NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/17/24
Today’s rookie draft pick signings as we head into the weekend:
Atlanta Falcons
- OLB Bralen Trice (third round, Washington)
Houston Texans
- S Calen Bullock (third round, USC)
Bullock joins a talented group in Houston and will have a chance to learn behind a veteran in Jimmie Ward before eventually having a chance to earn the starting job.
Trice becomes the third pass rusher selected in the first three rounds by the Falcons in as many years. With Arnold Ebiketie and Zach Harrison showing limited production in short samples, Atlanta will hope for a more immediate impact from Trice.
Steelers DL Cameron Heyward Seeking Extension, To Skip OTAs
After initial thoughts that Steelers defensive mainstay Cameron Heyward was perhaps contemplating retirement, we heard reports that seemed to indicate that he intended to return for his 14th season of play. The latest from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler seems to indicate that Heyward’s visions for the future expand far past the 2024 NFL season. 
Heyward, 35, has spent all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Steelers, somehow getting better with age. Before reaching the fifth-year option of his first-round rookie contact, the Steelers extended Heyward to a six-year, $59.25MM deal. Up to that point, Heyward had showed plus attributes as a pass rusher with a career-high of 7.5 sacks in a season. After missing the team’s final ten games of the first year of his new contract in 2016, Heyward delivered a career year with 12.0 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback hits the following season.
Since then, Heyward has perennially been considered one of the top interior pass rushers in the NFL, missing a Pro Bowl last year for the first time since that breakout season. In addition to a down year, Heyward missed more than two games with injury for the first time since 2016, sitting out six contests near the beginning of the year. That groin injury was part of Heyward’s consideration to hang up his cleats, but according to Fowler, Heyward is healthy from last year’s injury and plans to play “several more years.”
In order to play several more years, though, Heyward is going to need a new contract. The veteran is heading into the final year of his most recent deal. He is reportedly seeking an extension and is pushing for the new deal this offseason, so much so that Heyward is planning not to attend the team’s organized team activities. An extension could also benefit the Steelers, as well, as Heyward is set to represent a $22.41MM cap hit in 2024. A new deal could lessen that cap hit, pushing bigger numbers to later years.
Heyward, who also skipped Pittsburgh’s voluntary offseason workouts, has never missed an offseason program during his time as a long-time team captain. Going to these lengths shows just how serious he is about pursuing a new deal that keeps him in town for several more seasons.
Latest On Gruden’s Lawsuit Against NFL
Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden sued the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell back in 2021, shortly after he felt pressured to resign from his job following the release of several emails that contained inappropriate language from Gruden. The latest on the situation sees the Nevada State Supreme Court determine that Gruden’s case is subject to the league’s arbitration system, per A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports. 
This split decision (2-1) by the State’s Court overrules a district court’s original decision and sends the case back down to be remanded to arbitration. When Gruden initially filed the complaint, the league pushed for the courts to toss the case, claiming that a clause in the former coach’s contract required him to file his claim through arbitration, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.
Gruden’s attorneys argued that this set an unfair precedent allowing an employer to “unilaterally determine whether an employee’s dispute must go to arbitration and also (allowing) the employer to adjudicate the dispute as the arbitrator.” The district court denied the NFL’s motion to dismiss, sending the case to the State Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court remanded the case back down to the lower court with an order to grant the arbitration motion from the NFL.
Gruden isn’t out of options just yet, though, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Gruden’s first option is to make a request for a rehearing with the three Nevada Supreme Court judges who comprised the split decision votes. If the request is denied, Gruden can then petition for a rehearing with all seven justices on the State Supreme Court.
If these steps are taken, the loser is likely to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, something the NFL did with the Rams relocation case. There’s plenty of speculation that occurs after that, but the odds for Gruden getting anything out of this lawsuit remain long. The NFL’s resources vastly outweigh Gruden and his attorneys’, and the courts have a history of siding with the league. The battle is far from over for Gruden and company, though, as they deal with their first setback.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/15/24
Here are the NFL’s midweek draft pick signings:
Arizona Cardinals
- CB Elijah Jones (third round, Boston College)
Kansas City Chiefs
- TE Jared Wiley (fourth round, TCU)
- S Jaden Hicks (fourth round, Washington State)
- C Hunter Nourzad (fifth round, Penn State)
- CB Kamal Hadden (sixth round, Tennessee)
- G C.J. Hanson (seventh round, Holy Cross)
New York Giants
- LB Darius Muasau (sixth round, UCLA)
Philadelphia Eagles
- LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (fifth round, Clemson)
- G Dylan McMahon (sixth round, NC State)
San Francisco 49ers
- G Jarrett Kingston (sixth round, USC)
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/24
Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:
Atlanta Falcons:
- Signed: CB Anthony Johnson
Denver Broncos
- Waived: S Cam Allen
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: Ty Summers
- Waived with injury designation: WR Wayne Ruby
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: DL James Lynch
Lynch sat on the free agent market for quite some time, but his patience pays off. He’ll return to Minnesota for his fourth season with the team. He’s started three games for the Vikings in 28 game appearances over the last two years.
Allen, a part of Denver’s 13-man undrafted free agent class, sees a short tenure with the Broncos come to an end. Once again, he’ll be free to sign with anyone else in the NFL who may have interest.
Contract Details: Brown, Phillips, Highsmith
The Eagles recently made A.J. Brown the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. We already knew a number of details from that incredible contract, but thanks to Will Laws of Sports Illustrated, we now know of a wild detail with unprecedented consequences.
Laws points out that Brown’s deal includes a void year at the end of the contract that will hold a $53.52MM cap hit. This is actually a common contract technique the Eagles have been employing in recent years that allow them a ton of flexibility financially. Several other players have massive voidable cap hits like Jalen Hurts ($97.55MM), DeVonta Smith ($35.78MM), and others.
This likely doesn’t mean that someday the Eagles will suddenly be committing a triple-digit cap figure to players no longer on their roster. That could only happen if they see every contract through to completion. More likely, Philadelphia will be extremely strategic about how long to hold on to those players, cutting them at times that will allow for ideal cap savings. For instance, starting in 2027, the Eagles will be able to cut Brown and receive more in cap savings than they’ll be losing to dead money.
Here are a few other contract details on recent deals around the NFL:
- Thanks to the veteran salary benefit, the Buccaneers‘ new deal with defensive end William Gholston will have the minimum $1.21MM base salary that will only count for $1.15MM against the salary cap, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. Gholston will also be able to earn an active roster bonus of $167.5K in Week 1.
- The Texans recently signed linebacker Jacob Phillips to a new contract. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us the deal is for one year and $1.15MM. He’ll receive a base salary of $1.06MM and a signing bonus of $45K. He can earn additional per game active roster bonuses of $2,941 for a potential season-total of $50K.
- This last bullet is actually details on a restructure that the Steelers pulled off recently with pass rusher Alex Highsmith, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The team was able to convert $8.75MM of Highsmith’s 2024 base salary into a signing bonus while adding a void year to the end of his four-year deal, $68MM deal. As a result, Pittsburgh clears out $7MM of cap space.
Injury Updates: Joseph, Hubbard, Enagbare
Third-year safety Kerby Joseph has become a menace over his first two seasons in the league, recording exactly 82 total tackles and four interceptions in each campaign for the Lions. The start of his third season in the NFL will be a bit delayed this offseason, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, as Joseph underwent hip surgery to fix an injury that he sustained in Week 2 last year.
Joseph initially missed two games due to the issue but eventually returned in Week 5 and played through the injury for the remainder of the season, including three playoff contests. Joseph told the media this week that he expects to be healthy by the start of training camp. This means that he’ll likely be a non-participant in any offseason activities leading up to camp.
Here are a couple of other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Veteran Bengals pass rusher Sam Hubbard also underwent some offseason surgery, per ESPN’s Ben Baby. After a right ankle injury forced him to miss two games in 2023, Hubbard required “significant offseason surgery.” He told the media that he underwent “a complete deltoid reconstruction in his ankle and a TightRope procedure.” He initially believed the injury to be a simple sprain, but a fluoroscopy at the end of the season revealed a much more severe situation. He played through the issue to help a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team have a better chance to win but saw his quality of play decline as a result. Hubbard is now feeling fortunate to have made it through the procedure with no permanent damage.
- Lastly, Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare is hoping to be ready for the team’s 2024 season opener after initial beliefs that he had torn his ACL in January. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, those initial concerns were quelled when Enagbare’s ACL injury “turned out to be less serious” than previously thought. He never needed to undergo offseason surgery and now stands a chance at being back in form in time for the start of the regular season.
NFL Workouts: Giants, Bears, Titans, Grant
With NFL rookie minicamps coming to a close, we can take a look at some of the notable names that were invited for veteran tryouts during the rookies’ introduction to the NFL. The Giants were one of the teams with multiple veteran free agents in attendance, as noted by Pat Leonard of NY Daily News.
Two outside linebackers were auditioned this week in New York. Myjai Sanders worked out with the team after playing sparingly in seven games for the Texans last year. A former third-round pick for the Cardinals, Sanders had three sacks as a rookie but, after falling down the depth chart, found himself being auctioned off as a trade candidate before ultimately getting waived.
The other was Shaka Toney, a former seventh-round pick for the Commanders who was waived just before the draft. He’s only played major snaps in one game over his two years, his lone start out of 26 games played, but totes 1.5 sacks on his record.
The third veteran in attendance was wide receiver Jared Bernhardt.
Here are a few other notable minicamp auditions that took place around the league:
- The Bears also hosted three veterans, even eventually signing tight end Tommy Sweeney. Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports that cornerback Parry Nickerson and wide receiver Freddie Swain were the other two veterans in attendance this week. Nickerson entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick in 2018 for the Jets. Since then, he’s bounced around with one season each at in Jacksonville, Green Bay, Minnesota, and, most recently, Miami. Swain had a decent start to his career after two seasons in Seattle but didn’t play in 2023 after appearing in only four games in 2022 between time in Miami and Denver.
- The Titans were another team to host multiple notable veteran names, namely cornerback William Jackson III and pass rusher Shane Ray, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 and Turron Davenport of ESPN. After playing out a rookie contract in Cincinnati, Jackson earned a three-year, $40.5MM contract with the Commanders but requested a trade that landed him with the Steelers a year in a half into the deal, though he never got to play for them. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Week 5 of 2022. Ray’s absence from the NFL has been even longer. A first-round pick for the Broncos in 2015, Ray hasn’t played in the league since 2018. He joined the Bills last offseason, reuniting with his former Denver teammate Von Miller, but he was cut before the regular season.
- After attending the Eagles’ rookie minicamp, wide receiver and return specialist Jakeem Grant also worked out for the Saints at their rookie minicamp, per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football. Grant hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since the 2021 season as he’s rehabilitated a torn Achilles and a ruptured patella tendon, but the last time he played, he earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.
- Lastly, the Dolphins hosted pass rusher Aaron Lynch for a tryout, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Lynch showed promise after tallying 12.5 sacks in his first two seasons with the 49ers but never managed more than three in a season over the next five years. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2020.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/24
One draft pick from yesterday got missed, so we’ll mention them today:
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB Payton Wilson (third round, NC State)
The Steelers felt lucky to have Wilson fall to them in the draft, and they were right to. Initial draft rankings listed Wilson as the class’s fourth-best off-ball linebacker. The three ahead of him were the first three linebackers taken in the draft, but lower projected linebackers Ty’Ron Hoppper and Marist Liufau heard their names called before Wilson, as well. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, Pittsburgh selected Wilson near the end of the third round.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/12/24
Sunday’s minor transactions to wrap up the weekend:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: CB Leon Jones, TE Tommy Sweeney
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: QB Jacob Sirmon
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Kaden Davis
New York Giants
- Signed: DT Elijah Chatman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Andrew Hayes, RB Ramon Jefferson
- Waived: CB Quandre Mosely, G Logan Stenberg
With the conclusion of rookie minicamps, a number of teams have made a few additions from minicamp auditions of undrafted rookie free agents. Sweeney is a rare example of a non-rookie getting a second chance from a minicamp audition. After collapsing on the practice field with the Giants last year due to a “medical event,” Sweeney will attempt a comeback to the NFL in Chicago.
Jones (undrafted out of Arkansas State), Sirmon (undrafted out of Northern Colorado), Chatman (undrafted out of SMU), Hayes (undrafted out of Central Arkansas), and Jefferson (undrafted out of Kentucky) all earned roster spots for the offseason after successful minicamp tryouts. Mosely and Stenberg were waived to make room for Hayes and Jefferson.