Colts Cut Sean Davis
The Colts have released safety Sean Davis (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Davis, who joined the Colts back in April, was slated to support starters Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon.
Davis entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2016. He spent his first four years in Pittsburgh, making 31 starts between 2017-18. Then, he missed almost all of 2019 due to injury. In 2020, he was set to play for the Washington Football Team, but missed the cut. Davis then found his way back to Pittsburgh where he dressed for all 16 of their games. With Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick playing in front of him, Davis finished 2020 with just 12 tackles and one pass defensed.
Davis seemed to have a chance at significant time in Indy given the departures of Malik Hooker and Tavon Wilson. Now, he’s back on the market with days to go before the start of the season.
This Date In Transactions History: Vikings’ Brock Lesnar Retires From NFL
Seventeen years ago, Brock Lesnar stepped out of the squared circle and on to the gridiron. The WWE superstar hadn’t played organized football since high school, but his athletic ability made the Vikings curious enough to give the muscle-bound homegrown talent an opportunity to compete in training camp as a defensive tackle.
On the surface, this seemed to be a publicity ploy for the former WWE champion, but there was reason to believe that Lesnar could defy the odds and embark on a legitimate professional sports career. Before Lesnar beat the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker, he was an amateur wrestling phenom at the University of Minnesota, where he captured the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling championship.
At 6’2″ and 285 pounds, Lesnar’s drill times and marks were downright impressive. With a reported 4.7-second 40-yard-dash time, 35-inch vertical leap, and 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press, Lesnar would have bested many DTs at the 2004 combine. For reference, No. 14 overall pick Tommie Harris ran a 4.78-second 40-yard-dash and posted 29 reps on the bench press before the Bears made him the first DT drafted in April.
Despite never playing football in college, Lesnar was still only 26 years old at the time and had real potential as a raw prospect. Still, there was one big problem – an April motorcycle accident left Lesnar with a busted jaw, a broken left hand, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Playing at less than 100% health, Lesnar’s unlikely mission became even more improbable.
After Lesnar missed the Vikings’ cut in late August, the Vikings offered him a spot on their NFL Europe affiliate team. Citing a desire to stay close to his family in the U.S., Lesnar left football, transitioned to MMA, and went on to become the heavyweight champion of the UFC.
Lesnar’s NFL career was short-lived, but his presence in camp was appreciated by Randy Moss, Nate Burleson, and other members of the Vikings’ locker room who grew up as wrasslin’ fans. Lesnar also got to put his WWE skills to good use while with the Vikes. When a Chiefs defender roughed up Daunte Culpepper during a summer scrimmage, Lesnar grabbed him by the waist, suplexed him high in the air, and slammed him on the turf. At least, that’s how Burleson remembers it.
Titans Cut John Simon
The Titans got an early jump on their housekeeping. On Sunday, the club released veteran defensive end John Simon, per a club announcement. They’ve also cut defensive back Clayton Geathers, waived linebacker Cassh Maluia, and placed running back Brian Hill on injured reserve. 
Simon joined the Titans in July, replacing fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper on the offseason roster. Before that, he spent three years with the Patriots. In 2020, he started in all 16 games and registered 53 stops with two sacks. All in all, he’s got 97 appearances and 52 career starts to his credit for the Ravens, Texans, Colts, and Patriots. Now, he could be en route to yet another NFL club.
Simon is perhaps best known for the three-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Colts in 2017. That deal didn’t make it to Year Two, but he’s quietly put together a solid career in the NFL. Few knew Simon’s ability better than Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who has coached the veteran at multiple stops.
Geathers is another ex-Colt; he spent his entire career with Indy up until recently. He saw time in 56 games for the Colts and started 22 games combined in 2018 and 2019. During that stretch, he posted 101 tackles and four passes defended. He sat out the 2020 campaign and only just reemerged this month when he inked a deal with the Titans. As a vested veteran, he’ll be free to sign with any club straight away.
Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins Done For Year
It’s official. On Sunday, an MRI confirmed an ACL tear for Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). The Ravens will place Dobbins on injured reserve this week to free up a roster spot, but they won’t be able to replace his production. 
This was the expected news after Dobbins was forced out of last night’s preseason matchup against Washington. Dobbins was set to play a leading role in the rushing attack along with star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now, they’ll be leaning even more on Gus Edwards with support from third-year scat-back Justice Hill and 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams.
Dobbins, a first-round talent, fell to the Ravens at No. 55 overall last year. He became a central part of the offense in the second half of 2020, finishing out with 134 carries for 805 yards (6.0 ypc), and nine rushing TDs. Edwards is still a solid Plan B (5.2 career ypc), but it remains to be seen whether he can handle a double-digit carry workload.
If the Ravens go out-of-house, they could reconsider Todd Gurley. Gurley, the NFL’s 2017 Offensive Player of the Year, touched base with Baltimore back in June.
Vikings’ Irv Smith To Miss Time
Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is scheduled for meniscus surgery (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The tear, operation, and recovery will sideline him for the start of the season, at minimum. 
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Smith, 23, flashed serious potential last year while posting 30 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns. The football world (and fantasy world) was awaiting a breakout year for Smith, who would have benefitted from all the attention paid to Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and the rest of Kirk Cousins‘ weapons.
Of course, all is not lost, because meniscus surgery isn’t necessary a season ender. However, it seems likely that the Vikings will be without the dynamic TE through the first six weeks of the season.
While Smith is sidelined, they’ll be counting on backup Tyler Conklin — provided that Conklin’s hamstring doesn’t keep him off the field too. Brandon Dillon, rookie Zach Davidson, and Shane Zylstra comprise the rest of the Vikes’ TE depth chart.
Texans To Trade Shaq Lawson To Jets
On Sunday, the Texans agreed to trade edge rusher Shaq Lawson to the Jets (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, New York will send a sixth-round draft pick to Houston. 
Lawson came to Houston earlier this year in the deal that sent inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to Miami. He turned in a solid, if unspectacular, 2020 campaign with the Dolphins. Previous to that, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019. For his career, Sack-a-Shaq has 20.5 sacks across five pro seasons.
The Jets will now take on Lawson and the rest of his contract. That means a paltry $1.4M in 2021 plus club control in 2022 with no guaranteed money. So, if Lawson is a bust, the Jets can drop him without penalty. And, if things work out, they can keep him for ’22 for a $8.9MM salary. It’s a savvy move for Joe Douglas & Co. — they gave up very little to fortify their defensive line in the wake of Carl Lawson‘s season-ending Achilles tear.
Lawson might not be a world-beater, but he was probably their best option after losing C. Lawson and Vinny Curry in a short span.
“It’s always easy to play the fictional game of, ‘Let’s go get somebody,’ but the reality is [it’s] few and far between in terms of what’s available,” head coach Robert Saleh said recently. “Now, obviously, Joe and his staff are working relentlessly, always trying to look at the roster and always communicating.”
Lawson has a little over two weeks to cram on his new team’s playbook. The Jets kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 12 when they face the Panthers in Carolina.
Vikings, Harrison Smith Agree To $64MM Deal
The Vikings and Harrison Smith have agreed to a four-year, $64MM extension (Twitter link via Mike Golic Jr. of ESPN Radio). With that, the All-Pro now stands as the second highest-paid safety in the league. 
Smith, 32, was previously set to enter the final season of his five-year, $51.25MM deal. It was a whopper of a deal at the time, but that AAV had him outside of the top ten among safeties in 2021. Smith, who has spent the last nine years in Minnesota, wondered whether he was headed for divorce with the only NFL team he’s ever known.
“I mean I don’t know what happens at the end of careers,” Smith said recently. “Sometimes things change. I don’t plan on that happening, but the NFL is the NFL. It’s always wild. But I’ll always consider myself a Viking no matter what.”
Now, after watching Anthony Harris‘ offseason departure, Smith has a brand new deal and a significant pay bump to boot. Still a high-end safety, Pro Football Focus has rated him in the top-15 for each of the last four years. That includes 2015 when he graded No. 1 at safety.
This’ll be Year 10, but there’s no reason to believe that Smith is slowing down. Last year, Smith matched his career high with five interceptions. Now, with a new deal, he’ll look to set even more watermarks in Minnesota.
Saints Sign Damion Square
The Saints have signed nose tackle Damion Square, per the league wire. To make room, they’ve released fullback Sutton Smith. 
Square spent 2014-20 with the Chargers, re-upping with the team in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. He started 24 games for the Bolts in total and enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2018 — 6.5 sacks on a 51% defensive snap rate. However, Los Angeles’ new coaching staff did not bring him back for an eighth season.
Square hooked on with the Browns earlier this year, only to get released earlier this month. The Browns didn’t necessarily need him, after adding the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson. They also have defensive tackle Andrew Billings back from his 2020 opt-out.
The 32-year-old will now try to make an impression on the Saints with just days to go before the final cut to 53.
Patriots Waive TE Kahale Warring
The Patriots have waived tight end Kahale Warring, per the NFL’s transactions wire. The timing comes as a bit of a surprise, since Warring was claimed off waivers just a few days ago. 
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The Texans, who are now run by longtime Bill Belichick right-hand man Nick Caserio, cut Warring in their move down to 80 players. The Pats grabbed him right after placing fellow TEs Dalton Keene and Troy Fumagalli on IR. Warring seemed to have a solid chance of making the roster in support of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, especially since Henry is banged up with an injury of his own. However, for one reason or another, it didn’t work out.
The rest of the league will now have an opportunity to claim Warring. The Colts and Saints tried to snag him the last time around, so both teams seem like logical destinations for the 24-year-old.
Texans Shopping Shaq Lawson, Lonnie Johnson
Texans pass rusher Shaq Lawson and defensive back Lonnie Johnson are being “heavily discussed in league circles as trade candidates,” according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). Both players have started in the past, but neither is currently projected to be first-string for the Texans.
Lawson came to Houston earlier this year in the deal that sent inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to Miami. He turned in a solid, if unspectacular, 2020 campaign with the Dolphins. Previous to that, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019. For his career, Sack-a-Shaq has 20.5 sacks across five pro seasons. For now, the Texans have him under club control for another two seasons, thanks to the three-year, $30MM he inked with the ‘Fins last spring.
The Texans selected Johnson, a Kentucky product, in the second round of the 2019 draft. He’s got all the physical tools one could want in a corner or a safety. At 6-2, 213 pounds, he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the Combine. He’s shown flashes of potential with the Texans over the last two years, but he hasn’t quite put it all together yet as a pro.