49ers Rework Tom Compton’s Deal
The 49ers and veteran offensive lineman Tom Compton agreed to a reworked deal to lower his base salary from $2.15MM to $1.05MM, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Compton still has the opportunity to cover the $1.1MM differential through bonuses and he appears locked in for a reserve roster spot. 
Compton joined the Niners in March, bringing him to his fifth team in five years. Following four years with Washington, the 31-year-old turned into one of the league’s most available journeymen. He’s played in at least eleven games with four different teams – the Falcons, Bears, Vikings and Jets – over the past four seasons.
At two of his previous career stops, however, Compton worked with Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan. It’s a background he shares with fellow swing man and one-time Atlanta teammate Ben Garland.
A former sixth-round pick out of South Dakota, Compton has spent most of his career as a backup. His lone season as a full-time starter came with the 2018 Vikings, whose offensive line left much to be desired. Compton played 363 snaps last season with the Jets, starting five games for an embattled unit, and graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 67 overall guard.
Raiders To Cut Damarious Randall
The Raiders are releasing safety Damarious Randall, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The Raiders are still on the hook for the veteran’s $1.5MM guaranteed base salary, though that will be offset by the salary paid to Randall by his new team. 
Randall, 28, spent the first three years of his career with the Packers before moving on to the Browns in 2018. Last year, he was limited to just eleven games, though he still managed 2.5 sacks, 61 total stops, and six passes defensed. All in all, he’s got 56 career starts and 14 interceptions to his credit across five NFL seasons. The Raiders inked him to a one-year deal worth up to $3.25MM in early April, but they’ve decided to go in a different direction.
The Washington Football Team and the Seahawks also expressed interest in Randall in March. Those teams may or may not circle back to him, but it stands to reason that he’ll find work somewhere. The Raiders’ secondary, meanwhile, will work to improve their work against the pass. Last year, they surrendered 256.7 passing yards per game, the eighth-highest total in the league.
Buccaneers Cut Matt Gay
The Buccaneers are waiving Matt Gay, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. With that, the Bucs are set to roll with Ryan Succop as their primary kicker.
[RELATED: Bucs Sign Leonard Fournette]
Gay was the league’s fourth-highest scoring kicker as a rookie in 2019 and made five of his eight tries from 50+ yards. Still, the Bucs wanted a more experienced option. Earlier this week, they inked Succop and dropped Elliott Fry, putting Gay in a two-man race for the gig. A few days later, they made their call.
Succop made just 1 of 6 field goals in his final Titans season, which began and ended on IR. But, before that, Succop played in every game for the Titans from 2014-18 and made at least 83% of his field goals in each of those seasons.
In bigger Bucs news, the club welcomed running back Leonard Fournette to Tampa on Thursday. The former No. 4 overall pick joins incumbent Ronald Jones, rookies Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Raymond Calais, and fellow newcomer LeSean McCoy on TB’s RB depth chart.
Raiders Rework Nathan Peterman’s Deal
Nathan Peterman‘s job appears to be safe. On Friday, the Raiders reworked the quarterback’s contract to go from a non-guaranteed $2.133MM to a guaranteed one-year, $1MM pact (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).
Quarterback depth is more important than ever amidst the pandemic and the Raiders see Peterman as a worthwhile QB3 to stash behind Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota. Of course, Peterman’s on-field track record has left much to be desired. The Bills cut him midway through his second pro year, following a historically bad start to his career. Pro Football Reference’s “indexed” statistics, which account and adjust for different eras of the game, rated Peterman dead last among all QBs since 1970 in passer rating, yards per attempt, interception percentage, and numerous other passing statistics.
Peterman looked sharp in the 2019 preseason, but he landed on IR before the start of the Raiders’ season. This year, he’s healthy, and he’ll be on call for Jon Gruden if needed.
Washington Releases Adrian Peterson
The Washington Football Team has released Adrian Peterson, per a club announcement. The timing of the move is a bit curious, as Peterson was projected to serve as the team’s leading running back.
Even with Derrius Guice out of the picture, Washington didn’t see a place for Peterson, who was set to earn $2.25MM in 2020. By releasing him, they’ll save ~$2.4MM against $750K in dead money. The backfield will now be led by third-round rookie Antonio Gibson with support from the talented and oft-injured Bryce Love. Peyton Barber and J.D. McKissic round out the RB group.
Between 2018 and 2019, Peterson averaged a solid 4.2 yards per carry and suited up for 31 of a possible 32 games. For his career, Peterson has rushed for 14,216 yards, putting him roughly 1,000 yards behind Barry Sanders for fourth on the NFL’s all-time career list. As you might expect, the 35-year-old tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter) that he still wants to play. .
Peterson has racked up quite an odometer with 3,036 carries over the course of 13 seasons. Still, he remains productive, and insistent that he’s nowhere near the end.
“I can see myself playing to 40,” Peterson said in December. “People look at that and say, ‘oh my god; that’s crazy.’ But they’ve been doing that for the past two years and surprise, surprise I’m still able to do it at a high level.”
Titans Sign Stephen Gostkowski
The Titans have signed four-time Pro Bowler Stephen Gostkowski, per a club announcement. To make room, they’ve waived incumbent kicker Greg Joseph.
Gostkowski, the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer, lost his 2019 season to a labrum tear. Now, the 36-year-old is healthy, and ready to begin the next chapter of his career.
The Titans have been concerned about their kicking situation for some time. Last year, the Titans effectively went to the conference championship game in spite of their kickers. Four kickers combined to go just 8-of-18 on field goal tries – Joseph attempted just one FG, and made it, in the playoffs. Before this week’s shuffle, the Titans’ only other in-house option was UDFA Tucker McCann.
McCann may still get a chance to compete with Gostkowski, but it stands to reason that the veteran will be the team’s one and only kicker when the season starts. With 28 playoff games and 39 postseason field goals under his belt, Gostkowski fits the bill for the Titans, who are looking to take another leap forward in 2020.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: QB Kyle Lauletta
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB James Onwualu
- Waived/injured: WR Tommylee Lewis
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: T Pace Murphy, TE Charlie Taumoepeau, QB Clayton Thorson
- Waived/injured: OT Mitch Hyatt, OT Wyatt Miller
Denver Broncos
- Acquired via trade: 2021 7th-Round Pick (from Giants)
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: RB Tony Brooks-James, LB Jordan Fehr, TE Stacy Keely, LB Quentin Poling, DE Anthony Zettel
- Placed on IR: DE Kenny Willekes
New York Giants
- Acquired via trade: CB Isaac Yiadom
- Signed: C Jon Halapio, WR Johnny Holton, LS Carson Tinker
- Waived: S Jaquarius Landrews, OL Jackson Dennis
- Waived/injured: TE Rysen John
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
- Waived: LB B.J. Bello, DL Sterling Johnson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Cameron Malveaux
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Doug Middleton
- Waived: G Avery Gennesy
Latest On Saints, Alvin Kamara
Saints running back Alvin Kamara met with head coach Sean Payton on Wednesday to clear the air, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Kamara is expected to practice with the team this afternoon as his camp continues extension talks with the front office. 
Kamara isn’t seeking Christian McCaffrey coin, but he wants something better than the Saints’ most recent offer of $50MM over four years. That deal would put him in line with Titans star Derrick Henry, but Kamara is aiming higher.
The Saints don’t consider Kamara to be untouchable, but they’d reportedly want a first-round pick in exchange for him. For now, it seems like the two parties are on okay terms, but it’s definitely something to file away. Even if the Saints don’t move Kamara between now and the season opener, they could explore trades all the way until late October.
Kamara’s salary demand isn’t quite clear, but he’s probably seeking something that puts him in between McCaffrey and Joe Mixon‘s recent extension.
Only four players have outgained Kamara from scrimmage over the past three seasons, and Kamara’s 6.1 yards per touch betters the three running backs ahead of him. But, in the interest of equal time, Kamara’s per-catch average has also slipped in each of the last three seasons. After averaging 10.2 yards per grab as a rookie and 8.8 yards per catch in 2018, Kamara posted just 6.6 yards per reception in 2019.
Bears Won’t Pursue Leonard Fournette
The Bears have been connected to 
Leonard Fournette, but it doesn’t sound like the former Jaguars standout will be coming to Chicago. When asked about the former No. 4 overall pick, head coach Matt Nagy told reporters that he’s comfortable with his current group of running backs (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson).
The Jaguars released Fournette earlier this week and all 31 of the league’s other teams passed on claiming the remainder of his contract. Fournette would have earned nearly $4.2MM for 2020, and that price tag was too high for everyone else. Now, Fournette is a full-fledged free agent, but he’ll likely have to settle for less money than he wanted.
Fournette totaled a career-high 1,674 yards from scrimmage last season, but Jay Gruden wasn’t a huge fan of his work. Instead, Gruden signed old pal Chris Thompson to lead the charge and add some pass-catching ability to the backfield. Ryquell Armstead, a 2019 fifth-rounder who averaged just 3.1 yards per carry as a rookie, also figures to have a sizable role at RB.
Chargers Interested In Jahleel Addae
The Chargers aren’t keen on Earl Thomas, but they could sign another veteran safety to fill the void left by Derwin James‘ injury. There’s mutual interest between the Bolts and old friend Jahleel Addae, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Chargers’ Derwin James Out For Year]
Addae, 30, began his career with the Chargers as a UDFA out of Central Michigan in 2013. In 2017, he got his payday – a four-year, $22.5MM deal – but he was released midway through. At one point in time, Addae was something of an advanced metrics darling. By 2018, he started slipping – Pro Football Focus ranked him just 76th out of 93 eligible safeties in 2018.
Last year, Addae suited up for all 16 of the Texans’ regular season games, notching 44 tackles, two interceptions, and three passes defensed. For his work, PFF slotted him No. 64 out of 86 qualified safeties.