Saints Release C Billy Price
After signing with the Saints last month, Billy Price‘s stint with the organization has already come to an end. The team announced today that they’ve released the veteran center with a non-football injury designation. The team also announced that they placed tight end Miller Forristall on the physically unable to perform list.
When the Saints first signed Price a month ago, it was assumed the veteran would provide some experienced depth behind starting center Erik McCoy, who has missed nine games over the past two seasons. While Price’s “non-football injury” likely contributed to his release, there’s also a chance the Saints are optimistic about their backup center options heading into 2023. Assuming the team wants to keep Cesar Ruiz at guard, then UDFA Alex Pihlstrom will likely be in the drivers seat for the backup center gig.
Price has 45 games of starting experience under his belt, so a center-needy team will likely consider adding him to the ranks. The former first-round pick found himself in and out of the Bengals’ starting lineup to begin his career, but he’s recently settled into a starting role elsewhere. He started 15 of his 16 appearances for the Giants in 2021, and after starting the 2022 campaign on the Raiders’ practice squad, he started all 11 of his appearances for the Cardinals last year. Pro Football Focus didn’t love his performance in Arizona, grading him as the 35th center among 36 qualified players.
Forristall was a two-time champion at Alabama before going undrafted in 2021. He got into six games with the Browns between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Saints back in January. With Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, and Taysom Hill leading the tight ends depth chart, Forristall’s best chance of making the Saints roster will likely come via special teams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/20/23
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Placed on PUP: RB Caleb Huntley
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on PUP: CB Nik Needham
New York Giants
- Reverted to IR: CB Leonard Johnson
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Alex Erickson
Caleb Huntley‘s 2022 campaign ended in mid-December when the RB suffered a torn Achilles. Naturally, it’s not a surprise that he won’t be ready to go for the start of training camp, and it remains to be seen if the third-year pro will be forced to miss any regular season time. The 2021 UDFA didn’t play as a rookie but took on a larger role in 2022, finishing with 369 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown. When he returns to the field, he’ll be joining a deep RBs room that added Bijan Robinson to the likes of Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Needham, a 2019 UDFA out of UTEP, has spent his entire career in Miami, getting into 51 games (27 starts). He started five of his six appearances last season before landing on injured reserve in October with a torn Achilles tendon. Until Needham is back on the field, Kader Kohou and Cam Smith will have a chance to battle it out for the open cornerback spot.
Lions Place QB Hendon Hooker On NFI List
Hendon Hooker will begin his first NFL training camp on the sideline. The team announced that they’ve placed the rookie quarterback on the active/non-football injury list.
The Tennessee product was a favorite for the Heisman Trophy in 2022 after tossing 27 touchdowns vs. only two interceptions in 11 games (he added another five touchdowns on the ground). However, a torn ACL and meniscus ended his college career prematurely, and he ended up sliding to the Lions in the third round of the draft.
While Hooker has continued to tell reporters that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from the knee injury, the Lions have also made it clear that they’re going to take it slow with the rookie. Fortunately for the organization, there isn’t any urgency to get the quarterback on the field, and even if he was healthy heading into training camp, Hooker probably wouldn’t be in contention for a significant role in 2023.
The Lions still have Jared Goff atop their depth chart, and if the veteran is able to repeat his production from last year, there’s a good chance the Lions will keep him under center for the 2024 season, as well. The team also has Nate Sudfeld as a serviceable backup, meaning Hooker will likely be eyeing a QB3 role for his rookie campaign. In the meantime, UDFA Adrian Martinez will get some extra run during training camp and the preseason.
The Lions also placed tight end Derrick Deese Jr. and defensive lineman Zach Morton on the NFI list today. Morton is an undrafted free agent out of nearby Akron, and he joined the Lions following a 2022 campaign where he compiled 4.5 sacks. Deese spent most of his 2022 rookie season on Detroit’s practice squad before inking a futures contract.
Jets Sign S Dane Cruikshank
With Chuck Clark officially out for the season, the Jets continue to add to their safeties room. Agent David Canter announced on Twitter that Dane Cruikshank has signed with the organization.
[RELATED: Jets Place Chuck Clark On IR]
Cruikshank was a fifth-round pick by the Titans in 2018 and ended up spending four years in Tennessee, mostly serving as a key special teamer. He had a career year in 2021, finishing with a career-high 43 tackles while appearing in 414 defensive snaps.
He joined the Bears last offseason and proceeded to get into eight games for his new squad, with all but one snap coming on special teams. He landed on injured reserve in late November with a hamstring injury.
The Jets acquired Clark back in March and intended to start their acquisition opposite Jordan Whitehead. However, the veteran tore his ACL back in June, and the team’s decision to place him on IR earlier this week means there’s no hope of a late-season return.
The organization already brought in ex-Packer Adrian Amos to provide some additional depth at the position. The team also has former third-round pick Ashtyn Davis in the safeties room, but Cruikshank could provide the team with an experienced alternative to UDFAs like Trey Dean and Marquis Waters.
Rams COO: Team Was “Not Actively Trying To Trade” Matthew Stafford
We heard earlier this month that the Rams tried to trade Matthew Stafford towards the beginning of the league year. After they failed to find a taker, the organization decided to pick up the QB’s 2023 option bonus and his 2024 salary, a decision that guaranteed just under $60MM of the player’s contract.
[RELATED: Rams Tried To Trade QB Matthew Stafford]
The team is now fully committed to Stafford for at least next season, and the organization is naturally doing some damage control when it comes to the trade rumors. For instance, Rams COO Kevin Demoff has made it clear that the organization continues to be committed to their quarterback. During an appearance on The Athletic’s “11 Personnel” podcast, Demoff was adamant that the Rams never considered trading their Super Bowl-winning signal caller.
“Those conversations frustrated me because I think it’s trying to inject narratives that aren’t there,” Demoff said (h/t to The Rams Wire). “I know there are reports that we tried to trade Matthew. We were not actively trying to trade Matthew. I know Les has rebuffed that before. It’s just not the case.
“I think if you wanted to be in the reality of the NFL, there are 10 teams this year, at least, that are going to have different quarterbacks. We were obviously aggressive in remaking our roster in March. It would be naive to think that people didn’t inquire about what was going to happen with the player who the year before won the Super Bowl. It’s different than whether people inquire, whether there are casual conversations.”
It’s easy for Demoff to say this now with the organization seemingly committed to Stafford, but it also wouldn’t be surprising if the executive is being sincere. After all, few teams would have had interest in Stafford for the same hypothetical reasons that the Rams would have been shopping him in the first place.
The veteran quarterback had a rough 2022 campaign that doesn’t necessarily justify his upcoming payments in 2023 and 2024 (including a whopping $49.5MM during that latter season). It’s unlikely that any team would have willingly made that kind of financial commitment to Stafford, no matter how bad they needed a QB.
Fortunately for the Rams, Stafford entered the team’s offseason program without any medical restrictions. So, from a health perspective, it appears that he will be better positioned for success in 2023 than he was in 2022.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/18/23
As teams welcomed in rookies for camp this week, they began to reorganize their rosters. Today’s minor moves:
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on NFI: CB Ethan Bonner
- Placed on IR: LB Zeke Vandenburgh
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on NFI: WR Shaquan Davis, RB Kendre Miller, WR A.T. Perry
- Placed on PUP: CB Anthony Johnson, G Nick Saldiveri
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Darren Evans
- Waived/injured: CB Leonard Johnson
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on PUP: CB Darrell Luter Jr.
Vandenburgh, an undrafted rookie out of Illinois State, suffered an injury while training this offseason, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). His placement on IR means he won’t be able to play for the Dolphins in 2023, but he could work his way onto the field with another squad. Bonner, meanwhile, is dealing with a minor illness and should be good to go later this week.
Miller, a third-round pick by the Saints, is still recovering from a meniscus injury that kept him off the field for TCU’s National Championship game. The Saints were always planning to ease in the running back during training camp, and it sounds like he’s still expected to be a full-go by the time the regular season comes around.
Josh Jacobs, Raiders Made Considerable Progress In Extension Talks
When the Raiders and running back Josh Jacobs failed to agree to an extension by today’s deadline, it was assumed that the two sides couldn’t overcome a significant gap in pay. However, it sounds like the Raiders and the running back were actually close, and that fact should provide some optimism heading into next offseason.
[RELATED: Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard Fail To Reach Extension Agreements]
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Journal-Review, “the two sides made considerable progress in the closing hours” leading up to the deadline. Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Jacobs was literally sitting in the parking lot of the Raiders facility in the minutes leading up to the deadline, ready to sign an extension.
Since Jacobs hasn’t signed his franchise tag, he won’t face any fines for skipping practices. As a result, it sounds like there’s little chance the running back shows up on time to training camp. Jacobs could also threaten to sit out regular season games in an attempt to avoid injury and preserve his market value for next year. However, he’d also be sacrificing a prorated part of his $10.09MM franchise value, and there’s no guarantee that a lucrative offer is waiting for him on the other side.
However, the fact that the two sides were zeroing in on a final number provides a glimmer of hope that Jacobs will stick in Las Vegas long term, according to Bonsignore. The writer notes that there is now “a starting point and framework in place” for when the two sides are allowed to go back to the negotiating table in 2024. Thanks to the progress (albeit fruitless) during today’s negotiations, Bonsignore tweets that “it would be a mistake to presume this is the end of the line” for Jacobs and the Raiders.
So what was Jacobs looking for in his next pact? We’re not sure of the exact numbers, but the running back tweeted that he wasn’t looking to “reset the market” at the position and was simply looking for “security.” We can assume the 25-year-old wasn’t seeking a deal that paid him close to Christian McCaffrey‘s $16MM AAV or Alvin Kamara‘s $15MM AAV, and he may have joined Saquon Barkley in pursuing a contract similar to Derrick Henry ($12.5MM) and Nick Chubb ($12.2MM).
Jacobs is in a trickier situation than Barkley; while the Giants star has earned close to $40MM in his career, the Raiders RB has only pocketed around $11MM via his rookie contract. If Jacobs decided to sit out games, he’d also be giving up $560K per contest. Both running backs can make the argument that they want to save miles while threatening to sit out games, but Jacobs’ career earnings means he’ll probably still make the most of his $10MM guaranteed salary in 2023.
Barkley Fallout: Holdout, Guarantees, CBA
The Giants didn’t agree to an extension with franchise-tagged running back Saquon Barkley by today’s deadline, meaning the two sides must table talks until 2024. While Barkley can effectively no longer force the Giants’ hand with threats of a holdout, he may do so anyway.
After hearing earlier today that the RB wouldn’t be reporting to training camp on time, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets his belief that Barkley could also sit out some regular season games. Dunleavy notes that he never thought this scenario was possible considering “winning, teammates and stats/legacy mean so much to” the player, but after conversations today, the writer is beginning to think a regular-season holdout could be a possibility.
Since Barkley has yet to ink his franchise tag, he wouldn’t be subject to fines for missing practices and/or games. Barkley’s true logic for sitting out games would be to preserve his miles before his one-year tag expires. Of course, players like Le’Veon Bell haven’t fared all that well when they followed a similar tactic, so it would be a significant risk for Barkley to give up the guaranteed money.
As The Athletic’s Dan Duggan writes, Barkley could also use the threat of a holdout to force the Giants into some concessions. Specifically, Duggan could say he’d only sign the franchise tag if the organization “includes a clause prohibiting the team from tagging him again next offseason.”
While a regular-season holdout is just conjecture at this point, it sounds pretty definitive that Barkley will miss some of training camp. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan writes that “there is no way” Barkley shows up for training camp and risks injury.
More notes out of New York…
- Barkley was seeking a contract that would pay him a similar average annual value as Derrick Henry ($12.5MM) and Nick Chubb ($12.2MM), and he wasn’t seeking a deal that approached the top-end of the market (like Christian McCaffrey‘s $16MM AAV or Alvin Kamara‘s $15MM AAV), per Pat Leonard of the New York Post. The writer seems to imply that the Giants may have been willing to give him those kind of numbers on paper, but the RB was ultimately seeking more guaranteed money.
- As Leonard notes in the same piece, the public leaks surrounding the negotiations may have also played a role in the two sides not agreeing to a deal. Barkley previously said he was frustrated with the “misleading” and “untruthful” reports, noting that the leaks “tried to make me look like I’m greedy.” “We say ‘family business is family business’ in that facility, … and then sources come out and stories get leaked, and it didn’t come from me,” Barkley said. “It’s all about respect. That’s really what it is.” Despite it all, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets that “everyone” (including Barkley, GM Joe Schoen, and head coach Brian Daboll) wanted to get a deal done.
- Barkley wasn’t the only franchise-tagged RB to not get a long-term deal today, as Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard didn’t ink new contracts. Breer points to two specific changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2011 that may have led to today’s results (Twitter link). First, the CBA made it so no player could earn a contract until after their third year in the NFL. Second, the league “strengthened penalties” for holdouts dissuaded players from sitting out. Combined, these two rule changes ended up preventing RBs from taking “a hard line when their value is highest,” per Breer.
Giants Work Out Two Linebackers
While the Giants front office was busy negotiating an unsuccessful extension with running back Saquon Barkley today, the coaching staff was getting a look at some depth on both sides of the ball. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter), the team auditioned linebackers Joe Giles-Harris and Kyahva Tezino. The Giants also worked out running back Mark Thompson.
[RELATED: Giants LB Jarrad Davis Undergoes Surgery]
Giles-Harris is the lone player on the list with any NFL experience, as the linebacker saw time in 17 games between 2019 and 2022. His best season came with the Jaguars in 2020 when he compiled 20 tackles, one sack, and five QB hits in nine games (three starts). Since then, he’s seen time in three regular season games across two seasons with the Bills.
Tezino was a former SDSU standout who later had brief stints with the Patriots and Panthers. He was most recently one of the best defenders in the USFL, finishing second in the league in tackles (94) and tackles for loss (nine) while also chipping in two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
The linebacker workouts follow news that projected starting middle linebacker Jarrad Davis is expected to miss a chunk of time after undergoing knee surgery. The veteran was only slated to start while second-year linebacker Darrian Beavers continues to recover from a torn ACL, and Davis’ absence will only force the team to dig deeper into their LB depth.
The Giants also gave a look at a USFL standout on the other side of the ball. Thompson earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award this past season after totaling 14 touchdowns on the ground. The running back was undrafted in 2018 and later had stints with the Ravens, Jets, Lions, and Raiders.
The Giants don’t have a whole lot of experienced RB depth behind Barkley, with Matt Breida representing the team’s only veteran backup at the position. Thompson could provide the coaching staff with another look outside of rookie fifth-round pick Eric Gray, former sixth rounder Gary Brightwell, and 2022 UDFA Jashaun Corbin.
USFL QBs Alex McGough, De’Andre Johnson Drawing NFL Interest
A pair of USFL quarterbacks are drawing significant interest around the NFL. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 (via Twitter), Alex McGough has “multiple upcoming NFL workouts” and has “drawn interest from roughly a third of the league.” Meanwhile, De’Andre Johnson is also drawing interest from teams, including the Browns and Texans, per Wilson (on Twitter).
McGough was a 2018 seventh-round pick by the Seahawks, but he spent the majority of his rookie campaign on the practice squad. The FIU product later had stints with the Jaguars and Texans before returning to Seattle in late 2020.
The quarterback was later the sixth-overall pick in the 2022 USFL Draft. He didn’t play a whole lot during his first season in the league, but his 2023 campaign clearly helped put him back on the NFL radar. McGough won the league’s MVP and guided his Birmingham Stallions to the league championship, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 2,105 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He added another 403 yards and five scores on the ground.
Johnson’s collegiate career saw him join East Mississippi’s “Last Chance U” after getting dismissed from Florida State. He later moved on to Texas Southern before going undrafted in 2020. Since then, he spent time in The Spring League before joining the USFL for the 2022 campaign. Through two season in the league, the quarterback has thrown for only 1,712 yards, but he’s added 671 rushing yards (to go along with six rushing touchdowns).
Considering the dual-threat nature of these two players, there’s a chance they’re drawing NFL interest for positions other than quarterback. The Browns don’t seem to have a major need for a quarterback; behind Deshaun Watson, they have a grouping that includes veteran Joshua Dobbs, rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and former third-round pick Kellen Mond. The same goes for the Falcons, who seem to have a set depth chart in Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, and Logan Woodside.