Texans, Maliek Collins Agree On Extension
For the second straight offseason, the Texans are giving Maliek Collins a two-year contract. The veteran defensive tackle will now be signed through the 2025 season.
Collins agreed to terms on a two-year, $23MM extension Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). That deal will include $20MM guaranteed. This marks a nice raise for the ex-Cowboys draftee. His previous contract — a two-year, $17MM pact — contained $8.5MM guaranteed. Only $1MM guaranteed remained on Collins’ 2022 agreement.
Although Collins has only been in Houston since 2021, this marks his third contract with the rebuilding team. Nick Caserio‘s first offseason in the Houston GM chair involved a one-year, $5MM deal. The Texans re-signed Collins as a free agent in 2022 and will now make a bigger bet on the former Cowboys and Raiders starter. It would not be surprising to learn the $20MM number represents the total guarantee, rather than the amount locked in at signing, but this continues to show the franchise’s commitment to the D-line starter. Collins will enter the 2023 season with 96 career starts.
Despite the Texans firing David Culley and Lovie Smith after one season apiece, they are deeming Collins an early fit in a new defensive scheme. DeMeco Ryans is installing his 4-3 alignment, moving Collins to a full-time D-tackle role. He played in a 4-3 look in Dallas and Las Vegas, and with teams generally rushing four from nickel sets, the 3-4/4-3 divide is not nearly as notable as it once was.
Collins, 28, served as one of the more reliable pieces on two bad Texans teams. A 15-game starter in 2021 and 2022, Collins has combined for six sacks and 18 tackles for loss during his Houston run. While Pro Football Focus graded the former third-round pick as a mid-pack interior D-lineman last season, the advanced metrics site slotted him in the top 20 against the pass. While Ryans does not have an Arik Armstead-level piece on his new Texans defense, Collins’ contract points to him being the team’s interior pillar.
The Texans have obviously not come close to replacing J.J. Watt, one of the NFL’s all-time D-line greats, but they do have two veteran starters in place to start Ryans’ run. In addition to extending Collins, the team brought in former first-rounder Sheldon Rankins on a one-year, $9.75MM deal. The Texans also signed ex-49er rotational cog Hassan Ridgeway this offseason. The team’s Collins-led inside corps should be improved in 2023.
Panthers Sign Round 2 WR Jonathan Mingo
JUNE 14: The Panthers will guarantee the first three years of Mingo’s deal, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. This marks more growth for second-rounders, with last year’s No. 39 overall pick — Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon — receiving a partial guarantee in Year 3.
JUNE 13: Jonathan Mingo will be expected to become one of Bryce Young‘s top targets this season. As the Panthers begin their minicamp, they will have their second-round pick under contract.
The Ole Miss product signed his four-year rookie deal Tuesday, per the team, locking him down through the 2026 season. Going off the board 39th overall, Mingo will see all or most of his third year fully guaranteed. No. 37 overall pick Derick Hall received three years fully guaranteed from the Seahawks and a partial fourth-year guarantee.
Carolina overhauled its receiving corps recently, disbanding the two-plus-year D.J. Moore–Chosen Anderson tandem by trading the latter. The Panthers then included Moore in their blockbuster swap with the Bears, giving them Young draft real estate. The No. 1 overall pick is the final unsigned Panther from the 2023 draft class.
Ole Miss has delivered multiple impact wide receivers to the NFL over the past few years, with each of the Rebels’ top pass catchers going off the board in Round 2. Both A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf emerged as No. 1-caliber targets early in their careers. Elijah Moore has not done so yet, but the new Browns weapon remains a promising wideout. The Jets chose Moore in the 2021 second round. Mingo will attempt to follow the ex-Rebels’ paths.
Scouts Inc. rated Mingo as its No. 37 overall prospect. The 220-pound Mississippi native clocked a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, coming off a productive 2022 season. Mingo is not heading to Charlotte after a prolific career, however, having only topped 300 receiving yards in one of his four Rebels seasons. He totaled 51 receptions — his only season with more than 27 grabs — for 861 yards and five touchdowns last season but still managed to become one of the first wideouts chosen this year.
The Panthers signed Adam Thielen and DJ Chark this offseason and still roster former second-round pick Terrace Marshall. While they dealt their longtime No. 1 target (Moore), Mingo profiles as the most likely long-term Young teammate among the team’s current receivers. During negotiations with the Bears, the Panthers successfully kept the No. 39 pick out of the deal. They instead included No. 61 and a 2025 second-rounder. Effectively prioritizing No. 39 over two second-round picks, the Panthers are making a notable bet on Mingo being a long-term contributor.
Rams Sign Round 2 OL Steve Avila
Selecting a guard with their first pick for the second straight year, the Rams are expected to plug Steve Avila into their starting lineup. That process can now begin in earnest, with Avila now under contract.
Chosen 36th overall out of TCU, Avila will be ticketed for the terms the Seahawks gave No. 37 pick Derick Hall. Avila will receive three years fully guaranteed, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, adding that 10% of his 2026 salary is locked in at signing as well.
The 10% component marks a first for a player in the No. 36 slot, per Yates, representing more gains for second-round picks. With the slot system in its second decade, fewer bargaining territory exists during rookie-deal negotiations. But second-rounders’ pacts have become a notable area featuring wiggle room. Avila and Hall’s deals will apply more pressure on the teams who chose players in that pick neighborhood.
The Rams, who led off their 2022 draft with Wisconsin O-lineman Logan Bruss, have Avila penciled in at one of their guard spots. Bruss is coming off August 2022 ACL and MCL tears, and while he is practicing, last year’s 104th overall pick does not have a clear path to a first-string gig like Avila appears to. Following an injury-wrecked season up front, the Rams are in search of answers just about everywhere except for right tackle, where Rob Havenstein has the job locked down.
While Peter Skoronski may wind up at guard for the Titans, Avila represents the first pure guard chosen this year. He is also the Rams’ highest-drafted player since they took Jared Goff first overall in 2016.
Avila, 23, could be an option at center at some point, having started there during most of his 2021 junior season and parts of his sophomore campaign. But he spent the ’22 slate at guard, starting 15 games and earning consensus All-American honors. TCU’s first consensus All-American since wideout Josh Doctson in 2015, Avila played a significant role in the Horned Frogs becoming one of the most unlikely entrants in a Division I-FBS national championship game. The 330-pound blocker played 1,044 snaps at left guard and did not allow a sack last season.
In addition to Avila, the Rams moved ahead with two other agreements with their 14-man draft class. Wingate punter Ethan Evans (No. 223) and Oklahoma State safety Jason Taylor II (No. 234) signed their four-year rookie deals Tuesday as well, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams notes. The Rams chose Taylor with the pick obtained for Allen Robinson.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/13/23
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: WR Brian Walker
Denver Broncos
- Waived: WR Nick Williams
The Broncos added Williams last week, doing so to take running back Damarea Crockett‘s roster spot. But the rookie, a Denver-area native and Division II product, will be moved off Denver’s 90-man roster during minicamp to make room for the Frank Clark acquisition. Reported late last week, the Clark signing is now official.
Jets To Sign S Adrian Amos
Months after acquiring Chuck Clark via trade, the Jets are adding another safety to the mix. Adrian Amos intends to sign with the team, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
Linked to the Ravens after visiting earlier this offseason, the Baltimore native will instead follow Clark to New York. The Jets are set to add the ex-Bears and Packers safety on a one-year deal worth up to $4MM.
Amos continues the chain of ex-Packers to join the Jets, following Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard, Billy Turner and Randall Cobb. Amos, 30, spent the past four seasons in Green Bay and has worked exclusively as a starter throughout his eight-year career. Following the draft, the Packers had not closed the door on re-signing Amos. But they will let another free agent join Rodgers in the Big Apple.
Prior to this Jets agreement, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec notes the Ravens brought in Amos for a second visit (Twitter link) Monday. Amos met with the Ravens in March as well. Despite steady interest from the Ravens, the Baltimore native received a better offer from the Jets during his New York visit.
While a Packers team with a more glaring need at safety did not show urgency to re-sign Amos this offseason, the veteran defender’s only major connections were to teams with two safety starters in place. The Ravens discussed a deal with Amos, but they already have Marcus Williams and 2022 first-round pick Kyle Hamilton on the back line. The Jets added Clark to a safety corps including Jordan Whitehead. The former Buccaneer, a 2022 free agency addition, started 17 Jets games last season.
Pro Football Focus graded Amos as one of the NFL’s worst safety regulars last season, but he drew a top-30 mark at the position in every other year of his career. Amos also made a career-high 102 tackles in 2022, registering a career-most seven tackles for loss as well. This signing gives the Jets interesting depth, at the very least. It will be interesting to see how the Jets use Amos and if he can recapture the form he showed prior to a 2022 step back.
Amos landed a four-year, $36MM Packers deal during the 2019 offseason. This came just after he started for a No. 1-ranked Bears defense, which powered the team to an NFC North title in Vic Fangio‘s final year at the controls. The former Bears fifth-rounder then helped the Packers to three straight division crowns. Green Bay still rosters ex-first-rounder Darnell Savage, but the team reduced his playing time last season. With Amos now gone, the Packers have a host of less proven players — Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore among them — vying for the spot alongside Savage.
As for the Ravens, they remain in strong shape at safety even after dealing Clark and missing out on Amos. They moved Brandon Stephens back to safety, after he played cornerback in 2022, and retained Geno Stone via RFA tender this offseason. While Williams missed a chunk of last season due to injury, he and Hamilton are positioned as entrenched starters going forward. Williams is signed through 2026; Hamilton can be kept on his rookie deal through then via the fifth-year option.
Patriots Release RB James Robinson
JUNE 13: To little surprise, injury issues were indeed the reason Robinson was let go. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports (via Twitter) that Robinson “couldn’t stay on the field,” something which will no doubt hurt his value during his bid to find a new team in free agency (presuming he clears waivers today).
JUNE 12: New England’s addition of James Robinson proved to be a very short-lived one. The Patriots released the running back on Monday, per a team announcement. He will now be subject to waivers, and become a free agent if he clears. 
Robinson joined New England in March, signing a two-year deal. On its face, that suggested the former UDFA would be a member of the team’s backfield for at least the short-term future, but no guranteed money was included in the contract as a result of injury concerns. Now, on the day physicals are taking place ahead of mandatory minicamp, he has been let go.
The 24-year-old burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign with the Jaguars. He posted 1,070 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, adding 344 yards and another three scores in the passing game. Jacksonville used a first-round pick on Travis Etienne in 2021, however, signaling the onset of at least a timeshare once he was healthy enough to see game action. That time came last season, and the latter quickly worked his way into the starting role.
With Etienne in place as lead back, Jacksonville dealt Robinson to the Jets in October. The Illinois State alum was brought in as depth for New York, and he saw limited usage during his time there. Robinson received just 29 carries, recording 85 scoreless rushing yards.
He was set to compete for a backup role in New England, a team which still has Rhamondre Stevenson in the fold but lost Damien Harris in free agency. Without Robinson, more attention will likely be paid to 2022 fourth-rounder Pierre Strong Jr. and sixth-rounder Kevin Harris; each of the latter two saw limited usage in their rookie seasons, but they could now be in line for an increased workload in the team’s new-look depth chart.
Robinson, meanwhile, will wait to see if he is claimed off waivers by a team looking for depth in its backfield. If that doesn’t take place, he will join a number of experienced backs still searching for their next NFL opportunity as the league’s last on-field actions before training camp begin to draw to a close.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/12/23
Today’s late-round rookie signings:
Los Angeles Rams
- DL Desjuan Johnson (seventh round, Toledo)
Johnson earned the moniker of Mr. Irrelevant after being selected with the No. 259 (and final) pick of the 2023 draft. The defensive lineman was especially productive over his final two seasons at Toledo, combining for 135 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks in 27 games. He’s the first member of the Rams’ draft class to ink their four-year rookie contract.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/12/23
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Brandon Smith
- Released: WR Auden Tate
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: DT Jalen Dalton
New England Patriots
- Signed: DT Justus Tavai
- Waived: CB Tae Hayes
The Cardinals are swapping out receivers. Brandon Smith spent a few years on the Cowboys practice squad before joining the XFL this past February. He ended up catching eight passes for 118 yards and one touchdown in four games with the D.C. Defenders. Auden Tate, meanwhile, spent four years with the Bengals before spending much of last season of the Eagles practice squad. He has 12 catches in 35 career games.
Justus Tavai was cut by the Patriots last week, but the brother of Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai is back on the roster. That will come at the expense of Tae Hayes‘ roster spot. The cornerback spent much of last season on New England’s practice squad, getting into a pair of games with the big-league team.
Lions DE Charles Harris Agreed To Pay Cut
Lions defensive end Charles Harris agreed to a pay cut this offseason, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports (subscription required). Due to make $6MM in base pay in the second year of the two-year, $14MM contract he signed in March 2022, Harris agreed to a reduction to $3MM.
Harris, selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2017 draft, failed to live up to his draft status in Miami and was traded to the Falcons in exchange for a seventh-round pick in May 2020. The 2020 campaign was another nondescript one for Harris, who played in just 1/3 of Atlanta’s defensive snaps (though he did record three sacks, which was then a career-high).
The Lions took a low-cost flier on Harris in March 2021, and that move paid off in a big way, as the Missouri product led the team with 7.5 sacks and earned an excellent 78.7 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus. Detroit rewarded Harris with the above-referenced two-year deal, but 2022 was mostly a lost year for the 28-year-old defender.
Harris recorded just one sack during the first four games of the season and suffered a groin injury near the end of a Week 4 loss to the Seahawks. He played in just two more games before landing on IR in November, and he spent this spring rehabbing from the surgery that followed his IR placement.
As such, he likely had no choice but to accept the reduction in pay. As Birkett notes, however, Harris did take first-team reps at outside linebacker during the Lions’ mandatory minicamp, and he will compete with the likes of James Houston and Julian Okwara as he seeks to reclaim a starting job.
Head coach Dan Campbell believes Harris is ready to do exactly that.
“Charles has picked up where he left off from before the injury,” Campbell said. “He has an injury. Well, he doesn’t miss a beat. He’s back at it, he’s working and to him it’s like, ‘I’m at the bottom again. I’m on my way back up.’ That’s his approach. And I mean, to last in this league and be a good player in this league and produce, like, you have to have that mindset and he’s got it.”
If Harris replicates his 2021 performance in 2023, he should be in line for another lucrative, multiyear contract next offseason.
NFL Front Office Rumors: Bears, Panthers, Falcons, Titans, Cowboys
A number of teams have made some recent adjustments to their front office staff. The Bears are one of those teams, making adjustments to both their scouting and analytics staffs, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
On the scouting side, Chicago named Drew Raucina as an area scout and Ryan Weese as a combine scout. Raucina was previously the team’s combine scout. He’s been with the Bears since 2018, starting as a scouting assistant and working his way up. Weese moves into the newly open combine scout role after joining the staff last year as a scouting assistant. Before coming to Chicago, Weese held a role at Montana State.
In analytics, the Bears announced Ryan Hubley as a football research analyst. Hubley joined the team last year as a football systems developer working under director of football analytics Krithi Chandrakasan. It sounds like he’ll remain in that department in an adjusted role.
Here are a few other front office changes from around the league:
- The Panthers are another one of the above-mentioned teams, making several adjustments to their scouting staff, according to Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt. After coming to Carolina two years ago from Washington as the new director of college scouting, Cole Spencer has been promoted to director of player personnel, where he’ll work alongside recently hired vice president of player personnel Adrian Wilson, who will focus on pro scouting while Spencer retains his focus on college scouting. Former assistant director of college scouting Jared Kirksey will fill Spencer’s old role as college scouting director. Kirksey joined the team in 2021 as an area scout. Formerly the Southwest scout, Eli Montague will now cover the Southeast area, with Corey Fuller moving from the West area to cover the Southwest. Scouting intern Caden McCloughan and scouting assistant Jordan Trgovac have been promoted to area scouts, and former safety Juston Burris will be a scouting intern for the team this year. McCloughan will cover the West and Trgovac the Mid-Atlantic.
- Two Falcons scouts will be changing roles this year, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Former player personnel coordinator Rushell Harvey will now serve as the team’s Northeast area scout. Additionally, Ben Martinez, who has worked as a scout for the BLESTO service, will now be a pro scout for Atlanta. Both joined the Falcons in 2021. Lastly, Stratton also informs us that the team has parted ways with Peniel Jean, Atlanta’s former pro scout. Jean joined the team in 2017 and had served his most recent role for four years.
- The Titans will have a new name atop their analytics department after hiring Sarah Bailey as director of football research and development. Bailey comes over from Los Angeles, where she started in 2017 as a football analyst for the Rams before being promoted to manager – football analytics in 2020.
- Lastly, the Cowboys have added a new name to their front office, as well. After serving as director of football research for the Colts since 2016, John Park heads to Dallas to serve as director of strategic football operations, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder.