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Author: Dallas Robinson

Raiders Notes: Jackson, Ellis, Liuget, Brown

August 28th, 2019 at 9:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders don’t seem sure on what to do with guard Gabe Jackson and defensive lineman Justin Ellis, both of whom are nursing knee injuries, as Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News writes. Jackson suffered a knee sprain in early August and is expected to miss at least four regular season games, while Ellis wouldn’t be able to play in Thursday’s preseason game even if he was needed. While Oakland could keep both Jackson and Ellis on their 53-man roster, that would mean retaining two players who won’t be of much use when the season gets underway. Alternatively, both men could be placed on injured reserve, but they’d have to first be carried on the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster.

Here’s more on the Black and Silver:

  • Veteran defensive tackle Corey Liuget received a fully guaranteed one-year, $1MM deal from the Raiders, tweets Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio. The pact includes a $930K base salary and a $70K signing bonus. The 2018 season couldn’t have gone much worse for Liuget, as a suspension, pay cut, and season-ending knee injury littered what became a lost campaign. Cut by the Chargers in February, Liguet since met with the Giants, Seahawks, Jaguars, and Cardinals before landing in Oakland. Always a solid run defender, Liuget could also give the Raiders an interior pass-rush boost.
  • If the Raiders wanted to void Antonio Brown‘s contractual guarantees as a result of his helmet fiasco, they’d probably have a good case, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. Brown’s contact with the Raiders contains more than $30MM in guaranteed money, so voiding that cash would certainly give Oakland more long-term options. The star wide receiver lost his second helmet-based grievance earlier this week and appears ready to play, so this issue won’t rear its head just yet.
  • Head coach Jon Gruden says the Raiders have engaged in trade talks with rival NFL clubs as the regular season approaches, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link). While it’s unclear what position group Oakland may want to trade from, Tafur today identified tight end as the deepest spot on the Raiders’ roster.
  • Speaking of that tight end position, Derek Carrier has the edge over Luke Willson for the Raiders’ third TE slot, per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. Darren Waller and rookie Foster Moreau are expected to serve as Oakland’s top two tight ends.

Biggest Roster Weakness: NFC South

August 28th, 2019 at 9:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.

Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club. Today we’ll examine the NFC South:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Weakness: Defensive tackle depth. When healthy, the Falcons boast one of the more complete rosters in the NFL, so finding a true weak area was admittedly difficult. But defensive tackle is a roster spot where Atlanta could potentially use a few more bodies behind star Grady Jarrett. At present, former Saint Tyeler Davison is projected to start next to Jarrett, while Jack Crawford, Deadrin Senat, and reclamation project Ra’Shede Hageman will also see time.
  • Solution: Sign Mike Pennel. Surprisingly released by the Patriots earlier this week, Pennel is a 6’4″, 330-pound mammoth who would give the Falcons size on the interior. Now 28 years old, Pennel spent the past two seasons with the Jets as a rotational defensive tackle, and last year graded as the NFL’s No. 15 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus, which lauded Pennel’s strength in run defense. Pennel will almost surely land a new contract before the regular season begins, so Atlanta should act quickly.

Carolina Panthers

  • Weakness: Backup quarterback. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera expects Cam Newton to be ready for Week 1 after the veteran quarterback suffered a foot injury during the preseason, but Newton has now already broken the injury seal. Newton, of course, struggled with a shoulder issue in 2018 and was deactivated for the season’s final two games, allowing backups Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen to start one contest each. Heinicke and Allen are both still on the Carolina roster, as is third-round pick Will Grier, but the Panthers could use a more proven commodity behind Newton.
  • Solution: Trade for C.J. Beathard. While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he’s keeping three quarterbacks — Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, and Beathard — on San Francisco’s roster, that’s likely a ploy to get another club to sacrifice a draft pick in exchange for either Mullens or Beathard. Mullens could be expensive to acquire given his performance in 2018, but Beathard should come cheaper given his relatively lackluster results last season. He’d come with two years of club control at cheap rates, with base salaries totaling less than $2MM through 2020.

New Orleans Saints

  • Weakness: Offensive tackle depth. The Saints have one of the league’s best offensive lines, ranking top-three in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate in 2018, per Football Outsiders. But left tackle Terron Armstead had been riddled with injury questions throughout his career — he’s never played a full 16-game slate, and he’s missed 23 contests over the past three years. Journeyman Michael Ola is currently New Orleans’ top reserve at both left and right tackle.
  • Solution: Sign Jermey Parnell. New Orleans attempted to address their offensive tackle issue earlier this month by signing veteran Chris Clark, but the nine-year veteran is done for the season after suffering a leg injury. While he’s entering his age-33 campaign, Parnell is still a solid blocker, especially in the run game. He’s probably limited to right tackle, but given that Ryan Ramczyk can play both sides, Parnell could make sense for the Saints.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Weakness: Running back. The Buccaneers’ running game has been a disaster in each of the past two seasons, and while supplementing their offensive line is also an option, there are far more running backs available at this point in the NFL calendar than there are offensive linemen. Peyton Barber returns as Tampa Bay’s lead back after ranking bottom-seven in efficiency last year, while 2018 second-rounder Ronald Jones and Dare Ogunbowale also figure to have roles.
  • Solution: Trade for Rex Burkhead. Burkhead is an effective running back, but he’s behind Sony Michel, James White, Damien Harris, and maybe even fullback James Develin for carries in New England. A versatile player who can succeed on the ground and in the passing game, Burkhead would give the Buccaneers’ another option in their backfield. At the very least, he could be a third-down back and special teams maven for Tampa Bay.

Ravens, FB/DL Patrick Ricard Open Extension Talks

August 28th, 2019 at 8:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens have opened extension talks with fullback/defensive lineman Patrick Ricard, according to Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Ricard, 25, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2017. A full-time defensive lineman at the collegiate level, Ricard has played both defensive line and fullback with Baltimore. During his rookie campaign, Ricard played 149 snaps on offense and just 38 on defense while catching four passes for 12 yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, however, his playing time was reduced even further, as he saw only 94 snaps on offense and 47 on defense.

Because Ricard was undrafted, he can be extended after two NFL seasons, whereas drafted players must wait until their third pro year is complete before working out a new deal. Ricard will be a restricted free agent in 2020, so by agreeing to an extension, he could potentially sacrifice some contractual upside for the financial security of a long-term pact.

Cardinals Sign Michael Crabtree

August 22nd, 2019 at 9:34am CST by Dallas Robinson

It’s a done deal. The Cardinals have, at long last, signed veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree, per an official team announcement. Crabtree nearly signed with Arizona earlier this month, but the pact was called off at the last minute.

During their prior round of negotiations with Crabtree, the Cardinals reportedly offered Crabtree a one-year deal with a $2.5MM base value. That contract also contained performance-based incentives that could have increased its total value to $4.5MM. Crabtree, who earned $8MM during his 2018 campaign with the Ravens, was “taken aback” by the offer. Arizona later increased its proposal, tweets Vic Tafur of the Athletic.

The Cardinals were in search of wideout help two weeks ago when discussing a deal with Crabtree, and subsequent events have only further elucidated Arizona’s need for another pass-catcher. Fourth-round rookie Hakeem Butler struggled during training camp and could miss the 2019 season after fracturing his hand, while free agent addition Kevin White was released earlier today.

New Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is expected to deploy “10” personnel — 1 running back, zero tight ends, four wide receivers — as his primary offensive package. Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are locks to start in that formation, leaving Crabtree to compete with rookies Andy Isabella and KeeSean Johnson for time as Arizona’s third or fourth receiver.

Crabtree will bring a veteran presence to a young Cardinals locker room, but Arizona will hope he can produce better offensive results than he did with the Ravens in 2018. Crabtree, 34, posted only 54 receptions on 100 targets with Baltimore, the lowest catcher percentage of his career, and scored just three touchdowns, the fewest he’s managed in a full season during his NFL tenure.

Advanced metrics didn’t paint a rosier picture of Crabtree’s 2018 campaign. Among the 43 wideouts who received at least 83 targets last season, Crabtree ranked 42nd in Pro Football Focus‘ yards per route run, ahead of only Buffalo’s Zay Jones. Meanwhile, Crabtree ranked 74th among 84 qualifers in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR and 75th in DVOA, both of which measure value over an average replacement player.

While Crabtree didn’t exactly light on the world on fire with Joe Flacco under center, his production dwindled when run-first Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson entering the starting lineup. With Flacco starting in Baltimore’s first nine games, Crabtree averaged 8.4 targets, 4.6 receptions, 52.4 yards, and 0.2 touchdowns per game. When Jackson took over for the club’s final seven contests, Crabtree dropped to a 3.4/1.9/19.3/0.1 line.

AFC North Notes: Ravens, Steelers, Browns

August 21st, 2019 at 9:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters last week that slot cornerback Tavon Young could miss the 2019 season after suffering a serious neck injury, but the club hasn’t been given an update on the status of the 25-year-old defensive back. “Nothing definitive,” Harbaugh said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “It’s in the opinions of the doctors. I’m sure there are different ways of looking at it, so they’ll probably see how it goes in the next week or two or three, and see what the progress is.” If Young is sidelined for the upcoming campaign, Baltimore will likely deploy Brandon Carr in the slot, while Cyrus Jones is also a candidate to see work inside.

Here’s more from the AFC North:

  • John Ross will finally make his 2019 practice debut early next week, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters, including Ben Baby of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A hamstring injury has forced Ross to sit out of practice sessions thus far, but if the former ninth overall pick gets in two weeks of work, Taylor believes he’ll be ready for the season opener against the Seahawks. Cincinnati will already be without A.J. Green for the first few weeks of the season after the veteran pass-catcher suffered an ankle injury in July, so getting Ross on the field would be a boon to the club’s offense. Ross, 24, posted only 21 receptions a year ago but did haul in seven touchdowns.
  • More from Cincinnati, where receiver depth isn’t the only roster issue: Cordy Glenn has been diagnosed with a concussion, meaning the left tackle may not be ready for Week 1, tweets Jay Morrison of The Athletic. As a result, the Bengals — who have already lost rookie left tackle Jonah Williams (shoulder injury) and left guard Clint Boling (retirement), may be forced to use Andre Smith as Andy Dalton‘s blindside protector, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith, now in his fourth stint with the Bengals, does have some experience at left tackle, but the overwhelming majority of his NFL time has been spent on the right side.
  • Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton has posted a “tremendous” preseason and could have a significant role on Pittsburgh’s defense, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. Sutton has played so well that he could potentially overtake Mike Hilton as the team’s slot corner. At worst, Sutton is likely to serve as the Steelers’ third outside corner behind Joe Haden and Steven Nelson and play as a dime linebacker in six-defensive back looks. Sutton, a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2017, played 113 defensive snaps during his rookie campaign and 240 last season.
  • The Browns now have three candidates to replace Kevin Zeitler at right guard, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. Veteran Eric Kush was thought to be leading the competition against 2018 second-round pick Austin Corbett, but rookie sixth-rounder Drew Forbes has also entered the mix. Per head coach Freddie Kitchens, the battle is still wide open. Corbett, though, hasn’t practiced at right guard in weeks, and is instead working as Cleveland’s backup center.

Bengals G Christian Westerman Returns To Team

August 21st, 2019 at 8:56pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Guard Christian Westerman has returned to the Bengals after reportedly considering retirement last week, the club announced today. Cincinnati has removed Westerman from the exempt/left squad list.

The Bengals could ill-afford to lose any more offensive linemen, so Westerman’s return is a welcome turn of events. Cincinnati has already seen two linemen (Clint Boling and Kent Perkins) announce their retirements this offseason, while rookie first-round pick Jonah Williams is expected to miss most (if not all) of the 2019 campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery in June. Cordy Glenn, who shifted back to left tackle after Williams’ injury, is now dealing with a concussion and won’t play again until the regular season.

A fifth-round pick in 2016, Westerman has typically shown flashes of talent when on the field, but he simply hasn’t gotten much opportunity (183 career snaps). The Arizona State product was viewed as the favorite to take over as the Bengals’ left guard earlier this offseason, but he’s now squarely in competition with John Jerry, Trey Hopkins, and rookie Michael Jordan to step in for Boling on the left side.

Biggest Roster Weakness: AFC South

August 21st, 2019 at 8:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.

Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club. Today we’ll examine the AFC South:

Houston Texans

  • Weakness: Offensive line. The Texans made a number of notable additions to their offensive line during the offseason, but it’s unclear how much those reinforcements will actually help. New left tackle Matt Kalil is seemingly always injured or ineffective, while first- and second-round rookies Tytus Howard and Max Scharping both come from small schools and could take some time to develop. Houston’s offensive line was one of the NFL’s worst in 2018, ranking 27th in adjusted line yards and dead last in adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.
  • Solution: Sign Ryan Schraeder. Even if Kalil, Howard, and Scharping find success along the Texans’ front five, the club could still have a gaping hole at right tackle. Seantrel Henderson is going unchallenged on the right side, but he hasn’t played more than 47 offensive snaps since the 2015 season. The former seventh-round pick has never been all that productive even when he has been on the field, so Houston could look for a late upgrade. The Texans were reportedly interested in Schraeder in March, but it’s unclear if he ever actually met with the team’s staff. With 73 starts under his belt, Schraeder would bring experience to a Houston offensive line that desperately needs it.

Indianapolis Colts

  • Weakness: Defensive line depth. This almost feels too nit-picky: the Colts have one of the best rosters in the NFL, so it’s difficult to pinpoint a weak area. Indianapolis has a number of interesting pieces along its defensive line, but veteran defensive end Jabaal Sheard could potentially miss regular season action.
  • Solution: Trade for DeMarcus Walker. I don’t think the Colts should necessarily go out and sign a street free agent to take snaps away from their intriguing young defensive line prospects, but trading for Walker would represent a buy-low on an intriguing defender. Walker posted 16 sacks during his final season at Florida State and has flashed during his time with the Broncos, but he simply hasn’t been able to secure any real playing time (121 career defensive snaps). That’s probably not going to change any time soon in Denver, so the Colts could send a late-round pick in exchange for a player who could theoretically line up at outside linebacker, defensive end, or defensive tackle.

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Weakness: Inside linebacker to play opposite Myles Jack. Telvin Smith‘s unexpected retirement put the Jaguars in a bind at inside linebacker, and no recent developments have added clarity at the position. Third-round rookie Quincy Williams was expected to fill the void left by Smith’s absence, but he’s dealing with a torn meniscus and will miss the start of the regular season. Free agent addition Jake Ryan, meanwhile, suffered a July setback in his recovery from a torn ACL and hasn’t practiced since.
  • Solution: Trade for Reggie Ragland. Ragland has already been traded once is career, going from Buffalo to Kansas City in 2017 in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Given that he has only one year remaining on his contract, the former second-round pick shouldn’t cost that much to acquire this time around. The Chiefs acquired fellow linebacker Darron Lee from the Jets this offseason to team with Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson, so Ragland could be expendable.

Tennessee Titans

  • Weakness: Offensive line depth. The Titans have some question marks along their offensive line, and those questions begin at left tackle, where Dennis Kelly will start the first four games in place of the suspended Taylor Lewan. Jack Conklin is back at right tackle after suffering a torn ACL in 2018, but right guard is a battle between Kevin Pamphile and rookie Nate Davis. Pamphile is currently listed as the starter on Tennessee’s depth chart, but the veteran was well below-average in two seasons as a Buccaneers starter.
  • Solution: See if Austin Corbett is (already) available. Browns general manager John Dorsey has been more than willing to get rid of players brought in by ex-GM Sashi Brown, but would he trade his own disappointing draft picks? It’s far too early to call Corbett, a 2018 second-rounder, a bust, but his career isn’t progressing as Cleveland had hoped. Expected to take over at right guard after Kevin Zeitler was dealt to the Giants, Corbett has struggled in training camp and the preseason, and journeyman Eric Kush now looks like the favorite to start. Corbett played tackle at Nevada before being shifted to guard in the pros, so he could potentially offer depth at both positions for the Titans.

More posts in this series:

More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/19

August 21st, 2019 at 7:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Claimed off waivers: S Montrel Meander
  • Placed on injured reserve: WR D.J. Montgomery

Denver Broncos

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Steelers Won’t Extend Dupree, Davis, Hargrave Before Season

August 21st, 2019 at 6:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While the Steelers are working on a new contract for cornerback Joe Haden, the club doesn’t plan to negotiate extensions for edge rusher Bud Dupree, safety Sean Davis, or defensive tackle Javon Hargrave before the start of the regular season, according to Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. All three defenders will become free agents at season’s end, but Pittsburgh isn’t planning to discuss new deals until the offseason.

The Steelers may have a myriad of reasons not to extend Dupree, Davis, and/or Hargrave, but financial concerns are almost certainly at play. Pittsburgh currently has the fourth-least amount of cap space (~$5.213MM) in the NFL, per Over the Cap, and the club’s outlook isn’t much better next year. In 2020, the Steelers project to have just $7.7MM in available funds, seventh-least in the league.

Dupree, a first-round pick in the 2015 draft, will earn more than $9MM in 2019 while playing under his fifth-year option. An athletic testing marvel coming out of Kentucky, Dupree has mostly failed to put those traits to use in the NFL. He’s posted only 20 sacks through four seasons, and last year ranked 45th among 58 qualifying edge rushers in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush productivity, which measures pressure created on a per-snap basis with an emphasis on sacks.

After spending most of his first two pro seasons closer to the line of scrimmage, Davis moved to free safety full-time in 2018, spending 779 of his 1,104 defensive snaps playing center field. The change was for the best, as Davis fared much better playing deep than he had in the box. He’s since hired super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, and noted the safety market’s recent explosion could have a commensurate effect on his next contract.

Like most run-clogging interior defenders in today’s NFL, Hargrave isn’t quite a full-time player. In each of his three seasons with the Steelers, he’s played between 43% and 50% of the club’s defensive snaps. Hargrave, who’s missed only one game in his career, could be a candidate for more passing down work in 2019 after posting 6.5 sacks and earning PFF’s 16th-highest pass-rush grade among defensive tackles last year.

Lions Extend DT Damon Harrison

August 21st, 2019 at 6:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions have reached agreement on a one-year contract extension with defensive tackle Damon Harrison, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The extra year will keep him under contract with Detroit through 2021 and is worth $11MM. Harrison will collect $12MM guaranteed from 2019-2020, per Schefter.

Harrison, 30, had been asking the Lions for a new contract since at least March, and Detroit seemed open to the idea from the start. “Snacks” skipped all non-mandatory Detroit practice sessions during the summer, but showed up for training camp at the end of July and was activated off the non-football injury list last week.

NFL players rarely earn (or even seek) extensions with two years remaining on their current deals, but Harrison is an immensely valuable part of the Lions defense. Detroit acquired Harrison from the Giants at the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for a fifth-round pick, and he started 10 games for the Lions down the stretch.

Harrison posted 50 and 3.5 sacks for the Lions while grading as the NFL’s third-best interior defender behind only Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox, per Pro Football Focus. PFF ranked Harrison as the league’s single-best run-stopping defensive tackle, and as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, Harrison has led the all NFL interior defenders in tackles in each of the past four seasons.

Harrison was scheduled to earn $6.75MM and $9MM in 2019 and 2020, respectively. At present, it’s unclear how or if the Lions will adjust those amounts, simply give Harrison a signing bonus, or use some other financial method to reward the veteran defensive tackle.

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