Dolphins To Host Emmanuel Ogbah
In the wake of Shaquil Barrett‘s surprising retirement announcement, the Dolphins could be reuniting with a familiar face. As the NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reports, Miami will host free agent edge defender Emmanuel Ogbah tomorrow.
Ogbah, 30, was selected by the Browns in the second round of the 2016 draft. He played in Cleveland for three seasons and was traded to the Chiefs during the 2019 offseason. After one injury-shortened year in KC, he signed a two-year, $15MM contract with the Dolphins in March 2020.
His first two years in South Beach were the best of his career, as the Nigerian defender tallied nine sacks and over 20 QB hits in each campaign and parlayed that success into a four-year, $65.4MM deal in March 2022. Unfortunately, a torn triceps sustained midway through the 2022 season altered Ogbah’s career trajectory, as he ultimately suited up for just nine games that year and played in just 25% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps last season.
The cap-strapped Miami outfit released Ogbah in February, and although he managed to record 5.5 sacks in his limited action in 2023, there were no reports of interest in him before today. Still, with Barrett no longer in the fold and with Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recovering from major injuries, the ‘Fins certainly need a veteran reinforcement or two, and Ogbah fits the bill.
There are a few other rotational types on the market, including players like Carl Lawson and Markus Golden. The Dolphins have the cap space to add some free agent talent, as they are expected to recover Barrett’s $5.5MM signing bonus and $6.8MM cap hit.
Chiefs Place Justin Reid On NFI List
The Chiefs have placed safety Justin Reid on the non-football injury list, per Matt Derrick of ChiefsDigest.com. Fortunately, the situation does not sound overly serious, as Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride notes that Reid is day-to-day with a quad injury.
Reid, a third-round pick of the Texans in 2018, played out his four-year rookie contract with Houston and signed a three-year, $31.5MM deal with the Chiefs in 2022. He has served as a full-time defensive starter since then, racking up 178 tackles and 14 pass deflections along the way while helping the team win consecutive Super Bowls.
Interestingly, a report from last month indicated that Kansas City plans on using him (rather than kicker Harrison Butker) on kickoffs. Thanks to the much-discussed rule changes concerning kickoffs, more returns are expected to take place in 2024, so adding a defender to the coverage team would provide an upgrade in terms of tackling compared to kickers. That is the thought process behind the projected move, and Reid is not entirely unfamilar with the kicking game; in Week 1 of the 2022 season, he handled kickoffs and two extra point attempts (converting one) in relief of an injured Butker.
Teams are generally hesitant to deploy an important offensive or defensive starter on special teams because they don’t want that player getting injured in the game’s third phase, though the Chiefs did add Jaden Hicks in the fourth round of this year’s draft as insurance for Reid. And despite Kansas City’s overall strong defensive showing in 2023, Reid himself regressed a bit, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ 79th-best safety out of 95 qualifiers thanks in large part to a poor 51.8 coverage grade.
Although the prognosis is a good one, any kind of absence could affect the Chiefs’ special teams plans, as Reid will likely need plenty of time to get acclimated to his new kickoff duties.
Packers’ Javon Bullard In “Pole Position” For Starting Safety Job
The Packers completely overhauled their safety depth chart this offseason, parting ways with the three safeties that started the most games for them in 2023 – Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens, and Rudy Ford – while giving Xavier McKinney the most lucrative contract of any safety on the free agent market (four years, $68MM). Green Bay also added Georgia product Javon Bullard in the second round of this year’s draft, and as Matt Schneidman of The Athletic writes, Bullard is in “pole position” to land a starting job alongside McKinney (subscription required).
This echoes a report from last month that suggested Bullard and fellow second-round rookie Edgerrin Cooper had performed well in spring practices and had put themselves firmly in the mix for first-team action. Cooper, the first middle linebacker taken in the 2023 draft, appears poised to start next to Quay Walker in the second level of the Packers’ defense.
The veteran safety market has started to move a bit in recent weeks, with the likes of John Johnson, Jamal Adams, and Eddie Jackson securing new deals. There are a number of notable names still available, Justin Simmons and Quandre Diggs among them (Ford also remains unsigned). It seems, however, that the Packers will evaluate their current crop of talent in training camp before making any outside additions.
Assuming no such additions are made, Bullard will have to fend off two other 2024 draftees: fourth-round choice Evan Williams and fifth-rounder Kitan Oladapo. Oladapo, who broke the big toe on his left foot at this year’s scouting combine, has been placed on the NFI list and has not taken part in any offseason workouts, so he will be starting from behind whenever he is medically cleared.
The team is also rostering Anthony Johnson Jr., a 2023 seventh-rounder. Johnson appeared in 12 games (four starts) in his rookie campaign, and he was on the field for over 300 defensive snaps. He did record an interception and three passes defensed, but he generally exhibited the growing pains expected of a Day 3 choice in his first NFL season, and Pro Football Focus considered him the fifth-worst safety in the league among 95 qualified players.
Bullard could also see action at nickel, thereby allowing DC Jeff Hafley the opportunity to mix and match his young crop of defensive backs. The group will be tasked with maintaining or improving upon the performance of their predecessors, as the Pack yielded the ninth-fewest passing yards per game in 2023.
Chiefs Hope To Determine Post-2030 Location Within Six Months
In the wake of a failed ballot initiative that would have generated $800MM for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, Dallas mayor Eric Johnson publicly advocated for the Chiefs to relocate to Dallas. While it appears that is not going to happen, the Chiefs could still be on the move in the relatively near future.
The club’s lease with the Truman Sports Complex runs through January 31, 2031, meaning that Clark Hunt’s club does not yet have a place to call home for the 2031 season. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk writes, the Kansas legislature has passed a bill that would finance a new stadium for the Chiefs, thereby bringing a Big 4 sports outfit to the Sunflower State for the first time. Chiefs president Mark Donovan said at a Friday press conference that he is in talks with both Kansas and Missouri as he seeks to resolve his team’s stadium situation.
“I would say every option is on the table,” Donovan said (h/t Alper) . . . . “What makes the most sense for our fans? What makes the most sense for our franchise and this organization? What makes the most sense and can have the biggest impact on this region? I think the positive is we do have options and we’ll consider those.”
Interestingly, Donovan indicated that he hopes to make a decision between Kansas and Missouri within the next six months, a deadline that Nate Taylor of The Athletic deemed the “biggest takeaway” from the presser. Although it does not come as a surprise, Donovan did confirm that the Chiefs would play their home games at Arrowhead until the expiration of their current lease, which will take them through the 2030 campaign.
The president also indicated that there has been talk about another public vote in Jackson County (Mo.), though there is not currently much traction for such a measure. Donovan said the team would want “a lot of the details determined before we go” in that direction again.
Broncos Not Looking To Trade Garett Bolles
Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles is entering the final year of his current contract and is due a non-guaranteed $15.75MM base salary this season, to go along with a team-high $20MM cap hit. A trade or extension would have eased the burden on Denver’s cap, which is currently bloated by a league-leading $67.65MM in dead money stemming largely from the Russell Wilson release.
As Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post writes, however, the Broncos made it clear throughout the offseason that they are not looking to trade Bolles, their longest-tenured player. That makes it sound as if other clubs contacted Denver about acquiring the 2017 first-rounder, though there have been no public reports in that regard. Teams did check in on Bolles in the run-up to last year’s trade deadline, with the Broncos rebuffing overtures for all of their offensive talent.
Despite their resistance to any trade interest, the Broncos also do not seem to be in any hurry to extend Bolles. We heard in November that Bolles is interested in a new multiyear pact, and while the two sides could always open negotiations, it currently appears that the team is prepared to simply let their LT play out his contract and revisit the situation in 2025.
There is some logic to that. Denver is clearly in rebuild mode, so carving out cap space for 2024 is not necessarily a top priority, and authorizing a big-ticket extension for a 32-year-old blocker may not be the best use of limited resources (although it may have allowed the club to retain center Lloyd Cushenberry, who defected to the Titans in free agency). A trade for draft capital would have contributed to the rebuilding effort, but despite the Broncos’ bleak competitive outlook for the upcoming campaign, there is perhaps more value in having an established blocker protect the blind side of either Jarrett Stidham or first-round rookie Bo Nix, whom the team hopes will become its franchise QB.
While Bolles has never earned Pro Bowl honors, he has been a solid, starting-caliber LT since he entered the league, even considering his struggles with penalties during the early stages of his professional tenure. While he has been unable to replicate his elite 2020 performance, which made him Pro Football Focus’ third-highest-graded tackle that season and which earned him the four-year, $68MM extension he is about to finish up, he has mostly justified that investment.
He has also proven to be durable, with 2022 representing the only season in which he missed significant time due to injury. Bolles’ desire for a new contract notwithstanding, he was present for all of the Broncos’ voluntry workout this offseason, as Gabriel observes.
Jacoby Jones Passes Away
Former NFL wide receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones has passed away, as ESPN’s Jamison Hensley was first to report. Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports that Jones died overnight in his sleep in his Houston-area home, and that the cause of death is not yet known. Jones was just 40 years old.
Selected by the Texans in the third round of the 2007 draft, Jones eventually became a complementary weapon on Houston’s offense, catching 109 balls for 1,511 yards and 11 scores over the 2009-11 seasons. However, he made his mark as a return man almost immediately, and over his first five years in the league, he averaged over 10 yards per punt return three times and took back three punts and one kickoff for touchdowns.
His time with the Texans came to something of an unceremonious end, as he muffed a punt in a divisional round game against the Ravens in 2011, which Baltimore recovered at Houston’s 2-yard line. The Ravens converted the turnover into a touchdown and went on to win the game by a 20-13 score.
Coincidentally, Jones signed with Baltimore the following offseason, a transaction that proved to be invaluable for player and team alike. While he again enjoyed an important ancillary role on offense, his return skills were instrumental to the Ravens’ success in 2012, as he took back two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns and led the league with a 30.7 yards-per-return rate on kickoffs.
His performance in that season’s playoffs, though, is what cemented his legacy, particularly in Baltimore. In an upset win over the top-seeded, Peyton Manning-led Broncos in Denver, Jones was on the receiving end of a Joe Flacco bomb late in the game, with the Ravens trailing by a touchdown and facing a a 3rd-and-3 on their own 30 with 42 seconds left in regulation and no timeouts. Jones got behind the Denver secondary, caught the Flacco pass, and scampered into the endzone, blowing a kiss to the stunned crowd as he did so.
Following what became known as the “Mile High Miracle,” the Ravens would go on to defeat the Broncos in double overtime and eventually advanced to Super Bowl XLVII. Near the end of the first half of the team’s win over the 49ers in that contest, which was held in Jones’ hometown of New Orleans, Jones caught another deep Flacco pass, falling to the turf to secure the catch and then getting to his feet to elude San Francisco defenders on his way to paydirt. He then returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a 108-yard touchdown, all part of a 34-31 victory for Baltimore.
Jones, who earned First Team All-Pro honors for his 2012 performance, played for the Ravens for two more seasons, adding another kickoff return TD along the way. He played nine games between the Steelers and Chargers in 2015, and he officially announced his retirement in September 2017.
Wilson passes along statements from the Ravens and head coach John Harbaugh, who was in his fifth year as Baltimore’s HC when the club captured Super Bowl XLVII.
We at PFR pass along our condolences to Jones’ family and friends and his former teammates and coaches, many of whom have taken to social media to share their memories of a gregarious, affable, and often electric player.
Latest On Bengals’ WR3 Competition
With Tyler Boyd now in Tennessee, the WR3 role in the Bengals’ offense is up for grabs. Whoever lands the gig will likely see plenty of targets in Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow-led aerial attack, and they will also be well-positioned for an even bigger workload in 2025 if Tee Higgins — who is poised to play out the upcoming season on the franchise tag — should depart in free agency.
As Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network writes, “there is an assumption” that rookie Jermaine Burton will serve as Burrow’s top target behind Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins on the club’s WR depth chart. There is plenty of justification for that assumption, as Burton spent four years establishing himself as a dangerous weapon in college football’s best conference. Across two seasons at Georgia and two more at Alabama, Burton caught 132 passes for 2,376 yards (an excellent 18.0 YPR rate) and 23 TDs. That type of explosiveness could make life quite difficult for opposing defensive coordinators, who will already have their hands full in accounting for Chase and Higgins.
Morrison is quick to point out, however, that second-year player Andrei Iosivas is very much in the mix. The Bengals viewed the Princeton product as something of a project when they selected him in the sixth round of last year’s draft, but he adapted to the pro game more quickly than expected and played well in relief of an injured Higgins in 2023. Morrison notes that Iosivas has earned Burrow’s trust, and he worked with a receiver coach this offseason to further refine his route running and technique. He secured 15 catches for 116 yards and four TDs in his rookie season.
Of course, even the wideouts that find themselves lower on Cincinnati’s pecking order will still have an opportunity to carve out a meaningful role. Charlie Jones was taken two rounds before Iosivas in the 2023 draft, and he made a notable special teams impact as a rookie, returning 23 punts for 248 yards, including an 81-yard return for a score. Longtime Bengal Trenton Irwin saw significant snap shares over each of the past two seasons, notching 55 catches for 547 yards and five TDs in that span.
Irwin was re-signed to a modest one-year accord this offseason.
Patriots To Move Michael Onwenu Back To RG?
This offseason, the Patriots tapped offensive lineman Michael Onwenu as a core piece of their foundation, signing the versatile blocker to a three-year, $57MM contract. Shortly thereafter, we heard that New England planned to keep him at right tackle, where he took most of his snaps last season.
However, that plan may have changed. As Paul Perillo of the team’s official website observes, the Pats did indeed have Onwenu line up at right tackle in the early stages of spring work, but at mandatory minicamp last month, Onwenu slid inside to right guard. In Perillo’s estimation, RG is Onwenu’s best position, and the writer also made it sound as if the move is permanent, noting that David Andrews “will lock down the center spot next to Onwenu.”
While Onwenu’s ability to line up at right tackle and both guard positions is a selling point, Perillo may well be correct in his belief that the Michigan product is best-suited to RG. Pro Football Focus assigned Onwenu a strong 71.5 overall grade last year — positioning him as the 29th-best tackle out of 81 qualifiers — but in 2022, when he started all 17 games and took every single snap at right guard, Onwenu earned a 79.3 overall grade and finished as the league’s fourth-best guard out of 77 qualified players. In 1,044 snaps that season, he committed just two penalties and yielded 14 pressures, only one of which got home for a sack.
The Patriots, who are projected to lead the league with roughly $107MM in cap space in 2025, can afford to overspend on certain positions to retain premium talent, but the Onwenu contract does not qualify as a significant overpay even with his presumptive shift to the interior of the line. Since the Colts’ Quenton Nelson took the top off the market in 2022, a number of guards have landed contracts paying them at rates enjoyed by high-end tackles. In terms of average annual value, Onwenu’s $19MM figure makes him the fourth-highest-paid RT and the third-highest-paid RG. If we factor LGs into the equation, Onwenu slots fifth in the guard hierarchy.
Onwenu’s move to right guard opens the door for rookie Caedan Wallace to take the reins at right tackle. At present, Chukwuma Okorafor is penciled in at left tackle, though he has no experience on the blind side. While the Pats are surely comfortable with the Andrews-Onwenu pairing in the middle of their line, it would not be surprising to see them bring in reinforcements at OT as the summer progresses.
2023 fourth-rounder Sidy Sow, who started 13 games at right guard in his rookie season, will step in at left guard while Cole Strange recovers from knee surgery. That procedure will force Strange to miss the start of the 2024 campaign.
Panthers, Adrian Wilson Part Ways
Just last year, Adrian Wilson was on the short list of candidates to take over as the Cardinals’ permanent general manager. While he did not get the gig, he landed on his feet as the Panthers’ vice president of player personnel. After one year in that position, Wilson is again in search of a new employer.
Carolina never made a public announcement on the matter, but as a team spokesperson told Pro Football Talk this morning, “Adrian Wilson will not continue in his position as Vice President of Player Personnel for the Carolina Panthers. Consistent with our organizational policy on employee matters, we will have no further comment” (via PFT’s Mike Florio).
Of course, 2023 was hardly a banner year for the Panthers. The club’s 2-15 record was disappointing in and of itself, and the pronounced struggles of rookie quarterback Bryce Young made matters worse. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Carolina’s league-worst W-L mark would have entitled the team to the top selection in this year’s draft, but the Panthers had already traded that pick to the Bears as part of the package to acquire the No. 1 overall choice in the 2023 draft, which they used to select Young.
Given the Panthers’ forgettable season and the fact that GM Scott Fitterer was fired in January, it is not surprising that Wilson, one of Fitterer’s top lieutenants, is no longer with the team either. However, since owner David Tepper opted to replace Fitterer internally by promoting assistant GM Dan Morgan to the top job, it was reasonable to think that Wilson would remain on the staff and assist Morgan in trying to right the ship.
It is unclear whether Wilson moved on voluntarily or was dismissed. In either case, and fairly or not, Wilson’s departure will likely be seen as another failure of the Tepper regime. After all, if Wilson left on his own, it could reinforce the notion that Tepper is a difficult boss who fosters an untenable working environment; if Wilson was fired, it will add to Tepper’s reputation as an impatient and impulsive owner. As Florio wrote, “from David Tepper’s football team to his soccer team, the hinge on the swinging door never has much of a chance to get rusty.”
Wilson, a longtime Cardinals safety and five-time Pro Bowler, started working as a regional scout for Arizona in 2015. He ascended the executive ladder fairly quickly, and he and Quentin Harris ended the 2022 season sharing the Cardinals’ GM duties after Steve Keim took an indefinite leave of absence. Wilson had interviewed for the Giants’ GM post the previous offseason and was reportedly in line to take over as Jaguars GM the same year if Jacksonville had hired Byron Leftwich as their head coach.
Now 44, Wilson will surely land another high-ranking position in the near future, though his stint in Carolina stalled his upward trajectory.
Deven Thompkins Secures Meeting With NFL
Former Buccaneers wide receiver/return specialist Deven Thompkins met with two NFL Personal Conduct Policy investigators and an NFLPA attorney in New York last week, as ESPN’s Jenna Laine reported. Thompkins actively sought the meeting, which took place sooner than it otherwise would have, as part of his effort to clear his name and land another NFL opportunity this season.
Thompkins, 24, was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement last month, which made him a free agent. Given his production as a return man in 2023, he ordinarily would have stood a good chance at hooking on with a new club. After all, the injury that ostensibly precipitated his release was a Grade 1 hamstring strain that should be fully healed by now.
The problem for Thompkins is that his estranged wife, Maria Castilhos, has accused him of physical abuse dating back to February 14, 2023. Thompkins filed for divorce on February 27, and in the wake of Castilhos’ accusations, he recently filed a lawsuit against her for defamation and tortious interference with his NFL contract. As part of that claim, Thompkins alleges that Castilhos threatened him “with fabricated allegations of domestic violence unless he met her financial demands for additional alimony” in the divorce proceeding.
As of the time of this writing, Thompkins has not been suspended, and given that his steadfast denials have now evolved into a separate suit, the league may wait until more information comes to light before taking any action. In the meantime, he is free to sign with any club, though the nature of Castilhos’ allegations will doubtlessly make teams reluctant to acquire him.
A former undrafted free agent, Thompkins spent the past two seasons operating as Tampa Bay’s kick and punt returner. He totaled 1,082 return yards during that span, adding 115 yards and one touchdown on offense. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles previously left the door open to a new contract for Thompkins, but it is unclear if the club would truly consider that.