Chiefs To Sign OL Daniel Kilgore
The Chiefs intend to sign veteran offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore, as Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Kilgore, 32, is about to enter his 10th season in the NFL.
The Appalachian State product was selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. It took him until the 2014 season to record his first career start, and then he ran into some tough injury luck, sustaining a broken leg that wiped out a good portion of his 2014-15 seasons.
He battled back to start 13 games at center in 2016 and a full 16-game slate in 2017. The advanced metrics have never been high on his work, but the 49ers certainly liked him enough to keep him around for a number of years and even signed him to a three-year extension after the 2017 season, only to ship him to the Dolphins several months later.
But in 2018, his first season with the ‘Fins, Kilgore played in only four games due to a torn pec. Though he played in 13 contests (all starts) in 2019, Miami was not terribly impressed and declined his 2020 option, making him a free agent. The Chiefs are the first team with reported interest.
It’s presently unclear whether Kilgore will push incumbent Kansas City center Austin Reiter for playing time, or if he projects as more of a depth piece. Kilgore has played guard in his career as well, so he could back up that position in the wake of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif‘s decision to opt out. Of course, the club also signed Kelechi Osemele to help fill the void left by LDT.
Giants Plan To Sign K Graham Gano
Lawrence Tynes was the Giants’ placekicker from 2007-12, though an injury limited him to two games in 2008. Now, he’s breaking news for Big Blue.
Tynes reports that the Giants are bringing in kicker Graham Gano for a visit (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the team is planning to sign the 33-year-old specialist, who was released by the Panthers last month (Twitter link).
New York, of course, has experienced some turmoil at the kicker position this year. Aldrick Rosas, the team’s kicker over the past three seasons — including a Pro Bowl campaign in 2018 — was cut by the Giants following a hit-and-run incident earlier this summer.
To replace Rosas, the Giants brought in Chandler Catanzaro, who appeared to be primed to claim New York’s kicking job. But assuming Gano is signed, there will be a legitimate competition between the two vets.
Gano was tremendous in his last full season in 2017, sinking 29 of his 30 field goal tries for a league-leading 96.7% conversion rate. That performance earned him the first Pro Bowl bid of his career, and it also helped him secure a four-year, $17MM deal. Unfortunately, a fractured femur suffered towards the end of the 2018 season laned Gano on IR, and he was unable to get back on the field in 2019. Before his release, though, his recovery was said to be progressing well.
Catanzaro, meanwhile, was a productive full-time kicker as recently as 2017 and does have several very productive seasons under his belt, but after a difficult preseason with the Jets last year, he announced his retirement. He came out of retirement to hook on with New Jersey’s other club, but he may be hard-pressed to beat out a healthy Gano.
NFL Workout Updates: 8/16/20
Catching you up on a few workouts that have taken place recently:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR River Cracraft, DE Chuck Harris
Indianapolis Colts
- T R.J. Prince, CB Cordrea Tankersley
Buccaneers Sign DT Kyle Love
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign veteran DT Kyle Love, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Love, 33, has spent the last six years as part of the defensive front for the division-rival Panthers.
Love entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games before he was waived with a non-football illness designation due to a diabetes diagnosis. Love appeared in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he’s since reestablished his career with Carolina.
In the past three seasons, Love has appeared in at least 37% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps. For what it’s worth, however, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics ranked him near the bottom of the league’s interior defenders.
Still, Tampa Bay does not have a ton of defensive line depth behind its starting trio of Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, and William Gholston, so Love will add some valuable experience to the rotation. He has 15 sacks and four forced fumbles in his career.
Contract Talks Ongoing Between Panthers, RT Taylor Moton
Panthers right tackle Taylor Moton has three years of service time, which means he is eligible for an extension. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Carolina would like to keep him off the open market next year.
Per David Newton of ESPN.com, the club and Moton’s camp are engaged in ongoing contract negotiations, but nothing is imminent at this time. Moton, a Western Michigan product, was selected by the Panthers in the second round of the 2017 draft.
He became a full-time starter in his sophomore campaign. He opened the 2018 season at left tackle in place of the injured Matt Kalil, but he quickly shifted over to right tackle after the Panthers signed Chris Clark to fill the LT spot. Moton has been the starting RT ever since.
He will celebrate his 26th birthday on Tuesday, and he has quietly established himself as a dependable force on the Panthers’ offensive front. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him a top-20 tackle in 2019, and PFF was especially fond of his pass-blocking abilities.
The rebuilding Panthers have seen a mass exodus of veteran talent this offseason, but Moton certainly qualifies as a foundational piece that could be part of the next competitive Carolina club. If player and team are able to come to terms at some point soon, it would not be surprising to see Moton land a deal similar to Ja’Wuan James‘ four-year, $51MM pact with the Broncos.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/20
Here are today’s minor moves. We will update this list as necessary throughout the day:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DL Tanzel Smart, DT Justin Zimmer
- Waived: WR Nick Easley
- Waived/injured: DT Niles Scott
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Tommylee Lewis, WR Marken Michel, TE Andrew Vollert
- Waived: TE Cam Sutton, LB Kyahva Tezino, WR DeAndrew White
- Waived off IR: LB Jason Ferris
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: C Casey Dunn
- Waived: G Jovahn Fair
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: DE Jalen Jelks
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Aleva Hifo
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Cody White
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Connor Davis
- Waived: S Anthony Cioffi
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: Marcus Webb
Jets Not Interested In Yannick Ngakoue
The Jets’ lack of a top-tier pass rusher has led to many observers connecting the dots between Gang Green and players like Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney this offseason. But we heard earlier this month that the club has no interest in Clowney, and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says the Jets feel the same way about Ngakoue.
That jibes with what Cimini reported back in March, but as the Jets have since acquired multiple first-round picks while failing to address their pass-rushing needs, it seemed that there was a possibility that the club could still make a move for Ngakoue, whose disenchantment with the Jaguars has been well-publicized. And, since several Power 5 conferences have pushed their seasons to the spring — while the remaining conferences could still follow suit — New York’s 2021 first-round selections may not be quite as valuable as they normally would be.
Still, Cimini says GM Joe Douglas views his four first-round picks from 2021-22 to be vital to the club’s rebuild, and he would be loathe to part with them. On the other hand, the ESPN scribe says Ravens’ edge defender Matt Judon could pique Douglas’ interest.
Indeed, Douglas, a former Ravens scout, has made a habit of acquiring former Baltimore talent, and Cimini classifies Judon as a better player than Ngakoue — which could be up for debate — who would fit nicely in the Jets’ 3-4 front. Judon and the Ravens did not reach an extension prior to the July 15 deadline, so he will play out the 2020 season on his franchise tag.
But unlike Ngakoue’s animosity towards Jacksonville, Judon harbors no ill-will towards the Ravens. And Baltimore, a championship contender, does not have much by way of proven depth in the pass-rushing department either, so it would be surprising to see the team jettison Judon, even if it could get a first-rounder in return.
West Notes: Samuel, Chiefs, Broncos
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area says the 49ers seem to be expecting top wideout Deebo Samuel, who is recovering from surgery to correct the Jones fracture in his left foot, to miss the first six weeks of the 2020 season. Indeed, the club recently signed both Tavon Austin and JJ Nelson to fill out its WR depth chart.
But Samuel’s timetable may not be quite that long. Maiocco acknowledges that workout videos posted by the talented second-year pass catcher suggest he could return sooner, and head coach Kyle Shanahan is still hoping for a Week 1 return.
“Deebo’s going to do everything he can to be in shape, but it’s hard to be in football shape until you can play football,” Shanahan said (via Keiana Martin of the team’s official website). “So, how many practices do we get him in here before Arizona? That’s going to all go into play. I’m hoping for Week 1, but not sure yet. It’s still too early.”
Now for a quick roundup of several more West division items:
- In addition to the Austin and Nelson signings, the 49ers recently took a flier on TE Jordan Reed. As Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, Reed’s one-year pact with San Francisco includes a $1.05MM base salary with up to $750K in playing time incentives.
- Chiefs CB Alex Brown suffered a torn ACL in Friday’s practice, as Brown himself noted on Instagram (via Nate Taylor of The Athletic on Twitter). Brown, a 2019 UDFA, spent time with the 49ers, Eagles, and Jets last summer before signing with KC’s practice squad. He got called up to the active roster in December and served as a special teams contributor down the stretch of the regular season and throughout the club’s Super Bowl run.
- Broncos TE Austin Fort is having an arthroscopic procedure on his knee and will miss some time, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets. It’s more tough luck for Fort, a 2019 UDFA who was impressing in training camp for Denver last summer before sustaining a season-ending ACL tear.
Dolphins To Release S Adrian Colbert
The Dolphins plan to release safety Adrian Colbert, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Miami signed Colbert off the Seahawks’ practice squad in November, and he played in six games (five starts) for the ‘Fins down the stretch.
Colbert was eligible for restricted free agency this offseason, and while the Dolphins opting against giving him an RFA tender, they did re-sign him several days later. But the club just claimed Jeremiah Dinson off waivers from the Lions, and Dinson will now compete with third-round rookie Brandon Jones, among others, for a backup safety spot.
Meanwhile, Colbert will look to recapture the form he showed in his rookie campaign with another team. The 49ers selected the Miami product in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, and by Week 10 of that season, he had made his way into the starting lineup. He opened the 2018 season as a starting safety but was not as effective as he had been the year before, and he was ultimately placed on IR in October 2018.
San Francisco released him via injury settlement last September, and he caught on with Seattle shortly thereafter before getting his opportunity in South Beach.
Texans’ DL Angelo Blackson Takes Pay Cut
Texans’ DL Angelo Blackson has agreed to a pay cut, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports (via Twitter). Blackson was set to earn nearly $4MM this year, but that number will now drop to $2.5MM.
Blackson was selected by the Titans in the fourth round of the 2015 draft and spent the first two years of his career with Tennessee but was waived prior to the start of the 2017 season. He quickly hooked on with the Patriots’ taxi squad and was signed by Houston a few weeks later.
In 2018, his first full year in Houston, the Auburn product saw the most playing time of his career, appearing in all 16 games and 40% of the team’s defensive snaps. Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics ranked him near the bottom of the league’s interior defenders that season, Houston re-signed him to a three-year, $12MM pact last March.
In 2019, Blackson again appeared in 40% of the Texans’ defensive snaps, recording 20 tackles in the process. But his overall game was still a bit lackluster, and if he did not accept a pay cut, he may have been released.
As Berman writes, the Texans have saved about $8MM of cap space between Blackson’s pay cut, Senio Kelemete‘s extension, and Zach Fulton‘s restructure. The team now has about $20MM of room, and due to the expected cap reduction in 2021, any rollover money will be valuable. Plus, the team also needs to stash some funds for the inevitable Deshaun Watson extension.