Giants Claim QB Nathan Rourke
MAY 8: The Falcons joined the Giants in submitting a claim, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes. The Giants finishing with a worse 2023 record (6-11) compared to the Falcons (7-10) gave them the priority here. Atlanta’s QB situation has generated far more attention over the past two weeks, but the team also has a starter (Kirk Cousins) coming off a major injury.
As Cousins rehabs his Achilles tear, the team has Michael Penix Jr. and Taylor Heinicke as healthy options for offseason work. The team also reached an agreement with UDFA John Paddock (Illinois). Rourke would have become a fifth QB on Atlanta’s 90-man offseason roster.
MAY 7: Nathan Rourke has not yet turned his CFL production into regular-season NFL work, but teams continue to show interest in the Canadian quarterback.
Being waived by the Patriots on Monday, Rourke will make his way to New York. The Giants submitted a successful waiver claim to add the QB, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will be team No. 3 for Rourke, who has spent time with the Jaguars and Pats during his young NFL career.
[RELATED: Drew Lock In Play To Win Giants’ QB1 Gig?]
Rourke, 25, is a British Columbia native who played at Ohio University in the late 2010s. He ventured back north of the border in 2020 and became a successful passer for the BC Lions. The early-2020s production in Canada drew attention from nearly half the NFL. Twelve teams worked out Rourke from December 2022 to January 2023. The Giants were among them; they will now get a closer look at the aspiring NFL backup.
The Giants passed on adding a quarterback in the draft, despite exhaustive research on this year’s class, but did send the Patriots a substantial trade-up proposal for No. 3 overall. The offer, which included Nos. 6 and 47 overall and a 2025 first-rounder, was believed to be so the Giants could select Drake Maye. New England balked and drafted Maye, leading the Giants to take Malik Nabers. This kept Daniel Jones as the team’s QB centerpiece.
Rourke will join Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito in the Giants’ QB room. Teams regularly carry four QBs into offseason programs and into training camp. The Giants now have three healthy QBs on their roster; Jones remains on the rehab route post-ACL surgery. The five-year starter is expected to be back come training camp. The NFL also increased flexibility regarding the game’s premier position, allowing a non-roster player to serve as the emergency third QB.
Rourke spent most of last year with the Jags, signing a futures deal and spending time on both their active roster and practice squad. The Pats claimed Rourke off waivers in December; they beat the Texans to the punch there. But after making major changes to their QB room this offseason, the Pats moved on.
Patriots To Interview Eagles’ Brandon Hunt
After going 0-for-3 in interview requests for their top front office position, the Patriots are indeed set to meet with a candidate. Eagles exec Brandon Hunt will go forward with an interview, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.
The Hunt interview is on tap for today. Hunt has been with the Eagles since 2022, coming over after a lengthy tenure with the Steelers. This Patriots connection marks Hunt’s first GM-related tie since the Steelers passed on promoting him to that post, elevating Omar Khan instead, in 2022. Hunt interviewed twice for the Pittsburgh GM gig.
[RELATED: 2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker]
Hunt is currently in place as the Eagles’ director of scouting. He was with the Steelers, as their director of pro scouting, from 2010-22. Khan hired Eagles exec Andy Weidl as assistant GM; the latter move preceded Hunt leaving for Philadelphia. The Eagles lost four staffers (Weidl, Brandon Brown, Ian Cunningham, Catherine Raiche) to assistant GM posts elsewhere in 2022; Hunt became one of Howie Roseman‘s additions in the wake of those exits. Brown, Cunningham and Raiche have come up in GM searches since; the Eagles will now see another of Roseman’s lieutenants take a key meeting.
News of this Hunt meeting comes after three execs — Trey Brown, Terrance Gray and Quentin Harris — turned down Patriots interview requests. The Pats are likely to keep Eliot Wolf atop its front office, soon in a more official capacity, likely leading to the run of execs turning down interview requests.
Each of the four known external candidates for this position are Black. Teams must interview at least two external minorities for HC and GM positions, shaping the nature of a Patriots search that other GM hopefuls clearly believe will end with Wolf staying in place atop the AFC East team’s front office.
Zamir White Expected To Be Raiders’ RB Starter; Jack Jones ‘Set’ As Starting CB
One of the more eventful days in running back history, transactionally speaking, occurred March 11. More than a third of the league either signed a veteran starter or lost one, with several clubs in both camps. The Raiders ended up only in the first section, losing Josh Jacobs to the Packers hours into the legal tampering period.
More moves affecting 2023 starters occurred soon after, as the Raiders added primary Vikings first-stringer Alexander Mattison a week into free agency. While Mattison worked as Minnesota’s initial Dalvin Cook replacement last year, the Raiders might not be readying a competition to fill the spot Jacobs held for five years.
[RELATED: Raiders’ Josh Jacobs Offer Not Close To Packers’ Proposal]
The Raiders brought in Mattison as a player who will work as a sidekick to Zamir White, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. White filled in for Jacobs as the Las Vegas starter over the final four games last season. He totaled 100-plus rushing yards in two of those tilts. Two seasons remain on White’s rookie contract, giving him a path to take over as a multiyear option for the Raiders.
The Vikings released Mattison one year into a two-year contract; the Raiders gave him a one-year, $2MM deal. The former third-round pick’s run as Cook’s replacement did not go well. While the Vikings look to have picked the right offseason to jettison Cook, their run game ranked 29th. Mattison averaged 3.9 yards per carry and did not score a rushing touchdown. The Vikings joined the Raiders in investing a 2022 Day 3 pick on a back (Ty Chandler), and Jacobs’ Green Bay arrival led Aaron Jones to Minneapolis. Mattison, 25, fared better as a Cook spot starter in prior years; the Raiders will give him a chance to mix in behind White, who is going into his age-25 season.
Elsewhere on the Las Vegas depth chart, Bonsignore adds Jack Jones is “set” as a starting cornerback. The ex-Patriots draftee is on track to work as one of the Raiders’ boundary starters, with a competition in the works for the role alongside he and slot cog Nate Hobbs. Considering where Jones stood prior to the Raiders claiming him, a route to a clear-cut starting role is interesting.
Jones undoubtedly benefited from ownership’s decision to remove Antonio Pierce‘s interim tag. Pierce coached Jones at both Long Beach Poly High and then at Arizona State. Jones, 26, ran into off-field trouble in college and in the NFL. An arrest for trying to bring a loaded gun onto a plane overshadowed Jones’ 2023 offseason, and the 2022 fourth-round pick fell out of favor with Bill Belichick late last season. The Patriots waived Jones after he had missed curfew in Germany.
The Raiders upped the talented corner’s usage rate shortly after the November waiver claim, using him as a starter over the final three games. Jones delivered a memorable stretch, which included pick-sixes in back-to-back games. A 2022 starter who encountered speedbumps last year — which also featured an IR stint following a September hamstring injury — Jones is on steadier ground with his second NFL team.
The team let Amik Robertson walk (to the Lions) in free agency and did not draft a corner until Round 4. The Raiders used fourth- and seventh-round picks at the position, but the team is planning to have Jones and Hobbs as locked-in starters. Jakorian Bennett and the reacquired Brandon Facyson may be the early leaders for the other boundary CB job, Bonsignore adds, with the rookies (Decamerion Richardson, M.J. Devonshire) in the mix now as well.
Lions Viewed Packers As Threat To Draft CB Terrion Arnold?
The Lions joined the Eagles in going cornerback-cornerback to start the draft. Beyond slot corner Brian Branch, this will effectively complete a Detroit overhaul at the position.
Terrion Arnold began the Lions’ CB-CB first two rounds, with Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. going to Detroit a day after the team traded up for the Alabama-developed cover man. In reuniting Branch and Arnold, the Lions needed to move up the board. The team’s intel probably involved a lurking division rival.
Arnold’s camp viewed the Packers as a team squarely on the radar to draft the corner at No. 25, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. The Packers are believed to have rated Arnold highly going into Round 1. The Lions climbed up five spots (via the Cowboys) to draft Arnold at No. 24, completing an interesting CB revamp at the position.
Coverage issues created some turnover going into the offseason, and the Lions had trade acquisition Carlton Davis on track to team with Cameron Sutton. But Sutton’s domestic violence arrest — and delay turning himself in — led to the Lions cutting bait on the 2023 free agency pickup. The team was still eyeing corners in the wake of that arrest, as it did not tender Jerry Jacobs as an RFA. The team now looks deep at the position, with Davis, Branch, Arnold and Rakestraw joining the likes of Kindle Vildor, Amik Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley. Given Moseley’s two ACL tears since October 2022, the ex-49ers mainstay is more flier than surefire contributor at this point. It cost the Lions far less to sign him this year than last.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst came into this draft 7-for-8 in going defense with first-round picks, with the 2020 Jordan Love trade-up the exception. Prior to Gutekunst’s 2018 move into the GM chair, the Pack had not chosen an offensive player in the first round since 2011. Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes were part of Gutekunst’s draft run, with the latter — who did not see his fifth-year option picked up — running into injury trouble early in his career. The Packers also traded Rasul Douglas to the Bills at last year’s deadline.
Green Bay, which did not join Detroit in hosting Arnold on a “30” visit, did not draft a corner until Round 7 (Kalen King). The team chose tackle Jordan Morgan at No. 25. Discussing a trade with the Seahawks for No. 16, the Packers did not make an offer for that pick. It cost the Lions No. 73 overall and a 2025 seventh-rounder to move from No. 29 to No. 24. They will bet on Arnold being worth the package sent to Dallas.
The Lions did not view it as likely Arnold would still be there by No. 24, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, but the team is believed to have put together trade parameters involving another player. That helped accelerate Detroit’s move up the board. Presumably viewing it as unlikely Arnold would make it past the Eagles at No. 22, the Lions observed Philly draft Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell. Both teams benefited from the draft not producing a defensive pick until No. 15. As for the player the Lions were previously targeting with a trade-up maneuver, Breer indicates Brad Holmes and Co. were eyeing Mizzou’s Darius Robinson.
It is not clear if the Lions and Cowboys had a trade worked out prior to Arnold remaining on the board, but the Lions were apparently ready to trade up for multiple defenders in this class. A versatile defensive lineman, Robinson ended up going to the Cardinals at No. 27.
Cardinals To Sign LB Markus Bailey
A Columbus native who attended Purdue before being drafted by the Bengals, Markus Bailey will soon take up residence outside the Midwest. Winter clothing will be far less relevant for the veteran special-teamer.
The Cardinals are adding the linebacker/ST presence, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Agreeing to a one-year deal with the NFC West club Tuesday, Bailey will head to the desert as a likely second-string presence and soon-to-be regular for Arizona’s specialty units.
For the most part, Bengals DC Lou Anarumo pointed Bailey’s focus toward special teams. The former seventh-round pick only passed the 100-snap barrier on defense in one of his rookie-contract seasons. On special teams, Bailey exceeded 275 snaps in each of the past two seasons. He topped out at 309 ST plays last year.
A 2021 Logan Wilson injury did lead to the Bengals using Bailey as a fill-in starter. Bailey made three starts during the Bengals’ Super Bowl LVI-qualifying season. He ended up playing 26 snaps against the Rams in that season’s decider.
Arizona was not especially aggressive at linebacker this offseason, but the team still has some pieces from 2023. Kyzir White remains under contract, as does Krys Barnes. The Cards added Mack Wilson last month as well, and fifth-rounder Owen Pappoe is going into his second season. Bailey, 27, will mix in with this group, likely set to work as a backup and ST regular for a second team.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/24
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived (non-football injury): OL Ryan Swoboda
Green Bay Packers
- Reverted to IR: WR Thyrick Pitts
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Jaaron Hayek
- Waived: WR Reggie Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: WR Daylen Baldwin
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: DL Shakel Brown
Washington Commanders
- Waived: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, CB D’Angelo Mandell, DE Joshua Pryor
Lions Sign DT Kyle Peko
Kyle Peko has made his way around this site’s transaction posts over the years, bouncing to a few teams and on and off practice squads. But the veteran defensive tackle has continued to generate interest despite working mostly as a backup.
A stint with the Titans last year brought new territory — regular starter run — for the eight-year veteran, and it looks like that stretch will lead to another gig. The Lions signed Peko on Tuesday, bringing him in and greenlighting a reunion with C.J. Moore.
Detroit will be Peko’s sixth stop since coming into the NFL as a UDFA in 2016. The ex-Broncos signee had made a combined three starts from 2016-22. Last season, the Titans used him as a 10-game starter. Peko, whose other three career starts came for the 2021 Titans, rejoined the Tennessee D-line last year. He made 22 tackles (two for loss) and batted down a pass.
Pro Football Focus did not view Peko, 30, as a productive defender; the advanced metrics site graded the journeyman as a bottom-10 performer among D-tackle regulars. But the Lions hired former Mike Vrabel assistant Terrell Williams as their D-line coach/defensive run-game coordinator. That familiarity will certainly help produce another opportunity for Peko, who played for Williams — previously the Titans’ D-line coach — during both his Tennessee stints.
A cousin of longtime NFL DT Domata Peko, Kyle has played for the Broncos, Bills, Colts, Raiders and Titans. Last season also marked the Oregon State alum’s career-high mark for games played (13). He joins a Lions interior D-line corps featuring Alim McNeill, John Cominsky, free agent signing D.J. Reader, 14-year veteran Tyson Alualu, former Day 2 picks Levi Onwuzurike and Brodric Martin, along with sixth-round rookie Mekhi Wingo.
Giants Add Chris Snee To Scouting Staff
The most decorated 21st-century Giants offensive lineman will make his way back to the organization. Former All-Pro guard Chris Snee will join Joe Schoen‘s staff.
Snee will be part of Schoen’s scouting contingent, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz notes. This addition comes two years after the parties could not make an agreement work back in 2022. But Schoen and the former 10-year Giants O-line starter circled back to a deal, which will begin a reunion Snee has hoped for since retiring.
Part of a solid offensive line nucleus during the Giants’ two Super Bowl seasons, Snee earned four Pro Bowl invites and two All-Pro nods — including a first-team appearance in 2008 — during a career spent only with the Giants. The team drafted Snee in Tom Coughlin‘s first offseason as HC, bringing in the interior O-lineman after the Boston College alum had already become Coughlin’s son-in-law.
The pick produced a 141-start career, with Snee becoming a right guard anchor for Big Blue. Of the Giants’ long-running O-line quartet that included David Diehl, Sean O’Hara and Kareem McKenzie, Snee led the way in terms of Pro Bowl nods. No pure guard in Giants history matches Snee’s four Pro Bowl invites.
Snee, 42, hung up his cleats just before training camp in 2014. He reunited with Coughlin as an O-line scout for the Jaguars during the latter’s time as the team’s executive vice president. Snee also returned to his alma mater in 2022, working as a football analyst. Talks to bring Snee on two years ago did not produce a deal, but the Giants will move forward with a reunion during Schoen’s third offseason in charge.
Broncos Made Call About Moving Up In Round 1; Team Eyed TE Help In Offseason
Sean Payton admitted he was a central part of a smokescreen effort that centered on Broncos interest in moving up for a quarterback. This buzz certainly may have influenced the Vikings to trade up one spot (via the Jets), and the effort also involved Denver brass making calls about moving up the board.
The Bears heard from the Broncos about No. 9 overall, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. This would add a layer to one of the more interesting smokescreens of recent years. One pick later, the Vikings moved from No. 11 to No. 10, sending the Jets fourth- and fifth-round picks to climb up and lock in J.J. McCarthy draft real estate.
This did clear the runway for the Broncos to land Bo Nix, their long-rumored target, though it helped an AFC team in the form of Day 3 draft capital. Neither the Bears nor Jets were candidates to draft a quarterback, and Payton said he viewed the Vikings as more interested in McCarthy than Nix. The Broncos are believed to have ranked the Oregon prospect as this draft’s third-best QB.
The Broncos indeed became enamored with Nix, with Fowler adding the five-year college starter was the team’s “guy the whole way.” Nix, 24, will be expected to either begin the season as the Broncos’ starter or take over from either Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson early. Seeing as he spent a season in Payton’s system, Stidham is on track — per 9News’ Mike Klis — to see starter work to open OTAs. Though, the primary Broncos QB storyline will be Nix’s progress in Payton’s system as the offseason turns into training camp. Stidham’s two-year, $10MM deal includes only $1MM in guaranteed 2024 salary.
Also entering the draft with a quarterback need, the Raiders lurking at No. 13 influenced the Broncos to not attempt to trade down for Nix but rather to stay at 12 and pull the trigger. This prompted many to label the pick a reach. The Broncos had interesting options had they not opted to fill their most glaring need. Brock Bowers and Laiatu Latu remained on the board. Denver was among the teams to clear Latu on his pre-draft physical, Fowler adds, noting the team would have given strong consideration to the UCLA edge rusher had it not determined Nix needed to be the pick at 12.
Latu met with the Broncos during the pre-draft process; Bowers did not. But the Georgia tight end would have filled an apparent need for the Broncos, who have seen their top receiving tight end — Greg Dulcich — run into repeated hamstring trouble. Hamstring issues have caused the 2022 third-round pick to miss extensive time in both his pro seasons, leading to four IR trips already, and Klis adds the Broncos wanted to come out of this offseason with a tight end addition. Nothing has transpired on this front, though.
Specifically, the Broncos were hoping to acquire another receiving tight end. The Raiders ended up with Bowers at No. 13, despite having traded up for Michael Mayer (albeit under a previous regime) early in last year’s second round. The Broncos did not view the free agent market as lining up with their budget, Klis adds. The market also saw two of its top names — Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz — re-sign before free agency began.
Ex-Broncos first-rounder Noah Fant stayed with the Seahawks (two years, $21MM) but was available during the legal tampering period. Falcons cut Jonnu Smith landed with the Dolphins for just two years and $8.4MM, while the Bengals scooped up Mike Gesicki for just $2.5MM. Gerald Everett joined the Bears on a two-year, $12MM deal, while Hayden Hurst followed ex-Broncos FA target (during Nathaniel Hackett‘s offseason as HC) Will Dissly to the Chargers.
While the Broncos circled back to edge rusher in the third round (Utah’s Jonah Elliss), they did not select a tight end. The team re-signed ex-Saints cog Adam Trautman on a two-year, $7.5MM deal. Trautman led Broncos tight ends with just 204 receiving yards last season, highlighting Dulcich’s absence.
Beyond Logan Thomas, the market is fairly dry for receiving TEs. This points to Dulcich, who totaled 411 receiving yards as a rookie but played in two games last season, having another genuine opportunity to hold this job — if he can stay healthy.
2024 NFL General Manager Search Tracker
With the Patriots hiring Eliot Wolf as their de facto GM after having moved on from Bill Belichick, all five teams in need of a GM have filled their post this offseason. If other teams decide to make GM changes, they’ll be added to this list.
Updated 5-11-24 (4:35pm CT)
Carolina Panthers
- Brandon Brown, assistant general manager (Giants): To conduct second interview
- Mike Disner, chief operating officer (Lions): Withdrew from consideration
- Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed 1/14
- Mike Greenberg, assistant general manager (Buccaneers): Interview requested
- Alec Halaby, assistant general manager (Eagles): To conduct second interview
- Khai Harley, assistant general manager (Saints): Interview requested
- Champ Kelly, interim general manager (Raiders): Interviewed 1/11
- Nick Matteo, vice president of football administration (Ravens): Interviewed 1/15
- Will McClay, vice president of player personnel (Cowboys): Withdrew from consideration
- Dan Morgan, assistant general manager (Panthers): Hired
- Samir Suleiman, vice president of football administration (Panthers): To interview
- Brandt Tilis, vice president of football operations (Chiefs): Interviewed 1/15
Las Vegas Raiders
- Trey Brown, senior personnel executive (Bengals): Interview requested
- Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed 1/12; conducted second interview
- Terrance Gray, vice president of player personnel (Bills): Interviewed 1/12
- Champ Kelly, interim general manager (Raiders): Conducted second interview 1/15; in play to stay with team
- Kelly Kleine Van Calligan, executive director of football operations (Broncos): Interviewed 1/10
- Adam Peters, assistant general manager (49ers): Interview requested
- Tom Telesco, former general manger (Chargers): Hired
Los Angeles Chargers
- Dawn Aponte, chief football administrative officer (NFL): Interviewed 1/22
- Brandon Brown, assistant general manager (Giants): Conducted second interview 1/24
- Ian Cunningham, assistant general manager (Bears): Interviewed 1/14
- Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed 1/17
- Terrance Gray, vice president of player personnel (Bills): Interviewed 1/16
- Joe Hortiz, director of player personnel (Ravens): Hired
- Jeff Ireland, assistant general manager (Saints): Interviewed 1/17
- Jeff King, co-director of player personnel (Bears): Interviewed 1/19
- Will McClay, vice president of player personnel (Cowboys): Withdrew from consideration
- Adam Peters, assistant general manager (49ers): Interview requested
- JoJo Wooden, interim general manager (Chargers): Interviewed 1/11
New England Patriots
- Trey Brown, senior personnel executive (Bengals): Declined interview request
- Terrance Gray, director of player personnel (Bills): Declined interview request
- Quentin Harris, former VP of player personnel (Cardinals): Declined interview request
- Brandon Hunt, director of scouting (Eagles): Interviewed 5/7-5/8
- Samir Suleiman, former director of football administration (Panthers): Interviewed 5/8
- Eliot Wolf, de facto general manager (Patriots): Hired
Washington Commanders
- Mike Borgonzi, assistant general manager (Chiefs): Interviewed 1/9
- Glenn Cook, assistant general manager (Browns): Interviewed 1/9
- Ian Cunningham, assistant general manager (Bears): Interviewed 1/10; finalist
- Alec Halaby, assistant general manager (Eagles): Interviewed 1/10
- Will McClay, vice president of player personnel (Cowboys): Withdrew from consideration
- Adam Peters, assistant general manager (49ers): Hired