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NFL Injury Updates: Rams OL, Wingard, Jackson, Oweh

August 3rd, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Earlier this week, the Rams received unfortunate news that presumed starting left guard Jonah Jackson would miss the entire preseason with a shoulder injury. The hits keep coming as we learn that two other Rams’ starting lineman are dealing with injuries this preseason, according to Rams senior staff writer Stu Jackson.

Head coach Sean McVay listed left tackle Alaric Jackson and right tackle Rob Havenstein as “week-to-week” in a recent update. Normally, a week-to-week status wouldn’t pique much interest, but with Jonah already out, the Rams will be without three starting linemen in the coming weeks.

With the Jackson’s and Havenstein all out, Los Angeles will be fielding a “Rolodex of guys” in the meantime. While McVay claims that he isn’t too concerned about the injuries, the starters’ absences in the coming weeks will take away from the potential chemistry of the group as a whole. When incorporating a new starter in Jonah Jackson and moving last year’s left guard Steve Avila to center, that lost time could prove harmful to the group’s effectiveness early in the season.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • The Jaguars lost some depth in their secondary recently, per Josh Alper of NBC Sports. Head coach Doug Pederson gave an update recently informing the media that veteran safety Andrew Wingard had suffered a knee injury. While the extent of the injury is as of yet unknown, Pederson predicted that Wingard could miss “significant time” with potential to even miss regular season games. Currently second-year safety Antonio Johnson and former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds are competing for the starting job. Wingard’s presence provides additional starting experience that Jacksonville will go without until he can return.
  • 49ers pass rusher Drake Jackson missed the second half of last season with a knee injury and is reportedly still making his way back from the issue. After the losses of Chase Young, Clelin Ferrell, and Randy Gregory in free agency, San Francisco is likely hoping to see Jackson step into a bigger role this year. That will need to wait, though, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Jackson will miss the remainder of training camp, “at a minimum,” as he continues to work his way back from injury. Free agent signing Leonard Floyd will have to hold down the spot across from Nick Bosa, in the meantime.
  • Ravens pass rusher Odafe Oweh is having an outstanding camp out in Baltimore, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, despite the fourth-year defender reportedly having undergone a minor surgery in the offseason. Oweh didn’t specify what the procedure was or what he got repaired, but it doesn’t seem to have hindered him at all. The Ravens are desperately hoping to see his impressive ability to pressure the passer turn into sacks this year after watching Jadeveon Clowney walk in free agency.

Latest On Ravens’ RT Competition

August 2nd, 2024 at 3:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

The lost both starting guards during free agency this offseason. The departures of Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, coupled with the trade sending right tackle Morgan Moses back to the Jets, has created three vacancies for first-team roles up front.

One of Baltimore’s top priorities for the summer has been evaluating options at both guard positions and the right tackle spot. Plenty is still to be determined along the interior, but the favorites to start at RT appear to be in place. Veteran Patrick Mekari – who has experience stepping in at all five O-line spots – has received the majority of training camp snaps at right tackle, but second-round rookie Roger Rosengarten also got an extended look with the starters recently.

“I thought Roger has been doing well,” head coach John Harbaugh said on Thursday, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required). “I thought he deserved a shot with the ones, you saw him get a shot with the ones today. So, we’ll just keep working through that and let it play out.”

Rosengarten had a strong college career playing on the right side at Washington. That entailed protecting the blindside of quarterback Michael Penix Jr., meaning he could one day transition to the left tackle spot in the NFL. That role belongs – for at least one more season – to Ronnie Stanley, so Rosengarten will keep his attention focused on right tackle. He has previously been named as a candidate to start at some point during the season, but a strong showing during the summer could put him on track to handle first-duties as early as Week 1 and allow the team to keep Mekari in place as a sixth lineman.

A separate Zrebiec piece notes that free agent addition Josh Jones, meanwhile, is likely slated for a backup role in 2024. The former Cardinal and Texan has started along the interior and also at tackle, but being out of contention for first-team responsibilities is another sign Rosengarten could get the nod early in his rookie campaign. It also represents further indication 2023 seventh-rounder Andrew Vorhees is a strong candidate to start at left guard and that 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Faalele will be given considerable opportunities to win the right guard spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/24

July 31st, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor transactions to close out the month:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Snead is the latest veteran wideout to join the Dolphins receiving corps. He hasn’t really contributed much to the NFL since his 2020 campaign with the Ravens, but he’ll get another chance this summer in South Beach.

Carolina brings in Johnson just a day after watching veteran Rashaad Penny hang up his cleats. In order to make room for Johnson, the Panthers let good of Davis, the team’s recent signee from the UFL.

Butler was waived after a failed physical two days ago. After going unclaimed, he’ll get to stay in Vegas by taking a place on the reserve/PUP list.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/24

July 30th, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived: WR Isaiah Wooden
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OT Tyler Vrabel

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Waived: LB Shayne Simon

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: DE Levi Bell

Jacksonville Jaguars

Pittsburgh Steelers

Marquez Callaway will once again hit free agency after having bounced around the NFL last season. The wideout spent time with the Broncos, Raiders, Saints (second stint) during the 2023 campaign. He caught on with the Steelers via a reserve/futures contract in January but ultimately lasted only a few days into training camp.

The former UDFA had a breakout campaign as a sophomore in New Orleans, finishing the 2021 season with 46 catches for 698 yards and six touchdowns. He saw a reduced role in 2022 before hitting the free agency carousel in 2023.

AFC North Notes: Browns, Faalele, Steelers

July 25th, 2024 at 6:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns wrapping their Amari Cooper negotiations without an extension places Jerry Jeudy as the team’s long-term centerpiece at wide receiver. The recent trade acquisition, who received $41MM guaranteed at signing, is locked in through 2027. Cooper, 30, received $5MM in incentives but is positioned to play for a new contract this season.

In guaranteeing Cooper $20MM in 2024 — money he was almost definitely going to see once his salary became guaranteed in early September — the Browns moved $18.79MM of his salary into a signing bonus, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes, with two void years added. If Cooper is not extended by the start of the 2025 league year, the Browns would incur a $22.6MM dead money hit. For 2024, however, Cleveland created $15MM in cap space, per Spotrac. Despite skipping minicamp, Cooper said he was not considering a training camp holdout.

“Honestly, it wasn’t really about money,” Cooper said, via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Chris Easterling. “It was more so in the language of my contract when I signed a five-year deal with the Cowboys. Only two years is guaranteed. This is the last year of that deal, but it isn’t guaranteed until the week of the first game.”

This agreement seems a small victory for a player of Cooper’s caliber, especially after the former first-rounder established a new career-high in receiving yards (1,250) to help a depleted offense last season. The Browns have an added motivation to extend Cooper before next March now, with the looming void year-driven cap penalty working in his favor.

Here is the latest from Cleveland and the rest of the AFC North:

  • Greg Newsome began Browns camp on the active/NFI list, and Kevin Stefanski shed some light on why. The fourth-year cornerback underwent hamstring surgery Thursday, and cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the team hopes to have him back by Week 1. Newsome landing on the NFI list as opposed to the PUP list indicates he sustained the injury away from the team’s facility. Stefanski did not specify when the injury occurred. Dalvin Tomlinson, who is on the Browns’ active/PUP list, is set for arthroscopic knee surgery Friday. The team hopes, per Easterling, the veteran DT is back by Week 1. Tomlinson and the Browns decided this week surgery would be necessary. Both players were key starters for Jim Schwartz‘s No. 1-ranked defense last season.
  • Third-year Ravens O-lineman Daniel Faalele‘s best shot to start this season may come at right guard. Despite being a tackle fill-in during his first two seasons, the 6-foot-8, 380-pound blocker is being given extensive work at RG, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec (subscription required). Faalele is primarily competing with Ben Cleveland and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu at RG, per Zrebiec. John Harbaugh said the Ravens will move O-linemen around during camp, as Cleveland saw tackle reps this offseason, but the 17th-year HC confirmed the team is giving Faalele a shot to be a rather tall guard early in camp. It would also not surprise to see Faalele be given a shot at right tackle, where he played 157 snaps last season. Baltimore needs three new O-line starters after guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson leaving in free agency and the team trading Morgan Moses to the Jets.
  • Eddie Jackson‘s Ravens deal is a one-year pact worth $1.5MM, Wilson notes. The longtime Bears starter received $1MM guaranteed. While this is a steep reduction from Jackson’s previous Chicago extension (four years, $58.4MM), he is far from the only experienced safety to accept a significant pay cut this offseason.
  • Tyler Matakevich‘s Steelers contract will be worth the veteran minimum, Wilson adds. The ninth-year linebacker will be due $1.21MM in base salary, but the team has not guaranteed its former seventh-rounder anything.

Ravens Notes: Jackson, Bateman, OL, Tampa

July 22nd, 2024 at 8:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Before veteran Eddie Jackson landed in Baltimore, the safety got a ringing endorsement from a Ravens defender. Linebacker Roquan Smith told reporters that he put in a good word to management about Jackson.

“Yes, I always tell the truth,” Smith said (via the team’s website). “I have great respect for Eddie [Jackson] and [I’ve] known Eddie since I came into the league. Like I said earlier, I think he’s a great asset for our team. [He’s] obviously been making plays in this league for a very long time, and with the pieces that we have here, and then with his talent, and having him in his role, I think it will go well for us.”

Jackson previously spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, and he played more than four of those seasons alongside Smith. After starting all 100 of his appearances in Chicago, Jackson won’t be nearly as relied upon in Baltimore. The team is mostly looking for a replacement for Geno Stone, who often played with Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton in three-safety looks.

Smith also touched on the major shakeup on the sidelines. Inside linebackers coach Zach Orr replaced Mike Macdonald as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, and the star pass-rusher is optimistic that the new defensive play-caller will seamlessly replace the former defensive play-caller.

“I think are very similar that’s here, and I have a great deal of respect for Zach [Orr and] his mindset,” Smith said. “He’s been out there on the field, and believe it or not, obviously him and Mike [Macdonald] are two totally different people, and they’re unique in their own way, but through the headset, they actually sound the same. Every voice I’ve heard through a headset all sounds the same. I’m like, ‘Is that Mike or something?’ I told ‘Z.O.’ one day during OTAs, so it’s pretty funny. I’m excited for ‘Z.O.,’ for him to showcase what he’s able to do with the pieces that we have here and showcase it to the world. We’ve all been doubted before, [how] things may not be as good as this, that or the third, but the game gives us the opportunity to prove that. I have a great deal of respect for ‘Z.O.,’ and that he’ll prove it week-in and week-out, and it’s going to start here in training camp, preparing for the year.”

More notes out of Baltimore…

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/24

July 22nd, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Waived-injured: WR Jared Wayne

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: WR Kevin Austin Jr.

New York Jets

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/24

July 21st, 2024 at 8:52pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions to wrap up this final weekend before training camps begin:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Ravens To Sign S Eddie Jackson

July 19th, 2024 at 10:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

Another member of the veteran safety market has found a deal ahead of training camp. Eddie Jackson has agreed to a contract with the Ravens, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

To little surprise, Schefter adds this is a one-year agreement. Many veterans at all positions take short-term accords at this point in the offseason, but that has particularly been the expectation at the safety spot in 2024. Jackson had spent his entire seven-year career with the Bears, but he will now turn his attention to Baltimore as the next phase of his NFL tenure begins.

The 30-year-old has started each of his 101 regular season and playoff games, earning a number of accolades along the way. Jackson received first-team All-Pro honors in 2018 and he duplicated his Pro Bowl nod from that season during the following campaign. He has recorded multiple interceptions four times in his career, but his ball production has declined over time. The former fourth-rounder was named as a trade candidate ahead of the 2023 deadline, though no suitors emerged.

Jackson entered the 2024 offseason with one year remaining on his deal, and he was due $14.15MM in compensation. None of his base salary was guaranteed, though, and a message to Chicago sent in February suggested the Bears would move on. Days later, the team did indeed release the Alabama product. No reports had emerged in the following months connecting Jackson to any known suitors, but he will now spend the summer competing for a role in the Ravens’ secondary.

Baltimore still has Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton in place as starters, but the latter’s versatility was displayed last season when the team deployed three-safety looks. Geno Stone thus logged a notable workload, and his success earned him a deal from the Bengals in free agency. The Ravens added options to replace Stone during and after the draft, but Jackson represents a veteran presence capable of serving in a third safety capacity. His 87% defensive snap share in 2023 was the lowest of his career, and a 120.6 passer rating allowed illustrates his struggles in coverage.

Jackson will not be counted on as a full-time defender as long as Williams and Hamilton remain healthy. He could earn a part-time role in the secondary over the coming weeks, though, and in that event he could use the 2024 campaign to rebuild his free agent value to an extent as he joins a new team for the first time in his career.

RB Kenyan Drake Retires

July 19th, 2024 at 3:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

Kenyan Drake has decided to bring his NFL career to an end. The veteran running back confirmed in a conversation with NFL insider Josina Anderson on Friday that he is retiring.

“It felt like the right time,” the 30-year-old told Anderson. “I love the game, but I don’t love the business. I’m at peace with the decision. I’m healthy and ready to start the next chapter of my life.”

Drake entered the league as a Dolphins third-rounder, and over half of his regular season appearances (and his lone playoff one) came with Miami. He topped 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2018, and did so again the following year while splitting him time between the Dolphins and Cardinals. Drake’s best season came in 2020, his only full campaign in the desert.

That year, the Alabama alum rushed for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns. That success earned him a two-year, $11MM Raiders deal, but his career consisted of a series of short-term gigs from that point onwards. Drake only spent one campaign in Vegas before bouncing around to several teams in search of an opportunity. He had a pair of Ravens stints with Colts and Browns deals mixed in between August 2022 and November of last year.

Drake’s final NFL contract came from the Packers in December, and he made a single appearance down the stretch. His remarks suggest he attempted to find a new deal this offseason (something which a number of veteran backs managed early in free agency), but instead of seeking out a training camp accord or waiting for an opportunity to open up during the fall, he will turn his attention to his post-playing days.

A veteran of 105 combined regular and postseason contests, Drake racked up 5,521 scrimmage yards and 41 touchdowns across his eight years in the league. He will depart the NFL with nearly $26MM in career earnings.

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