Raiders Host RB Kerryon Johnson
The Raiders are apparently serious about looking for veteran running back help. We heard yesterday that Las Vegas brought in free agent rusher D’Onta Foreman, and he apparently wasn’t the only one.
The Raiders also hosted Kerryon Johnson yesterday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. It’s the first we’ve heard of Johnson since he was cut by the Eagles with an injury settlement back on August 26th. The 43rd overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Lions, Johnson’s stock has dropped sharply the past couple years. He shined as a rookie, carrying the ball 118 times for 641 yards (5.4 YPC) in 10 games while adding 32 catches.
He was Detroit’s starter in 2019, but missed eight games due to injury. After undergoing knee surgery he quickly fell out of favor with the team, and was buried behind D’Andre Swift on the depth chart. He played in all 16 games in 2020, but got only 52 carries. Waived back in May, he was promptly claimed off waivers by Philly.
He then got hurt in camp with the Eagles, and found himself cut once again. Johnson only turned 24 in June, so he shouldn’t be out of chances by now. The Raiders are a bit thin in their backfield with Jalen Richard on injured reserve, which explains their interest.
Cam Newton Planning Announcement Friday, Isn’t Retiring
Cam Newton is apparently planning some sort of big announcement later this week, but don’t expect him to hang up his cleats. In a video posted to Instagram, the free agent quarterback made a cryptic tease.
Newton said he’d have a video posting this Friday, in which “I have a lot of things that I need to get off my chest.” He specifically made a point to note that he isn’t walking away from the game. “This is not a retirement speech, and I have a lot of football still in me,” he says in the brief video.
Presumably, Newton is planning to reveal some details about what led to his sudden and surprising release from the Patriots last week. New England elected to make rookie Mac Jones their starter, showing Newton to the exit. There was speculation that Newton’s vaccination status may have had something to do with his release, so perhaps he’s looking to clear the air on that.
Since he sounds pretty firm on his intention to play in the NFL again, don’t expect him to say anything too explosive that will burn bridges. Since his release we haven’t heard of much known interest, only that neither the Cowboys nor Washington are likely to pursue the former MVP.
No matter what, his Friday reveal should be entertaining if nothing else…
Vikings Extend Brian O’Neill For Five Years, $92.5MM
On the eve of the regular season, the Vikings are locking up a key piece. Minnesota has agreed to an extension with offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, the team announced on Wednesday.
It’s a five-year deal worth a whopping $92.5MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. That’s an average annual value of $18.5MM. He’s still pretty young, so it’s not too surprising to see O’Neill getting top-of-the-market right tackle money. With this new pact, he’s now the second-highest-paid right tackle in the league.
The deal includes $53.4MM in total guarantees and $22.6MM guaranteed at signing, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The total guarantees place O’Neill in the top three at right tackle, but the true guarantee does not. Six right tackles are signed to deals that include more than $24MM guaranteed. O’Neill will collect $40MM through the second year of this extension.
O’Neill, a second-round pick back in 2018, had previously been set to enter the final year of his rookie deal and become a free agent at the end of the season. The Pittsburgh product had his best year last season and earned pretty strong marks from Pro Football Focus, grading out as their 24th-best overall tackle.
O’Neill became a starter a little over a month into his rookie season and has held onto his job ever since. He started all 16 games last year and won’t turn 26 until next week.
The team drafted Christian Darrisaw in the first round out of Virginia Tech to start opposite O’Neill on Kirk Cousins‘ blindside. But as Darrisaw continues to struggle to recover from core muscle surgery, it looks like Rashod Hill will be starting the season across from O’Neill.
Raiders To Host D’Onta Foreman
Released from the Falcons’ practice squad on Friday, D’Onta Foreman is already drawing some new interest. The free agent running back is visiting with the Raiders on Tuesday, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets.
Foreman worked out for Atlanta at the beginning of August, and signed to the team’s practice squad after roster cuts. He lasted just a couple of days on the practice squad before getting the boot. Foreman also had a workout with the Seahawks back in April, his only other publicly reported visit this offseason. Foreman was highly regarded coming out of Texas, and the Texans drafted him 89th overall in 2017.
He flashed potential as a rookie, and was viewed as the future starter in Houston. Unfortunately, midway through his first pro season he tore an Achilles, an injury he struggled to recover from. He started the following year on the PUP list, and only ended up appearing in one game in 2018.
Foreman quickly fell out of favor with the team, with the organization accusing him of having poor work habits, and he was released in 2019. He latched on with the Colts, but then tore a bicep and sat out all of that season.
Signed to the Titans’ practice squad last season, he ended up appearing in six games for Tennessee, rushing 22 times for 95 yards. Jalen Richard was recently placed on injured reserve, which left the Raiders a bit thin at running back. They did just sign Peyton Barber a few days ago, but they still only have three active guys in the backfield for now. Despite being around for a while, Foreman only turned 25 back in April.
Seahawks To Sign CB John Reid To Active Roster
It’s been a rollercoaster of a couple weeks for John Reid, but he’s back on a 53-man roster. The Seahawks have signed the cornerback from their practice squad to their active roster, his agency announced on Twitter.
A Penn State product, Reid was a fourth-round pick of the Texans just last year. He appeared in 13 games for Houston as a rookie and started one, but was traded to Seattle for a 2022 seventh-rounder toward the end of training camp. Just a week after trading for him the Seahawks waived him, quickly adding him back on the practice squad.
Now after a week on the practice squad, he’s back on the active roster. Seattle had a lot of turnover at cornerback this offseason, most notably letting Shaquill Griffin walk in free agency. The same day they waived Reid, they also traded for former Eagles and Jags corner Sidney Jones.
They also drafted Tre Brown out of Oklahoma in the fourth-round, and now have a pretty young group of cornerbacks. It wouldn’t be surprising if Reid gets a crack at some point.
Seahawks, Duane Brown Reach Agreement
Right before the start of the regular season, the Seahawks have taken care of one of their last remaining orders of business. Seattle has agreed to a deal with Duane Brown for him to play the 2021 season under, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The Seahawks will be “converting per game roster bonuses to guarantees” for this season while the veteran offensive tackle also gets an “injury protection benefit for 2022,” Rapsheet writes. We heard a couple of weeks ago the team was looking for a compromise, and they were able to get something done. Brown skipped training camp, staging a hold-in, in search of a new contract.
He didn’t get the extension he was hoping for, and will still become a free agent after this season, but at least he now has some injury protection for next year. For what it’s worth, Russell Wilson was vocal in his support for Brown this summer, not really giving the Seahawks much of a choice.
Brown will make around $10MM this year, a bargain for a blindside protector of his caliber. Despite turning 36 last month, the five-time Pro Bowler has remained a quality starter.
Brown isn’t any stranger to contract disputes, or to holding his ground. His holdout with the Texans in 2017 saw him sit out the first six games of the season, and eventually led to his trade to Seattle.
Cardinals Place Malcolm Butler On Reserve/Retired List
It appears Malcolm Butler may really be walking away from the game. The Cardinals have placed the veteran corner on the reserve/retired list, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
We heard yesterday that Butler was mulling retirement, and it looks like he’s made up his mind. It was reported yesterday that the former Patriot and Titan was “dealing with a personal situation,” although details were light. All we know is that Butler has been away from the team recently. Apparently both retirement and “stepping away” were both options, so it’s possible this isn’t anything permanent.
Butler is of course known for his Super Bowl heroics with the Patriots, and he spent the last three seasons in Tennessee. Even though he was cut by the Titans this offseason, he received strong marks from Pro Football Focus for his work in 2020. He landed a fully guaranteed one-year deal worth $3.25MM from Arizona, and was expected to be a starter on Vance Joseph’s defense.
The last minute change of plans will leave the Cards a bit undermanned in their secondary after they let longtime starter Patrick Peterson walk this offseason. It looks like fourth-round rookie Marco Wilson or veteran Robert Alford will now be counted on to start in Butler’s place.
Of course, we all hope that whatever Butler is dealing with off the field isn’t anything too bad, and we wish him well with whatever his future holds.
Dolphins Set Initial 53-Man Roster
The Dolphins have joined the club of teams to officially get down to 53 players on cutdown day. Here’s the list of of players from Miami that will be looking for new homes in the coming days:
Placed on season-ending IR:
Released:
- LB Josh Harvey-Clemons
- CB Cre’von LeBlanc
- OT Adam Pankey
- C Cameron Tom
Waived:
- CB Javaris Davis
- RB Gerrid Doaks
- CB Tino Ellis
- LB Shaquem Griffin
- LB Kylan Johnson
- DT Benito Jones
- RB Patrick Laird
- DE Jonathan Ledbetter
- WR Kai Locksley
- WR Kirk Merritt
- LB Calvin Munson
- TE Chris Myarick
- WR Malcolm Perry
- OG Durval Queiroz Neto
- RB Jordan Scarlett
- QB Reid Sinnett
- DE Jason Strowbridge
There are some reasonably big names on this list, including LeBlanc and Harvey-Clemons among the vested veterans getting outright released. LeBlanc played a sizable role in the Eagles’ secondary last season, and started nine games for the Bears as a rookie back in 2016. Harvey-Clemons was a decent-sized part of Washington’s defense in 2018, but his role was reduced in 2019 before he opted out of the 2020 seasons.
You’ll likely recognize some of the waiver cuts as well, including Griffin. The brother of star cornerback Shaquill Griffin, the linebacker was attempting to make the team after a few years with the Seahawks. Laird started four games for the Dolphins in 2019 and received 62 carries that year, but he was mainly a special teams guy last season.
Cowboys Get Down To 53
More roster cuts to pass along! The Cowboys have now gotten their roster down to 53 as well, making a slew of cuts in the process. Here are the latest cutdown day casualties out of Dallas:
Released:
- S Darian Thompson
- CB Deante Burton
- LS Jake McQuaide
- OT Eric Smith
- TE Jeremy Sprinkle
- DT Justin Hamilton
Waived:
- WR Johnnie Dixon
- WR Osirus Mitchell
- WR Reggie Davis
- WR Aaron Parker
- S Steven Parker
- RB Brenden Knox
- RB JaQuan Hardy
- S Tyler Coyle
- FB Nick Ralston
- TE Nick Eubanks
- TE Artayvious Lynn
- DE Austin Faoliu
- OT Isaac Alarcon
- C Braylon Jones
- WR Brandon Smith
- DE Ron’Dell Carter
Thompson played in 15 games with the Cowboys last year and started seven, but wasn’t able to crack the 53-man roster this time around. The safety started four games for Dallas the year before in 2019. Sprinkle flashed some potential with Washington in 2019 when he had 241 yards, but he was a non-factor in the passing game last year.
Hamilton also started a couple of games for the Cowboys last year, and the release of several significant contributors shows Mike McCarthy was serious about overhauling that side of the ball. Hardy is the undrafted rookie who has been featured on this year’s season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks.’ He’s expected to be added to the practice squad if he clears waivers, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
Steelers Cut Down To 53
The Steelers became the latest team to officially get their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday. More shuffling can be expected in the days to come, but the initial 53 is set. Here’s who didn’t make the cut:
Waived:
- RB Jaylen Samuels
- RB Trey Edmunds
- WR Cody White
- OL Rashaad Coward
- OL B.J. Finney
- OL Chaz Green
- OL John Leglue
- TE Kevin Rader
- LB Cassius Marsh
- LB Quincy Roche
- DB Mark Gilbert
- DB Arthur Maulet
- DB Donovan Stiner
Placed on season-ending IR:
- QB Joshua Dobbs
Some of these names will certainly be familiar, including Samuels. The 2018 fifth-round pick from N.C. State received a lot of run in his first two years as a hybrid player, and got 113 touches in 2019. He fell out of favor last year, playing sparingly and only getting 18 touches. With the team drafting Najee Harris in the first-round, there was no longer any need for him.
Finney was with the Steelers from 2015-19, and started at least two games in four straight years from 2016-19. But he wasn’t able to crack the 53-man roster in his return after spending last year with the Seahawks and Bengals. Notably, former first-round quarterback Dwayne Haskins has made the initial 53-man roster behind Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. Dobbs will spend the whole year on IR after getting hurt in the preseason finale.