Jets To Bring In RB Tarik Cohen
Injuries stalled Tarik Cohen‘s career early in the 2020s. The former Bears running back and Pro Bowl return man managed a comeback opportunity with the Panthers last year, but the team ended that bid recently. The Jets will now take a flier.
Cohen is heading to New York on a one-year agreement, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. This comes after the Panthers cut him earlier this month. Robert Saleh confirmed the deal, and the fourth-year Jets HC (via SNY’s Connor Hughes) pointed to the new kickoff rules when discussing Cohen.
With the NFL greenlighting an experiment that will reintroduce the kick return to prominence, some teams are making notable additions in preparation. The Steelers brought in Cordarrelle Patterson hours after owners approved the one-year trial for the XFL-style kickoff, and the Seahawks added Laviska Shenault Jr. with a return role in mind. Cohen has contributed on offense, but his best NFL work has come in the return game.
Cohen, 28, led the NFL in punt-return yardage in 2018, earning first-team All-Pro acclaim, and returned a punt for a touchdown as a rookie a year prior. The bulk of Cohen’s return experience has come on punts, however. The Bears removed the 5-foot-7 back from the kick-return role after his rookie season. Of course, Chicago rostered Patterson from 2019-20. Ceding a job to one of the best kick returners in NFL history did not prove detrimental for Cohen, who signed a three-year, $17.25MM extension in 2020.
Although the Panthers stashed Cohen on their practice squad last year, injury trouble — which initially cropped up not long after his extension came to pass — resurfaced. Cohen spent several weeks on Carolina’s practice squad injured list. The North Carolina A&T alum has not played in a game since the 2020 season; Cohen suffered a torn ACL in September 2020 and missed the 2021 season as well. Shortly after being released in 2022, Cohen sustained an Achilles tear.
The Jets used UDFA Xavier Gipson as their primary return man last year. That fit produced one of the most memorable special teams moments in team history, via the walk-off Week 1 punt return. Saleh confirmed Gipson remains the frontrunner for the kick-return role. Seeing as nearly four years have passed since Cohen’s last game action, the small-school product is running out of chances. But the Jets, who will have 16 practice squad spots in addition to their 53-man roster, will see what the former Bears standout has left.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/28/24
A couple of draft pick signings to pass along:
Minnesota Vikings
- CB Khyree Jackson (fourth round, Oregon)
Tennessee Titans
- LB Cedric Gray (fourth round, North Carolina)
Gray earned first-team All-ACC honors in both 2022 and 2023, collecting 266 totals tackles at North Carolina over that span. Despite being selected in the fourth round, Gray was still only the seventh linebacker off the board, with scouts lauding the former UNC captain’s defensive savviness. The linebacker’s four-year rookie contract is worth $4.85MM, including $834K in guaranteed money (per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston).vWith the signing, the Titans only have one unsigned draft pick: second-round defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (Texas).
Jackson joins the Vikings following a productive lone season at Oregon. After transferring from Alabama, the defensive back had his best collegiate season, finishing with 34 tackles, three interceptions, and a pair of sacks for the Ducks. With this signing, Minnesota only has two unsigned rookies: first-round QB J.J. McCarthy and first-round edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/28/24
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DT Deadrin Senat, NT Josh Tupou
- Waived/injured: DT Ja’Mion Franklin
Houston Texans
- Waived/injured: DE Marcus Haynes
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived from IR (with injury settlement): WR Keilahn Harris
The Ravens added some veteran depth to the middle of their defensive line today. Josh Tupou heads to Baltimore after spending the first chunk of his career with their division rival in Cincinnati. The nose tackle got into 65 games (23 starts) in seven years with the Bengals, collecting 86 tackles and a pair of sacks. He also got into five postseason games, compiling another six stops. He topped 400 defensive snaps in 2019 and 2021 (Tupou opted out of the 2020 campaign), but he’s been limited to around 280 snaps over the past two seasons. Senat spent the past two seasons with the Buccaneers, collecting 18 tackles in 15 games.
Haynes, a former UDFA out of Old Dominion, signed a reserve/futures contract with the Texans in February. The defensive end suffered a quadriceps injury that will likely lead to an injury settlement, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.
Cardinals Sign Round 1 DL Darius Robinson
The Cardinals are one step closer to completing their rookie signings. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cardinals have signed first-round defensive lineman Darius Robinson. The rookie inked a four-year, fully guaranteed $13.8MM deal.
[RELATED: Cards Sign Round 1 WR Marvin Harrison Jr.]
The Cardinals entered the draft armed with a pair of first-round picks. After selecting star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth-overall pick, the front office used pick No. 27 on the Missouri defensive lineman.
Considering the unprecedented run on offensive players to begin the draft, Robinson was still one of the first defenders to hear their name called. The 22-year-old was the eighth defensive player off the board (and the sixth defensive lineman). This wasn’t a huge surprise considering the prospect’s breakout 2023 campaign. After establishing himself as a starter at Missouri in 2022, he took it to another level this past year, finishing with 14 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. For his efforts, Robinson earned a first-team All-SEC nod after the season.
The Cardinals’ 33 sacks last season ranked 30th in the NFL, so the organization is hoping the rookie can provide a spark. Likened to Arik Armstead, Robinson has the ability to play multiple positions on the defensive line, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he slots in at defensive end during his first season in the NFL.
With Robinson now signed, the Cardinals have two unsigned rookies: third-round running back Trey Benson (Florida State) and fourth-round safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (Texas Tech).
Rams Sign First-Round DE Jared Verse, Complete Draft Class
The Rams entered Tuesday with only one draftee yet to sign his rookie deal. First-rounder Jared Verse is now on the books, however, per a team announcement. 
2024 marked the first season of the Sean McVay era in which the Rams made a selection in the first round. Los Angeles was connected to a move up the board aimed at adding an offensive contributor. In particular, tight end Brock Bowers was a target, but no agreement was reached on that front. That left the team in position to bring in help on the other side of the ball.
Remaining in place at No. 19 in the draft order, the Rams added Verse as one of five edge rushers selected on Day 1. Two prospects – Laiatu Latu and Dallas Turner – were drafted slightly ahead of Verse at No. 15 and 17, respectively. The latter should nevertheless see plenty of playing time during his rookie campaign. Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes this four-year pact (which will contain a fifth-year option for 2028) is worth $15.13MM and includes a $7.83MM signing bonus.
Verse put himself firmly on the first-round radar during his two-year career at Florida State. After transferring from FCS Albany in 2022, he thrived with the Seminoles. Verse totaled 18 sacks and 29 tackles for loss between 2022 and ’23, leading the team in sacks both years. Known for his strong run defense, those totals earned him first-team All-ACC honors as well. A number of teams showed interest in the build-up to the draft.
The Rams’ front seven was dealt a massive blow with Aaron Donald retiring. The future Hall of Famer’s absence will create a notable vacancy along the defensive interior in the pass-rush department and against the run. Verse will look to aid on both fronts along the edge while likely playing opposite Byron Young as a starter. He will have a familiar face alongside him with D-tackle Braden Fiske having been selected by the Rams in the second round.
Here is the final breakdown of Los Angeles’ 2024 draft class:
- Round 1, No. 19: Jared Verse (EDGE, Florida State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 39 (from Panthers): Braden Fiske (DT, Florida State) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 83: Blake Corum (RB, Michigan) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 99: Kamren Kinchens (S, Miami) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 154: Brennan Jackson (WR, Washington State) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 196: Tyler Davis (DT, Clemson) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 209: Joshua Karty (K, Stanford) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 213: Jordan Whittington (WR, Texas) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 217: Beaux Limmer (C, Arkansas) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 254: KT Leveston (G, Kansas State) (signed)
Patriots, QB Drake Maye Agree To Terms
As expected, three quarterbacks came off the board to begin the 2024 draft. Neither Caleb Williams nor Jayden Daniels have inked their rookie contracts, but that is now the case for Drake Maye. 
New England came to terms with the latter on Tuesday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. Maye will now be under contract for the next four years, with the Patriots having the ability to keep him place for 2028 via the fifth-year option. This deal is worth $36.64MM, and KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson confirms it will include a signing bonus of just under $23.5MM.
Williams spent the pre-draft process as the presumptive No. 1 pick, and the Bears provided no surprise on draft night. Debate existed regarding the next tier of signal-callers, but by the time the Commanders were on the clock, Daniels was understood to be the team’s preference. That left the Patriots with a key decision at No. 3: select Maye, add a different prospect (quarterback or otherwise) or trade down.
In the lead-in to the draft, it became clear the Patriots were willing to listen on trade offers but the organization’s desired outcome (particularly on the part of owner Robert Kraft) was to stand pat and draft Maye. That ended up being New England’s ultimate choice, and as such the team has its next potential Tom Brady successor. Of course, all parties involved will be aiming for a better outcome than the Mac Jones era under center.
New England turned down considerable trade interest – specifically from the Giants and Vikings – to retain the No. 3 slot. Maye will therefore enter the league with considerable expectations, although he may not start right away. In anticipation of drafting a Jones replacement later in the offseason, the Patriots inked Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal including $6.5MM guaranteed. He and Maye are set to compete for the No. 1 gig this summer.
The latter had a strong sophomore campaign at North Carolina, throwing for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns that year. Maye’s production regressed last season, though, and his accuracy (66.3% completion percentage), yardage (3,608) and TD (24) totals dropped while his interceptions jumped slightly (from seven to nine). One of the younger signal-callers in a class which produced six first-rounders, Maye could begin his rookie campaign on the sidelines as he develops. He will nonetheless be expected to start relatively soon.
Here is an updated look at the Patriots’ draft class:
- Round 1, No. 3: Drake Maye (QB, UNC) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 37 (via Chargers): Ja’Lynn Polk (WR, Washington)
- Round 3, No. 68: Caeden Wallace (T, Penn State)
- Round 4, No. 103: Layden Robinson (G, Texas A&M)
- Round 5, No. 110 (from Bears through Chargers): Javon Baker (WR, UCF) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 180: Marcellas Dial (CB, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 193 (from Jaguars): Joe Milton III (QB, Tennessee) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 231 (from Bears): Jaheim Bell (TE, Florida State) (signed)
49ers Makes Additions, Promotions To Coaching Staff
The 49ers were spared much of the poaching that occurred to other coaching staffs around the league this offseason, but that doesn’t mean there were no changes to be made in San Francisco. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area noted some changes to the team’s coaching staff this week. 
In 2023, the offensive line was guided by offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster and assistant offensive line coaches James Cregg and Joe Graves. While Foerster and Graves remain in their roles from last season, Cregg departed to take the offensive line coaching job in Las Vegas. Filling Cregg’s role as the second assistant offensive line coach in 2024 will be Cameron Clemmons. Clemmons most recently served as assistant offensive line coach for the Raiders, so he’ll be swapping places with Cregg.
Another staffer who departed this offseason was offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak, who accepted the new offensive coordinator gig in New Orleans. Taking Klint’s spot as offensive passing game specialist will be his younger brother, Klay Kubiak. Klay joined the 49ers staff in 2021 as a defensive quality control coach before spending the past two seasons as assistant quarterbacks coach. The two brothers are sons to former NFL head coach Gary Kubiak, who has three sons working in the NFL today. Kubiak’s third son, Klein Kubiak, is a national scout for the Cowboys.
Lastly on offense, we had reported the team’s addition of former Raiders offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi back in March. While a title at the time had not been divulged, Maiocco now informs us that Lombardi will serve as senior offensive assistant in 2024.
On defense, the only update provided by Maiocco concerned K.J. Wright, who was announced to be joining the 49ers staff for his first coaching gig after serving as a member of the rival Seahawks defense for 10 years as a linebacker. The initial report listed Wright as the team’s new assistant linebackers coach. Instead, it appears that Wright’s title will officially be defensive quality control coach, though he will almost certainly be focused on San Francisco’s linebacking corps.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/24/24
Friday’s only mid- to late-round draft pick signing:
New England Patriots
- WR Javon Baker (fourth round, UCF)
Baker transferred to Orlando after two unproductive years of minimal use at Alabama. Immediately upon arrival, Baker became a major weapon for the Knights. In 2022, he led the team in receiving yards with 56 catches for 796 yards and five touchdowns. This past season, he improved on two of those numbers, leading the Knights in receptions (52) and receiving yards (1,139) while also nabbing seven touchdowns.
In New England, Baker and second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk out of Washington, join a Patriots receiving corps that lost DeVante Parker to retirement but returns leading receivers Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, and tight end Hunter Henry. While Polk will likely get an opportunity to start with Douglas and Bourne, Polk will try to make an impact as a rotation receiver with veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and K.J. Osborn. He’ll attempt to avoid falling into the blackhole of young receivers who have failed to live up to their draft potential like Tyquan Thornton and Jalen Reagor.
Raiders Rework Maxx Crosby’s Contract
The Raiders are rewarding their top defender. Having Maxx Crosby under contract through the 2026 season, the Raiders will still take a step to increase the Pro Bowl edge rusher’s near-future earnings.
An additional $6MM on Crosby’s deal will be moved into 2024, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Crosby was set to make $19MM in base salary — an amount that is fully guaranteed — this season. The team also moved $1.2MM in Crosby money for the 2025 season. None of Crosby’s 2025 salary ($21MM) was to be guaranteed.
No new years will be added to the deal, per Schefter, though the Raiders are attempting to express interest in keeping Crosby beyond his current contract. The team rebuffed trade interest in Crosby before the 2023 deadline. Some of Crosby’s 2026 money is likely being shifted, and it would stand to reason the Raiders will be interested in extending their standout edge defender before that 2026 season begins.
When Crosby signed his four-year, $94MM extension, he was coming off seven- and eight-sack seasons. Although Crosby broke through with 30 QB hits to help the Raiders to the playoffs in 2021, the Eastern Michigan alum has since topped his career-high in sacks twice while on his second contract. Crosby totaled 12.5 sacks in 2022 and 14.5 last season. In both years, the Jon Gruden-era draftee led the NFL in tackles for loss — 22 in 2022, 23 in 2023.
This marks an interesting decision due to the personnel running the Raiders presently. Although Gruden and former GM Mike Mayock drafted Crosby, the consistent pressure producer signed his extension early during the Josh McDaniels–Dave Ziegler pairing’s tenure. GM Tom Telesco will authorize this adjustment, signaling he and HC Antonio Pierce are interested — naturally, as Crosby has proven one of the best draft picks in recent NFL history — in keeping the sixth-year veteran around beyond this $23.5MM-per-year deal.
The Gruden-Mayock period produced a handful of poor draft decisions, but Crosby was unquestionably the best move to come out of that stretch. Crosby also memorably provided key support for Pierce’s bid to become the Raiders’ full-time HC. A mid-January report pegged Crosby as ready to explore a trade request if the Raiders did not remove Pierce’s interim tag. Mark Davis, who regretted not making this move for Rich Bisaccia in 2022, soon named Pierce the full-time HC; Pierce is the first NFL interim leader since Doug Marrone in 2017 to move into a full-time HC role.
The Raiders used free agency (Chandler Jones) and the first round (Tyree Wilson) to equip Crosby with a better supporting cast post-Yannick Ngakoue. After trading Ngakoue, Las Vegas saw the Jones signing backfire in spectacular fashion. Wilson did not make many contributions as a rookie, though 2021 third-rounder Malcolm Koonce did emerge as an intriguing option opposite Crosby. For the most part, however, the Raiders’ defense has relied on Crosby to generate pressure since the Ngakoue trade. They paid up for Christian Wilkins, signing off on a $28MM-per-year deal (with $57.5MM fully guaranteed) in March. Wilkins’ guarantee at signing more than doubled Crosby’s ($26.5MM).
Teams do not regularly authorize extensions for players who have three contract years remaining, so this represents a half-measure of sorts. Since Crosby’s deal came to pass in March 2022, a host of edge rusher extensions have dropped the Raiders’ top gun to ninth at the position. Crosby, whose 97 QB hits since 2021 trail only Nick Bosa‘s count (115), will see some more money after performing well in the first two years of his extension.
Packers Sign Round 2 LB Edgerrin Cooper
The Packers have drafted two off-ball linebackers in the first two rounds since 2022, with Edgerrin Cooper following Quay Walker to Wisconsin. This represents a shift for the team, one in line to have some talented prospects manning its defensive second level.
Saying goodbye to De’Vondre Campbell (via release) after three years this offseason, the Packers brought in Cooper with the No. 45 overall pick. That draft slot comes with at least two years guaranteed and either all or part of Year 3 locked in. While it remains to be seen how well Cooper did in terms of 2026 guarantees, the Texas A&M product signed to his four-year rookie deal Thursday.
Walker marked the Packers’ first non-rush linebacker chosen in the first or second round since A.J. Hawk in 2006. After a run of Day 3 LBs — with Oren Burks the only third-rounder chosen from 2007-21 — Green Bay is placing a higher priority on this position. It should certainly be expected — provided Cooper proves ready — the team is eyeing multiple seasons with Walker and Cooper as three-down ‘backers.
The Pack also backstopped the Cooper addition with a third-round linebacker investment as well, taking Ty’ron Hopper out of Missouri. New DC Jeff Hafley will have some options at the position. Walker’s rookie contract runs through 2025, while a fifth-year option — though, teams have been passing on ILB options as of late — could take the deal through 2026. Cooper and Hopper will be signed through 2027.
This year’s first off-ball LB chosen, Cooper headlined a modest crop at the position. Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board, however, placed Cooper as a first-round prospect, slotting him 26th overall. Cooper earned first-team All-American honors last season, delivering a versatile finale with the Aggies. He paired 84 tackles with eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss. A productive blitzer, Cooper also fared well in coverage and finished the 2023 season with two forced fumbles.
Green Bay added fifth- and sixth-round picks to move down four spots in Round 2, sending the No. 41 overall pick to New Orleans. As the Saints attempt to develop Kool-Aid McKinstry, the Packers will bank on Cooper becoming an early-career starter