Minor NFL Transactions: 4/23/24
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: LB Jack Cochrane
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Mitchell Wilcox
The Patriots have recently been seeking some depth at tight end, as the team hosted three players at the position last week (per ESPN’s Mike Reiss). The team ultimately opted for the six-foot-four, 250-pound Wilcox. The former UDFA out of South Florida spent his first four seasons in Cincinnati, where he often alternated between the practice squad and active roster. He had a career year in 2022, finishing with 17 catches. However, he followed that up with a 2023 campaign where he caught only nine passes.
Hunter Henry will continue to lead New England’s tight ends depth chart in 2024 after he re-signed with the organization. The Patriots also signed veteran Austin Hooper to replace Mike Gesicki, who left via free agency. Mitchell will likely compete with La’Michael Pettway for the third TE spot.
In Kansas City, the Chiefs retained Cochrane, who was tendered as a restricted free agent earlier this offseason. The former UDFA out of South Dakota has won a pair of Super Bowls in two seasons in Kansas City, appearing in 32 regular season games and seven postseason contests along the way. He’s turned into a key special teams player for the Chiefs, appearing in 336 ST snaps in 2023. He also got some run on defense, finishing the campaign with 28 total tackles.
Latest On Michael Penix Jr.’s Draft Stock
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye have sat relatively firmly atop mock drafts throughout the pre-draft process, and it sounds like J.J. McCarthy is destined to join that trio in the first round. After those top-four quarterbacks, focus shifts to Michael Penix Jr., and it remains to be seen how early the Washington product will hear his name called.
While teams like the Patriots (No. 3) and Giants (No. 6) have recently been connected to Penix, it’s more likely those teams would only consider the quarterback in trade-back scenarios. As a result, Albert Breer of SI.com believes the earliest Penix could be selected is by the Falcons at No. 8.
This would be an unexpected move by Atlanta, considering the team’s sizable offseason commitment to Kirk Cousins. However, since Penix has generally been viewed as less NFL-ready than his positional counterparts, the Falcons could secure their QB of the future while also competing now. As Breer notes, the duo of GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris could be enticed by a “Jordan Love-like plan” at quarterback, and they’ll likely be in prime position to select the Washington signal caller with their first-round pick.
While the Raiders could be ready to pounce on Penix at No. 13, there’s been some belief in league circles that the QB could land with the Seahawks at No. 16. The organization has plenty of connections to the incoming rookie. Besides being a local prospect, Penix is also familiar with new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff, who were both poached from the Huskies staff. We heard similar rumblings surrounding the Seahawks/Penix connection earlier this month.
However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter cautions that the Seahawks may not be a logical landing spot for the quarterback. For starters, GM John Schneider has only drafted a pair of quarterbacks in his 15 years at the helm (Russell Wilson and Alex McGough). Further, the Seahawks are high on offseason acquisition Sam Howell as a future replacement for Geno Smith. Plus, Howell is the same age as Penix and already has 18 games of NFL experience.
If Penix isn’t selected in the top half of the first round, it’s uncertain how far he could fall. Yahoo’s Charles Robinson notes that there are several teams that have a “second-round grade on him or lower.” Penix has continued to be a divisive prospect, with one NFL offensive coach previously declaring him as the No. 2 QB in the draft (behind Williams).
Part of the skepticism is naturally surrounding the player’s injury history, as Penix suffered four season-ending injuries during his time in college. The QB was also knocked for his “scattershot accuracy underneath,” although Penix seemed to alleviate some of those concerns with a strong pro day showing. The varying opinions of the signal caller will make him one of the more intriguing prospects to watch through the first two days of the draft.
Chiefs Bracing For Rashee Rice Suspension
Rashee Rice was booked on eight felony charges stemming from a hit-and-run incident in Dallas in late March. As the Chiefs wide receiver navigates his legal situation, he’s also likely to face punishment from the NFL.
[RELATED: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Taken Into Custody]
Albert Breer of SI.com writes that the Chiefs are “bracing for” a Rice suspension. ESPN’s Adam Schefter echoes that sentiment, writing that Rice is expected to be slapped with a “multigame suspension.” Of course, considering Roger Goodell‘s penchant for cracking down on off-the-field incidents, this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
Both Breer and Schefter opine that Rice’s looming suspension may end up influencing the front office’s draft approach. Breer writes that wide receiver is now “higher on the list than it might’ve been a couple of months ago,” while Schefter notes that the Chiefs were seeking receiver reinforcement even before Rice’s legal issues.
The Chiefs already made one splash at the position, adding Marquise Brown to their receivers room. However, if Rice is out of the picture, the team is eyeing a similar WR corps that underwhelmed in 2023. While Brown and Travis Kelce can soak up plenty of snaps, Patrick Mahomes would still have to lean on the likes of Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Kadarius Toney (who, perhaps surprisingly, remains in the team’s plans). Rice has recently been virtually attending the Chiefs’ offseason program.
Rice was clocked driving 119 miles per hour prior to the March crash. He turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he is facing charges of aggravated assault, collision involving serious bodily injury, and collision causing injury.
In addition to the forfeited paychecks via an eventual suspension, Rice will be facing more financial repercussions. Rice and SMU’s Theodore Knox, who was also involved in the hit-and-run, are being sued for over $1MM in damages and $10MM in punitive damages by two victims in the crash (per Olivia Johnson of Fox4 in Kansas City).
Dak Prescott Addresses Cowboys Talks
While both the Cowboys and Dak Prescott once expressed optimism in a long-term extension, there hasn’t been any recent progress in negotiations. The organization previously declared that they weren’t going to let their franchise QB hit free agency, but with owner Jerry Jones drawing an apparent line in the sand, it’s no longer a guarantee that Dak is playing in Dallas in 2025.
[RELATED: Cowboys Do Not Intend To Let Dak Prescott Reach Free Agency]
The quarterback acknowledged the fact that the 2024 campaign could mark his final season in Dallas. While speaking with reporters yesterday, Prescott at least hinted that he could hit free agency following the upcoming season.
“I’m not going to say I fear being here or not. I don’t fear either situation, to be candid with you,” Prescott said (via NFL.com’s Coral Smith). “I love this game and love to play and love to better myself as a player and my teammates around me. Right now it’s with the Dallas Cowboys, it’s where I want to be, and that’s where I am, and that’s the focus. And after the season we’ll see where we’re at and if the future holds that. And if not, we’ll go from there.”
Entering the final season of his four-year, $160MM contract, Prescott could push for a new deal that’s close to $60MM per year. Jones has previously complained that the growing QB contracts limit spending elsewhere on the roster, and it sounds like the owner/GM is hoping Prescott will end up taking a slight discount on his next deal. With the QB market now beyond the $50MM AAV mark, it’s uncertain how much money the Cowboys would look to save on the veteran’s next deal. Prescott seems to be somewhat open to a discount, telling reporters that he’s “not trying to be the highest paid, necessarily.”
Prescott did confirm that he’s had talks with Jones and the Cowboys front office, although those conversations didn’t necessarily revolve around specific numbers. It’s uncertain if either side would be interesting in continuing talks into the regular season, but the quarterback has made it clear that he’ll soon be entirely focused on the 2024 campaign.
“Honestly, I’m focused on the moment, on the now,” Prescott said. “If the talks begin and real talks get to happen, sure, we can talk about getting that done, but in this case right now I’m worried about getting better, being better than I am at this moment. So leaving that up to my agent and Jerry at this point.”
In addition to Prescott, the Cowboys are also hoping to extend linebacker Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, a pair of contracts that will further soak up the team’s financial wiggle room. The Cowboys won’t have the ability to franchise tag Prescott after this season, and considering the impending financial implications of a QB extension, the organization will surely be focused on completing that deal first.
Latest On Dolphins’ Draft Plans
While the Dolphins already brought in Aaron Brewer as a potential replacement for Connor Williams, that won’t stop the organization from pursuing additional center depth via the draft. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along, the Dolphins hosted Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson on a top-30 visit this week.
Powers-Johnson didn’t allow any sacks in his 829 snaps at center in 2023, earning him a first-team All-American nod and the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top center. While the lineman has generally competed with the likes of Duke’s Graham Barton and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier in mock drafts, Powers-Johnson is expected to hear his name called at some point during the first two days of the draft…potentially as high as No. 21 to the Dolphins.
While a potential return to Miami remains a possibility for Williams, there’s a good chance the veteran sits out the 2024 campaign while rehabbing his ACL injury. After starting all 34 games for the Titans between 2022 and 2023, Brewer was brought in as a replacement at center. As Jackson notes, both Brewer and Powers-Johnson have experience playing offensive guard, so the team wouldn’t necessarily be setting themselves up for a competition at center.
It sounds like offensive line has been a specific focus for the Dolphins throughout the pre-draft process. Jackson notes that the organization has hosted a number of offensive linemen who are considered late first-round picks, but the organization hasn’t done the same for defensive players in the same tier. While Jackson warns that the front office wouldn’t willingly show their hand, it seems pretty clear that the Dolphins are leaning towards OL depth in the first round.
One position the organization isn’t considering with their first-round pick? A quarterback, as GM Chris Grier told reporters (via Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network). Considering both the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa are focused on signing a long-term pact, it’s not a surprise that the Dolphins won’t waste an early-round pick on a developmental backup. However, Grier did note that the Dolphins could consider taking a player at the position later in the draft.
Broncos Don’t Plan To Trade Courtland Sutton
Courtland Sutton has been a popular trade candidate for the better part of a year. While the Broncos’ offseason overhaul has already led to plenty of offensive turnover, it sounds like the former second-round receiver will be sticking in Denver.
[RELATED: Courtland Sutton Absent From Broncos’ Offseason Program]
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Broncos have received “multiple trade inquiries” on Sutton. However, the front office doesn’t plan on trading the wideout. Sutton was a no-show for the start of Broncos voluntary offseason workouts, with the understanding being that the receiver was seeking a new contract.
However, Sutton is also rehabbing an ankle injury. According to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the wideout had offseason ankle surgery stemming from an injury he suffered during the regular-season finale. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like the player nor the team are overly concerned about the recovery, and Sutton has been active working out in Florida during the offseason.
Sutton has two years remaining on his contract, including a 2024 campaign where he’s set to earn a base salary of $13MM. The Broncos already picked up his $2MM guarantee for 2024, but that’s the team’s only current financial commitment to the player. None of Sutton’s 2025 earnings are guaranteed. The receiver is set to count for $17.4MM against the cap this season, and he’ll have a similar cap hit in 2025.
An acquiring team could look to sign Sutton to a new deal, although with two years remaining and easy outs on the contract, there certainly wouldn’t be any urgency to sign an extension. That’s probably why the Broncos aren’t in a rush to make a trade, and it’s unlikely teams are offering a whole lot for the wideout. While Sutton has remained relatively healthy throughout his career (he missed most of the 2020 campaign due to a torn ACL but has otherwise missed three career games), he hasn’t put up top-end production. He topped 1,000-yards receiving during his sophomore season, but since returning from his knee injury, he’s averaged only 800 yards per season.
As the Broncos eye an uncertain future on offense, it seems they’re putting some value on Sutton’s continuity. The team already moved on from quarterback Russell Wilson and fellow receiver Jerry Jeudy. If things don’t go well at the beginning of the 2024 campaign, Sutton could be the next offensive player to get shipped out.
Latest On Cardinals’ Draft Plans
During last year’s draft, the Cardinals traded out of the No. 3 spot before jumping back up to No. 6. Could they be eyeing similar moves in 2024?
Some people around the NFL believe GM Monti Ossenfort could be considering that route, although one of the trades would be contingent on the other. As ESPN’s Field Yates writes, the Cardinals would “want to ensure” they they’ll be capable of trading up the board before they move on from their fourth-overall selection.
While trading back would seem to be the more significant move, the organization is focused on moving up from their hypothetical pick acquisition. That’s because the team is especially determined to leave the first round with one of the draft’s elite receivers. If the organization trades No. 4 for a pick that takes them out of the top-10, there’s a good chance they miss out on the likes of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers, and Washington’s Rome Odunze.
Of course, the Cardinals could just stay put at No. 4 and have their pick of the draft’s top receiver prospects. We heard earlier this week that Harrison, the consensus top player at his position, was a “wheelhouse pick” for Arizona. Amid an unusually structured pre-draft program, Harrison visited the Cardinals recently. However, if the Cardinals believe there isn’t a significant gap between Harrison and the Nabers/Odunze duo, a series of trades could still land them a WR plus extra assets.
After moving back from No. 3 to No. 12 during last year’s draft, the Cardinals ended up moving back up to No. 6 in order to acquire Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.. The trade machinations ended up netting the Cardinals a future first-round pick, a selection that resulted in the No. 27 pick in this year’s draft.
Latest On Bears’ Interest In Caleb Williams
While recent reports indicated that Caleb Williams isn’t the unanimous QB1 prospect across the NFL, the Bears are leaving no doubt about their trust in the projected top-overall pick. As Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes, the Bears believe there is a “pretty wide gap” between the USC product and the rest of the quarterback class.
The 2022 Heisman winner has long been regarded as the top passer in the 2024 class. After the Bears secured the first-overall selection, the team quickly ripped off the band-aid and avoided a QB controversy by dealing Justin Fields. That trade all but confirmed that the organization was going to select a rookie QB.
However, the team has yet to reveal which QB they’ll select. There’s little incentive to reveal their choice early, but as Biggs notes, that’s led to some speculation that the team could pursue a move down the draft board.
Before the Bears settled their QB depth chart, the Commanders looked like they could be a landing spot for Williams. That move would have sent Williams back to the area in which he went to high school at Gonzaga College HS, and it would have reunited him with college coach Kliff Kingsbury.
If the Bears wanted to pick up even more assets and still snag a top quarterback prospect, a trade with the Commanders could have made sense. However, if the Bears believe there’s a significant drop in talent at the position after Williams, there isn’t any amount of trade assets that would make up that gap.
There seemed to be some cracks in Williams’ consensus number-one ranking earlier this week. There were some rumblings that teams have graded LSU’s Jayden Daniels over the USC QB, with some organizations believing the prospect had an underwhelming pre-draft process. While most teams seemed to understand that this was a “byproduct of being a player who knows he’s going No. 1,” Williams didn’t look as invincible atop the draft board as he once did.
Latest On Terron Armstead’s Future With Dolphins
The Dolphins seem to be preparing as if the 2024 campaign with be Terron Armstead‘s final season. While speaking with reporters today, general manager Chris Grier said he understood that Armstead may play just one more season when the front office reworked the lineman’s contract back in March.
“We always knew that possibility could be with him,” Grier said (via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post).
After suffering injuries in each of his first two seasons in Miami, there were rumblings that Armstead could look to hang up his cleats following the 2023 campaign. The lineman was still attached to the five-year, $75MM contract he inked with Miami in 2022, and he already locked in $5MM of his 2024 base salary by being on the Dolphins’ roster on Day 3 of the 2023 league year. The veteran ended up helping the Dolphins’ by accepting a $4MM-plus pay cut for the 2024 campaign, but those negotiations seemed to hint that Armstead wouldn’t finish his contract with the team.
Injuries have been an ongoing theme throughout Armstead’s career. The lineman has never played 16 games in a season and has missed 59 contests over the course of his career, including 11 games through two years in Miami. A knee injury forced him to miss seven games in 2023, but he still earned a Pro Bowl nod and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 16th-best offensive tackle. Armstead ranked as a top-20 OT in eight of his nine NFL seasons, so the long-time Saints standout has shown he still has plenty left in the tank.
“We’re very respectful of his time and to his credit, he is an incredible communicator,” Grier said (via Habib). “I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple years — he is a fantastic person. So I’m very glad he is coming back because he has impacted that room so much with those young guys … so having him back is important.”
While the Dolphins can pencil in Armstead at LT for the 2024 season, they can’t be nearly as confident in his roster spot in 2025. As a result, the team may look to address the future hole via the draft. The team used a first-round pick on right tackle Austin Jackson back in 2020, and they’re still rostering fill-in Kendall Lamm, but devoting more draft capital to the position remains a possibility with Armstead likely to hang up his cleats following the 2024 campaign.
Latest On Patriots’ WR Pursuit
Following their failed pursuit of Calvin Ridley, the Patriots continue to be on the lookout for wide receivers. While speaking with reporters today, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf acknowledged that the team still had a need for an outside receiver (per Evan Lazar of the team website).
The Patriots moved on from DeVante Parker earlier this offseason and replaced him with K.J. Osborn, who Lazar profiles as more of a “complementary piece.” Further, Osborn is a better fit for the Z/slot role, a job that would also be ideal for the team’s other top wide receivers: Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas. While the team is still rostering the likes of Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte (along with veterans like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor), it makes sense that the Patriots would be pursuing a speedster for their offense.
As a result, the Patriots have been mentioned as a popular landing spot for any of the veteran WRs that could shake loose, a grouping that includes the likes of Brandon Aiyuk and Tee Higgins. While Wolf wouldn’t give any specifics, he did acknowledge that the team is pursuing multiple paths as they look to add to the position.
“We’ve had conversations with teams about different scenarios,” Wolf said. “Not just at receiver but at other positions. That’s definitely something that we’d be open to.”
The team was aggressive in their pursuit of Ridley, but the Patriots ended up losing the sweepstakes to the Titans. Robert Kraft previously said the team didn’t lose out on Ridley because of financials. Instead, the owner gave a variety of reasons for not adding the receiver, including taxes, the quarterbacks situation, and the WR’s girlfriend. However, Wolf seemed to acknowledge that it was indeed money that led to the Patriots losing out on the free agent wideout.
“Another team offered more money [for Ridley] would be the main thing,” Wolf said.
The Patriots could have their pick of the top WR prospects with the number-three pick, a grouping that’s led by Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers, and Washington’s Rome Odunze. However, since the team is expected to take a QB with their first-round pick, Lazar points to a number of later-round receivers like Adonai Mitchell, Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey, Devontez Walker, and Brenden Rice.