Ravens Tried To Trade For Yannick Ngakoue
The Ravens have made several attempts to upgrade their pass rushing corps this offseason. In addition to a creative sign-and-trade attempt to land Jadeveon Clowney, which was nixed by the league, Baltimore also tried to trade for former Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
La Canfora says the Ravens and Jags were “deep in talks” and had agreed that Baltimore would send a second-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for Ngakoue, but the Ravens’ salary cap situation ultimately prevented a deal from being completed. At the time of the trade discussions, the Ravens had roughly $6MM in cap space, and while the team did create some (perhaps temporary) room when it released Earl Thomas, Baltimore apparently was not comfortable depleting all of its reserves.
Ultimately, Ngakoue was sent to the Vikings and agreed to reduce his 2020 salary from ~$18MM to $12MM in order to facilitate the trade. The Maryland product likely would have been willing to make a similar concession to make a Ravens trade work, but even a $12MM salary would have forced Baltimore to create cap space elsewhere via restructure or extension.
The team did just create $3MM in cap space several days ago by reworking Brandon Williams‘ contract, and look for the Ravens to continue their pursuit of a pass rusher. Baltimore is said to be monitoring Ziggy Ansah, and perhaps a deal will come together after Week 1. Failing that, GM Eric DeCosta could swing a trade in advance of this year’s deadline, just as he did last year in acquiring CB Marcus Peters from the Rams.
Dolphins Sign WR Antonio Callaway
The Dolphins recently brought Antonio Callaway in for a workout, and they apparently liked what they saw. As Callaway himself posted on social media, he is now a member of the Dolphins (via Mark Wheeler of InsideTheGators.com on Twitter).
According to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com, Callaway will start the season on Miami’s practice squad (Twitter link). He still needs to serve the remaining three games of the 10-game suspension that he was handed last season for his second violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, but he will be permitted to attend meetings and continue to rehab the knee injury he sustained as a member of the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers earlier this year.
The Browns selected Callaway in the fourth round of the 2018 draft after a productive career at the University of Florida. He entered the league with plenty of red flags, and he was largely unable to overcome them in the pros, as evidenced by the two suspensions. But he also displayed plenty of promise in his first season with Cleveland, playing in 16 games (11 starts) and recording 43 catches for 586 yards and five TDs.
The Dolphins’ WR corps is fronted by Preston Williams and DeVante Parker, but once Callaway returns from suspension, he will have a good chance to compete for snaps on a rebuilding outfit that’s looking for low-risk, high-reward candidates.
Bengals Waive G Alex Redmond
The Bengals have waived guard Alex Redmond, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the team has claimed Shaq Calhoun off waivers from the Dolphins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016, Redmond worked his way onto the Bengals’ roster and eventually earned a starting spot along the team’s offensive front. In 2018, Redmond started 15 games for Cincinnati, though he was not particularly effective. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s PED policy, and he ultimately appeared in just three games (two starts) last season due to the suspension and injury.
In Calhoun, the Bengals are getting a slightly younger player to provide O-line depth. The Mississippi State product signed with Miami as a UDFA last year and ultimately played in 10 games (seven starts). According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, Calhourn struggled in both pass-blocking and run-blocking, but clearly Cincinnati — which has top waiver priority — saw something it liked.
AFC East Notes: Gilmore, Bell, Callaway
Patriots star CB Stephon Gilmore is set to earn $10.5MM this year, which is quite a bargain when considering that the top of the CB market now features average annual values in the $17MM range. But it does not appear that Gilmore is pushing for a new deal at this time, and though he missed five practices in a row last month, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the absence was not contract-related.
Now for a few more AFC East items:
- For months, Jarrett Stidham looked like he would be the Patriots‘ starting QB and would serve as the heir apparent to Tom Brady. But now, Reiss says Stidham might actually be the third-stringer behind Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer, and his inability to generate any momentum in training camp has cast his long-term future in doubt.
- In the same piece linked above, Reiss says that Jermaine Eluemunor has definitively seized the Patriots’ RT job.
- Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, Jets RB Le’Veon Bell says he has no issues with head coach Adam Gase. In his first comments since his publicly questioning Gase’s decision to pull him out of a recent scrimmage, Bell said, “I don’t understand why everybody is trying to put me and Gase against each other. We’re not against each other. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe, but we actually like each other” (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). Though Bell may not make it past this year’s trading deadline with Gang Green, it is in his and Gase’s best interests to limit the drama and focus on getting Bell back to his old form.
- Former Browns receiver Antonio Callaway recently tried out for the Dolphins, as Albert Breer of SI.com notes (via Twitter). Callaway, a 2018 fourth-round pick, has plenty of promise but has had a very rocky start to his pro career, including two separate suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He hooked on with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers in January but suffered a leg injury shortly after signing, and this is the first time we have heard his name in NFL circles since then.
- The Dolphins just waived QB Josh Rosen, and as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets, the team could now reunite with Jake Rudock, who spent last season on the Miami practice squad.
Bears To Sign DE Mario Edwards
It didn’t take long for Mario Edwards to find a new home. One day after being released by the Saints, the veteran defensive end has agreed to sign with the Bears, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter).
New Orleans was reportedly interested in re-signing Edwards to its practice squad, but the Bears were quick to pounce in an effort to bolster their defensive line depth. Though Chicago’s LB corps looks pretty stout, the club is a bit thin along the D-line in the wake of Eddie Goldman‘s decision to opt out of the 2020 season.
Edwards is not a replacement for Goldman, a nose tackle, but he will provide a more experienced DE to bookend with Akiem Hicks. He will likely push 2018 fifth-rounder Bilal Nichols for playing time.
Now 26, Edwards has never lived up to his status as a second-round draft choice. The Raiders selected the Florida State product in the 2015 draft, but he was waived after three seasons with Oakland. The Giants claimed him off waivers, and he parlayed his one year with Big Blue into a two-year, $5MM pact with the Saints last offseason. New Orleans liked him enough to keep him on this year’s practice squad but did not consider him good enough to be a part of its deep D-line rotation.
The Bears, however, don’t have as much depth, so they will give Edwards a spot on the 53-man roster.
Lions Sign Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson is back in the NFC North. After being released by Washington on Friday, the longtime Viking and future Hall-of-Fame running back is signing with the Lions, as veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson was first to report (Twitter link).
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Peterson’s deal with Detroit will be a one-year pact worth a minimum of $1.05MM, though there are incentives to push that number a bit higher (Twitter link). Sources tell Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the deal will max out at $2.3MM and that the incentives are based upon yardage and touchdowns.
Although the Lions’ RB room is crowded, it also has a few question marks. The club selected Kerryon Johnson in the second round of the 2018 draft, and while he has shown flashes of promise, he has missed significant time over his first two years in the league due to knee injuries. Detroit added one of the best RB prospects in this year’s draft in Georgia product D’Andre Swift, but Swift missed nearly two weeks of training camp with a knee injury.
So there is definitely a possibility that Peterson could play a significant role, at least early on in the season as Swift tries to make up for lost time. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press believes Peterson will end up poaching more of Johnson’s expected work than Swift’s, including, perhaps, goal-line touches.
With the Lions, Peterson will reunite with Darrell Bevell, Detroit’s offensive coordinator who served in the same capacity with the Vikings during Peterson’s first four years in Minnesota (when he piled up four Pro Bowl nods and two First Team All-Pro selections). As Peterson told Anderson, “[the Lions are] giving me an opportunity to play. I know Coach Bevell from my days in Minnesota. Ultimately I feel comfortable going there and helping them to get better.”
Peterson, 35, has rushed for 14,216 yards, putting him roughly 1,000 yards behind Barry Sanders for fourth on the NFL’s all-time career list. He might not be the player he once was, but he did average a solid 4.2 yards per carry over the 2018-19 campaigns with Washington. Between him, Johnson, and Swift, the Lions should be able to improve upon the 103.1 rushing yards per game they mustered in 2019, which put them near the bottom third of the league.
Jadeveon Clowney To Sign With Titans
Just a few days before the start of the 2020 regular season, Jadeveon Clowney finally has a new home. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Clowney is signing a one-year deal with the Titans that is worth at least $12MM and that will max out at $15MM (Twitter link).
Though Clowney’s name has been a prominent part of the NFL news cycle all offseason, his market really started to pick up within the past week or so. It was reported at the end of last month that the Ravens had emerged as the frontrunners for his services, and then we learned that the Titans and Saints were pushing to sign him. The Seahawks and Browns were among the other clubs that expressed legitimate interest during Clowney’s lengthy stay on the market.
According to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com — who first reported last night that Clowney was planning to sign with Tennessee — the Saints’ offer came in about $2MM lower than the Titans’ proposal (Twitter link). Dan Graziano of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that New Orleans really wanted to get a deal done and even talked to veterans already on the roster about reworking their contracts to create cap room. Graziano says Seattle continued to monitor the situation but ultimately felt that a $12MM minimum payout was too rich (Twitter link). And per Albert Breer of SI.com, Clowney wanted to sign with Baltimore, but the Ravens were perhaps more lukewarm on the idea than was reported (Twitter link).
As opposed to most of the other teams that were connected to Clowney, the Titans have been involved in the process all along. They extended an offer months ago and never stopped their pursuit. Given the presence of head coach Mike Vrabel — the Texans’ LB coach and defensive coordinator during Clowney’s first four years in Houston — and Tennessee’s relative proximity to Clowney’s South Carolina home, the Titans always felt like a logical fit.
Clowney, 27, is not without his detractors. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 draft battled injuries in the early part of his career, and he underwent core muscle surgery this offseason. For months, teams could not bring him into their facilities to evaluate him due to COVID-19 restrictions, and (fair or not) it seems that health concerns will always be a part of his resume.
There is also the issue of his lack of sack production to consider. Clowney has never posted double-digit sacks in a season, and he mustered just three with the Seahawks last season. On the other hand, Clowney supporters will point to his ability to disrupt a passing game even without gaudy sack totals, and he can be a menace against the run as well. He earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2016-18, and the Titans hope his familiarity with Vrabel’s defense will help him return to that level of play.
It may take Clowney and fellow free agent acquisition Vic Beasley a week or two to get fully up to speed. But once they do, they will team with Harold Landry and Jeffery Simmons to form the foundation of an intriguing front seven, one that could certainly help the Titans get back to the postseason.
Clowney did not get the massive multi-year contract with a $20MM AAV that he was seeking when free agency opened, but he will have a good chance to improve his stock with the Titans. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Titans have agreed that they will not use the franchise tag on Clowney next offseason. That same provision was worked into his Seahawks deal after he was traded to Seattle last year and may have ultimately cost him several million dollars, but he is clearly willing to bet on his ability to land a long-term pact with significant guarantees. With the 2021 salary cap expected to decrease, though, even a career-best showing this year might not be enough to get him that type of deal next offseason.
COVID-19 Latest: Masks, Testing, Pac-12
Thus far, training camps have been more successful than anyone could have anticipated in terms of the NFL’s battle with COVID-19. Though there was a slight hiccup last week due to a series of false positive tests, the true positivity rate across all 32 clubs is less than 1%.
In a recent videoconference with Washington Post reporters and editors, NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said the league hopes to finalize testing protocols for regular season games within the next couple of days (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post). Those protocols are likely to include rapid-result testing that will be conducted close to game time (if not on the day of the game itself) to provide players with final clearance to participate in games. As of right now, the league and union have agreed to daily testing through September 5. The first regular season game is scheduled for September 10.
Interestingly, Sills said that a player does not need to test positive to be withheld from a game. A player who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms will be held out regardless of his test results. Sills added that it is difficult to say how many positive tests would lead to a team being shut down, though even one positive test could do it if the person who tested positive had a large number of close contacts.
As we inch closer to the Texans-Chiefs contest that is now less than two weeks away, let’s take a look at several more COVID-related items:
- The NFL will mandate coaches and all sideline staffers wear masks during games, Sills said. Owners must also don masks if they want to enter team locker rooms on game days. The league, however, will not require players to wear masks on the sideline during games — unless a state mandates it — according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
- Another big change on the COVID front this week: players will not be allowed in team facilities on Mondays after games, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. While exceptions exist — for teams on short weeks and players rehabbing injuries — this marks a notable adjustment for teams during the regular season.
- Daily testing will continue across the league for the foreseeable future. The NFL and NFLPA on Saturday reached a second agreement to extend the daily testing period, Pelissero tweets. What was a two-week experiment has turned into a successful, longer-term policy.
- No NFL players who have contracted COVID-19 have been diagnosed with myocarditis, the heart muscle muscle inflammation that has been associated with the coronavirus and that contributed to the Big Ten’s decision to postpone its fall schedule (Twitter link via John Kryk of the Toronto Sun). All NFL players are tested for myocarditis, so the fact that there have been no cases so far is obviously great news.
- The Pac-12 has secured an arrangement that will allow the conference to test football players daily. The league has partnered with Quidel, and this agreement will enable test results to emerge within 15 minutes, Nick Bromberg of Yahoo.com notes. The NFL has been testing players daily for nearly a month and has not revealed plans to stop doing so. The Pac-12 joined the Big Ten in postponing its football season, but this testing deal stands to help the conference play its 2020 campaign at some point.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Patriots Name Cam Newton Starting QB
No surprises here, but the Patriots have named Cam Newton their starting quarterback, as Jim McBride of the Boston Globe was first to report. Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald adds that Newton has been voted a team captain (Twitter link).
For a long time after Tom Brady‘s abdication, New England insisted that it was comfortable moving forward with second-year pro Jarrett Stidham as its starting signal-caller. But the team managed to sign Newton for peanuts at the end of June, and as soon as that happened, the 2015 MVP became the odds-on favorite to succeed Brady as the Patriots’ QB1.
Newton has undergone three surgeries since the beginning of the 2017 offseason — two shoulder procedures and a foot operation — and he has missed 16 of the last 18 games. His 2019 season was almost completely wiped out by injury, but he looked like his usual brilliant self through the first 12 weeks of the 2018 campaign, and he ended that year having completed a career-best 67.9% of his throws for 3,395 yards, 24 TDs, and 13 picks. He also showed that he can still make plays with his feet – he tallied 488 rushing yards and four scores on 101 carries.
The most recent reports out of training camp suggested that Newton has not been perfect in practices, but he has been plenty good enough to beat out Stidham — who has been dealing with a hip injury — and Brian Hoyer. And he clearly has ingratiated himself with his new teammates, as evidenced by his captaincy.
Things will feel very different in Foxborough this year without Brady, but between Newton and the Pats’ defense, New England may not be ready to give up its stranglehold on the AFC East just yet.
49ers Place Tavon Austin On IR
It’s a bad year to be a 49ers wide receiver. Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports that Tavon Austin, whom San Francisco signed last month due to injuries to other wideouts, is headed to IR with a knee injury (Twitter link). Austin was signed on the same day as J.J. Nelson, who was recently placed on IR as well.
It’s an especially tough break for Austin, who was performing well in training camp and who may have been a valuable chess piece in head coach Kyle Shanahan‘s offense. Deebo Samuel appears unlikely to be available at the start of the season, first-round rookie Brandon Aiyuk‘s hamstring injury makes his status uncertain, and Jalen Hurd will miss the entire campaign due to an ACL tear, so Austin may actually have been in line for a sizable role.
The good news for the Niners is that Richie James has been activated from the NFI list. James had been dealing with a broken wrist, but it appears that he is on track for Week 1. He has served as the club’s primary return specialist over the last two seasons, and with Austin out of the picture, it seems likely that he will reprise that role in 2020.
The 49ers, though, could still use some depth at WR, and one wonders if the recently-released Mohamed Sanu could spark GM John Lynch‘s interest. As Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk writes, Lynch did not rule out a potential Sanu signing when asked about it this afternoon. Sanu played for Shanahan in Atlanta in 2016, when the latter was working as the Falcons’ OC.