Raiders End Punting Competition
The Raiders’ punter competition is over. On Tuesday, the Raiders waived Johnny Townsend, which effectively anoints undrafted rookie A.J. Cole as the team’s punter moving forward. 
The Raiders used a fifth-round pick to select Townsend last year, but he didn’t do much in his rookie season or training camp this summer. Cole, meanwhile, managed to put two punts inside the 20 against the Rams on Saturday. Quickly, Cole earned a fan in head coach Jon Gruden.
“[Cole] put on an orbital display the other day against the Rams [in joint practices last week],” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said Saturday night (via Scott Bair of NBC Sports). “We haven’t seen kicks like that since [Shane] Lechler was here or [Marquette] King. He has a live leg and it looks like he can directional punt and hold, so Townsend has his hands full.”
In related moves, cornerback Hamp Cheevers was waived. Meanwhile, the club signed defensive backs Makinton Dorleant and Joshua Holsey.
Dolphins Inquire On Redskins’ Trent Williams
For now, the Redskins are refusing to trade Trent Williams. But, if they change their minds about parting with the offensive tackle, the Dolphins may be among the interested teams. The Dolphins reached out to the Redskins about a potential Williams trade, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: 4 Potential Landing Spots For Trent Williams]
The Williams saga has been going on for months, with no real resolution in sight. Williams has abstained from camp with hopes of forcing a trade to a new team (one, presumably, that will rework his contract), but the Redskins have yet to flinch. Still, the Redskins seem to be protecting themselves in the event of a deal. Recently, they signed Donald Penn to help bolster the O-Line.
Williams, a seven-time Pro Bowler, is due $24MM over the next two years. The Dolphins, who might have the worst offensive line in the NFL, would be a logical fit, from a football perspective.
Patriots Waive QB/WR Danny Etling
The Patriots have waived quarterback/wide receiver Danny Etling, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. Etling worked at wide receiver this offseason to try to increase his roster chances, but the experiment is now over. 
After the trade to acquire tight end Eric Saubert from the Falcons, someone in New England had to go. Etling, who had some trick play potential, was the victim of the roster shuffle.
The Patriots drafted Etling in the seventh-round of the 2018 draft and there was some buzz about him occupying a creative Tayson Hill role for the Pats. Still, he was never viewed as a sure thing to make the team.
Antonio Brown To Report To Raiders
Antonio Brown is back in the fold. Days after threatening to retire if the NFL did not clear him to wear his favorite helmet, and hours after losing his arbitration case, Brown has informed the team that he will report to the club for training camp on Tuesday (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal). 
Furthermore, Brown’s foot – which was negatively impacted by a cryotherapy session gone awry – is not considered to be a long-term impediment. With that, Brown is set to hit the ground running with ample practice time before his real Raiders debut against the Broncos on Sept. 9.
Brown seemed to be extremely dug in on the helmet issue, but it’s now “very unlikely” that he will appeal the arbitrator’s decision. All now seems to be well in Oakland, especially after Jon Gruden voiced support for the 31-year-old.
Meanwhile, Brown may wind up with his favorite helmet after all. The NFL will let Brown wear the Schutt AiR Advantage, if he can find one that is less than ten years old (Twitter link via PFT’s Mike Florio). AB, apparently, will leave no stone unturned in his search:
"I'm looking for a Schutt Air Advantage Adult Large Helmet that was manufactured in 2010 or after. In exchange I will trade a signed practice worn @Raiders helmet."
— AB (@AB84) August 13, 2019
Buccaneers Sign S Darian Stewart
The Buccaneers have signed safety Darian Stewart, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). When completed, it’ll be a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum salary, plus incentives, Auman hears.
Stewart, 31, has spent the last four years as a starter for the Broncos. With the Bucs, he’s expected to provide veteran guidance to a young secondary group.
The Broncos released Stewart in March in order to save roughly $3.6MM against the cap. Prior to that, the veteran started in nearly all of his 58 games for the Broncos and recorded a forced fumble and a sack in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory.
Stewart saw some time at cornerback and free safety in ’17, but he played mostly at strong safety last year. He graded out as just the No. 77 ranked safety in the NFL in 2018, according to Pro Football Focus. His 59.6 overall score was a massive step back from his first two seasons in Denver, which included a Pro Bowl nod in 2016.
The Colts met with Stewart earlier this summer but did not sign him.
Arbitrator Rules Against Antonio Brown
The arbitrator in the Antonio Brown case has ruled against the wide receiver, according to Mike Jones of USA Today (on Twitter). This was the expected outcome – Brown’s desired helmet is too old to be re-certified and the league will not allow players to don helmets that are not sanctioned by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). 
The NOCSAE standard was jointly approved by the NFL and NFL Players Association, so Brown had little chance of getting his way on the issue. Reportedly, Brown has threatened to retire if the league would not let him wear his preferred headgear. In one sense, the ball is now in Brown’s court.
Brown finished last season with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Steelers. That campaign marked his sixth straight season with at least 1,200 receiving yards and 100 receptions.
Still, his continuous clashing with Steelers officials brought their union to an end. The Raiders were happy to acquire Brown for very little in terms of draft compensation, but it’s now fair to wonder if they’ll ever get to see their new star suit up.
Jaguars Activate Cam Robinson From PUP
The Jaguars have activated Cam Robinson from the active/PUP list, according to a team announcement. It’s a surprisingly pleasant development after a weekend in which head coach Doug Marrone said Cam Robinson couldn’t seem to “get over the hump” in his knee recovery and that the Jaguars needed to “start preparing to play without” him. 
In a radio interview, Marrone previously indicated that Robinson might not be ready for Week 1. His status for the opener remains murky, but it appears that he is at least trending in the right direction. Robinson will now look to pick up where he left off as a starter on the Jags’ O-Line.
In 2016, the Alabama product won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best college interior lineman. Then, in 2017, the Jaguars used a second-round pick to select Robinson. Since then, Robinson has appeared in just 18 of a possible 32 regular season games.
Players who can’t start training camp due to an injury are initially placed on Active/PUP. This is a minor designation and effectively means that the player cannot practice until medically cleared. Now cleared, Robinson is free to hit the practice field.
Rishard Matthews Retires From NFL
This is the end of the line for longtime NFL wide receiver Rishard Matthews. On Monday, the veteran announced his retirement from football. 
“It was cool being a professional football player and getting to play a kids game for work,” Matthews wrote on Instagram. “I will always be a fan of the best sport in the world but for me that kids game no longer exist [sic].”
Matthews, a Dolphins seventh-round pick in 2012, spent four years with Miami before moving on to the Titans. After making some noise with the Fins in 2015, he enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Titans in ’16, leading the team in receptions (65), yards (945) and receiving touchdowns. He once again paced Tennessee the following campaign before being released in 2018.
Matthews leave the game with 230 receptions for 3,160 yards and 21 touchdowns.
NFL, NFLPA Set To Meet Aug 19
The NFL and the players’ union will meet again on Monday, Aug 19 for another full bargaining session, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. In the interim, there will be staff meetings scheduled for this week to discuss some secondary issues.
Unsurprisingly, Pelissero hears that the No. 1 topic to be discussed will be the overall revenue split between the league and its players. Recently, we heard that the two sides are far apart on a revenue split. In light of that, a new deal is not expected to be in place by the owners’ unofficial pre-Week 1 target date. Meanwhile, the owners have backed off the goal of having the next collective bargaining agreement in place by then.
Lions Release CB Marcus Cooper
The Lions announced that cornerback Marcus Cooper has been released. To take his place, the club has signed fellow CB Jamar Summers. 
Cooper arrived in Detroit via waiver claim in November and re-signed with the team in March. He didn’t play much with the Bears early on in 2018, but he did suit up for four games with the Lions. The 29-year-old defender has made 28 starts in a six-season career, having intercepted seven passes. All of those picks came during his two most prominent years as a corner — 2013 in Kansas City and 2016 in Arizona.
Summers, meanwhile, was in the now-defunct AAF before a short stint with the Dolphins. He’ll now push to make the Lions’ 53-man cut.