Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/17
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived/injured: TE Keith Towbridge
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Alton Howard
- Waived: K Andy Phillips
Houston Texans
- Waived: TE Zach Conque
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Maurice Swain
- Waived: LB Reshard Cliett
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Mike Estes, WR Cameron Posey
- Waived/injured: TE Asante Cleveland
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived/injured: WR Bradley Marquez
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: DE Arthur Miley
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Jake McGee
- Waived/injured: TE Scott Orndoff
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: T Darrell Brown
- Waived: S Jordan Simone
Washington Redskins
- Signed: S Tim Scott
- Waived: S Josh Evans, S Earl Wolff
- Waived from IR: DB Lou Young
Bears OL Eric Kush Done For Season
Bears offensive lineman Eric Kush suffered a torn hamstring and will undergo season-ending surgery, head coach John Fox announced today. Chicago has officially placed Kush on injured reserve and signed offensive lineman Brandon Greene.
Kush, 27, wasn’t going to crack an excellent Bears interior offensive line that includes Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair, and Josh Sitton, but he was set to serve as Chicago’s top reserve on the inside. In 2016, Kush appeared in eight games (four starts), playing on roughly a quarter of the club’s offensive snaps while earning solid pass-blocking grades from Pro Football Focus. He re-signed with the Bears over the offseason, agreeing to a two-year, $2.7MM deal that included $1.35MM in guarantees.
With Kush sidelined, Chicago is deploying Whitehair as a backup guard while inserting Hroniss Grasu as the starting center, tweets Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. While that’s a temporary alignment while Long recovers from injury, it’s probably how the Bears would line up if another injury strikes along the interior. Other Chicago linemen with guard experience include Tom Compton, Cyril Richardson, and Taylor Boggs.
Greene is a rookie undrafted free agent out of Alabama who spent his collegiate time playing both offense and defense. Although he’s played offensive line in the past, Greene was a tight end only in 2016.
Bears Make Two Moves
- The Bears added running back Josh Rounds and waived-injured fellow RB Joel Bouagnon. Both players went undrafted this year (Rounds from Tulane, Bouagnon from Northwestern).
Bears Promote Champ Kelly, Other Scouts
- The Bears have promoted former Pro Scouting Direction Champ Kelly to Assistant Director of Player Personnel, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). According to the reporter, the Dolphins tried to “lure away” Kelly this past offseason, but Chicago clearly had bigger plans for the executive. The former United Indoor Football general manager has been with the Bears organization since 2015, and he previously spent time as the Broncos’ Assistant Director of Pro Personnel.
- Biggs passes along (on Twitter) that the Bears have also promoted several other members of their scouting team. Chris White is now one of the team’s pro scouts, while Scott Hamel and Brendan Rehor have been promoted to area scout and combine scout, respectively.
[SOURCE LINK]
Pernell McPhee Undergoes Knee Surgery
Bears outside linebacker Pernell McPhee underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Friday, head coach John Fox told reporters, including Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Fox called the surgery a “cleanup” and didn’t offer a timeline for a return for McPhee, who began training camp on the physically unable to perform list with an “irregularity” in his left knee (Twitter links).
While it’s unclear if McPhee will miss any regular-season time, it’s obviously alarming that both knees are troubling the 28-year-old – especially considering his history. McPhee underwent two right knee procedures while with the Ravens in 2012, and he missed the Bears’ first six games last year after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. To his credit, McPhee returned to rack up four sacks in nine games as a part-time player and earn respectable marks from Pro Football Focus.
Even though he sat out nearly half of last season, only three Bears – Willie Young, Leonard Floyd and Akiem Hicks – finished with more sacks than McPhee. Having to go without him for an extended period in 2017 would be a blow, then, though Chicago still has a more-than-capable starting linebacking corps with Young and Floyd flanking Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. The Bears’ reserves looks good, too, as they added the experienced Dan Skuta in free agency, re-signed Sam Acho and, unless they make him a cap casualty by Week 1, are getting Lamarr Houston back from the torn ACL he suffered last season.
McPhee’s place on the Bears’ roster seems more secure than Houston’s, though the team’s cap would also benefit from the former’s release. Ridding itself of McPhee would save Chicago $6.325MM (against $1.5MM in dead money) this season. Ideally, though, this latest knee issue will be a minor one and McPhee – whom the Bears signed to a five-year, $38.75MM deal in free agency two years ago – will be a key contributor to their pass rush in 2017.
Akiem Hicks Seeking $10MM Per Year
Having just hired Rosenhaus Sports to represent him, Bears contract-year defensive end Akiem Hicks is seeking $10MM per year on a new deal, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
Formerly with the Patriots and Saints, Hicks joined the Bears in March 2016 on a two-year pact totaling $10MM. That contract has been a steal thus far for the Bears, with whom Hicks played like one of the NFL’s premier defensive linemen last season. Hicks tied a career high with 16 starts, led Bears defensive linemen in snaps (930) and piled up 54 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. Additionally, the 27-year-old ranked 15th among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior D-linemen in overall performance.
Given both Hicks’ showing last season and the deals given out to similarly productive players in recent years, it’s no surprise that he’s looking to double his annual income. As PFR suggested earlier this month, the contracts Giants nose tackle Damon Harrison (five years, $46.25MM, including $24MM guaranteed) and Packers DT Mike Daniels (four years, $42MM, including $12MM guaranteed) signed over the past couple years are among those that look like reasonable benchmarks for Hicks.
Without a new deal by next year, the Bears could theoretically place the franchise tag on Hicks, but the $17MM cost would be far higher than his current asking price. With that in mind, it would seemingly behoove general manager Ryan Pace to get to work on extending one of his key defensive contributors. Hicks, for his part, isn’t looking to leave Chicago.
“I just enjoy my time here and I’m completely open to ending my career here,” he told Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com and other reporters Wednesday.
It may help Hicks’ cause that Pace has long had an affinity for the defender, having been part of two front offices that have acquired him. When Hicks entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Saints in 2012, Pace was their director of professional scouting.
Bears Had Interest In Lucky Whitehead
- Before he was claimed by the Jets, other teams that expressed interest in Lucky Whitehead were the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) hears from one source. The Bears showed a little interest as well. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints may have placed waiver claims on Whitehead while the Bears were on the fence about it as Wednesday approached. Of course, after finishing with a 5-11 record last year, the Jets had higher waiver priority than most.
Bears Notes: Howard, Pace
- Bears defensive lineman Jaye Howard has hired David Canter as his new representation, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Howard signed a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum earlier this offseason, but the pact could be worth as much as $4MM through incentives. Given that he’s still relatively young (28) and has been productive in the past, Howard could be in line for a lengthier contract next spring if he plays well in 2017.
- Entering his third season as the Bears‘ general manager, Ryan Pace is building the Chicago roster in the mold of the Saints, the club with which Pace spent most of his career prior to heading to the Windy City, as Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Pace and the rest of the Chicago front office is clearly hoping No. 2 overall selection Mitch Trubisky turns into the next Drew Brees, but other points of comparison are apt, as well. Second-round tight end Adam Shaheen could have the game-breaking ability of a Jimmy Graham, while fourth-round running back Tarik Cohen may prove to be a passing game weapon like Darren Sproles.
Hroniss Grasu's Roster Spot Could Be In Danger
- Bears center Hroniss Grasu missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in August, and now it’s up in the air whether he’ll play another down for the team, suggests JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago. Grasu’s old starting job now belongs to Cody Whitehair, who more than held his own as a rookie after shifting from guard to center in the wake of Grasu’s injury. So, if the Bears only keep eight offensive lineman this year, it may lead to Grasu’s demise. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick in 2015, when he started in all of his appearances, though a neck injury limited him to eight games that season.
Mitch Trubisky's Contract Contains Partial Offsets
- Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky‘s rookie contract contains partial offsets, tweets Albert Breer of The MMQB. His deal is similar to the one Marcus Mariota signed with the Titans in 2015, when he, like Trubisky this year, entered the league as the second overall pick in his draft class. Mariota and the Titans agreed to make his base salaries (a total of $2.28MM) subject to offsets, but the vast majority of his $24.214MM pact is protected.