Jets Re-Sign DT Mike Pennel
The Jets continued their busy offseason on Friday by announcing the re-signing of defensive tackle Mike Pennel to a three-year deal worth up to $12 MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
Claimed by the Jets in February 2017 after being released by the Packers, the fourth-year defender played in all 16 games with New York and made three starts, registering 35 total tackles. In his four seasons in the league, Pennel has recorded one sack to go along with 75 tackles in 53 total games. In 2016, Pennel served a pair of four-game suspensions for substance abuse violations.
So far in free agency, the Jets have bolstered their defensive by signing cornerback Trumaine Johnson and linebacker Avery Williamson. The team has also announced the re-signing of Morris Claiborne in addition to Pennel.
Extra Points: Butler, Shead, Rams, Chiefs
It’s been a wild ride for the Seahawks defense the past week. After the team traded Michael Bennett to the Eagles and released Richard Sherman, it also decided to release cornerback DeShawn Shead.
This was noteworthy because the Seahawks told the player it would release him to allow him to become an unrestricted free agent despite the NFL saying his contract should toll for 2018.
Earlier today, Shead signed with the Lions but reportedly wanted a return to the Seahawks, the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta tweets. After Seattle honored its statement to make the cornerback a free agent, Shead wanted to give Seattle every chance to keep him, but the organization ultimately wouldn’t match the offer he received from the Lions.
Seattle now enters free agency without three of its top veterans and could be seeing the end of the Earl Thomas era, who has threatened to hold out if he doesn’t receive a new deal. The Seahawks could deal him this offseason and are reportedly looking for a first-round pick in return.
Needless to say, the Seahawks once-stingy defensive unit will look plenty different in 2018.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Rams general manager Les Snead said on Wednesday the team traded linebacker Alec Ogletree to accommodate the ensuing move for cornerback Aqib Talib, Alden Gonzalez tweets. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips prefers cornerbacks to linebackers in his scheme, and a big move had to be made to bring in the former Broncos corner, who will count $11 MM toward the cap.
- Snead also said he sees ways the Rams can address run defense and the pass rush in free agency, Gonzalez tweets. Though he is weighing what will be available to fill those holes with rookies, he doesn’t want to just wait until the draft to fill obvious needs. The team received some insurance for its pass rush on Wednesday when it re-signed veteran linebacker Connor Barwin.
- New Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler said he was worried his Super Bowl benching would hurt his value on the open market, USA Today’s Lindsay Jones tweets. Butler notoriously didn’t see the field against the Eagles in February when the Patriots allowed Nick Foles to shred their secondary. The 2015 Pro Bowl selection reached a deal with the Titans on Wednesday worth up to $61 MM over five years, with $30 MM of that being guaranteed.
- Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said cornerback Marcus Peters‘ trade to the Rams had nothing to do with national anthem protests, Pro Football Talk passes along. “This was a football decision. … This wasn’t just one game, wasn’t a month, this was three years of body of work, and we look for consistency. We felt that this was in the best interest of the team,” Veach said.
- Veach also touched on the Chiefs move for Sammy Watkins, saying the team pounced on the receiver in the first minute of free agency, the NFL Network’s James Palmer tweets. Veach said that if Watkins received a call before theirs, the other team would’ve had to call in 30 seconds before they did. The team was motivated to move on Watkins to add him to Tyreek Hill, giving strong-armed quarterback Patrick Mahomes a pair of dynamic, stretch-the-field receivers.
Giants To Sign Patrick Omameh
After striking out in their quest to land Panthers guard Andrew Norwell, the Giants have agreed to terms with former Jaguars guard Patrick Omameh, the player’s agency Schwartz & Feinsod, announced (Twitter link). The Jaguars signed the aforementioned Norwell to replace Omameh on the line. 
The fourth-year guard spent two seasons with Jacksonville and helped pave the way for standout rookie running back Leonard Fourtnette in 2017. Pro Football Focus was not impressed with his performance, however, grading him the No. 36 guard in football. In his four seasons, Omameh has spent time with Jaguars, Bears and Buccaneers after entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan.
After originally signing with the 49ers as a rookie, Omameh joined the Bucs in 2013 and spent the rest of the season on the team’s practice squad. He started every game the following season at right guard before switching to left guard the folowing season with Chicago.
New Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has made rebuilding the New York offense line a top priority early in free agency. Omameh joins longtime Patriots tackle Nate Solder as new addition’s to the team’s front five.
[RELATED: Giants Depth Chart]
Seahawks Seeking First-Round Pick For Earl Thomas
If the Seahawks are to move three-time First Team All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, the team is expected to require a first-round pick in return, the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta tweets.
With all the moves the Seahawks have already made in their secondary — releasing both Richard Sherman and DeShawn Shead — moving on from the star safety isn’t out of the picture. Thomas, who turns 29 in May, has earned six Pro Bowl selection in his eight seasons, and has been a critical figure in Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary.
Thomas also seemed pretty interested in leaving Seattle during the 2017 season. He connected himself to the Cowboys after the Seahawks’ December win in Dallas, telling Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to “come get me.” Thomas was born in Orange, Texas and played at the University of Texas before Seattle selected him with the No. 14 pick in 2010.
In January, Thomas threatened a holdout by saying he doesn’t envision himself rejoining Seattle without a longterm deal. The safety signed a four-year $40 MM deal in 2014, which is set to expire after the 2018 season.
Rams Talking With John Sullivan, Connor Barwin
Rams general manager Les Snead said the team is hoping to bring back center John Sullivan and linebacker Connor Barwin, and have begun talking with their representatives, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez tweets.
Sullivan, 32, played 15 games in his first season with the team and helped pave the way for Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley to amass a league-leading 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranked the veteran the 10th-best center in the NFL in 2017 with a 74.6 grade.
Barwin, 31, played in 14 games and started 13 while registering 34 tackles and five sacks. The former Eagles and Texans linebacker endured a down year and was rated as the No. 103 edge defender by Pro Football Focus. With the team’s trade of Robert Quinn to the Dolphins earlier in the offseason, Los Angeles would like to have Barwin back as a reliable veteran coming off the end.
Seahawks To Sign Barkevious Mingo
Seattle is set to sign former Colts linebacker Barkevious Mingo to a two-year deal worth $6.8 MM, with $3.2 MM in full guarantees, ESPN’s Brady Henderson tweets.
The deal also includes a $2.2 MM signing bonus, base salaries of $1 MM (2018) and $3 MM (2019), and $300,000 in per-game active roster bonuses. There are also incentives tied to sacks, playing time and the Pro Bowl. Mingo’s cap number for 2018 comes out to be $2.4 MM.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Browns, Mingo is coming off a two-sack campaign after signing with Indianapolis in the 2017 offseason. With Michael Bennett now in Philadelphia and defensive end Cliff Avril considering retirement, it made sense for Seattle to make a move for a pass rusher.
Mingo will team with Frank Clark and presumably Dion Jordan, who was tendered as a first-round pick, as Seattle’s rushers coming off the edge.
Sharrif Floyd Becomes A Free Agent
According to an NFL release, Sharrif Floyd‘s contract did not toll into 2018, making the defensive tackle a free agent in 2018 (Twitter link). He does still have a grievance in settlement negotiations to determine how much he should have been compensated from the Vikings in 2017.
Floyd missed all of 2017 and all but one game the previous year after suffering a knee injury in the 2016 season opener. In September 2016, Floyd underwent arthroscopic surgery on that knee.
Floyd, 25, has played in 44 games and registered 9.5 sacks since being selected in the first round by Minnesota in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Receiver Notes: Landry, Dez, A-Rob, Evans
No players have dominated the news more in the last two days than Jarvis Landry and Richard Sherman. On Friday, the Browns kicked off their trading spree by landing the Dolphins wideout in a deal for draft picks. Earlier in the day, Sherman was released from the Seahawks and then signed with the division-rival 49ers Saturday Night.
The two possibly could have been connected on the transaction wire earlier in the 2017 season if a blockbuster deal would have gone through. That’s according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who tweets that Seattle rejected a potential Landry-for-Sherman swap in 2017.
At the time of the proposed deal, presumably before the trade deadline, Sherman was healthy and the Seahawks were looking to advance to the postseason for the sixth consecutive. Trading away a key member of the secondary and an influential figure in the locker room doesn’t appear to make much sense.
Regardless, it is interesting both teams were looking to move on from their respective stars as early as October.
Here’s more receivers making news:
- Before both of those deals went down, Mike Evans grabbed headlines by signing a five-year deal with the Buccaneers worth $82.5 MM. Breaking down the details, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry tweets the Bucs will $5 MM of salary cap space in 2018 and he now takes up $18.25 MM of cap room.
- During a chat with the Dallas Morning News on Friday, Matt Mosley said his gut feeling is that Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant will be back in 2018. He said that could change if the team lands a receiver in the first round. Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, among others, could be on the board when the Cowboys pick at No. 19.
- Though they didn’t place the franchise tag on him, the Jaguars do in fact like Allen Robinson and would like to have him back at the right price, general manager Dave Caldwell told Pro Football Talk. “At some point in time, just like other free agents, we’ve walked away. We don’t want to do that with Allen because he’s ours. We’ll see. We have a lot of options on the table with that.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: LS Don Muhlbach
Seahawks To Release CB DeShawn Shead
The Seahawks plan to release cornerback DeShawn Shead on Monday after his contract tolls to give him a chance to become an unrestricted free agent, 950 KJR in Seattle’s Curtis Crabtree hears from the player’s agent Cameron Foster. 
According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson (Twitter link), the Seahawks are honoring their statement to allow him to become a free agent despite the NFL recently deciding that his contract should toll. Shead has a meeting scheduled with the Lions, but Henderson also adds the team is hoping to bring back the veteran cornerback, who missed all but two games in 2017 in his return from tearing his ACL in a playoff game against Atlanta in January. The move is not related to the team’s recent defensive transactions that have seen the departures of Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Jeremy Lane.
According to the collective bargaining agreement, a player’s contract will toll — roll over to the 2018 season — if a player in the final year of his contract remains on the physically unable to perform list past the sixth game of the season. A restricted free agent in 2016, Shead signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks for $1.2 MM. He would be owed that same amount in 2018 if his contract tolled. Foster commended the team for the move.
“They called me and they said, ‘just giving you a heads up that we’re going to release DeShawn on Monday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want him. That means we are living up to our word and we’re going to release him, otherwise his contract would be required to toll.’ So kudos to the Seahawks for doing the right thing.”
Shead signed with the Seahawks in 2012 after going undrafted coming out of Portland State. The following season he was promoted from the practice team and helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII over the Broncos. In 2016, he started 15 games and registered an interception with 14 passes defensed.