Minor NFL Transactions: 4/15/21
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: LB Dennis Gardeck (RFA), LB Kylie Fitts (ERFA)
- Signed: WR Andre Baccellia, DL Ryan Bee, RB Tavien Feaster, LB Jamell Garcia-Williams, WR Darece Roberson
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed: DE Porter Gustin
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: LB Dakota Allen (ERFA)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Cut: QB Kyle Sloter
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Jalen McCleskey
Contract Details: Conner, Cockrell, Stephen
We’ve compiled a handful of details on recent contracts, including the newest member of the Cardinals offense:
- James Conner, RB (Cardinals): One-year deal. Deal is worth $1.75MM, including $500K signing bonus and fully guaranteed $1.25MM salary. Via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter.
- Ross Cockrell, CB (Buccaneers): Two-year deal. Contract is worth $2.11MM. League-minimum salaries in both 2021 ($990K) and 2022 ($1.12MM). Up to $450K in playing-time incentives each season. Via Greg Auman of The Athletic on Twitter.
- Shamar Stephen, DT (Broncos): Signed. One year, $2MM deal, including $750K guaranteed. $415K signing bonus, $1.075MM base salary (of which $335K is guaranteed), $30K per-game roster bonuses (up to $510K max). Via Mike Klis of 9News in Denver on Twitter.
James Conner Addresses Offseason Injury
- New Cardinals running back James Conner underwent toe surgery recently. He suffered the injury in an ATV accident, he said Tuesday. The former Pro Bowl back is expected to be 100% by training camp.
Cardinals Sign James Conner
That didn’t take long. One day after visiting the Cardinals, running back James Conner agreed to join Kyler Murray & Co. in Arizona (Twitter link via Jay Glazer of FOX Sports). The Cardinals have since confirmed the deal, making the one-year pact official.
Earlier today, we learned that Conner recently underwent surgery to fix a turf toe-type injury. That could help to explain why he was still on the board in mid-April. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t all that serious and Conner is expected to be fully cleared by June.
Conner made his mark in 2018, after emerging from Le’Veon Bell‘s shadow. That year, he rushed for 973 yards on the ground with 12 touchdowns, plus 55 catches for 497 yards. Then, in 2019, he was limited to just 464 yards on the ground and six games, thanks in part to knee and shoulder trouble.
This past year, he was on pace for a 1,000-yard season up until he tested positive for COVID-19 in November. Ultimately, he finished 2020 with 721 yards on the ground and six scores, plus 35 grabs for 215 yards.
The Steelers didn’t show much interest in a reunion, even though Conner always said that he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh for the long haul. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to play in warmer weather as he joins Chase Edmonds, Eno Benjamin, Jonathan Ward, and Khalfani Muhammad in the Cardinals’ running back group. With Conner towards the top, the Cardinals hope to replace the production of Kenyan Drake, who left in free agency to join the Raiders.
Cardinals Meet With James Conner
The Cardinals will meet with James Conner today, as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports tweets. This marks Conner’s first known visit of the offseason. 
Conner made his mark in 2018, after emerging from Le’Veon Bell‘s shadow. That year, he rushed for 973 yards on the ground with 12 touchdowns, plus 55 catches for 497 yards. Then, in 2019, he was limited to just 464 yards on the ground and six games, thanks in part to knee and shoulder trouble.
This past year, he was on pace for a 1,000-yard season up until he tested positive for COVID-19 in November. It was a scary situation for the cancer survivor, but, fortunately, he was okay. Ultimately, he finished 2020 with 721 yards on the ground and six scores, plus 35 grabs for 215 yards. The Steelers haven’t shown a ton of interest in re-signing Conner and he remains available for the league’s other 31 teams.
“My goal is to win,” Conner said last year when asked about the possibility of a Pittsburgh extension. “I have the opportunity to do that. The special team we got, pieces that were out last year coming back healthy. I’m not playing for a contract or playing not to get hurt. I’m playing to win, that’s what it’s about, to be part of Super Bowl No. 7 for the organization.”
With the Cardinals, he could help replace the production of Kenyan Drake, who has since left to join up with the Raiders. Currently, the Cardinals have Chase Edmonds, Eno Benjamin, Jonathan Ward, and Khalfani Muhammad on the RB depth chart.
NFL Distributes Performance-Based Payouts
Since 2002, the NFL’s performance-based pay system has rewarded low-salary players who exceed their expected playing time. This year, due to the pandemic, the league and the players’ union negotiated a gradual payout schedule, one that will meter out the money between now and 2024.
All in all, the league divested $8.5MM per club. This year’s top earner is Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa, a 2018 third-round pick who played every single snap for the eventual champs. Cappa will now receive an extra $622K on top of his $750K base salary for 2021. Per the union’s records, 25 other players also topped $500K, including Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum ($604K), Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ($579K), Rams guard Austin Corbett ($573K), Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye ($572K), Bears tackle Germain Ifedi ($571K), Steelers offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor ($568K), Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier ($561K), Ravens safety DeShon Elliott ($557K) and Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead ($555K).
The full list, going team-by-team, can be found here, courtesy of the NFLPA.
Contract Details: K. Miller, Lockett, McCoy
Catching you up on the details of a few recently-signed deals:
- Raiders LT Kolton Miller: Three-year extension to keep Miller under club control through 2025. This looks like a fairly team-friendly deal. Miller was paid a $2MM roster bonus today and will earn a $9.5MM salary this year. He is also due a guaranteed $13.5MM roster bonus in 2022, but beyond a few $50K workout bonuses in 2022 and 2024-25, all of the money is in the form of non-guaranteed salary. His salaries from 2022-25 are $3.275MM, $14.225MM, $12.256MM, and $12.256MM (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
- Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett: Four-year extension to keep Lockett under club control through 2025. $19MM signing bonus. $13MM option bonus in 2022. Base salaries from 2021-25 are $2MM, $3MM, $9.7MM, $15.3MM, and $15.3MM. $1.6MM roster bonuses in 2024 and 2025 (Twitter link via Yates). 2021 cap hit of $9.25MM (previously $14.95MM).
- Cardinals QB Colt McCoy: One-year deal. Veteran salary benefit. Worth $1.2MM with $137K guaranteed and counts $987K against the cap. Twitter link via Dan Duggan of The Athletic.
Cardinals Extend Rodney Hudson
The Cardinals furnished Rodney Hudson with a new deal after he was shipped from the Raiders to the Cardinals, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Originally believed to be a restructure, the center actually inked a brand new three-year, $30MMM contract. 
[RELATED: Larry Fitzgerald Expected To Retire?]
Originally, Hudson was set to count for $9.9MM in 2021. Now, he has two additional years worth $20.1MM with $16MM in total guarantees. For the Cardinals, that means a much more palatable $2.86MM cap charge for 2021. Meanwhile, the trade left the Raiders with a $7MM+ dead money charge.
Hudson, a three-time Pro Bowler, joins D.J. Humphries and Justin Pugh on the Cardinals offensive line. Last year, he graded out as the eighth-best center in the NFL per Pro Football Focus. Hudson came with a contract to match his resume, but the cost of a third-round pick was well worth it for the Cardinals. He’s now set to take over for Mason Cole, who finished just 31st on PFF’s list.
Larry Fitzgerald Expected To Retire?
When the Cardinals signed A.J. Green last month, all eyes turned to Larry Fitzgerald and his place on the team. Although the legendary receiver hasn’t made his intentions known just yet, it appears he’s headed in the direction of hanging up his cleats. “Execs anticipate” that Fitzgerald, who is unsigned for 2021, is going to retire, Mike Sando of The Athletic writes. This stops short of being a full-on report, but it certainly sounds like that’s the way things are trending.
With Green now in the fold alongside the returning DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk, the Cardinals’ receiving room would be pretty crowded if Fitz wanted to give it one last go. The surefire future Hall of Famer played in 13 games for Arizona last year, racking up 54 catches for 409 yards and a touchdown. It was easily the lowest output of his decorated 17-year career. We should know more soon, but unfortunately it seems likely we’ve seen the Pittsburgh product play his final down.
Cardinals C Rodney Hudson Restructures Contract
The Cardinals have done some work today to open extra cap space. Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer writes that center Rodney Hudson has restructured his contract.
[RELATED: Cardinals LB Jordan Hicks Takes Pay Cut]
Arizona traded for Hudson and his hefty $9.9MM cap charge earlier this month, and it always seemed inevitable that the veteran would work with the organization to reduce that number. Balzer notes that $8.8MM of the lineman’s compensation was converted into a signing bonus, thus reducing Hudson’s salary to $1.1MM. The team also added three voidable years to the contract, meaning the new signing bonus can be prorated over five years. As a result, Hudson’s 2021 cap charge was reduced to $2.86MM.
Hudson also had his 2022 workout bonus converted into base salary, increasing that latter number to $10.85MM. As a result, the lineman’s new cap charge is $12.61MM.
Earlier this month, the Cardinals sent a third-round pick to the Raiders for Hudson and a seventh-rounder. He will now join the likes of D.J. Humphries and Justin Pugh on a talented offensive line in Arizona. Pro Football Focus graded Hudson as its No. 8 overall center last season, and the veteran has three Pro Bowl appearances on his resume.