’s salary is nonguaranteed; it becomes fully guaranteed by Week 1. This price tag has led some to believe the 49ers will indeed cut Garoppolo.

While a two-time NFC championship game starter, the oft-scrutinized QB carries considerable baggage that stands to complicate his upcoming age-31 season. The 49ers have stopped short of guaranteeing Garoppolo will be dealt, and while that is the scenario the team still hopes unfolds, the health and financial aspects here could mar a deal.

Bills Release, Later Re-Sign Jake Kumerow

June 16th, 2022 at 10:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Jake Kumerow had a busy day. The Bills wideout was released and later re-signed by the organization, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (on Twitter).

The transaction was merely procedural, but it did save Buffalo a small chunk of money. Kumerow inked a one-year deal with the Bills back in March that would pay him the league minimum (four-plus years of service). That contract was worth a hair more than $1MM.

Kumerow went undrafted out of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2015, and he spent the first two-plus seasons of his career in the Bengals organization. He finally made his regular season debut with the Packers in 2018, and he ended up getting into 14 games with Green Bay in 2019.

He’s spent the past two seasons in Buffalo. After getting into only six games in 2020, he appeared in a career-high 15 games in 2021. He finished with only two touches on offense, but he did add five special teams tackles.

Kumerow will be battling for a role towards the end of the depth chart with the likes of Khalil Shakir, Marquez Stevenson, Isaiah Hodgins, and Tavon Austin. More than likely, the 30-year-old is likely destined for the practice squad.

Latest On Titans DL Jeffery Simmons

June 16th, 2022 at 8:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Jeffery Simmons is attending Titans mandatory minicamp, but he’s not participating in any drills. While the player is clearly staging a “hold-in,” neither Simmons nor the Titans coaching staff will attribute his on-field absence to contract issues.

The Titans picked up the former first-round pick’s fifth-year option, so Simmons still has two years remaining on his rookie pact. He’ll earn a base salary of $2.22MM this upcoming season before getting that fifth-year jump, which is at $10.75MM. Curiously, Simmons doesn’t have an agent; instead, he has a “team” that deals with his contract.

“I’m not talking to them about my contract. I have a team in place that, if it is my contract, they’re going to talk to whoever upstairs,” Simmons said (via Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com). “Vrabs doesn’t handle contracts. My job is to be a leader, be a player and not just on the field but in the weight room, the lockerroom, or whatever it may be. I’m on the plan and I’m sticking with it, and I’ll see you guys in camp.”

While Simmons could be hinting that his team is negotiating a new contract with the organization, Mike Vrabel also said the defensive lineman’s absence doesn’t have anything to do with contracts. Rather, Simmons is “following the plan laid out by the team” that would have him ready for training camp, per McCormick.

The 2019 first-round pick had a breakout season in 2021. After collecting only five sacks through his first 24 games, Simmons finished the 2022 campaign with 8.5 sacks. He added 54 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 16 QB hits.

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