Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must cut their rosters to 85 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: DL Eli Ankou, LB Mike Bell, OL Caleb Benenoch, G Marquel Harrell, OL Syrus Tuitele
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: TE Pro Wells
Detroit Lions
- Cut: CB Alex Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: LS Turner Bernard, DE Jordan Brailford
New England Patriots
- Cut: TE/DL Rashod Berry, WR Marvin Hall, OL Jerald Hawkins, TE David Wells
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Cameron Kinley, TE De’Quan Hampton and WR Josh Pearson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Deon Yelder
- Cut: TE Gabe Holmes
- Placed on IR: LB B.J. Bello
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Eagles): TE Caleb Wilson
Giants’ LB T.J. Brunson, DB Joshua Kalu Suffer Major Injuries
Two Giants sustained major injuries during last night’s preseason game against the Jets. As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post was among those to report, linebacker T.J. Brunson suffered a torn ACL, which will bring an end to his season (Twitter link). Safety Joshua Kalu suffered a torn pectoral muscle, and his season could be over as well.
Brunson, a 2020 seventh-rounder, played in five games for Big Blue last season, though all but two of his 55 snaps came on special teams. If he had stayed healthy and made the team, he probably would have spent the majority of his time on the Giants’ third unit again, but Jordan Raanan says he was doing some good things in his pursuit of a roster spot (Twitter link). Given New York’s general lack of LB depth, Brunson might have had a shot to get some burn on the defensive side of the ball.
Raanan suggested that Kalu, a 2018 UDFA who got into 28 games with the Titans over the course of the past three years, also had a good chance of earning a job. Like Brunson, Kalu has spent most of his time as a pro as a special teamer, but he did appear in a career-best 91 defensive snaps for Tennessee in 2020. He has 26 total tackles, one forced fumble, and one pass defensed in his career.
In other Giants news, head coach Joe Judge said his club is likely to add an offensive lineman or two this week (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic on Twitter). The team lost 2021 signees Joe Looney and Zach Fulton to retirement, and even though Ted Larsen was signed on Friday, New York is still a little thin up front.
Rams Shuffle Offensive Line
Rams HC Sean McVay did not play most of his projected starters in last night’s preseason tilt against the Chargers, but when his starters do take the field for live action, there will be a notable shakeup on the O-line. Earlier this week, Austin Corbett — who took almost all first-team reps at center during the spring — was shifted to right guard, and Brian Allen was inserted at the pivot, as Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic writes.
Allen served as the Rams’ starting center for nine games in 2019 before an MCL injury ended his season prematurely. He spent all of last season recovering, and Austin Blythe took over the center position. But Blythe signed with the Chiefs in March, so Los Angeles moved Corbett, 2020’s right guard, to center for spring practices. He stayed there throughout the early stages of training camp, but Allen has done enough to show that he can be trusted as QB Matthew Stafford’s snapper.
Because Corbett offers more size than Allen, whose body type lends itself more to the wide-zone concepts than the gap-power looks that McVay started to favor with RB Cam Akers, it was believed that Corbett might be the better option at center for the Rams’ offense. But McVay thinks Allen will allow the team to do everything it wants to do in the run game (especially now that Akers has been lost for the season due to a torn Achilles).
“We’ll be able to do the same things,” McVay said. “If you look at Brian Allen, he looks physically impressive. He’s strong, he’s sturdy. You can see all of the work that he has really put in. I think you can see that he’s feeling really good being another year removed from that knee injury.”
Corbett’s move to right guard could put Bobby Evans on the bubble. Evans did play extensively in last night’s game — which clearly suggests he has fallen down the depth chart — and he struggled. He entered the spring as the projected starter at RG, but one wonders if he will even make the final roster at this point.
Grand Jury To Be Convened In Deshaun Watson Case
A grand jury will be convened to determine if there is sufficient evidence against Texans QB Deshaun Watson to bring criminal charges against him, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 KRIV (via Twitter). As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes, Watson’s camp has expected that this would be the case, so it’s not as though the embattled QB is surprised by the development.
Of the 22 women who have filed civil suits against Watson alleging sexual abuse/misconduct, 10 of them have filed criminal complaints. At this time, the Harris County DA’s Office is sending out subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify before the grand jury.
It would not be surprising if an indictment is handed down. As Florio points outs, the nature of grand jury proceedings — which take place without the defendant present and without the opportunity for the defendant’s attorney to cross-examine witnesses — make an indictment relatively easy for prosecutors to obtain.
If Watson is, in fact, indicted, it would likely be enough for the NFL to place him on the Commissioner’s Exempt list, which has been rumored for some time but which has not happened yet. Following the publication of an expansive piece by Jenny Vrentas of SI.com (subscription required) that criticizes the league’s investigation into the allegations against Watson, the NFL has said there is still no change to Watson’s playing status (Twitter link via ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin).
Indeed, veteran writer Clarence Hill Jr. reports that the league is not planning to interview Watson until it has spoken to all 22 of his accusers, and as of right now, it has only spoken to 10 (Twitter link). So, even if an indictment forces the NFL to put Watson on paid leave, it seems as if this matter is still a long way from a resolution, both in the courtroom and on the football field.
WFT Cuts Lamar Miller, Kelvin Harmon
The Washington Football Team has cut RB Lamar Miller and WR Kelvin Harmon, the team announced. Washington has also cut DB Chris Miller and activated WR Curtis Samuel off the PUP list.
L. Miller is the most recognizable member of the trio of players now seeking new employment. The 2018 Pro Bowler, who has two 1,000-yard rushing seasons on his resume, suffered a torn ACL during the 2019 preseason and missed all of the 2019 campaign as a result. He hooked on with the Patriots last August but did not survive final cutdowns. He ultimately wound up on the Bears’ practice squad and appeared in one game for Chicago before being poached by WFT. Washington re-signed him to a one-year pact in March and has now cut him loose after one preseason game.
L. Miller, 30, actually had a fair showing in that preseason contest against New England on Thursday evening. He had three carries for 14 yards and three receptions for 10 yards and a TD. WFT, however, has elected to move on with the likes of J.D. McKissic, Peyton Barber, and Jonathan Williams behind Antonio Gibson on its RB depth chart.
Harmon, a 2019 sixth-rounder, at one time looked like he might have a real future with Washington. His collegiate resume, size, and upside suggested he could have been a much higher draft choice, and he showed some flashes towards the tail end of his rookie season, finishing with 30 catches for 365 yards. Unfortunately, a torn ACL last July wiped out his entire 2020 season, and the club added Samuel and Adam Humphries in free agency this offseason while using a third-round pick on Dyami Brown. John Keim of ESPN.com classifies Harmon’s departure as a bit of a surprise but notes that the team is comfortable with its other options (Twitter link).
WFT will certainly be happy to have Samuel, who was dealing with a groin issue, back on the field. Samuel landed a three-year, $34.5MM contract from Washington in March, and his speed and abilities as a receiver and runner should complement WR1 Terry McLaurin nicely.
C. Miller, meanwhile, signed as a UDFA with the Seahawks last year and also spent some time on the taxi squads of the Titans and Cardinals. Arizona waived him in May, and WFT liked him enough to claim him off waivers, but not enough to keep him on the roster at this stage of the summer.
Raiders RB Jalen Richard To Miss Time
Raiders RB Jalen Richard recently suffered a serious foot injury and will miss an indefinite amount of time, as Tashan Reed of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). It’s been a tough summer for Richard, who was parked on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the first few practices of training camp.
We heard at the end of June that Richard, 27, could be on the roster bubble, and his lack of availability in camp won’t necessarily help his standing on the club. The fact that he is the Raiders’ RB3 and carries a $3.5MM cap number for 2021 and a minimal dead money charge is also working against him.
On the other hand, Theo Riddick’s recent retirement certainly helped Richard’s chances of sticking around, and the backs behind him on the depth chart include two rookie UDFAs — Trey Ragas and B.J. Emmons — and Bo Scarbrough, who has appeared in just seven games in his NFL career.
It was a bit surprising when the Raiders gave Kenyan Drake a pricey free agent contract given the presence of Josh Jacobs, but assuming he can get healthy, Richard is a luxury Vegas can probably afford. He is a useful change-of-pace back, having averaged 5.1 yards per carry in his career, and he has proven that he can be a real receiving threat as well (179 catches in five pro seasons).
Seahawks May Not Want To Give Duane Brown New Deal; Jamal Adams Negotiations Stalled
As you probably know by now, Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown and safety Jamal Adams are seeking new contracts and are “holding in” in an effort to make that a reality. Recently, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll described the Adams negotiations as “amicable” but refused to comment on the Brown situation, which suggested that the club may not be willing to extend Russell Wilson’s blindside protector.
Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (video link) confirmed that it’s unclear if the Seahawks want to give Brown a new contract. Though Brown did play every game for Seattle last year and has finished as a PFF top-25 tackle in each of his four Seahawks slates, he will turn 36 at the end of this month and has battled knee issues in recent seasons. As Henderson observes, Brown barely practiced at all last year as the team sought to manage his knee problems.
Couple that with the fact that the third contracts the Seahawks have given out to veteran players — a new deal for Brown would actually represent his fourth NFL contract — have not been terribly successful, and it’s easier to understand why the team is a bit reluctant to extend Brown.
That is despite Wilson stumping for his LT. Wilson, who was quite outspoken on his desire for improved pass protection earlier this year, said, “[Brown] looks like he’s 28-30 out there. He’s really exceptional. So smart and physical, understands the game, and I think people fear him, to be honest with you, when they’re rushing him and playing against him. So we definitely want to be able to get him back out there. We’ve got to figure that out because we need Duane Brown” (via Henderson).
And amicable or not, the negotiations between the Seahawks and Adams are at a standstill. Adam Jude and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times report that, although the two sides were close to an accord last week, talks have stalled due to disagreements over contract structure and guaranteed money. Jude and Condotta say player and team are presently entrenched in their respective positions, and Peter King of NBC Sports says the club has stretched itself about as far as it’s willing to go.
Wilson, meanwhile, is willing to restructure his deal to facilitate new agreements for Adams and Brown, according to the Seattle Times scribes. Such a restructure would simply see Wilson convert some of his base salary into a signing bonus that can be spread out over the life of his contract, so it’s not as if the QB is making any concessions here.
In this instance, the Seahawks would rather not take Wilson up on his offer. Spreading out Wilson’s cap hit over the 2022-23 campaigns would increase his franchise tag number for 2024, and therefore increase the starting point in contract negotiations when the time comes. Seattle has $8.3MM of cap space at the moment, and extensions for Adams and/or Brown could decrease their cap charges for 2021, so the club may not need to restructure anyone else’s deal to enter into long-term accords with its Pro Bowl safety and LT.
Colts, Darius Leonard Agree To Extension
7:31pm: Guarantee-wise, it does not look like Leonard’s deal will be quite as lucrative as Mosley’s. The Colts linebacker will see $33MM fully guaranteed, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. That comes in $10MM below Mosley’s figure, which could be expected given that the Jets linebacker was a free agent when he inked that deal in 2019.
Factoring in the injury guarantees, Leonard’s extension does lead all off-ball linebackers; the Colts included $53MM guaranteed overall. Leonard’s full $20MM signing bonus will be paid by March 2022, JLC adds. Overall, Leonard’s extension checks in at $98.5MM base valeu, per OverTheCap, but it can max out at $99.3MM through weekly bonuses and Pro Bowl incentives.
8:07am: The Colts and star linebacker Darius Leonard have agreed to a five-year, $99.25MM extension, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Leonard is now the highest-paid off-ball LB in the league.
Leonard and 49ers ‘backer Fred Warner, both selected in the 2018 draft, became extension-eligible at the end of the 2020 campaign, and because they were not first-round choices, they were slated for free agency next spring. So it was imperative for their respective clubs to extend their defensive cornerstones sooner rather than later, and after Warner signed a five-year, $95MM pact last month, it felt like only a matter of time before the Colts and Leonard came together on a slightly more lucrative accord.
Indeed, we heard on July 21 that the two sides were close to a new deal, but as Rapoport adds in a separate tweet, negotiations came to a standstill over the past several weeks. It’s unclear exactly what the holdup was, but perhaps it had to do with guarantees and cash flow.
As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com reports, Leonard did not just set the off-ball LB market in terms of average annual value ($19.85MM). His $52.5MM in guaranteed money edges out the $51MM that C.J. Mosley pulled down from the Jets several years ago, and the $60MM that he will receive over the first three years of the deal tops Warner’s $58.7MM (Twitter link).
Leonard, 26, is certainly worthy of that type of commitment. He earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2018, and in his first three years as a pro, he has made three Pro Bowls and earned two First Team All-Pro nods. Although Pro Football Focus did not think as highly of his run defense or pass coverage in 2020 as it did in the prior two years, he consistently ranks among the best LBs in football in terms of both advanced metrics and raw stats. Since entering the league, Leonard leads all inside linebackers in tackles per game (9.9), TFL per game (one), sacks (15), forced fumbles (nine), and he is second in interceptions (seven) (h/t Field Yates of ESPN.com on Twitter).
In short, he is an elite defender and an indispensable piece of Indy’s front seven. He is now being paid like it.
Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio first reported that a deal was either done or close to being done (Twitter link).
Jacob Eason Remains Atop Colts’ QB Depth Chart
For now, the Colts are not planning to trade for a quarterback to fill in for the injured Carson Wentz. Similarly, the club is not planning to shake up its QB depth chart, currently topped by 2020 fourth-rounder Jacob Eason.
According to Stephen Holder of The Athletic, sixth-round rookie Sam Ehlinger has performed better than Eason in training camp, prompting reporters to ask head coach Frank Reich if he might consider elevating Ehlinger to QB1 status.
“Fair question, because [Ehlinger] has looked good,” Reich said. “But, right now, our plan is to put Jacob in the driver’s seat. Sam is getting a lot of reps. They’ll keep competing. This is a competition. … Jacob is making good progress as well.”
Holder concedes that Eason has demonstrated improvement, but he says Ehlinger has generally looked like the stronger passer, especially when it comes to throwing with anticipation. And while Eason has the arm strength and size that Ehlinger lacks, Ehlinger’s athleticism is superior to that of his counterpart (which might prove critical given that the Colts’ O-line is presently without several starters).
Indianapolis’ preseason opener is set for August 15, and it sounds as if Eason will keep working with the first-team offense up to and through that game. But if Ehlinger continues to play better, Reich could be forced to make a switch.
This is a prime opportunity for both young passers. The Colts, who went into the summer with championship aspirations, hope one of Eason or Ehlinger can at least keep the club afloat until Wentz returns.
Indianapolis is also rostering Brett Hundley, but the former Packers draftee is not a candidate to be Wentz’s replacement.
T.J. Watt Staging Hold-In
Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is staging a hold-in. Although Watt has been in attendance at training camp since it opened, he is not participating in any hitting or team drills. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler confirmed that is because Watt is waiting on a contract extension.
“I don’t blame him for [sitting out] because you don’t want to get hurt when you are trying to get your contract done; then you lose some sort of flexibility in terms of what you can sign,” Butler said (via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic). “I hope they get it done.”
The Steelers do not like to engage in contract negotiations once a season begins, which means that the club’s Week 1 matchup with the Bills on September 12 would be the deadline for finalizing a Watt extension this year. But while head coach Mike Tomlin generally eases his top players into the grind of training camp, the team still wants Watt to get involved in team activities well before the regular season opener.
Regardless of when it happens, the Steelers will need to dole out a ton of cash to keep Watt in the fold for the long haul. Kaboly expects the Wisconsin product to become the highest-paid defensive player in league history, which would mean an AAV of over $27MM with roughly $80MM in full guarantees.
Watt’s performance to date justifies that type of expenditure. Stout against the run and pass, the 26-year-old (27 in October) graded out as Pro Football Focus’ third-best edge player last season out of 108 qualifiers. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro, and he has averaged about 14 sacks a year since his sophomore campaign. Even though Pittsburgh is entering something of an organizational crossroads due to its quarterback situation, retaining Watt seems like an absolute must.
The club did add a little pass rushing support for Watt when it signed Melvin Ingram last month. Pittsburgh was also in on Justin Houston, who ultimately signed with the division-rival Ravens. Houston himself said he was very close to signing with the Steelers, but that Baltimore was his first choice (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). Ingram, like Houston, is a complementary piece at this stage of his career, and his presence doesn’t necessarily give Pittsburgh any more leverage in Watt negotiations.