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Bears Not Expected To Trade CB Jaylon Johnson

October 31st, 2023 at 2:36pm CST by Adam La Rose

On a day when the Bears have made one major addition, they do not appear poised to subtract significantly from their roster. Chicago is expected to retain cornerback Jaylon Johnson, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

[RELATED: Bears Acquire Montez Sweat From Commanders]

Johnson’s already-murky future with the Bears saw a notable development earlier today when he was given permission to seek a trade. To no surprise, interest in the 24-year-old picked up with the 49ers and Bills among the team conducting trade talks on a potential Johnson swap. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes that the Bears put a high price on Johnson, which has no doubt limited how willing contenders have been to acquire him.

The former second-rounder is in a contract year, and his financial status is at the heart of the uncertainty surrounding his tenure in the Windy City. Johnson recently indicated that talks on an extension were set to pick up, but no serious ground appears to have been gained in that regard. Any acquiring team would have needed to hand out a lucrative new pact upon his arrival, or used the franchise tag on him. The latter move would carry a cost of roughly $19.5MM in 2024. CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports no in-season extension talks will be held in the wake of a trade not materializing.

Johnson and his camp may very well have used the past few hours to gauge his market with respect to his value on a second contract. No serious suitors emerging could be a sign he is not viewed as being worth a CB1-level investment, though the depth in which a potential trade was discussed is not currently known. On that point, the Bills made an “aggressive attempt” for the Utah alum, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. For the time being, Johnson – who has remained an anchor of the Bears’ secondary and recorded a pair of interceptions and four pass deflections this year – can continue his fourth season in Chicago knowing he will close out the campaign there ahead of what will no doubt be an interesting offseason in his case.

Packers To Send CB Rasul Douglas To Bills

October 31st, 2023 at 2:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mentioned as team pursuing cornerback help, the Bills will acquire it in the form of Rasul Douglas. The Packers are sending their Jaire Alexander sidekick to Buffalo, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

The Bills have lost No. 1 corner Tre’Davious White for the season, after an early-October Achilles tear, and have not seen much from 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam. While Elam remains on Buffalo’s roster — after trade rumors swirled last week — the team will have a veteran boundary corner en route to help the cause. The Bills are sending the Packers a third-round pick in exchange for Douglas and a fifth, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweets. These are each 2024 draft choices, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

Green Bay re-signed Douglas to a three-year, $21MM deal during last year’s free agency period, doing so after the 2021 waiver claim showed quality form to help that Packers edition earn another No. 1 seed. With the Packers (2-5) no longer near that point in their first post-Aaron Rodgers season, they will sell at the deadline. This would give Eric Stokes a starting spot to return to, but the 2021 first-round pick is on IR. Rumors of Douglas moving to safety were unfounded, and the latter opened the season as the outside starter opposite Alexander.

This will not be a difficult contract for the Bills to absorb this season. The Packers restructured Douglas’ deal previously, leaving a prorated $1.1MM in base salary coming to the Bills’ cap sheet. Douglas is due $6.25MM in nonguaranteed money next year.

On the field, Douglas will be expected to step in as a starter at some point. The Bills have used former sixth- and seventh-rounders — Christian Benford and Dane Jackson — as their primary outside cover men since White’s injury. Elam has not shown enough growth, and he will have a tougher road to late-season playing time now.

Buffalo pursued Chicago contract-year standout Jaylon Johnson, after the Bears granted him permission to seek a trade. The team made what is believed to be an aggressive effort to pry him from the Windy City, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets, but the Bears rebuffed all Johnson inquiries today. Chicago holding onto Johnson led to Buffalo finding its upgrade on another NFC North roster. The Bears were seeking a big return for Johnson; the Bills will make a midlevel move for Douglas, who is in his age-29 season.

Douglas intercepted nine passes between the 2021 and ’22 seasons, doing so despite playing different positions. After successfully replacing Alexander in 2021, Douglas moved to the slot to accommodate the highly paid defender’s return last year. That effort did not go well, but the Packers moved him back outside after Stokes’ midseason injury last year. Douglas and Alexander began this season as Green Bay’s perimeter corners, with Keisean Nixon inside. The Bills have Taron Johnson entrenched in the slot, which stands to allow Douglas to see boundary reps soon.

Pro Football Focus slots Douglas 18th overall among corners this season; he has one interception and six pass breakups. The Bills are in a crucial year, as Von Miller is now 34 and Stefon Diggs turns 30 next month. They also have rental pass rusher Leonard Floyd (31) on a one-year deal. A 2017 Eagles third-round pick who contributed to the team’s Super Bowl LII-winning season as a rookie, Douglas will be in position to help a Bills defense that ranks 14th in DVOA. With games against the Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys and Dolphins still on the schedule, the Bills were probably wise to at least upgrade at one defensive spot. The team will still not be at full strength for those games, with Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones out indefinitely.

Bills, 49ers Discussing Jaylon Johnson With Bears

October 31st, 2023 at 10:14am CST by Sam Robinson

Jaylon Johnson‘s request to be traded has produced multiple interested buyers. The Bills and 49ers are in discussions with the Bears about acquiring the contract-year cornerback, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports.

It is not known if these are the only two teams in on the ascending cover man, but Buffalo and San Francisco have each been previously linked to seeking CB assistance. Johnson would be poised to step in as a starter for either team, with the Bills in particular — seeing as they have lost Tre’Davious White at the position and Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones elsewhere on defense — being a team in need.

The Bills have not seen their 2022 first-round cornerback investment — Kaiir Elam — take off. The Florida alum could not wrest a starting job away from 2022 sixth-rounder Christian Benford, and White’s Achilles tear has not led to regular playing time this season. Benford and Dane Jackson stand as Buffalo’s starting outside corners, with Taron Johnson still manning the slot. Elam has come up in trades, with the Bills seemingly already admitting a misstep in the 2022 draft.

With Von Miller in his age-34 season and Stefon Diggs turning 30 next month, the Bills have a fair amount of urgency to capitalize on their strong roster this season. The White, Milano and Jones injuries have understandably hindered the three-time reigning AFC East champions’ defense. Today marks the Bills’ best opportunity to upgrade; the trade deadline looms in less than five hours.

Despite returning the corners from a No. 1-ranked defense, the 49ers have struggled in recent weeks. Both the Vikings and Bengals bested the 49ers’ secondary, with Minnesota doing so without Justin Jefferson, in upset wins. The 49ers have allowed more than 400 yards in back-to-back games. While Pro Football Focus ranks Charvarius Ward as a top-20 corner, Deommodore Lenoir sits outside the top 50. Some among the 49ers also liked Johnson in the 2020 draft, per ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner.

The 49ers also bring some urgency, having lost the past two NFC championship games. The Seahawks have since passed the 49ers in the NFC West race, with Kyle Shanahan‘s team slipping to 4-3. The 49ers also hold the most cap space in the NFL. While that will not matter much in a pursuit of Johnson, who is in the final year of a second-round rookie contract, San Francisco does have some ammo other teams do not if upgrades are truly sought today.

PFF’s No. 3 overall corner this season, Johnson has gone from angling for a Bears extension in the offseason to discussing a deal last week to being granted permission to find a trade partner. The Bears will undoubtedly seek a strong return to move the former second-round pick, as they would be in position to net a mid-round compensatory choice if Johnson leaves in free agency. The Bears have not been shy about dealing Ryan Pace-era defensive bastions, having moved Roquan Smith, Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack under second-year GM Ryan Poles.

Both Werder and CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson note the Cowboys are not believed to be in this late-forming derby. After Jerry Jones indicated a satisfaction with the team he has assembled, Anderson adds the price for Johnson is believed to be dissuading the Cowboys from making a genuine push. Dallas has been without Trevon Diggs for a few weeks now, with the All-Pro corner suffering an ACL tear in practice.

Bills To Sign RB Leonard Fournette

October 30th, 2023 at 12:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a seven-plus-month stay in free agency, Leonard Fournette has found a new home. The former top-five pick agreed to terms with the Bills on Monday, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets.

Fournette will join a Bills team that recently placed Damien Harris on IR. While this will be a practice squad deal for the former Jaguars and Buccaneers back, it would certainly not surprise if Fournette suited up soon. Teams continually use the P-squad as a bridge to bring veterans onto active rosters, and Schultz indicates that will be the plan here.

This agreement comes after an interesting news cycle, one that featured a report indicating the Bills planned to meet with Fournette and another confirming no such visit took place. Nevertheless, the Bills had the seventh-year back on their radar. Fournette will join a backfield housing James Cook and Latavius Murray.

He of two 1,000-yard seasons in Jacksonville and a key role in Tampa, Fournette profiles as an interesting piece for the Buffalo offense. The Bills had added Harris on a one-year, $1.77MM accord in March. But the neck injury he sustained in Week 6 changed the team’s plans. Harris had worked as a Cook complementary piece, taking handoffs near the goal line at points. Murray has been a between-the-tackles supporting-caster as well, and the Bills have rolled with a Cook-Murray tandem since the Harris injury. It is unclear if Harris will return this season, but the Bills have insurance going forward.

When the Bucs released Fournette in February, it was described as a mutual separation. But Fournette languished in free agency for much of the year and did not land a deal until midseason. The LSU product worked out for the Patriots and was on the Colts’ radar during their period with both Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss out of the picture. No deals commenced; both teams brought in other backs. Fournette, 28, should at least be fresh after taking half the season off. He also has not topped 200 carries in a season since his final Jaguars slate (2019).

Choosing Fournette over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in 2017, the Jaguars did benefit from the power runner in the late 2010s. Fournette drove a Jags offense down Allen Robinson to the AFC championship game, but a falling out transpired that led to a summer 2020 release. The Bucs used Fournette primarily as a backup during the 2020 regular season, but the “Playoff Lenny” moniker soon took hold, with the free agency pickup totaling 448 scrimmage yards in four Bucs postseason efforts that year. Fournette supplanted Jones as the Bucs’ starter and held that job for two more seasons.

After a productive 2021, the Bucs gave Fournette a three-year, $21MM deal in March 2022. This mirrored the contract the Cardinals handed James Conner. While the latter remains attached to those terms, Fournette had to settle for a P-squad pact that will turn into veteran-minimum money if/once he lands on Buffalo’s active roster. The Bucs guaranteed Fournette $9MM at signing, and he earned $27MM fully guaranteed on his Jags rookie deal. Hitting free agency during a brutal time for the RB position, Fournette will now attempt to re-establish his value as a Bills role player.

Russini’s Latest: Broncos, Jets, Eagles

October 29th, 2023 at 10:22am CST by Rory Parks

Dianna Russini of The Athletic has been especially prolific with respect to trade deadline reporting. As we approach the October 31 cutoff, here are a few of Russini’s latest updates from around the league (subscription required):

  • Broncos wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy have once again featured prominently in this year’s trade rumors. However, a deal has never felt imminent, and none of the current offers that Denver has received have come close to the club’s asking price. One general manager who has spoken with the Broncos told Russini that the team is not “selling cheaply.” Russini confirms previous reports indicating that cornerback Patrick Surtain is not available, despite understandable outside interest in his services.
  • We heard yesterday that the Bills could be looking to move 2022 first-rounder Kaiir Elam, and Russini reports that Buffalo is looking into cornerback additions. She does not say so specifically, but it could be that the Bills are looking for a replacement for Elam, who has not yet lived up to his draft status.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPN.com confirms that Jets GM Joe Douglas is willing to move running back Dalvin Cook and edge defender Carl Lawson, especially after both players recently expressed frustration with their current roles. Unsurprisingly, though, Russini reports that Douglas is not getting many calls on either player. Lawson is a healthy scratch for today’s game against the Giants.
  • Echoing her report from earlier this month, Russini writes that the Cardinals are still not looking to trade wideout Marquise Brown, even though they have received trade interest in the contract-year speedster.
  • They might be low on cap space, and they might have already made one significant trade acquisition in safety Kevin Byard, but Russini says the Eagles are still looking to buy and are interested in a linebacker. The 49ers are also working the phones and have interest in an edge rusher and a cornerback.
  • Unlike the Eagles and Niners, the Chiefs, Falcons, and Texans are among the clubs that are expected to stand down at the deadline.

2023 NFL Cap Space, By Team

October 28th, 2023 at 8:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

The countdown to this year’s October 31 trade deadline continues, and a number of deals have already been made. More will follow in the coming days, though, as contending teams look to bolster their rosters for the stretch run and sellers seek to offload expiring contracts and gain future draft assets. Much will be driven, of course, by each squad’s financial situation.

Courtesy of Over the Cap, here’s a breakdown of every team’s cap space in advance of the deadline:

  1. San Francisco 49ers: $39.89MM
  2. Cleveland Browns: $33.99MM
  3. Arizona Cardinals: $11.1MM
  4. Cincinnati Bengals: $10.78MM
  5. Tennessee Titans: $10.55MM
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: $9.16MM
  7. Chicago Bears: $9.06MM
  8. Los Angeles Chargers: $9.05MM
  9. Indianapolis Colts: $8.78MM
  10. Minnesota Vikings: $7.96MM
  11. Green Bay Packers: $7.55MM
  12. New York Jets: $7.17MM
  13. Seattle Seahawks: $7.16MM
  14. Carolina Panthers: $7.07MM
  15. Dallas Cowboys: $7.03MM
  16. Baltimore Ravens: $6.83MM
  17. Atlanta Falcons: $6.76MM
  18. Detroit Lions: $6.62MM
  19. Jacksonville Jaguars: $6.42MM
  20. New Orleans Saints: $4.67MM
  21. Buffalo Bills: $4.58MM
  22. Los Angeles Rams: $4.37MM
  23. Houston Texans: $4.26MM
  24. Washington Commanders: $3.78MM
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: $3.7MM
  26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $3.63MM
  27. Miami Dolphins: $3.49MM
  28. New England Patriots: $2.87MM
  29. Philadelphia Eagles: $2.81MM
  30. Pittsburgh Steelers: $2.55MM
  31. Denver Broncos: $1.22MM
  32. New York Giants: $991K

The 49ers have carried considerable space throughout the season, but general manager John Lynch made it clear last month the team’s intention was to roll over most of their funds into next season. Still, with San Francisco sitting at 5-2 on the year, it would come as little surprise if at least one more depth addition (separate from the Randy Gregory move) were to be made in the near future.

Deals involving pick swaps for role players dominated the trade landscape for some time, but more noteworthy contributors have been connected to a potential swap recently. One of them – Titans safety Kevin Byard – has already been dealt. That has led to speculation Tennessee is open to dealing other big names as they look to 2024. Derrick Henry’s name has come up multiple times with respect to a deal sending him out of Nashville, but that now seems unlikely.

Several edge rushers are on the market, including Danielle Hunter (Vikings) and one or both of Montez Sweat and Chase Young (Commanders). Hunter nearly found himself with the Jaguars this offseason, and last year’s AFC South winners could be on the lookout for a pass rush boost. A mid-level addition in that regard would come as little surprise. In Minnesota and Washington’s case, however, it remains to be seen if they will be true sellers given their 3-4 records heading into tomorrow’s action.

A number of receivers could also be on the move soon. Both the Broncos’ pair of Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton and the Panthers’ Terrace Marshall have been involved heavily in trade talk. Jeudy and Sutton are on the books at an eight figure price tag next season, and the Broncos are unlikely to receive the draft capital they could have at prior points in their Denver tenures. Marshall, by contrast, is in the third season of his four-year rookie contract and could fit more comfortably into an acquiring team’s cap situation. The Panthers have allowed him to seek out a trade partner.

The Cowboys sit in the top half of the league in terms of spending power, but mixed signals initially came out with respect to their interest in making a splash. Owner Jerry Jones has insisted Dallas will not initiate negotiations on a trade, citing his confidence in a 4-2 roster which has been hit by a few notable injuries on defense in particular. Despite having more cap space than most other teams, the Bengals are likewise expected to be quiet on the trade front.  

The past few years have seen a notable uptick in trade activity around the league, and it would come as a surprise if that trend did not continue over the next few days. Last-minute restructures and cost-shedding moves would help the teams in need of flexibility pull off moves, though sellers will no doubt also be asked to retain salary if some of the higher-paid veterans on the trade block end up being dealt. Given the spending power of teams at the top of the list, there is plenty of potential for the league’s landscape to change ahead of the stretch run to the playoffs.

Bills CB Kaiir Elam On Trade Block?

October 28th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Ben Levine

Kaiir Elam has struggled to carve out a role in Buffalo, and the cornerback may have to revive his career elsewhere. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Elam is a name worth watching heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline. Fowler notes that the former first-round pick has garnered interest from rival teams.

Elam started six games in 13 appearances as a rookie but failed to establish himself as a permanent starter heading into his sophomore campaign. The cornerback was a healthy scratch for the first month of the season, but as the Bills dealt with a number of injuries in their secondary, Elam was thrown into the starting lineup for Buffalo’s Week 5 matchup against the Jaguars.

The cornerback ended up getting pulled during that eventual loss. He earned another start in Week 6 but didn’t keep the job; he exclusively played special teams in Week 7 before once again being deemed inactive on Thursday night.

The other night, Elam was lapped on the depth chart by veteran Josh Norman, who was activated from the practice squad. After the game, coach Sean McDermott indicated that the second-year CB wasn’t helping Buffalo’s cause.

“Yeah, we want the players, at this point, and we feel like every decision we make is who can help us win,” McDermott said (h/t A to Z Sports). “We wanted to see what Josh (Norman) could do there.”

While Elam hasn’t clicked with the Bills, another team would surely take a chance on the defensive back. The Florida product was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2022 draft, and his draft pedigree will be enough to earn him an opportunity elsewhere.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/26/23

October 26th, 2023 at 7:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Reagor has been called up as a standard gameday elevation three times now for the Patriots, the maximum under a single practice squad contract. It remains to be seen if he will stick on the team’s active roster, but if he’s going to see any more game action this year, the promotion was a necessary one. He’s obviously able to play while on the active roster, but if the team were to release him and re-sign him to the practice squad, he would have the ability to be elevated three more times on the new deal.

The Bills and Buccaneers are making their standard gameday elevations for Thursday Night Football tonight. Veterans Isabella and Norman will both be making their season debuts if they see the field tonight in Buffalo, as will LeCounte and Senat for the Bucs. Norman has a good chance to see the field with Kaiir Elam out and Tre’Davious White still on injured reserve. Senat likewise should get a chance to rotate in for Tampa with Vita Vea currently inactive.

Bills TE Dawson Knox To Undergo Surgery, Expected To Be Placed On IR

October 26th, 2023 at 10:20am CST by Sam Robinson

OCTOBER 26: While a firm timeline is still not in place for Knox’s recovery, he could be in line to sit out an extended stretch. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Knox is expected to be placed on IR, a move which would require him to miss at least four weeks. That would open the door for Kincaid to see a sustained uptick in usage, but it would leave the Bills shorthanded on offense through an important midseason stretch. Buffalo has seven IR activations remaining this season.

OCTOBER 23: Injuries continue to remove key Bills pieces from the equation. After sustaining significant setbacks on defense this month, Buffalo’s latest major setback comes on offense.

Dawson Knox will undergo wrist surgery, according to Sean McDermott. While the seventh-year HC did not confirm a timetable, Knox will likely be in line to miss a stretch of games. This injury dates back to the Bills’ London matchup with the Jaguars, and although the veteran played in each of the past two games, the team will shut him down for the time being.

Knox has not missed a practice since the Bills returned from London, logging three limited sessions before Week 6 and practicing in full last week. He caught a two-point conversion toss from Josh Allen in the fourth quarter but also dropped a pass earlier in the stanza. For the season, Knox is at 15 receptions for just 102 yards and a touchdown. The 6.8-yard average is by far a career-low mark for the fifth-year pass catcher, whose per-game number (39.3) also checks in below his averages from 2019-22.

The Bills gave Knox a four-year, $52MM extension just before last season that at the time made the former third-round pick the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid tight end. With Darren Waller, Evan Engram and T.J. Hockenson signing new deals since, Knox now sits ninth in AAV at the position. While he remains a key Bills component, the team made the interesting move to invest its top offseason resource in the position by taking Dalton Kincaid in Round 1.

This injury will thrust Kincaid into a larger role, it would appear. This year’s first tight end drafted, Kincaid entered Week 7 with only one 30-plus-yard receiving performance. He established a new career-best mark in New England, totaling 75 yards on five catches. The Bills traded up for Kincaid in April, and they will need to lean on the Utah alum during Knox’s absence. While the two had shared the field, Knox had seen more playing time (316 offensive snaps) than Kincaid (242) early this season.

Unlike Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones, Knox may be a likely candidate to come off IR. It would appear the Bills will move Knox off their 53-man roster while he recovers, but even that is not certain yet.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/23

October 25th, 2023 at 7:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Donavan Mutin

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

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