Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Adam Gettis
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed (original round restricted free agent): WR Rashard Higgins
- Re-signed (exclusive rights free agent): DL Trevon Coley, DB Jermaine Whitehead
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed (ERFA): LB Reggie Gilbert, G Justin McCray
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed (ERFA): WR Marcus Kemp
- Waived: CB Step Durham
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Quadree Henderson
New York Jets
- Re-signed (ERFA): RB De’Angelo Henderson, LB Frankie Luvu
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (ERFA): G Isaac Asiata, G Jesse Davis, DE Jonathan Woodard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed (ERFA): S Isaiah Johnson, OL Mike Liedtke
Packers Meet With Rodney Gunter
Cardinals free agent defensive tackle Rodney Gunter is visiting today with the Packers, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Cardinals had a down year in 2018, but Gunter did well on an individual level. 
Gunter, 27, entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals. After spending his first three seasons in a reserve role, he appeared in all 16 games last year with ten starts and turned in career highs in sacks (4.5) and tackles (44). Gunter finished out with a respectable 70.1 overall score from Pro Football Focus, placing him 59th out of 112 qualified interior defenders.
Gunter could step in as a replacement for Muhammad Wilkerson, who continues to float in free agent limbo. If signed, he could also be a future fill-in for the likes of Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels. If Clark’s fifth-year option is not picked up in early May, he’ll be eligible for free agency after the ’19 season. Daniels, who was one spot ahead of Gunter on PFF’s rankings, is set to hit the open market next March.
Jordy Nelson Open To Packers Return
In March, Jordy Nelson retired from the NFL. However, he could be talked out of it if Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers asks him to return to the field. 
“It would probably be hard to say no,” Nelson told NBC Sports’ Dan Patrick when asked about the hypothetical scenario.
As far as we know, Rodgers has not asked Nelson if he would be interested in coming back to football to play for the Packers once again. It’s also not clear if the Packers would have interest in Nelson, though they have a need at the position after losing Randall Cobb to the Cowboys in free agency.
Nelson, 34 in May, spent his entire career with the Packers until he was released by the club in March of 2018. After that, he hooked on with the Raiders, where he had 63 catches for 739 yards in his lone season in silver and black.
For his career, Nelson has more than 8,500 receiving yards, 72 touchdowns, and a Super Bowl ring to his credit. If the Packers would be interested in having him back, he could add to those totals in 2019.
Draft Notes: Sternberger, Jets, Thorson
The Patriots are on the lookout for tight end help in the wake of Rob Gronkowski‘s retirement, and the club will have a top-30 visit with Texas A&M TE Jace Sternberger, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Pats could use their No. 32 overall pick on a tight end, and while that may be a little high for Sternberger, top prospects Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson may be off the board by that point. Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. could be available, though, and there is no reason why New England, which has deployed two tight ends to great effect in the past, could not use several of its 12 picks in this year’s draft on the tight end position.
Now for more draft-related rumblings from around the league:
- In addition to the Patriots, Wilson reports that Sternberger has visits lined up with the Chiefs, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Vikings, and Seahawks.
- Brian Costello of the New York Post does not believe that the Jets will invest high-end draft capital on the WR, RB, or TE positions this year in light of their free agent expenditures, but he still thinks the club could bolster those units with collegiate prospects. He suggests that Gang Green could use a middle- or late-round selection on a wideout, particularly if that player offers return ability, and he thinks a Day 3 blocking tight end and power back could also be in the cards. Of course, with only six draft picks at the moment, New York may need to focus on areas of greater need.
- Penn State DE Shareef Miller will visit with the Ravens, Cardinals, and Jets, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Miller currently projects as a Day 3 pick, but all three clubs could use pass rushing help, and Miller has the raw ability to succeed as a 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB.
- The Broncos may be hosting some of the top QBs in this year’s draft class, but they’re looking at more under-the-radar passers as well, as Mike Klis of 9News.com tweets that Denver will be working out Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson in early April. Thorson is expected to be a middle-round selection.
- Valdosta State CB Stephen Denmark has top-30 visits lined up with the Browns and Saints, per Wilson (via Twitter).
Montez Sweat To Meet With 4 Teams
One of several potential impact front-seven players in this draft, Montez Sweat has his first round of visits lined up.
The Mississippi State product detailed his itinerary to the NFL Network recently (via NBC Sports Bay Area), and that docket includes meetings with the 49ers, Raiders, Bills and Packers. The Dolphins have also shown interest.
Both the Bay Area teams have also set up visits with Kentucky’s Josh Allen, another edge rusher expected to be taken early in the first round. Sweat did not have quite the statistically productive year Allen did as as senior, but he finished his two-year Bulldogs career — after two seasons at Michigan State — with 22.5 sacks and 30 tackles for loss.
Sweat blazed to a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, elevating his profile. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound prospect has a pre-existing heart condition, which could scare away some teams, but was cleared to participate in all drills last month in Indianapolis. The Raiders last year showed they did not mind drafting defensive linemen with medical question marks, grabbing Maurice Hurst with a fifth-round pick despite the Michigan product’s heart condition.
The 49ers have been primarily linked to Nick Bosa at No. 2 but are understandably investigating the front-seven talent pool, particularly in case the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray noise ends up being a large-scale smokescreen. The Packers hold two first-round picks — Nos. 12 and 30 — while the Bills have the No. 9 selection.
T.J. Lang Retires From NFL
Former Lions and Packers guard T.J. Lang has retired from the NFL after ten years in the game. The news was first reported by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and Lang confirmed his retirement via social media on Friday. 
“For the past 3,624 days I have woken up with one goal in mind: ‘How can I be a better pro football player than I was yesterday?’ Well, those days are now over,” Lang wrote. “The only thing I ask myself today is how can I be a better husband, father, son, brother, [and] friend. I will forever cherish the great times that I had playing this game.”
In his farewell address, Lang thanked the Packers for his development and the Lions for allowing him to finish his career near his friends and family in Michigan.
“Thank you Green Bay Packers for taking a chance on a 21-year-old kid and giving me the opportunity and patience to grow into a man and reach my full potential as a football player. Thank you Detroit Lions for granting me a chance to finish my career in the place that I call home,” said Lang. “It would’ve been impossible to play this game for ten years without great teammates, coaches, trainers, strength staff, doctors, agents, fans, family, and friends. I thank each and every one of you for the unwavering support over the years. Whatever the next chapter holds, I hope to stay around the game in some capacity. Its been an amazing ride. Thank you all for being a part of it.”
Lang, 31, was released by the Lions earlier this month after spending the past two seasons in Detroit. It’s not a total surprise Lang has decided to hang up his cleats, as he’s dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout his career. Lang ended the 2018 campaign on injured reserve with a neck injury, and last season suffered the sixth known concussion of his playing career.
While Lang only played in 19 of a possible 32 games while in the Motor City, he was relatively durable during his eight-year career with the Packers. After becoming a full-time starter in 2011, Lang proceeded to appear in 91 games over the next six seasons, missing only five contests during that span.
A former fourth-round pick, Lang earned two Pro Bowl nods (one with Green Bay in 2016, the other with Detroit in 2017), and also won a Super Bowl XLV ring with the Packers. Lang wasn’t able to complete the three-year, $28.5MM contract he signed with the Lions in 2017, but he’ll still end his playing days with more than $43MM in career earnings.
PFR extends it best wishes to Lang and his family as he enters his post-playing career.
Jordy Nelson Retires From NFL
Jordy Nelson is calling it a career. The longtime Packers standout wide receiver is retiring from football, according to former teammate James Jones (on Twitter).
Nelson leaves the sport with more than 8,500 receiving yards, 72 touchdowns, and a Super Bowl ring.He spent the majority of his career with the Packers – from 2008-2017 – before hooking on with the Raiders last year. He didn’t look like his old self in Oakland, however, as he finished out with just 63 catches and 739 yards with one score. He also had a down year in 2017 (53/482/6), though most of his passes were thrown by quarterbacks other than Aaron Rodgers in his final year with the Packers.
The former second-round pick and Super Bowl hero caught 97 passes for 1,257 yards and 14 TDs during his last full season with Rodgers. But, as he approaches his 34th birthday in May, Nelson wants to move on to other endeavors.
The Raiders dropped Nelson on March 14, despite a late-December proclamation that he would return to the club. In fact, the Raiders even gave him his $3.6MM roster bonus early, a seemingly sure sign that he would be on the roster this year. However, things changed in March after the Raiders acquired Antonio Brown and signed slot weapon Tyrell Williams in free agency.
We here at PFR wish Nelson the best in retirement.
Packers Could Search For Slot WR
- The Packers monitored the free agent slot receiver market when free agency opened but opted to spend in other areas, reports Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Green Bay allowed Randall Cobb to leave for a one-year, $5MM deal with the Cowboys earlier this week, but the club could search for a veteran slot receiver in the coming weeks, with Dontrelle Inman, Jermaine Kearse, and Rishard Matthews profiling as options. However, the Packers might be tighter on cap space than is publicly believed: while most assessments peg Green Bay with roughly $13.5MM in funds, Tom Silverstein of MJS says the Packers may only have ~$5MM in space (Twitter link).
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/19
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: QB Tyler Bray
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: LS L.P. Ladouceur
- Signed: LS Drew Scott
Denver Broncos
- Waived: WR Jimmy Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed exclusive rights tender: G Lucas Patrick
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed ERFA tender: LS Luke Rhodes
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: WR Geremy Davis
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Nate Stupar
New York Jets
- Re-signed: TE Eric Tomlinson
S Curtis Riley Visits Packers
Safety Curtis Riley met with the Packers today, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). However, the free agent left Green Bay without a contract, and Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that the two sides aren’t negotiating a deal.
The 26-year-old had a breakout campaign during his first season in New York. After appearing in 11 total games between 2016 and 2017, the defensive back ultimately started all 16 games last year. He ended up finishing the campaign with 75 tackles, five passes defended, and four interceptions. Despite his solid counting stats, Pro Football Focus only ranked him 79th among 93 eligible safeties.
Riley previously played cornerback, and he’s shown particular talent in coverage (while his tackling has earned the ire of some pundits). As Silverstein tweets, this is what the Packers traditionally look for in their “deep” safeties, but the team will apparently be searching elsewhere to fill that role.
The Packers have already added one safety this offseason in Adrian Amos. The team’s safety corps also includes Tramon Williams, Josh Jones, and Natrell Jamerson, among others.