Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR D.J. Montgomery
- Waived with failed physical designation: WR Damion Willis
- Waived off IR: C Casey Dunn
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR DeAndre Thompkins
- Waived: CB Alexander Myres
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: DE Eli Mencer
Browns Were In Serious Talks For Yannick Ngakoue
The Jaguars have finally traded Yannick Ngakoue, shipping him to the Vikings in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick and a conditional fifth-rounder in 2022. But before that happened, Jacksonville and the Browns were engaged in serious trade talks, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.
The Browns were mentioned as a potential suitor for Ngakoue this offseason, but until now, there were no concrete reports concerning Cleveland’s interest. Per Cabot, the fact that Ngakoue was dealing with a change in representation during the trade negotiations threw a wrench in the works, and by the time his agency situation was settled, the July 15 deadline for extending franchise-tagged players had passed. While the Browns may have been willing to part with the same draft capital that the Vikings did to land Ngakoue, his status as a potential one-year rental made them less inclined to do so.
However, Ngakoue “really wanted” to play for the Browns, according to Cabot’s sources. The 2016 third-rounder accepted a significant pay cut from his $17.8MM franchise tag number to facilitate his trade to Minnesota, and Cabot says he may have been willing to drop his 2020 salary even more for Cleveland.
But the Browns ultimately elected to move forward with Olivier Vernon, reworking his deal to turn his $15.25MM non-guaranteed pact into $11MM guaranteed with the potential to earn an additional $2MM via incentives. When that happened, it made an Ngakoue trade (or a Jadeveon Clowney signing) much less likely.
Cabot says that Vernon is in the midst of a terrific training camp, and the Browns fully believe that he and Myles Garrett will form an imposing pass rush duo in 2020. Ngakoue obviously has considerably more long-term upside than Vernon, so time will tell if Cleveland — which still has a lot of salary cap space — made the right call.
Logan Ryan Hires New Agent
Free agent DB Logan Ryan has hired one of the NFL’s top agents, Joel Segal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Rapoport says Ryan is “poised to do a deal.”
It’s unclear if that means Ryan, 29, is set to sign a contract or just that Segal has some ideas to get his new client signed as the regular season draws closer. Ryan, who is now marketing himself as a safety, has seen his name crop up in some informal speculation recently.
The Ravens just parted ways with Earl Thomas, thereby opening up a theoretical spot for Ryan, and the Browns lost rookie safety Grant Delpit for the season due to an Achilles tear. Meanwhile, Browns’ starting corner Greedy Williams is dealing with a shoulder injury, so Cleveland could definitely use some reinforcements in the secondary.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says the Browns have likely inquired about Ryan, but the most recent reports regarding his salary demands indicated that he was looking for a $10MM/year contract. That number has almost certainly come down, so we will see if he can come to terms with a new club in the coming days.
Ryan led all corners — by a significant margin — in tackles last season, racking up 113 combined. No other corner topped 82. The then-Titans slot defender also paced corners with 73 solo tackles. Ryan’s tackling prowess extended to his New England days as well, with the former Patriots starter registering 74 solo stops in 2016.
Ryan only played 22 snaps at safety — compared to 855 in the slot and 243 at outside corner — last season. Still, his intelligence and experience should make the switch to safety a relatively straightforward one, and though his coverage abilities at corner are not as strong as they used to be, he can still serve as effective CB depth if necessary.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/27/20
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Craig Reynolds
Buffalo Bills
- Released: P Lachlan Edwards
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on IR: CB Derrek Thomas
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: C Jon Toth
- Placed on IR: DE Curtis Weaver
Denver Broncos
- Waived: LS Wes Farnsworth
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Kevin Wilkins
- Waived: DT Olive Sagapolu
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on IR: RB Bruce Anderson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Avery Moss
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Tavien Feaster
- Released: WR Tony Brown
New York Jets
- Released: RB Pete Guerriero
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Jayrone Elliott, LB Liam McCullough
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR River Cracraft
- Released: WR Jaron Brown
- Waived/Injured: DL Jonathan Kongbo
Tennessee Titans
- Released/Deal Voided: S Walt Aikens
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/20
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Cam Phillips, WR Darrell Stewart
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: DB Maurice Smith
- Released: K Tristan Vizcaino
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed (from Bengals): WR Damion Willis
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Dominique Dafney
- Released: RB Bruce Anderson III
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed (from 49ers): RB Salvon Ahmed
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB David Reese
- Waived: S Brian Cole
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: DT Jalen Dalton
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Tino Ellis
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Brandon Williams
Philadephia Eagles
- Waived: LB Dante Olson
- Placed on IR: TE Josh Perkins
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: LB Khaylan Kearse-Thomas, RB Cameron Scarlett
Greedy Williams Dealing With Injury
- Already down rookie safety Grant Delpit for the season, the Browns will be without their other LSU cog in the secondary for an undetermined time frame. Greedy Williams is dealing with a shoulder injury, and new Browns HC Kevin Stefanski has yet to indicate that the first-string cornerback will be able to return soon, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Williams missed four games last season but started all 12 in which he played.
- The Browns should be expected to explore an Earl Thomas addition, per Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson (on Twitter), but the team may not be a frontrunner. Cleveland lost Delpit but has offseason acquisitions Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo in the fold.
- The quartet of kickers the Browns worked out last week does not represent an immediate threat to Austin Seibert‘s job. Instead, the team is forming an emergency list due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Of course, other teams can and have adjusted this list. The Patriots signed one of the kickers the Browns previously brought in, Nick Folk, earlier this week. The Browns also worked out Cody Parkey, Kai Forbath and Matthew McCrane.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/20
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: P Johnny Townsend, WR DeAndrew White
Buffalo Bills
- Released from IR: DT Niles Scott
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Alex Wesley
- Released: WR Trevor Davis
- Waived/injured: TE Darion Clark
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: C Frederick Mauigoa, DT Kahlil McKenzie
- Waived: G Clay Cordasco, WR Damion Willis
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed (from Dolphins): DE Curtis Weaver
- Placed on IR: S Grant Delpit
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DE Sharif Finch
- Waived: DE Ade Aruna
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Daniel Bituli, LB Derrick Moncrief
- Waived: LB Bryan London, QB Josh Love
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: LB Trent Harris
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Kemon Hall
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
- Waived: DB Anthony Cioffi
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Tyrone Swoopes
- Waived: WR Robert Davis
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: RB Salvon Ahmed
Browns’ Grant Delpit Done For Year
Grant Delpit has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Browns will place the safety on IR, ending the rookie’s season before it could even begin. 
Delpit was widely viewed as a first-round prospected heading into his junior year at LSU. Then, his stock slipped a bit, allowing the Browns to scoop him up at No. 44 overall. He was expected to be a pillar of the Browns’ young secondary this year, alongside Denzel Ward and former Tigers teammate Greedy Williams. Instead, they’ll have to wait until next year to see what he can do.
Fortunately, the Browns have backup. New addition Andrew Sendejo figures to step into the starting free safety job and join Karl Joseph in deep coverage. Sendejo, a longtime starter for the Vikings, has been first-string for 61 of his career games. Still, he’s entering his age-33 season, and he doesn’t offer the same kind of tantalizing upside as Delpit.
This is just the latest training camp injury for the Browns, following linebacker Mack Wilson‘s knee injury and cornerback Kevin Johnson‘s lacerated liver. On the plus side, Johnson was released from the hospital rather quickly, which could allow for a relatively quick return to action.
Browns Fear S Grant Delpit Tore Achilles
One of the Browns’ top offseason additions may not suit up this season. The Browns are concerned that rookie safety Grant Delpit suffered an Achilles tear, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The LSU product needed to be carted off the practice field Monday, and the team confirmed he is being evaluated for an Achilles tear. Delpit will undergo an MRI Monday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Browns used the No. 44 overall pick on Delpit, who was long expected to be a first-round pick. He, Denzel Ward and ex-LSU teammate Greedy Williams represent the three young pillars of Cleveland’s secondary. Delpit was productive throughout his three-year college career. He registered 199 tackles (17.5 for loss) and seven sacks and was on track to be an instant contributor as a pro.
Were Delpit to have torn one of his Achilles’ tendons, the Browns’ offseason addition of Andrew Sendejo will be pivotal. While Cleveland signed Karl Joseph, Sendejo would be in line to ascend from top backup to a starting role. The former Vikings starter has operated in that capacity often in his 10-year career, starting 61 games. He was a full-time starter alongside Harrison Smith from 2015-17, and the Vikes featured top-six scoring defenses in each campaign. The 2020 season will be Sendejo’s age-33 slate, however.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/20
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB Duke Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- Placed on reserve/retired list: CB Ike Brown
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: C Casey Dunn
Denver Broncos
- Placed on IR: LB Justin Strnad (wrist)
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on IR: TE Ian Bunting
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: DL Chris Smith
- Waived/injured: LB Nick Usher
Miami Dolphins
- Waived/injured: LB Curtis Weaver
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: ST Johnson Bademosi
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: WR Spencer Schnell
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Walt Aikens