Complaint Against Kamrin Moore Dropped
The domestic violence complaint against suspended Giants safety Kamrin Moore has been dismissed and the temporary restraining order against him has been vacated, according to ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. The court determined that the allegations against Moore were not substantiated and lawyers for the 22-year-old (23 in October) tells Raanan that he feels “vindicated” by the outcome.
Moore was arrested in mid-July on assault charges after allegedly punching a woman, knocking her unconscious and stepping on her neck. Police were not called to Moore’s home, however, and we’ve heard little about the case in the last month.
The initial police report indicated that the alleged victim got into an altercation with another woman at Moore’s residence. When the accuser was knocked to the ground, she says that Moore intervened, stepped on her neck, and punched her when she returned to her feet.
Immediately after the story broke, the Giants suspended Moore, pending further investigation. There’s no word yet on whether the Giants will welcome him back.
The Giants claimed Moore off waivers last summer from the Saints. He went on to appear in two games for the G-Men in 2018.
ESPN Hires Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio won’t be coaching in 2019. The former Raiders head coach and longtime defensive coordinator has accepted a new job as an analyst for ESPN, per a press release from the network. 
Del Rio was ousted by the Raiders late in 2017 to make room for Jon Gruden. Since then, he’s been in the mix for a few high profile DC gigs. Soon after he was canned by Oakland, the Giants were said to be giving him real consideration. Then, this past February, he nearly became the Bengals’ new DC before things went bust. Even though he’s still a viable coaching candidate, Del Rio will be taking at least a year off before considering new opportunities.
“This excites me about being able to learn about myself and the media business,” Del Rio said during a phone interview. “I’m not going to be afraid of having an opinion and something to offer.”
Del Rio, 55, was either a head coach or defensive coordinator every season from 2002-17. While his Broncos defenses (two top-five units) were better than his Raiders crews — 22nd, 20th and 20th in points allowed, respectively — Del Rio did guide the Silver and Black to their first playoff berth in 14 seasons.
Cardinals Host Corey Liuget
Former Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget will visit the Cardinals on Thursday, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). At this stage of the offseason, Liuget is arguably one of the top free agents left on the board and is a name worth monitoring. 
Earlier this offseason, Liuget met with the Jaguars, Giants, and Seahawks. So far, he’s exercised patience in finding a landing spot, but the Cardinals could hold appeal for him. With $6MM in available cap space, Arizona could offer him more than the veteran’s minimum and give him an opportunity to shine. On the flipside, the Cardinals’ D is less than world-class, so there might not be a ton of openings for Liuget to exploit.
Earlier in his career, Liuget made noise as a defensive end and managed 18 sacks for the Chargers between 2011-2014. His sack totals, predictably, plummeted when he was moved to the interior on a full-time basis, and his 2018 suspension for PEDs further diminished his stock.
Still only 29, there’s reason to believe that Liuget can turn things around.
Lions Activate Damon Harrison
The Lions will take defensive tackle Damon Harrison off the active/NFI list on Thursday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a promising sign for a Lions defense that badly needs help up front. 
Harrison has been staying away from Lions camp in an effort to secure a new deal, but he is bringing his holdout to an end. The seventh-year pro, presumably, will continue to push for a new deal. For now, he’s got two seasons to go on the five-year, $46.2MM contract he inked with the Giants in 2016. There’s no guaranteed money left, however, and that’s likely the sticking point for the run-stuffer.
The Lions acquired the former All-Pro nose tackle for a fifth-round pick in October of last year. Harrison, 30, forfeited his $250K workout bonus by skipping OTAs and may be subject to roughly $89K in fines for missing mandatory minicamp.
Both Harrison and Darius Slay, each represented by Drew Rosenhaus, are pursuing new contracts. Recently, Slay also reported to the club.
Cardinals’ Keim On Kyler Murray, Josh Rosen
The Cardinals completely revamped their quarterback room this offseason by drafting Kyler Murray No. 1 overall. Drafting Murray meant ditching another talented young quarterback in Josh Rosen, which raised some eyebrows around the NFL. 
Here’s a look at Keim’s thoughts on that situation, and more, via The Ringer’s Robert Mays:
On drafting Murray and dealing Rosen:
“You have to make the tough decisions and avoid the outside noise— ‘Why’d you give up on this guy? Why would you trade this guy?‘…It’s unprecedented. I took [Rosen] in the top 10. I just felt that [Murray] was a generational talent that I just couldn’t pass up.”
On Murray’s game tape from Oklahoma:
“Every game, it was the same thing. He did something multiple times that you either said, ‘Wow’ or [I] had seen very few times in my scouting career….“For a lot of reasons, I didn’t want to like [him, but I did].”
On new head coach Kliff Kingsbury:
“They thought he was a guy that had enough of a swag to him that the players respected him. [The Texas Tech team] looked to him for advice. He didn’t just concentrate on the offensive side of the ball.”
On Murray’s progress, so far:
“I guess time will tell. But I certainly like the early returns.”
Patriots Notes: Williams, Wynn, Brady
Trent Williams to the Patriots? Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) says Pats fans shouldn’t hold their breath. As Yates notes, the Redskins tackle seemed like a fit just a couple of weeks ago, but left tackle Isaiah Wynn is progressing in his recovery and Dan Skipper is getting significant reps in the interim. Meanwhile, as ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter) points out, Cole Croston is also back in the mix.
While you contemplate Williams’ next destination, here’s more from New England:
- More from Reiss, who breaks down Wynn’s road to recovery from a torn Achilles suffered one year ago. He also touches on Skipper, who offers prototypical size at 6’9″, 310 pounds.
- The Patriots sent a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick to the Falcons (originally from the Eagles) in the Eric Saubert trade, Howard Balzer tweets. It’s an extremely low-cost deal for the Pats, who might have found a new blocking tight end to fortify their group.
- Superstar quarterback Tom Brady is still looking to play until the age of 45.
Jets Sign CB Marcus Cooper
So much for the Jets standing pat at cornerback. On Tuesday, the Jets signed veteran Marcus Cooper, per a team announcement.
Cooper was released on Tuesday by the Lions. The 29-year-old was a seventh-round of the 49ers in 2013 but has already played for four different NFL teams. In total, he has 74 appearances and seven interceptions to his credit.
This isn’t the major CB upgrade that Jets fans were hoping for this season, but it will provide the Jets with depth for however long Trumaine Johnson needs to recover from his hamstring injury. Currently, Darryl Roberts, Arthur Maulet, and Brian Poole stand as the Jets’ three best healthy corners.
AFC East Notes: Jets, Gase, Bills
The Jets have been widely planned for their lack of improvement at the cornerback position, but head coach Adam Gase doesn’t agree with the critics and doesn’t feel the need to upgrade before the season starts (via PFT).
“I guess I don’t look at it like that,” Gase said. “I look at it as Trumaine [Johnson] is down right now, this is a great opportunity for a lot of guys. Like somebody has a chance to step up and make a name for themselves. Somebody has a chance to get in with that first defense, go against our wide receivers, go against our offense and Sam [Darnold] and those guys and see if a guy can play at that high level. I mean it’s a great opportunity.”
To recap: Johnson is week-to-week with a hamstring injury, and so is undrafted rookie Kyron Brown. At present, Darryl Roberts, Arthur Maulet, and Brian Poole represent the Jets’ three best healthy cornerbacks. Gase might not view it as a thin unit, but this week, safety Jamal Adams was moved to volunteer himself to play CB.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- More roster insight Gase – The Jets do not plan to add a second kicker to compete with Taylor Bertolet, who was signed this week after Chandler Catanzaro retired (via the NY Daily News).
- Before the Bills signed defensive end Sam Acho, they also worked out former Saints second-round outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Kikaha, the 44th overall selection in the 2015 draft, has been beset by injuries and ineffectiveness throughout his career. After playing on 62% of the Saints’ snaps during his rookie campaign, Kikaha missed the 2016 season with a torn ACL (the third of his football career) and subsequently saw action on only 209 defensive snaps the following year. New Orleans shopped Kikaha ahead of the 2017 trade deadline, and waived him during final cutdowns. Last year, he worked out for a number of clubs, but did not land a deal.
- The Dolphins have inquired on Redskins tackle Trent Williams.
Latest On Raiders’ Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown reported to training camp on Tuesday, but he brought his good friend and agent Drew Rosenhaus with him. When speaking with reporters, Rosenhaus claimed that Brown’s absence was more about his foot issue than his helmet kerfuffle (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of The Athletic). 
According to the agent, Brown’s return was not linked to Monday’s loss in arbitration that barred Brown from wearing the same headgear. Instead, Rosenhaus says it’s all coincidental – he claims Brown returned on Tuesday because his off-site treatment just recently wrapped up.
For those still tuned in on Brown’s helmet saga – if Brown finds a helmet with the same design that he feels comfortable with, he may be permitted to wear it. However, that helmet will be subject to testing and the approval of NFL and NFLPA officials (Twitter link via Peter King of NBC Sports).
Giants’ Golden Tate Loses Appeal
Golden Tate fought the law and the law won. On Tuesday, the NFL denied the Giants wide receiver’s appeal, per a press release. 
Tate was hit with a four-game ban for violating the league’s Performance Enhancing Substance policy in late July. Soon after, Tate pushed back and denied any wrongdoing.
“This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning,” Tate said in a statement. “I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league’s banned substance list. I immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed.”
Now that the suspension has been upheld, Tate will lose around $1.75MM in 2019 money. Perhaps more importantly, the receiver will forfeit his $7.975MM in 2020 guarantees. Tate signed a four-year, $37MM deal with the Giants this past winter, but he’s already lost at least a chunk of that cash thanks to the suspension.
Following Tate’s suspension and the season-ending injury to Corey Coleman, the Giants’ current WR depth chart is headlined by Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler, Russell Shepard and Darius Slayton. In positive news, Shepard’s thumb injury is not as serious as once believed and should be ready for the team’s season opener against the Cowboys on Sept. 8.