Falcons Sign LB Edmond Robinson
Another XFL player is heading to the NFL. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Falcons are signing linebacker Edmond Robinson. ESPN’s Vaughn McClure tweets that it’s a one-year deal.
Robinson was a seventh-round pick out of Newberry back in 2015, and he’s spent parts of three NFL seasons with the Vikings, Jets, and Cardinals. The 28-year-old has compiled 13 tackles and one pass defended in 22 career games, including a 12-game stint with Minnesota back in 2016.
The linebacker had a cameo with the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football, and he joined the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL back in October. During that stint, Robinson compiled 22 tackles and a pair of sacks.
The undefeated Roughnecks have seen a number of players opt for the NFL, headlined by quarterback P.J. Walker signing with the Panthers. Cornerback Deatrick Nichols (Saints) and linebacker DeMarquis Gates (Vikings) have also signed with NFL teams.
Giants Sign TE Eric Tomlinson
Eric Tomlinson is heading back to New York. The veteran tight end has signed with the Giants, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
After brief stints with the Eagles and Texans to start his career, the UTEP product spent two-plus seasons with the Jets. He started 24 of his 29 games between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, hauling in a combined 16 receptions for 193 yards and one score.
The 6-foot-6, 263-pound tight end was cut by the Jets at the end of the 2019 preseason. When all was said and done, Tomlinson split the regular season between the Giants, Patriots, and Raiders, hauling in a single one-yard catch in eight games (three starts).
As Raanan points out on Twitter, the Giants will be running a “tight end heavy offense” under new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The team is currently rostering six tight ends in Tomlinson, Evan Engram, Levine Toilolo, Kaden Smith, Garrett Dickerson, and C.J. Conrad.
Broncos Re-Sign DL Shelby Harris
Shelby Harris is returning to Denver. Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Broncos have re-signed the veteran defensive lineman.
Per Jhabvala, it’s a one-year deal worth a max value of $3.25MM, including $2.5MM in guarantees. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver tweets that Harris has $750K in per-game roster bonuses (a bit less than $47K per game).
After bouncing around the NFL for a bit, the former seventh-round pick has found a home in Denver. He’s appeared in every regular season game for the Broncos since 2017, and that includes a 2019 campaign where he started a career-high 16 games. In fact, the 28-year-old set career-highs across the board, including 49 tackles, six sacks, nine passes defended, and one forced fumble.
Despite the career season, Shelby found himself dealing with an underwhelming market, and Klis tweets that the veteran actually switched agents for the second time recently. A return to Denver seemed somewhat inevitable, especially after Shelby expressed interest in sticking with the organization.
Raiders LS Trent Sieg Signs ERFA Tender
As expected, Trent Sieg will return to the Raiders next season. The long snapper signed his tender with the organization on Friday. The Raiders had tendered the exclusive rights free agent earlier this month.
The former undrafted free agent out of Colorado State initially joined the Ravens out of college, but he was cut at the end of the 2018 preseason. When Andrew DePaola was injured several weeks later, the Raiders brought on Sieg.
The 24-year-old hasn’t missed a game since that time, as he’s appeared in all 31 of the Raiders regular season contests.
The Raiders also announced that several of their free agent signings are official, including linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, safety Jeff Heath, and defensive end Carl Nassib.
Contract Details: Anderson, Pennel, Alexander
A handful of contract details to pass along:
- Robby Anderson, WR (Panthers): Two years, $20MM. $8MM signing bonus plus $2MM (of $4MM) base salary are guaranteed at signing. $12MM in cash in 2020 (via Manish Mehta of New York Daily Post).
- Mike Pennel, DL (Chiefs): One year. $1.047MM deal, including $887.5K guaranteed. $137.5K signing bonus plus $750K (of $910K) base salary are guaranteed (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Mackensie Alexander, CB (Bengals): One year, $4MM. $1.5MM signing bonus, up to $250K per-game roster bonus (via Wilson).
- Greg Van Roten, OL (Jets): Three years. $10.5MM, including $3.25MM guaranteed. Can be worth up to $14.25MM with incentives (via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
- Nick Vigil, LB (Chargers): One year. $2.4MM fully guaranteed. Can be worth up to $3MM with incentives (via Pelissero).
- Kyle Wilber, LB (Raiders): Re-signed. One-year, $1.187MM deal. Includes $137,500 signing bonus, $1.05MM salary (via Wilson).
Vikings Re-Sign OL Dakota Dozier
The Vikings are hanging on to another one of their offensive lineman. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the team has re-signed offensive guard Dakota Dozier. It’s a one-year, $1MM deal.
Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets out some more info, noting that the 28-year-old will earn the veteran minimum of $910K, plus a $90K signing bonus. Dozier is expected to count $840K against the cap.
The 2014 fourth-round pick spent the first five seasons of his career with the Jets. He joined the Vikings last offseason, and he proceeded to appear in a career-high 16 games (including a career-high four starts). During his career, Dozier has appeared in 54 games.
The Vikings had already retained a pair of offensive lineman. Since the start of the offseason, the front office has re-signed center Brett Jones and offensive tackle Rashod Hill.
Eagles Exercise Options On Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery, Others
The Eagles picked up Zach Ertz‘s 2021 option earlier today, but that wasn’t the front office’s only move. The NFL transactions report shows that the organization exercised the options on quarterback Carson Wentz, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, defensive end Brandon Graham, offensive guard Isaac Seumalo, and defensive lineman Malik Jackson.
As Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes, these moves were merely “procedural,” and similar to the Ertz move, they’re not all that surprising.
Jordan Dajani and Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports provide some helpful insight on these moves. For instance, Wentz’s option had to be exercised by today. Otherwise, his 2020 salary was set to jump to more than $30MM, and the remaining four years of his extension would be void. Instead, the quarterback will earn a $1.38MM base salary with a cap hit of $18.65MM.
The Jeffery move is a bit surprising, as the team was reportedly looking to move on from the wideout. On the flip side, the organization would have been hit with more than $16MM in dead cap by making the veteran a post-June 1st cut. Therefore, it’s not shocking to see the organization make a procedural move until they find a potential trade partner.
Per Dajani and Kerr, Graham will earn a $1.36MM base salary with a $6.28MM cap hit in 2020. Seumalo’s option bonus means the 2022-24 portion of his contract kicks in, while Jackson’s $2.4MM option bonus prevented his base salary from jumping to $10MM.
Michael Bennett Wants To Play In 2020
Michael Bennett‘s 2019 season didn’t necessarily go as planned, but the veteran isn’t planning on hanging up his cleats. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports (via Twitter) that Bennett “wants to play in 2020.”
Following a one-season, nine-sack stint with the Eagles, Bennett was traded to the Patriots last offseason. He saw a reduced role during his time in New England, collecting five tackles and 2.5 sacks in six games (one start). The veteran wasn’t particularly happy with his new role, and that culminated in him earning a one-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
The defensive end was shipped to the Cowboys shortly after his reinstatement, and he proceeded to appear in nine games for Dallas. In total, Bennett finished the season with 32 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 15 games (one starts).
Earlier this month, the 34-year-old suggested that he’d welcome a reunion with the Seahawks. Bennett earned three Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl ring during his five-year stint with Seattle (the Texas A&M product had a previous stint with the organization to start his career)
Broncos Re-Sign DL Joel Heath
Joel Heath is heading back to Denver. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the defensive lineman has re-signed with the Broncos.
Heath was claimed off waivers by Denver in late December, but he was non-tendered by the organization earlier this offseason. Ultimately, the front office opted to bring back the 26-year-old.
The former undrafted free agent out of Michigan State spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Texans, including a 2017 campaign where he started nine of his 13 games. In total, Heath has compiled 34 tackles and three sacks in 32 career games, although he’s been limited to only seven regular season games over the past two years.
The Broncos have been relatively busy revamping their defense line this offseason. They acquired Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey from the Titans, and they brought back restricted free agent Mike Purcell.
Vikings Sign WR Tajae Sharpe
Yesterday was an active day for free agent wideouts, and that theme is continuing today. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that receiver Tajae Sharpe is signing with the Vikings. It’ll be a one-year deal for the 25-year-old.
The 2016 fifth-rounder out of UMass had spent his entire four-year career with the Titans, including a rookie campaign where he hauled in 41 receptions for 522 yards. A foot injury knocked Sharpe out for the entirety of the 2017 campaign, and he’s combined for 51 receptions, 645 receiving yards, and six touchdowns since that time.
The Vikings have been hunting around for a wideout after trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills. Sharpe will be competing with the likes of Chad Beebe, Olabisi Johnson, and Alexander Hollins to be the number-two receiver behind Adam Thielen.
We saw a number of free agent wideouts can taken off the board yesterday, with Robby Anderson, Devin Funchess, and Breshad Perriman joining new teams.