Lions’ Damon Harrison To Skip Camp
The Lions will be without two of their best defenders for this week’s mandatory minicamp. Defensive tackle Damon Harrison has decided to stay home, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. This comes on the heels of cornerback Darius Slay taking a similar stand. 
Both Harrison and Slay abstained from voluntary offseason workouts throughout this spring, but this is a sign that they are serious about getting contract adjustments. Snacks, like Slay, could be fined roughly $89K for skipping the minicamp.
Harrison has two years to go on the four-year extension he inked with the Giants in 2016. He’s slated to make $6.75MM in base pay this year before collecting $9MM in 2020. Ultimately, it will come down to a game of chicken – Harrison has already coughed up most of his $250K bonus by skipping voluntary practices, and the fines will only get steeper from here.
Interestingly, Harrison played in 17 games last season since he was traded before the Giants had their bye week but after the Lions already had their’s. A 2016 first-team All-Pro, Harrison had 81 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2018.
8 NFL Teams Have Wrapped Up Their Draft Classes
Roughly one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have signed every player in their draft class, as shown in PFR’s tracker. The front offices of the following clubs have a little bit less on their plate as mandatory minicamps get underway:
- Cardinals
- Falcons
- Browns
- Lions
- Chiefs
- Saints
- Eagles
- Steelers
While the league’s rookie slotting system has been criticized by some, there’s no denying that it has streamlined the signing process for the incoming class. Prominent first-round picks like Joey Bosa and Marcus Mariota have squabbled with teams over offset language in recent years and the third round lacks some structure due to flexibility in base salary, but, on the whole, rookies have been quicker to put pen to paper in recent years.
We’ll likely see several more teams wrap up their draft classes before the week is through. The Bills, Bengals, Cowboys, Packers, Texans, Colts, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Seahawks, Titans, and Redskins each have just one straggler remaining. Unsurprisingly, most of those unsigned players are third-rounders. The Vikings are a notable exception – seventh-round pick Austin Cutting is waiting to find out whether the Air Force will permit him to play instead of immediately fulfilling his two-year service requirement.
Eagles To Work Out Johnathan Cyprien
Johnathan Cyprien will work out for the Eagles on Tuesday, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If signed, Cyprien would give the Eagles some cushion at safety while Malcolm Jenkins continues to stay at home.
Cyprien missed the entire 2018 season due to a torn ACL, but he is eager to make his NFL return after being OK’d by doctors last month. The soon-to-be 29-year-old also worked out for the Colts this week and should be able to hook on with a contender if he is indeed back to 100% health.
The advanced metrics have never been high on Cyprien, but he has been a starter for his entire career and has a reputation for delivering hard hits. That style of play should appeal to the Eagles, though Cyprien would have no real shot at starting unless Jenkins’ holdout extends to the regular season. Even then, the Eagles still have one bonafide starter in Rodney McLeod with Andrew Sendejo and Blake Countess also on the depth chart.
Jenkins is presumably seeking a new contract, though his current deal doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season. It’s not clear whether the Eagles would be willing to adjust his contract either. With an average annual salary of $8.75MM, the 31-year-old is still one of the ten highest paid safeties in the NFL.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/3/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Jason Thompson
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Chaz Green
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Brandon Reilly
- Waived: LB Juwon Young
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: WR Fred Trevillion
- Waived/Injured: WR Trevion Thompson
Washington Redskins
- Signed: T Blake Hance
Gerald McCoy Hopes To Sign Today
Gerald McCoy‘s agent is actively negotiating with the Panthers, Browns, and Ravens, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). There’s no real timetable for McCoy to sign, though Rapoport notes that he would like to be on the field for the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, wherever he lands. 
McCoy drew interest from seemingly 1/3rd of the NFL, but the Ravens and Browns seem to be in the lead for his services. The Panthers have also made a strong push to land McCoy in an effort to give Kawann Short a quality partner on the interior.
McCoy has 54.5 career sacks to his credit and has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011. He’d be an instant difference maker for any of those three clubs and each team would offer him a chance to win in 2019.
Ultimately, it may come down to money for McCoy and his camp – the veteran has reportedly garnered offers as high as $11MM/year, but it’s hard to see him reaching that mark after Ndamukong Suh signed for less than $10MM with the Bucs.
NFC West Notes: Rams, Woods, Fowler
The Rams are facing a potential cap crunch, as Vinny Bonsignore and Rich Hammond of The Athletic write. An eventual extension for quarterback Jared Goff will cost the Rams upwards of $25MM per year, meaning that tough decisions could on the way.
Edge rusher Dante Fowler, who re-signed with L.A. on a one-year deal, could very well play his way out of town in 2019. Wide receiver Robert Woods, who is slated for a $9.1MM cap hit in 2021, could be pushed out in advance to create breathing room for Brandon Cooks, who will count for $16.8MM against the cap. Cornerback Marcus Peters might not be long for the Rams either – the club can cuff him with the franchise tag for 2020, but his cost may be prohibitive beyond that point.
From a financial perspective, Andrew Whitworth‘s expected retirement after the 2019 season should help matters. When/if the 37-year-old hangs ’em up, that’ll take $10.7MM off of the books.
Here’s more from the NFC West:
- Cardinals linebacker Haason Reddick is entering a pivotal year, as Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic writes. The versatile defender has been moved yet again, this time to inside linebacker. If he can thrive in his third new defensive system in three years, Reddick could have his fifth-year option exercised for the 2021 season. If not, the former No. 13 overall pick will be on course for free agency following the 2020 campaign. Last year, Reddick managed 80 tackles and four sacks in his first season as a starter.
- Last week, the 49ers formally released offensive tackle Anthony Davis, paving the way for him to resume his football career elsewhere.
- Over the weekend, former Seahawks second-round pick Malik McDowell lashed out against the team over a financial grievance and signaled an interest in returning to football.
This Date In Transactions History: Chiefs Release Jeremy Maclin
On this date in 2017, the Chiefs shocked the football world with their release of Jeremy Maclin. Despite a down 2016, Maclin still profiled as one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL and was slated to enter the year as the Chiefs No. 1 wideout. 
At the time of his release, Maclin was still only 29 and was not far removed from his 1,000-yard+ 2015 campaign. There was some logic in the move – cutting Maclin loose saved the Chiefs $10MM in cap space with just $2.4MM left in dead money, but the veteran surely would have preferred to be released in March, when there was more available money around the NFL.
Maclin never got the opportunity to justify his hefty five-year, $55MM deal in Kansas City, and he clearly wasn’t the same player when he moved on to the Ravens in 2017. Maclin finished out with just 40 catches for 440 yards for an average of eleven yards per grab – all career lows.
With Maclin out of the picture, the Chiefs were able to put a larger focus on rising sophomore Tyreek Hill. Hill was something of a gadget player as a rookie, but he truly broke out in 2017 with a 75/1,183/7 line.
Today, Hill’s football future is in limbo, but, from a football perspective, the decision to move on from Maclin proved to be a wise one. The Chiefs have boasted one of the league’s most potent aerial attacks for the last two seasons thanks in large part to Hill and a younger group of targets. Meanwhile, Maclin spent 2018 out of football before announcing his retirement earlier this year.
Chiefs Sign Khalen Saunders
The Chiefs signed third-round defensive tackle Khalen Saunders on Monday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, the Chiefs have wrapped up their entire draft class. 
Saunders is slated to back up Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi on the interior line in 2019. For now, he’ll practice with the first-stringers while Chris Jones stays away from the club in an effort to land a new contract.
The Western Illinois product impressed in his final year on campus with 42 tackles and 4.5 sacks from the interior. Saunders boasts impressive agility for a 324-pound lineman and could have a bright future if he’s able to improve his conditioning.
Here’s the full rundown of the Chiefs’ 2019 draft class, via PFR’s tracker:
- 2-56: Mecole Hardman, WR (Georgia): Signed
- 2-63: Juan Thornhill, S (Virginia): Signed
- 3-84: Khalen Saunders, DT (Western Illinois): Signed
- 6-201: Rashad Fenton, CB (South Carolina): Signed
- 6-214: Darwin Thompson, RB (Utah State): Signed
- 7-216: Nick Allegretti, C (Illinois): Signed
Patriots Sign Chase Winovich
The Patriots’ draft class is nearly sewn up. On Monday, the Pats signed third-round defensive end Chase Winovich, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal worth $3.83MM with a signing bonus of roughly $997K. 
With Winovich inked, third-round running back Damien Harris stands as the Patriots’ only unsigned draft pick, as shown by PFR’s tracker:
- 1-32: N’Keal Harry, WR (Arizona State): Signed
- 2-45: JoeJuan Williams, CB (Vanderbilt): Signed
- 3-77: Chase Winovich, DE (Michigan): Signed
- 3-87: Damien Harris, RB (Alabama)
- 3-101: Yodny Cajuste, T (West Virginia): Signed
- 4-118: Hjalte Froholdt, G ( Arkansas): Signed
- 4-133: Jarrett Stidham, QB (Auburn): Signed
- 5-159: Byron Cowart, DT (Maryland): Signed
- 5-163: Jake Bailey, P (Stanford): Signed
- 7-252: Ken Webster, CB (Ole Miss): Signed
Winovich began his career at Michigan as a tight end, but shifted to the other side of the ball for his junior season. He immediately found success, racking up five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2016. He only improved from there, notching 8.5 sacks and 19 TFL in ’17. His stat sheet wasn’t as gaudy last season, but he still managed five sacks on the year and while flashing strong technique.
Colts To Work Out Johnathan Cyprien
Safety Johnathan Cyprien will work out for the Colts on Monday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Cyprien has been on the market since his release from the Titans in March, but hasn’t played since 2017 due to a torn ACL. 
Cyprien was given the green light by doctors in May, which should mean that he’ll find a deal sooner rather than later. He’d be a logical fit in Indianpolis where Clayton Geathers is sidelined after having his knee scoped. Malik Hooker, meanwhile, has been a full participant in practice, but past hernia, hip, foot, ACL, and MCL issues have held him back in the past. Last year, Hooker missed a pair of regular season games plus the Colts’ divisional-round loss to the Chiefs.
The advanced metrics have never been high on Cyprien, but evaluators still view him as an effective stopper in the secondary. The 28-year-old (29 in July) has started in all 70 of his career games.