Titans Place Marlon Davidson On IR
Marlon Davidson was in position to log a depth role during his second season with the Titans in 2024, but that will not turn out to be the case. The fourth-year edge rusher was placed on IR due to a biceps tear Friday, per a team announcement. 
Davidson did not live up to expectations during his tenure with the Falcons. The former second-rounder registered only one sack in 19 games with Atlanta before ultimately being released in October 2022. That led to a brief stint on the 49ers’ practice squad the following year before Davidson found a deal with Tennessee. He made five appearances late in the campaign, logging a career-high 48% defensive snap share.
Davidson re-signed with the Titans in May, receiving an extended look after the team’s only draft addition along the edge came in the seventh round. The 26-year-old posted one sack, 10 tackles and a pair of QB pressures during his brief spell with Tennessee, and he was in position to compete for a depth role in 2024. Instead, his attention will now turn to recovery.
If Davidson were to be released via an injury settlement, he would be free to join a new team. Failing that, however, he will be sidelined for the entire campaign ahead of reaching free agency next spring. The Titans will move forward with the likes of Harold Landry, Arden Key and Rashad Weaver along the edge. Davidson was capable of taking snaps inside as well, but the team will rely on Jeffery Simmons, Sebastian Joseph-Day and T’Vondre Sweat along the D-line in his absence.
In a corresponding move, Tennessee signed defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson. The 28-year-old is a veteran of 33 games in the NFL, making appearances with a different team in each of his five seasons to date. If Anderson survives roster cutdowns at the end of the month, the Titans will mark a sixth employer as he eyes a rotational role for 2024.
Browns Extend Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
AUGUST 16: This contract’s base value checks in at $37.5MM, per OverTheCap. At $12.5MM per year, Owusu-Koramoah becomes the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid off-ball linebacker. Of the $25MM guaranteed, $20MM is locked in at signing, with the Browns stretching full guarantees into 2026. The team guaranteed its top linebacker $6MM for 2026.
Cleveland used four void years to keep Owusu-Koramoah’s cap hits low. None of the ILB’s cap figures are higher than $8.5MM on this deal, though as of now the team would take on more than $17MM in dead money if the player is not extended again before the 2028 league year.
AUGUST 14: Already carrying big-ticket contracts at the other four positions on defense, the Browns will reward their top linebacker. Looming as an extension candidate for a bit now, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is no longer in a contract year.
The Browns came to terms with the fourth-year linebacker on a three-year deal worth up to $39MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Owusu-Koramoah secured $25MM guaranteed on this deal, one that makes him one of the league’s highest-paid off-ball LBs.
Cleveland has Myles Garrett, Dalvin Tomlinson, Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit on lucrative second contracts, with the team also finding room to re-sign Za’Darius Smith this offseason. Linebacker had housed lower-end contracts on this payroll, but after the Browns led the NFL in pass defense in Jim Schwartz‘s first season as DC, they are rewarding a three-down linebacker. The former second-round pick is now signed through the 2027 season.
Owusu-Koramoah, 24, appeared on Cleveland’s extension radar this offseason. The Notre Dame alum has emerged as the team’s central presence on its defensive second level, as various other pieces have come and gone around him in recent years.
While the “up to” phrase is notable here, Owusu-Koramoah receiving $25MM guaranteed places him fifth among off-ball LBs — behind only Roquan Smith, Tremaine Edmunds, Fred Warner and Matt Milano. The Browns have now surpassed the Eagles with 13 $10MM-per-year players (h/t Grand Central Sports Management’s Brad Spielberger), moving into the NFL lead.
Named a Pro Bowler as an alternate last season, Owusu-Koramoah played a lead role in the Browns’ defense igniting under Schwartz. Despite operating primarily as a non-rush linebacker (though, he is an effective blitzer), Owusu-Koramoah registered 20 tackles for loss. Not only did that pace all traditional linebackers by five, the total ranked fourth across the NFL. The speedy defender totaled 101 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble in a breakthrough third season. Pro Football Focus slotted Owusu-Koramoah 18th among ILBs in 2023.
This is not the best period to excel as a traditional linebacker, as the market has cooled a bit. Perennial Pro Bowler C.J. Mosley and Jaguars tackling machine Foye Oluokun took pay cuts (in exchange for increased guarantees) this offseason, leaving only six players earning more than $11MM at this position. Owusu-Koramoah becoming No. 7 would reflect the Browns’ belief he can thrive in this scheme for years.
More impressively, last year’s emergence came after a 2022 Lisfranc injury. The Browns saw promising work from JOK over his first two seasons, as injuries piled up at the position, with four forced fumbles coming from 2021-22. Losing Sione Takitaki in free agency, the Browns are aiming to pair their LB centerpiece with veteran Jordan Hicks. Wednesday morning’s agreement firmly places Owusu-Koramoah as a pillar alongside the above-referenced D-linemen and DBs in a suddenly strong defense.
Giants Sign FB Jakob Johnson
Brian Daboll added former Raiders and Patriots offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to the same position this offseason. The veteran assistant will soon see one of his former charges in the mix, though not necessarily as a blocker up front.
The Giants are bringing in fullback Jakob Johnson, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Johnson overlapped with Bricillo during the past two seasons (in Las Vegas) and was in New England during each of Bricillo’s three seasons there. The team waived tight end Tyree Jackson with an injury designation to clear a roster spot.
Johnson, 29, signed two one-year Raiders contracts; he initially arrived in Vegas after the Patriots non-tendered him as an RFA in 2022. He started 14 games with the Raiders and 20 as a Patriot. Johnson has certainly proven he is a viable NFL role player, though the Giants adding a fullback this close to the season is an interesting development.
The team already added a blocking tight end this offseason, signing Chris Manhertz shortly after his Broncos release. Johnson was one of only 10 fullbacks — as this position has been declining in relevance for a while — to see more than 180 offensive snaps last season. He logged 186 with the Raiders in 2023 but topped 300 each season from 2020-22.
Following Josh McDaniels‘ firing, Johnson yo-yoed between the Raiders’ practice squad and active roster. It is possible the Giants will view the sixth-year vet as an option for their 16-man P-squad this season. The team is fairly thin at tight end, having lost Darren Waller to retirement, and saw backup running back Tyrone Tracy suffer an ankle injury earlier this week. Tracy, however, only suffered a low ankle sprain, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, and is week-to-week.
Falcons To Sign S Justin Simmons
No Matt Judon extension is complete, but the Chris Lindstrom restructure will make way for another key payment. Justin Simmons‘ recent Falcons visit will produce a deal.
Atlanta is bringing in the longtime Denver safety starter on a one-year, $8MM accord, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will give the Falcons an elite safety duo, with Simmons — a four-time All-Pro — set to team with Jessie Bates. Former Simmons Broncos teammate Su’a Cravens, now with CBS Sports Central, initially reported this deal would come to pass. Raheem Morris and Falcon defenders Bates, AJ Terrell and Grady Jarrett joined Simmons for dinner during his visit, with veteran reporter Jordan Schultz indicating this helped seal the deal.
[RELATED: Falcons Send Patriots Third-Rounder For Judon]
Simmons will receive $7.5MM fully guaranteed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Of course, guarantees on this contract are less important due to vested veterans’ salaries locking in just before Week 1. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe labels this a one-year, $7.5MM pact that features a $500K incentive for a first-team All-Pro nod.
Still, Simmons does far better than a veteran-minimum deal after a lengthy free agency stay. The former Broncos defensive centerpiece — released in March in a Broncos cost-cutting move — will have a chance to create a 2025 market for himself, and the Falcons will have exclusive negotiating rights with the ninth-year veteran until March.
Since Simmons’ 2016 NFL debut, no one has more interceptions than the former third-round pick. The Boston College product snared 30 in Denver. Four of those came off Patrick Mahomes, though team success eluded the seven-year Denver starter. Drafted two months after the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win, Simmons soon toiled for a franchise that struggled to replace Peyton Manning. As the Russell Wilson trade did not pan out, Simmons and Patrick Surtain led in keeping the Denver defense afloat. Simmons has camped on the All-Pro second team, landing there four times since 2019.
Although Simmons played under Vic Fangio and Ejiro Evero, he will instead land in Atlanta. Morris worked with Evero in Los Angeles, which should make a quicker acclimation process possible for the 30-year-old defender. Simmons had said he wanted to sign with a contender. While the Falcons have not qualified as such since midway through the Dan Quinn years, they have operated aggressively to change that this offseason. Kirk Cousins‘ arrival spearheaded the effort, and Simmons will join Judon in helping Atlanta attempt to snap a postseason hiatus. The Falcons’ drought has lasted almost as long as the Broncos’, with the 2017 divisional round doubling as the team’s most recent playoff outing.
Simmons led the NFL with six interceptions in 2022, helping keep the Broncos in close games amid their maddening Wilson-Nathaniel Hackett season, and his return from injury last year — after the Dolphins’ 70-20 demolition — coincided with a midseason turnaround. Also intercepting five passes during the 2020 and ’21 seasons, Simmons will join a Falcons secondary that just received a strong Bates debut. The ex-Bengal intercepted six passes and forced three fumbles in his first Falcons slate (Simmons forced five fumbles over the past two years). Bates is tied to a four-year, $64MM deal — one that checked in just higher than Simmons’ 2021 Broncos extension.
Given his age, Simmons is unlikely to come too close to a future deal in the ballpark of the one he inked three years ago (four years, $61MM). But he played three years on that contract and collected franchise tag money in 2020. Simmons can push his career earnings past $70MM on this Falcons pact.
The Falcons have former second-round pick Richie Grant under contract, but part-time starter DeMarcco Hellams sustained a significant ankle injury recently. Although Grant has started 32 career games — including 15 last season — this addition stands to reduce his role. It should be expected the Falcons will trot out a Bates-Simmons pair in a secondary that still includes Terrell’s rookie contract.
After the Saints brought in the accomplished safety for a meeting early in training camp, the Falcons will instead swoop in. It will now be interesting to see if they hammer out an agreement with Judon, who spent his final months in New England angling for new terms.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/24
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed off waivers (from Commanders): G Mason Brooks
- Waived-injured: G Nash Jensen
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived from IR (with injury settlement): CB Gregory Junior
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: S Jalyn Phillips
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Joshua Kelley, S Jonathan Sutherland
- Placed on IR: S Elijah Riley
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on IR: DB Grayland Arnold
- Released from IR (with injury settlement): NT Breiden Fehoko
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived from IR (with injury settlement): DE Austin Bryant, WR Terique Owens
Washington Commanders
- Signed: QB Trace McSorley
Joshua Kelley will land in New York after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Chargers. The running back is coming off a 2023 campaign where he started a career-high three games while compiling 437 yards from scrimmage. In a post Saquon Barkley-era, Kelley will be joining an uncertain depth chart that features the likes of Devin Singletary, Eric Gray, and rookie fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr..
Grayland Arnold won’t have an opportunity to contribute to the Steelers in 2023 after landing on IR. The defensive back was battling it out for Pittsburgh’s starting slot corner spot, with ESPN’s Brooke Pryor noting that Arnold’s injury means UDFA Beanie Bishop likely won the job. Arnold spent the past three seasons with the Texans, collecting 22 tackles in 20 games.
Trace McSorley‘s career journey brings him to Washington, per Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan in Washington. As Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post notes, the veteran should soak up some snaps on Saturday with both Marcus Mariota (groin) and Sam Hartman (shoulder) sidelined. McSorley was a 2019 sixth-round pick by the Ravens, and he’s now had stints with six different squads throughout his career.
Falcons Place Return Specialist Jakeem Grant On IR
After signing with the Falcons on Saturday, Jakeem Grant‘s season has already come to an end. The team announced that the return specialist was placed on injured reserve today.
[RELATED: Falcons Sign Return Specialist Jakeem Grant]
Grant made it through only one full practice before going down. Per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the special teamer suffered a hamstring injury on Wednesday that forced him off the practice field.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a shocking development for Grant, who has suffered through a list of injuries in recent years. After signing with the Browns ahead of the 2022 campaign, Grant suffered a torn Achilles tendon that ended his season before it began. The veteran suffered another season-ending injury during the 2023 preseason, this time thanks to a ruptured patellar tendon.
Prior to his run of injuries, the former sixth-round pick was one of the most dynamic returners in the NFL. Grant collected six return touchdowns through his six healthy seasons, including a pair of kickoffs of more than 100 yards. Grant also showed some flashes on offense, including a 2020 campaign with the Dolphins where he hauled in 36 catches for 373 yards.
Considering his special teams prowess, teams were willing to look past his recent injury woes. Grant was a popular name on the workout circuit this offseason, getting looks from the Eagles, Saints, and Jets. Grant could potentially play again this season if he’s able to work out his release with the Falcons.
In Atlanta, Grant was likely going to be competing with the likes of Ray-Ray McCloud and Avery Williams for return snaps. He also could have seen a role on offense, especially following Rondale Moore‘s season-ending injury.
Bills Place WR Chase Claypool On IR
AUGUST 15: As expected, the Bills have reached an injury settlement with Claypool, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. This will send the former second-round pick back into free agency, though the terms of the settlement will dictate when he can sign. This settlement will allow Claypool to play this season, but his stock has nosedived since some early-career promise.
AUGUST 13: Not standing out in a crowded Bills receiver competition, Chase Claypool will exit this derby early. Buffalo placed the big-bodied wide receiver on IR on Tuesday.
The Bills dropped Claypool from their 90-man roster and added wideout Deon Cain. The latter joins Monday addition Damiere Byrd among wideouts competing for back-end roster spots or practice squad gigs in Buffalo. Additionally, Buffalo placed quarterback Shane Buechele on IR. This move will officially bring Ben DiNucci onto the team’s active roster.
[RELATED: Marquez Valdes-Scantling On Bills’ Roster Bubble?]
This does not necessarily end Claypool’s season. Depending on the nature of his injury, the fifth-year receiver can catch on elsewhere and play in 2024 via an injury settlement. But Claypool’s career has trended in the wrong direction for a bit. He has not been the same player since his initial Steelers seasons, and the Bills will continue to look for players to round out their new-look wideout group.
A toe injury sends the 26-year-old target to IR. Assuming this is not a season-ender, the terms of a likely injury settlement will dictate when he can join another team. Though, ESPN.com’s Alaina Getzenberg notes the former second-round pick has missed most of Buffalo’s training camp. The Bills, who made several free agent moves at this position during an offseason that featured Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis leaving, will now evaluate the likes of Byrd and Cain as part of an evolving receiver battle.
Buffalo added Claypool, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to its roster this spring. Hollins is believed to be on steady ground, while Samuel is a roster lock based on the terms of his contract. Khalil Shakir and second-round pick Keon Coleman also will be regulars for this Bills edition, leaving the rest of the contingent to vie for backup gigs.
Claypool, who signed with the team shortly after the draft, is coming off an unremarkable Dolphins season. That came after an unproductive Bears stint. The 238-pound Notre Dame alum topped 850 receiving yards in each of his first two years, catching nine touchdown passes as a rookie. Maturity issues have dogged Claypool, who still totaled 451 yards during a 2022 season in which he fetched the Steelers the No. 32 overall pick in a trade. The Bears could only land a late-round pick swap in a Dolphins deal last September. Claypool caught eight passes for 77 yards in 2023.
Aiming to be the Bills’ third-string quarterback behind Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky, Buechele sustained a neck injury that will take him out of that equation. A 2021 Chiefs UDFA, Buechele who played at SMU and Texas, Buechele joined the Bills’ practice squad in August 2023 and received a reserve/futures deal in January. DiNucci is now the team’s third-string option.
Chargers To Sign DT Teair Tart
Another team will give Teair Tart an opportunity. The Titans and Dolphins have now cut the veteran since December, but a new Chargers regime will sign off on another chance.
After a Wednesday workout, the Bolts are signing the veteran defensive tackle, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. This will be Tart’s fourth NFL team. The Texans had claimed him following the Titans cut late last season. Tart did not need to clear waivers after his Dolphins exit, which will lead him to Los Angeles.
Despite the two recent cuts, Tart is coming off a season in which he registered a career-best (by a wide margin) eight tackles for loss. The former Tennessee nose tackle starter got there in just 13 games, split with the Titans and Texans, but has suddenly struggled to find his footing. The Dolphins released Tart months after he signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal. The Titans had waived him despite applying a second-round RFA tender in March 2023.
Undrafted out of Florida International, Tart started 36 Titans games from 2020-23. Shane Bowen‘s defense ranked first against the run in 2022, with Pro Football Focus ranking Tart as a top-25 interior D-lineman that season. This preceded the second-round tender, which the Titans also applied to then-center Aaron Brewer. Both players ended up in Miami, but the Dolphins — who had been pitting Tart and Benito Jones against one another for the NT gig — surprisingly moved on from the defender early and took on more than $500K in dead money.
The Chargers have not been particularly aggressive in staffing their D-line this offseason. After releasing Sebastian Joseph-Day late last season, the Bolts only added Poona Ford (one year, $1.79MM) and fourth-rounder Justin Eboigbe. Morgan Fox remains on the two-year deal he signed in 2023. Tart will attempt to carve out a role for Jesse Minter‘s defense.
Giants To Release DB Jalen Mills
Jalen Mills was placed on the non-football injury list in July, preventing him from taking part in the Giants’ training camp. The veteran defensive back is no longer in the team’s plans, but he could find a deal in advance of the regular season. 
Mills is being released from the NFI list, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He adds the 30-year-old has now recovered from the calf strain he was dealing with, and as a result he could draw attention as a free agent. Once his release becomes official, Mills will be eligible to sign with an interested team (rather than having to clear waivers).
Beginning his career as a corner with the Eagles, the former seventh-rounder has also seen time at safety. Mills spent the past three seasons with New England, serving as a regular on defense. He saw his playing time drop considerably from 2021 to ’22 and then again last year, though. Mills quickly agreed to terms on a one-year Giants pact aimed at helping to fill the void created by Xavier McKinney‘s departure.
That contract only contained $468K in guarantees, so releasing Mills will not carry major financial implications for the Giants. The team’s attention will remain focused on finding a safety partner for Jason Pinnock in the starting lineup, an ongoing competition between Dane Belton and second-round rookie Tyler Nubin. Belton appears to have the have the inside track on a first-team gig, although plenty can change over the coming weeks.
Mills is a veteran of 106 games and 83 starts. He logged a 90% defensive snap share as recently as 2021, so he could be counted on to at least handle a rotational role in the secondary upon finding a new team. It will be interesting to see if his market takes shape right away, or if he will need to wait for roster cutdowns at the end of the month to determine his next move.
Patriots, Falcons Complete Matt Judon Trade
After their Michael Penix Jr. selection, the Falcons tried to trade back into the first round — for the purpose of acquiring a pass rusher. Atlanta is circling back here, doing so via trade. The NFC South team is set to resolve the Patriots’ Matt Judon issue.
The Falcons finalized an agreement to acquire Judon from the Pats, according to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz. As New England has gone through with several pricey deals for veterans this offseason, Judon remains in a contract year and has expressed frustration. He would stand to fill a key need for a Falcons team short on edge rushers.
Atlanta is sending New England a third-round pick for the ninth-year edge presence, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This will bring an end to an offseason saga that had Judon at odds with the team’s new-look front office. The former Ravens draftee, who produced double-digit sack seasons in his first two Patriots years, is going into his age-32 season.
Both the Falcons’ top sack artists from last season — Bud Dupree, Calais Campbell — signed elsewhere this offseason, and the Falcons were unable to swing a deal that would have landed them one of this draft’s premier edge players. This has been an Atlanta issue for a long time now, as Thomas Dimitroff-era first-round investments Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley did not pan out. In Judon, the Falcons land a proven sack artist — albeit one coming off an injury-shortened season.
It will be interesting to see if the Falcons have a deal ready for Judon, as this otherwise could remind of the situation transpiring in New York. The Jets traded a conditional third-round pick to the Eagles for Haason Reddick but have been unable to bring him in, with a lengthy holdout transpiring due to a contract impasse. One season remains on Judon’s contract, which he attempted to upgrade during his final months in New England. No new contract is in place yet, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.
We heard earlier this week teams were calling on Judon’s availability, and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports several teams discussed the pass rusher with the Pats. After signing off on several extensions and re-signings of Bill Belichick-era acquisitions, new Pats front office boss Eliot Wolf will move on in exchange for a Day 2 pick. This deal makes sense from both sides, as a rebuilding team will move a disgruntled 30-something in a contract year to a club suddenly readier to win thanks to Kirk Cousins‘ arrival.
A recent report indicated the Patriots made multiple offers to Judon; the ninth-year edge disputed this account. Those alleged offers were not believed to be extensions, and Judon watched the Pats pay other defenders (Christian Barmore, Kyle Dugger, Davon Godchaux) while leaving his contract untouched. The Division II product recently noted that, coming off a significant biceps injury that limited him to four games last season, he was not expecting to draw a top-market number. But he added that he is worth more than his current $6.5MM base salary.
This comes a year after the then-Belichick-led Patriots adjusted Judon’s contract, moving money from 2024 to 2023 and increasing the player’s guarantees last year. Judon could not hit the incentives included in that package, going down early. But the Pats did reward their 2021 free agent signing after he notched 12.5- and 15.5-sack seasons in 2021 and ’22.
Judon signed a four-year, $54.5MM deal as a 2021 free agent, joining the Pats as the team deviated from its M.O. and signed a host of veterans on a pandemic-affected market. The five-year Raven was by far the best of those signings, and the Falcons will bet on him bouncing back from the biceps tear.
Before attempting to trade into the middle of Round 1 for defensive help (specifically edge player Laiatu Latu), the Falcons had tried to obtain Montez Sweat at the 2023 deadline. They offered a third-round pick, but the Bears beat that by sending the Commanders a second. Dupree and Campbell each finished the season with 6.5 sacks before respectively leaving for Los Angeles and Miami. While Atlanta still rosters former second-round pick Arnold Ebiketie (six 2023 sacks), Judon offers an anchor-level presence.
Turning 32 on Thursday, Judon has four Pro Bowls on his resume. The first two came in Baltimore. In 2019, Judon compiled 33 QB hits and ahead of the Ravens franchise-tagging him in 2020. He finished with 28 QB hits during his most recent full season (2022), driving the third-round compensation for a player unsigned for 2025.
Although the Falcons famously passed on hiring Belichick as HC, they will hope one of his former finds can provide a boost for a pass rush that desperately needs it. Judon will now pair with D-line stalwart Grady Jarrett, who recently received full clearance following an ACL tear, for Raheem Morris‘ defense.
Jerod Mayo‘s team, meanwhile, is suddenly shorthanded on the edge. The Pats did, however, draft Keion White in the 2023 second round and re-signed Josh Uche this offseason. With Judon being a rare veteran Wolf did not extend, the Pats will prepare to use that third-rounder to help future squads.