Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Waived: LB Bo Bower
New York Jets
- Signed: QB John Wolford
- Waived/injured: WR Lucky Whitehead
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Jaboree Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Daniel Marx
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Donteea Dye, RB Devine Redding
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Connor Jessop, DL JoJo Wicker
- Waived: CB Darius Hillary, WR Allenzae Staggers
- Waived from injured reserve: RB Martez Carter, OL Cameron Jefferson, FB Elijah Wellman
Could Raiders Acquire Veteran QB?
Even though he regressed a bit in 2017 after a stellar 2016 campaign, Derek Carr is entrenched as the Raiders’ starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, and Oakland is perfectly okay with that. However, the Raiders and new/old head coach Jon Gruden are not as pleased with their backup situation.
As Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the battle to be Carr’s backup has no apparent winner, and Gruden did not dismiss the possibility that the team could bring in outside help. Connor Cook had a strong preseason debut this year, completing 11 of 19 attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown against the Lions, but his next two outings were not nearly as promising. EJ Manuel, meanwhile, lost his third fumble in three preseason games on Friday night, and he recovered another fumble after a bad snap.
When asked on Friday if the Raiders’ backup quarterback is currently on their roster, Gruden said, “I don’t know. We’re going to continue to work, continue to see who’s available. I thought there were some good moments tonight and there were some moments tonight that weren’t good. It’s been too inconsistent. But I’m not going to say much more tonight until I see the tape. We’re going to continue to evaluate it.”
At this point in the year, the list of free agent quarterbacks does not offer any clear upgrades over Cook or Manuel, with players like Matt Moore, Derek Anderson, and Mark Sanchez representing the best options (excluding Colin Kaepernick, of course). Teddy Bridgewater‘s name has come up in trade rumors, and while it’s not clear if the Jets are willing to part with him, other signal-callers — like Baltimore’s Robert Griffin III, who has enjoyed a strong preseason — could become available via trade.
Carr has suffered injuries in each of the past two seasons, so the No. 2 QB job is an important one to an Oakland team that has playoff aspirations. Manuel was adequate while filling in for Carr in 2017, though Kawahara writes that Cook received a large share of second-team reps in training camp this summer. The Raiders did trade for Christian Hackenberg back in May, but the Penn State product lasted less than a month on the team’s roster, and he is with the Eagles for the time being.
In other Raiders news, Scott Bair of NBCSports.com writes that, after a disastrous start to his NFL career — which saw him go unclaimed on waivers just one year after being selected in the third round of the draft — Shilique Calhoun is firmly in the mix to make Oakland’s roster. Bair also notes that rookie kicker Eddy Pineiro remains sidelined with a groin injury, and Gruden has not put a timetable on his return. The longer Pineiro remains shelved, the better veteran Mike Nugent‘s chances are to make the team.
Buccaneers Sign Garrison Sanborn
The Buccaneers have signed LS Garrison Sanborn to a one-year contract, per Greg Auman of The Athletic. Sanborn served as Tampa Bay’s long snapper last season after an eight-year run with the Bills. Since signing with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in 2009, Sanborn has not missed a single game.
Despite Sanborn’s experience, the Bucs appeared content to go into the 2018 campaign with Drew Ferris — who has no regular season NFL experience — at long snapper. However, Ferris had a bad snap in the team’s Friday night preseason loss to Detroit, which led to a missed extra point. That was apparently all the Bucs needed to see to bring back Sanborn and to create a roster battle.
Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter suggested as much yesterday when discussing Ferris’ error. Koetter said, “It was a low snap, and (holder) Bryan Anger was trying to get it down and it was just bang-bang. When (kicker) Chandler (Catanzaro) was there to kick it, the ball wasn’t quite down, so he hit it kind of funny. Of course, any time you’re having that, that’s a concern and that’s something we’re going to have to address.”
Presumably, both Sanborn and Ferris will get an opportunity to prove their worth during Tampa Bay’s preseason finale on Thursday. The Bucs had three openings on their roster, so they do not need to make a corresponding move.
Sanborn is a Tampa native and played his collegiate ball at Florida State.
Lions To Sign Sterling Moore?
3:42pm CT: Moore’s agency has now deleted the tweet indicating he’d signed with the Lions, and Detroit added a different safety earlier today. As such, it’s unclear what’s going on between Moore and the Lions, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
12:45pm CT: Free agent cornerback Sterling Moore has signed with the Lions, as his agency tweeted this afternoon. Moore, a former UDFA who began his career with the Patriots in 2011, will reunite with Matt Patricia, the Lions’ new head coach who served as New England’s safeties coach in 2011 and the team’s defensive coordinator in 2012.
Moore was cut by the Patriots during the 2012 season, and he ultimately latched on with the Cowboys later that year. He mostly started for the Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Saints from 2014-2016, but he’s more of a role player at this stage of his career. In 2017, Moore bounced on and off the Saints’ roster, though he was fairly productive for New Orleans in 2016, finishing with a career-high 56 tackles, 13 passes defended, and two interceptions.
He is perhaps best known for his strip of then-Ravens receiver Lee Evans in the waning moments of the 2011 AFC Championship game, knocking a would-be game-winning touchdown out of Evans’ hands and sending New England to the Super Bowl.
In Detroit, Moore could have the opportunity to earn a fair amount of playing time. The Lions currently project to start Darius Slay and Teez Tabor, but the rest of the depth chart is not particularly inspiring. The team was set to meet with Kayvon Webster later this week, and it is unclear if the Moore signing will have any impact on those plans.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Darnold, Teddy, Pats
Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets that Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold once again took the majority of snaps in the team’s practice today, and he says it “feels inevitable” that the No. 3 overall selection will be the Week 1 starter. Which means, of course, that Gang Green could look to move Teddy Bridgewater, whose name we have heard in trade rumors almost as soon as the Jets acquired him this offseason. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv, though, believes Bridgewater will remain with the Jets throughout the season, unless another club’s starter gets hurt. If New York does deal Bridgewater, though, Vacchiano offers a list of teams who could be interested, including the Broncos, Jaguars, and Saints.
Now let’s check out some rumors from other east division clubs:
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wonders if Tom Brady‘s reworked deal with the Patriots was actually done with TE Rob Gronkowski in mind. After all, Brady’s deal only added $5MM in incentives and did not come with a big signing bonus or any additional years, so perhaps New England wanted to be able to tell Gronk — who wants a pay raise in the form of guaranteed money, not incentives — “we didn’t give Brady any extra guaranteed money, and we’re not going to do it for you, either.”
- In the same piece, Volin says he would not be surprised if the Patriots pursue Bridgewater next offseason (when he will be a free agent), or if they look to bring back Jacoby Brissett via trade in 2019 (assuming Andrew Luck proves he can stay healthy in 2018, which would make the Colts more inclined to deal Brissett). New England doesn’t have a young quarterback on its roster aside from seventh-round rookie Danny Etling, who is viewed as a practice-squad player at best.
- The Patriots haven’t used undrafted rookie punter Corey Bojorquez during their first two preseason games, and that could be because New England hopes to eventually sneak him through waivers and onto its practice squad, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Veteran Ryan Allen is the Patriots’ likely punter in 2018, but he ranked just 18th in net punting average a season ago. By keeping Bojorquez off game tape, New England isn’t allowing rival clubs to get a look at a potentially talented played.
Bengals To Release George Iloka
In a very surprising move, the Bengals are releasing veteran safety George Iloka, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Rapoport adds that the decision is a purely financial one, as Iloka has started every game he has played since 2013. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network confirms as much, pointing out that Iloka was due $5.3MM in base salary and roster bonuses this season (Twitter link). The Bengals will absorb a dead money hit of $2.1MM but will save $4.1MM against the cap in the process.
Garafolo adds that he expects Iloka to have a new job soon, and plenty of writers are already speculating that the Cowboys could be a fit. Others, however, are more skeptical. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, for instance, notes that all of Iloka’s former coordinators/positional coaches are now with teams who are set at safety, and given the abysmal market for free agent safeties this offseason, Barnwell believes a modest one-year deal could be in the cards for Iloka (Twitter link).
As Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets, the Bengals have frequently spoken this offseason about their desire to trim payroll and about their safety depth. With Iloka gone, it appears that impressive rookie Jessie Bates III, the No. 54 overall pick in this year’s draft, will become the team’s starting free safety.
Iloka, a 2012 fifth-round choice out of Boise State, played in seven games during his rookie campaign but has been a fixture in the Bengals’ starting lineup ever since. He has been quite durable as well, as he has played in 76 of a possible 80 regular season games and all three of the team’s playoff contests since 2013. He made the move from strong safety to free safety in 2016, and while he has not been much of a play-maker at either position — he has nine interceptions and zero sacks in his career — he is a solid overall player who would be an upgrade for a number of teams. He signed a five-year, $30MM pact with Cincinnati in March 2016 after a very good 2015 campaign.
Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com, though, writes that Iloka’s on-field play did factor into his release, as Cincinnati was apparently unhappy with how he performed last season. He will have a chance to prove them wrong on another club.
West Notes: M. Gordon, Broncos, Noteboom
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon will not be eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2019 season, as the Bolts picked up his fifth-year option for 2019 back in May. He cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career last season, and he continues to be a force as a receiver out of the backfield. Nonetheless, as Jack Wang of the Orange County Register writes, Gordon still has a long way to go before he can command the type of contract that fellow 2015 first-rounder Todd Gurley recently pulled down (Gordon, after all, has yet to average four yards per carry in his three seasons in the league).
But while Gordon is not focused on his next contract at the moment, he fully expects to be in Gurley territory when that time comes. He said, “[Gurley] definitely changed the market for us…When that time comes for us backs to get paid, I’m sure it’ll be around the same number.” Gordon did play a full 16-game season for the first time in his career in 2017, and there are plenty of reasons to think his YPC average might look a little better in 2018, which could add up to a lucrative extension in another year or so.
Now let’s round up a few more notes from the league’s west divisions:
- Broncos head coach Vance Joseph was noncommittal when asked after last night’s preseason loss to the Bears if the team would pursue a veteran to back up starting QB Case Keenum. Per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Joseph said, “Right now (Chad Kelly) is our guy. I can’t speak for two weeks down the road here. But right now he’s our backup quarterback.” Troy Renck of Denver 7 ABC says Kelly has been impressive in the preseason, but he would still be surprised if the Broncos do not add a veteran signal-caller (Twitter link).
- In a separate tweet, Renck passes along Joseph’s statement that the Broncos‘ running back competition is still open. Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post, however, reports (unsurprisingly) that rookie Royce Freeman appears to be the winner of the competition, as Denver clearly wants him to be the team’s lead back. Kiszla also points out that UDFA Phillip Lindsay has been sensational in the Broncos’ first two preseason games, and given Lindsay’s abilities on special teams, both Kiszla and Legwold (Twitter link) believe he has a real chance of making the roster.
- Alfred Morris‘ new contract with the 49ers is for the veteran minimum of $790K, per ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). As expected, Morris will need to play his way onto San Francisco’s Week 1 roster. He will count for $630K against the team’s cap.
- Rams rookie Joseph Noteboom, a third-round choice in this year’s draft — and the Rams’ first draft pick in 2018 — has a chance to see immediate playing time along the team’s offensive line this season. And, given the age and contract situation of Los Angeles’ current starting O-linemen, Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic writes that Noteboom — an ice hockey standout in high school — could become a fixture at guard or tackle in the very near future. The team has been very impressed with the TCU product thus far, and he acquitted himself nicely during last night’s preseason game, when he played both tackle positions and left guard.
- The Chiefs signed veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick earlier today.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/19/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DL Tenny Palepoi
- Waived/injured: P Cory Carter
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Jason Reese
- Waived/injured: WR Fred Ross
Detroit Lions
- Signed: S Marcus Cromartie
- Waived/injured: S Stefan McClure
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed off waivers: DT Adam Reth
Browns Hope Josh Gordon Will Be Ready For Week 1
After Josh Gordon‘s much-anticipated return to the Browns yesterday, Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson expressed his hope that Gordon will be ready to go when the team opens up the regular season against the division-rival Steelers on September 9. Jackson said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, “There’s a chance. Obviously, we’re just going to take it one step at a time. His focus is going to be on meetings and conditioning, and then we’ll just kind of go from there. Hopefully, we can get him up and running by the first game.”
As we learned yesterday, Gordon was placed on the active/non-football injury list, which means that he can start practicing as soon as the Browns’ medical team gives him the green light. Until that happens, he can attend meetings and conditioning sessions, but if he is going to play in Week 1, he obviously needs to return to the practice field as soon as possible (though Jackson expressed his belief that Gordon developed sufficient chemistry and understanding of the offense in OTAs and minicamp).
Interestingly, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes that the league has plenty of say as to when Gordon will make a full return. He writes that, while many reporters have “parroted” the notion that the process has been controlled by a proactive Gordon, this tweet from Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, which quotes NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, suggests otherwise. The tweet says that, since Gordon is still in the league’s substance abuse program, he needs to meet certain conditions before playing, and then it quotes McCarthy as saying, “this [is} part of the process. Can attend meeting, do conditioning. Can go to practice, but not participate. No timetable on next step.”
Florio says it’s clear that Gordon’s ability to practice and to play will be subject to league approval, which means that something happened during Gordon’s treatment plan that triggered his absence in the first place. If Gordon truly did keep himself out of training camp, Florio says he would have been instantly reinstated with no restrictions of any kind upon his return.
The way this situation has played out not only suggests that the league has been directly involved, per Florio, but that the NFL is also realizing that overly-aggressive application of its substance abuse policy is not helpful to either the player or the league. Instead, it appears that the NFL has opted to work with Gordon in this case instead of running him out of the league — another misstep on Gordon’s part would result in at least another year-long suspension — which jibes with a piece from Tony Grossi of ESPN 850 WKNR, who says that commissioner Roger Goodell has been sympathetic to Gordon since the two men had a face-to-face meeting last November.
Grossi also opines that, since the Browns have finally upgraded their receiving corps, Gordon may need the team more than the team needs him for the first time in their tumultuous history together, which may be the motivation he needs to stay on the right track.
Jackson, though, made no guarantees that Gordon is back for good. He said, “I’m confident that he’s here. That’s the most important part. How long he stays, only Josh knows that, but he’s in a much better place. I think all those things, as you guys know, are always fluid. That’s always a concern, but at the same time, we’re here to support, help and try to create the right environments for Josh.”
Colts Rejected Seahawks’ Offer For Jacoby Brissett
From a statistical standpoint, Jacoby Brissett was not especially impressive as the Colts’ starting signal-caller last season, but teams apparently saw enough in the former third-round pick to try and pry him away from Indianapolis this year. We heard back in March that the Colts had rejected two trade offers for Brissett — though the identities of the two teams and the strength of the offers were not known — and Colts owner Jim Irsay recently said that his club would not even trade Brissett for a first-round pick.
While it’s unlikely that the Colts have been tempted with a first-rounder, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports that the Seahawks did recently offer a second-round choice to Indianapolis in exchange for Brissett, and the Colts declined. Seattle, of course, does not need a starting quarterback with Russell Wilson under center, but the team apparently believes it could upgrade its backup situation. Austin Davis, who served as the team’s No. 2 QB last year, has not attempted a regular season pass since 2015, and the other quarterback on the roster, Alex McGough, is a rookie and was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. Seattle recently worked out Josh Johnson, which also suggests the team is not sold on either Davis or McGough should Wilson be forced to miss time.
The Colts, meanwhile, are thrilled to have Andrew Luck back and apparently healthy, but given his serious and well-documented shoulder problems, it is understandable that they would like to have a capable backup should Luck suffer any more setbacks.
Brissett is under contract through the 2019 season. Last year, his first as a full-time starter, he complied a 4-11 record and an 81.7 quarterback rating, throwing for 3,098 yards and 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions. He did rush for an additional 260 yards and four scores, and given his relative inexperience, the Colts’ porous offensive line, and the fact that he was traded from New England to Indianapolis just before the 2017 regular season began, he did about as well as could be expected (as evidenced by the trade interest he has generated).