Eagles Sign CB Steven Nelson
The Eagles have signed cornerback Steven Nelson to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. Nelson’s one-year deal will furnish him with $2.5MM in base salary with the chance to make up to $4.125MM with incentives (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). To make room on the roster, the Eagles have released defensive tackle William Henry. 
The Steelers released Nelson way back on March 23rd. Ever since, he’s been fielding interest from roughly half the league. Fourteen different teams reportedly reached out to him, including the Texans, Bears, Bengals, and Bills. Ultimately, the Eagles came away with the veteran.
Nelson was originally drafted by the Chiefs in the third-round in 2015. After a four-interception 2018 season for Kansas City, he signed a three-year, $25.5MM pact with Pittsburgh. He’s started 30 games for the Steelers over the last two seasons. And, in 2020, he notched nine passes defended and two interceptions.
Nelson has been a solid starter, and has received strong marks from Pro Football Focus. In fact over the last two years, PFF has him graded as the NFL’s 11th-best cornerback. Now, the 28-year-old will look to boost the Birds’ secondary, likely starting opposite of Darius Slay. The duo will be supported by rookie Zech McPhearson with slot support from natural nickel Avonte Maddox.
Chandler Jones Requested Trade
Cardinals star pass rusher Chandler Jones requested a trade this offseason, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Jones is said to be unhappy with his contract situation — which has apparently been the case for a while now — and while the club expects him to report to camp, it remains a situation worth monitoring. 
Jones flirted with a holdout during minicamp in June, putting pressure on the front office for a new pact. Still, his decision took many by surprise, given his track record of showing up to practice and participating in all of the offseason’s voluntary work. Jones, 31, is currently set to enter the final year of his contract. As it stands, he’s scheduled to make $15.5MM. Given his age, he won’t beat Joey Bosa‘s five-year, $135MM re-up, but a shorter deal in the $20MM AAV neighborhood would make sense.
The Cardinals do not want to trade Jones, Fowler hears. Still, the three-time Pro Bowler is sending a clear message — he won’t be a happy camper unless the team pays him what he’s worth.
After acquiring him from the Patriots in 2016, the Cardinals gave Jones a five-year, $82.5MM deal in 2017. During his first four seasons in Arizona, Jones didn’t miss a game while averaging 15 sacks per season. He appeared in the first five games of 2020, collecting 11 tackles, one sack, and seven QB hits. However, a torn bicep forced him to miss the rest of the season. That didn’t help his leverage, but he’s doing a good job to try and recoup some of it this summer.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 7/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s late-round signings here:
Detroit Lions
- CB Ifeatu Melifonwu (third round; Syracuse)
Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Josh Palmer (third round; Tennessee)
San Francisco 49ers
- CB Ambry Thomas (third round; Michigan)
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Lorenzo Burns
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Luq Barcoo, CB C.J. Henderson, QB Jake Luton
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Leon Jacobs
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
- Waived: DE Nick Coe, LS Rex Sunahara
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE David Wells
New York Jets
- Placed on NFI list: DE Vinny Curry, DT Folorunso Fatukasi, S Marcus Maye
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Ashtyn Davis, DL Jonathan Marshall, DL Kyle Phillips, DT Quinnen Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Cameron Scarlett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Jordan Whitehead
Vikings To Audition Dede Westbrook
The Vikings are working out former Jacksonville wide receiver Dede Westbrook on Saturday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). If all goes well, Westbrook could reunite with former Jaguars wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell.
Westbrook has two other teams interested in his services, but RapSheet hears that the Vikings are his preferred destination. It’s been just nine months since Westbrook suffered his torn ACL but Westbrook appears to be ready for training camp.
Westbrook recorded 66 grabs in both 2018 and 2019 for an average of 699 yards and four touchdowns per slate. He was hoping to build on those marks in 2020, but he was limited to only a pair of games thanks to the torn ACL and an unrelated early-season injury. We heard earlier this year that the wideout was drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Vikings, 49ers, Bengals. The wide receiver was also being recruited by Chiefs players, but it’s not clear if he got into serious talks with the front office.
A healthy Westbrook could give the Vikings’ opposition fits this year. Kirk Cousins is already armed with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen at wide receiver — not to mention weapons like Dalvin Cook, Irv Smith, and Tyler Conklin.
Bengals To Meet With Austin Reiter
The Bengals will meet with Austin Reiter on Monday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Reiter, who started in back-to-back Super Bowls for the Chiefs, could help to improve the offensive line that did little to protect Joe Burrow in 2020.
The Chiefs tried to keep Reiter in the spring, but their offer wasn’t to his liking. When things stalled, they pivoted to former Rams center Austin Blythe.
Reiter, 30 in November, started 12 games in 2020 and played every single snap in the Super Bowl. The year prior, he saw time in all 16 games. A seventh-round pick of Washington back in 2015, he quickly ended up on the Browns. He only had one career start under his belt when he landed in Kansas City via a waiver claim in 2018. Now, he’s a seasoned vet with 33 starts to his credit.
The Bengals passed up Penei Sewell at No. 5 overall, choosing to fortify their O-Line later on in the draft instead. Now, armed with a new OL coach in Frank Pollack, they’re hoping right tackle Riley Reiff can be a big difference-maker. Reiter, meanwhile, could shore up the interior.
Saints’ Michael Thomas To Miss Time
Michael Thomas is expected to miss the start of the Saints’ 2021 season (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The wide receiver underwent ankle surgery in June and doctors say he’ll need about four months to fully recover. 
Thomas’ ligament tear cost him much of 2020. Unfortunately, it’ll also sideline him for a chunk of the early fall. This marks yet another roadblock for the Saints star.
Entering 2020, Thomas had missed just two contests in his pro career. Then came the high ankle sprain in Week 1. He was limited to just seven games and repeatedly clashed Saints brass, leading to trade speculation before the fall deadline.
To recap: The Saints handed Thomas a one-game suspension for striking a teammate. Then, he missed time with a hamstring injury. All in all, Thomas finished out the regular season with just 40 catches for 438 yards. He did manage to catch five passes for 73 yards and one score in the Saints’ playoff win over the Bears, however.
The acrimony has even led to speculation that the Saints would release him, even though terminating his five-year, $100MM deal would have left the team with an absurd dead money hit. Instead, the Saints are sticking with Thomas, who agreed to a cap-friendly restructure earlier this year. Now, they’ll keep their fingers crossed as the 2021 season draws near. They’ll also do their homework on the free agent market — Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears the Saints will audition WRs in the coming days.
Packers, Davante Adams End Talks
The Packers and wide receiver Davante Adams have ended their long-term extension talks (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). There are no current plans to resume them, putting the Packers star on course for free agency after the 2021 season. 
The two sides have been talking for months now, but they’ve made little in the way of progress. Rapoport hears that things are “now in a bad place,” so the Packers have now rankled both Adams and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Adams has been pushing to be the league’s highest-paid wide receiver, or something close to it. However, the Packers’ latest offer would have left him shy of DeAndre Hopkins, who holds the top spot with $27.25MM per year on average. Titans receiver Julio Jones is (a distant) second to him with a $22MM AAV. Adams, meanwhile, signed his extension before the WR market ballooned in 2018. As it stands, he’s just the NFL’s 18th-highest-paid receiver with $14.5MM on average.
Adams won’t turn 29 until December and he ranks as one of the NFL’s premier wideouts. The Packers, to their credit, did well to lock Adams down before he had compiled a 1,000-yard season. Now, the Fresno State alum has two 1,000-yard campaigns and a 997-yard 2019, a season in which he played just 12 games. Last year, Adams led the NFL with 98.1 receiving yards per game.
Dolphins To Sign Shaquem Griffin
Well, that was fast. Shortly after meeting with the Dolphins on Monday morning, linebacker Shaquem Griffin agreed to terms on a one-year deal. Now, the former Seahawks ‘backer will get ready for training camp in South Beach and push to make the final cut. (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The Seahawks mostly deployed Griffin on special teams with occasional work as a traditional linebacker. Earlier this year, Griffin told teams that he was training to play as an edge rusher. The Dolphins’ plans for him aren’t immediately clear. However, if he’s able to offer pass rushing help in addition to his already solid special teams play, he’ll make an intriguing addition to Brian Flores‘ depth chart.
For his career, Griffin has 25 tackles, one sack, and one pass defensed across 46 games. He’ll look to build on that with the Dolphins, where he’ll be driving distance from his twin brother Shaquill Griffin.
NFL: Unvaccinated Players Could Lead Forfeited Games
The NFL isn’t forcing players to get vaccinated, but they are finding other ways to encourage it. In a memo to teams, the league explained that teams with outbreaks among unvaccinated players will be required to forfeit if their game cannot be rescheduled inside of the 18-week season (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The forfeit would impact playoff seeding for the team. And, in that event, players would be paid for the game. 
“If a game is cancelled/postponed because a club cannot play due to a Covid spike among or resulting from its non-vaccinated players/staff, then the burden of the cancellation or delay will fall on the club experiencing the Covid infection,” the NFL said in the memo. “We will seek to minimize the burden on the opposing club or clubs. If a club cannot play due to a Covid spike in vaccinated individuals, we will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams.”
“We do not anticipate adding a ’19th week’ to accommodate games that cannot be rescheduled within the current 18 weeks of the regular season.”
Furthermore, the team responsible for the cancellation would be responsible for covering costs. There could also be additional discipline from the league office.
Every team has at least 50% of its players vaccinated, Pelissero hears. Presumably, teams will be working harder than ever to get the number towards 100%.
The new guidelines weren’t received well by everyone. Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was among those to speak out on social media in a since-deleted tweet.
“Never thought I would say this, But being in a position to hurt my team because I don’t want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the NFL,” Hopkins wrote.