Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/19
Today’s minor moves will be posted here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Donald Payne
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers from Steelers: CB Jermaine Ponder
- Waived/injured: CB Jermaine Kelly Jr.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: CB Jay Liggins
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Quinten Rollins
- Placed on IR: Greg Mabin
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Josh Smith
- Waived: LB James Folston
Ravens CB Tavon Young Could Miss Season
Ravens slot corner Tavon Young could miss the entire 2019 season after suffering a “serious” neck injury in practice, head coach John Harbuagh told reporters, including Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“Tavon has a more serious issue than we thought. He has a neck issue. It’s a disc issue. That’s a serious injury. He could be out for the remainder of the season. We’ll know soon. But it doesn’t look good for Tavon,” Harbaugh said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
“There is an outside chance that you’d opt to try to see if it’ll heal. But I don’t think we’re recommending that right now. If he gets the procedure done, he’ll be fine and good to go. That’s probably the best thing to do.”
Any neck injury is inherently ominous, and the Ravens obviously view Young’s long-term health as a priority. But it doesn’t sound like the issue is a potential career-ender. Indeed, Harbaugh said that even if Young undergoes the surgery, he should be ready to play in 2020 (Twitter link via Hensley). If Young misses the 2020 campaign, he will have been sidelined in two of his four professional years — a torn ACL during summer workouts ended his 2017 season before it began.
When he has been healthy, however, Young has played like one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the NFL. The 2016 fourth-round pick has seen action on more than 1,400 snaps with the Ravens, managing two interceptions during that time. Among 22 qualifying slot corners, Young in 2018 ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus’ coverage snaps per reception. Meanwhile, the Ravens ranked eighth in DVOA against opposing slot receivers, per Football Outsiders.
Pleased with Young’s production, the Ravens signed him to a three-year, $25.8MM extension that will keep him under contract through 2022. At signing, Young’s pact made him the NFL’s highest-slot corner, although his $8.6MM annual average has since been topped by Justin Coleman, who landed a $9MM yearly salary on a free agent deal with the Lions.
Losing Young will hurt, but Baltimore boasts arguably the league’s best secondary and has the depth to withstand’s Young’s absence. Brandon Carr, who played 242 snaps in the slot in 2018, is probably the most likely candidate to take over inside in a configuration that would allow Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith to play outside corner. Ravens coaches have also been impressed with Cyrus Jones‘ play in the slot, tweets Hensley.
Biggest Roster Weakness: AFC North
The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.
Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club. Today we’ll examine the AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens
- Weakness: Offensive guard. Baltimore doesn’t have a problem at right guard, where future Hall of Famer Marshal Yanda is still playing like one of the NFL’s best offensive linemen. But the Ravens do have a vacancy on the left side after somewhat surprisingly trading Alex Lewis to the Jets earlier this month. At present, 2017 fifth-round pick Jermaine Eluemunor and rookie fourth-rounder Ben Powers are competing to start between left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Matt Skura.
- Solution: See if Graham Glasgow is available. Glasgow was moved off center this offseason to make room for 2018 first-round pick Frank Ragnow, and he’s since been taking some practice reps with Detroit’s second-team offense, as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com recently detailed. While Glasgow may still be in the Lions’ plans, he is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Detroit could opt to go with Kenny Wiggins and the recently-extended Joe Dahl at guard. Glasgow, 26, is due a $2.025MM base salary next season.
Cincinnati Bengals
- Weakness: Offensive tackle depth. After losing first-round pick and projected starting left tackle Jonah Williams to a shoulder injury, the Bengals got desperate, adding longtime Cincinnati security blanket Andre Smith on a one-year deal. He’s essentially the Bengals’ only option behind starters Cordy Glenn and Bobby Hart. When Glenn briefly went down in practice earlier this week, John Jerry — yes, the John Jerry who plays guard and didn’t appear in the NFL in 2018 — slid to left tackle. Send help, please.
- Solution: Send a third-round pick to the Eagles for Halapoulivaati Vaitai. “Big V” doesn’t have a starting role in Philadelphia, and after the Eagles used this year’s first-round pick on fellow offensive tackle Andre Dillard, it’s unclear if Vaitai — whose contract expires after 2019 — has a long-term future with the Birds. Vaitai, a 10-game starter during the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl run, could line up at any number of positions for the Bengals, and if re-signed, would become the club’s right tackle for the long haul. Cincinnati missed out on veteran tackle assistance when Chris Clark (Saints) and Ben Ijalana (Jaguars) landed deals earlier this week.
Cleveland Browns
- Weakness: Left tackle. The Browns are all-in on the 2019 season, and while they’ve accumulated talent at an impressive pace, left tackle is still the one area that could present a concern. Former failed No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson wasn’t a disaster in his eight starts for Cleveland, but among the 106 offensive tackles who saw at least 33% playtime in 2018, Robinson ranked only 60th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking efficiency metric, which measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis.
- Solution: Trade for Trent Williams. As of earlier this week, the Redskins were still reportedly telling teams they have no intention of moving Williams, who had demanded a trade after expressing displeasure with Washington’s handling of both his contract and a health scare. Color me skeptical. The Redskins don’t have much hope of contending this season and have already signed a replacement left tackle in Donald Penn, so I’m guessing Williams could be had for the right price. Cleveland should offer a second-round pick to begin negotiations.
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Weakness: Safety depth. In Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers are returning two safeties who each played on more than 90% of the club’s defensive snaps. But Pittsburgh also released veteran defensive back Morgan Burnett, who saw action on 389 snaps a year ago. The Steelers could use a third safety capable of contributing, and they also need depth, as backups Jordan Dangerfield and Marcus Allen have only played a combined 219 snaps during their respective careers.
- Solution: Acquire Josh Jones from the Packers. The 61st overall selection in the 2017 draft, Jones’ career in Green Bay has never really gotten off the ground. He hasn’t played on more than 70% of the Packers’ snaps in either of his pro campaigns, and Green Bay decisively replaced him this offseason by signing free agent Adrian Amos and drafting Darnell Savage in the first round. Jones read the writing on the wall and requested a trade in May. He’d be able to fit in Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler‘s scheme as a “big nickel.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: DT Elijah Qualls
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Demetrius Rhaney, DT Roderick Young
- Placed on injured reserve: DT Robert Thomas
- Waived: OL Nico Siragusa
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: DT Tracy Sprinkle, C John Yarbrough
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Carson Meier
- Waived/injured: RB Roc Thomas
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Micky Crum, LB Christian Kuntz
- Waived: LB J.T. Jones, CB Jermaine Ponder
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: TE Brandon Barnes
- Waived: CB Isaiah Langley
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Shane Bowman
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Bryant Mitchell
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB James Folston
- Waived/injured: LB Jordan Williams
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the night.
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: P Sean Smith
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR Emanuel Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: T Kent Perkins
Green Bay Packers
- Waived/failed physical: CB Derrick Jones
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: LB Josh Corcoran
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Jake Powell
- Placed on IR: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
- Waived: DE Alex Jenkins
- Waived/injured: TE Isaiah Searight
New York Jets
- Waived: TE Nick Truesdell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DT Aziz Shittu
- Waived/injured: S Blake Countess
- Reverts to IR: WR Shelton Gibson
Seattle Seahawks
- Released from IR: TE Tyrone Swoopes
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: DE Dare Odeyingbo
Vikings To Acquire K Kaare Vedvik From Ravens
The Kaare Vedvik sweepstakes will end with the Ravens sending their backup kicker to the Vikings, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Minnesota will send a 2020 fifth-round pick to Baltimore.
Not previously mentioned as a destination for the suddenly in-demand specialist, the Vikings outflanked a rival that almost certainly was in that mix. The Bears, who have featured one of the more public kicker needs in modern NFL history, were reported to be in the hunt for Vedvik. So were the Jets and two other teams. Instead, Vedvik will wear a slightly different shade of purple soon.
Interestingly, Schefter adds Vedvik could be used as Minnesota’s kicker and punter. Dan Bailey and Matt Wile serve as the Vikings’ incumbents at those roles. It would be obviously unique for a team to use a specialist for both roles in this era. When asked about the trade report Sunday, Mike Zimmer said, “I really like Dan Bailey,” Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
The Ravens have stashed Vedvik, a 2018 UDFA, for two offseasons and kept him on IR last season in hopes of a future trade. The mid-Day 3 return represents good value for a kicker without any NFL game experience. He did, however, connect on each of his four field goal tries in the Ravens’ preseason opener. This included a 55-yarder.
For the most part, Vedvik only saw action for two seasons at Marshall. He did serve as the Thundering Herd’s kicker and punter in his 2017 senior season, however. The Norwegian-born specialist also began as a punter before seeing action as a kicker. Vedvik was Marshall’s punter for two seasons and made 10 of 16 field goals for the Conference USA program as a senior.
For the Vikings, this represents another fifth-round draft choice used on a kicker. They drafted Daniel Carlson in Round 5 in 2018 but cut him after a woeful performance against the Packers in a Week 2 tie. Bailey became the Vikings’ kicker soon after. The longtime Cowboy made 21 of 28 field goal tries as a Viking, also hitting 30 of 31 PATs. A fourth-year punter, Wile averaged 45.2 yards per boot (14th in the NFL) last season in Minnesota.
At Least Four Teams Inquire On Ravens K Kaare Vedvik
Not many backup kickers have generated the type of interest that Ravens’ understudy Kaare Vedvik has, but not many backup kickers are as talented as Vedvik. We learned on Saturday that the Bears and Jets are interested in Vedvik, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that at least four teams have approached Baltimore about a trade (Twitter link).
Schefter says that at least two of the four teams are in the NFC North, and it’s almost certain that Chicago is one of the inquiring clubs. The Lions appear set at the position with Matt Prater, but it’s not at all surprising to learn that the Packers and/or Vikings are interested in a potential upgrade.
Vedvik, a Norwegian-born kicker who played his college ball at Marshall, signed with the Ravens as a UDFA last year and was extremely impressive last preseason. He was generating plenty of trade buzz before a bizarre assault landed him in the hospital and on the non-football injury list. However, he has picked up right where he left off, nailing all four of his field goal attempts in the Ravens’ first preseason game on Thursday, including a 55-yard boot.
He is also a gifted punter, and as such, any acquiring team could fill two roster spots with one player. Unless Justin Tucker or Sam Koch suffers an injury over the coming weeks, Baltimore will surely trade Vedvik, and the team will have no shortage of potential trade partners.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day.
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: C John Yarbrough
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: FB Joe Kerridge
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Justin Stockton
- Placed on IR: WR Jermaine Kearse (full story), NT Darius Kilgo
- Waived/injured: CB Tarvarus McFadden
Green Bay Packers
- Released: WR Jawill Davis
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Tracy Sprinkle
- Waived: LB Chris Landrum
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nate Theaker
- Released-NFI: G Ian Silberman
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Nick Truesdell
- Waived: CB Derrick Jones
New Orleans Saints
- Released: TE Jake Powell
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Brandon Wilds
- Waived: S Tyree Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB J.T. Barrett, LB Juwon Young
- Waived: SS Marwin Evans, LB Chris Worley
Free Agent CB Lardarius Webb Retires
One of the longest-tenured defenders in Ravens history, Lardarius Webb announced his retirement Saturday. The free agent defensive back did not play last season but was an integral Baltimore contributor for most of the 2010s.
The Ravens released Webb at the start of the 2018 offseason, doing so after making the same transaction in March 2017. But unlike in 2017, the team did not re-sign him. Webb worked out for multiple teams, the Titans and Saints, last year but did not end up catching on anywhere. The 33-year-old defender will retire after a nine-year career — spent entirely in Baltimore.
Only Ed Reed and Chris McAlister started more games as Ravens secondary members than Webb, who was an 86-game starter between 2009-17. The former third-round pick served as a key part of the many successful Raven defenses during the team’s run of playoff berths to start John Harbaugh‘s tenure, becoming a full-time starting cornerback by the 2011 season.
Months prior to the Ravens’ Super Bowl championship 2012 season, they extended Webb on a five-year, $50MM deal. Although an injury ended his 2012 slate after six games, Webb returned as a full-timer and retained that status through the 2016 season.
The Nicholls State alum concluded his career with 15 interceptions and 409 solo tackles (fourth in Ravens history) in 127 career games.
Jets, Bears Eyeing Ravens K Kaare Vedvik?
We heard earlier today that the Jets were auditioning a pair of kickers, but it sounds like the front office could instead opt for a trade. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets that the Jets could make a run at Ravens kicker Kaare Vedvik, a player the organization was eyeing last offseason. However, Mehta adds that the Jets are convinced that the Bears will ultimately pull off a trade for Vedvik.
As Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com writes, the 25-year-old Vedvik was a standout during last year’s preseason and this year’s training camp. The kicker was hospitalized last September after being assaulted in Baltimore, and Vedvik spent the rest of the season sitting on the non-football injury list. This year, the special teamer is healthy, but he naturally has no chance of winning the starting gig over Justin Tucker. Therefore, hearing his name on the trade block isn’t that much of a surprise, especially since coach John Harbaugh said back in March that the player would likely be dealt.
“I fully expect that he’ll kick well enough for us to trade him,” Harbaugh said (via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley). “That’s kind of the goal. He’s capable of kicking in the NFL. We probably could have traded him last year.”
The Jets are hunting for competition to current starter Chandler Catanzaro, who missed a pair of extra points during his team’s preseason opener. Meanwhile, the Bears are watching as a pair of unproven options, Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry, battle for the starting gig. The Bears were connected to veteran Robbie Gould before he inked an extension with the 49ers.