Commanders To Sign TE Kaden Smith
The Commanders are signing tight end Kaden Smith, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Smith signed with the Colts in May but was waived earlier this month.
As ESPN’s John Keim tweets, Washington’s TE1, Logan Thomas, is currently nursing a calf injury. As such, Smith will at least give the club an extra body at the position for the time being, and given his past experience with the divison-rival Giants, he may have a legitimate shot to stick on the roster.
A sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2019, Smith was waived by San Francisco one week into his rookie season and was claimed by the Giants. From 2019-21, the Stanford product was a regular presence in New York’s offensive lineup, appearing in 33 games (22 starts) as the blocking complement to receiving tight end Evan Engram. Smith also showed some receiving abilities of his own, catching 31 balls for 268 yards and three TDs during Engram’s injury-related absence in the second half of the 2019 campaign.
Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered in November 2021 derailed Smith’s career, and there was concern that he would not be able to play again. After missing all of 2022, the 26-year-old is healthy enough, though he could not carve out a spot in a crowded TE room in Indianapolis. He will hope for better luck with the Commanders, who are rostering two recent mid-round draft choices in John Bates and Cole Turner in addition to Thomas.
Like Smith, Bates is known more for his blocking prowess. While Bates did flash some promise as a pass catcher in his rookie season in 2021 (20 receptions for 249 yards and a score), Turner, a 2022 fifth-rounder, is the more exciting receiving prospect. Thomas, meanwhile, played in just six games in 2021 due to injury and was unable to recapture his pre-injury form last year, so the fact that he is now battling a calf ailment is certainly cause for concern.
In the TE-friendly scheme of new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, there is perhaps room for all four of Thomas, Bates, Turner, and Smith, especially in light of Thomas’ health concerns and the fact that Bates and Turner are largely unproven commodities.
The Commanders cut punter Colby Wadman in a corresponding transaction, as Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.
Falcons To Sign LB Frank Ginda
The Falcons have agreed to sign linebacker Frank Ginda, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Ginda played for the USFL’s Michigan Panthers in each of the rebooted league’s first two seasons, and he took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023.
Now 26, Ginda is no stranger to the NFL. The former San Jose State standout signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and went through OTAs with the club before being waived. He spent the rest of that summer with the Dolphins and ultimately wound up on Miami’s taxi squad, though he never appeared in a regular season contest.
Ginda, who has also spent time in the AAF and XFL, signed with the Saints in May 2019. New Orleans waived him as part of its final roster cuts that year.
While the Falcons’ two starting inside linebacker spots will be occupied by free agent acquisition Kaden Elliss and 2022 second-rounder Troy Andersen, it seems as if Ginda has a chance to finally carve out a spot for himself on a Week 1 NFL roster. Mykal Walker, a 2020 fourth-round selection, was displaced as a starter by Andersen late last season and appears ticketed for more of a rotational role in 2023. Walker’s spot on the depth chart is likely secure nonetheless, but Ginda could push players like Tae Davis and 2022 UDFA Nathan Landman for playing time.
In what he surely hopes was his final USFL season, Ginda posted a league-leading 104 tackles along with three interceptions and a sack. He has produced prolific tackle totals at both the collegiate and professional levels, and that acumen may at least earn him an extended look as a rotational defender and special teams contributor in Atlanta.
The Seahawks were also interested in Ginda and recently brought him in for a workout, as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets.
Saints LG Andrus Peat In Danger Of Losing Starting Job?
Saints left guard Andrus Peat has dealt with a litany of injuries in his career, and he has averaged just ten games per season over the last four years. The 29-year-old has already suffered a quadriceps injury in this year’s training camp that has caused him to miss time, and Rod Walker of NOLA.com believes Peat may no longer be in line for a starting role.
James Hurst, who is capable of playing both guard and tackle, received first-team reps at left guard in Peat’s absence, and Walker says it would not surprise if Hurst gets the nod at LG when the regular season begins. Hurst operated as New Orleans’ primary left tackle in 2022, but with Trevor Penning set to take over that post after an injury-riddled rookie campaign, Hurst will move to a reserve role or to a different position on the O-line.
Peat, whom the Saints selected in the first round of the 2015 draft, also saw action at multiple positions in the early stages of his career, including run as the club’s starting LT in 2016 and 2017. Since 2018, he has settled in at left guard, and while Pro Football Focus’ metrics have never rated him as an above-average player at that position, he earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2018-20.
In March 2020, he inked a five-year, $57.5MM contract with the Saints, and thanks to mutliple restructures, his spot on this year’s roster is secure. But the most recent restructure wiped out the final year of the deal and turned it into a void year, so he will be eligible for free agency at season’s end. If he were to turn in a healthy, quality performance in 2023, he could land another lucrative pact next offseason, but his pursuit of such an accord has not gotten off to a great start.
Hurst, meanwhile, signed a one-year deal with the Saints in 2020 and showed enough during his first year in the Big Easy to land a three-year, $9MM contract in March 2021. He worked at both tackle spots and at left guard in 2021 before his extended look on the blind side last year. In each of the last two seasons, he has earned strong pass-blocking grades of 76.9 and 76.6 from Pro Football Focus, though his less stellar run-blocking grades have pulled down his overall marks.
Latest On Bucs C Ryan Jensen
The top two quarterbacks on the Buccaneers’ depth chart, Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, are currently splitting first-team reps in training camp. Without Tom Brady in the picture, expectations are very different in Tampa this season, though whichever QB wins the starting job will at least have a Pro Bowl center snapping them the ball.
Ryan Jensen, who earned Pro Bowl acclaim in 2021, suffered a major knee injury in last year’s training camp, and it was later revealed that he sustained full tears of his MCL and PCL and a partial tear of his ACL, along with meniscus damage. Although he considered retirement — he had taken out a $5MM insurance policy in the event of a career-ending injury — a stem cell treatement in Antigua allowed him to continue his playing career.
He was also able to avoid surgery, and despite missing all of the regular season in 2022, he returned to play every snap of the Bucs’ playoff loss to the Cowboys in January. However, as detailed by ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Jensen was not at full strength in that game; after all, his original projected return date was September 2023. Luckily, he did not sustain any further knee damage, and he indicated that he is now fully healthy.
“I’m feeling good. Ligaments are healthy and healed and I’m just ready to keep rolling,” Jensen said. “It’s somewhat no different than when you get a surgery done on it. All those ligaments scar in and thicken up and get strength again. … The biggest thing for me is just going to work — going to work every day and attacking something that you’re passionate about.”
Jensen, 32, is an active participant in practice, though he does not take part in every practice period and receives full days off as he and the club endeavor to maintain strength and stability in his knee. If the Bucs are to remain competitive in 2023, which many are viewing as a transition year and not a year in which the playoffs are a realistic goal, they will need to keep Jensen healthy.
Tristan Wirfs is shifting from right tackle to left tackle, free agent acquisition Matt Feiler is penciled in at left guard, rookie Cody Mauch is set to start at right guard, and 2022 second-rounder Luke Goedeke is at the top of the RT depth chart despite playing only 55 snaps there last season. As such, Jensen will be anchoring the O-line in more ways than one, and Tampa Bay hopes that his return will bolster a running game that was the worst in the league in 2022 while keeping Mayfield and/or Trask upright long enough to take advantage of the team’s still-considerable receiving talent.
Jensen is under contract through 2024 thanks to the three-year deal he signed last March, when the Bucs were gearing up for another championship push with Brady at the helm.
Vikings, Danielle Hunter Agree To One-Year Deal
The Vikings and pass rusher Danielle Hunter are in agreement on a new one-year contract, as Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (via Twitter). The deal will pay Hunter $17MM in guaranteed money, and he can push that number as high as $20MM (an ESPN report notes that Hunter can earn the extra $3MM via sack incentives). Minnesota has also agreed that it will not put the franchise or transition tag on him next offseason.
We heard just yesterday that Hunter was on the trade block, which was the second time this offseason that his name had cropped up in trade rumors. Still, the Vikings are hoping to make another playoff run in 2023, and after trading Za’Darius Smith in May, trading or releasing Hunter would have left the club rather thin in the edge rush department.
In 2022, Hunter — who skipped OTAs and mandatory minicamp and who may have been “holding in” for the first several days of training camp as he pursued a new deal — recorded 65 tackles and 10.5 sacks while finishing as Pro Football Focus’ seventh-best edge defender out of 119 qualifiers. That performance led to the third Pro Bowl nod of his career.
The LSU product, who was still playing on the five-year, $72MM contract he signed in 2018 (before he earned his first Pro Bowl bid), had watched the pass rusher market explode in subsequent years. So, after posting 14.5 sacks in 2018 and 2019, and after his similarly strong 2022 campaign, it makes sense that the $5.5MM that Hunter was due to earn in 2023 was not particularly appealing to him.
On the other hand, the Vikings’ retience to reward Hunter with a long-term accord that would have placed him near the top of the edge market is also justifiable, as Hunter missed the entire 2020 season with a neck injury and was limited to only seven games in 2021 due to a torn pectoral muscle. The compromise that player and team have struck will give Hunter a handsome raise this year and will give him a chance to hit the open market in 2024 while also allowing Minnesota to secure the talents of an elite pass rusher without jeopardizing its future financial flexibility.
Hunter and free agent acquisition Marcus Davenport will operate as the Vikings’ primary outside linebackers. Davenport, who has dealt with his fair share of recent injury troubles, will also be eligible for free agency next offseason. After recording just a half-sack in his final year with the Saints in 2022, Davenport opted for a one-year pact with Minnesota to rebuild his value (although he will still earn at least $10MM this season).
Saints RB Alvin Kamara Plans To Meet With Roger Goodell
Saints running back Alvin Kamara recently resolved his criminal and civil cases stemming from his involvement in the assault of a man in a Las Vegas nightclub in February 2022. As PFR’s Sam Robinson observed when the resolution was reported, it is now much likelier that the league will hit Kamara with a suspension before the 2023 campaign gets underway. Before that happens, however, Kamara plans to have an in-person meeting with league commissioner Roger Goodell to tell his side of the story, as Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com reports.
Per Duncan, the Saints encouraged Kamara to set up the meeting in an attempt to reduce the size of his suspension, which could be up to six games. It is unclear when the meeting will take place, but it seems that Kamara and Goodell will get together in the next couple of days. Kamara has told reporters that he plans to meet with the media on Wednesday, August 2, saying, “I’ll talk to you all on August 2 after I talk to [Goodell].”
The Las Vegas incident represents the first off-field transgression in Kamara’s seven-year career, as Duncan observes. Nonetheless, it is a serious one, and GM Mickey Loomis has said that the league has not provided any timeline for its decision.
Kamara’s legal matter encountered frequent delays, leaving him free to play throughout the 2022 season. The Saints were less prepared for a Kamara ban last year, but the team has made preparations this offseason. New Orleans agreed to terms on a three-year, $12MM deal with former Packer and Lion Jamaal Williams — last season’s rushing touchdowns leader — and used a third-round pick on TCU back Kendre Miller.
Nonetheless, Kamara should remain the Saints’ top back whenever he is eligible to play, and he will continue to be a focal point of the club’s offense. He is coming off something of a down year, having scored just four total TDs in 2022, but he still posted nearly 1,400 all-purpose yards on 280 touches. While he is techincially under club control through 2025 on his $15MM/year contract, it seems unlikely he will make it to that season without being released or having his contract restructured (his base salary balloons to over $22MM in 2025). If Kamara should turn in a disappointing year in 2023, New Orleans could save some cap space by designating him a post-June 1 cut next year, though the team would also be saddled with a fair amount of dead money in that scenario.
The NFL has declined to comment on the Kamara-Goodell summit.
Bears Notes: J. Johnson, Wright, Warren
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he wants an extension. It was reported back in June that Johnson would be hiring a new agent to aid in that pursuit, and he recently retained the services of Chris Ellison, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Biggs does not indicate whether talks have taken place (the earlier report suggested that Johnson was not necessarily pushing for a new deal to be completed before training camp). GM Ryan Poles has expressed a desire to keep Johnson in the fold, but Poles has used second-round picks on corners (Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson) in back-to-back years, and the team also selected Terell Smith in the fifth round of this year’s draft.
As such, Poles may elect to make Johnson — who has been a regular starter but far from a world-beater in his first three professional seasons — prove himself in his platform year before committing to him on a long-term basis.
Now for more notes from the Windy City:
- Darnell Wright, the Bears’ first-round choice in the 2023 draft, is penciled in as the club’s starting right tackle. Still, the team wanted him to drop weight, and per Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic (subscription required), Wright has done just that. By conditioning like a wide receiver and hiring a personal chef, the Tennessee blocker shaved 16 pounds off his frame, and Poles noted that Wright aced the OL conditioning test. Wright’s presence could help push former Raiders first-rounder Alex Leatherwood off the roster.
- The Bears recorded just 20 sacks in 2022, the lowest total in the league. While Chicago added some reinformcents in the form of DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green in free agency, its pass rush contingent remains uninspiring. We heard last month that Poles may want to add another edge defender, and he recently confirmed that desire (Twitter link via Jahns). However, it sounds as if Poles may be having difficulty enticing free agents to the club. “It takes two to make sure it works out,” he said. Accomplished players like Yannick Ngakoue, Jadeveon Clowney, and Robert Quinn — whom the Bears traded to the Eagles in advance of last year’s deadline — remain unsigned.
- We heard back in January that Kevin Warren, the former Big Ten commissioner whom the Bears hired as their new president and CEO role in the wake of Ted Phillips‘ retirement, would focus on the business side of the operation. However, Dan Pompei of The Athletic (subscription required) says, “[i]t would be naive to think [Warren] won’t have much to do with the football team that will play in the stadium he is trying to build.” In an expansive piece that will be of particular interest to Bears fans, Pompei notes that Warren will almost certainly hire the team’s next GM and head coach whenever those hires become necessary, and that he will have input into how Poles and current head coach Matt Eberflus operate. Indeed, Warren plans to watch game tape and will evaluate the players’ attention to detail, energy level, and passion for the game.
Saints DE Cameron Jordan Wants To Play For 3-4 More Years
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is entering a contract year, and player and team have been discussing an extension for several months. When those conversations were first reported, we heard that Doug Hendrickson, Jordan’s agent, was hoping to get a deal finalized before training camp. If that did not happen, Hendrickson suggested that negotiations would be tabled until after the season.
On the day veterans reported to camp, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported (via Twitter) that talks were ongoing, with no suggestion that they would be tabled. Hendrickson noted in May that he was hoping to secure his client a deal of at least two years in length, while Anderson says that Jordan wants to play for three or four more years.
Jordan, who is entering his age-34 season, has had a remarkably productive and durable career. A first-round pick of the Saints in 2011, the Cal product has spent 12 years in New Orleans and has missed just two games during that time. He has compiled 115.5 sacks, eight Pro Bowl bids, and one First Team All-Pro nomination. He has received Pro Bowl acclaim in each of the past six seasons.
Clearly, Jordan remains an effective player, and Saints GM Mickey Loomis has unequivocally stated that Jordan will not suit up for any other franchise. Still, the fact that a new deal is not yet in place despite motivation on both sides indicates that there is nonetheless a gap to be bridged. Per Anderson, Jordan is seeking “respectable” terms, though it is unclear exactly what that means and how far apart the two sides are.
In addition to Jordan’s age and mileage, his performance did take a bit of a dip in 2022. He recorded 8.5 sacks, down from 12.5 the year prior, and his QB hits dropped from 22 to 13. He has generally been an advanced metrics darling, and while he still earned a strong 74.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2022, his pass rush grade was a below-average 53.2. That is easily the lowest mark of his career, and combined with the diminished surface-level stats, it is fair to wonder if a more precipitous decline could be forthcoming.
On the other hand, Jordan posted just 7.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits in 2020 before bouncing back with a more typical performance in 2021, so while Loomis may be concerned about a decline, Jordan’s camp can just as easily argue that 2022 was merely a blip and that the player’s overall body of work is more relevant to contract dicussions. In any event, in light of Anderson’s report, it seems that an agreement may still be struck at some point in the near future.
Frank Gore Joins 49ers’ Front Office
Retired running back Frank Gore has joined the 49ers’ front office. Gore recently posted an Instagram picture of himself signing an agreement with the club (via Armando Salguero of Outkick.com on Twitter).
Gore, a third-round pick of the 49ers in 2005, announced his retirement last year. During his Bay Area tenure, the Miami (FL) alum established himself as one of the best, and most consistent, backs in the league. He racked up all five of his Pro Bowl nominations during that stretch, and once he assumed the starting role in 2006, he averaged over 1,160 yards per season on a robust 4.5 yards-per-carry average.
The 49ers will employ Gore as a personnel advisor, the team announced. Gore will serve as a special advisor to GM John Lynch along with the team’s football ops department.
The 40-year-old is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher by a wide margin, and though his career also included stints with the Colts, Dolphins, Bills, and Jets, he will be best-remembered for his time with the Niners. He signed a one-day contract to officially end his playing days as a member of the team, and it stands to reason that he would begin his front office endeavors with San Francisco. In his retirement announcment, he indicated that was his goal.
“I told [49ers CEO] Jed York that I always wanted to be a Niner, so we’re working on [the one-day contract] right now, and then we’re going to also sit down with me and my agent to talk about me working in the front office,” Gore said at the time. “I love looking at talent, and I love evaluating talent, and I love ball.”
Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com says that Gore has been with the team since spring as he seeks to acclimate himself to his new role, and that he sat in on pre-draft meetings. He will work with GM John Lynch, assistant GM Adam Peters, and their staff on player evaluation.
“He’ll go out on the road with some of our road scouts to make school calls,” Lynch said. “He is a smart football mind, and we want to tap into it and he wants to learn from us, so it’s a good thing for everyone involved.”
Gore finished his career with exacrly 16,000 rushing yards, which positions him behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton on the all-time list.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa On Contract Situation
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is extension-eligible, but he is also under club control through 2024 since Miami exercised the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. Although GM Chris Grier suggested earlier this offseason — and before he picked up his QB’s fifth-year option — that an extension was on the table, Tagovailoa himself told reporters on Wednesday that there have been no long-term contract talks, at least not recently.
“I haven’t talked about any contract since what I’ve understood with my fifth-year [option],” Tagovailoa said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
Fellow 2020 draftee Justin Herbert recently landed a massive new deal from the Chargers, and Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick of that class, will likely score an even more lucrative pact in short order. Players like Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have also put pen to paper on eye-popping extensions this offseason.
Tagoailoa, though, is content with his current status. “I don’t think that’s a worry of mine,” he said. “When things come, they’ll come because you either deserved it or it’s supposed to happen that way.”
The Fins’ apparent desire to let the 2023 season play out before committing to Tagovailoa on a long-term basis is certainly understandable. The Alabama product made great strides under rookie head coach Mike McDaniel in 2022, but his season was also marked by serious concussion issues. He displayed concussion-like symptoms in Week 3 against the Bills, and while he returned to action shortly after that sequence, an NFLPA investigation into the Dolphins’ handling of the situation led to an overhaul of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Tagovailoa entered the protocol four days later, after being stretchered off the field in Cincinnati, and he was placed in the revised protocol a day after sustaining an unspotted concussion against Green Bay on Christmas Day. He missed four full games last year, and the head injuries — to say nothing of the time he missed due to other maladies over the 2020-21 campaigns — have obviously created cause for concern. He even admitted earlier this year that he considered retirement.
Fortunately, doctors have told Tagovailoa that CTE is not a concern for him, and that no medical evidence proves that concussions are more likely eight to 12 months after suffering one (or two, or three). As such, he is back on the field and looking to build upon an otherwise promising campaign in which he led the league in quarterback rating (105.5), TD% (6.3%), and yards per attempt (8.9). If he can do that while remaining healthy, he will be a legitimate extension candidate next offseason.
“I think regardless of what it is, if [the Dolphins] wanted to do it now, if they wanted to wait, whatever,” Tagovailoa said. “I think for myself, I’m always a person that wants to prove to myself that I deserve whatever I get. So for me, I feel like this is something that I need to work for. It’s as plain and simple as that.”
In related news, two contract-year members of Miami’s roster — center Connor Williams and DT Zach Sieler — timely reported to training camp. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets, both players are nonetheless continuing their push for new deals. Williams skipped mandatory mincamp and OTAs, and Sieler attended minicamp after missing at least some OTAs.