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Panthers CB Rashaan Melvin Retires

July 27th, 2022 at 10:30am CST by Sam Robinson

Rashaan Melvin re-signed with the Panthers in March, but the veteran cornerback will not go through with a second season in Carolina. Instead, Melvin intends to retire.

The Panthers announced Melvin is walking away Wednesday. Although Melvin signed a one-year, $1.1MM deal to stay with Carolina, he did not report for the start of the team’s training camp Tuesday. While Melvin drifted on and off the full-time starter radar, he finished his career as a nine-year vet and played first-string roles for a few teams.

Emerging for the Panthers last year, after opting out of the 2020 season, Melvin played in 10 games with the team. The 32-year-old cover man made two Panthers starts, moving his career total to 42. Not bad for a UDFA who bounced on and off active rosters and practice squads for years before stabilizing his career with the Colts.

A Buccaneers UDFA out of Northern Illinois in 2013, Melvin moved from Tampa to Baltimore to Miami to New England before his September 2016 Indianapolis arrival preceded a multiyear stay. The Colts used Melvin as a 19-game starter from 2016-17; that stay attracted interest on the 2018 free agent market. The Raiders gave the mid-major product a one-year, $6.5MM deal in 2018. While that contract did not end up leading to the kind of stability Melvin enjoyed in Indianapolis, it represents his most notable NFL payday.

Melvin signed with the Lions in 2019 and caught on with the Jaguars in 2020, before opting out of the latter situation in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the Jags stay is included, Melvin spent time with nine teams. He intercepted four passes — three of those picks coming in 2017 with the Colts — and forced three fumbles over the course of his career.

NFL Workouts: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Ely Allen

As players are moved to the PUP and NFI lists and rosters are starting to take shape for the start of training camps, many players are searching for opportunities to make a team.

Here’s the list of players who have received workouts or taken visits today and this past weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor roster moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ravens Restructure CB Marlon Humphrey’s Contract

July 25th, 2022 at 9:44am CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens entered today with the least cap space in the league, so a move to generate some financial wiggle room was likely necessary at some point. To that end, the team has re-worked cornerback Marlon Humphrey‘s deal, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link). 

The Ravens are converting $8.965MM – almost the entirety of Humphrey’s scheduled $10MM base salary – into a signing bonus. As a result of the move, Baltimore will add just over $7MM in cap space. Those funds will give the team some much-needed flexibility to make additions during or after training camp.

Humphrey is no stranger to restructures; the two-time Pro Bowler re-worked his deal last September. He represents a logical candidate for the process, as he is under contract through 2026 owing to the five-year, $98.75MM extension he signed in 2020. Even after some record-breaking deals signed this offseason, that pact still ranks among the most lucrative at the position.

The 26-year-old was limited to 12 games last season due to a torn pectoral muscle. The injury was one of many the Ravens had to deal with in the secondary, so a return to full health will be a welcomed sight in camp. He totalled 13 pass breakups and one interception last season, registering his worst performance to date in most coverage statistics. A bounceback is expected in 2022, when fellow All-Pro Marcus Peters is scheduled to return after being sidelined for all of 2021.

After the restructure, the Ravens still rank towards the bottom of the league in remaining cap space. Nevertheless, they now have the potential to make a modest addition or two in the near future.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/22

July 24th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Sloter just took a visit with the Jaguars on Saturday, and he did enough to land a contract. He has been a member of a number of NFL practice squads since signing with the Broncos as a UDFA in 2017, but he has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game. In nine starts for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers in 2022, he was not especially impressive, completing 57.7% of his passes for 1,798 yards while throwing only nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions. With three other QBs on the Jacksonville roster, Sloter appears to be simply replacing Perry as a camp body at this point.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/22

July 23rd, 2022 at 7:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: QB Luis Perez

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 7/23/22

July 23rd, 2022 at 5:23pm CST by Ely Allen

This week saw two free agents in very different situations get workouts:

  • Former Panthers cornerback Troy Pride worked out for the Ravens on Thursday, according to Adam Caplan of Fox Sports. A fourth-round pick in 2020, Pride started eight games as a rookie before being placed on injured reserve to end the season. A torn ACL in the preseason last year forced him to miss the entire 2021 season. The Panthers waived Pride in May after he failed his physical. He’s looking to join a Ravens defense that currently rosters Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Kyle Fuller, Jalyn Armour-Davis, and others. Baltimore is likely more than willing to add depth at the position after seeing Humphrey and Peters both suffer season-ending injuries last year. The team also cut 2019 fourth-round pick Iman Marshall today, so Pride could be a potential depth addition behind the other two offseason additions of the veteran Fuller and the rookie Armour-Davis.
  • Another USFL story is in the works as former New Orleans Breakers quarterback Kyle Sloter was hosted by the Jaguars on a free agent visit this week, as reported by ESPN’s Field Yates. Sloter has spent time on many NFL practice squads and rosters over the years. Since going undrafted in 2017, Sloter has signed to join the Broncos, Vikings, Cardinals, Lions, Raiders, and Vikings again before his stint in the USFL. Sloter wasn’t one of the names expected to jump leagues. In his 9 weeks of play, Sloter completed 57.7% of his passes for 1,798 yards while throwing only 9 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Perhaps the playing experience will help solidify Sloter into a backup role with a squad or maybe he’ll be slotted as a camp arm. Regardless, with this visit, he’s aiming to compete with C.J. Beathard, Jake Luton, and EJ Perry for the right to backup Trevor Lawrence in Duval.

Ravens Place Six Players On PUP List

July 22nd, 2022 at 5:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens’ 2021 season was derailed by injuries, and the team is still feeling the effects of it as training camp opens up. The team announced on Friday that six players have been placed on the active/PUP list. 

On offense, left tackle Ronnie Stanley is among the players listed. The former All-Pro has played in just one game since October of 2020 due to multiple ankle surgeries. The team has remained optimistic that, unlike last season, a more cautious offseason approach can keep him on the field permanently once the regular season begins. Baltimore has several options to replace him if he remains sidelined, including veteran Ja’Wuan James – himself no stranger to injury problems.

Not surprisingly, running back J.K. Dobbins is also on the list. It was reported earlier this week that the 23-year-old might not be fully recovered from his ACL tear in time for the regular season opener. The progress of his rehab will be worth watching closely during camp, as is the case for fellow back Gus Edwards. He, like Dobbins, missed the 2021 season in its entirety, putting his September availability in question. Free agent signing Mike Davis and sixth-round rookie Tyler Badie could be in line for significant reps in camp.

Two key defenders are on the list as well. Cornerback Marcus Peters was named as a PUP candidate earlier this month, as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in the preseason. His return would be welcomed by the Ravens, who struggled mightily against the pass in 2021 and have a new-look CB room. The other member of the secondary on the list is safety Ar’Darius Washington, a former UDFA in contention for a backup role.

Finally, outside linebacker Tyus Bowser represents another unsurprising name on the list. The Ravens jack-of-all-trades edge rusher suffered a torn Achilles in the regular season finale, leaving his Week 1 availability in doubt throughout the offseason. With second-rounder David Ojabo dealing with the same ailment, Bowsers’ September health will be a key talking point in the build-up to the season.

Any of the above players can be activated at any time, though the chances of that happening in the near future is likely lower than that of many other PUP players previously announced, given the severity of many of these injuries.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/22

July 21st, 2022 at 8:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Lamar Jackson Reports To Training Camp

July 21st, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

While the news of one of the top extension-eligible QBs signing a new deal broke earlier today, there was an important update regarding one of the other signal-callers in that same category. Lamar Jackson reported early to Baltimore’s training camp, as the team confirmed on Twitter. 

The distinct absence of an extension has been a major talking point since the 2020 campaign ended, and increasingly so this offseason. The team has consistently shown a willingness to try and negotiate directly with the agent-less 25-year-old; Jackson’s hesitancy to reciprocate has led to plenty of speculation about his long-term future with the Ravens.

Other factors loom large as well, of course. The gap between Jackson’s statistical performance in his MVP-winning 2019 season and the subsequent pair of campaigns, coupled with his 2021 season-ending ankle injury have caused doubts to be raised about his value on a multi-year deal. With little progress being made throughout much of the time in which Jackson has been eligible for an extension, it has looked more and more likely that he will play out the 2022 season on the fifth-year option ($23MM).

In June, however, talks resumed between the two-time Pro Bowler and general manager Eric DeCosta during mandatory minicamp – which came after Jackson skipped OTAs for the first time in his career. Then, earlier this month, Jackson spoke publicly about his optimism of getting a deal finalized, potentially before training camp opens in full. The chances of that happening seem to remain slim, though.

Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reports that “no deal is imminent” at this time. He does add, on the other hand, that talks are still ongoing. Jackson has been connected to Murray as a member of the next wave of QBs due for extensions in the vicinity of the ones given to Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, along with, more recently, Deshaun Watson‘s fully-guaranteed $230MM pact. The fact that Kyler Murray received a deal worth a fraction more than that total (and with $160MM in guarantees) will only lead to further belief that Jackson will end up in that range as well, regardless of when his deal gets finalized.

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