Browns To Sign S Rodney McLeod
The Browns will give Rodney McLeod an opportunity to play a 12th NFL season. The veteran safety agreed to terms with Cleveland on Thursday, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com tweets.
A longtime Eagles starter, McLeod spent last season with the Colts. While Indianapolis used a third-round pick on a safety (Nick Cross), McLeod held off the rookie and started 15 games in 2022. McLeod will join a Browns team that added Juan Thornhill to a position group housing former second-rounder Grant Delpit.
McLeod, who is heading into his age-33 season, played for new Browns DC Jim Schwartz in Philadelphia. McLeod’s Eagles run overlapped with Schwartz’s five-year stay as Philly’s DC. McLeod (138 career starts) will certainly supply the Browns with experience and scheme familiarity. Browns GM Andrew Berry also stopped through Philly during McLeod’s tenure.
The Eagles signed McLeod shortly after hiring Schwartz in 2016. The 5-foot-11 defender ended up making 62 starts during Schwartz’s time as DC, becoming one of the team’s secondary cornerstones alongside Malcolm Jenkins. McLeod played every Eagles defensive snap during their 2017 postseason run to Super Bowl LII. While that was five years ago, McLeod showed last season he still has gas in the tank. Pro Football Focus ranked McLeod as the No. 7 overall safety in 2022; this placement included the second-best coverage grade among safeties.
Indianapolis managed to land McLeod for just $1.77MM. Although the Colts’ higher-profile issues overshadowed McLeod’s season, the former Rams UDFA made a career-high 96 tackles; his eight tackles for loss more than doubled his previous-best figure. McLeod added two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown during the Colts’ season finale — to run his career total to 18. The Colts will now move on from both the 30-somethings in their defensive backfield; McLeod’s departure comes two months after the team traded Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys.
Cleveland experienced a number of issues on defense last season. Miscommunications frequently limited the Browns, helping lead to DC Joe Woods‘ ouster. Through this lens, the team bringing in an ex-Schwartz charge stands to assist its younger players in learning a new scheme.
The Browns released John Johnson after two seasons and have not re-signed Ronnie Harrison, a three-year Cleveland contributor. Delpit represents the only notable returner at this position, and it is safe to expect Thornhill — given a three-year, $21MM deal that includes $14MM guaranteed at signing — to be a starter. The Browns have used three safeties often in recent years; McLeod coming in gives the team this option again in 2023.
Bills Sign RB Latavius Murray
MAY 4: Murray will join the Bills on a veteran-minimum deal. The central New York native committed to the Bills on a one-year, $1.17MM deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. This is the highest league-minimum threshold, with Murray having at least seven years’ service time. Buffalo will guarantee the 11th-year vet $650K, Wilson adds.
MAY 1: The first of several veteran free agent running backs still on the market following the draft has found a new home. The Bills announced on Monday that they have signed Latavius Murray to a one-year deal. 
Buffalo hosted the 33-year-old earlier this month, so it comes as little surprise that a contract has now been agreed to. Running back was seen by many as an area of need for the Bills this offseason, and the team declined to make any additions at the position during the draft. They will now take the veteran route in an effort to boost their ground game.
Murray began the 2022 season in New Orleans, where he had previously played in 2019 and ’20, but spent most of the campaign in Denver. The Broncos turned to him as their lead back after losing Javonte Williams to an ACL tear and eventually releasing Melvin Gordon. Murray took advantage of that opportunity, leading the team with 703 rushing yards (on an average of 4.4 per carry) and scoring five touchdowns.
That led to the expectation he would remain in the Mile High City, and in doing so reunite with former Saints head coach Sean Payton on a more permanent basis. Denver added Samaje Perine as a backup, but even that move seemed to leave the door open to Murray inking a pact with the Broncos. Instead, the latter will look to carve out a rotational role in the Bills’ new-look backfield.
Devin Singletary departed in free agency, leading the Bills to sign former Patriot Damien Harris in free agency. Buffalo had previously traded for Nyheim Hines and used a second-round pick in last year’s draft on James Cook. Murray profiles closer to Harris than the latter two in terms of skillset, and snaps could be hard to come by if the team’s RB room remains healthy. Still, Buffalo appears to be making a concerted effort to increase their production in the run game in a way which lessens quarterback Josh Allen‘s workload, and the addition of Murray could prove to be an effective step in that direction.
Titans To Hire Anthony Robinson As Assistant GM
The Titans will structure their front office to include two assistant general managers. Months after Ran Carthon named Chad Brinker to that position, the rookie GM will add another exec to that rung on the front office ladder.
Falcons director of college scouting Anthony Robinson will join the Titans as assistant GM, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Robinson had been with the Falcons since 2008.
Hired during Thomas Dimitroff‘s first year as Atlanta GM, Robinson moved up to the college scouting director post in 2019. Breaking into the business as a Ravens staffer nearly 20 years ago, Robinson became a full-time Falcons scout in 2011. Helping scout the likes of Devonta Freeman, Grady Jarrett and Calvin Ridley, Robinson moved into position to where a GM interview may not be too far off. The Falcons interviewed Robinson for their GM job ahead of Terry Fontenot‘s 2021 hire.
Carthon, who joined the Titans after spending several years as a top John Lynch lieutenant with the 49ers, will structure his front office the same way the Browns and Eagles did last year. Brinker, who came over from the Packers, will oversee the Titans’ football operations department; Robinson will run the team’s scouting operation, Breer adds.
Browns GM Andrew Berry organized his FO structure this way in 2022, promoting Glenn Cook to assistant GM to work alongside ex-Eagles staffer Catherine Raiche. After the Eagles lost several staffers — many to assistant GM roles — last year, Howie Roseman named Jon Ferrari and Alec Halaby as co-assistant GMs.
The Falcons kept Robinson in his college scouting director post despite changing GMs in 2021, with Fontenot taking over after Dimitroff’s lengthy run atop the NFC South team’s front office. Atlanta will now need to make an adjustment to replace Robinson.
Vikings Not Ruling Out Another Kirk Cousins Extension
The Vikings participated in the Day 3 run on quarterbacks, taking BYU’s Jaren Hall in Round 5. But two years after making an effort to trade up for Justin Fields, Minnesota does not look to have a true Kirk Cousins heir apparent.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah scouted Hall in-person but declined to say if the 25-year-old rookie could be a potential Cousins successor. The Vikings discussed another extension with Cousins, but the sides ended up reaching a restructure agreement in March. After signing three Vikings contracts (in 2018, 2020 and 2022), Cousins is due for free agency after this season. The Vikings are not closing the door on another Cousins contract.
“When you go into a contract negotiation, you’re trying to come up with solutions together,” Adofo-Mensah said, via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “It’s not just what Kwesi wants or what the Vikings want or what Kirk wants. It’s what we can do together to ultimately put up that Lombardi. Sometimes you come to a place where you decide, ‘Hey, let’s talk later. This is a solution for now.’ That’s all that’s happened.”
Entering his sixth year as the Vikings’ starter, Cousins made it to the Twin Cities because of the unique leverage his two Washington franchise tags created. Cousins parlayed that into a fully guaranteed deal (three years, $84MM) that accelerated a QB-market boom. He later signed a two-year, $66MM deal in 2020 and agreed to a one-year, $35MM bump in 2022. Both the latter accords reduced Cousins’ cap number. This year’s restructure did the same; Cousins counts $20.25MM on Minnesota’s 2023 cap. But, excluding void years, the 12th-year passer is unsigned beyond 2023.
Being 2-for-5 in playoff appearances with the Vikings and having won one career postseason game, Cousins has still been one of this era’s premier earners. Exiting the 2022 season, he has banked $201MM. The skyrocketing QB market would make him an interesting player next year, but the Vikings have exclusive negotiating rights until next March.
As a mid-30-something QB on the market — should he reach free agency for a second time — Cousins will not carry the same kind of value he did back in 2018. But a quality season — one in which T.J. Hockenson and first-round pick Jordan Addison will be in the fold come Week 1 — would still make him a viable commodity, in the event the Vikings do not use their exclusive negotiating rights to reach a fourth agreement with Cousins before next year’s legal tampering period.
“We like where we are at the quarterback position,” Adofo-Mensah said. “But every option is open to us going forward. We’re just really excited about Kirk this year. The weapons we’ve added in free agency, the weapons we added in the draft [will help], and we’ll see what happens after that.”
The franchise tag might not be a viable option for the Vikings, and Cousins may not be worthy of such a designation by next year. Drew Brees won a grievance regarding the tag in 2012, indicating that, despite being tagged by two teams in nonconsecutive years (2005, 2012), a third tag should still come in at 144% of his previous year’s salary. No player has been tagged three times since the Jaguars cuffed safety Donovin Darius from 2003-05. Subsequent CBAs, however, have contained language — the 144% component — that effectively prevents a third tag.
On less steady ground with the Titans, Ryan Tannehill is the other experienced starter on track for free agency in 2024. Though, as the 2020s QB trade markets have illustrated, more will likely be available. Cousins’ Minnesota status will obviously be worth monitoring ahead of that point.
Latest On Cards’ Trades With Texans, Titans
A key party in a few teams’ early-round draft machinations, the Cardinals played a particularly important role in what could be long-term AFC South roster construction. They made deals with both the Texans and Titans, equipping each with potential 2020s pillars.
Both teams discussed prospective trades with the Cardinals before the draft. The Titans did not have to give up what it would have cost to move from No. 11 to No. 3 — a climb Tennessee was continually connected to attempting — but they had C.J. Stroud in mind. The new Texans quarterback was the Titans’ target at No. 3, with Albert Breer of SI.com confirming the team dropped out of trade talks after Houston took the Ohio State passer at 2.
The Titans were viewed as high on Stroud, and with the Texans believed to be planning to take a momentous risk — tabling their quarterback need yet again to select an edge rusher — it looked like Tennessee could have a clear path to trading up for its preferred passer. But Nick Caserio confirmed (via NBC Sports’ Peter King) his team had decided on Stroud at No. 2. That decision ran counter to just about every Texans-centric report leading up to the draft. Though, reports of Houston’s defensive end intent were not entirely inaccurate, given how the team proceeded at No. 3.
Although Caserio taking Stroud at No. 2 removed a buyer for 3 in the Titans, the Texans still traded a monster haul to land the Cardinals’ No. 3 choice. Houston gave up No. 33, along with first- and third-round picks in 2024. The Texans held two 2024 firsts, thanks to the historic Deshaun Watson package, and Houston’s first — not Cleveland’s — now belongs to Arizona. The Texans’ lengthy rebuild process has involved top-three draft real estate in each of the past three drafts, running a risk the team gave a prime draft asset for a non-quarterback in Will Anderson Jr. Two of the three Browns first-rounders acquired in the Watson trade ended up going toward Anderson.
Caserio and former Patriots coworker Monti Ossenfort had engaged in pre-draft talks about a trade involving the Nos. 3 and 12 picks, Breer adds, and King confirms the Cards and Texans agreed to the swap with “close to a minute left” on the clock.
“It helped that I had a personal relationship with Nick Caserio in Houston,” Ossenfort said during an appearance on the Dave Pasch Podcast (via AZCardinals.com). “… There was some back and forth there and the clock’s going, the clock’s going, and I think it was around two-and-a-half minutes where we have a couple of [different] deals up written up on the board [with] a couple of teams and it’s ‘OK, Nick, I think we’re at a spot where we are close here. It’s this and this for this, this and this. Are you in?’ ‘Yeah, I’m in.’ And it’s ‘OK, great, call it in.'”
Ossenfort had planned on trading back up and called multiple teams in order to secure Paris Johnson draft real estate. After talks with fellow former coworker Dave Ziegler did not produce a deal with the Raiders, Ossenfort found a taker in the Lions, allowing them to avoid taking Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 6.
The Cardinals and Titans revisited their talks Friday, and GM Ran Carthon pivoted to the freefalling Will Levis. The Titans had discussed a deal to move back into Round 1, with Levis as the target, with Breer adding they discussed the move with the Bills — at No. 27 — late Thursday night. The Titans were one of many teams trying to move back into the first round, and teams also made offers to the Steelers for 32. The Titans may well have been one of those to send the Steelers a proposal for 32, but they ended up trading 2023 and 2024 third-rounders to climb eight spots to 33 for the Kentucky QB.
This draft brought some notable what-ifs regarding the non-Jaguars wing of the AFC South, seeing as the Colts were tied to Levis for weeks only to have been preparing an Anthony Richardson pick for a while. Should Stroud, Richardson and Levis become surefire starters, this will certainly go down as one of the most pivotal drafts in the AFC South’s 22-year history.
Rams Sign 26-Man UDFA Class
The Rams continue adding to a massive rookie class. After drafting 14 prospects last weekend, Los Angeles has announced the signing of a prodigious 26 undrafted free agents:
- LB Kelechi Anyalebechi, Incarnate Word
- K Tanner Brown, Oklahoma State
- WR Braxton Burmeister, San Diego State
- CB Timarcus Davis, Arizona State
- CB Tyon Davis, Tulsa
- S Collin Duncan, Mississippi State
- K Christopher Dunn, NC State
- RB Tiyon Evans, Louisville
- WR Tyler Hudson, Louisville
- S Tanner Ingle, NC State
- WR Sam James, West Virginia
- OLB Matthew Jester, Princeton
- S Quindell Johnson, Memphis
- CB Jordan Jones, Rhode Island
- C Sean Maginn, Wake Forest
- C Mike McAllister, Youngstown State
- CB Cameron McCutcheon, Western Carolina
- G Grant Miller, Baylor
- TE Christian Sims, Bowling Green
- LB Ryan Smenda, Wake Forest
- WR Xavier Smith, Florida A&M
- LB DeAndre Square, Kentucky
- S Rashad Torrence, Florida
- LS Alex Ward, UCF
- QB Dresser Winn, Tennessee-Martin
- LB Jaiden Woodbey, Boston College
With former kicker Matt Gay now residing in Indianapolis, the Rams have resolved to a kicking competition between Brown and Dunn. Brown had a stellar year with the Cowboys converting 22 of 23 field goal attempts and making all 42 of his extra points. Dunn had an even better 2022, rebounding after 5 missed field goals in 2020 and six misses in 2021. He converted 28 of 29 field goal attempts in 2022 and, over five years with the Wolfpack, never missed one of his 200 extra point attempts.
Gay wasn’t the only special teamer Los Angeles lost. After losing Matthew Orzech to the Packers in free agency, the Rams will give Ward a run at the position. After drafting punter Ethan Evans in the seventh round, Los Angeles is set to have a full rookie special teams unit.
Winn joins the quarterback room behind Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett, and Brett Rypien. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards as a sixth-year senior for the Skyhawks with 18 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Rams also signed Burmeister, a former starting quarterback at Virginia Tech who transferred to the other coast. Based on his listing with the Rams, he’ll be attempting to switch positions in the NFL.
With only eight linebackers under contract in a base 3-4 defense, the Rams supplemented heavily from the rookie class, drafting three and signing five more undrafted. They similarly added some significant depth at defensive back, drafting two and signing eight more undrafted.
The Rams have a substantial 40 rookies occupying roster spots on the current 90-man roster (which only holds 89 players as of right now). This seems to be a bit emblematic of the Rams recent all-in strategy that resulted in a Super Bowl but left them with a top-heavy roster with hefty contracts. Regardless, it presents many young rookies with clear opportunities for roster spots and playing time.
Texans Sign TE Eric Tomlinson
The Texans are adding to a crowded tight ends room today, bringing on veteran tight end Eric Tomlinson, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The seven-year journeyman has never been much of a pass catcher but will provide some critical blocking in Houston next year. 
Tomlinson heads to his seventh team after time with the Jets, Patriots, Giants (two stints), Raiders, Ravens, and Broncos. He follows Texans tight ends coach Jake Moreland, who served in the same position last year in Denver, where Tomlinson made 12 starts in 17 appearances. He had previously spent a year and a half as a part of the Ravens bruising rushing attack.
He joins a room that currently rosters Dalton Schultz, Teagan Quitoriano, Brevin Jordan, Mason Schreck, and Andrew Beck. Schultz and Jordan are the primary pass-catching tight ends. Quitoriano and Beck have both historically been more run blockers, with Beck joining Tomlinson in the move from Denver this offseason. Schreck hasn’t seen enough game action to say what his role could be, but he was a strong receiver in college.
This means Tomlinson will have some competition for his current role. It’s hard to picture the Texans keeping more than three or four tight ends on the 53-man roster come September. With Schultz and Jordan in the passing attack, that leaves Quitoriano, Tomlinson, Beck, and Schreck battling it out for maybe two open roster slots.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/3/23
We had our first draft pick signing of the 2023 rookie class today. We will track such mid- and late-round picks who sign their four-year rookie deals like this:
Carolina Panthers
- S Jammie Robinson (fifth round, Florida State)
The Panthers used their fifth-round pick to take the defensive back who spent time both with the Seminoles in Tallahassee and the Gamecocks in Columbia. The versatile safety matched aggression with ball skills collecting 15.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, and 16 passes defensed over his career.
Packers, QB Jordan Love Agree To Extension
MAY 3: We received a few details on Love’s new contract, thanks to ESPN’s Field Yates. The deal includes a $8.79MM signing bonus, helping him come into an extra $7.5MM of cash this year. His base salary will be less in 2023 ($1.01MM) than it was scheduled to be ($2.30MM), but the deal has escalators in 2023 that could add a potential additional $9MM to his base salary in 2024, which is currently valued at $5.5MM fully guaranteed. The escalators are tied to playing time, team wins, team stats, and more. He’ll also receive a $500K workout bonus in 2024.
MAY 2: Rather than picking up Jordan Love‘s fifth-year option today, the Packers have inked their new starting quarterback to a one-year extension keeping him in the fold through 2024, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). 
ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds (via Twitter) that the contract has a maximum value of $22.5MM, and includes $13.5MM fully guaranteed. Had Green Bay elected to simply pick up Love’s option, he would have been tied to a fully-guaranteed salary of $20.27MM next season, meaning this agreement could yield higher earnings for the unproven 24-year-old.
How the Packers planned to handle Love’s short-term financial future was a key storyline leading up to today’s deadline. Recent remarks from general manager Brian Gutekunst reflected the unique position the team found itself in regarding its commitment to a quarterback with only one regular season start in three NFL seasons. With this deal now in place, Love’s cap hits can be spread out evenly over the course of his two-year audition period.
That will become particularly important in 2024 if the Utah State product fails to live up to expectations and the team feels obliged to bring in veteran competition following his 2023 campaign. For now, though, Love can move forward with a greater degree of certainty regarding his future in Green Bay as he prepares to begin the task of succeeding Aaron Rodgers.
The latter’s trade to the Jets officially paved the way for Love – whom the Packers traded up in the 2020 draft to select 26th overall – to take on the starting role. The team has remained consistent in their praise of him during the offseason, and he will have a number of additions around him on offense in 2023. Green Bay once again looked to the defensive side of the ball in the first round of the draft, but they also selected a pair of tight ends and three receivers to with the rookie pass-catchers brought in last year.
The Packers also exited the draft with a new quarterback in fifth-rounder Sean Clifford, but all eyes will be on Love this season as he faces about his ability to operate as a clear-cut starter. Regardless of how he fares, he will be in place for 2024 as well at a relatively reasonable cost.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/3/23
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: CB John Reid
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: G Colby Gossett
Gossett returns to Cleveland after two years in Atlanta. During his time with the Falcons, Gossett appeared in 31 games, including all 17 in 2022, and five starts, with four of those coming last year.