Surgery For Ravens’ Rashod Bateman
Rashod Bateman will undergo groin surgery this week, according to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (Twitter link via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). The exact timeline isn’t clear, but the wide receiver will be “back sometime in September.” That likely means that the Ravens will be without Bateman for the season opener, at minimum. 
Bateman suffered a significant pull in practice, a tough blow for a Ravens offense that lacks depth at wide receiver. The Ravens believe that Bateman — the No. 27 overall pick in this year’s draft — will make a difference in Lamar Jackson‘s passing game. But, first, they have to get him healthy.
The Ravens did add veteran Sammy Watkins to the fold this year and they still have Marquise Brown to lead the way. However, Brown is dinged up with a hamstring injury of his own — ditto for Miles Boykin.
Bateman, one of several stellar WRs in the 2020 class, registered 1,219 yards and eleven touchdowns in 2019, his last full season at Minnesota.
Lions Cut Quinton Dunbar
The Lions have released cornerback Quinton Dunbar, per a club announcement. In a related move, they’ve added running back Craig Reynolds to the 90-man roster. 
Dunbar joined the Lions in April on a one-year contract. However, it was a veteran salary benefit deal with a modest signing bonus of just $137.5K, so the Lions won’t be on the hook for much.
Dunbar — once entangled in a bizarre legal situation with friend Deandre Baker — was traded from Washington to Seattle last year. Injuries cut his season short, but the Seahawks and Cardinals still showed interest in him as a free agent. The young corner was set to join forces with Jeff Okudah, helping to replace Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman. Now, Dunbar could now wind up on his fourth team in three years.
Dunbar broke through in 2019, rating as one of Pro Football Focus’ top corners and nabbing four interceptions. He held opposing quarterbacks to a 61.2 passer rating that year, but saw just six games in 2020 thanks to knee surgery.
To date, the ex-UF Gator has 31 starts to his credit across six seasons.
Bucs Sign Earl Watford
The Buccaneers have signed guard Earl Watford. He’ll take the spot of defensive tackle Sam Renner, who has been waived to make room on the roster.
[RELATED: Buccaneers Extend DC Todd Bowles]
Watford was with the Bucs throughout 2019 season, starting in four of his 15 appearances. He’s a favorite of Bruce Arians, having played in 43 games (21 starts) for him in Arizona from 2014-2017. Now in his third stint with the Bucs, Watford will provide depth in the wake of several OL injuries. The team is currently practicing without Robert Hainsey, Donell Stanley, Josh Wells, and Chidi Okeke, as Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets.
“[Watford] can walk in any play four positions for us,” Arians said earlier this year “Guys that have been in this system for a while, veteran players – when you lose a guy, you try to look for veteran players rather than young guys who might not be ready.”
49ers Cut Kevin White, Sign Donald Payne
The 49ers have released wide receiver Kevin White, per a club announcement. In a corresponding move, they’ve added linebacker Donald Payne to their offseason roster.
[RELATED: 49ers Working Out Clinton-Dix, McDougald]
White, a former No. 7 overall pick by the Bears, came out of West Virginia in 2015 with tons of hype. Unfortunately, injuries have limited him to just 17 games since then. Even though the Niners were decimated by injuries last year, White was jockeyed on and off the roster last year. He appeared in three games for SF in 2020 without recording an official statistic. For his career, White has 25 catches for 285 yards and zero touchdowns.
The 49ers will move ahead with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel as their leading receivers, plus support from Trent Sherfield, Mohamed Sanu, Jauan Jennings, and others vying for the final WR spots on the depth chart. White was near the bottom of the team’s ~12 WR hopefuls in camp, so his release doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
Payne, meanwhile, has not seen live action since he was with the Jaguars in 2019. That year, he recorded 61 total tackles with one sack, one pass defensed, and one fumble recovery.
Panthers Sign LB Josh Bynes
The Panthers have signed linebacker Josh Bynes, per a club announcement. To make room on the roster, the Panthers released safety Lano Hill. 
Bynes was one of a handful of veterans the Ravens added to their defense in the middle of the 2019 season. In 2019, he recorded 46 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions, and Pro Football Focus gave him high marks for his coverage and run-stopping abilities.
After helping to stabilize Baltimore’s front seven, the Bengals picked him up last year and made him a first-stringer for all 16 games. Bynes finished out 2020 with some of the best numbers of his career — 99 tackles, a sack, and two passes defensed.
Bynes, 32 later this month, isn’t an elite stopper, but he could provide valuable veteran experience for the Panthers. He’s got 117 career appearances under his belt and a championship ring on his finger after securing the final tackle of Super Bowl XLVII.
Seahawks Cut Aldon Smith
The Seahawks have released defensive end Aldon Smith (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). He’ll be a full fledged free agent this week, but his off-the-field situation and conditioning might keep him off the field for a while. 
Smith joined the Seahawks in April but was booked on a battery charge just days later. On top of that, Smith wasn’t in good enough shape to participate in minicamp this summer. The Seahawks were disappointed to say the least – Smith could have been a valuable addition to the front seven at a reasonable rate. His one-year deal was worth only $1.12MM with just $137K guaranteed.
With the former All-Pro edge defender out of the picture, the Seahawks will move forward with Carlos Dunlap, Benson Mayowa, and former 49er Kerry Hyder. They’ve also got former first-round pick L.J. Collier to help at defensive end.
Smith seemed to be on the right track after starting in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season. After missing full four years due to suspension, he finished out with five sacks, two fumble recoveries, and 14 quarterback hits.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Javon Leake
- Waived: RB Michael Warren
Houston Texans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bradley Roby
- Waived: WR Damon Hazelton
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DL Ethan Westbrooks
- Waived: DB Shaun Crawford
Los Angeles Rams
- Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: OT Ryan Pope
New York Giants
- Signed: DT Willie Henry, DT Elijah Qualls
- Waived: DL R.J. McIntosh, LB Cale Garrett, WR Derrick Dillon
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Lakiem Williams
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Gabe Holmes
Colts’ Carson Wentz, Quenton Nelson To Play Week 1?
Great news for the Colts. Quarterback Carson Wentz is “trending” to play in the season opener against the Seahawks (Twitter link via Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com). Ditto for All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, who also underwent foot surgery. 
[RELATED: Colts Extend Frank Reich, Chris Ballard]
Things were looking bleak for the Colts just a few days ago as both players were projected to miss a chunk of September. Nothing’s certain just yet, but it appears that Wentz and Nelson will be good to go after all. With Wentz under center, Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger will no longer have to cram for the QB1 role — the youngsters are now back to competing for the backup job.
Nelson, meanwhile, should be able to man LG to start the year. Now, the Colts just need more good news on the rest of their front five. Center Ryan Kelly is still nursing an elbow injury that’s keeping him off the practice field while new left tackle Eric Fisher is working his way back from an Achilles tear. Fortunately, Kelly’s elbow issue doesn’t seem all that serious and the latest word on Fisher is promising, even though there’s no timeline for his full return just yet.
“Yeah, I’ve seen him – just watching a couple of his workouts with our trainers working him out, I think he looks really good,” head coach Frank Reich said this week. “In fact, I saw him doing something the other day and I yelled over, ‘Put some pads on him!’ I thought he looked that good.”
The Colts hope to have all three lineman healthy with support — not spot starts — from Chris Reed and Sam Tevi.
Colts Extend Frank Reich, Chris Ballard
The Colts have signed head coach Frank Reich and GM Chris Ballard to brand new contracts. The extensions will keep both of them in place through the 2026 season.
“In Chris Ballard and Frank Reich, we have as great a General Manager-head coach combination as there is in the NFL, and I can’t tell you how proud I am to have them leading our franchise,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a press release.
“I truly believe this football team is on the doorstep of great things, and that’s because of the culture both have cultivated in their time with the Horseshoe. Whether we are marching toward the playoffs or facing adversity, whether we are building our roster or making a difference in the community, we have the ideal leaders in Chris and Frank.”
Ballard spent 12 seasons with the Bears and served asJohn Dorsey‘s right-hand man in Kansas City before joining the Colts in January of 2017. One year later, after the Josh McDaniels mess, he hired Reich. Things have worked out pretty well since then — the Colts have gone 28-20 over the last three seasons with and two playoff berths.
“I really believe that you will see a golden era develop as we go into this decade sitting here in 2021,” Irsay said earlier this year. “I believe it with all my heart and soul. There is good reason to believe it. You talk to people around the league and people that know, they are going to agree with what I’m saying when they look at Chris Ballard and Frank Reich and the expectations going into this decade that we have for both of them leading the team.”
Latest On Saints, Michael Thomas
Aug. 10: Unsurprisingly, the relationship between Thomas and the team is not in a good place, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). Rapoport adds that a trade could be an option at some point, but given Thomas’ health issues, such a deal wouldn’t be consummated for a while. The two-time First Team All-Pro is likely to start the season on the PUP list, so he could not be dealt until right around the trade deadline.
And, if the Saints were to trade him, the team would be saddled with an $8MM dead money hit this year and a $22MM dead money hit in 2022. For a team with well-documented cap issues already, that would be a tough pill to swallow, especially since New Orleans would be selling low.
Aug. 7: Saints star Michael Thomas ignored check-in calls from team coaches and trainers throughout the offseason, according to sources who spoke with Jeff Duncan of Nola.com. Thomas ignored the club’s repeated pleas to have surgery on his injured ankle. Instead, he held off until June, which means that he’ll be sidelined to start the season.
[RELATED: Saints Sign LB Kwon Alexander]
Thomas got a second opinion on his injury and was told that he could avoid going under the knife. The Saints supported his decision but also asked for regular updates. Thomas then went three months without talking to team officials.
The Saints have since added veteran Chris Hogan and moved Ty Montgomery back to wide receiver. Those moves may help with depth, but neither player can realistically replicate Thomas’ production.
“It’s disappointing,” head coach Sean Payton said recently. “We would have liked (the surgery) to have happened earlier rather than later. And quite honestly, it should have.”
In 2019, Thomas finished with a single-season-record of 149 receptions to go along 1,725 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Last year was a different story. Between his one-game suspension and hamstring trouble, Thomas finished out with just 40 catches for 438 yards in seven games. On the plus side, he went on to notch five grabs for 73 yards and one score in the Saints’ playoff win over the Bears.