Latest On Cam Newton
- Some positive news for Cam Newton. Although the Panthers quarterback remains in a walking boot and without a definitive return timetable, Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes (subscription required) the team was encouraged by the follow-up MRI the ninth-year passer underwent. If Newton continues to progress in his recovery from a mid-foot sprain, Rodrigue adds he is expected to participate in practice in some capacity Monday. This would point to the veteran being ready for Week 1. Kyle Allen received first crack at Newton’s reps Saturday, but David Newton of ESPN.com notes Will Grier split time evenly with Carolina’s presumptive QB2. Ron Rivera confirmed the Panthers will not work out quarterbacks.
Panthers Optimistic Newton Can Play Week 1
Cam Newton left Thursday night’s game early due to injury, and Panthers GM Marty Hurney said Friday the ninth-year quarterback suffered a sprained foot. Newton left Gillette Stadium in a walking boot.
The Panthers are “cautiously optimistic” Newton will be able to suit up in Week 1, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. While Hurney called the injury a “mild” sprain, it is officially a mid-foot sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).
A first-quarter sack (Twitter link via SI.com’s Albert Breer) ended Newton’s night and shifted uncertainty surrounding the Carolina quarterback from his throwing shoulder to his left foot. This particular injury can linger. Although Newton has been incredibly durable throughout his career, this is certainly not ideal after the months of shoulder rehab the 30-year-old passer went through this year.
Newton’s troublesome throwing shoulder, which required another surgery in January, prompted the Panthers to hold him out of their first two preseason games. It may now come down to the wire for Week 1 because of this sprain. Newton has battled shoulder problems since 2017 and underwent left ankle surgery in 2014. He has only missed five games in his career.
Carolina featured an underwhelming contingent of backups behind Newton last season but drafted Will Grier in this year’s third round. Rivera turned to Kyle Allen over Grier after Newton’s exit Thursday, however, pointing to the former UDFA (and Week 17 Panthers starter) being first in line to replace Newton if necessary. The Panthers do not plan to bring in any additional quarterbacks, with Rapoport adding Allen indeed will likely take the majority of the first-team reps in near-future practices.
More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Sean Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell, OL Tyler Catalina
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Jonathan Celestin, G Norman Price
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers: S Montrel Meander
- Placed on injured reserve: WR D.J. Montgomery
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: LB Aaron Wallace
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Da’Mari Scott
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Andrew Lauderdale, S Tyree Robinson
- Waived: OL Christian DiLauro, WR Shawn Poindexter, RB Brandon Wilds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
- Waived/injured: DT Shane Bowman
Bryan Cox Jr. Cited For Speeding, Marijuana
- Panthers defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. was cited on Wednesday for speeding, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia, reports Blaine Tolison of WSOC (Twitter link). In a statement, the Panthers said they are aware of the incident and are working to gather information (Twitter link via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic). Cos has appeared in 18 games for Carolina over the past two years, playing roughly 200 snaps in each season. In his latest roster projection, David Newton of ESPN.com left Cox off the Panthers’ 53-man squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/19
Here are Sunday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Pasoni Tasini
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: OL Dillon Gordon
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Rashard Causey
- Waived: LB Jeff Holland
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Deontez Alexander
- Waived/injured: LB Tre Lamar
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers from Jets: CB Derrick Jones
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Isaiah Langley
- Waived: TE Zach Conque
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Terrance Smith
- Waived/injured: DL Jonathan Woodard
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: T Nate Wozniak
- Waived: G Tyler Catalina
Oakland Raiders
- Claimed off waivers from Falcons: DB Hamp Cheevers
- Placed on IR: CB D.J. Killings
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Sojourn Shelton
- Waived/injured: WR Shelton Gibson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Micah Abernathy
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Jalan McClendon, DB DeJuan Neal, LB Darrell Williams
- Placed on IR: QB Josh Woodrum
- Waived: WR T.J. Rahming
- Waived/injured: LB Garrett Sickels
Jets K Chandler Catanzaro Retires
Jets K Chandler Catanzaro, 28, has retired, according to a team announcement. To take his place on the roster, the club has signed K Taylor Bertolet.
Catanzaro’s job was clearly in jeopardy after he missed a pair of extra points in the Jets’ preseason opener. It was reported yesterday that New York would be bringing in kickers Blair Walsh and Chris Blewitt for tryouts, and the Jets are said to still be interested in Ravens’ kicker Kaare Vedvik, who also caught their eye last summer.
In addition to his difficulties in the first preseason game, Catanzaro had apparently struggled in camp as well. Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and elected to leave the game on his terms rather than being cut.
Catanzaro, a Clemson product, signed with the Cardinals as a UDFA in 2014 and won Arizona’s kicking competition that year. His first two seasons in the league were quite promising, as he nailed 87.9% of his kicks in his rookie campaign and 90.3% in 2015. But his success rate dipped to 75% in 2016, and he signed with the Jets in March 2017. He experienced something of a bounceback in his first stint with Gang Green, converting 83.3% of his kicks and all of his PATs, and he signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers last offseason. Tampa Bay released him after he missed two field goals in a loss to the Redskins last November — he ultimately made just 73.3% of his kicks with the Bucs — and he caught on with the Panthers for the last few games of the season.
The Jets saw Jason Myers turn in a Pro Bowl effort last year, but they lost Myers to free agency in March and hoped that Catanzaro would be an adequate replacement. Obviously, that did not turn out to be the case, though as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets, the Jets could at least recoup Catanzaro’s $500K signing bonus if they so choose.
Bertolet was with the Jets last summer and performed well, but he has no regular season experience.
Ryan Kalil Addresses Decision To Join Jets
In January 2018, Ryan Kalil announced he would retire after the upcoming season. The five-time Pro Bowl center had missed 18 games between the 2016 and ’17 seasons. But after a 16-game 2018 slate, the 34-year-old pivot is back in the league as a member of the Jets.
The 13th-year blocker addressed his decisions to retire, and then return, in a lengthy interview with The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (subscription required).
“I think a lot of that stemmed from the fact that I had two tough injuries back to back that were keeping me off the field,” Kalil said, via Rodrigue, referencing the respective shoulder and neck maladies in 2016 and ’17. “I think I sort of saw it as a sign that maybe it was time to move on, and maybe make peace with that. (In 2018), I had one year left on my deal. And so I kind of wanted to force myself to really enjoy my time there.
“And then … what happened was I felt good. I felt great. I finished the season, and I didn’t miss a game. And obviously that was not how I envisioned the end there, and it just kind of stuck with me.'”
The Jets exited last season with the NFL’s worst adjusted line yards figure, per Football Outsiders, but did not make many moves to upgrade their front. They traded for Kelechi Osemele, but going into camp, Gang Green was potentially set to return four starters from a maligned front. Jonotthan Harrison, whom since-fired GM Mike Maccagnan re-signed on a low-cost deal, was the favorite to reprise his role as the Jets’ first-string center. Until Joe Douglas began talking to Kalil’s agent.
“I expressed interest in maybe wanting to do another year, be one of those mercenary players that comes in and fills a role, and so I just mentioned it to my agent and told him to keep his ears on the ground to see if anything came up,” Kalil said. “I said it had to be the right situation. … And the Jets came up. (My agent) called me about a month later, and we started talking about it. Then, we started talking with the general manager for the Jets, and it started manifesting into something that might possibly be real, as I continued to train and get stronger and back into playing shape.”
Kalil has gained back almost 40 pounds, after dropping to 260 during his retirement phase, and spoke to several former Panthers teammates about joining another team. The reported value of Kalil’s deal is $8.4MM, but incentives comprise an unknown portion of the contract. The Jets, though, carried considerable cap space (more than $20MM) into camp.
This will also mark the fourth straight year the Jets will deploy a new starting center, with Kalil following Nick Mangold (2016), Wesley Johnson (’17) and Spencer Long (’18). Harrison filled in toward the end of last season. That may or may not extend to five centers in five years in 2020, with Kalil tabling retirement talk this time around.
“Well, that’s the one lesson I’ve learned — I’m going to stay in the moment. I think it’s a fair question, but I’m going to see how I feel at the end of the year,” Kalil said.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/19
Here are Sunday’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Ryan Pulley
- Waived: S Kai Nacua
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Deyon Sizer
- Waived: WR Jamarius Way
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Tarvarus McFadden
- Waived: WR Deontez Alexander
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Eagles: S Godwin Igwebuike
- Signed: TE Nick Truesdell
- Waived: CB Jeremy Clark, G Tyler Jones
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Asantay Brown
- Waived: CB Alex Brown
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Brynden Trawick
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Rishard Cook, K Joey Slye
- Waived/Injured: G Dorian Johnson, LB Brandon Chubb
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DL Dee Liner
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DT Anthony Rush
Panthers To Sign Tre Boston
Tre Boston‘s lengthy tenure as a free agent is over. The Panthers are signing the veteran safety to a one-year, $3MM deal, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
For the second consecutive offseason, Boston had to wait until late July to land a new contract as a free agent. Last year, Boston landed only a $1.5MM deal from the Cardinals, so he’ll now realize a 100% raise for the 2019 campaign, one in which he’ll play for the club that originally drafted him.
Boston was a fourth-round choice of the Panthers in 2014 and subsequently spent three seasons in Carolina, starting 10 games in his final year with the team. He was cut with one year remaining on his rookie contract, and was then signed to subsequent one-year pacts by the Chargers and Cardinals. In both campaigns, Boston started at least 13 games, played at least 950 defensive snaps, and graded among the top 30 safeties in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
In 2017, Boston was caught up in a stagnant free agent safety market which saw several starting-caliber players — including Boston’s new teammate Eric Reid — languish on the open market for months. This offseason, however, defensive backs Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu, Earl Thomas, Lamarcus Joyner, and Adrian Amos each landed at least $9MM in free agency, but Boston was nonetheless left without a deal.
Carolina can use all the help it can get against opponents’ deep passing attacks, and Boston — who is deployed as a deep safety on nearly snap — can help. Last season, the Panthers ranked just 29th in yards per play allowed on passes of more than 15 air yards, and finished 27th in Football Outsiders‘ DVOA against deep passes.
Some of the blame for that lackluster performance can be placed on Mike Adams, who served as the Panthers’ primary free safety in 2018. Adams, who last year at age-37 posted arguably the worst season of his lengthy career, was not re-signed this offseason. He’ll be replaced by Boston, who along with Reid will form one of the league’s most underrated safety duos.