Seahawks’ Rashaad Penny Has Surgery
Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny had surgery on Wednesday morning to fix a broken finger, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. The recovery is estimated to take 3-4 weeks, which puts the Seahawks’ top running back up against the start of the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
While there is some doubt about Penny’s availability for Week 1, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links) has received largely positive news about the rookie. One source tells Schefter that Penny “should be ready” for the season opener and another says Penny “would have played with it if this were late season/playoffs.” Schefter also notes that baseball standout Robinson Cano once had the same surgery and he was back in action within three weeks.
Penny, the No. 27 overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to be the Seahawks’ leading rusher this season. If he misses time, the Seahawks can turn to backups Chris Carson, C.J. Prosise, and J.D. McKissic, but they have not received consistent production from those players in the past.
If Penny misses more time than expected, the Seahawks can consider a free agent running back market that still includes Orleans Darkwa, Adrian Peterson, and Jamaal Charles.
Dolphins Won’t Trade DeVante Parker
Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker is not on the trade block, a source told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald this week. The Dolphins believe that Parker is having a solid training camp, though Salguero personally disagrees with that assessment. 
Some have speculated that the Dolphins could shop Parker thanks to the presence of Kenny Stills, Danny Amendola, Albert Wilson, and Jakeem Grant. However, they won’t have an opportunity to showcase Parker to interested teams thanks to his broken finger. Even if the Dolphins wanted to explore a trade, Salguero estimates that they would not get more than a fourth or fifth-round pick in exchange for the former first-round selection.
In all likelihood, Parker will be with the Dolphins when the season starts in September. However, the same cannot be said for former third-round pick Leonte Carroo.
Parker hauled in 57 catches for 670 yards and one touchdown last season. His average of 11.8 yards per catch marked a career low.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Austin Wolf
- Released: WR Rashad Ross
Denver Broncos
- Claimed: WE DeAndrew White (Texans)
- Waived/Injured: WR Philly Brown
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: RB Tion Green
- Waived: LB William Ossai
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: OL Alan Knott
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from injured reserve: OL Avery Young
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from injured reserve: CB David Rivers
Chiefs To Meet With Orlando Scandrick
Orlando Scandrick hasn’t been a free agent for long, but he’s already drawing interest. The cornerback will fly to meet with the Chiefs on Tuesday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Redskins Release Orlando Scandrick]
The Redskins cut Scandrick on Tuesday morning, a surprising move since he inked a lucrative free agent deal with them just five months ago. For what it’s worth, head coach Jay Gruden claims the decision was not tied to the veteran’s performance.
“It has nothing to do with his play. It was really the emergence of the rookies and [we] wanted Orlando to latch on to another team,” Gruden said “No one could have predicted [the emergence of] [Ranthony] Texada or Danny Johnson.”
In his final year with the Cowboys, Scandrick graded out as one of the 15 worst qualified cornerbacks in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. The advanced metrics have not been high on him since 2014, but he did have an okay showing in his injury-shortened 2016 campaign.
The Chiefs have been in the market for cornerback support, as evidenced by their recent meeting with Bashaud Breeland. Breeland is probably KC’s preferred option, but with several teams in the mix for him, they may have to settle for another former Redskin.
The Chiefs project to use newcomers Kendall Fuller and David Amerson as their top corners with Steven Nelson and Will Redmond among those in the rotation.
Dolphins To Sign DT Kendall Langford
The Dolphins have agreed to sign defensive tackle Kendall Langford, according to a source who spoke with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Terms of the deal are not yet known, but it’s likely a one-year deal with little or no guarantees. 
Langford, 32, entered the league as a third-round pick of the Dolphins in 2008 and spent the first four years of his career in Miami. Since then, he’s also had stints with the Rams (three seasons), Colts (two seasons), and the Texans (one game in 2017).
Langford offers a wealth of NFL experience, as he’s appeared in 136 games (113 starts) during his pro career. Unfortunately, it has been a while since he’s made a major impact on the field. In 2016, Langford lasted just seven games before the Colts placed him on injured reserve with a knee injury. Then, last year, the Texans signed him after both J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus suffered season-ending injuries, but his time in Houston was very short-lived.
Still, Langford was a productive NFL starter as recently as 2015. In that season with the Colts, he tallied a career-high seven sacks and 38 total tackles. He’ll look to get back to his old form as a reserve with the Dolphins, if he can make the cut as a reserve behind projected starters Akeem Spence and Davon Godchaux.
West Notes: Rams, Donald, Raiders, Penn
The Chiefs gave up on Marcus Peters largely because of his conduct in the locker room. Peters was the source of many headaches in KC, but head coach Sean McVay says the Rams did their homework on the cornerback before trading for him this offseason.
“You talk to the people that have been around him, that you really value their opinion, you trust it,” McVay said (via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com). “Got a lot of good things that came back in terms of a guy that loves football, does a lot of really good things for his community.”
The Rams added other bold personalities on defense, including cornerback Aqib Talib and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but McVay isn’t concerned about how everyone will gel. McVay feels that 71-year-old defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has “more swag” than all of them combined and has the ability to keep them in line.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- There’s increasing chatter about the Rams signing Aaron Donald to a new deal, but McVay did his best to pump the breaks on such talk. “I’ve seen a lot of reports out there, but that’s news to us,” McVay told reporters on Monday (via PFT). “So, no news on that front for us. Same thing as just the dialogue, but as far as anything that’s changed, it hasn’t changed.”
- Raiders tackle Donald Penn is practicing again after agreeing to a new contract, and he has a new position as well. Penn was spotted working at right tackle on Tuesday with rookie Kolton Miller at left tackle, Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal tweets. Gehlken adds that this is not just an experiment – the Raiders believe that their best starting five has Miller on the left side and Penn on the right. Pro Football Focus ranked Penn as the league’s No. 23 overall tackle last year and the 12th best tackle in the league in 2016 as he worked from the left side.
- Last week, Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen underwent surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture.
- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie worked out for the Seahawks last week, but did not auditioned for the Raiders as originally planned.
Browns, Dez Bryant To Meet On Thursday
The Browns have Dez Bryant‘s visit in the calendar. Bryant will travel to Cleveland on Thursday, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Browns To Work Out Johnathan Hankins]
The Browns’ interest in Bryant has been known for some time, but it has taken us a while to get to this point. Last week, GM John Dorsey told reporters that Bryant would not return his phone calls. Then, that night, Bryant tweeted that he would in fact be meeting with the Browns. Meanwhile, internally, the Browns are unsure as to whether Bryant will be a good fit for them. Each side will have a chance to weigh the pros and cons this week.
In theory, Bryant could be a tremendous No. 2 wide receiver for the Browns behind star Jarvis Landry if Josh Gordon is not available. If Gordon is available, then Bryant might not be in line for a ton of targets, and it’s fair to wonder whether the veteran would be flexible in that scenario. The Browns could also stand pat in the event of a Gordon absence thanks to the presence of youngsters like Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins, C.J. Board, Da’Mari Scott, and Damion Ratley.
Bryant averaged just 12.1 yards per reception in 2017, but his resume suggests that he could be capable of more in 2018.
NFC East Notes: Redskins, Scandrick, Eagles
The Redskins have moved on from cornerback Orlando Scandrick, but it’s not necessarily because of anything Scandrick did, coach Jay Gruden says.
“It has nothing to do with his play. It was really the emergence of the rookies and [we] wanted Orlando to latch on to another team,” Gruden said via Kimberley A. Martin of the Washington Post (on Twitter). “No one could have predicted Ranthony Texada or Danny Johnson.”
With a deep group at cornerback headlined by Josh Norman, Quinton Dunbar, and Fabian Moreau, the Redskins felt that they could move on from Scandrick and save themselves millions in salary. However, they will not be able to recover the $1MM signing bonus they gave him in his two-year deal this offseason.
Here’s more from the NFC East:
- The Dolphins are in search of cornerback help and Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com suggests Ronald Darby of the Eagles as a possible solution for Miami. Darby has lots of potential, but he’s set to be a free agent after the season and the Eagles’ have yet to sign him, so he might not be in Philly’s long-term plans. If the Eagles were to trade Darby, the could play Sidney Jones at outside cornerback rather than nickel cornerback. Then, to fill the hole at nickel, the Eagles could give more time to the likes of Avonte Maddox and De’Vante Bausby. The Eagles wouldn’t be as strong at cornerback without Darby, but this could be an opportunity for the Eagles to get something of value for him instead of letting him walk next year.
- Giants coach Pat Shurmur isn’t sure if he’ll see fifth-round pick R.J. McIntosh on the field before the start of the season. Shurmur tells reporters (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan) that the defensive lineman is looking at an “extended-rehab type situation,” which may be tied to his thyroid issue. It took a long time for McIntosh to sign with the Giants and it could take even longer for the Giants to find out what they have in the Miami product.
Bears Officially Sign Roquan Smith
Roquan Smith is officially in the fold. On Tuesday morning, the Bears announced that Smith has signed his rookie deal. 
The Bears, predictably, did not release the details of Smith’s pact, but per the terms of his slot, we know that the No. 8 overall pick has received a four-year, $18MM guaranteed pact. And, via Mike Florio of PFT, we have the details on his guarantee structure in the event of discipline.
The two sides hammered out a formula that protects Smith against most of the potential incidents that would take place on the field. Smith’s guarantees will void only if the league office suspends him for three games or more for something that would happen during a play, such as lowering his helmet or roughing the quarterback. That’s not a cumulative three games, so Smith can be suspended for one or two games multiple times throughout his contract without forfeiting guarantees.
If Smith is suspended for one game for a post-play infraction in which he’s defending himself or a teammate, he’ll maintain his guarantees. For two games, however, he’ll forfeit them. If he’s deemed to be the aggressor in a post-play incident and suspended for one game, he will lose his guarantees.
Ultimately, the Bears had to deviate quite a bit from the standard language in order to get Smith on the practice field. It’s not ideal for Chicago, but the team is undoubtedly relieved to have its top draft pick under contract.
Browns To Work Out Johnathan Hankins
The Browns will work out defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins on Wednesday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. This marks Hankins’ first known meeting with a club since April. 
[RELATED: Free Agent Stock Watch: Johnathan Hankins]
Last year, Hankins was among the league’s most sought-after free agent defensive tackles. It’s not clear why his market has dragged this year, but it’s possible that his camp has been asking for significantly more money than what he has been offered thus far. After all, that’s what happened last year. In 2017, Hankins’ camp told teams that he was looking for $15MM per year. Soon after, the asking price was reduced to a more reasonable $10MM per season, and he eventually accepted a $9MM/year pact from the Colts.
Two of the Browns’ defensive tackles – Trevon Coley and Caleb Brantley – are dealing with ankle injuries, so Hankins could provide the club with a healthy alternative. If signed, Hankins would almost certainly start in the team’s 4-3 scheme. He played in a 3-4 setup with the Colts last year, but Hankins had only worked out of a 4-3 scheme prior to joining Indianapolis.
Hankins didn’t offer much against the pass in 2017, but he was exceptional against the run. In fact, only Damon Harrison and Ndamukong Suh ranked better against ball carriers, according to Pro Football Focus.