Cowboys To Re-Sign K Lirim Hajrullahu
The Cowboys will have a familiar face on special teams during training camp later this month. The team is re-signing kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link).
The 32-year-old put himself on the NFL radar with his play in the CFL over the course of a six-year career there. That tenure included two all-star seasons and a Grey Cup championship. It earned him the opportunity to showcase himself in the United States, beginning in the 2020 offseason.
In April of that year, Hajrullahu signed with the Rams as they searched for Greg Zuerlein‘s replacement. He wasn’t able to win the job, however, as Los Angeles tapped Sam Sloman for the top spot. That began a cycle of brief stints in the Spring League and on multiple NFL teams’ practice squads for Hajrullahu in the proceeding two years.
That included time with the Panthers and, later, Cowboys in 2021. He made a total of four appearances last season, converting four of five field goal attempts and going eight-for-eight on extra points. His time in Dallas has earned him another opportunity to replace Zurlein, whom the Cowboys released earlier this offseason.
The team previously had only undrafted rookie Jonathan Garibay on the roster, leading to expectations that they would add competition at the position. Hajrullahu represents a veteran option, but Dallas could still bring in further candidates for the starting role in the coming weeks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/30/22
One minor transaction to pass along:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: P Dom Maggio
The Falcons brought in some experience at punter earlier today when they signed former Buccaneers special teamer Bradley Pinion. Atlanta ultimately decided to hang on to UDFA Seth Vernon as the second punter on their current 90-man squad, leading to Maggio getting waived.
Maggio made three All-ACC teams during his time at Wake Forest. He ultimately saw time in 52 games in college, ranking second in school history with 291 punts and 12,703 yards. The 24-year-old hasn’t seen the field for a regular-season NFL contest.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/30/22
Here are the mid- and late-round picks to sign their four-year rookie deals Thursday:
Carolina Panthers
- LB Brandon Smith (fourth round, Penn State)
The Panthers made a notable trade-up maneuver on Day 3 to acquire Smith, sending the Commanders two fifth-round picks in exchange for the No. 120 overall selection. Washington used one of those Carolina choices to nab Sam Howell atop Round 5 (at No. 144). The Panthers, who had already traded back into the third round for Matt Corral, focused on defense atop Day 3. Smith made 81 tackles (nine for loss) and tallied two sacks as a senior, doing so ahead of clocking a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. This signing leaves Corral as the last unsigned Panthers draftee.
Falcons, P Bradley Pinion Agree To Deal
Not long after his Buccaneers release, Bradley Pinion found a new home. The veteran punter is signing with the Falcons, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). It’s a one-year agreement.
A seven-year veteran specialist, Pinion spent the past three seasons with the Bucs. Pinion played through a torn hip labrum last season, but after passing a physical on the way out of Tampa, he should be in line to take over as the next Falcons punter.
Pinion, 28, has been a punter and his team’s primary kickoff man throughout his career. The 49ers used him in these capacities from 2015-18, and the Bucs deployed Pinion as their kickoff man during his stay as well. As for punting, Pinion reached his top average in the Bucs’ Super Bowl-winning season. The Clemson alum averaged 45.2 yards per boot that year. The hip trouble likely contributed to Pinion’s average dropping to a career-low 42.5 in 2021.
The Falcons used three punters last season and they have not featured any consistency at this specialty spot since injuries ended Matt Bosher‘s run during the 2019 season. Veterans Dustin Colquitt and Thomas Morstead joined Cameron Nizialek in working as Atlanta’s primary punter throughout the 2021 campaign. None of those three are on Atlanta’s 2022 roster.
The Falcons have Dom Maggio and rookie UDFA Seth Vernon on their 90-man offseason squad. Neither has punted in an NFL regular-season game.
Commanders, WR Terry McLaurin Agree On Extension
Amid an explosive offseason at the wide receiver position, another major domino is falling. The Commanders and Terry McLaurin agreed to terms on a three-year extension Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Washington is giving its top target a contract worth up to $71MM, Schefter notes, with a receiver-high $28MM signing bonus (Twitter link). In terms of average annual value, the Commanders went to $23.3MM for the fourth-year standout, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Commanders are guaranteeing 76.4% of the contract, per Schefter, giving the Ohio State alum long-term security and the chance to cash in again in the not-too-distant future. While McLaurin will be protected against injury, the signing bonus represents most of his full guarantee. This deal includes $34.6MM guaranteed at signing Rapoport tweets. That figure ranks just 14th among wideouts, but Washington will add to that total with $12.5MM more becoming guaranteed in March 2023.
A lengthy negotiation that included McLaurin stepping away from the team’s offseason activities for weeks — headlined by a minicamp absence — keyed a resolution. This conclusion will certainly have a significant effect on the rapidly shifting wideout market. AAV-wise, McLaurin, 26, becomes the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid receiver. But the former third-round pick’s deal creates a clear divide between No. 7 and No. 8 (D.J. Moore, who signed a $20.6MM-per-year deal earlier this offseason). Considering McLaurin, Moore and Mike Williams (also extended at $20MM AAV this year) each have no Pro Bowl invites on their respective resumes, McLaurin scoring this deal represents a win.
By agreeing to a three-year accord, McLaurin will be signed through the 2025 season. He will turn 30 that year. Should the Commanders want to continue with McLaurin for the late 2020s, he could have the back end of his prime to factor into those prospective negotiations. For now, however, another of the 2019 receiver draftees has scored a big payday. Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf and Diontae Johnson will be interested observers. Samuel and Metcalf figure to target A.J. Brown‘s Eagles deal (four years, $100MM), but McLaurin’s re-up figures to be of particular interest to Johnson’s camp.
Talks during the minicamp McLaurin missed failed to produce a deal, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter) the two parties backed off for a bit. Tuesday represented the breakthrough. Ron Rivera expressed optimism for a 2022 McLaurin deal on multiple occasions this offseason, and the third-year Commanders HC added that the team would not trade its premier aerial threat. Rivera and GM Martin Mayhew stuck to those guns and have an intriguing receiver duo for the long haul. Both McLaurin and first-round wideout Jahan Dotson are signed through 2025. Dotson can be kept through 2026 on a fifth-year option.
Washington did not receive much from Curtis Samuel last season, with injuries interrupting the former Buckeye’s D.C. debut. But the ex-Panther is tied to a hefty contract as well — three years, $34.5MM. The McLaurin and Samuel contracts, along with the team’s Dotson investment, represent a lofty commitment to the receiver position ahead of Carson Wentz‘s first Washington season. Wentz’s set of Washington weaponry certainly appears to outflank, depth-wise, the troops he played with in Indianapolis. Given the injury problems the Eagles dealt with at receiver during the latter half of Wentz’s Philadelphia tenure, Washington’s seemingly well-rounded trio provides an interesting opportunity for the 29-year-old passer.
Through three McLaurin seasons, Washington struggled to assemble complementary help for its No. 1 weapon. But the 6-foot target kept producing. McLaurin has averaged more yards per game than Metcalf over the course of his career (67.2) and is riding back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. McLaurin doing so with a host of quarterbacks — from college teammate Dwayne Haskins to a near-the-end Alex Smith to Taylor Heinicke — should give the Commanders confidence the production will continue with Wentz.
Bears Sign Second-Round CB Kyler Gordon
The Bears have inked their top draft pick to a contract. The team announced that they have signed second-round Kyler Gordon to his four-year rookie contract.
The Bears traded off their 2022 first-round pick in order to acquire QB Justin Fields during the 2021 draft, so they were armed with the No. 39 selection heading into the 2022 selection show. The front office ended up using their top pick on the Washington cornerback, and for good reason.
Gordon was a standout during four seasons with the Huskies. In 33 games, the defensive back collected 98 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, 14 passes deflected, and a pair of forced fumbles. He earned first-team all-Pac 12 honors in 2021 after finishing with 46 tackles.
The rookie cornerback is expected to start opposite Jaylon Johnson at cornerback. If Gordon hits a rookie wall, he could see some competition from the likes of Kindle Vildor or Duke Shelley.
With the signing, the Bears have now signed 11 of their 12 draft picks. Second-round safety Jaquan Brisker is the only rookie to remain unsigned.
Pats Restructure David Andrews’ Contract
The NFL team that currently holds the smallest amount of salary cap space for the 2022 season completed a move today in order to provide a little bit of breathing room. ESPN’s Field Yates reported today that the Patriots restructured the contract of veteran center David Andrews, granting them a bit of cap space for the upcoming season. 
Andrews went undrafted in 2015, signing with New England as a free agent. Due to injuries to then-starting center Bryan Stork and backup Ryan Wendell, Andrews impressed in ample playing time during the preseason and earned the starting spot for Week 1 of his rookie season. He eventually ceded the position to his healthy teammates, but beat out Stork in an offseason competition for the starting job the following season.
Andrews has gone on to hold down the center position as a full-time starter for the past six years, excluding the 2019 season that saw him miss the entire year due to a pulmonary embolism. He did miss four games in the season immediately following 2019, but proved his health last year by playing 98.6% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps, with the next closest lineman being Shaq Mason who was on the field for 86.5% of New England’s offensive snaps.
After Andrews had completed his first season as a full-time starter in 2016, he and the Patriots agreed to a three-year, $9MM contract extension. After playing out that contract to become a free agent last offseason, Andrews decided to re-sign with New England on a four-year, $19MM deal.
The restructuring completed today reportedly creates $2.1MM in cap space for the 2022 season by converting $3.15MM of compensation into a signing bonus. Andrews’ contract will now hold a cap hit of $4.28MM for the upcoming season as the Patriots look to regain supremacy atop the AFC East.
Saints, Demario Davis Finalizing Extension
The Saints have made a number of changes to the contract status of linebacker Demario Davis. Chief among those is a one-year extension to his existing contract, as detailed by ESPN’s Field Yates. 
As a result of the re-working of his existing pact, coupled with the extra year being tacked on, Davis can earn up to $18MM in new money across the next three seasons. One-third of that total is represented by incentives, but the new year in 2024 also includes a $10MM base salary and $2MM roster bonus.
No changes were made to his 2022 cap status, meaning that he will carry a charge of $5.9MM for the upcoming season. In 2023, Davis will see a slight reduction in his salary, but the addition of an equally-valued workout bonus; the Saints are also guaranteeing $1MM of his compensation for that season. While his cap hit will spike next year, the Saints would essentially see no financial relief from cutting him.
In all, as Yates writes, today’s move provides the 33-year-old with “additional security” regarding his financial future. It comes in the wake of recent speculation on that very subject, with Davis himself acknowledging the potential uncertainty he faced in the latter stages of his career. Now, he and the Saints can move forward with greater confidence, as Davis looks to continue his consistent production in New Orleans. The Arkansas State alum has totalled no fewer than 105 tackles in each of his four seasons with the team, missing just one contest during that span. He has been named an All-Pro in each of the past three years.
With an important piece of business done, an integral member of the new-look Saints defense is on the books through 2024, which should allow him to continue his standard of play for at least the near future.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/23/22
Here is the latest mid- or late-round pick to sign his rookie deal:
New York Jets
- DE Micheal Clemons (fourth round, Texas A&M)
Clemons played four years for the Aggies after spending a year in JUCO at Cisco College. He saved his best season for last totaling 7.0 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and two passes defensed during his final year in College Station. Clemons joins rookie Jermaine Johnson II in competition with Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Vinny Curry, Jabari Zuniga, Bryce Huff, and Jacob Martin for playing time at defensive end.
With the singing, the Jets now have two unsigned draft picks: second-round Iowa State running back Breece Hall and fourth-round Louisiana offensive lineman Max Mitchell.
Patriots Sign Round 2 WR Tyquan Thornton, Round 4 QB Bailey Zappe To Wrap Class
Second- and third-day draftees came to terms with the Patriots on their rookie contracts Thursday. After signing Tyquan Thornton and Bailey Zappe to their four-year pacts, the team has completed its draft deals for 2022.
A Baylor-produced wide receiver with a 4.28-second 40-yard dash time on his pre-draft resume, Thornton enticed the Patriots to trade up four spots — from No. 54 to No. 50 — to acquire him. The Bill Belichick-era Pats have notoriously struggled to identify college receiver talent, at least with high picks, and recent Baylor wideouts to come through the league have delivered inconsistent pro careers. The Pats will aim to buck both trends here.
Baylor has sent the likes of Denzel Mims, Corey Coleman, Josh Gordon and Kendall Wright into the league as first- or second-round picks (Gordon was a Round 2 supplemental choice). Some of those players have enjoyed moments or short stretches of production, but the Big 12 program has not seen its top pass-catching cogs enjoy extended runs as starters. New England has swung and missed on highly drafted wideouts N’Keal Harry, Aaron Dobson and Chad Jackson over the past 16 years — the only first- or second-round wideouts the team has chosen — but obviously did quite well with late-rounders Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater. UDFA Jakobi Meyers has played well through three seasons, too, earning a second-round RFA tender from the team this offseason.
Although Thornton broke through as a senior by catching 62 passes for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns, he surpassed 17 yards per reception during both his freshman and sophomore years. In addition to Thornton, the Pats added DeVante Parker via trade and Lil’Jordan Humphrey late in the offseason. That duo joins the Meyers-Kendrick Bourne–Nelson Agholor trio. Harry remains on the roster but has been in trade rumors for multiple years now.
Zappe is coming off a historically productive season in his lone fall at a Division I-FBS program. The transfer passer broke Joe Burrow‘s recent FBS record by throwing 62 touchdown passes (compared to 11 interceptions). Zappe, a Houston Baptist import, also tallied 5,967 passing yards. Zappe played in a pass-crazed system and will attempt to transition to the pros, attempting to develop behind Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer.
Here is New England’s 2022 draft class:
Round 1: No. 29 (from 49ers through Dolphins and Chiefs) Cole Strange, G (UT-Chattanooga) (signed)
Round 2: No. 50 (from Dolphins through Chiefs) Tyquan Thornton, WR (Baylor) (signed)
Round 3: No. 85 Marcus Jones, CB (Houston) (signed)
Round 4: No. 121 (from Dolphins through Chiefs) Jackie Jones, CB (Arizona State) (signed)
Round 4: No. 127 Pierre Strong, RB (South Dakota State) (signed)
Round 4: No. 137 (from Rams through Texans and Panthers) Bailey Zappe, QB (Western Kentucky) (signed)
Round 6: No. 183 (from Texans) Kevin Harris, RB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 6: No. 200 Sam Roberts, DT (Northwest Missouri State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 210: Chasen Hines, C (LSU) (signed)
Round 7: No. 245 (from Cowboys through Texans) Andrew Stueber, OG (Michigan) (signed)