Minor NFL Transactions: 7/22/23
Saturday’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on active/PUP list: G Austin Corbett, DT John Penisini, DE Jalen Redmond, G Chandler Zavala
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/PUP list: C Jake Hanson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on active/PUP list: G Ben Bartch
New York Jets
- Placed on active/PUP list: T Duane Brown
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on active/PUP list: CB Caleb Farley, T Dillon Radunz
- Placed on NFI list: CB Josh Thompson
The Corbett news comes as no surprise, given the expectation from the spring that he would miss time in the regular season. The Panthers’ starting right guard suffered an ACL tear during the 2022 season finale, making him a candidate for a reserve/PUP designation. That would sideline him for at least four contests, so it is encouraging Carolina has elected instead to use the active designation, from which players can be activated at any time during camp.
Signed to provide last-minute offensive line help for the Jets last season, Brown played 12 games on the blindside last season while battling a shoulder ailment. Despite Mekhi Becton being healthy this offseason, the 37-year-old is the favorite to hold down the LT role for New York as the team looks to improve its pass protection at the start of the Aaron Rodgers era. If healthy in time for the spring, Brown will play a large role in determining their success on that front.
Farley’s brief NFL career has seen a continuation of his injury concerns dating back to college. The 2021 first-rounder saw a herniated disk end his season in December. He underwent surgery to address the issue, and the team may feel the need to proceed with caution given his potentially sizeable role with the Titans’ secondary. Radunz continues to recover from the ACL tear which likewise ended his second campaign in Nashville late in the regular season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/23
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league as teams prepare their rosters for training camp:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on NFI: OLB Tyus Bowser
- Placed on PUP: RB J.K. Dobbins, FB Patrick Ricard, CB Damarion Williams, DT Rayshad Nichols, WR Mike Thomas
- Placed on reserve/did not report list: WR Rashod Bateman
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Austin Watkins
- Placed on NFI: WR Marquise Goodwin, G Colby Gossett, WR Anthony Schwartz, WR Mike Woods
Denver Broncos
- Signed: K Brett Maher
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on NFI: WR Grant Dubose, TE Camren McDonald
- Placed on PUP: WR Jeff Cotton, OLB Rashan Gary, C Jake Hanson, CB Eric Stokes
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: DT Nick Thurman
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on NFI: DE Tyree Wilson
- Placed on PUP: DT Byron Young
New England Patriots
- Placed on PUP: S Cody Davis, G Michael Onwenu, DT Justus Tavai
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Damarea Crockett, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- Waived: WR Izaiah Gathings
Washington Commanders
- Placed on PUP: S Xavier Henderson
There are some big names in Baltimore that won’t be healthy to open camp. Two offensive youngsters who can’t seem to stay on the field, Dobbins and Bateman, continue to struggle to get healthy. Bateman sat out most of the spring after receiving a cortisone shot in hopes it would help get him back in time for camp. While he didn’t report, general manager Eric DeCosta expects him back soon, according to the team’s editorial director Ryan Mink. Dobbins has started thinking about his second contract this summer, and getting healthy will be key to gaining any leverage in negotiations. Ricard is no surprise, as head coach John Harbaugh predicted this placement a month ago. Bowser, though, experienced an unexpected flare up in his knee this spring after missing eight games last season.
In Cleveland, Goodwin experienced a medical scare recently when discomfort in his legs and shortness of breath turned out to be blood clots in his legs and lungs, according to James Palmer of NFL Network. He will miss the start of training camp as the clots are addressed.
In Denver, a kicking competition appears to be in the cards. The team held a workout for Maher, Elliott Fry, and Parker White back in May and ended up signing Fry. Now, with Maher joining the team, and the exit of Brandon McManus, the position battle between Maher and Fry will continue.
In Wisconsin, Gary and Stokes each ended their season after Week 9 of last year due to long-term injuries. Both will continue slowly working their way back in order to play big roles on defense.
In Vegas, Wilson, this year’s seventh overall pick, will have to be patient in finding his way to the field for his rookie year. He was expected to be cleared for training camp after ending his college career with a Lisfranc injury, but he’ll have to wait just a bit longer. The Raiders are counting on him to relieve some of the defensive responsibilities of Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby.
Reunion Between Packers, K Mason Crosby Unlikely
When the Packers selected Anders Carlson in the sixth round of this year’s draft, veteran Mason Crosby‘s time in Green Bay seemed to be over. The door had remained opened to a potential reunion, but that no longer appears to be the case. 
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in April that a new contract for Crosby, 38, was under consideration. The latter has spent his entire 16-year career in Green Bay, never missing a game along the way. Crosby had a strong season overall in 2022, connecting on 25 of 29 field goal attempts and all but two of his extra point tries. He went just one-for-four on field goals beyond 50 yards, however, and the presence of Carlson as a long-term replacement points to Crosby heading elsewhere to extend his NFL career.
Indeed, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes that an underwhelming performance during training camp and the preseason from Carlson will not be enough to warrant a Crosby reunion (subscription required). The veteran no longer lives in Green Bay, making him one of several experienced options at the kicking position on the lookout for a new opportunity as training camps are set to get underway.
Robbie Gould, Randy Bullock and Brett Maher all remain unsigned at this point, as teams search for younger, most cost-effective options in the kicking game. Gould has made clear his desire to continue his career outside of San Francisco after his 49ers tenure unintentionally came to an end this offseason. It will be interesting to monitor how much Crosby is willing or able to do the same after a lengthy run with one team.
Green Bay has Carlson – who only eclipsed 72% on his field goal percentage in one of his five seasons at Auburn – on the roster, along with former UDFA Daniel Whelan. That pair will have plenty of questions to answer during camp, while Crosby weighs his options regarding the post-Packers chapter of his career.
Packers Ink Round 2 WR Jayden Reed, Concluding Rookie Signings
The Packers follow close on the Saints’ heels as the most recent team to wrap up the signing of their 2023 draft class. According to his agent, David Canter of GSE Worldwide, Michigan State second-round wide receiver Jayden Reed has officially signed his rookie contract. 
This area of the second round of the draft has proven to be sticky in concern to contracts. The majority of the remaining unsigned rookies were selected around the early- to mid-second round. If Reed and others around his draft position are able to secure similar guarantees as Panthers’ rookie receiver Jonathan Mingo, it could help set a healthy precedent moving forward.
Reed, fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks, and seventh-round selection Grant DuBose will all hope to mirror and build off of some of the success seen from last year’s three rookies, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure. The now veteran leaders had the added benefit of receiving balls off the arm of now-Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers last year, but the new rookies will join with them in an attempt to provide new starter Jordan Love with a bevy of young, talented targets, along with rookie tight end Luke Musgrave, who signed his rookie contract earlier today.
Reed is a slightly undersized target coming off a down year for the Spartans. He transferred to East Lansing after an impressive eight-touchdown, nearly-800-receiving yard-performance at Western Michigan. It took him a couple years to adjust, but by his junior season in 2021, Reed broke out for career-high totals of 59 catches for 1,026 yards and 13 total touchdowns (including one rushing and two on punt returns).
With Watson (6-foot-4) and Doubs (6-foot-2) providing plenty of size, Reed (5-foot-11) provides a versatile new look and ability to the top-end of the receiving corps. If he can overcome the injuries that marred his senior year of college, he has the speed and route-running ability to contribute in the slot, out wide, and in the return game.
It’s no wonder that it took this long for Green Bay to conclude their rookie signings as they had a hefty 13 picks to sign. Here is the Packers’ 2023 draft class:
Round 1, No. 13 (from Jets): Lukas Van Ness, DE (Iowa) (signed)
Round 2, No. 42 (from Browns through Jets): Luke Musgrave, TE (Oregon State) (signed)
Round 2, No. 50 (from Buccaneers): Jayden Reed, WR (Michigan State) (signed)
Round 3, No. 78: Tucker Kraft, TE (South Dakota State) (signed)
Round 4, No. 116: Colby Wooden, DL (Auburn) (signed)
Round 5, No. 149: Sean Clifford, QB (Penn State) (signed)
Round 5, No. 159 (from Falcons through Jaguars and Lions): Dontayvion Wicks, WR (Virginia) (signed)
Round 6, No. 179 (from Texans through Buccaneers): Karl Brooks, DE (Bowling Green) (signed)
Round 6, No. 207 (from 49ers through Texans and Jets): Anders Carlson, K (Auburn) (signed)
Round 7, No. 232: Carrington Valentine, CB (Kentucky) (signed)
Round 7, No. 235 (from Lions through Rams): Lew Nichols III, RB (Central Michigan) (signed)
Round 7, No. 242 (from Jaguars): Anthony Johnson, CB (Virginia) (signed)
Round 7, No. 256: Grant DuBose, WR (Charlotte) (signed)
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/23
The roster updates following the opening of camp for rookies continued today:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on NFI: G Andrew Vorhees
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL DJ Scaife
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on PUP: DL Tershawn Wharton
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on NFI: WR Pokey Wilson
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: CB John Reid
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: RB Charles McClelland
The news on Vorhees is no surprise. The lineman’s rookie year will operate as a redshirt season as he continues to work his way back from the torn ACL he suffered at the NFL Combine.
Wharton is also making his way back from a torn ACL. The rotation lineman suffered the season-ending injury in Week 5 of last season. He’s been working out with the team, but Wharton is not yet ready to be a full participant in practice.
Reid has started at least one game for each of the three teams for which he’s played in his three seasons of play. He’ll now look to find his seventh NFL team going into his fourth season.
Packers Sign Round 2 TE Luke Musgrave
The number of unsigned draft picks is dwindling, as teams make their final preparations for training camp. Second-round Packers draftee Luke Musgrave signed his four-year rookie deal Wednesday.
Green Bay chose the Oregon State-developed tight end 42nd overall. This contract follows the Saints’ agreement with No. 40 overall pick Isaiah Foskey, with New Orleans’ terms breaking some ice for players chosen in the middle of the second round. As second-rounders keep making guarantee inroads, their respective negotiations have become more complicated.
The Panthers guaranteed three first three years of No. 39 pick Jonathan Mingo‘s deal, with additional guarantees in Year 4. Foskey and Musgrave’s agents undoubtedly pushed for the same terms. It is not yet known if either received them, but both are now signed. Musgrave will be expected to vie for immediate playing time, given the Packers’ tight end situation.
Green Bay let Robert Tonyan sign with Chicago in March, and Marcedes Lewis remains a free agent. A four-year Packers starter who remains one of the game’s best blocking tight ends, Lewis has said he wants to become the first tight end to play an 18th season. The Packers are not expected to re-sign him, opening the door for Musgrave and third-rounder Tucker Kraft as rookies.
The nephew of veteran NFL assistant Bill Musgrave, Luke Musgrave played four seasons with the Beavers. He was the fourth tight end selected this year, behind Dalton Kincaid, Sam LaPorta and Michael Mayer. Musgrave did not deliver prolific stats at the Pac-12 school, topping out at 304 receiving yards in a season (2021). But an early-season knee injury cut his senior year short.
ESPN’s Scouts Inc. rated Musgrave, who impressed at the Senior Bowl, as this year’s No. 31 overall prospect. The Packers saw enough from the small sample size — receiving-wise, at least — to make the 6-foot-5 pass catcher a key component of their first Jordan Love-directed offense. As of now, Love will be targeting a host of first- and second-year players, with Tonyan, Lewis, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb out of the picture.
Packers Sign QB Alex McGough
8:25pm: The Packers have officially signed the quarterback, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
12:30pm: Initially a 2018 Seahawks draftee, Alex McGough was unable to see any game action during his first NFL go-round. But after a successful run in the USFL, he will have another chance.
McGough worked out for the Packers on Tuesday, and Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes the NFC North team intends to add him to its 90-man roster (Twitter links). The 6-foot-3 quarterback had drawn interest from a number of teams, but the Packers will give him another NFL opportunity.
Spending two seasons in the rebooted USFL, McGough used Year 2 to assemble a decent launching pad back to the NFL. The Florida International product earned USFL MVP honors and led the Birmingham Stallions to the league championship. McGough finished the season with 20 touchdown passes and five interceptions to go with 2,105 passing yards and a 67.4% completion rate. Displaying some versatility, McGough added 403 rushing yards and five TDs.
McGough, 27, spent time with the Seahawks, Jaguars and Texans from 2018-21, enjoying multiple stints with Seattle. None of these opportunities led to game action, though the veteran arm has joined a Packers team that lost considerable experience at quarterback.
Following their Aaron Rodgers trade, the Packers did not add a veteran backup. Fifth-round rookie Sean Clifford (Penn State) resides as the top name on the Pack’s depth chart behind Jordan Love. Danny Etling, a UDFA who joined McGough in entering the NFL in 2018, is the third QB on Green Bay’s roster.
Latest On Packers DC Joe Barry
The quarterback position will understandably receive plenty of attention in 2023 for the Packers, but the team’s defense will be subject to considerable scrutiny as well. The coordinator leading the unit could be facing a make-or-break situation. 
[RELATED: Recapping Packers’ Offseason]
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has been in place for the past two seasons, overseeing a group littered with first-round picks. However, that hasn’t yielded the desired results in terms of on-field performance. Green Bay ranked 13th and 17th in points allowed in 2021 and ’22, respectively, a far cry from expectations given the pedigree of the team’s roster. That has led to increasing criticism of the 53-year-old, though he received an endorsement from head coach Matt LaFleur in January and again in April.
In spite of that, Barry should not be considered safe over the long term. A strong sentiment that 2023 will be his final opportunity to retain the DC role exists entering training camp, as noted by The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman (subscription required). A step forward from Green Bay’s front seven in particular would go a long way in aiding Barry’s chances of remaining in place beyond the coming campaign.
The Packers allowed just under 140 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 26th in the league. The ACL tear suffered by Rashan Gary also crippled the team’s pass rush, and they finished the year in 27th in the NFL with 34 sacks. The secondary fared much better by comparison, especially later in the campaign, but shortcomings on defense contributed in large part to Green Bay’s 8-9 record and the resultant failure to qualify for the postseason.
A healthy Gary (who, Schneidman adds, still does not have a firm recovery timeline), along with first-round rookie Lukas Van Ness, should give Green Bay upside in the edge rush department. As for the defensive interior, progression from recent draftees T.J. Slaton and Devonte Wyatt could give two-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark much-needed support. Expectations will likewise be high in Year 2 for former first-round linebacker Quay Walker.
Pressure will no doubt increase on Barry if the Packers struggle out of the gate defensively, something which could foreshadow a third straight season of underwhelming play. For now, he has the public backing of his head coach, but the extent to which that may change will be a key storyline at the onset of the regular season.
Packers LB De’Vondre Campbell Dealt With Shoulder Injury In 2022
The Packers’ low-risk acquisition of inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell in June 2021 paid huge dividends for player and team, as Campbell turned in a First-Team All-Pro performance that year and parlayed that into a five-year, $50MM deal from Green Bay last March. His first season of that new contract was marred to some degree by a knee injury that cost him four games, and Campbell recently said that he also dealt with a nagging shoulder injury for much of the year (Twitter link).
The former fourth-round pick of the Falcons returned an interception for a touchdown during the Packers’ Week 7 loss to the Commanders, and he says that he was “just hitting my stride” in that contest after playing through the shoulder pain for the first third of the season (pain that he never reported to anyone). Unfortunately, he suffered the knee injury the following week in a contest against the Bills.
Campbell, 30, returned to his full-time role in Week 13, and despite the shoulder and knee ailments, his performance did not suffer much, at least in the eyes of the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 75.6 overall grade, a mark that included a particularly high 81.0 score in the all-important “coverage” category and positioned him as the NFL’s 15th-best linebacker among 81 qualifiers. In his standout 2021 season, PFF gave him an 85.0 overall grade.
Campbell says he is now completely healthy, and the Packers will need him to continue playing at a high level. Green Bay still has a puncher’s chance of winning a questionable NFC North, or to at least earn a wildcard berth, despite transitioning from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love at quarterback. If that happens, it will likely be because the club’s defense, a middling unit in 2022, returns to the top-10 form it displayed the year prior. Campbell, who calls the defensive signals, will be central to that effort.
The Packers were of course not going to move on from Campbell this offseason given their financial commitment to him and his importance to the defense. Still, it is notable that the team did not make any draft or FA investments at the ILB position, so it is clear that Green Bay has plenty of faith in Campbell and his running mate, 2022 first-rounder Quay Walker.
2023 NFL Dead Money, By Team
Accounting for players who appear on teams’ cap sheets but not on their rosters, dead money is a factor for all 32 teams. This year, dead money comprises more than 20% of five teams’ payrolls. Two teams who followed through (successfully) with all-in missions in recent years — the Buccaneers and Rams — each have more than 30% of their payrolls devoted to dead-cap hits.
Going into training camp, here is how dead money factors into each team’s cap sheet:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $75.32MM
- Los Angeles Rams: $74.23MM
- Green Bay Packers: $57.14MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $54.73MM
- Carolina Panthers: $51.54MM
- Arizona Cardinals: $36.96MM
- Tennessee Titans: $36.56MM
- Minnesota Vikings: $35.54MM
- Houston Texans: $31.72MM
- Las Vegas Raiders: $29.95MM
- Indianapolis Colts: $24.89MM
- New Orleans Saints: $24.58MM
- Chicago Bears: $23.52MM
- Washington Commanders: $23.01MM
- New York Giants: $22.74MM
- New England Patriots: $21.82MM
- Atlanta Falcons: $18.78MM
- Detroit Lions: $18.69MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $17.91MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $17.16MM
- Cleveland Browns: $16MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $14.64MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers: $13.26MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $10.78MM
- Denver Broncos: $9.72MM
- Miami Dolphins: $8.43MM
- New York Jets: $7.95MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $7.65MM
- Buffalo Bills: $5.23MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $4.7MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $2.19MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $593K
No team broke the Falcons’ record for dead money devoted to a single player. The Falcons’ Matt Ryan trade left them with $40.52MM last year. But the Bucs and Rams incurred some dead money collectively this offseason.
Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay exit created much of the Bucs’ issue here. Brady not signing another Bucs deal, instead retiring for a second time, accelerated $35.1MM in dead money onto the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The team had used void years increasingly during Brady’s tenure, and his second restructure created the $35.1MM figure. The Bucs will swallow the post-Brady pill this year, with no dead money related to that contract on their books in 2024.
Three ex-Rams combine to take up $55MM of their dead-money haul. The Rams traded Allen Robinson to the Steelers earlier this year, but that three-year, $46.5MM deal Los Angeles authorized in 2022 will result in Robinson’s former team carrying a $21.5MM dead-money hit in 2023. The Rams are eating $19.6MM of Jalen Ramsey‘s contract, and bailing on Leonard Floyd‘s four-year, $64MM extension after two seasons moved $19MM in dead money to L.A.’s 2023 payroll. The Rams did not use the post-June 1 designation to release Floyd, keeping the dead money on that deal tied to 2023 only.
The Packers did come close to breaking the Falcons’ record for dead money on a single contract. Green Bay following through on the Aaron Rodgers trade left $40.31MM in dead money on this year’s Packers cap. Because the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, that hit will be entirely absorbed this year. It also took a Rodgers restructure on his way out to move the cap damage down to $40MM. The Panthers trading Christian McCaffrey after June 1 last year left the second chunk of dead money ($18.35MM) to be carried on this year’s cap. It also cost Carolina $14.63MM in dead cap to trade D.J. Moore to the Bears.
The Bears used both their post-June 1 cut designations last year (Tarik Cohen, Danny Trevathan) and also have a $13.23MM Robert Quinn cap hold. The Cardinals had already used their two allotted post-June 1 cut designations this offseason. As result, DeAndre Hopkins is on Arizona’s books at $21.1MM this year. Because they cut the All-Pro wide receiver before June 1, the Cards will be free of Hopkins obligations after this year.
While the Raiders built in the escape hatch in Derek Carr‘s 2022 extension, keeping the dead money on their nine-year QB’s contract low, Cory Littleton — a 2022 post-June 1 cut — still counts nearly $10MM on their cap sheet. Fellow 2022 post-June 1 release Julio Jones still counts more than $8MM on the Titans’ payroll. The Cowboys went to the post-June 1 well with Ezekiel Elliott this year, but their 2022 designation (La’el Collins) leads the way with $8.2MM on this year’s Dallas payroll.