Chiefs DE Frank Clark Resolves Criminal Charges
2021 was a difficult year for Chiefs DE Frank Clark from a legal perspective. In March 2021, the three-time Pro Bowler was arrested for possession of a concealed firearm, and in June 2021, he was arrested again when police officers conducted a traffic stop and noticed an Uzi in an open bag in Clark’s vehicle. Earlier this month, it was reported that Clark has resolved those charges.
Per the Associated Press, Clark pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon, and he was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service. Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes that Clark will be due back in court on March 29, 2023 to prove that he has completed his sentence. Williams also notes that the judge required Clark to host four free youth football camps, which he has already done.
Now 29, Clark was rumored as a release candidate earlier this year given the hefty cap charges that he was due to carry over the 2022-23 seasons. Rather than release him, Kansas City ultimately decided to keep Clark in the fold via a new two-year deal worth $29MM (with incentives that could push that number to $36MM).
Over the first two games of the 2022 campaign, both Chiefs wins, Clark has appeared in 60% of the team’s defensive snaps. He has yet to record a sack and has posted three total tackles.
Under his present contract, Clark is due a $20.5MM base salary in 2023, and KC can release him to save $10MM against the cap while incurring a $9.075MM dead money charge. Given his declining sack totals over the past several years and his slow start to the current season, a release or another restructure presently looks like the most likely outcome next offseason.
As Williams observes, Clark could still face punishment under the league’s personal conduct policy for the gun charges.
Lamar Jackson Rejected Six-Year, $290MM+ Offer
One of the most prevalent NFL storylines this offseason has been the Ravens’ extension negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, and we learned on Friday that the two sides had not come to terms. As such, it is likely that contract talks will be tabled until the offseason.
We now have more details on Baltimore’s most recent offer. Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Ravens proposed a six-year deal worth over $290MM, which included $133MM guaranteed at signing (Twitter link). The full guarantees and the average annual value would have eclipsed the figures included in the recent contracts signed by Denver’s Russell Wilson ($124MM fully guaranteed, $48.5MM AAV) and Arizona’s Kyler Murray ($103.3MM fully guaranteed, $46.5MM AAV). Indeed, Mortensen says that Wilson’s pact — which was signed just 10 days ago — prompted the Ravens to up their offer.
As has become increasingly clear, Jackson wants his entire contract to be fully guaranteed, just like the one the Browns gave to Deshaun Watson. Of course, clubs are trying to treat the Watson accord as an outlier, and Wilson and Murray clearly did not object to that approach. According to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, Baltimore was frustrated that Jackson, unlike Wilson and Murray, did not accept that unique circumstances precipitated Watson’s deal (Twitter links).
Anderson adds that helping elite quarterbacks land fully guaranteed contracts in the future is important to Jackson (links to Twitter). One wonders if the NFLPA — which, as Mortensen tweets, counseled the agentless Jackson — might have influenced the 2019 MVP in that regard, though there is presently nothing to suggest that is the case.
If Jackson continues to bet on himself and takes the “Kirk Cousins approach” to the situation — i.e., forcing the Ravens to put the franchise tag on him in 2023 and ’24 — he would earn around $100MM in guaranteed money over those two seasons, along with the $23MM he is earning in 2022. In 2025, when the cap charge of a third franchise tag becomes untenable, Jackson could theoretically have the leverage to get the fully guaranteed deal he desires from Baltimore or another franchise.
That obviously assumes that his play remains at a high level and that he does not suffer a career-altering injury, though Anderson hears that Jackson is essentially bullet-proof; no matter what happens to him (barring something completely catastrophic), sources expect him to ultimately get what he wants (Twitter links). That may or may not be true, but it is clearly a risk Jackson is willing to take.
We heard previously that the negotiations have not led to any acrimony between Jackson and the Ravens, and for what it’s worth, the union believes the team has negotiated in good faith (Twitter link via Mortensen). Baltimore did include $2.5MM “de-escalator” clauses if Jackson did not attend a certain percentage of offseason workouts, though it’s unlikely that particular provision had much of an impact in talks.
For now, the Ravens and Jackson will turn their attention to Sunday’s opener against the Jets, the start of another campaign in which expectations are high for player and team.
Rams Were Interested In Jimmy Garoppolo
The 49ers temporarily put the Jimmy Garoppolo rumors to bed when they agreed to a reworked contract with the veteran passer at the end of August. San Francisco had been trying all offseason to work out a trade, but at the beginning of training camp, the club approached Garoppolo about sticking around as Trey Lance‘s backup. No other club had a starting job materialize throughout the course of the preseason, so Garoppolo eventually accepted the Niners’ proposal.
However, if San Francisco had released Garoppolo — which was long seen as the most likely outcome if a trade did not come to fruition — the division-rival Rams were prepared to pounce, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. While it was well-known that another NFC West outfit, the Seahawks, may have attempted to sign Garoppolo if he had hit the open market, Schefter says the 49ers were unaware of Los Angeles’ interest until after the restructured deal was consummated (interestingly, Schefter also writes that the Rams and Garoppolo had the “makings of a deal” in place, which raises tampering concerns; the 49ers had given Garoppolo permission to seek a trade, but not to negotiate a potential free agent contract).
In LA, Garoppolo would have been the backup to Matthew Stafford, who did not throw during spring work due to right elbow issues. Obviously, the team was comfortable enough with Stafford’s prognosis to hand him a hefty extension in March, and in the run-up to the Rams’ Week 1 loss to the Bills on Thursday, head coach Sean McVay said his QB would not have any limitations (via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (subscription required)). Despite those confident words, Stafford is 34, has dealt with tendinitis that required an anti-inflammatory injection in the spring, and has thrown over 7,000 regular season and postseason passes in his pro career. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Stafford went into the Buffalo game feeling better than he did throughout the 2021 season, though an accomplished QB2 certainly would have made sense for a team that has its eyes on a second consecutive championship.
Many have interpreted the 49ers’ decision to keep Garoppolo in the fold as an indictment on Lance’s performance this summer. The team, naturally, has continued to publicly express full faith in Lance, but Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post says that sources around the league do not believe San Francisco is as confident in its second-year passer as it professes to be. As one general manager told La Canfora, “It’s not what you say; it’s what you do and when you do it. A deal like that doesn’t come together overnight, and it got done right before the season. That tells you all you need to know. They think they need their backup to play.”
Albert Breer of SI.com says Garoppolo’s return was somewhat difficult for Lance to stomach at first, though he does not believe Lance will allow the decision to impact him moving forward. And, in contrast to La Canfora’s sources, Rapoport and NFL.com colleague Tom Pelissero hear that Lance does not have a short leash and that the 49ers are definitely “his team.” The NFL.com duo reiterates that, assuming the Niners do not need to call on Garoppolo this year, a midseason trade of Jimmy G is still an option, especially since his new contract makes the financials more palatable for an interested club.
2022 Expected To Be Tom Brady’s Final Season; Latest On Rob Gronkowski
For a few weeks, it seemed as if 2021 was Buccaneers QB Tom Brady‘s last season as a player. The future Hall of Famer announced his retirement on February 1, only to reverse that decision just before the start of the new league year on March 13. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes, however, Brady is expected to hang up the cleats after the 2022 campaign.
This should not be especially surprising. After all, Brady did retire for a brief time just months ago, he has long stated that he wants to play until he is 45 — he just hit that milestone on August 3 — and he is out of contract at season’s end. Back in July, Brady acknowledged he was winding down, saying, “I would say it’s year to year. Could this be my last year? Absolutely. Could I change my mind? Absolutely. I’ve realized I don’t have five years left. I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I’m at. My body feels really good.”
Brady took an 11-day hiatus in the middle of this year’s training camp, which was planned but which nonetheless generated countless headlines, like most things that Brady does. We knew that Brady spent that time at a Bahamas resort with his family, and as Rapoport notes, Brady had promised his wife while he was still retired that he would vacation with the family in August for the first time in a long time. His absence amounted to nothing more than a fulfillment of that promise.
Of course, given Brady’s competitive nature, a return for the 2023 season remains a possibility. One source close to the 15-time Pro Bowler confirmed as much to Rapoport, though it presently seems more likely that, regardless of who is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at season’s end, Brady will begin working as a Fox analyst on a healthy 10-year, $375MM contract. If he does choose to keep playing, he would be free to sign with any team, and while one source reiterated the affection and respect that Brady has for the Buccaneers’ organization, that source did not say that Brady would only play for Tampa Bay.
As for one of Brady’s favorite targets over the years, Rob Gronkowski? Despite Gronk’s recent adamance that he is retired for good, the Bucs reportedly were holding out hope that, if they are in the middle of a playoff chase this season, the enigmatic tight end could be convinced to return. However, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, Tampa Bay believes Gronkowski is truly done with football.
The four-time First-Team All-Pro did post 55 catches for 802 yards and six TDs in just 12 games last year. If the Bucs are indeed in the mix for another Lombardi this season, they and Brady may well check in to see if Gronk might consider a second unretirement.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Lions
The Lions may not compete for a playoff spot in 2022, but they will hope to show signs of improvement in Year 2 of the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell partnership. The club did not make a play for a franchise quarterback in a draft class widely considered weak at the position, instead opting to focus on other areas of need while giving 2021 trade acquisition Jared Goff another year under center.
However, Holmes did make one major draft-day splash, moving up 20 spots from No. 32 overall to No. 12 overall to nab Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams. While Williams, who tore his ACL in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, is not expected to see game action until the middle of the season, Detroit clearly sees him as a foundational piece of its offense in the long term.
Aidan Hutchinson, meanwhile, will be asked to make an impact right away. The No. 2 overall pick from the University of Michigan, Hutchinson was a menace to collegiate offenses in 2021, racking up 14 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, and a pair of forced fumbles in his final year with the Wolverines. That performance made the Michigan native a Heisman Trophy candidate as well as a candidate to be the first player taken in this year’s draft. While he fell just short of both honors, he has been penciled into a starting DE job since Holmes turned in the card for him, and he should provide a jolt to a defense that posted the third-fewest sacks in the league in 2021.
As might be expected for a rebuilding outfit, the Lions did not make many notable free agent acquisitions. They will hope that their young talent proves itself to be the core of a future contender, a core than can be supplemented with more outside help — including, perhaps, a new quarterback — in 2023.
Trades:
- Traded pick nos. 32, 34, and 66 to Vikings for pick nos. 12 and 46; selected Williams with no. 12 pick, selected DE Josh Paschal with No. 46 pick.
Just as they largely avoided making any major moves in free agency, the Lions did not pull the trigger on any notable trades other than the draft-day transaction that netted them the opportunity to draft Williams. The club’s 3-13-1 record in 2021 gave it the No. 2 overall selection, and it had acquired the No. 32 overall pick from the Super Bowl champion Rams as part of last year’s Matthew Stafford/Goff trade. Los Angeles’ championship victory stuck Detroit with the lowest possible first-round choice, and Holmes was not content to wait until the bottom of the round to land another possible difference-maker after picking Hutchinson.
Instead, he catapulted up the board to take Williams, whose ACL tear is obviously a concern but whose delayed start to the 2022 campaign was not a major deterrent for a team that does not have realistic postseason expectations this year. Williams had a breakout performance in 2021 after transferring from Ohio State to Alabama, finishing with 79 catches for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning him a First Team All-American nod.
A strong route runner with good hands and dangerous speed, it is easy to see the appeal in Williams, who could perhaps add weight to his 179-lb frame but who has the size (6-2) and length to make the most of his tools. Though he will need to improve against press coverage and in making contested catches, Williams will pair with 2021 draftee Amon-Ra St. Brown to form an intriguing tandem at or near the top of Detroit’s future WR depth charts.
Because of his team’s defensive struggles in 2021 — the Lions surrendered 27.5 points per game last season, the second-worst mark in the NFL — it was not surprising to see Holmes continue to fortify that side of the ball even after the Hutchinson selection. Paschal, who was selected with the other pick acquired in the trade-up for Williams, may not provide a significant lift in the edge rush department, though he should always be stout against the run and can be effective as an interior rusher in sub-packages. In his final season at Kentucky, he produced five sacks and 15 tackles for loss, earning Second Team All-SEC acclaim for his efforts.
Like Williams, Paschal will need to wait a bit to make his professional debut. During spring workouts, Paschal aggravated a core injury that he initially sustained in college, and he was forced to undergo offseason surgery. He was recently placed on the reserve/PUP list, so he will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
Notable free agency additions:
- Chris Board, LB. One year, $2MM. $1MM guaranteed.
- Isaiah Buggs, DL. One year, $965K.
- DJ Chark, WR. One year, $10MM. Fully-guaranteed.
- Jarrad Davis, LB. One year, $1.04MM. Released 8/29/22. Signed to practice squad 8/31/22.
- DeShon Elliott, S. One year, $965K.
- Devin Funchess, TE. One year, $1.04MM. Released 8/30/22.
- Garrett Griffin, TE. One year, $965K. Released 8/15/22. Signed to practice squad 8/31/22.
- Mike Hughes, CB. One year, $3.5MM. $1MM guaranteed.
- Kendall Lamm, OL. One year, $1.12MM. Released 8/30/22.
- Nate Sudfeld, QB. One year, $1.04MM.
Chark’s contract was far and away the biggest commitment that the Lions made to an outside free agent this offseason, and his signing, combined with the Williams selection and the re-signing of fellow wideout Josh Reynolds, demonstrated a clear organizational desire to stockpile skill-position talent (at one point this offseason, the team was rumored to be interested in swinging a trade for 49ers star Deebo Samuel). With Chark, St. Brown, Reynolds, tight end T.J. Hockenson, and (eventually) Williams on the field — to say nothing of a quality offensive line and a competent 1-2 punch of D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in the backfield — the offense should be well-positioned to improve on its poor yards-per-game (322.6) and points-per-game (19.1) numbers in 2022.
A fractured ankle limited Chark to just four games in 2021, his final season with the Jaguars, and he missed time in 2020 as well. In 2019, however, he earned a Pro Bowl nod after authoring a 73/1,008/8 line, and he still has youth on his side (he will turn 26 in September). A 6-4 receiver with legitimate big-play ability, a strong display in the Motor City could put Chark in line to take advantage of the exploding WR market next offseason, though much of his success will of course depend on the rapport he develops with Goff and whether he can shake the health issues that have hampered him over the past several years.
Holmes made a few modest FA signings to bolster his defense, though one of those (Davis) was recently cut and added to the taxi squad. Davis, whom the Lions selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, was a full-time starter over his first three years in the league before seeing his playing time cut dramatically in 2020, the fourth and final year of his rookie deal. He appeared in nine games (five starts) with another defensively-challenged club, the Jets, in 2021, and reunited with the Lions in March.
Given that Detroit’s LB corps is presently comprised of options that are generally underwhelming (Alex Anzalone) or unproven (2021 fourth-rounder Derrick Barnes and sixth-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez), it would not be surprising to see Davis promoted to the active roster at some point. On the other hand, Davis has never really lived up to his first-round billing despite strong tackle numbers in the first several years of his career, and the fact that he could not crack a 53-man roster that is so light on linebacker talent is telling.
Browns Sign OL Joe Haeg
The Browns are signing veteran offensive lineman Joe Haeg, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweets. Haeg was released by the division-rival Steelers at the end of August.
Pittsburgh signed Haeg in March 2021, and the North Dakota State product wound up seeing action in 12 games (two starts) last year. His 307 offensive snaps represented his highest total since 2018, and he spent a little time at all O-line positions except for center.
It appeared as if the Steelers would keep Haeg around as a depth piece in 2022, but the club recently acquired fellow OL Jesse Davis in a trade with the Vikings, and that transaction cost Haeg his roster spot. He became a popular free agent upon his release, and he lined up visits with multiple teams, including the OL-needy Raiders, before opting to sign with Cleveland.
Browns RT Jack Conklin is working his way back from a torn patellar tendon, and as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets, head coach Kevin Stefanski has not yet indicated whether Conklin will be ready to suit up for the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Panthers next Sunday. Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal adds that Chris Hubbard — who played in just one game in 2021 due to a triceps issue — has not practiced in more than a week, so the Browns are clearly in need of some RT insurance.
Haeg, 29, can provide that, and he can also play guard if necessary. A fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2016, Haeg started 29 games over his first two years in the league, lining up at both RG and RT. He earned solid PFF scores of 67.9 and 64.1 for his work during those two seasons, but his play slipped a bit in 2018, and an ankle injury limited him to just eight games that year. In 2019, the final year of his rookie contract, he was used almost exclusively as a special teamer.
He hooked on with the Bucs in 2020 and earned a Super Bowl ring, though he was on the field for just 127 offensive snaps.
Jaguars Re-Sign DL Adam Gotsis, Add DL Mario Edwards To P-Squad
The Jaguars released DL Adam Gotsis during final cutdowns, but the veteran defender will be returning to Duval. Per a team announcement, Jacksonville is re-signing Gotsis to its active roster.
Considering how thin the club is along its defensive line, retaining Gotsis is certainly a logical move to make. A second-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, the Georgia Tech product saw 25 starts over the 2017-18 campaigns. During that time, he averaged 39.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks per season while earning solid overall grades from Pro Football Focus.
Things began to go south in 2019, as Gotsis struggled to adjust to the scheme implemented by Vic Fangio, who had been hired as Denver’s head coach earlier that year. Gotsis was also battling knee trouble at the time, trouble that ultimately necessitated surgery. He has spent each of the past two seasons with the Jaguars, and it looks as if he is in line to have another significant role on the Jags’ defense after appearing in 52% of the team’s snaps in 2020 and 43% in 2021. He will operate behind starters Roy Robertson-Harris and Folorunso Fatukasi.
In addition to bringing Gotsis back into the fold, the Jags have supplemented their practice squad with some veteran D-line help. According to the same announcement, Mario Edwards — who was released by the Bears last week — has agreed to join Jacksonville’s taxi group. The former Raiders second-round pick had settled into a rotational role in the Windy City over the past two seasons, but he joins most of Chicago’s front-seven vets of recent years in being jettisoned by a new-look front office.
Edwards, 28, recorded six sacks during his two-year Bears tenure, logging 26% and 27% defensive snap rates during that span. However, he did miss time due to injury during this year’s training camp.
WR Jaylon Moore has also been added to the p-squad. Moore signed with the Ravens as a UDFA in 2020, and he spent each of the last two years on Baltimore’s practice squad. He obviously intrigued the team enough to stick around, but he never earned a look during a regular season contest. The Ravens waived him several weeks ago, and he was claimed by the Giants. Big Blue sent him to the waiver wire again, only to add him to the practice squad before waiving him a second time.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com first reported that Edwards and the Jaguars had agreed to terms (Twitter link).
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/22
We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Cameron Dicker
Chicago Bears
- Waived (non-football illness): OL Jean Delance
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: DE Curtis Weaver
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: DE Markaviest Bryant, T Amon Simon, OL James Empey, WR T.J. Vasher
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: LB Ty Summers
Las Vegas Raiders:
- Placed on IR: RT Brandon Parker, DT Tyler Lancaster, LB Tae Davis (story)
- Waived: TE Nicke Bowers, WR Justin Hall
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: DL Josh Black, RB Abram Smith, OL Khalique Washington, CB Brian Allen, T Derrick Kelly, CB Quenton Meeks
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: CB Ka’dar Hollman
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: CB Jameson Houston, TE Cade Brewer, LB Aaron Donkor, RB Ronnie Rivers
- Placed on reserve/PUP list: CB Tre Brown
Washington Commanders
- Released via injury settlement: DE Bunmi Rotimi
Summers is a 2019 seventh-round pick who has just one career start but who has established himself as a key contributor on Green Bay’s special teams unit over his first three seasons in the league. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects the TCU product to generate interest on the waiver wire (Twitter link). Indeed, Packers HC Matt LaFleur said that the team made the decision to part ways with Summers now in order to give him a chance to hook on with a new club before the wave of impending cuts that will soon flood the market (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
The Seahawks’ decision to move Brown to the PUP list means that he will be sidelined for at least the first four games of the season. That marks a disappointing start to his second NFL campaign; the fourth-rounder had two separate IR stints last year. That limited him to just five games (three starts), during which he registered 10 tackles and one pass deflection. Seattle has seen plenty of roster turnover at the CB position this offseason, leaving Brown in line for at least a rotational role. In his absence, the team will rely even more on starters Sidney Jones and Artie Burns, with rookies Coby Bryant likely to play in the slot.
Browns DE Chris Odom Out For Season
Browns defensive end Chris Odom suffered a torn ACL during the team’s preseason finale against the Bears on Saturday, per head coach Kevin Stefanski (Twitter link via Jake Trotter of ESPN.com). Odom will miss the 2022 season as a result.
This is an especially difficult blow for Odom, who earned United States Football League Defensive Player of the Year honors following the rebooted league’s inaugural season this year. A second-round pick of the Houston Gamblers in the USFL draft in February, Odom went on to post 41 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four blocked field goals. He auditioned for the Bengals, Cardinals, Chiefs, Saints, and Texans this summer before finally signing with the Browns.
Now 27, Odom signed with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He saw action in seven regular games with the Packers that year after being waived by Atlanta, and his performance with a different alternative league in 2018 — the now-defunct Alliance of American Football — led to another contract with the Falcons in 2019. But he was waived again during final cutdowns in August 2019 and subsequently hooked on with Washington’s practice squad. He ultimately appeared in four games for Washington.
A stint with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders preceded his successful run with the Gamblers. His admirable perseverance in continuing his playing career will be tested yet again as a result of the ACL tear.
Of course, it is unclear if the Arkansas State product would have made the roster anyway, as the Browns’ edge rush contingent consists of two drafted rookies — Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas — trade acquisition Chase Winovich, and others behind starters Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney.
In 11 regular season NFL contests, Odom has 16 tackles and two sacks.
Browns WR Anthony Schwartz Not At Risk Of Being Cut
The Browns are not planning to cut wide receiver Anthony Schwartz. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed as much to reporters, including Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, after the team’s preseason loss to the Bears on Saturday.
Given that Schwartz was selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, Stefanski’s announcement should not come as much of a surprise. However, Schwartz was largely quiet in his rookie year, posting 10 catches for 135 yards and a score while playing one-third of the Browns’ offensive snaps, and he has struggled mightily this preseason.
In Saturday’s matchup with Chicago, the Auburn product dropped three passes, giving him a total of six drops through the club’s three preseason contests. His third drop elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd at FirstEnergy Stadium, and the social media reaction to his performance led to Stefanski’s being asked about the wideout’s job security.
“Respectfully, we’re going to make sure that we deal with things that are important, which are our players and how they respond to these things,” Stefanski said. When asked if Schwartz was at risk of being waived, Stefanski simply said, “no.”
In addition to his draft pedigree, the Browns’ collection of WR talent offers another reason for the team to retain Schwartz. After parting ways with Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Rashard Higgins over the past 10 months, Cleveland’s receiver room boasts little by way of proven talent outside of trade acquisition Amari Cooper. The team has steadfastly maintained that it feels no pressure to acquire another veteran pass-catcher, and at present, the depth chart is topped by Cooper, 2020 sixth-rounder Donovan Peoples-Jones, and third-round rookie David Bell.
Schwartz slots in somewhere behind that trio, along with sixth-round rookie Michael Woods II. So while Schwartz might not see much more playing time in 2022 than he did in 2021, it seems he will at least have a roster spot.