Minor NFL Transactions: 2/22/24
One minor move to pass along today:
Washington Commanders
- Re-signed: WR/PR Kazmeir Allen, G Mason Brooks
Both of the 2023 UDFAs spent the majority of their rookie seasons on Washington’s practice squad. Allen made a name for himself at UCLA, hauling in 12 touchdowns in 38 games. He was also a collegiate sprinter, making him a natural candidate for return duties.
Eagles Re-Sign TE Albert Okwuegbunam
Albert O. is staying in Philadelphia. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam has signed a one-year deal to stick with the Eagles. The 25-year-old was set to hit unrestricted free agency next month.
Following three seasons in Denver, Okwuegbunam was facing waivers at the end of the 2023 preseason. The Eagles swooped in and added him via trade, acquiring the tight end and a seventh-round pick for a sixth-round selection.
Despite the trade, Okwuegbunam barely came off the bench this past season, even with starter Dallas Goedert sidelined. He was limited to only four games in 2023, finishing the year fourth among Eagles tight ends in offensive snaps (behind Goedert, Jack Stoll, and Grant Calcaterra). The Eagles still valued Okwuegbunam enough to give him a chance at a 2024 roster spot, and the veteran could provide the organization with a bit of insurance with Stoll hitting restricted free agency.
Following a productive college career at Missouri, Okwuegbunam was a fourth-round pick by the Broncos in 2020. He was limited to only four games as a rookie thanks to a torn ACL, but he earned a significant offensive role during his second season. He finished the 2021 campaign with 33 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns, starting six of his 14 appearances. With rookie Greg Dulcich added to the depth chart in 2022, Okwuegbunam saw a lesser role, finishing with only 10 catches for 95 yards.
Pro Football Focus gave Okwuegbunam solid reviews through his first two seasons in the NFL, but the website hasn’t been as favorable on his 2022 and 2023 performances. If the tight end is able to rediscover any of that previous talent, he could find himself with a larger role in 2024.
Lions To Re-Sign K Michael Badgley
Winning a prolonged practice competition last season, Michael Badgley reclaimed his job after the Lions had previously traded for Riley Patterson. Closing the season as Detroit’s kicker again, Badgley is poised to enter the team’s offseason program in the role.
The Lions are keeping Badgley, according to his agency (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport), by agreeing to a one-year deal Thursday. Badgley, 28, kicked in seven games — counting three playoff tilts — for the NFC North champions last season. This continues an on-again, off-again partnership.
Detroit had brought Badgley back on a practice squad agreement last year, continuing a busy run of transactions for the kicker. The Lions had cut Badgley just before training camp, leading him to the Commanders. Badgley did not stick as Washington’s kicker, being released last summer, and spent a few days in Tennessee. But the Lions circled back to their primary 2022 kicker, stashing him on their P-squad in August. That pickup eventually led to Detroit giving him the kicking reins back late in the season.
A kicker chain reaction produced the Badgley-Patterson practice competition. The Broncos released longtime kicker Brandon McManus last year, leading to the Jaguars picking him up. That led them to dangle Patterson in deals. After speaking with the Cowboys, the Jags ultimately dealt Patterson to the Lions. That prompted Detroit to release Badgley, despite having re-signed him in March 2023. Despite Patterson making more than 85% of his kicks during the regular season, the Lions booted him and rolled with Badgley for the stretch run.
Badgley made each of his four regular-season field goal tries last year, missing two extra points. He was 3-for-3 in the playoffs, though the sequences in which Dan Campbell left his kicker on the sideline proved more memorable than those makes. Campbell eschewed two second-half Badgley tries inside of 50 yards to go for fourth-and-shorts; both plays failed in a 34-31 loss to the 49ers.
In 2022, Badgley was 33-for-33 on PATs and 20 of 24 on field goals with the Lions. The team had signed Badgley in October 2022, scooping him up after the Bears cut him. Badgley replaced Dominik Eberle that year. Overall, Badgley has played six NFL seasons. While he enjoyed steady Chargers employment for three years, the past three have brought in-season transactions. Since leaving Los Angeles in 2021, Badgley has kicked for the Colts, Titans, Bears and Lions. He will make an attempt at a more stable 2024.
Saints Restructure C Erik McCoy’s Contract
As has become tradition in recent years, the Saints have a number of moves to make in the build-up to free agency to become cap compliant. The team took another step in that direction Thursday. 
New Orleans converted the base salary and roster bonus of center Erik McCoy into a signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The move frees up $7.18MM in cap space for 2024, but it will add to his cap hits for future years on his through-2027 contract. As NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett adds, the Saints can manufacture roughly $30MM more in immediate breathing space by restructuring their other veterans. Colleague Nick Underhill notes a void year has been added to the deal.
McCoy inked a $60MM extension in September 2022 to ensure he would avoid hitting the market at the expiration of his rookie contract. That deal kept one of New Orleans’ key offensive contributors on the books for the long term, but it added to the list of expensive commitments the team has made amidst its annual salary cap challenges. The former second-rounder already had his deal adjusted last winter.
McCoy played a full campaign in 2023, the first time he did so since 2020. The 26-year-old saw a marked improvement in terms of PFF evaluation, particularly in the run blocking department. He earned a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his career, proving his value on a O-line which is in need of upgrades at other positions. The center spot is not a question mark for several more years, though, especially given the term remaining on McCoy’s pact.
New Orleans started the day more than $80MM over the cap, so a number of other moves will be needed before the new league year begins next month. The team has already re-worked the contracts of Marshon Lattimore and Jameis Winston, and several other similar decisions will no doubt be made. General manager Mickey Loomis has made it clear a similar approach to those of past years will be followed in 2024; as such, New Orleans will be on track to keep much of its corps intact by racking up future cap commitments.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/21/24
Today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: OL Dieter Eiselen, CB D’Angelo Ross
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: S Theo Jackson
The Texans made sure to retain Ross, a special-teams gunner, and Eiselen, a special-teams blocker. In fact, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston passes along that Eiselen received a two-year deal from the Texans worth $2.095MM (including a $10K signing bonus).
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/21/24
Today’s reserve/futures contracts:
Kansas City Chiefs
Philadelphia Eagles
Rams Release C Brian Allen
Displaced as the Rams’ starting center, Brian Allen is now off the team’s roster. The Rams announced Wednesday they have released Allen, who had one season remaining on his contract.
Allen, who started for the team in Super Bowl LVI, had re-signed with the Rams on a three-year, $24MM deal back in 2022. The veteran only played 34 offensive snaps last season, however. The Rams will save $4.9MM by making this move.
Allen’s contract called for a $5MM base salary next season. Due to a restructure that included void years, the Rams will take on $3.15MM in dead money by releasing the six-year veteran. The Rams found Allen in the 2018 fourth round, turning to him as one of many Day 3 draftees to become regular starters. While Allen did enough to command a nice second contract, he found himself on the bench this past season.
The Rams turned to Coleman Shelton as their primary center in 2023, reorganizing their O-line. In 2022, the Rams had re-signed Allen and Joe Noteboom to respectively work as their center and left tackle starters. Neither deal panned out. The Rams drafted Steve Avila in the second round and acquired Kevin Dotson via trade last year; Alaric Jackson also beat out Noteboom for the left tackle gig. The shuffling left right tackle Rob Havenstein as the only Super Bowl starter remaining.
Injuries impeded Allen, 28, for much of his Rams career. He suffered a knee injury in Week 1 of the 2022 season, missing time due to a minor surgery. Allen ended up starting only seven games that season, with thumb and calf issues finishing his season early during a year that featured rampant Rams health issues up front. Allen also missed the entire 2019 season due to ACL and MCL tears, bouncing back to become the Rams’ starting center from 2020-21.
Pro Football Focus graded Allen as the league’s 10th-best center in 2021, but while he made 20 starts for the Super Bowl-winning Rams team, he played part of the season with a UCL tear in his elbow. The season still secured him a ring and a nice payday. The center market did not produce much of consequence last year, however, with a handful of teams being able to re-sign their pivots for cheap. This and a run of injuries does not bode too well for Allen, though the Michigan State alum has made 32 career starts and been in that role for two playoff teams.
Lions To Release S Tracy Walker
C.J. Gardner-Johnson‘s injury led Tracy Walker back into the Lions’ starting lineup, but the veteran did not hold down the job. Detroit will now move on from Walker’s second contract.
Walker re-signed with the Lions on a three-year, $25MM deal in 2022, but an injury hampered him on that deal. The Lions are cutting bait Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Walker had bid farewell to Detroit on social media recently, and the 29-year-old defender will look for a new team soon.
An Achilles tear sustained in September 2022 altered Walker’s run in Detroit. The former third-round pick had started 37 games with the Lions before that injury. Although he returned to action as the Lions dealt with multiple injuries in their secondary last season, DC Aaron Glenn did not keep the Louisiana alum in his starting secondary. That makes this release unsurprising, as the Lions have some big payments to make in the near future.
Walker started 15 games in 2021, commanding a nice contract in free agency. The Lions reinvested despite Walker being a Bob Quinn-era draftee. The Brad Holmes regime showed faith in the young defender, but the Achilles injury occurring three games into that deal’s life prompted the team to make other plans. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year, $6.5MM pact in 2023.
Walker did return in time for Week 1 and suited up for every Lions regular-season game, but he lost his job midway through. Pro Football Focus graded Walker outside the top 60 among safeties this season, and Glenn benched him in early December. Returning to a starting role following Gardner-Johnson’s Week 2 pectoral tear, Walker started six games and logged at least 69% of Detroit’s defensive snaps in four more. Over the Lions’ final five regular-season games, however, Walker played all of four defensive snaps. He did not suit up in the playoffs.
The Lions overhauled their secondary in 2023, adding Gardner-Johnson, Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and Brian Branch to the equation. Branch became Detroit’s slot cornerback, while CJGJ stuck at safety. Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph served as Detroit’s Week 1 safeties, and after giving Walker another shot, Glenn used Ifeatu Melifonwu alongside Joseph down the stretch. One season remains on the 2021 third-round pick’s rookie deal. Playing out a one-year deal marred by injury, Gardner-Johnson is due to be a free agent again next month.
If the Lions do not designate Walker as a post-June 1 cut, they will be charged with $7.3MM in dead money. The team used a void year to spread out Walker’s cap hit; that helped balloon the dead cap here. Detroit will pick up $5.5MM in cap savings by making this move, assuming a June 1 distinction is not part of the equation.
Eagles Add RB Tyrion Davis-Price On Futures Deal
In 2022, Trey Sermon saw his brief 49ers tenure come to an end by joining the Eagles. The same is now true of fellow running back Tyrion Davis-Price. 
The latter signed a reserve/futures contract with Philadelphia on Tuesday, his agency announced. Davis-Price was added in the third round of the 2022 draft, but he was unable to carve out a role in San Francisco. He was waived in December after playing in just one contest. The 23-year-old cleared waivers and finished the season on the 49ers’ practice squad.
The Eagles lost Miles Sanders in free agency last offseason when he joined the Panthers on a four-year, $25.4MM deal. His chief replacement was D’Andre Swift, acquired via trade from the Lions during the draft. Swift earned his first career Pro Bowl nod by rushing for 1,049 yards and five touchdowns. He did not have as large of a pass-catching role as some expected he would, however.
Swift is a pending free agent, as are Boston Scott and Rashaad Penny. Today’s move will thus give the Eagles a young depth option in the backfield as they sort out their direction at the position for the offseason. Davis-Price has logged only 40 carries across seven regular season games. He has yet to record a reception, and he was not used heavily on special teams by the 49ers. The LSU alum thus faces an uphill battle to earn a 53-man roster spot.
Philadelphia now has three backs under contract, including fellow reserve deal signee Lew Nichols and returnee Kenneth Gainwell. Unless one or more of Swift, Scott and Penny are re-signed, the Eagles will no doubt be in the market for an addition at the RB spot. Regardless, Davis-Price will turn his attention to his new home as he looks to establish himself as a full-time contributor.
Raiders Hire Rich Scangarello As QB Coach, Fred Walker As Assistant
FEBRUARY 19: Las Vegas has made it official, hiring Scangarello as their new quarterbacks coach, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero informs that Scangarello was most recently assisting USC quarterback and presumed future-No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams with his pre-draft prep but will now head to the Raiders, a team that may be in the market for a young quarterback with O’Connell set as the future starter following Garoppolo’s expected release.
The team also announced the promotion of Fred Walker to serve as assistant quarterbacks coach under Scangarello, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Walker, who spent the past two years as an offensive assistant for the Raiders, recently interviewed for the Seahawks quarterbacks coaching job, a job that was instead given to Charles London.
FEBRUARY 18: The Raiders are close to finalizing their coaching staff under new head coach Antonio Pierce, with quarterbacks coach being one of the few remaining vacant positions. That isn’t for lack of trying, though, as the team has been conducting its search and, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, are narrowing in on a target.
Fowler reports that former University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello is currently the front runner for the Raiders’ open position. The veteran offensive coach has reportedly been in the building this week, and it’s seeming like a deal could be in the works.
Scangarello has been coaching at some level since 1998, when he was a graduate assistant at UC Davis. Through 11 years at several college institutions, Scangarello eventually worked his way up to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at UC Davis. He earned his first NFL opportunity as an offensive quality control coach for the Raiders in 2009. He left for his first full offensive coordinator opportunities at Millsaps and Northern Arizona. After another year as an offensive quality control coach in the NFL with the Falcons, Scangarello was drawn back to college once more as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wagner.
Scangarello made his return to the NFL with his first professional position coaching job as quarterbacks coach of the 49ers in 2017. It only took two years of coaching a menagerie of Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard, and Nick Mullens in San Francisco for him to get his first offensive coordinator opportunity with the Broncos in 2019. With Scangarello calling plays, Denver’s offense finished 28th in the league in both points scored and yards gained. He was fired by head coach Vic Fangio after only one year. After a year in Philadelphia as a senior offensive assistant, Scangarello returned for a second stint as the 49ers quarterback coach, once again mentoring Garoppolo.
Scangarello would leave San Francisco to take his most recent position at Kentucky in 2022. Under his play-calling, the Wildcats finished 112th (out of 131 Division I teams) in points per game and 116th in total offense. Once again, Scangarello’s time as a play caller would end after only one season. After sitting out the 2023 season, Scangarello appears set to return to the NFL.
His arrival in Las Vegas would, in theory, reunite him with Garoppolo, but the team is expected to release the veteran passer soon. Regardless, he’ll potentially be reuniting with Hoyer and would be set to coach second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell through his first offseason as the presumed starter.