49ers Trade TE Vance McDonald To Steelers
The 49ers have traded tight end Vance McDonald to the Steelers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. San Francisco receives a 2018 fourth-round pick in the swap while the Steelers get a fifth-round choice back in return.
McDonald was projected to be the Niners’ starter at tight end this year. Now, they’ll turn to fifth-round rookie George Kittle and veterans Garrett Celek and Logan Paulsen to fill the void.
The Niners signed McDonald to a five-year, $35MM extension in December, but the new regime is not as wild about him as the old one was. New GM John Lynch shopped McDonald during the 2017 draft and was surprisingly candid about it when reports surfaced.
“That’s the reality of new regimes coming in, new schemes,” Lynch in April. “That’s not to say he can’t fit into our scheme. Frankly we received some interest from other people, then we did explore some options throughout the league with Vance. And nothing ended up happening, so Vance will come back and have an opportunity to compete.”
The Steelers tried to shake up the tight end position last year by signing Ladarius Green, but things did not go according to plan as he was hampered by injuries and concussions. This year, they’ve were planning to use Jesse James as their primary TE with support from David Johnson and Xavier Grimble. They weren’t completely satisfied with that bunch, however, and they capitalized on an opportunity add another experienced starter.
McDonald finished the 2016 on IR, but he closed out with a career-high 24 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t league-leading material, but it’s impressive that he was able to get going at all in one of the league’s worst passing attacks. We’re about to find out what McDonald is capable of doing in one of the league’s top aerial offenses.
Bengals Place Cedric Peerman On IR
The Bengals have placed running back Cedric Peerman on injured reserve, the team announced on Tuesday. Peerman suffered a shoulder injury while covering a punt on Sunday night. 
Peerman, a special teams specialist, also missed the first ten games of the 2016 season with a broken forearm. He was activated off of the Bengals’ injured reserve last year, but there’s no indication as to whether he’ll be able to return from this latest ailment. Peerman earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015 for his special teams work, so he’ll certainly be missed on the field in Cincinnati.
Peerman’s deal expires after the 2017 season and he’ll have only six games of experience between the 2015 and 2016 seasons to show teams as he tries to land his next contract in the spring.
Giants Waive Owa Odighizuwa
The Giants have waived Owa Odighizuwa. The move was expected after the defensive end was hit with a four-game suspension on Monday.
For much of the offseason, it seemed like Odighizuwa was prepared to walk away from football at the age of 25. After taking some time to mull it all over, Odighizuwa was a late entrant to training camp and put himself in the mix to make the final 53-man cut. Word is that he was struggling in practice, however, and was far from a lock to stay with the team past the Saturday deadline. Once word of the PED ban came down, it was a fairly easy call for GM Jerry Reese & Co.
Odighizuwa will be free to sign with any club if he clears waivers in the next 24 hours. Odds are, he will.
Browns Shopping Cameron Erving
The Browns are trying to trade offensive lineman Cameron Erving, a league source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Erving, a former first-round pick, has lost the starting right tackle job to Shon Coleman, so he is too expensive for a backup role and therefore expendable. 
[RELATED: Browns Aggressively Shopping Joe Haden]
Erving was competing for the No. 1 right tackle job before suffering a calf injury last week. Even though the battle was ostensibly close, Erving’s salary is significantly higher than that of Coleman, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft. If possible, the rebuilding Browns would like to take Erving’s salary off the books and get some draft capital in return.
The former Florida State standout is due to carry a cap hit of $2.571MM this year and $3MM in 2018. He has yet to put it all together at the NFL level, but he does offer versatility, including the ability to play center.
Erving isn’t the only Browns player on the block. The team is aggressively working to trade cornerback Joe Haden and quarterback Brock Osweiler is said to be available.
Lions Waive Cyrus Kouandjio
The Lions announced that they have waived offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio. He’ll be free to sign with any team if he clears the waiver wire over the next 24 hours. 
The release of Kouandjio means that Greg Robinson is now in line to serve as the Lions’ starting left tackle in Week 1. Of course, this isn’t quite how the Lions thought things would go this offseason. Taylor Decker was set to resume his role at left tackle before a torn labrum forced him to the sidelines. Detroit added Robinson and Kouandjio with the hope that one of them could hold down the fort and Robinson ultimately proved to be the better man.
Kouandjio showed some promise with the Bills, but he was waived this year after an odd off-field incident in which he was found partially undressed in a field near the scene of a car accident. Robinson not arrested, but he taken to a hospital for evaluation afterwards. Last year, Pro Football Focus placed him a solid 34th among 78 qualified tackles.
Browns Aggressively Shopping Joe Haden
Teams in need of a cornerback will want to answer the phone when they get calls from a Cleveland area code. The Browns are aggressively trying to trade Joe Haden, multiple teams tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He adds that the Browns are “very motivated” to move his contract. 
Haden is no stranger to trade rumors as the Browns explored moving him prior to last year’s trade deadline. The Saints were among the inquiring clubs, but the asking price was ultimately too rich for their blood.
Haden was limited to five games in 2015 but he gutted out a painful groin injury last year and appeared in 13 contests. The two-time Pro Bowler finished out with 48 tackles and three interceptions. For what it’s worth, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus only ranked him as the No. 88 corner in the league last year out of 110 qualified players. In his best years, Haden profiled as a Top 10-20 CB.
Plenty of teams would be happy to acquire Haden and see what he can offer, but his contract will be a stumbling block in talks. The 28-year-old is due to make $11.1MM this season and is under contract through 2019.
Bills Release Bacarri Rambo, Others
The Bills are getting a head start on their roster cuts in advance of the Saturday deadline. The team announced that the following six players have been waived:
- RB Cedric O’Neal
- S Bacarri Rambo
- DE Jake Metz
- G Karim Barton
- WR Rashad Ross
- CB Jumal Rolle
Rambo, 27, had his first stint with the Bills in 2014 and 2015, appearing in a combined 19 games with eight starts. Last year, he joined the Dolphins midway through the year and racked up 39 total tackles, one interceptions, and three passes defensed in nine games (five starts). He returned to the Bills this July, but he was not able to stick for long.
Metz, 26, spent the bulk of last year with the Qingdao Clipper of the China Arena Football League. He’ll presumably try to find another NFL gig, but he could also wind up getting a new stamp in his passport.
Buffalo’s roster now stands at 83 players, meaning that they still have to cut 30 guys by Saturday afternoon.
Saints Release DE Jason Jones
The Saints have released veteran defensive end Jason Jones, according to a source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). It was a short stay in New Orleans for Jones as he was signed roughly two weeks ago. 
Jones, 31, appeared in 14 games last season with Miami, racking up 22 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Late last year, he was slapped with a substance abuse violation that prompted the Dolphins to release him before their first-round playoff game against the Steelers. The unfortunate ending to Jones’ 2016 campaign might be the culprit for the lack of interest he received this summer. Jones sat on the market until the Saints came calling in August, and now he’s out of work once more.
The veteran, who has 109 career games (70 starts) under his belt, has also spent time with the Titans, Seahawks, and Lions.
Patriots, Bengals Complete Trade
With the 53-man deadline creeping up, the Bengals and Patriots have completed a trade. The deal will sent linebacker Marquis Flowers to New England in exchange for a seventh-round pick, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. 
The pending Vontaze Burfict suspension seemingly opened up a roster spot for Flowers, but that’s apparently not the case. Instead, the former sixth-round pick has been shipped off for some late-round draft capital in 2018.
The 25-year-old appeared in all 16 of the Bengals’ regular season games as a rookie in 2014, but he missed all of 2015 with a shoulder injury. Last year, he bounced back with another perfect attendance record, but he played primarily on special teams.
Owczarski now expects undrafted rookie free agent Hardy Nickerson to make the Bengals’ 53-man roster for Week 1.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/17
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LS Taybor Pepper
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LS Jeff Overbaugh
- Waived/injured: Patrick Scales
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: P Will Monday
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: OL Gabe Ikard
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: DL Jimmy Bean
Detroit Lions
- Released: WR Keshawn Martin, TE Tim Wright
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: LS Derek Hart, WR Colby Pearson, RB William Stanback
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Earl Wolff
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Akeem Dent
- Waived from IR: CB Ezra Robinson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: LB Josh Mauga
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: K Travis Coons
New England Patriots
- Signed: DL Michael Bart, LB Christian Kuntz, LB Nick Usher
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Audie Cole
- Placed on IR: TE Clay Harbor
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Daniel Gray
- Placed on IR: OL Adam Gettis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Mehdi Abdesmad, DL Hendrick Ekpe
- Waived: RB Blake Sims
- Placed on IR: Justin Trattou