Dolphins Meet With Connor Barwin
Veteran defensive end/outside linebacker Connor Barwin will visit with the Dolphins on Wednesday, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This marks Barwin’s first known interest since his official release from the Giants in February. 
The Giants first decided to part ways with Barwin in late January, but the move was not finalized until later on in the winter. Barwin hooked on with the Giants late last summer and, at the time, it seemed as though he’d have a significant role on defense. Eventually, his playing time dwindled. The 32-year-old (33 in October) appeared in 15 games but started in just three and had just one sack to his credit in 2018.
Barwin’s best days may be behind him, but he has 56.5 career sacks to his credit and a whole lot of knowledge to share with the Dolphins’ younger defenders.
49ers To Sign TE Levine Toilolo
The 49ers are set to sign tight end Levine Toilolo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical, but should become official before the end of the business day on Wednesday. 
Toilolo, 28 in July, spent the first five years of his career with the Falcons. Toilolo is mostly known for his blocking ability, but he did manage 31 catches for 238 yards in 2014 with Atlanta. He also stretched the field a bit with a 20.3 yards-per-catch average in 2016 on a limited sample of receptions. Last year, with the Lions, he had 21 catches for 263 yards.
Last year, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus gave Toilolo an 87.0 score for pass blocking, the best of any qualified tight end in the NFL. With the Niners, the veteran will battle with sixth-round pick (and fellow Stanford product) Kaden Smith for playing time behind George Kittle. Garrett Celek, Ross Dwelley, and undrafted rookie Tyree Mayfield are also in the mix.
Patriots Sign Rookie N’Keal Harry
N’Keal Harry is officially a member of the Patriots. On Tuesday, the Pats signed the first-round wide receiver to his rookie contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In accordance with his slot at No. 32 overall, Harry will earn $10MM+ over the course of his four-year deal with a signing bonus of nearly $5.4MM. 
[RELATED: 2019 NFL Draft Results By Team]
Wide receiver was one of the Patriots’ biggest needs heading into the draft, and they addressed that area with the Arizona State product. He’s not the most explosive receiving prospect we’ve seen, but he’s a hard-nosed competitor who has a knack for winning 50/50 balls against defensive backs on the outside and linebackers on the inside. He’s also been lauded for his run-blocking skills, which likely endeared him to coach Bill Belichick.
Harry was one of the nation’s top prospects coming out of high school and he backed up the hype right away as he led all freshmen with 58 catches. Things only progressed from there. Last year, Harry racked up 73 catches for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Houston Texans
- Released: LB Dexter Wright
New York Giants
- Waived/Injured: DB Jacob Thieneman
- Waived: K Joey Slye
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: G Johnny Gibson
- Waived: WR Dorren Miller
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: WR Devin Ross
Vikings Restructure Eric Kendricks’ Deal
Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks agreed to restructure his contract in order to keep the team under the cap, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets. The Vikings entered Tuesday with less than $700K in cap room, which did not leave them enough room to ink first-round pick Garrett Bradbury. With Kendricks’ cooperation, they were able to get the deal done. 
The revised deal will convert $2.15MM of Kendricks’ $4.15MM salary for 2019 into a salary bonus, which created about $1.72MM in space for the Vikes. That extra bit of breathing room may also bode well for the future of Kyle Rudolph, who is set to carry a $7.625MM cap hit this year. The Vikings have tried – and failed – to ink the tight end to a cap smoothing extension, but Kendricks’ gesture could go a long way towards keeping the veteran in Minnesota.
The Vikings inked Kendricks to a five-year, $50MM extension last year with $25MM guaranteed. And, in 2018, he kept up the good work. Kendricks finished out with 108 stops, one sack, and two interceptions in 14 regular season games.
Dion Jordan Banned For 10 Games
This won’t help defensive end Dion Jordan in his bid to find a new NFL home. On Tuesday, the NFL suspended the Seahawks free agent for ten games after a PED violation (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com). 
Jordan entered the league with the Dolphins as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft. Unfortunately, he did not live up to his draft billing – he was only a part-timer in his first two seasons and managed just three sacks in total. Then, his 2015 season was wiped out due to a year-long suspension for diluting his drug test sample.
This time around, Jordan will serve a ten-game ban for taking Adderall after his therapeutic use exemption (TUE) had already expired.
“I made a mistake,” Jordan told Pelissero. “I feel like the person that I am, I’m ready to move forward, I’ve been ready to move forward, with this specific issue. I’ve been working really hard with myself outside of football, and I can see the progress as a young man, as Dion Jordan, I can see it. My whole lifestyle — it’s been a 180-degree change. I f–ked up, man. I can’t fix this [expletive]. It is what it is. But I know what I can’t do and what not to do compared to the mistakes I’ve made in the past.”
Jordan spent the last two seasons with the Seahawks, but he is out of contract and it is not clear whether the Seahawks have any interest in a reunion. For what it’s worth, Jordan says he’s sober and his agent insists that he is on the right path.
Vikings Sign First Round Pick Garrett Bradbury
The Vikings’ draft class is almost wrapped up. On Tuesday, the Vikings announced the signing of first-round center Garrett Bradbury. 
Bradbury, a North Carolina State product, was taken with the No. 18 overall pick last month. In his final year on campus, Bradbury won the Dave Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the best center in college football. The converted tight end is believed to be NFL-ready thanks to his core strength and blocking IQ.
With Bradbury signed, the Vikings have just one straggler left in Air Force long snapper Austin Cutting. Cutting, a seventh-round pick, reported to rookie minicamp after signing an injury protection agreement instead of his rookie contract. Cutting says he’s not signing “out of respect to letting the Air Force eventually give a final decision of if he can play in 2019.”
Here’s the full rundown of Minnesota’s frosh class:
- 1-18: Garrett Bradbury, C (North Carolina State): Signed
- 2-50: Irv Smith Jr., TE (Alabama): Signed
- 3-102: Alexander Mattison, RB (Boise State): Signed
- 4-114: Dru Samia, G (Oklahoma): Signed
- 5-162: Cameron Smith, LB (USC): Signed
- 6-190: Armon Watts, DT (Arkansas): Signed
- 6-191: Marcus Epps, DB (Wyoming): Signed
- 6-193: Oli Udoh, T (Elon): Signed
- 7-217: Kris Boyd, CB (Texas): Signed
- 7-239: Dillon Mitchell, WR (Oregon): Signed
- 7-247: Olabisi Johnson, WR (Colorado State): Signed
- 7-250: Austin Cutting, LS (Air Force)
Andy Levitre Retires From NFL
This is the end of the line for former Falcons guard Andy Levitre. On Tuesday, Levitre announced his retirement via social media: 
“Unfortunately, due to injury my body won’t allow me to continue any longer,” Levitre wrote. “Thank you to my wife and children, my family, friends, coaches, teammates and all of the fans who supported me on this journey.”
Levitre came to the Falcons via trade in 2015 and started every game of his first two seasons in Atlanta. Unfortunately, injuries began to slow him down in 2017. In the last two years, Levitre tore both of triceps and was limited to just two games in 2018.
This wasn’t an easy decision for the veteran – in March, Levitre indicated that he would not retire. But, on the eve of his 33rd birthday, Levitre has decided to hang ’em up.
Before joining the Falcons, the former second-round pick spent time with the Bills and Titans. He leaves the sport after playing in 143 games (all starts) over the course of ten seasons.
Johnathan Cyprien Drawing Interest
Former Titans and Jaguars safety Johnathan Cyprien is now recovered and cleared from last season’s knee injury, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Schefter hears that teams are interested in him and it is expected that he will land a deal before training camp. 
The Titans released Cyprien in early March with a failed phyiscal designation. Cyprien was set to resume his role as the club’s starting strong safety in 2018, but the 28-year-old (29 in July) suffered a torn ACL before the season started.
Cyprien is talented, but injuries have held him back in recent years. In 2017, a hamstring ailment limited him to just ten games.
Cyprien joined the Titans in ’17 on a four-year, $25MM free agent deal. The pact had just $9MM guaranteed, however, and the Titans saved $5.25MM against just $1.5MM in dead money by releasing him in the spring.
The advanced metrics have never been high on Cyprien, but evaluators still view him as an effective stopper in the secondary.
Assault Charges Against Redskins’ Montae Nicholson Dropped
The assault and battery charges against Redskins safety Montae Nicholson have been dropped, as Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post tweets. Nicholson was cuffed late last year and the video of the incident appeared to show him brutally assaulting another man and knocking him unconscious. 
That wasn’t Nicholson’s first off-the-field incident, either. In 2017, cops arrested Nicholson under suspicion of driving while impaired. Still, Nicholson made seven starts for Washington last year and showed promise while on the gridiron. He could still face league suspension from the November arrest, but for now, he appears poised to be a part of the Redskins’ plans for 2019. He projects to see playing time in a safety group headlined by new addition Landon Collins.
Last year, Nicholson recorded 41 stops and one pass defensed in his 14 appearances. And, as a rookie, he notched his only interception to date in Week 3 against the Raiders.