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Giants Release LB Blake Martinez, Claim G Tyre Phillips

September 1st, 2022 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants had Blake Martinez on their initial 53-man roster, but as of Thursday afternoon, he is a free agent. New York released the veteran linebacker.

This removes a seventh-year veteran from Big Blue’s linebacking corps. Martinez accepted a pay cut this offseason, coming after he suffered an ACL tear early during the 2021 slate. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com tweets, this was a peculiar move by the Giants; the team basically guaranteed him an extra $2MM before ultimately cutting him. This is believed to be a mutual parting, per ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter). Martinez was at practice Thursday but had been excused Wednesday.

Martinez’s departure will clear a path for Tyre Phillips, the former Ravens guard whom the Giants claimed earlier Thursday. The Ravens waived Phillips on Wednesday. The Ravens had hoped Phillips would clear waivers and return to the team via a practice squad agreement, per ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley (on Twitter), but the former Baltimore starter did not make too far down the league’s priority list.

A former Packers fourth-round pick, Martinez posted four straight seasons of at least 140 tackles over his final three Green Bay years and his 2020 Giants debut. During an offseason that featured then-GM Dave Gettleman dole out big contracts to Martinez and James Bradberry, the former signed a three-year, $30MM deal. Following Martinez’s ACL tear, Gettleman stepped down. Big Blue’s new regime worked with Martinez to bring him back in March, but the team may be moving toward younger pieces at the lower-value linebacker spots.

Martinez, 28, played in two of the Giants’ preseason games after sitting out their August opener. Former seventh-rounder Tae Crowder is in line to start for the Giants, who used a fifth-round pick on Micah McFadden this year.

A 2020 third-round pick, Phillips, 25, started 13 games for the Ravens over his two seasons with the team. He became the team’s Week 1 starter as a rookie and was in position as Baltimore’s starting left guard to start last season as well. But multiple injuries derailed Phillips’ time in Maryland. The Ravens moved on with Ben Powers and Ben Cleveland as their non-Kevin Zeitler guard contingent.

The Giants have been busy up front this offseason. After injuries ransacked their 2021 O-line, the Giants added four first-string blockers (center Jon Feliciano, guards Mark Glowinski and Joshua Ezeudu, tackle Evan Neal). They also placed guard Shane Lemieux on IR Wednesday, sidelining him for at least four games. Phillips would represent a veteran alongside Ezeudu, a third-round rookie.

Restructure Details: Stanley, Hill, Smith-Schuster, Vannett

August 31st, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ely Allen

As teams around the NFL attempt to navigate the salary cap while putting together the rosters with which they will open the season, a couple of players have agreed to rework their current contracts in order to give their teams a bit more breathing room. Here are a few notable examples:

  • Ronnie Stanley, LT (Ravens): Baltimore addressed a major stressor today by converting $8.47MM of star left tackle Stanley’s salary this year into a signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. The move resulted in the creation of $6.35MM of cap space for the 2022 season. This is a win-win for both sides. The Ravens gave Stanley a five-year, $112.8MM contract extension mid-season in 2020 that made him the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time. Since signing the contract, Stanley has played in two total games. With this compromise, Stanley still gets money from the contract while giving the Ravens a bit of relief on what stood to be the 20th largest cap hit in the NFL this season. After initially holding a cap hit of $18.55MM, Stanley will now represent a much easier to swallow $12.2MM of the Ravens’ cap space this year.
  • Troy Hill, CB (Rams): Los Angeles will make its cap struggles a bit easier by exercising a pre-existing option in Hill’s contract that will lower his 2022 cap hit by about $2MM, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Hill returned to his long-time home in Los Angeles sporting a one-year-old contract from the Browns. The Rams decided to trade for their former cornerback a year after losing out on him to a two-year, $9MM deal from Cleveland. The option will lower Hill’s 2022 cap hit from $4.5MM to only $2.5MM.
  • JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR (Chiefs): Smith-Schuster decided in his second stint with free agency to join a new franchise, signing with the Chiefs on a one-year, $3.76MM contract. The deal was already extremely incentive-laden, but Kansas City decided to give the former-Steelers’ receiver an opportunity at a bit higher of a bonus total in a cost-efficient, cap-savvy move. According to Yates, the Chiefs agreed to an amended contract that will increase Smith-Schuster’s per-game active roster bonus from $30K to $60K. This will increase his potential season total in such bonuses from $510K to $1.02MM. What’s interesting is that, of the additional $510K, only $150K will be attributed to this year’s salary cap. Since Smith-Schuster only appeared in five games last season, only five games-worth of the additional $30K per game will count against the 2022 salary cap. The remaining $360K will be applied to the 2023 salary cap.
  • Nick Vannett, TE (Saints): New Orleans brought in a solid run-blocking tight end in Vannett last offseason on a three-year, $8MM deal. Unfortunately, the Saints were only able to get seven games of action out of Vannett last year in a season that saw him miss the first 10 weeks of the season. Perhaps a reaction to the absences last year, the Saints were able to convince Vannett to sign a reworked deal that would lower his 2022 base salary from $2.6MM to $1.04MM, according to a tweet from Yates. The lowered payout will result in about $1.55MM of cap space for New Orleans.

S Tony Jefferson To Join Giants’ Practice Squad

August 31st, 2022 at 5:39pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tony Jefferson was a notable name amongst the Ravens’ final roster cuts, but the belief was that he would return to the team’s practice squad. The veteran safety is indeed joining a taxi squad, but not in Baltimore. 

Jefferson is signing with the Giants, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec and Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano (Twitter links). That represents a surprise given where things stood two days ago, though New York is a logical landing spot. With the Giants, Jefferson will be reunited with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who held the same post during their shared time in Baltimore.

Jefferson has significant starting experience dating back to his time with the Cardinals to start his career. That led him to the Ravens in free agency, where he partnered with Eric Weddle until his midseason 2019 knee injury. That opened up a starting spot for Chuck Clark, who has remained a first-teamer ever since. He, along with free agent addition Marcus Williams and first-round rookie Kyle Hamilton will serve as the Ravens’ top safeties.

Jefferson will likely face less of a logjam in the Big Apple. New York has Xavier McKinney and Julian Love at the top of the depth chart, but a lack of experience behind them. 2021 fifth-rounder Jason Pinnock and fourth-round rookie Dane Belton are currently projected as backups, so Jefferson could take on at least a rotational role on the team’s backend.

If he has fully recovered from the four surgeries required by his knee injury, Jefferson could find a spot under Martindale, as the Giants look to take a step forward in 2022.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC North

August 31st, 2022 at 3:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Baltimore Ravens

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed: 

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ravens To Sign RB Kenyan Drake

August 31st, 2022 at 3:19pm CST by Adam La Rose

AUGUST 31: The deal is going through. Drake will join his fourth team, with Rapoport adding the Ravens have agreed to terms with the seventh-year back (Twitter link).

AUGUST 30: With plenty of questions still surrounding their RB room, the Ravens are set to make an addition at the position. Baltimore is hosting veteran Kenyan Drake and “likely will sign him” pending a physical, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

The 28-year-old was on the roster bubble in Vegas, leading to the recent announcement that he would either be traded or cut. Nothing materialized on the trade front, as expected, leaving Drake on the open market. His Raiders tenure lasted one season, and produced 254 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns; he added 30 catches for 291 yards and another score across his 12 games played.

Despite his release causing $8MM in total dead cap charges, the Raiders were willing to proceed with the move. That leaves the team with Josh Jacobs in the No. 1 spot for at least one more season, as they declined his fifth-year option, and a mix of veterans and rookies behind him. Drake will enter a similarly-crowded Ravens backfield, but he should be in line for a more significant workload.

Baltimore could have lead back J.K. Dobbins on the field for the first time since 2020 as early as Week 1, but he will not handle a full starter’s workload right away. That, coupled with the absence of backup Gus Edwards for at least the first four games of the season, leaves plenty of snaps available for other options. That list includes veteran Mike Davis and sixth-round rookie Tyler Badie.

Drake will compete with those two for a role in the build-up to the regular season. At least until Dobbins and Edwards are back to full health, he should give the team a more proven pass-catching back.

Ravens Waive G Tyre Phillips, Claim LB Del’Shawn Phillips

August 31st, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Ravens guard starter to open each of the past two seasons, Tyre Phillips is now on the waiver wire. The Ravens moved on from the young offensive lineman Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The team attempted to trade the talented but injury-prone O-lineman, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec (on Twitter), but scant interest came. Baltimore is moving forward with Ben Cleveland and Ben Powers instead. Kevin Zeitler remains in place as the Ravens’ right guard starter. Versatile veteran Patrick Mekari remains with the team as well.

Phillips has started 13 games for the Ravens. While teams were not willing to give up a draft pick for Phillips, it would not surprise if the 2020 third-round pick was claimed on waivers. The Ravens could also stash him on their practice squad. He is a candidate to be on Baltimore’s 16-man taxi squad, Zrebiec tweets. Phillips, however, did not fare well during preseason play. He also missed extensive time due to injury in 2020 and ’21.

The Ravens claimed linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips off waivers from the Jets, Zrebiec adds (via Twitter). Del’Shawn Phillips, 25, played in 17 games — mostly as a backup — with the Jets last season.

Ravens Drop Roster To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 5:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens have confirmed their final roster cuts, bringing the squad to the league-mandated 53-man limit. Like many teams, they are releasing a number of vested veterans with the intention of keeping them in the fold in the coming days, once other necessary moves have been made. Here is the list of Baltimore’s departures:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

Badie might be the most surprising inclusion on the list. The sixth-round rookie led the SEC in rushing yards last year, but the team has had a crowded RB room throughout the offseason. Badie was though to be in competition with veteran Mike Davis for the No. 3 spot. Another notable name is soon to be added to the mix in the form of Kenyan Drake, though. Badie would, considering his age, represent a practice squad priority should he clear waivers.

Hayes was a fifth-round pick last season, but was limited to one appearance as a rookie. That extended absence, coupled with his relative lack of college production, could make him another practice squad candidate. Still, his inclusion – along with that of Means – is noteworthy given the team’s lack of depth in the edge rush department. Either of them departing to another roster could make the position even more of a priority than it is now.

Like Jefferson, Urban was named in the build-up to today’s deadline as a likely veteran to be released temporarily, while having a handshake agreement in place to return later in the week. The Canadian began his career in Baltimore, and returned this offseason as one of many changes the team has made along the defensive line.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/22

August 29th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm Tuesday to slash their rosters from 80 to 53 players. Here are the Monday moves teams are making en route to doing so. The list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Ravens To Release S Tony Jefferson

August 29th, 2022 at 3:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens have begun their final roster cuts, and a notable veteran is among them. Safety Tony Jefferson is being released, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). 

The safety position has seen plenty of turnover this offseason in Baltimore; Marcus Williams was the team’s top free agent signing, and the Ravens used the first of their two Day 1 selections on Kyle Hamilton in the draft. Those two, along with incumbent Chuck Clark, left Jefferson a narrow path to an initial roster spot.

Jefferson, 30, opened his career with the Cardinals, putting up consistent numbers while taking on a larger snap share with each passing year. That led him to Baltimore in free agency, where was a full-time starter until the midway point of the 2019 campaign. A knee injury left him sidelined him for the entire 2020 season, and led to four surgeries being required. He returned to Baltimore late this past year.

As a vested veteran, the Oklahoma product is not subject to waivers, and could sign anywhere in free agency. However, as has been the case with a number of respected veterans recently, the Ravens are likely to bring Jefferson back in the next day of so. Per Jeff Zrebiec of the Athletic (subscription required), Baltimore could simply wait until tomorrow’s necessary paper transactions (such as transferring injured players from the 53-man squad to IR) until re-signing him.

Assuming that takes place, Jefferson will be able to demonstrate his new-found health while competing with a number of younger options for a depth role on the team’s backend. If he remains willing to sign with the team on a handshake agreement, he could also be a practice squad candidate throughout the campaign, one in which the Ravens once again have high expectations on both sides of the ball.

Ravens Notes: Dobbins, Jones, OLBs

August 29th, 2022 at 9:17am CST by Adam La Rose

Earlier this month, the Ravens got their top RB back on the practice field when they activated J.K. Dobbins. It was a welcomed sign for the team, after the former second-rounder missed the entire 2021 season with a torn ACL.

Dobbins is still not a lock to suit up in Week 1 as he continues to recover from the injury, however. As a result, he “won’t get a full workload” immediately upon his return, notes ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. The Ohio State product took over the lead role midway through his rookie season, averaging six yards per carry and scoring nine total touchdowns. Those figures led to major expectations last season, but his year-long absence (along with that of backup Gus Edwards, who will also miss at least the first month of the 2022 season) dealt a major blow to Baltimore’s run game.

The Ravens, unsurprisingly, will ease Dobbins back into lead-back duties. Given that, and Edwards’ ongoing recovery, the team will turn to a combination of veteran signing Mike Davis and, in all likelihood, sixth-round rookie Tyler Badie in support roles in the backfield.

Here are some other notes from Charm City:

  • Dobbins isn’t the only promising young player whose health status the team is watching carefully. Rookie defensive lineman Travis Jones is dealing with a sprained knee which should keep him sidelined for three to five weeks, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The third-rounder had an impressive training camp and preseason, and will be in line for at least a rotational role right way. The chances of his debut coming in Week 1 are greatly lessened by this news, though, so the Ravens will lean more heavily on starter Michael Pierce in the middle of the d-line.
  • The Ravens have been named as a potential landing spot for a veteran edge signing throughout the offseason, given the team’s relative lack of moves at the position. Especially considering the fact that projected starter Tyus Bowser was placed on the reserve/PUP list last week (guaranteeing that he will miss the first four weeks of the season), the team is thin at the position until he and/or second-round rookie David Ojabo recover from their respective Achilles tears. As such, a pass rush addition of some kind should be expected, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Athletic (subscription required). Jason Pierre-Paul, who visited the team earlier this offseason, tops the list of remaining free agents; plenty of other names are due to become available as well during final roster cuts.
  • In that same piece, Zrebiec also notes that wideout Demarcus Robinson‘s deal, signed last week, includes nearly $900K in guaranteed money. That should help ensure he remains on the roster, something he wasn’t able to do with the Raiders. The veteran had four catches for 135 yards and a touchdown during the team’s preseason finale, and figures to play a notable role in their receiver rotation.
  • Safety Tony Jefferson could find himself on the roster bubble tomorrow, but not for a lack of effort to return to his previous form. The 30-year-old suffered a knee injury in 2019 which cost him his starting spot; he underwent a total of four surgeries to repair the damage, Zrebiec details. Jefferson understandably considered retirement during the process, but has now recovered to the point where he came back to Baltimore last season and could carve out a role on the 2022 squad as well.
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