Commanders Wrap Up Draft Class Signings
Shortly after signing the quarterback they drafted No. 2 overall, the Commanders wrapped up the contract work for the rest of their rookie draft class today, as well. Per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washinton Post, Washington signed second-round tight end Ben Sinnott and third-round offensive tackle Brandon Coleman to their rookie contracts today, completing their rookie signings for this year.
Despite being projected for the fourth-round (Dane Brugler of The Athletic had him ranked as the sixth-best tight end prospect in 2024), Sinnott was the second tight end taken off the board as a second-round pick. This was just the latest example of Sinnott outperforming expectations. Coming out of high school, Sinnott had only one FCS offer but opted to walk on at Kansas State.
Sinnott’s value comes in his versatility. Made in the mold of the sparingly used H-back role, Sinnott played all over the field for the Wildcats, winning the NCAA’s Lowman Trophy (awarded to the top fullback in the nation) while leading his team in receiving yards. With veteran Zach Ertz reuniting with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury after both spent time in Arizona, Sinnott has a chance to learn from one of the better tight ends of the previous generation and provide a separate look as TE2 on the roster.
Coleman was a three-year starter at TCU splitting time between the guard and tackle spots on the left side of the line. His first year as a starter saw him start eight games at guard, he started all 15 games of the 2022 season at left tackle, and he played four games at guard and seven games at tackle in his final collegiate season. His efforts last year earned him second-team All-Big 12 honors.
Coleman may have a lot asked of him in his rookie year. The Commanders allowed Sam Howell to be the most-sacked quarterback in the league last year, yet they only used one draft pick on the offensive line and waited until the third round to do it. They did bring in two free agents to likely start at center and right guard, but the left tackle starting job remains open for competition after the team released Charles Leno. The new coaching staff has refused to place that pressure directly on Coleman’s shoulders this early, but the former Horned Frog will certainly be in the competition for the job with Cornelius Lucas and Trent Scott.
Here’s a breakdown of Commanders 2024 rookie draft class, now including their latest signees:
- Round 1, No. 2: Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 36: Jer’Zhan Newton (DT, Illinois) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 50 (from Saints through Eagles): Mike Sainristil (CB, Michigan) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 53 (from Eagles): Ben Sinnott (TE, Kansas State) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 67: Brandon Coleman (OL, TCU) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 100 (from 49ers): Luke McCaffrey (WR, Rice) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 139: Jordan Magee (LB, Temple) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 161 (from Buccaneers through Eagles): Dominique Hampton (S, Washington) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 222: Javontae Jean-Baptiste (EDGE, Notre Dame) (signed)
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/14/24
Friday’s minor NFL transactions:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Kyric McGowan
- Placed on IR: OL Chandler Brewer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: WR Praise Olatoke
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Jesper Horsted
- Waived: WR Kyle Sheets
Olatake joins the Chargers offense as a member of the league’s International Player Pathway Program. Born in Nigeria, Olatoke was raised in Scotland before attending Ohio State as a sprinter in track and field. Olatoke clearly possesses next level speed, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors while posting a 10.27-second 100-meter dash time, but doesn’t have much competitive football experience. In fact, the Olatoke’s only experience playing football was on the Ohio State club team. Truly an inspiration for club players everywhere.
Brewer lands on injured reserve but does so without an injury designation. If Brewer plans to play in the backup role he held last year, he’ll now need to reach an injury settlement with the team in order to do so.
Sam Darnold To Open Training Camp As Vikings’ Starter
The Vikings are set to look very different under center in 2024. After watching Kirk Cousins go down with a season-ending injury last year, Minnesota was forced to use a mixture of Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall to finish the season. With Cousins in Atlanta now and Dobbs now a backup in San Francisco, the Vikings will be looking at two new faces atop the depth chart. 
The team essentially exchanged Dobbs for former 49ers backup quarterback Sam Darnold who failed to start more than one game for the first time in his six-year career last season. Darnold was expected to return to a starting role in his replacement of Cousins, being designated as the new QB1 over the incumbent Mullens and Hall. That was, of course, barring any further additions to the room in the offseason.
The Vikings were not in a position to go after one of the top three quarterbacks in the 11th draft slot. Still, many saw the organization as one of the teams likely to go after a passer in the draft, but nobody was quite sure what lengths the team would go to in order to acquire one. Minnesota was lucky enough to see the fourth quarterback projected to come off the board start to slide down closer and closer to their pick but needed to avoid getting scooped and traded up one spot in order to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall.
Rarely these days are quarterbacks drafted in the top 10 draft picks without an expectation that they will start right away, but it appears that is the case for now. According to Kevin Seifert of ESPN, head coach Kevin O’Connell has announced that Darnold, and not McCarthy, will begin training camp as the starting quarterback.
Darnold had been running as QB1 through organized team activities this spring, and O’Connell saw no reason to change things up quite yet. Right now, McCarthy has reportedly been focusing more on individual improvement than on competition with Darnold. While McCarthy could certainly get an opportunity to win the job at the end of the summer, O’Connell stopped short of saying anything more than that he is planning for training camp to be “competitive” at many positions.
Bears WR Keenan Allen Making Change In Representation
New Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is going to be playing for a team not named the “Chargers” for the first time in his eleven-year NFL career. Allen was shipped to Chicago back in March in exchange for a fourth-round pick that Los Angeles used to trade up and select Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round. Because Allen was a trade asset, the Bears are now faced with contract concerns in their new weapon’s future. 
Allen arrives in Chicago with only one year remaining on his previous four-year, $80.1MM deal. Because of that, Allen is either heading for free agency for the first time in his career or finding a way to extend his contract with the Bears. Either way, Allen is preparing for the future, hiring new agents in anticipation of the contract situations ahead, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
After playing out three years of his rookie deal out of Cal, Allen signed a four-year, $45MM extension, avoiding free agency. Before that deal could expire, the Chargers extended him again on his most recent four-year deal. If he fails to extend his contract in Chicago, he will hit NFL free agency for the first time. He has a lot that he can prove in a potential contract year. At 32 years old, Allen will try to put up career numbers for the second year in a row but will do so this time with a rookie quarterback. He’ll also be competing for targets with D.J. Moore, who showed how dominant he could be as Chicago’s WR1 last year.
The other option sees Allen enjoying a multi-year stay with the Bears. Allen may utilize his new representation to avoid free agency once again and sign an extension to stay in Chicago. This is a route that Allen has claimed to be open to with the Bears but one that he failed to see through this past year with the Chargers, who reportedly offered him another extension to stay in Los Angeles.
Perhaps the change in representation marks a change in contract year strategies for the veteran pass catcher. Maybe instead of continuing to extend his contracts before they expire, Allen has the intention of finally testing the free agent market and hired new agents to handle the situation. Only the future will tell.
Buccaneers Sign Second-Round Pick Chris Braswell
The Buccaneers edge rushing group is going to look a bit different in 2024 after the departure of Shaquil Barrett in free agency. One of the players hoping to help fill that role will be the team’s second-round draft selection this year, Alabama’s Chris Braswell. The first step towards that after the draft has been taken as Tampa Bay announces that Braswell has now signed his rookie contract.
Braswell decided to forgo his senior year of eligibility in Tuscaloosa after a breakout season for the Crimson Tide. Following the 22-year-old’s redshirt seasons, Braswell appeared in every game for Alabama the next two years but only mustered backup numbers with 34 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one forced fumble in both years combined. Last year, though, starting only two games in continued limited time, Braswell showed what he could contribute. He finished second on the team in sacks (8.0) and third in tackles for loss (10.5).
Braswell joins a youthful pass rusher group. 2021 first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka has been a starter in the group for the last two years. Last year’s third-round pick, YaYa Diaby, is expected to take a step forward in 2024 after leading the team with 7.5 sacks in his rookie season. Adding some veteran presence to the group is Randy Gregory, who split time with the Broncos and 49ers last year.
The Buccaneers pass rushing group failed to produce a player with double-digit sacks last year, though they presented an effective team rush, enough to finish seventh in the NFL is sacks as a team. If they plan on having their first double-digit-sack pass rusher since 2021, someone in the above group will need to break out.
With today’s signing, the team has now signed all but one of their first-round picks. Only first-round Duke center Graham Barton remains unsigned. Here are the others:
- Round 1, No. 26: Graham Barton (OL, Duke)
- Round 2, No. 57: Chris Braswell (EDGE, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 89: Tykee Smith (S, Georgia) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 92 (from Lions): Jalen McMillan (WR, Washington) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 125: Bucky Irving (RB, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 220: Elijah Klein (G, UTEP) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 246: Devin Culp (TE, Washington) (signed)
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/12/24
Here are Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:
Detroit Lions
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Craig James
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Austin Trammell
- Waived: G Jack Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released (with injury settlement): CB Luq Barcoo
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: NT Buddha Jones
TE Marcedes Lewis Re-Signs With Bears
JUNE 12: Lewis agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. These terms match Lewis’ 2023 Bears agreement. The Bears are guaranteeing the 40-year-old tight end $1MM, with part of that sum a $400K signing bonus.
JUNE 9: There are lots of new faces coming to the Bears offense in 2024 with running back D’Andre Swift, wide receiver Keenan Allen, and center Coleman Shelton joining last year’s veteran addition of D.J. Moore. There’s also plenty of youth being infused as top-10 picks Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze arrive in Chicago, as well. With so much change in the locker room, the coaching staff will be happy to see veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis return in 2024. 
Lewis informed Jay Glazer of FOX Sports he will meet with the Bears on Monday with the intention to re-sign in Chicago. On the same day that we see Darren Waller retire after nine years in the league, the NFL’s second-longest-tenured player announces that he intends to return for Year 19. With Lewis being a first-round pick out of UCLA in 2006, only Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (drafted in 2005) has been in the NFL longer than he.
Lewis spent the majority of his career in Jacksonville, playing 12 years with the Jaguars. He would finally leave Duval for Green Bay, signing three one-year contracts followed by a two-year deal in five seasons with the Packers. Lewis waited until the final month before the season in 2023 to sign with the Bears, breaking the record for most seasons played by a tight end in NFL history. He’ll presumably continue to expand that legacy in 2024.
Lewis has never been a relatively productive tight end. Including a Pro Bowl season in 2010 that saw Lewis record career-highs in catches (58), yards (700), and touchdowns (10), Lewis has only broken the 500-yard receiving mark three times and caught more than four touchdowns twice. Since 2012, he hasn’t recorded over 400 yards in a season, and since leaving Jacksonville, his highest yardage total in a season has been 214.
None of that is to say that Lewis is not a strong contributor, even as he enters his age-40 season. Just last year saw Lewis grade out as the league’s fifth-best tight end, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), thanks to some stellar blocking grades, something for which Lewis has been known throughout his career. Despite his dwindling receiving contributions in the last several years, Lewis has remained a starter in most seasons. After starting four games in his first season with the Packers, Lewis became a full-time starter for the next three and a half years.
Lewis started four games in Chicago while appearing in every contest last year. He saw minimal targets, catching fewer than 10 passes for the second straight season but still saw significant snaps as TE2 for the Bears behind Cole Kmet. With Kmet as a premier receiving tight end, finishing ninth in receiving yards for the position last year, the Bears don’t need Lewis to be the every-down tight end he once was in his career. But his vast years of experience have clearly made him an asset in the locker room as he continues to get contracts in the NFL.
CB Steven Nelson Announces Retirement
We see our second NFL player from the 2015 draft class announce his retirement today. After seeing Giants tight end Darren Waller announce his retirement at 31 years old earlier today, now Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that Texans cornerback Steven Nelson has also made the decision to hang up his cleats.
Originally a third-round pick out of Oregon State, Nelson played out his rookie contract with the Chiefs, becoming a full-time starter in his sophomore campaign across from Marcus Peters. While he didn’t record an interception that year, Nelson recorded a career-high 16 passes defensed. He landed on injured reserve in 2017, missing seven games due to what would be the only major injury of his playing career. In the final year of his rookie deal, Nelson put on a huge performance, intercepting four passes and breaking up 15.
Those contract year efforts landed Nelson a three-year, $25MM contract in Pittsburgh, where he would start across from Joe Haden on the Steelers defense. Nelson played decently in Pittsburgh, racking up three interceptions and 17 passes defensed in two years, but ultimately requested permission to seek a trade. When the Steelers couldn’t find an appropriate trade partner to take Nelson, the two parties mutually agreed to terminate his contract. He landed in Philadelphia on a one-year deal, starting across from Darius Slay. After putting up similar numbers (one interception, seven passes defensed), Nelson once again hit free agency.
Nelson ended up signing in Houston, where he’s spent the past two seasons. While his first season with the Texans didn’t see any sort of special production (one interception, seven passes defensed), Nelson saw the return of his early disruptive success in 2023. While starting across from Derek Stingley and leading the team in defensive snaps played in his age-30 season, Nelson tallied 4 interceptions and 12 passes defensed, trailing Stingley in each of those categories by only one. Nelson then came up huge in the team’s first playoff victory since 2019, intercepting Joe Flacco and following it up with an 82-yard return for a touchdown during Super Wild Card Weekend.
After one of the best seasons of his career and at the age of 31 years old, Nelson made it clear that he wanted to leave the game of football on his own terms. “Retirement: after thinking it over and having some talks with my family, I think it’s time for me to take a step back and spend more time with my family,” Nelson explained in a telephone interview.
“I’m extremely proud of what I was able to do in the game of football,” Nelson continued. “Coming from a small town without a lot of resources, having to go to junior college, making it out of there to go to Oregon State, which was across the country from my family, going through a lot of trials and tribulations to get to where I am today, and to be able to persevere and make it this far. I’m extremely proud of my legacy and my career. I think I’ll be remembered, mostly by my teammates…as a leader and somebody that not only tries to lead by words but through my actions. Being a true pro and doing everything the right way.”
Before his announcement, the Texans hoped to retain Nelson’s services in 2024. Additionally, the Raiders, Giants, Rams, Commanders, and Dolphins all reached out with prospective contract offers after his deal with Houston expired.
Instead, Nelson made the decision to step away from the game for the benefit of his family, who is expecting a newborn in the coming month. According to Wilson, Nelson refused to entirely shut the door on a possible return to the sport, but for right now, Nelson is intent on retiring from the NFL to be with his family.
Eagles Announce Numerous Updates To Front Office
The Eagles announced a host of changes to their front office staff this week. While the litany of moves was mostly comprised of promotions and title changes, three new hires were announced, as well.
In the front office, Bryce Johnston continues to rise through the ranks as he heads into his ninth season with the team. After seeing a promotion to vice president of football transactions and strategic planning last year, Johnston now sees a promotion to senior vice president/tertiary football executive. Jeff Scott also earned a promotion with his title changing from director of football operations to vice president of football operations going into his fourth season with the team. Katie David, going on 17 seasons in the Eagles’ football operations department, has gone from football operations director to chief of staff to the general manager.
Dom DiSandro has added a new title to his position. Serving as senior advisor to the general manager/chief security officer in 2023, the Eagles will add the moniker of gameday coaching operations to his job. DiSandro was involved in a sideline incident with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw that resulted in the ejection of both parties and the banning of DiSandro from the sidelines for the subsequent game. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer posits that the new title may be a preliminary measure to prevent similar discipline should any future sideline incidents occur.
Adam Berry, twin brother of Browns general manager Andrew Berry, is also receiving a promotion. After coming to the NFL after a career at Goldman Sachs last year, Berry goes from vice president of football operations to vice president of football operations and strategy. Former Pro Bowl linebacker Connor Barwin continues to work his way up the executive ladder, as well. Named the team’s player development director in 2022, Barwin will now serve as head of football development and strategy. Also a former player who retired after signing a reserve/futures deal with the team, Matt Leo earned a promotion from defensive/football operations assistant to player development assistant.
The football operations new hire is Isabel Pantle, who joins the team as a quantitative analyst. Pantle previously served as a player personnel analyst intern for the Ravens in 2022.
In the player personnel department, Charles Walls and Alan Wolking have both been named vice presidents of player personnel. Walls was hired as the Eagles’ director of player personnel in 2022 after two years as a national scout for the Browns. In the same year, Wolking had been promoted to director of player personnel, as well. Wolking is entering his 14th season with the team. Filling the vacated role of director of player personnel will be Phil Bhaya, who previously served as director of college scouting. Bhaya will have Jeremy Gray, as well, after Gray’s promotion from assistant director of pro scouting to assistant director of player personnel. Terrence Braxton joins the group as player personnel coordinator after a promotion from football operations coordinator.
On the scouting front, Brandon Hunt was promoted from director of scouting to senior director of scouting as he enters his 20th year of scouting experience. Ameena Soliman, who added the director of personnel operations title to her pro scouting duties in 2022, will now serve as director of football operations while continuing to work as a pro scout. Also, former mid-Atlantic area scout Cam Bradfield has been assigned a different area for this season. In 2024, Bradfield will cover the southwest area.
The other two new hires mentioned above were in the scouting department, as well. Laurel McHale has been hired on as a full-time scouting assistant after working last year as a player personnel and scouting associate intern. Lastly, Duke Tobin Jr., son of the Bengals’ director of player personnel for the last 25 years, was also hired as a scouting assistant. He first connected with the team as a training camp scouting intern before working a seasonal job as a player personnel associate.
Patriots Rumors: Maye, WRs, Hightower
As organized team activities have progressed in New England, it’s looking more and more like Jacoby Brissett may be the team’s starter under center in Week 1. Naturally, some have asked if that makes No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye the primary backup at the position or an emergency option to stash for development purposes.
According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Maye likely won’t need to sit and develop. In fact, Kyed reports that some in the building viewed Maye as a prospect ready to start right away as a rookie during the draft cycle. Even though Brissett is taking the lion’s share of first-team reps in OTAs so far, there’s plenty of time until training camp and the regular season for Maye to potentially take over the starting gig.
And, should Maye not beat out Brissett for the job, this also means that Maye likely won’t be stashed to sit and develop but, instead, will be the team’s primary backup behind Brissett. Kyed also notes that it makes more sense for the Patriots to stash and develop rookie sixth-round pick Joe Milton than it does to hold on to Bailey Zappe as an emergency third option. The team has seen what Zappe can provide up to this point, and while he won’t garner outstanding trade value, he should return something as an upgrade to many backup situations around the league.
Here are a few other rumors coming out of New England:
- The Patriots’ wide receivers room is currently packed, while only six or seven players will likely end up on the 53-man roster to start the season. Kyed lists rookies Javon Baker and Ja’Lynn Polk as locks to make the team alongside Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, and K.J. Osborn, leaving only one or two spots left for the rest of the group. That leaves a number of intriguing names in a precarious position including former Pro Bowler JuJu Smith-Schuster, former first-round pick Jalen Reagor, recent second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, and last year’s sixth-round pick Kayshon Boutte. As of right now, none of those four players are viewed as locks to make the roster in 2024.
- New head coach Jerod Mayo and leading personnel executive Eliot Wolf are heading a new-look team in New England this offseason. One of the ways in which Mayo is attempting to bring the team into this new era is by appealing to the shorter attention spans of younger players. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Mayo has tossed the old method of marathon meeting sessions, instead favoring a new philosophy of “25-minute mental sprints” before taking short breaks. It reportedly heightens the pace of meetings while allowing for appropriate rest time in between.
- Since leaving the NFL in 2021, former Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower has enjoyed retirement. While he still shared a love and knowledge for the game, he had little interest in leaving the life he was living behind. In an interview, Hightower claimed that his former college coach Nick Saban and Mayo were the only two names that could’ve drawn him out of retirement onto the sideline, per Howe. It just so happened that his close friend and former teammate became the head coach of their old team and offered him Mayo’s old job of inside linebackers coach. It was one of the very few offers Hightower wouldn’t say “no” to.