Dolphins’ Allen Hurns Opts Out
Dolphins wide receiver Allen Hurns announced that he will opt out of the 2020 season (Twitter link). Hurns is the first Dolphins player to make the call, but he’s far from the first NFL player to do so. 
[RELATED: 2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker]
Hurns joined the Dolphins last summer and quickly earned an extension. In November, the Dolphins inked him to a two-year, $8MM deal with $3.27MM in guaranteed cash. Hurns was set to build off of his 32 grabs for 416 yards and two touchdowns, but that’ll have to wait until next year.
The remainder of Hurns’ deal will toll, meaning that he’ll be under club control through the 2022 season. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will move forward with Preston Williams, Isaiah Ford, Jakeem Grant, Gary Jennings, and Mack Hollins vying for time behind DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson.
The decision deadline has been set for Thursday afternoon. Already, roughly 50 NFL players have decided against playing.
49ers Meet With Ziggy Ansah, Dion Jordan
The 49ers are taking a close look at two of their rival’s former defensive ends. Ziggy Ansah and Dion Jordan will meet with SF brass on Tuesday afternoon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). 
[RELATED: 49ers’ DJ Reed Out For Season]
Ansah and Jadeveon Clowney were supposed to be an edge rushing nightmare for the Seahawks last year, but things didn’t work out as planned. Clowney managed just three sacks and Ansah posted only 2.5 sacks in eleven games. Still, the potential is there – Ansah registered 12 sacks in 2017 for the Lions, and he would be a serious threat if he could regain his old form. Now another year removed from shoulder surgery, he profiles as a potential low-risk/high-reward pickup.
Jordan signed with the Raiders in November after serving a 10-game suspension for a PED violation, Playing in a rotational role, the former No. 3 overall pick earned positive reviews from Jon Gruden and, at one point, seemed ticketed to join the club in Las Vegas. Instead, he could stay in the Bay Area.
Ansah and Jordan delivered mixed results for the Seahawks, but they could provide potent support behind Niners stars Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa.
Bills To Cut Spencer Long
The Bills are cutting offensive lineman Spencer Long, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. With the release, the Bills will drop the final two years on his original three-year deal.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise. The Bills exercised their 2020 option on Long’s deal back in March and he could have been a fill-in for Jon Feliciano at right guard. Instead, they’ll save $2.4MM by dropping him and carry $700K in dead money.
Long saw time in 14 games for the Bills last year. Before that, Long made a total of 44 starts for the [Washington Football Team] and the Jets between 2014 and 2018. With the ability to play multiple spots on the interior line, it stands to reason that he’ll find work before the start of the season.
In the meantime, the Bills will deploy new pickup Brian Winters in Long’s place. Winters, another ex-Jet, served as the Jets’ starting right guard from 2013-2019.
49ers’ D.J. Reed Out For Season
D.J. Reed won’t have to wrestle his opt out decision between now and Thursday. Unfortunately, his torn pectoral muscle has made the call for him. The Niners have waived Reed with a non-football injury designation, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter). Assuming Reed clears waivers, which he is almost certain to do, he will revert to San Francisco’s reserve/NFI list and will miss the season.
[RELATED: 49ers To Sign Jordan Reed]
Reed, 23, has appeared in 31 games for the Niners over the last two seasons. His playing time dipped in 2019, but, at minimum, he was set to serve as a versatile reserve in the secondary and a valuable special teams player.
Kwon Alexander suffered a torn pectoral muscle last year and miraculously returned to practice two months later. That’s not the typical timetable, of course, so it’s not a surprise to hear that Reed is done for the season. 49ers GM John Lynch considered keeping Reed on the roster, but it wasn’t feasible for the team to tie up a spot for several months.
By parking Reed for the year, the Niners will clear a roster spot for tight end Jordan Reed, who agreed to join the club on Monday. As Maiocco reports, the club also waived CB Chris Edwards.
Seahawks Interested In Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon
The Seahawks are monitoring Antonio Brown‘s situation and they’re “very open” to re-signing Josh Gordon, head coach Pete Carroll says (via Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian). Brown was recently hit with an eight-game suspension from the NFL, meaning that he wouldn’t be able to play until November. Gordon, meanwhile, is waiting for word on his bid for reinstatement. 
[RELATED: Seahawks OL Warmack To Opt Out]
The Seahawks are set to go into the season with Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf, Phillip Dorsett, and David Moore as their top receivers. From a pure talent perspective, Gordon or Brown would provide Russell Wilson with some serious offensive firepower.
“What I’d say to you is what we always say because it’s what we always do and who we are,” Carroll said, in reference to Brown. “[Seahawks GM] John [Schneider] is competing at every turn. There’s never been a process, unless we just missed it, that we weren’t involved with to understand what the chances were of helping our club. He’s all over it. He understands what’s going on right now, as much as you can. It’s a very complex situation. We just need to see where it fits somewhere down the road. That’s all I got for you.”
Brown, 32, comes with some very obvious complications. He could also face even more NFL discipline. His eight-game ban covered only some of his personal conduct policy violations; the league could consider another suspension for an alleged sexual assault.
Carroll seemed to indicate that a Gordon reunion was more likely to happen. Of course, the Seahawks will have to wait for Roger Goodell‘s verdict before making a move.
“It’s not in our hands,” Carroll said. “Josh did a really good job with us last year. He fit in really well. He was part of this team by the way we opened and embraced his coming to us but also by the way he adapted. So we are very open to that thought, and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen on that.”
NFL Opt Out Window Closes On Thursday
After weeks of back-and-forth, the side agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA has been executed. After the deal was signed, players were told that they’ll have until 4pm ET/3pm CT on Thursday to opt out (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).
[RELATED: 2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker]
The two sides first agreed to terms on July 24th, but it took ten days for the lawyers to update the recently-signed CBA. The opt out deadline was supposed to be scheduled for seven days after the final execution of the deal. Now, they’ve got two days.
Already, upwards of 45 players have passed on the 2020 season. That number could grow even larger in the next couple of days – deadlines spur action, and many of the league’s linemen can be categorized as “high-risk” due to their body mass. Nearly every other position has been represented as well. C.J. Mosley, Dont’a Hightower, Nate Solder and Damien Williams are among the players who will skip the season. Free agent Pro Bowler Larry Warford also decided to sit out in 2020. The Patriots have been hit the hardest – eight of their players have opted out, including Hightower, safety Patrick Chung, right tackle Marcus Cannon, and wide receiver Marqise Lee.
With COVID-19 threatening the health and availability of players throughout the year, the two parties agreed to a special provision that will allow teams to activate a player off the practice squad up to 90 minutes before kickoff (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Meanwhile, any player who refuses a COVID-19 test will be fined $50K.
Jets Cut Quincy Enunwa
The Jets have released Quincy Enunwa with a failed physical designation, per the league’s transactions wire. The Jets previously ruled out for the 2020 season, but he intends on returning to the field at some point. 
After signing a four-year, $36MM extension with the Jets in late 2018, Enunwa was expected to be a primary target for quarterback Sam Darnold. Sadly, those plans came to a halt when Enunwa suffered the second neck injury of his career in the 2019 season opener against the Bills. Later on, the Jets restructured his deal, keeping him in the fold as he works his way back. Thankfully, Enunwa’s extension gave him financial security, including $10MM in fully guaranteed money.
Injuries have plagued Enunwa throughout his career, but he showed serious promise when he was healthy. In 2016, he played in all 16 games and tallied 58 catches for 857 yards. After missing the ’17 campaign, he looked like his old self in ’18. Hopefully, he’ll be able to resume his career sometime soon with another club.
“If I’m capable of playing, then that’s what I’ll do,” Enunwa said recently. “If it comes down to the fact that the doctors say I can’t, there’s not much I can do. There’s really nothing I can do there, but if I have the ability to [play], the passion will always be there, the want-to will always be there.”
Vikings Extend GM Rick Spielman
Vikings GM Rick Spielman has a new deal to match head coach Mike Zimmer. On Monday, the Vikings officially announced a brand new deal for their top football exec to take him through the 2023 season. 
“Rick has been outstanding in his role as Vikings general manager,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement. “We are excited and honored to have him continue to lead our efforts to build a championship roster and first-class organization. With Rick’s and Coach Zimmer’s leadership in place, we are in a great position to continue to compete for a Super Bowl.”
Spielman has been with the Vikings since 2006 and has served as their GM since 2012. Since his big promotion, the Vikings have made the playoffs four times including an appearance in the NFC Championship Game (2017). And, with Zimmer as his head coach, the club has posted a record of 57-38-1.
Spielman was set to enter his walk year. Now, he has some extra security heading into his 15th season with the organization.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. For the running list of opt out decisions, check out PFR’s 2020 Opt Out Tracker.
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: OL Jake Benzinger, S Reggie Floyd, WR Rashad Medaris
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: TE Jerell Adams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released: WR Moritz Bohringer, RB Devwah Whaley
Cleveland Browns
- Released: RB Brian Herrien
Detroit Lions
- Claimed: DT Daylon Mack (from Ravens)
- Signed: DT Jashon Cornell
Green Bay Packers
- Released: QB Jalen Morton, FB Elijah Wellman
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: DB Jordan Brown, TE Paul Butler, K Dominik Eberle, LB Marquel Lee, C Erik Magnuson, LB Liam McCullough, WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed off waivers (from Colts): CB Picasso Nelson
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: WR Davion Davis, DB Kemon Hall
New Orleans Saints
- Released: WR Tommylee Lewis, DE Gus Cumberlander, S Chris Johnson, OG Adrian Magee, RB Taquan Mizzell, WR Maurice Harris, DT Taylor Stallworth
New York Jets
- Waived: OL Ben Braden, RB Trenton Cannon, OLB Wyatt Ray
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-Signed: DE Alex Barrett
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-Signed: DE Branden Jackson
- Waived: DL Josh Avery
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: G Zac Kerin
Washington Football Team
- Released: DE Cameron Malveaux, DB Maurice Smith, TE Caleb Wilson, RB Josh Ferguson
49ers To Sign Jordan Reed
The 49ers have agreed to sign Jordan Reed, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will reunite the talented tight end with former Washington staffer and current SF head coach Kyle Shanahan. 
[RELATED: Ravens, Patriots Interested In Delanie Walker]
Reed had been connected to the Ravens and other teams in need of tight end help. The Niners – who boast the game’s best tight end in George Kittle – certainly did not need Reed, but they’ve landed him anyway. If Reed is healthy, the 49ers will boast the league’s scariest 1-2 combo at the position.
Reed has been adamant about wanting to return to the field, despite his troubling history with head trauma. Over the last three seasons, he’s played in just a baker’s dozen of games. And, since the start of his college career, he’s suffered at least seven concussions. His last concussion took him out for the entire 2019 season. In February, the Washington Football Team released from the two seasons left on his five-year, $47MM contract.
But, when he’s been healthy and on the field, Reed has performed as one of the league’s top tight ends. Between 2013 and 2018, Reed racked up 329 catches for 3,371 yards and 24 touchdowns for Washington.
In March, we heard that the Seahawks had some interest in signing Reed. The Ravens had him on their short list as well, but they’ll likely pivot to Delanie Walker, who is reportedly 100% healthy and interested in coming to Baltimore.