Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill Healthy For OTAs
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill will be a full participant in OTAs on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s an encouraging sign for Tannehill, who has recovered well from a torn ACL. 
Of course, it has been a bumpy road for Tannehill over the last couple of years. Towards the end of 2016, a partially torn ACL took the QB out of action. Then, Tannehill suffered a complete ACL tear, which ended his 2017 season before it even began. The Dolphins were not quite sure about what Tannehill would be able to do heading into Tuesday, but doctors have given him the green light to do it all in this phase of OTAs.
It’s no exaggeration to say the Dolphins’ season hinges on Tannehill’s health. Last year, the Dolphins scrambled to replace the QB and wound up luring Jay Cutler out of retirement on an expensive one-year deal. The results were underwhelming as the Dolphins went 6-10, including a 6-8 record in Cutler’s 14 starts. The Dolphins have backstopped Cutler with Brock Osweiler for this year, but it’s hard to imagine Osweiler performing much better than Cutler.
Tannehill played 13 games during the 2016 season, completing 67.1-percent of his passes for 2,995 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The advanced numbers at Pro Football Focus ranked him as just the 16th best quarterback in the league that season, but that’s a step up from Cutler’s No. 35 ranking from last year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/21/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DT Ashaad Mabry
- Waived: OT Korren Kirven
- Signed: TE Jason Vander Laan
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: G Damien Mama
- Waived: OL Jarron Jones
Detroit Lions
- Claimed off waivers: WR Chris Lacy (from Patriots)
- Waived: CB Josh Okonye
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on Reserve/Retired list: DT Filipo Mokofisi
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Chunky Clements
Redskins G Arie Kouandjio To Miss 2018 Season
Redskins guard Arie Kouandjio will miss the entire 2018 season, multiple sources tell John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kouandjio recently went under the knife to repair a torn quadriceps muscle, but he will take longer than expected to recover. 
Doctors tell the Redskins that Kouandjio will be out of action for six-to-eight months. That timeline should allow him to return in full health for 2019, but he won’t be able to partake in football activities for a while.
This marks a disappointing development for the Redskins as they were high on his offseason work up until this setback. Without Kouandjio, the Redskins will likely use the recently re-signing Shawn Lauvao as their starting left guard with Brandon Scherff mirroring him on the right.
The 2015 fourth-round pick out of Alabama has appeared in 17 games with Washington. Injuries decimated the Washington offensive line in 2017, resulting in three of its five Week 1 starters — Trent Williams, Spencer Long and Lauvao — missing at least six games. Kouandjio filled in as a starter in six of his eight games that season.
Cardinals Release CB Marcus Williams
The Cardinals released cornerback Marcus Williams, according to a team announcement. Williams was signed as a free agent in April, but his time in Arizona has come to an end after just one month. 
The release of Williams comes just after the acquisition of former Browns cornerback Jamar Taylor. Taylor projects as the team’s new starter opposite of Patrick Peterson, which pushed every other cornerback on the depth chart down a peg. That shift wound up pushing Williams off of the roster.
Williams started 15 games in three seasons with the Jets, but did not start a game in 2017. The Jets shopped him in the summer of 2017 and waived him in October, leading him to Houston. With the Texans, he appeared in ten games as a reserve and totaled 12 tackles, four pass deflections, and came up with an interception against the Seahawks in a late October game. His most notable season came in 2015 when he tallied six interceptions in 13 games with Gang Green.
Bills Release Richie Incognito
The Bills have released offensive lineman Richie Incognito from the reserve/retired list, per a team announcement. The move could pave the way for the veteran to quickly sign with another club. 
This year’s Incognito saga has been strange, to say the least. After making his third straight Pro Bowl appearance, he agreed to take a pay cut for the 2018 season. Weeks later, the lineman fired his agents via Twitter. Incognito announced his retirement in April, but he requested his release days later, which is an indication that he wants to continue playing.
On the surface, Incognito’s retirement threat looked to be an attempt to recoup that lost money. At the time, the 34-year-old (35 in July) said he was prioritizing his health over future earnings, citing issues with his liver and kidneys. Now that he’s eligible to sign, teams will probably want to take a close look at his medicals before making a commitment.
Under the terms of his revised deal, Incognito was set to earn $3.65MM in base pay plus a $1MM bonus, down from his originally scheduled $6.325MM salary. It stands to reason that Incognito could fetch more than $3.65MM for the upcoming season, though many clubs have already filled their interior line vacancies and allocated the bulk of free agent dollars.
Raiders Sign Brandon Parker, Nick Nelson
The Raiders inked two of their draft picks on Monday afternoon. Third-round offensive tackle Brandon Parker and fourth-round cornerback Nick Nelson are now under contract, meaning that eight of their nine selections have been signed. As shown on PFR’s tracker, third-round defensive end Arden Key is the last unsigned rookie of the bunch. 
Parker, the No. 65 overall pick in last month’s draft, played four seasons at North Carolina AT&T and started all 48 of his games at left tackle. The reigning MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and FCS All-American First Team selection will compete for time behind starters Donald Penn and fellow rookie Kolton Miller at the tackle spots.
Nelson, the No. 110 overall pick, spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to Wisconsin. With the Badgers, Nelson tallied 35 tackles and tied for third in the country with 21 passes defended. Nelson has 40 passes defensed in three NCAA seasons but, somehow, did not record an interception in that time. That may have been a red mark against him in the draft process, along with his torn meniscus in early April.
The good news is that Nelson is expected to be back to full health this summer, which should allow for him to compete for playing time behind starters Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin. Shareece Wright, Dexter McDonald, Leon Hall, and Daryl Worley are also among those in the CB mix.
No Talks Yet For Seahawks, Earl Thomas
The Seahawks’ OTAs are underway, but safety Earl Thomas is not among those in attendance, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Thomas has been pushing for a new deal, but there have been no talks yet and there are none on the horizon either, Pelissero hears. 
Thomas is under contract with Seattle for one more season at a salary of $8.5MM. Although participation in OTAs is voluntary, Thomas’ decision to stay home is probably a sign of his dissatisfaction with the lack of discussion regarding his contract.
“I think Earl Thomas deserves the money he’s asking for,” former Seahawks teammate Richard Sherman said recently. “I think he deserves to be compensated as the top safety in the league. Whether Seattle does that or not is up to them.”
Making Thomas the highest-paid safety in the NFL would mean giving him upwards of $13MM per year, topping Eric Berry‘s mammoth six-year, $78MM deal. At the time of signing in 2014, the Seahawks’ four-year, $40MM extension with Thomas put him ahead of all other NFL safeties, but he has since been leapfrogged by five others: Berry, teammate Kam Chancellor, Reshad Jones (Dolphins), Lamarcus Joyner (Rams), and Harrison Smith (Vikings).
Will the Seahawks put him atop the heap once again? It’s hard to see that happening after months of mulling trade possibilities, including a swap with the Cowboys. Dallas balked at giving up a second-round pick for Thomas, however, so he remains in the team’s plans – for now.
NFL Won’t Suspend Lions’ Matt Patricia
The NFL has determined that neither the Lions nor Matt Patricia will not be subject to discipline in regards to previous allegations made against the head coach. The league met last week with the Lions and Patricia and opted against launching an investigation. 
“Our office reviewed the matter with the Lions and Mr. Patricia, and ensured the club engaged in appropriate and thorough hiring practices and that the coach did not mislead the team during the interview process,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “We determined that the Lions handled the interview process in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner and fully and appropriately complied with all applicable employment laws. As we learned from both Mr. Patricia and the Lions, the matter was not part of his employment interview process for job opportunities outside of or within the NFL. He was under no legal or other requirement to raise this issue.”
The NFL faced a similar issue in 2017 when it came to Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley. Conley was accused of sexual misconduct before the 2017 NFL Draft and the league did not conduct a thorough and costly investigation as it has in the past for other players. The accusation against Patricia took place in 1996 and and the case was dismissed in January 1997. Patricia, like Conley, has denied any wrongdoing.
“The truth is on my side,” Patricia said in a news conference earlier this month. “I lived with the mental torture of the situation where facts can be completely ignored or misrepresented with disregard to the consequence and pain that it would create for another person. I find it unfair and upsetting that someone would bring this claim up over two decades later for the sole purpose of hurting my family, my friends and this organization with the intention of trying to damage my character and credibility.”
Bengals Sign Rookie Billy Price
The Bengals have signed first-round draft pick Billy Price, according to a team announcement. Per the terms of his slot as the No. 21 overall pick, Price will earn $11.7MM over the course of his four-year deal. And, as a first-round pick, the Bengals will have the option to tack a fifth year on to his deal down the line. 
Price suffered a torn pectoral muscle while doing the bench press at the draft combine in February. Fortunately, he rebounded quickly from the injury and put himself squarely back into the first round conversation. The Bengals believe that he will be back to full health this summer, which should allow him to be the team’s starting center in 2018.
Last year, Pro Football Focus’ collegiate arm gave Price an 83.2 overall grade for his work at Ohio State, positioning him as the fifth-best center in college football. Clearly, Price transitioned well to the new position after spending his first two years at left guard and his third year at right guard.
As shown on Roster Resource, the Bengals project to start Cordy Glenn, Clint Boling, Price, Trey Hopkins, and Jake Fisher on the offensive line. The Bengals are hoping for significant improvement from last year when their O-Line was ranked near the bottom of the league by virtually every measure.
As of this writing, the Bengals have just two players left to sign in their 2018 draft class in third-round picks Sam Hubbard (DE, Ohio State) and Malik Jefferson (LB, Texas).
Saints Sign Rookie Tre’Quan Smith
The Saints announced the signing of third-round wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith. With that deal done, the Saints now have all of their draft picks under contract. 
Smith, a 6’2″ receiver out of UCF, was the Saints’ second-highest pick in this year’s draft class thanks to their 2017 deal with the Niners that allowed them to select running back Alvin Kamara. Although there were players the Saints would have liked to have at No. 59 overall this year, it’s safe to say the trade was worthwhile.
Heading into the draft, many viewed Smith as a fourth or fifth-round prospect. The Saints clearly did not agree with that assessment as they grabbed him late in the third. Armed with a quick first step and a freakish wingspan, the Saints believe that Smith can be molded into a quality contributor.
Here’s a look at the Saints’ complete 2018 draft class:
- 1-14: Marcus Davenport, DE (UTSA): Signed
- 3-91: Tre’Quan Smith, WR (UCF): Signed
- 4-127: Rick Leonard, T (Florida State): Signed
- 5-164: Natrell Jamerson, S (Wisconsin): Signed
- 6-189: Kamrin Moore, CB (Boston College): Signed
- 6-201: Boston Scott, RB (Louisiana Tech): Signed
- 7-245: Will Clapp, G (LSU): Signed