Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/24
Today’s minor transactions to wrap up this final weekend before training camps begin:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: S Jordan Toles
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Javin White
- Activated from active/NFI list: TE Gerald Everett
Denver Broncos
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Drew Sanders, S Caden Sterns, S Delarrin Turner-Yell
Detroit Lions
- Placed on active/NFI list: T Giovanni Manu
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Brian Branch, DE Marcus Davenport, DT D.J. Reader
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on active/NFI list: CB Corey Ballentine, T Caleb Jones, WR Jayden Reed
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Izaiah Gathings
- Activated from active/NFI list: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- Waived (with injury designation): TE Gerrit Prince
Vikings Ink First-Round OLB Dallas Turner, Finish Draft Class Signings
The Vikings have finally finished up the signings of their rookie draft class, inking first-round pick Dallas Turner to his entry-level four-year deal. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the contract is worth $15.76MM with an $8.28MM signing bonus. The deal comes just in time as Turner would not have been able to participate in the team’s upcoming training camp until he put pen to paper. 
Turner spent most of the draft process being billed as the 2024 NFL Draft’s top pass rushing prospect. The Fort Lauderdale-native wasn’t a starter in his true freshman season at Alabama, but that didn’t stop him from racking up 8.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss in a rotational role, earning him freshman All-American honors. Turner experienced a bit of a sophomore slump in Tuscaloosa, only tallying four sacks and eight tackles for loss in 10 starts, but he rebounded strongly last year. Starting all 14 games for the Crimson Tide in 2023, Turner led the SEC in sacks (11.0) and led his team in tackles for loss (15.5) en route to becoming a consensus All-American.
As the No. 17 overall pick in the draft, Turner suffered a bit of a slide from his projected draft slot. The two noted reasons for this slide were the unprecedented run of offensive picks to open the night and some medical red flags that had not been widely reported in pre-draft conversations. Still, he was the second pass rusher off the board, taken two picks after UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, and the third defensive player off the board, following Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy, as well.
With Turner’s contract done, now Bengals’ rookie first-round offensive tackle Amarius Mims is the lone draft pick without a signed contract. Cincinnati’s rookies reported to camp yesterday, and camp is set to begin on Wednesday. Mims will not be able to participate in training camp until he signs his rookie deal.
Here’s one last look at the Vikings’ 2024 rookie draft class before training camp starts:
- Round 1, No 10 (via Jets): J.J. McCarthy (QB, Michigan) (signed)
- Round 1, No. 17 (via Jaguars): Dallas Turner (EDGE, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 108: Khyree Jackson (CB, Oregon) (signed)(deceased)
- Round 6, No. 177 (from Panthers through Jaguars): Walter Rouse (T, Oklahoma) (signed)
- Round 6: No. 203 (from Texans through Browns, Broncos and Jets): Will Reichard (K, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 230 (from Falcons through Browns and Cardinals): Michael Jurgens (C, Wake Forest) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 232 (from Broncos through 49ers and Texans): Levi Drake Rodriguez (DT, Texas A&M Commerce) (signed)
Saints Give WR Rashid Shaheed One-Year Extension
After tendering exclusive rights free agent Rashid Shaheed, the Saints have agreed to extend the first-team All-Pro for an additional season, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. They settled his 2024 contract with the tender in March and, apparently, decided to deal with his situation for 2025 this offseason, as well. 
The tender offer from New Orleans guaranteed that Shaheed will be on the roster in 2024. As an exclusive rights free agent, Shaheed essentially only had a take-it-or-leave-it option. With the team deciding to make a tender offer, a one-year contract at the value of the league minimum for a three-year veteran, Shaheed was unable to negotiate with other teams and was required to sign the deal in order to play in 2024.
That seemed like a bit of a cruel way to reward your first-team All-Pro return man. Over two years after going undrafted out of Weber State, Shaheed has solidified himself as a reliable WR2 behind Chris Olave and established himself as one of the league’s best current return men. Especially with the rule changes in the return game coming next year, having a returner you can depend on is a must.
Shaheed isn’t just a returner, though. In 2023, his 719-receiving yard total was second on the team, and he matched Olave for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns. With a punt return for a touchdown, as well, his six total touchdowns tied Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill for the team-lead in total scores, as well.
To properly reward Shaheed for his efforts, New Orleans has signed him to a one-year extension worth $5.2MM. Shaheed was set to become a restricted free agent following this season, and his new extension helps both parties avoid that situation. The $5.2MM projects somewhere between the values of a first- and second-round RFA tender for next year, so the Saints are avoiding the tedium of the future while locking down Shaheed and rewarding him by guaranteeing that he’ll be under contract for another two years.
Dolphins OLB Shaquil Barrett Announces Retirement
The Dolphins signed Shaquil Barrett at the beginning of this offseason as one of several recent free agent additions to their defense. Before we get a chance to see just how he would fit into Miami’s defense, though, it appears that the veteran linebacker has informed his new team of his intentions to step away from the game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. 
A former undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2014, Barrett took a bit of a slow start to his NFL career, spending his entire rookie season on the Broncos’ practice squad. The next year, though, Barrett almost immediately made it known that he should’ve been drafted. Leading the team in sacks during the 2015 preseason, Barrett made the 53-man roster for his sophomore campaign.
His first career sack came in Week 3, and he eventually earned his first starts due to an injury to DeMarcus Ware. In six starts over 16 appearances, Barrett totaled 5.5 sacks in his first season on the field. The remainder of his time in Denver saw him vastly undervalued. He would only make nine starts in the next three years (all nine coming in 2017), but in a mostly rotational role, Barrett totaled 14.0 sacks during his time in Denver.
After five years with the Broncos, Barrett signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year, $4MM deal. In a one-year audition, Barrett put on the performance of a lifetime. In Week 2 of his first year in Tampa Bay, Barrett sacked Cam Newton three times. A week later, Barrett upped his own performance with four sacks on the Giants. While that furious pace didn’t continue for a season full of multi-sack games, he did lead the NFL in 2019 with a career-high 19.5 sacks, adding 37 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss while earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. The Buccaneers placed the franchise tag on him in 2020 but eventually rewarded Barrett in 2021 with a four-year, $72MM deal.
Barrett never quite reached the heights of that career year, but over the next two seasons, he continued to be effective and disruptive, totaling 18.0 sacks, 38 quarterback hits, and 20 tackles for loss. He earned his second Pro Bowl bid in 2021 after reaching double-digit sacks for the second time. His 2022 season was marred by a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season after eight games, and last year, he returned to add 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles to the defense.
Barrett found his way to free agency as a cap casualty after Tampa Bay made it known that they only wanted to bring him back at a reduced rate. He signed with Miami a couple weeks later as the Dolphins searched for some quality depth while Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recover from their respective Achilles and ACL tears. Phillips and Chubb were recently put on the team’s active/physically unable to perform list, so the Dolphins continue to lack experienced depth at a position group now led by first-round rookie Chop Robinson.
This late into the offseason, the Dolphins still have some options to fill in the outside linebacker spot in veteran free agents Carl Lawson, Tyus Bowser, Markus Golden, and others. Lawson visited the team back in April, while Bowser has experience with new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver from their time in Baltimore. They will have a little financial flexibility to sign a replacement as Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network notes that the team should get back Barrett’s $5.5MM signing bonus and $6.8MM cap impact.
For Barrett, though, his run appears to be over. While it comes as a surprise for many of us, as the 31-year-old was days away from attending training camp with the Dolphins, he claimed on his Instagram that he’s “been thinking about this for a while and the decision has never been more clear then it is now.” He gives the reasoning that, knowing how it feels and what it takes to accomplish your greatest dreams, he now wants to help his family to reach dreams of their own. Best of luck to Barrett and his family in their future endeavors.
Jaguars Place DL Arik Armstead On PUP
When Arik Armstead underwent knee surgery two days after his former team’s Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, it was apparent that he would be missing most, if not all, of the offseason. That makes it no surprise that the Jaguars have placed their newly acquired defensive lineman on the active/physically unable to perform list. 
Armstead revealed after the season finale that he had suffered a torn meniscus at the beginning of December during the 49ers’ roadtrip to Philadelphia. The 30-year-old has already had an extensive history of dealing with injuries in his career since coming out of Oregon. Since being selected in the first round in 2015, Armstead has missed 31 regular season contests. He missed large expanses of time in both his second and third seasons before rebounding with a show of health for the next four years. Unfortunately, 2022 saw the return of some demons for the veteran as he missed 13 games over the last two seasons.
The silver lining of this history of maladies is that he hasn’t seemed to have a trick knee or bum shoulder that is continuously a point of concern with these injuries. Early upper body ailments have more recently been replaced with lower body injuries. There is a little cause for potential concern as the recently operated upon knee cost Armstead some time in training camp in 2022 with a sprain, though it was a hairline fracture in his fibula that led to missed games that year.
The good news is that with his extensive history of injuries comes an extensive history of recoveries. While you never wish injury on any particular player, someone with Armstead’s experience of rehabilitation stands a strong chance of a more efficient comeback. He was aiming to return in time for training camp, buy this transaction puts a bit of a damper on those plans as Jacksonville kicks off camp in three days.
Still, we’ve seen a number of players already pass physicals even a day after being placed on their respective injured lists. Without much more insight into the status of Armstead’s rehab, he could come off the list tomorrow or he could be at risk of missing regular season time. Time will tell as the Jaguars begin to come back for the summer.
At Least Five Teams Interested In 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
The 49ers are starting to become notorious for having some of the stingiest purse strings in the NFL. The latest example sees the team go toe-to-toe with yet another star wide receiver in contract negotiations; this time, it’s Brandon Aiyuk. In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show today, Mike Florio of NBC Sports revealed that at least five teams had shown a willingness to pay Aiyuk his asking price. 
Florio’s tidbit is a little out of context for the current situation but is still relevant. According to Florio, during the draft, Aiyuk and his camp asked for permission to gauge interest in Aiyuk’s value around the league. His agent was given permission to see how much other teams would be willing to pay Aiyuk, and five teams were willing to meet his asking price at the time of $28MM per year.
Since then, new deals for receivers such as Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson have vastly shifted the wide receiver-market. Aiyuk, who finished seventh in the league in receiving yards last year (1,342), may not have the stats to reach the payday of some of the players above him, but one must consider two other contributing factors.
First, after missing four games his rookie season (two with COVID-19), Aiyuk has only missed one game in the following three years. Second, Aiyuk is putting up the numbers he’s putting up without being the main focal point of the offense. Even throwing aside star players like running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle, Aiyuk didn’t even get the most opportunities in the wide receivers room. While Aiyuk outpaced Deebo Samuel with 105 targets to Samuel’s 89, Samuel had 37 rushing attempts on top of that.
Aiyuk producing as much as he has in four years while being a third option of four star players should certainly have an impact on his asking price. Imagine the numbers Aiyuk would be able to put up had he the target share of a CeeDee Lamb or a Jefferson. Aiyuk’s contributions over his first four years could be considered comparable to those of Waddle, who recently received a three-year deal averaging $28.25MM a year with the Dolphins.
Now, having requested a trade, the 49ers face the consequences of allowing Aiyuk to theoretically test the market. Not only are there going to be teams willing to give Aiyuk the payday he deserves, but those teams are also going to be willing to give something up in order to obtain his rights in the first place, giving San Francisco little wiggle room to negotiate the price down.
Aiyuk’s situation is becoming a familiar one in San Francisco. Playing the compliant team player has gotten him nowhere in his contract negotiations. To move the needle, Aiyuk made the call to model his behavior after that of two 49ers who did receive paydays in recent years: Samuel and pass rusher Nick Bosa. Both players needed to get creative in negotiations, with Samuel requesting a trade and Bosa holding out at camp. As Florio so aptly worded it, “We’ve seen that you’ve got to be the squeaky wheel to get paid by the 49ers.”
Regardless, there is a market for Aiyuk in the NFL. The 49ers are not bidding against themselves, though their goal of $26MM-27MM suggests that they believe they’re negotiating in a vacuum. Just days ago, we saw the Patriots make inquiries into acquiring Aiyuk. The Commanders and Steelers were also considered contenders to land the wide receiver at some point. Aiyuk will get paid somewhere in the near future. The 49ers just have to decide if they want to open the pocketbook or let someone else pay Aiyuk.
NFL Workouts: Texans, Quarterman, Fromm
The Texans appear to be looking for another body in the running backs room. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Houston hosted veteran rusher Deon Jackson and undrafted Ohio State rookie Miyan Williams for workouts today.
Jackson spent his first two seasons out of Duke with the Colts as an undrafted free agent. Due to injuries to Jonathan Taylor, Jackson saw extended time in two starts during his sophomore campaign. He recorded career highs in carries (68), yards (236), and touchdowns (1) that season. Last year, Jackson bounced around, playing games for the Colts, Browns, and Giants.
Williams played four seasons for the Buckeyes in five years with the team, spending most of his time as a backup. Injury trouble for TreVeyon Henderson in 2022 opened the door for Williams to have a breakout season, rushing for 825 yards at 6.4 yards per clip and scoring 14 touchdowns. In 2023, a healthy Henderson and an influx of new talent severely reduced Williams’ role.
With free agent addition Joe Mixon and third-year back Dameon Pierce in place atop the depth chart, Jackson and Williams are trying out for an opportunity to push Dare Ogunbowale and sixth-round rookie Jawhar Jordan for a backup job.
Here are a couple other workouts from around the league recently:
- The Bears looked at some potential linebacker depth yesterday in Shaquille Quarterman, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After four years with the Hurricanes, Quarterman returned to his hometown as a fourth-round pick for the Jaguars. While he never started a game over the course of his rookie deal in Duval, Quarterman became a core special teamer. He earned some defensive snaps in his second season with the team, totaling 30 tackles that year and, though his time was even more limited in 2022, he made the most of it, forcing a fumble on Derrick Henry in a division matchup. Chicago returns their top three linebackers, so Quarterman is likely looked at only as a potential depth addition.
- The Packers worked out a notable name at quarterback today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, hosting former Georgia championship-winning passer Jake Fromm. Since being drafted by the Bills in the fifth round in 2020, Fromm has bounced from Buffalo to the Giants to the Commanders. His only playing time came in New York where he started two losing efforts, completing 45 percent of his passes for 210 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Green Bay hopes to not need anyone behind Jordan Love, but perhaps they are seeking a bit more experience in a camp arm than the two draft picks from the last two years they currently roster.
Bears QB Caleb Williams Attempted To Skirt Tax Implications Of Rookie Contract
JULY 19: Despite the efforts from Williams’ camp to land a precedent-setting pact, Florio confirms the deal falls firmly in line with the standard rookie-scale structure. Even the matter of offset language is as expected based on typical rookie contracts. Moving on from Williams with term left on the deal would indeed leave the Bears in line for offsets, though team and player will of course hope such a situation does not arise.
This is a bit of a surprise as Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes that the Bears made such concessions on offsets for Mitchell Trubisky, whom the team drafted No. 2 overall in 2017, and Justin Fields, No. 11 overall in 2021. It’s not even like either of those situations came back to bite them as Trubisky played out the entirety of his rookie contract in Chicago and Fields, while no longer with the team, had his contract taken over by the Steelers when they acquired him via trade.
JULY 17: The Bears signed No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams to his rookie contract today, and we’ve already reported on a number of intriguing negotiation tactics utilized by Williams throughout this process. These include the lack of an NFLPA-certified agent, opting instead for a “board of directors” approach, and the quarterback’s aim to secure a no-franchise tag clause in the deal. 
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, though, these weren’t the only tactics Williams pursued. After already trying to set new precedents with the no-franchise tag clause, Williams reportedly also attempted to break new ground on how his rookie salary will be taxed. Williams’ father has experience working in commercial real estate, providing his camp with unique insight into tax law.
One of the attempts employed by Williams’ camp reportedly tried to get Williams paid as an LLC. As a corporation, Williams would face different tax laws than those of an individual. While the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t appear to have any stipulations limiting this approach, the NFL ultimately made the overarching call to deny Williams, telling the Bears that a player’s money can’t go to a business entity other than the individual.
A second approach saw Williams attempt to model his rookie contract payments after a forgivable loan. In this scenario, Williams could have received the money tax-free until the loan was forgiven in as many as 10 years. Once again, through the league’s advice, Chicago ultimately turned down this option, as well.
Other rumors suggest a situation in which the contract would’ve included “language that will void future guarantees,” bringing up questions of whether or not the Bears would be entitled to receive an offset should they release Williams with guaranteed money remaining and he signs with a new team.
Credit where credit is due, Williams and his crew were extremely creative in their attempts to maximize the value of Williams’ new source of income. The Bears appeared to be willing to play ball but were time and again blocked by the league. While unsuccessful in these attempts, Williams may have opened the door for future first-round picks to have more grounds for negotiation in their rookie contracts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/24
Here are Friday’s minor transactions:
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on active/NFI list: RB Jonathon Brooks
- Placed on active/PUP list: OLB Amare Barno, WR Jalen Coker, T Yosh Nijman, OLB D.J. Wonnum
Chicago Bears
- Placed on active/NFI list: TE Gerald Everett
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Rory Starkey, WR Jalen Wayne
- Waived (with injury designation): QB Alex McGough
New England Patriots
- Placed on active/NFI list: LB Jontrey Hunter
- Placed on active/PUP list: RB Terrell Jennings
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from active/NFI list: WR Dee Williams
Brooks’ appearance on this list doesn’t come as much of a shock. After suffering a torn ACL as a Longhorn last November, he is not going to be cleared for the start of camp, though he can be activated at any time. His injury is considered a “non-football injury” because it occurred before his NFL career began, otherwise he would’ve been on the PUP. Wonnum’s presence on the PUP was also not a surprise as he deals with complications from his offseason quadriceps surgery.
Everett’s appearance, on the other hand, is a bit of a surprise. To date, no injuries have been reported this offseason on the veteran tight end, leaving a bit of a mystery as to the cause of his unavailability.
Williams, who was placed on the NFI list yesterday, lasted one day before passing his physical and getting activated off the injured list. As can tend to be the case, some situations this early can be more precautionary than a tell of something more serious.
Giants’ Offseason QB Pitch Highlighted Previous Backup Success
HBO’s Hard Knocks: Offseason continues to deliver nuggets of information and context that otherwise would not have been made available to the public. In the series’ most recent episode, we became privy to some details on the development of the Giants’ backup quarterback situation this offseason. 
One area that the series shed light on was the departure of backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The show displayed that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll showed confidence that Taylor would re-sign with the team, while beat reporters like Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post and Dan Dugger of The Athletic were both under the impression that Taylor had no interest in staying with New York.
The team had turned to Taylor to start for an injured Daniel Jones in Week 6 of the 2023 season but saw Taylor exit with a rib injury three weeks later. Taylor would eventually return around Week 14, but the Giants made the decision to stick with undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, who had gone 3-1 in four starts filling in for Jones and Taylor. Two weeks later, DeVito was benched in a second straight losing effort as Taylor retook the reins for the remainder of the season.
Dunleavy claimed that Taylor was “very disheartened by how last season played out after his injury,” leading to the assumption that the veteran was not interested in returning. Duggan echoed this sentiment, saying that he “got the sense that (Taylor) was ready to move on after how last season unfolded.” Taylor eventually signed with the Jets, opting to serve as the primary backup for another starter who spent most of last season on injured reserve.
Following the loss of Taylor, the team explored a number of options to replace him, clearly seeing a need for quality with Jones’ injury history. The series showed that veteran names like Sam Darnold and Joe Flacco were floated around the building before the team ultimately landed on Drew Lock as their target.
A couple of months ago, we touched on a rumor that Jones’ injury history was part of the pitch that lured Lock to New York, with the team pointing at the success that former backups like Taylor and Mitch Trubisky have had finding contracts following their time with the Giants. That was seemingly confirmed in this week’s episode, showing that, whereas other teams had tried to sell Lock a potentially unrealistic chance to start, New York touted their history of getting backup passers back on their feet.
Regardless of how they got there, both parties appear to be in a good place now. Lock stands a better chance at seeing the field in New York (based on Jones’ injury history), and the Giants now roster one of the league’s most promising young backups as their QB2.