Raiders Worked Out LB Patrick Onwuasor
The Raiders were apparently motivated to add a linebacker today. Before they acquired Denzel Perryman from the Panthers, the Raiders worked out veteran linebacker Patrick Onwuasor, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Panthers Trade LB Denzel Perryman To Raiders]
The former undrafted free agent out of Portland State turned into a reliable starter for the Ravens. Onwuasor ultimately spent four seasons in Baltimore, collecting 234 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles in 58 games (32 starts). The 28-year-old joined the Jets during the 2020 offseason, but he landed on IR in early September. He was activated two months later before getting placed on IR once again, ending his season.
Onwuasor ended up getting into only one game for the Jets in 2020, appearing on eight special teams snaps without recording a tackle.
Las Vegas could be without Nicholas Morrow for the foreseeable future, and backup linebacker Javin White is also dealing with an injury. Thanks in part to that depleted depth, the Raiders acquired Perryman earlier this evening from Carolina. That trade would presumably take the Raiders out of the running for Onwuasor, although the team could look to bring in multiple players as they try to replace Morrow’s production.
Panthers Trade LB Denzel Perryman To Raiders
Denzel Perryman is heading west again. The Raiders and Panthers agreed to a deal Wednesday night that will send the veteran linebacker to Las Vegas, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Panthers have announced the trade.
The former Chargers starter will return to the AFC West in a pick-swap trade, with the Panthers receiving a sixth-round pick and the Raiders acquiring Perryman and a seventh-rounder, per Schefter (on Twitter). This will represent another fresh-start attempt for Perryman and give the Raiders some help on their suddenly weakened defensive second level.
Carolina signed Perryman to a two-year, $6MM deal, guaranteeing the former second-round pick $2.99MM. The 28-year-old defender is due to earn base salaries of $990K and $1MM on this contract. The Panthers had seen Jermaine Carter perform well enough during training camp to anoint him as a starter alongside Shaq Thompson. Carter becoming Carolina’s starting middle linebacker left Perryman in limbo, a familiar position for the formerly supplanted Bolts starting inside ‘backer.
Las Vegas is currently down starter Nicholas Morrow, and Jon Gruden said the fifth-year Raider may be out a while. Backup Raiders linebacker Javin White is also on the mend, amplifying a need here. Perryman, however, has also battled injuries this year. He missed time at Panthers training camp due to a hip injury and is battling foot trouble after at teammate stepped on one of his feet this week, Joe Person of The Athletic notes (subscription required).
A bonus for Perryman’s hopes of stabilizing his career: this move will reunite him with former Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, whom the Raiders hired this year. Perryman, who will follow longtime Charger teammate Casey Hayward to Vegas, showed promise early in his career with the Bolts, recording 16 tackles for loss over his first two seasons. Injuries intervened over the next two seasons, but he later signed an extension to stay in Los Angeles. Despite the six-year vet’s playing time dwindling on that second Bolts deal — down to 31% of L.A.’s defensive snaps last season — Perryman graded as one of Pro Football Focus’ top run-defending linebackers in 2020.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams had until 3pm today to cut their rosters down to 80 players.
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: RB Javian Hawkins, LB Shareef Miller, DL Olive Sagapolu, WR Austin Trammell, OL Willie Wright
- Placed on IR: QB A.J. McCarron (story)
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: QB Kenji Bahar
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed: WR Rico Gafford (from Cardinals), DT Joey Ivie (from Colts)
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Cole Beasley, DT Vernon Butler, WR Gabriel Davis, DT Star Lotulelei
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: K Dominik Eberle
- Waived: S LaDarius Wiley
Cleveland Browns
- Suspended two games: WR Davion Davis; Davis was arrested for DUI in 2019
- Released from IR via injury settlement: K Cody Parkey
Denver Broncos
- Waived: WR Branden Mack, LB Josh Watson
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on IR: S Will Redmond
- Waived: DL Josh Avery
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived/injured: TE Noah Togiai
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: OL Derwin Gray, CB Jameson Houston, DT Kenny Randall
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on IR: LB Darron Lee
- Waived: WR Marcell Ateman
- Waived/injured: DL Darius Stills
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: LS Ryan Langan, WR Austin Proehl, TE Matt Seybert, OT Kyle Spalding
- Waived/injured: LB Damon Lloyd, DL Chris Okoye
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: TE Kyle Markway
New England Patriots
- Waived: DB Malik Gant, LS Brian Khoury, LB Cassh Maluia, OL R.J. Prince, WR Devin Ross
- Placed on IR: OL Marcus Martin
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: TE Rysen John, CB Quincy Wilson
- Waived: LS Carson Tinker
- Waived/injured: DB Montre Hartage, TE Cole Hikutini
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OT Casey Tucker
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: DE Alex Tchangam
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Ryan Succop
- Waived/injured: OT Chidi Okeke
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: CB Kevin Peterson
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Nick Dzubnar, RB Jeremy McNichols
Washington Football Team
- Waived: CB Jordan Brown, OT Rick Leonard, LB Justin Phillips, DT Justus Reed, C Jon Toth
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 4pm ET/3pm CT Tuesday to reach the 80-man roster limit.
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB Luq Barcoo (failed physical), TE Ian Bunting, WR Rico Gafford
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: G Marquel Harrell, WR Krishawn Hogan, DT Walter Palmore
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ledarius Mack
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DB Donnie Lewis
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Alexander Hollins, CB Robert Jackson, OT Alex Taylor
- Placed on IR: TE Connor Davis, LB Montrel Meander
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Malik Hooker, WR CeeDee Lamb, S Israel Mukuamu, DT Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Stevie Scott
- Placed on IR: C Brett Jones
- Released: LB Pita Taumoepenu
- Waived: G Nolan Laufenberg
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DT P.J. Johnson, RB Javon Leake, OLB Robert McCray, QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Released: WR Darius Jennings
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Evan Boehm
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: TE Daniel Crawford
Houston Texans
- Waived: DT Auzoyah Alufohai, RB Darius Jackson, OL Drake Jackson
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DT Joey Ivie, LB Skai Moore, TE Andrew Vollert
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Devery Hamilton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: RB Raymond Calais (injured), DB Paris Ford, QB Devlin Hodges
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: LB Christian Elliss, QB Danny Etling, DT Jordon Scott (waived/injured)
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: DE Carl Lawson (story)
- Signed: DE Aaron Adeoye, OL Isaiah Williams
- Waived: CB Corey Ballentine
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Jhamon Ausbon, WR Hakeem Butler, C Harry Crider, S Lavert Hill
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: WR John Ursua
- Waived: DT Cedrick Lattimore, QB Alex McGough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Jonathan Hubbard
- Released from IR via injury settlement: Sam Renner
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed (from Bengals): DL Freedom Akinmoladun
- Waived/injured: OL Paul Adams, K Tucker McCann, G Ross Reynolds
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Anthony Rush
Raiders Tried To Reacquire Khalil Mack From Bears
Lacking an impact pass rusher since trading Khalil Mack to the Bears in 2018, the Raiders signed Yannick Ngakoue to bolster their defensive end corps in March. However, before that agreement came to pass, the team hatched a rather unusual plan.
Just before signing Ngakoue, the Raiders contacted the Bears about reacquiring Mack, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Both the Bears and Raiders made cap-related moves this spring, each shedding some starters for financial reasons. The Raiders wondered if the Bears, who would soon shop Kyle Fuller before making him a cap casualty, would send Mack back to them amid their cap crunch.
In what still had to be a fascinating phone call on the Bears’ end, they told the Raiders they were not interested in trading Mack, Tafur adds. Mack, now 30, is going into his fourth season with Chicago. The Bears’ top pass-rushing cogs — Mack, Robert Quinn, Akiem Hicks — are all north of 30 now. But the team was not interested in what would have been one of the more interesting trades in modern NFL history, given the nature of Mack’s Oakland exit three summers ago.
The Raiders’ decisions to extend Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson in the summer of 2017 while making Mack wait — a common practice made possible by the fifth-year option being included in first-rounders’ deals — irked Mack, per Tafur. And the Raiders devoting funds to lower-profile free agents during Jon Gruden‘s first months back in power bothered the pass rusher to the point he broke off contact with the team. The Raiders signed a host of midlevel free agents that March — from Jordy Nelson to Rashaan Melvin to Tahir Whitehead — and Mark Davis said in 2018 Mack refused to talk to Gruden and then-GM Reggie McKenzie going forward.
Davis cited Carr’s contract when addressing whether the Raiders could afford Mack, and Gruden noted that year the Raiders’ extension offer to Mack was not close to the six-year, $141MM contract he signed with the Bears post-trade. The Raiders received two first-round picks, a 2020 third and a 2019 sixth for Mack. They drafted Josh Jacobs and Damon Arnette with the first-rounders, while the Bears took Cole Kmet with the 2020 second-rounder they collected in the September 2018 blockbuster.
Mack, who is 3-for-3 in Pro Bowls with the Bears, is signed through the 2024 season. Pro Football Focus graded Mack as the No. 1 edge defender in 2020, despite his lower sack (nine) and QB-hit (13) totals. The Bears did end up using Mack’s contract to create cap space, restructuring it around the same time the Raiders phoned. Moving Mack before the 2023 offseason would bring forth significant dead-money charges for the Bears. On the Raiders’ end, they gave Ngakoue a two-year, $26MM deal. He will pair with Maxx Crosby and former No. 4 overall pick Clelin Ferrell, who has not lived up to that draft slot to this point.
Raiders Meet With LB Mark Barron, Release CB Rasul Douglas
Ailing at linebacker, the Raiders are taking a look at a longtime starter. Mark Barron, who missed all of last season, is in Las Vegas for a workout, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
The Broncos brought Barron aboard last year, but the former first-round pick did not play. Hamstring and pectoral injuries sidelined Barron last year, and the Broncos ended up cutting ties with him in December. This marks the first Barron connection this year.
Nicholas Morrow, Nick Kwiatkoski and Darron Lee are currently down with injuries for the Raiders. While Kwiatkoski is expected back soon, Jon Gruden expressed concern about the foot injury Morrow suffered in practice last week.
Barron has made 102 career starts. Though a chunk of those have come at safety, the 31-year-old defender has been entrenched at linebacker since he joined the Rams in 2015. Barron has played with the Buccaneers, Rams and Steelers during his career.
Teams also have until 3pm CT Tuesday to trim their rosters from 85 to 80, and the Raiders made Rasul Douglas a somewhat surprising early cut, Yates adds. The team signed Douglas in April. Las Vegas rosters fellow veteran corners Casey Hayward, Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Nevin Lawson but also houses a host of recent draftees, creating a roster crunch of sorts at this position.
Douglas, 26, is a vested veteran after spending three seasons with the Eagles and one with the Panthers. The Eagles parted ways with Douglas nearly a year ago, leading to his stopover in Charlotte. His 11 starts with the Panthers marked a career-high total. The former third-round pick contributed on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII-winning team four years ago, but he will need to find another new home after Monday’s Raiders decision.
In addition to the Douglas release, the Raiders waived guard Parker Ehinger and punter Corliss Waitman.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/21
Tuesday afternoon marked the deadline for teams to cut down from 90 to 85 players. We’ll keep track of those cuts and the day’s other minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed (from Packers): P Ryan Winslow
- Waived: P Tyler Newsome
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Jeff Badet
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Johnny Townsend
Carolina Panthers
- Waived/injured: LB Nate Hall, C Mike Panasiuk
- Placed on IR: CB Troy Pride Jr.; Pride suffered a torn ACL
Chicago Bears
- Released: WR Justin Hardy
- Waived: DB Michael Joseph, LB Ledarius Mack
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: LB Anthony Hines, FB Sewo Olonilua, CB Reggie Robinson
- Waived: CB Kyron Brown, WR Brennan Eagles
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Adrian Killins
- Waived: DB Rojesterman Farris, LB Peter Kalambayi, DT Lorenzo Neal Jr.
- Waived/injured: WR DeVontres Dukes, RB LeVante Bellamy, DL Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Placed on IR: LB Shaun Dion Hamilton
- Signed: QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Waived: DT Michael Barnett
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Chad Hansen
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: QB Jake Dolegala
- Placed on IR: TE Isaac Nauta, WR DeAndre Thompkins
- Waived: OL Zack Johnson
Houston Texans
- Reverted to reserve/NFI: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Te’von Coney
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB David Bellamy
- Waived: QB K.J. Costello, TE Matt Seybert
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: CB Amari Henderson
- Reverted to IR: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New England Patriots
- Waived/injured: TE Troy Fumagalli
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: OL Cameron Clark
- Waived: DL Michael Dwumfour, S Bennett Jackson, RB Austin Walter
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: DL Abdullah Anderson, DB Stephen Denmark, WR Isaiah McKoy, K Sam Sloman, OT Brandon Walton
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed (from Ravens): CB Davontae Harris
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Jake Benzinger
- Placed on IR: G Sadarius Hutcherson
- Waived/failed physical: WR John Franklin III
- Waived/injured: G Donell Stanley
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Jamal Carter
- Placed on IR: DL Trevon Coley, S Tedric Thompson
Washington Football Team
- Waived: TE Nick Guggemos, CB Greg Stroman
Raiders Cut Seven Players
The Raiders made a series of transactions today to reduce their roster, with a handful of notable players earning their walking papers. Per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez (on Twitter), the Raiders released cornerback De’Vante Bausby and defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks. The team also waived quarterback Case Cookus, kicker Dominik Eberle, long snapper Liam McCullough, running back Bo Scarbrough, and wide receiver Caleb Scott.
Bausby joined the Raiders earlier this offseason after spending the 2020 season with the Broncos (two stints) and the Cardinals. He actually had his most productive NFL season, collecting 20 tackles and five passes defended in 10 games (three starts). The 28-year-old previously got some playing time with the Bears and Eagles, appearing in 26 career games.
Westbrooks signed with the Raiders just last week, but his second stint with the organization has already come to an end. The 30-year-old defensive lineman appeared in 61 games for the Rams between the 2015 and 2018 seasons, collecting 51 tackles, nine sacks, and one forced fumble. However, he hasn’t seen the field since that 2018 campaign.
Scarbrough made a name for himself following a five-game stint as a starter with the Lions in 2019. He collected 382 yards from scrimmage that season, but he only saw the field for one game with the Seahawks in 2020.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR Thomas Ives
Green Bay Packers
- Reverted to IR: LB Randy Ramsey
Houston Texans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OT Tytus Howard, OT Roderick Johnson, OT Laremy Tunsil
Las Vegas Raiders
- Activated from active/PUP list: CB Isaiah Johnson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Lawrence Woods
- Waived: LB Quentin Poling
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Keith Washington
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Meadors
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: DL Davin Bellamy
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: DE Sam Renner
Contract Details: Allen, Alexander, McCoy, Barkley
Let’s catch up on the details of some of the high-profile contracts given out recently:
- Josh Allen grabbed all the headlines by inking his mega-extension with the Bills. In an interesting piece, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com breaks down how it compares to the huge deal Patrick Mahomes recently signed with the Chiefs. For starters, Allen got a $16.5MM signing bonus, while Mahomes only got $10MM. Further, “the early cash flow for Allen is vastly superior to the Mahomes contract,” Florio writes. That’s because Mahomes’ deal is more back-loaded, while Allen is for example due $47MM in the second year of the pact. Mahomes’ contract is still worth more annually, but only because of the extra years at the end that his has. Through the first eight seasons of their respective deals, the compensation is nearly identical. Allen will clear $284.55MM through eight years, while Mahomes will get $285.33MM through the first eight years of his.
- Last week the Saints agreed to terms on a one-year deal with linebacker Kwon Alexander, and now we have all the financials. We heard at the time it was worth “up to” $3MM. It turns out to have a base value of only $1.127MM, not too much above the minimum for a player with his service time, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweets. He got $387.5K in guaranteed money. Alexander will get another $200K if he plays 50% of the snaps in 13 games, another $300K for 15 games, and another $400K for 17 games. He also has another $972K in other unspecified playing time incentives. New Orleans cut him back in March to save $13MM in cap space, so even if Alexander hits all his incentives he’ll have taken a fairly hefty pay-cut. That’s unfortunately what happens when you’re coming off an Achilles tear like Alexander is. He started all seven games that he played for the Saints last year before going down.
- Alexander wasn’t the only big name defensive player to sign last week, as defensive tackle Gerald McCoy also latched on with the Raiders. His one-year deal with Las Vegas is worth up to $2MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. He got a signing bonus of $150K and also has incentives worth $750K. The six-time Pro Bowler missed all of 2020 with a torn quad. Once one of the best interior linemen in the league, he turned 33 back in February.
- Matt Barkley resurfaced with the Titans to give them some insurance behind Ryan Tannehill, and he got $1.1MM on a one-year deal, Rapoport notes in the same tweet. Rapsheet didn’t specify, but it seems unlikely that much if any of it was guaranteed. Tennessee apparently wasn’t happy with only having Logan Woodside behind Tannehill. Shortly after signing Barkley, they released Deshone Kizer. Woodside and Barkley will now battle it out for clipboard-holding duties.