Elvis Dumervil Retires From NFL
Elvis Dumervil is calling it a career. On Thursday, the veteran defensive end took to Twitter to announce his retirement from the NFL. 
“After spending a great deal of time talking to my family and prayerfully considering what’s next in my career, I have made the difficult decision to step away from the NFL at this time,” Dumervil wrote. “Its been an incredible 12-year run.”
Dumervil, 34, ranked third among active players in career sacks with 105.5. And, last year, he led the 49ers with 6.5 sacks. Dumervil clearly still has some football in the tank – and he said his body “feels great” in his retirement announcement – but he has opted to spent more time with his family and focus on his other business ventures going forward.
Dumervil entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Broncos in the 2006 draft and the Louisville product went on to become a pillar of the Broncos’ D. In 2009, he broke through as a defensive star with a league-leading 17 sacks. Interestingly, the Broncos have watched former stars Dumervil, Eric Decker, and Julius Thomas all retire in a matter of days.
In 2013, Dumervil hooked on with the Ravens and he continued to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. In 2014, he even matched his personal high of 17 sacks.
After 12 seasons in the league (eleven, if you exclude his lost 2010 season), Dumervil acquired five Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro selections. He probably has some sacks left in him, but he already accomplished plenty on the field.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/18
We don’t dance now, we make minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: G Cory Helms
Detroit Lions
- Waived: OL Beau Nunn
- Waived/Injured: DT Toby Johnson
Houston Texans
- Waived/Injured: Ben Heeney
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Tanner McEvoy
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived/Injured: WR Max McCaffrey
Glennon, Other QBs Drawing Trade Interest
On Wednesday morning, the Packers traded Brett Hundley to the Seahawks. That deal is unlikely to be the last trade involving a backup quarterback, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mike Glennon of the Cardinals, Tom Savage of the Saints, and Joshua Dobbs are the Steelers are among the QBs being discussed by teams of need, Rapoport hears. 
The Cardinals signed both Sam Bradford and Glennon in March, but the QB room changed dramatically in April when they drafted UCLA star Josh Rosen. Rosen may not be ready for primetime, but the Cardinals may feel that he is ready to be a capable No. 2 QB. Glennon flamed out in his one month as the Bears’ starter last year, but he would represent a QB2 upgrade for many teams around the league.
Savage has been long rumored to be on the bubble, but he is now firmly on the trade block following the Saints’ acquisition of Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints project to move ahead with Bridgewater and Taysom Hill as the backups to Drew Brees, leaving Savage without a spot in New Orleans. Savage, a former fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh, entered the 2017 season as Houston’s starter, but he lost the job to rookie Deshaun Watson rather quickly. He finished the year with 1,412 yards and five touchdowns against six interceptions.
The writing has been on the wall for Dobbs ever since the Steelers used a third-round pick on Mason Rudolph in this year’s draft. Landry Jones is locked in as the backup quarterback and Rudolph is locked in as the No. 3, so Dobbs is clearly on the block.
Jets Trade Teddy Bridgewater To Saints
The Saints have acquired quarterback Teddy Bridgewater from the Jets, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Jets will send Bridgewater and a sixth-round pick to the Saints for a third-round pick, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Bridgewater, who doesn’t turn 26 until November, joined the Jets in March on a one-year deal. Now, he’ll serve as the primary backup to Drew Brees in New Orleans. It’s not immediately clear what the trade means for Taysom Hill, who is under contract through 2019, or Tom Savage, who is on a one-year deal with the club. In all likelihood, Savage is on the verge of being released or traded.
For the Jets, the move signals a tremendous amount of confidence in rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. It’s likely that Darnold will be the team’s Week 1 starter, despite a tough early schedule, with veteran Josh McCown as his understudy.
Bridgewater may be a better quarterback than McCown in 2018, but McCown wouldn’t have fetched much in a trade due to his one-year, $10MM contract. The Jets also value McCown’s veteran leadership and mentorship to Darnold.
Jets players were notified of the trade on Wednesday afternoon when they were on the team bus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. Just before they were about to depart, Bridgewater was informed of the trade and said goodbye to his teammates.
Bridgewater has impressed this offseason and shown no ill effects of the devastating injury that wiped out his 2016 campaign. In two years as the Vikings’ starter, Bridgewater completed 65% of his passes and averaged 3,075 yards, 14 touchdowns, and ten interceptions.
In three preseason games this year, Bridgewater has completed 28-of-38 throws (73.7%) for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Packers, Aaron Rodgers Agree To Extension
The Packers and Aaron Rodgers have agreed to a record-breaking extension, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Rodgers’ new pact is a four-year add-on is worth $134MM, according to former teammate James Jones (on Twitter). The deal includes $103MM in the first three years, $80MM delivered by March of next year, and the opportunity to earn even more via incentives. 
Rodgers has yet to ink the contract, but it is in the process of being finalized, according to Schefter. The deal should be formally completed before the start of the Packers’ season, which will be on Sept. 9 against the rival Bears.
Rodgers’ $33.5MM average annual value tops the $30MM AAV of Matt Ryan‘s extension with the Falcons and the $28.8MM AAV of Kirk Cousins‘ free agent deal with the Vikings, making him the league’s highest-paid player of all-time. After that, Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5MM), Matthew Stafford ($27MM), and Derek Carr ($25MM) rank as the league’s highest-paid QBs.
Rodgers’ signing bonus of $57.5MM is the largest in NFL history, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. And, with $4MM in escalators, he can reach a maximum value of $138MM over the course of the extension.
The six-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time Super Bowl champion is among the very best quarterbacks in the NFL today. In 2013, he signed a five-year, $110MM deal to become the NFL’s highest-paid player, but the market quickly advanced and Rodgers’ deal became one of the most team-friendly pacts in the NFL.
Before this latest deal, Rodgers was the ninth-highest paid player in the NFL with salaries of $20.9MM this season and $21.1MM in 2019. With the new contract, the Packers have restored him as the league’s financial kingpin.
Last year, Rodgers got off to a hot start before suffering a broken collarbone in Week 6. Although Rodgers missed significant time, he’s 100% healthy this year and poised to get back to his old form.
Since taking over as the starter for the Packers in 2008, Rodgers has thrown for 312 touchdowns (the second most in the NFL) and led the Packers to the playoffs in 8-of-10 seasons.
Seahawks, WR Tyler Lockett Agree To Extension
The Seahawks and wide receiver Tyler Lockett have agreed to an extension, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year deal with a base value of $31.8MM and includes a healthy $20MM guaranteed. With incentives, the value of the deal can reach $37.8MM. 
Lockett was set to reach free agency next year after completing his rookie deal in 2018. Now, he gets to stay in Seattle with a significant pay bump.
The 2015 third-round pick hasn’t put up electrifying numbers just yet, but the Seahawks are expecting an uptick in his production after moving on from Paul Richardson. Over the course of three years, Lockett has 137 catches for 1,816 yards and nine touchdowns, though six of those scores came as a rookie.
Last year, Lockett finished out with 45 catches for 555 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the annual average value of his deal is greater than $10.5MM. That’s a sign that the Seahawks have a tremendous amount of faith in him, and also shows how far the wide receiver market has advanced in the last couple of years.
Lockett figures to be the Seahawks No. 2 wide receiver this year and should continue in his role as the club’s top returner.
Browns’ Kendricks Admits To Insider Trading
Browns linebacker Mychal Kendricks was charged with insider trading, according to an announcement from U.S. attorney William McSwain. Shortly after the announcement, Kendricks publicly fessed up to the crime. 
“I apologize. Four years ago, I participated in insider trading, and I deeply regret it,” Kendricks said in a statement. “I invested money with a former friend of mine who I thought I could trust and who I greatly admired. His background as a Harvard graduate and an employee of Goldman Sachs gave me a false sense of confidence. To that point, I had worked my tail off since I was 5 years old to become the football player that I am today. I was drawn in by the allure of being more than just a football player. While I didn’t fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions.”
In a statement of their own, the Browns said that Kendricks will not join the team in Detroit for Thursday’s preseason finale against the Lions. Kendricks will enter a guilty plea when the time comes, but it’s not clear what kind of punishment the government will be seeking. Even if Kendricks escapes serious legal consequences, he could be subject to a suspension from the NFL.
Kendricks appeared in 15 games last season for the Eagles and racked up 75 tackles. He also logged 16 tackles in the postseason amid the Eagles’ run to their first-ever Super Bowl title. After years of trade speculation, the Eagles cut Kendricks in May, freeing him up to join the Browns.
Packers Trade QB Brett Hundley To Seahawks
The Packers traded quarterback Brett Hundley to the Seahawks in exchange for a sixth-round pick, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
Austin Davis and rookie seventh-round pick Alex McGough were competing to back up Russell Wilson in Seattle, but it sounds like Pete Carroll & Co. were not completely comfortable with either player. With the season opener just days away, Hundley may wind up as the Seahawks’ one and only backup to Wilson.
The Packers drafted Hundley in the fifth-round of the 2015 draft. He didn’t see a lot of action at first, but he was called upon in 2017 when Aaron Rodgers was lost to injury. In nine starts, Hundley went 3-6 as he threw for 1,836 yards with nine touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Hundley is not a world-beater, but, as the Seahawks have learned, quality backup QBs are hard to find.
After moving on from Hundley, the Packers plan to keep both DeShone Kizer and Tim Boyle as backups on the 53-man roster, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Darius Victor
Buffalo Bills
- Released: S L.J. McCray
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Darius Hillary
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Kyle Bosch, OL Matthew Diaz
- Waived: WR Ricky Jeune, OL Dustin Stanton
Houston Texans
- Released: WR Chris Thompson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: S Don Carey
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed off waivers (Texans): DT Marcus Hardison
- Waived/injured: OL Zachary Crabtree
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Larry Rose
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Anthony Denham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Ja’Quan Gardner
- Waived: S Chanceller James
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: LB Deontae Skinner
Bell To Report To Steelers On Labor Day?
Le’Veon Bell has told some of his teammates that he will report to the Steelers on Labor Day, Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette hears. If Bell is in the building on Sept. 3, he’ll be able to participate in the team’s first day of practice before the season opener. 
Bell has abstained from training camp after receiving a second consecutive franchise tag which is worth $14.5MM this time around. Last year, Bell also held out from camp, but officially reported on Sept. 4.
It remains to be seen how the Steelers will use Bell in the season opener. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner could give Bell his typical workload, or he could start the year by splitting the carries between Bell and backup James Conner.
“That’s a hard question because it’s Le’Veon,” Fichtner said recently. “You’d like to think that he’ll be in good shape. But we’ll have to evaluate where he’s at — conditioning, health, things like that. Using him in the best way to help us win early will be the most important thing. There will be some things he can do that quite frankly most people who play his position can’t do. But that’s not anything against the running backs that have gone through training camp with us because they’ve done a heck of a job, including James.”
Despite his dissatisfaction with the team and his contract, it sounds like Bell will show up for work as scheduled. However, this may be his final season in black and yellow.