Seahawks’ Uchenna Nwosu Out Multiple Weeks, Becomes IR Candidate
An Uchenna Nwosu injury last season wounded the Seahawks’ edge rush. It looks like Mike Macdonald will need to adjust early in his tenure, with the team’s highest-paid edge defender set to miss time once again.
Nwosu suffered a knee injury in Seattle’s preseason finale, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates he is expected to miss multiple weeks. Nwosu is an IR candidate, Rapoport adds. He would miss at least four games if placed on IR, though the Seahawks do have more flexibility here than they would have enjoyed a season ago.
The 2022 free agency addition went down on a Wyatt Teller cut block against the Browns. Nwosu suffered an MCL sprain, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who indicates he faces a two- to six-week recovery timetable. This would make an IR stint sensible. This is a bad break for Nwosu, who missed the second half of last season with a pectoral injury. Impressing during camp in Macdonald’s scheme, Nwosu may now face a best-case scenario of returning in Week 5.
Seattle could go week-to-week with its $15MM-per-year pass rusher. That would take up a roster spot and force the team to declare the seventh-year veteran out until he is ready to go. That would not be the biggest inconvenience, especially if Nwosu is deemed in range to return in September, but the NFL gave teams more flexibility this offseason. A rule tweak will allow teams to place up to two players on IR before setting their 53-man rosters Tuesday. If Nwosu is moved to IR before the 3pm CT deadline, he will immediately count toward the team’s eight-activation limit.
This development stands to prevent the Seahawks from pairing their top edge rusher with a D-line that includes Leonard Williams, Dre’Mont Jones and first-round pick Byron Murphy. Nwosu did not have a chance to play with Williams last year, as the high-priced D-lineman was acquired days after he went down. The Seahawks still have promising third-year cog Boye Mafe, 2023 second-rounder Derick Hall and the recently acquired Trevis Gipson. The team, which had traded Darrell Taylor shortly before Nwosu’s injury, added Gipson in the wake of the setback.
Justin Fields Has ‘Real Support’ In Steelers Building
Breaking from the norm, two quarterback situations remain unsettled following the preseason schedule. The Patriots are considering moving Drake Maye into their lineup early, while the Steelers are determining if Justin Fields has passed Russell Wilson. It certainly appears the younger Pittsburgh passer has made this a difficult decision.
The Steelers are taking more time before announcing their starter, with Mike Tomlin going so far as to say this week of practice will play a potentially deciding role in who lands the job. Wilson’s rocky Broncos tenure made the team’s proclamations about him being the clear frontrunner a bit odd, and Fields indeed has closed the gap.
Wilson is still viewed as the more likely Week 1 starter, but Fields lurks — to the point it would be easy to see the younger passer usurping the veteran early in the season. The 2021 first-round pick has real support in the building, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer. The Steelers acquired Fields for just a conditional sixth-round pick — a return much lower than initially expected — and while they are not planning to negotiate with either quarterback until season’s end, rumors about the team circling back about a post-2024 future with the 25-year-old arm surfaced this offseason.
Of course, immediate reports out of Pittsburgh both said Fields would not seriously challenge Wilson and that the team was interested in a post-2024 partnership with the former Super Bowl winner as well. Wilson has since missed time with a calf injury. The 13th-year veteran is full-go now, but he has not created enough distance from Fields to be considered safe just yet. This trajectory would stand to give Wilson a short leash should he end up winning the job.
Viewing Fields as having lost confidence from his inconsistent Bears tenure, the Steelers changed his footwork this offseason. The Arthur Smith-led effort shifted Fields to the dropback mechanics he used at Ohio State, Breer adds. In the preseason, Fields went 19-for-27 for 199 yards. Playing in two preseason games, Wilson was 10 of 12 for 73 yards. Both struggled to move the offense in Pittsburgh’s second preseason game, but Wilson led a TD drive in the team’s finale. Fields did not lead any scoring drives against Detroit this past weekend.
If Wilson holds off Fields, this will still be a situation to monitor and represent new territory for the potential Hall of Famer. Despite Wilson’s inconsistency in Denver, he was never in any real danger of being benched for performance reasons. He certainly will be this year, and Fields holds a decent chance of winning the job from the start. This would put the former Seahawks star’s career at a crossroads, whereas Fields seems to have upped his stock with the organization in recent weeks.
Buccaneers To Release WR Sterling Shepard
Sterling Shepard‘s reunion with Baker Mayfield is on hold. The Buccaneers are releasing the veteran wide receiver, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This is unlikely to be the end of the line for the injury-prone wide receiver, however.
As a vested veteran, Shepard will pass straight to free agency. The Bucs have an emergency role in mind for the longtime Giant, with Rapoport adding the team is holding a practice squad spot. Shepard, who played with Mayfield at Oklahoma, could join the team’s P-squad Wednesday.
Shepard, 31, signed with the Bucs in June, doing so after his 2023 Giants season featured few opportunities. The Giants brought Shepard back after another major injury — an Achilles tear sustained midway through the 2022 season — but used him as a backup. Even that overstates how much Shepard played in his eighth Giants season. Shepard logged just 142 offensive snaps in 15 games last season, catching 10 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Tampa Bay will run back its Mike Evans–Chris Godwin tandem for an eighth season, re-signing the perennial 1,000-yard receiver just before free agency. The team also returns 2023 draftee Trey Palmer and used a third-round pick on Washington’s Jalen McMillan. Shepard will join Rakim Jarrett in being left off the 53-man roster; the second-year receiver is expected to be placed on IR to open the year.
Formerly an Odell Beckham Jr. sidekick in New York, Shepard received an extension and logged several more seasons after the team traded the once-dynamic wideout. Shepard has not topped 700 receiving yards in a season since 2018, though he did reach 656 in 2020. The veteran slot player teamed with Mayfield in 2015 at Oklahoma and was in communication with his former college quarterback this offseason, leading to this Bucs agreement.
Shepard will soon be tied to a lower-cost deal with Tampa Bay, should he want to accept a deal to join a P-squad. This would be a first for the former second-round pick, but given his injury history (35 missed games since 2019), a Tampa taxi squad stay might be his only option to remain in the NFL.
Lions To Place CB Emmanuel Moseley On IR
Emmanuel Moseley sustained a major injury in a third straight year. The veteran cornerback, who suffered ACL tears in 2022 and ’23, went down with a torn pectoral muscle early in Lions training camp. But his season is not yet over.
The Lions look to be planning to try out the NFL’s new IR wrinkle. They are placing Moseley on IR, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who adds this transaction is aimed at the injury-prone cover man being eligible to return later this year. This would mean Detroit is planning to make Moseley an IR-return player, which the league is now allowing before roster-cutdown day.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review: Detroit Lions]
In prior years, a team placing a player on IR before setting its initial 53-man roster meant that player was out of the picture for the season. IR-return players had needed to be carried through to 53-man rosters before being placed on IR. The league is now allowing teams to move up to two players to IR before the season. If the Lions designate Moseley an IR-return player immediately, he will count toward the team’s eight-activation limit whether he returns this season or not.
Detroit saw C.J. Gardner-Johnson return from a torn pec last year. Gardner-Johnson went down in Week 2 and made it back off IR by Week 18. That said, Moseley missed almost all of last season and has two major knee surgeries on his NFL medical sheet. It would then be interesting to see the Lions use one of their IR activations on him so early, but the team has shown some faith in the former 49ers starter by signing him in back-to-back offseasons.
The Lions did, however, made significant adjustments at corner this offseason. They traded for Carlton Davis, signed Amik Robertson and used first- and second-round picks on Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw. The team also re-signed Kindle Vildor, though he is not a lock to make the roster Tuesday. It took CJGJ roughly 3 1/2 months to recover from his pec tear. That timetable would leave make Moseley a candidate to return by late November, though that should not be considered a firm recovery period.
Moseley, 28, played only two defensive snaps last season. Part of the Lions’ 2023 CB overhaul, the 33-game starter was tied to a one-year, $6MM deal at that point. Following his second ACL tear, Moseley still commanded a $1MM guarantee. He is tied to a $2.88MM salary.
The Lions are also planning to move guard Christian Mahogany to the reserve/NFI list, Schefter adds. The Lions drafted Mahogany in the sixth round this year. The Boston College product is dealing with an undisclosed illness. Mahogany would be eligible to return after four games.
Browns DT Mike Hall Expected To Land On Commissioner’s Exempt List
The disturbing allegations against Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall are expected to lead him off the team’s roster for an undetermined period. The NFL is expected to place Hall on the commissioner’s exempt list, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports.
Hall was arrested earlier this month after an alleged domestic violence incident. The exempt list amounts to paid leave while cases are adjudicated. This will remove the team’s second-round pick from the equation for the foreseeable future.
The NFL does not use the exempt list often, but it is not too surprising the league plans to shelve Hall. The Ohio State product allegedly engaged in a violent confrontation with his fiancée which, per a police report, included him pointing a handgun at the woman’s head and saying, “I will f—ing end it all. I don’t care.”
This did not deter the Browns from using Hall in their second and third preseason games, which occurred after the arrest. Teams do not commonly suspend players for involvement in domestic violence incidents, waiting for the league to do so. The NFL will indeed intervene here, changing Cleveland’s defensive tackle depth chart.
Chosen 54th overall, Hall returned to his hometown as a long-term DT hopeful for the Browns. Cleveland went through training camp with Dalvin Tomlinson rehabbing an injury. While Tomlinson is coming back to practice this week, Hall’s NFL future is cloudy. His legal proceedings will take precedence, and the NFL will prevent the Browns from deploying him again while this matter plays out.
Browns To Activate Jack Conklin, Greg Newsome; Jedrick Wills Activation Expected
Slow-playing Nick Chubb‘s recovery as expected, the Browns will give the Pro Bowl running back’s collection of backups some help to start the season. Jack Conklin is coming off the team’s active/PUP list Monday, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports. Jedrick Wills is expected to follow soon after.
Conklin will practice Tuesday, per Kevin Stefanski, while Wills is not yet ready. The Browns needed to activate both tackles to avoid each beginning the season on the reserve/PUP list, which would have knocked both out for at least four games to open the season. Each has been rehabbing knee injuries. Conklin suffered ACL and MCL tears in Week 1 of last season; Wills underwent MCL surgery late last year.
Cleveland is also not planning to have Greg Newsome on the NFI list to start the season, while Stefanski said (via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Chris Easterling) Dalvin Tomlinson will join the recovering cornerback at practice Tuesday. Stefanski added (via TheLandOnDemand.com’s Tony Grossi) Nyheim Hines is not yet off Cleveland’s active/NFI list but could practice later this week. It seems the Browns are also preparing to move Hines, who is still on the mend from the ACL tear sustained in a jet-ski accident last year, off an injured list in an effort to have him return during the season’s first four weeks.
The Browns finished last season without their top three tackles, with Dawand Jones suffering a major injury as well. Cleveland’s would-be swing tackle did not start camp on the PUP list, representing a rare positive injury development for the AFC North team. Conklin had hoped to return by training camp, but he did not come particularly close. Nevertheless, he will be an option for Week 1. Conklin should probably be expected to line up at his usual right tackle spot, with Stefanski (via The Athletic’s Zac Jackson) stopping short of indicating he would be an option at LT while Wills completes his recovery.
Conklin coming back after his second ACL tear gives the Browns a boost, but Wills needing this much time to return from an MCL issue is obviously a concern. The Browns have used Wills and Conklin as their LT-RT combo since 2020. Wills enters a crucial season, as his rookie contract expires after the 2024 campaign. These issues all come as Deshaun Watson completed a recovery from a shoulder surgery, which kept him off the field during preseason play.
Additionally, Stefanski said Jordan Hicks will return to practice Tuesday. The recent free agency acquisition missed most of this month with an undisclosed injury. Teams do not need to disclose injuries until game week, but the veteran linebacker has a decent chance of debuting for his new team in Week 1.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Lions
All due respect to the Barry Sanders– and Erik Kramer-driven 1991 season, last year brought the Lions’ most successful slate since their 1957 championship campaign. Narrowly missing their first Super Bowl berth, the Lions still moved their rebuild — one that featured a 3-13-1 team in 2021 — to the NFC championship game. The Brad Holmes–Dan Campbell operation has changed the franchise’s trajectory, making good on the hype the 2023 offseason brought.
As Detroit attempts to kick down the door and book its first Super Bowl berth, its payroll changed significantly. The equation now includes big-ticket contracts for Jared Goff and other cornerstones, but last year’s draft class infused the roster with impact talent that will be tied to rookie deals for a bit. Campbell’s team will try to capitalize on the combination of rookie-contract talent and lower Year 1 cap numbers for its recently extended stars.
Extensions and restructures:
- Reached four-year, $212MM extension ($113.6MM guaranteed) with QB Jared Goff
- Gave four-year, $120.01MM extension ($34.67MM guaranteed) to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Agreed to four-year, $112MM deal ($42.99MM guaranteed) with RT Penei Sewell
- Agreed on three-year, $60MM extension ($31.83MM guaranteed) with LT Taylor Decker
Goff became the first domino to fall this offseason on the quarterback market, and the former No. 1 overall pick is now the oldest member of the $50MM-per-year club. The only $50MM-per-year passer north of 27, Goff (30 in October) has completed a remarkable turnaround. The Lions needed to take on Goff’s 2019 Rams extension to collect the two-first-rounder package from the Rams for Matthew Stafford. Rather than Goff being the bridge QB most assumed, the five-year Los Angeles starter turned his career around in Detroit. The Lions have protected Goff with a top-flight offensive line, and Amon-Ra St. Brown has become a No. 1 target. This has stabilized the career of a passer who did not fare well in his first Lions season.
Holmes continually resisted labeling Goff a stopgap, and the Lions then benefited from what became a team-friendly contract over the past two seasons. Goff played well on his $33.5MM-per-year Rams deal, ranking fifth and 11th in QBR during Ben Johnson‘s play-calling years. The Lions passed on the 2021 first-round QB contingent, instead taking Penei Sewell to protect Goff in Round 1. A maligned 2022 first-round QB crop followed, and the Lions took Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams. After Goff’s promising 2022, Detroit continued to build around him rather than take the traditional route and find a younger arm at a rookie-scale rate.
These decisions meant Goff would need to be extended, with Holmes indicating the quarterback he once helped draft as the Rams’ college scouting director had earned a new deal. The Lions made Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player (for a few weeks, at least), striking first to help set the market for Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love. Of the eight $50MM-AAV clubbers, only Goff is on a third contract. That separates his situation from the pack, but the Lions continue to show belief in a player Sean McVay discarded.
Beating Stafford’s Rams in a wild-card game, edging the Buccaneers and then pushing the 49ers to the brink, Goff secured quality terms on his deal — even if Lawrence and Love passed him in AAV months later. The popular rolling guarantee structure is in place here, with Goff set to see $20MM of his $35MM 2026 base salary guarantee in 2025. More than a third of Goff’s 2027 base salary ($50MM) will lock in a year early as well. The Lions are betting big on a player who arrived as a depressed asset, but they went to work on ensuring their other early-2020s pillars would remain in the fold as well.
Perhaps best known for the five-QB first round that failed to produce franchise options, the 2021 draft nevertheless equipped the Lions with offensive cornerstones. After the Bengals chose Ja’Marr Chase over Sewell, the Lions pounced. Both players have become standouts. While Cincinnati is angling to pay Chase in 2025, Detroit stepped up early on a market-changing deal.
Sewell not only became the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle, he was the league’s top tackle earner at the time of signing. Although his contract changed the LT market — as the Buccaneers have since given Tristan Wirfs the highest tackle AAV — Sewell’s contract still checks in on its own level among RTs. His $28MM per-year number leads the RT pack by $8MM.
The Lions stationed Sewell at left tackle for much of 2021, keeping him at his college position, but that only occurred because of a Taylor Decker injury. Over the past two years, the Oregon product has become a dominant right tackle. Sewell’s RT move coincided with Goff’s late-20s rebound, as the Lions formed an elite O-line. Pro Football Focus ranked Detoit’s O-line eighth in 2022 and second last season. Sewell ranked sixth in pass block win rate last season and has made back-to-back Pro Bowls — not the easiest feat for a right tackle — along with earning a 2023 All-Pro first-team nod.
This should be a sound Lions move, as Sewell will not turn 24 until October. This should ensure his prime occurs in the Motor City. Sewell agreeing to a four-year contract also separates him from recently extended tackles Wirfs, Christian Darrisaw and Andrew Thomas. The Lions RT will likely be able to come back to the table during his late 20s, presenting the opportunity for two monster paydays.
St. Brown will not turn 25 until October. At the rate receivers are being paid, his third contract will probably be north of $40MM per year when the time arrives. The Lions expected to have a franchise tackle when they chose Sewell; St. Brown provided a surprise.
Arriving when the Lions were retooling at the position, the former fourth-round pick showed immediate promise and became entrenched in Detroit’s starting lineup during the team’s 2021 restart. Since his 912-yard rookie year, the tenacious wideout climbed to 1,161 and 1,514. The latter showing made St. Brown the Lions’ first All-Pro wideout since Calvin Johnson in 2013.
Giving midlevel deals to the likes of Golden Tate and Marvin Jones in between Megatron’s extension and the St. Brown deal, the Lions bided their time before reinvesting. They nabbed St. Brown, who has carried a perpetual chip on his shoulder due to being chosen 112th overall, and made him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver — at the time. St. Brown was linked to a $26-$28MM-per-year number during negotiations, but his camp inflated that figure by the time of signing.
St. Brown joined Tyreek Hill as the league’s only $30MM-per-year WRs, driving both A.J. Brown and Justin Jefferson to seek higher-end deals and affecting the markets of CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk and Ja’Marr Chase. St. Brown’s deal includes $77MM guaranteed in total, with the USC alum’s $27.5MM 2026 base salary locking in by March 2025. After St. Brown played through a significant oblique injury last season, the Lions will hope he has another gear to hit during the mid-’20s.
Holmes still found room to circle back to Decker, doing so despite the dependable left tackle arriving as a Bob Quinn pick and going into his age-30 season. Decker has started since his 2016 rookie year and turns 30 just this week. This marks the former first-rounder’s third NFL contract. Decker’s $20MM-per-year deal does not have rolling guarantee mechanisms like Goff, Sewell and St. Brown’s do, but he did well to lock in nearly $32MM at signing on a three-year accord.
This season, Decker will move into third — behind only Jeff Backus and Lomas Brown — for starts by a Lions tackle. After toiling for some middling Lions teams late in Jim Caldwell‘s tenure and enduring another rebuild after the Matt Patricia hire bombed, Decker reemerged on a playoff squad. The Ohio State alum has not secured any Pro Bowl nods, but pass block win rate rated him seventh among all tackles in 2023. PFF also assigned Decker a ninth-place finish at the position last season. The Lions have their top-tier tackle pair signed through 2027.
The prices are rising here, but Detroit backloading the extensions keeps costs manageable for 2024. Goff’s cap number is only $27.2MM, St. Brown’s $4.86MM. Sewell and Decker respectively count just $8.2MM and $10.9MM.
Trades:
- Acquired CB Carlton Davis, No. 201, 2025 sixth-rounder from Buccaneers for No. 92
The Lions’ cornerback situation would soon become more complicated, but they saw it prove unreliable on the field in 2023. (Aaron Glenn‘s pass defense ranked 27th.) This led to Detroit starting the league year by obtaining Davis, whose three-year, $45MM Tampa Bay contract expires after this season. Despite Davis being in a walk year, the Lions gave up a third-rounder in a pick-swap deal. Making corner a priority, the Lions subsequently paired the former Super Bowl starter with a host of new names.
Detroit also looked into L’Jarius Sneed and Marshon Lattimore, but Davis’ top complementary pieces soon came via the draft. A 2018 second-round pick, Davis has 75 starts on his resume and will not turn 28 until New Year’s Eve. He hit free agency as one of the top defenders available in 2022, but the Bucs paid Jamel Dean a year later.
Davis intercepted four passes during Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-winning season and collectively held QBs to sub-58% completion rates (as the closest defender) in 2021 and ’22. Last season, that number climbed to 61.4%; PFF graded Davis 68th among CBs. The Lions will still bet on the defender excelling in Glenn’s scheme, and they hold exclusive negotiating rights with him until March.
Free agency additions:
- D.J. Reader, DT. Two years, $22MM ($7.43MM guaranteed)
- Kevin Zeitler, G. One year, $6MM ($5.49MM guaranteed)
- Amik Robertson, CB. Two years, $9.25MM ($4.5MM guaranteed)
- Marcus Davenport, OLB. One year, $6.5MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- Jake Bates, K. Two years, $1.98MM
- Kyle Peko, DT. One year, $1.21MM
- Ben Niemann, LB. One year, $1.13MM
- C.J. Moore, S. One year, $1.13MM
Jonah Jackson served as the Lions’ second-longest-tenured O-line starter, holding that role from 2020-23, but proved too expensive — as could be expected, given the guard market and the Lions’ offseason extension plans — to retain. Enter Zeitler, who continues to excel for northern-based teams. The former Bengals first-rounder has remained a reliable piece for the Browns (2017-18), Giants (2019-20) and Ravens (2021-23). Zeitler is going into his age-34 season, but he snared his first Pro Bowl honor in 2023.
This is a temporary solution, but the Lions nabbing one of this era’s most seasoned guards for $6MM probably represents a win — especially given what proven guards cost this offseason. Zeitler discussed terms with the Ravens, who had signed him following a Giants cut in 2021, but Baltimore opted to cut costs up front. PFF graded Zeitler as a top-15 guard in each of his three Ravens seasons, giving the Lions optimism he will be able to hold form into his mid-30s. Zeitler’s 181 career starts are also in the top 20 all time among guards, and the new Detroit RG leads the pack among active guards.
One of the league’s better run stuffers for years, Reader recently recovered from a second quad tear. The former Texans and Bengals nose tackle tore both quads during his Cincinnati tenure. In between, he anchored Cincinnati’s interior during back-to-back AFC championship game seasons. PFF rated Super Bowl LVI starter rated as a top-11 D-tackle in each of the past three seasons, and PFR’s top 50 free agent list placed him 25th.
Broncos Considering Keeping Three QBs
AUGUST 25: When speaking to the media after Denver’s preseason finale – a game in which Stidham and Wilson both played – Payton confirmed (via Renck) that finances will not be a factor discouraging the team from keeping both in place in addition to Nix. A number of teams around the NFL will likely show at least some interest in adding a signal-caller over the next few days, but they may not have the opportunity to obtain one of the Broncos’ passers if Payton’s willingness to hold onto all three holds true.
AUGUST 24: Bo Nix is the Broncos’ starter, a development his draft status and college experience long signaled. This leaves the team’s veteran arms either competing for one roster spot or set to determine which passer is Nix’s immediate backup.
Sean Payton kept only two QBs on the active roster for most of last season, and the Saints regularly rostered only two passers during Drew Brees‘ tenure. With more uncertainty in Payton’s current QB room, however, an exception may need to be made.
The Broncos are not against carrying three passers on the 53-man roster, with Payton indicting (via the Denver Post’s Troy Renck) this is under consideration. While an offseason rule change allows an unlimited number of practice squad elevations for an emergency third quarterback, the Broncos would run the risk of losing one of their backups if they made a cut by Tuesday’s 3pm CT deadline.
The second-year Denver HC might be posturing to potentially drive a trade, but the Broncos’ backup options have disparate profiles. With Nix going into his first season, the team keeping Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson would make sense. The former brings experience in Payton’s system, having signed a two-year deal worth $10MM in the HC’s first Denver free agency period, with the latter supplying higher upside — albeit with a low floor Jets fans observed for the past three seasons.
Last year’s spree of quarterback injuries leaguewide also could give the Broncos a potential trade chip, as the team carrying all three could precede calls. While Wilson expectedly generated minimal trade interest this offseason, needs arise based on injuries. Stidham is more experienced and would conceivably appeal as a backup option elsewhere — especially in the event a starter goes down. The Texans took calls on both their C.J. Stroud backups — Davis Mills, Case Keenum — before last year’s deadline.
Stidham, 28, preceded Nix as Auburn’s starter and would make more sense as an immediate backup. He spent last season as Russell Wilson‘s QB2, before once again being inserted into a starting lineup largely due to a starter’s contract issue, and is going into his sixth year. Stidham started the Broncos’ first preseason game and entered camp in the QB1 role. Wilson certainly has more starting experience, but his Jets starter arc does not exactly work in his favor. Bringing more upside as a passer, Wilson was still benched three times as a Jet. He also has been Denver’s third-stringer for weeks, never making a serious challenge — despite some recent Payton praise — for the starting job.
It would cost nearly the same amount of dead money to jettison either vet. The Broncos would incur $2MM in dead money by releasing Stidham; they would take on $2.76MM in dead cap by waiving Wilson. The 25-year-old arm not being a vested vet stands to play into Denver’s decision, as there is a chance Wilson is claimed if waived. Though, that is far from a certainty. With only $1MM of Stidham’s base salary guaranteed, the team could also save $5MM by cutting him. No cap savings would come from a Wilson cut.
The Broncos will hope this does not matter much, preparing to give the keys to their first-round pick ahead of what the team hopes is a lengthy starter tenure. The team has seen its recent starters — from Russell Wilson to Teddy Bridgewater to Drew Lock to Joe Flacco — suffer injuries requiring relief work, making the Stidham-and/or-Wilson call rather important.
Dax Hill Wins Starting CB Job; Bengals Likely To Make RB Addition
This year’s Bengals training camp pitted two former Michigan teammates against each other for a starting job. Despite Dax Hill changing positions this offseason, he won the matchup.
The Bengals moved Hill from safety to cornerback, and a competition with DJ Turner formed. Although Turner started 12 games as a rookie, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. notes it will be Hill who opens the season as Cincinnati’s starting outside corner opposite Cam Taylor-Britt (subscription required).
Moved to corner to start the offseason program, Hill fared well at a position he also saw time at while with the Wolverines. The 2022 first-round pick and Turner, a 2023 second-rounder, each saw time in Jim Harbaugh‘s secondaries from 2019-21. Hill has been moved around at the pro level as well, playing both safety and in the slot. He appears to have found a home — for the time being, at least — on the perimeter.
After starting just two games as a rookie, the former No. 31 overall pick worked as a 17-game starter in 2023. This produced 110 tackles but poor coverage metrics; Pro Football Focus rated Hill as the sixth-worst safety regular last season. The Bengals also changed up their safety equation this offseason, bringing back Vonn Bell and signing ex-Raven Geno Stone.
Lou Anarumo‘s secondary will feature experience on the backend and youth on the boundary, with Taylor-Britt only going into his third season. Chidobe Awuzie left in free agency, but rather than Turner stepping in, a somewhat unexpected conclusion took shape. Turner will step into the team’s top backup role. Mike Hilton remains on the roster as a veteran presence, supplying considerable seasoning in the slot.
Additionally, Dehner continues to name Samaje Perine as a reunion candidate. The prospect of the Bengals bringing back their former backup/passing-down back surfaced this offseason, and Perine is not a lock to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster. Perine would pass straight to free agency if released, as a vested veteran, but the Bengals could also ensure they end up with the ex-Joe Mixon backup by trading for him.
Perine is tied to a $2.83MM salary this season, and he played a key role as a Russell Wilson outlet option during the Broncos’ five-game win streak last year. But Denver may end up keeping only three backs. Javonte Williams, who may well have been battling Perine for a roster spot, has solidified himself as Denver’s starter. The team has shifty rotational piece Jaleel McLaughlin and fifth-round rookie Audric Estime in line to make the initial 53 as well.
Cincy traded Mixon to Houston for a seventh-round pick and added Zack Moss as a lower-cost replacement. The team will carry 2023 fifth-rounder Chase Brown, with Trayveon Williams still in place as a third-stringer. The Bengals, however, lost fourth-year RB Chris Evans to a season-ending patellar tendon tear recently. Brown should be expected to start over Moss, per Dehner, despite the team giving the recent Colts spot starter a two-year, $8MM deal.
Even if Perine does not make it back to Ohio, Dehner names running back as the position the Bengals will most likely try to upgrade in the coming days. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to set their initial 53-man rosters.
Bears To Acquire DT Chris Williams From Browns
The Bears are not done augmenting their defensive line situation. A day after obtaining edge rusher Darrell Taylor from the Seahawks, the team turned to an AFC North depth chart for another solution up front.
Cleveland is sending defensive tackle Chris Williams to Chicago, The Athletic’s Adam Jahns reports. This is a pick-swap trade, with the Bears receiving Williams and a 2025 seventh-rounder and the Browns collecting a sixth. The 2025 sixth originally came from the Dolphins, Jahns adds.
This late-August period has doubled as a trade window for a while, as teams prepare to set their 53-man rosters. The Bears will use it to reunite Williams with Matt Eberflus. The Colts initially signed Williams as a 2020 UDFA, doing so during Eberflus’ time as Indianapolis’ DC. This should bring scheme familiarity for the practice squad veteran, who played in 13 games as a Colts backup from 2021-22.
The Bears have now made five trades involving veteran players this offseason. They obtained Ryan Bates from the Bills, landed Keenan Allen from the Chargers, sent Justin Fields to the Steelers, dealt for Taylor and have now brought in D-tackle help. Williams, who did not see regular-season time in 2023, has played only 107 career defensive snaps. The former UDFA may still not be a roster lock for the Bears. But this trade suggests the team wanted to get ahead of the waiver process to obtain a player familiar with Eberflus’ defense.
Williams, 26, signed a reserve/futures deal with the Browns in January but may have been likely to see an AFC team cut him once again. Williams went to camp with the Chiefs in 2023, failing to make the Super Bowl champions’ 53-man roster before eventually landing on the Browns’ P-squad to close out last season. The Browns have some established vets at D-tackle, re-signing Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst and adding Quinton Jefferson to go with Dalvin Tomlinson. Cleveland also used a second-round pick on Michael Hall, providing a presumptive roadblock for Williams toward the 53-man roster.
Williams will join 2023 Day 2 picks Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens at DT, along with veteran Andrew Billings, at DT with Chicago. Pickens has missed recent time due to injury, with the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs also expecting veteran Byron Cowart to make the roster. Saturday’s trade stands to adjust this calculus. The team did not draft a D-tackle, instead trading back into this year’s draft for D-end Austin Booker. Williams profiles as a depth piece, but it is clear the Bears were dissatisfied with their D-line as the preseason wound down.