Minor NFL Transactions: 4/27/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Chicago Bears
- Released: TE Dax Raymond
Denver Broncos
- Released: S Tyvis Powell, TE Bug Howard, DL Deyon Sizer, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli
Detroit Lions
- Released: RB Tra Carson, LS James Fisher, G Casey Tucker, P Matt Wile
Green Bay Packers
- Released: QB Manny Wilkins
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: TE Billy Brown, WR Steve Ishmael
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: QB Kyle Shurmur
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: RB Mark Thompson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Coleman Shelton (Exclusive Rights Free Agent)
- Released: LB Jeff Holland
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: S Jacob Thieneman
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/26/20
Today’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed exclusive rights tenders: WR Jake Kumerow, DT Tyler Lancaster
Houston Texans
- Signed: LS Anthony Kukwa
New England Patriots
- Released: Keionta Davis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released: RB Darrin Hall, WR Jamal Custis, S Tray Matthews
Davis signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and spent two of the past three seasons on injured reserve. He played a significant role on the 2018 team, starting three out of the six games he appeared in and winning Super Bowl LIII with the team. He was just re-signed last month, but didn’t last long.
All three of the players Pittsburgh cut spent time on their practice squad last year, but none of them have appeared in a regular season game yet.
Latest On Packers, Jordan Love
In a big win for pre-draft rumors, the Packers’ interest in Jordan Love was quite real. But their trade-up to No. 26 did not fully illustrate how much the franchise coveted the Utah State product.
The Packers had a deal worked out with the Seahawks, who picked at No. 27, but decided to climb up to 26 (via the Dolphins) to make the pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). This was not a case of the Packers changing course to take a falling quarterback; they were “adamant” on taking one, per Rapoport.
While the Packers’ fascination with Love could have induced another team to trade ahead of them at No. 30, Rapoport adds that it does not look like anyone else was pursuing him in that range. The Colts did not make any calls to move up for Love, Rapoport notes. They ended up drafting Jacob Eason in Round 4. The Packers traded a fourth-round pick (No. 136) to climb up four spots for Love. The Seahawks ended up taking linebacker Jordyn Brooks at No. 27.
Green Bay being able to execute the ultra-rare years-long developmental program before — when Aaron Rodgers developed from 2005-07 behind Brett Favre — has the franchise confident this latest effort can work. Rodgers, however, has made it clearer than Favre did at that point that he wants to play many more seasons. The 36-year-old passer has said on multiple occasions he wants to play into his 40s. The Love addition opens the door to the future Hall of Famer finishing his career elsewhere.
Rodgers’ contract runs through 2023. His cap numbers spike beyond $36MM in 2021 and ’22. Although Love could be a star-in-training like Rodgers once was, the Packers keeping Rodgers during most of Love’s rookie contract will negate the potential benefit the organization would gain from that rookie deal. That has been a key roster-building tool for several Super Bowl teams since the 2011 CBA went into effect.
Packers HC, GM On Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love
The Packers caused quite a stir on Thursday night when they traded up to the No. 26 overall pick to select polarizing Utah State QB Jordan Love. Right away, the NFL world was buzzing about what the move means for Aaron Rodgers‘ future and — perhaps just as importantly — how Rodgers would react.
Head coach Matt LaFleur was asked about those issues on Saturday, and as expected, he tried to downplay the drama as much as possible.
“Aaron is a pro, and he’s the leader of our football team, and I anticipate that for a really long time,” LaFleur said (via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). “I have so much respect for him not only as a player but the person, and some of the stuff that nobody sees. So I can’t tell you how much I like working with him.”
LaFleur, though, declined to say what he meant by “a really long time.” Rodgers, 36, is under contract through the 2023 season, and while he experienced something of a decrease in production in 2019, he was still effective and continues to look the part of a top-tier signal-caller. He has yet to speak publicly on the Love pick, but given that Green Bay made an aggressive move to select his potential successor and did little to upgrade his cadre of pass catching weapons, you can be sure that he is none too pleased.
Of course, Love is now in a very similar situation to the one that Rodgers was in when A-Rod was selected in the first round of the 2005 draft: a surprise pick who will be groomed behind a curmudgeonly legend with the unenviable task of ultimately replacing said legend. It obviously worked out for Rodgers, but we probably won’t know how it will work out for Love for a couple of years.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was also asked about a potential Rodgers-to-Love succession. “The reason that back when we moved from Brett [Favre] to Aaron was because of what Aaron had done his first three years here, and that’s got to happen with Jordan,” Gutekunst said. “He has to be able to do the work and he has to do that for us to make us believe that he can be a starting quarterback in the National Football League. We drafted him in the first round, we certainly think he has that kind of talent. But that’s not enough in the National Football League. You’ve got to work, you’ve got to earn it, you’ve got to become a good enough player.”
Rodgers is scheduled to carry a cap charge of over $39MM in 2022. Although Green Bay would have to absorb a significant dead money hit by releasing him prior to that season, it would also save about $22MM of cap space by doing so. So if Love progresses as the Packers hope, it would not be surprising to see them make the same difficult, but possibly necessary, transition at that time.
“Again, we have one of the best to ever lace them up, and we’re shooting for championships for as long as he’s here, and we expect him to be here for quite a while,” Gutekunst said. His definition of “quite a while,” and LaFleur’s definition of “a long time,” may be about the same: two years.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/24/20
As Day 2 draft news comes rushing in, we’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: P Sam Irwin-Hill
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OT Garrett McGhin
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: OT Jake Rodgers (ERFA)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed exclusive rights tender: TE Robert Tonyan
Dolphins Trade 26th Pick To Green Bay, Packers Take Jordan Love
The Packers are making a surprising splash. They’ve traded up with the Dolphins to get the 26th pick, and are using it on Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.
We’ve been waiting for some fireworks, and this certainly qualifies. Green Bay is setting up for the post-Aaron Rodgers era, and it’ll be very interesting to see what Rodgers thinks of this selection. The Packers gave up pick 136 in the fourth-round to move up four spots from 30. The Pack apparently “secretly coveted” Love in the pre-draft process, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
The Packers made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game last year, but it wasn’t Rodgers’ finest season statistically and he’ll turn 37 in December. Rodgers is under contract through the 2023 season, and he isn’t likely going to be too happy about a first-round rookie breathing down his neck.
It’s a bold move by GM Brian Gutekunst, and one that will take several years at least to be able to evaluate. Rodgers and others were hoping the team would draft a second receiver behind Davante Adams, but obviously that wasn’t the plan.
Love was a polarizing prospect, with many defenders and detractors in the analyst community. Viewed as a potential top pick after a dominant sophomore season where he averaged 8.6 yards per attempt with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions, he took a big step back in 2019.
In his junior campaign at Utah State, he averaged only 7.2 yards per attempt with 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Clearly that wasn’t enough to scare off the Packers. There had been some talk that the Dolphins might take a tackle with their first pick and look to add Love later on, but obviously they ended up going with Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth pick. Love won’t be the Packers’ starter in 2020, but he’ll create a lot of drama and headlines right away. Buckle up in Green Bay.
Jets, Saints, Packers Looking To Move Up
There are a number of teams pushing to move up in the first round. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Falcons, Jets, Saints, and Packers are among the teams “who have made some noise about potentially moving up.” We previously heard that Atlanta was looking to make a deal.
Rapoport notes that the Jets are “presumably” looking to move up to take an offensive tackle. Gang Green currently has the 11th-overall pick, meaning they should get their hands on one of Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills Jr., Andrew Thomas, and Mekhi Becton. However, if there is a sudden run of lineman, the Jets may be required to make a move.
It might be tough for the Saints to make a trade considering their limited draft capital. New Orleans is currently in possession of only five picks, and the only have a pair of selections in the first three rounds (No. 24 and No. 88).
On the flip side, the Packers are loaded with draft picks, as they’re currently armed with 10 selections. Of course, it’s worth noting that six of those selections are in the fifth round or later. The Packers have the No. 30 pick in the first round. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst discussed the team’s trade prospects earlier this week.
Packers Claim Gerald Willis, Jamal Davis
The Dolphins waived six players Saturday; two are now set to join the Packers. Green Bay claimed defensive linemen Gerald Willis and Jamal Davis, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
While Willis was viewed as a mid-round prospect last year, he tumbled out of the draft. He has spent time with the Ravens and his hometown Dolphins, washing out of both places. The Packers will give the ex-Miami Hurricane defensive tackle a shot to become a rotational cog up front.
An edge player, Davis is already on team No. 6. The UDFA out of Akron spent time with five franchises last year, going to camp with the Texans and landing on the Bills, Colts and Titans’ practice squads. The Dolphins signed him off the Titans’ taxi squad late last season.
Willis played in two Dolphins games; Davis was active for three. Neither saw any NFL action for other teams in 2019.
Packers Notes: Draft, Williams, Funchess
While this year’s virtual draft will naturally lead to some challenges, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst still expects to be active in trade talks throughout the weekend.
“I don’t think there’s going to be too much of an issue, certainly not from our end,” Gutekunst said (via Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com).
“I think we’ll be able to be as aggressive as we need to be. I like to move around. I think it’s a very good draft. I’d like to move around and get to the areas of the draft I think are strong.”
Gutekunst also mentioned that the team would consider moving up in the first round “if we need to.” The Packers highest pick is currently No. 30, which is one of the organization’s 10 selections.
The Packers have been connected to a number of first-round-caliber prospects, including defensive tackle Raekwon Davis. While they’ve been mentioned as a suitor for quarterbacks like Jordan Love, the team isn’t prioritizing the position in the upcoming draft.
Let’s check out some more notes out of Green Bay…
- Tramon Williams remains a free agent, but it doesn’t sound like the Packers are in any rush to re-sign the veteran cornerback. Gutekunst told reporters that they’ll evaluate Williams’ fit on the roster after the draft. “If that fits once we get through the draft then we’ll certainly make it happen if we can,” Gutekunst said (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky on Twitter). After spending nearly a decade with the Packers to start his career, Williams returned to Green Bay in 2018. He’s appeared in all 32 regular season games over the past two seasons, including a 2019 campaign where he had eight passes defended and a pair of interceptions.
- Wide receiver Devin Funchess still hasn’t “completely” passed his physical, Gutekunst told reporters (via Demovsky). “There’s still a portion of it that he’ll have to kind of get through once hopefully this clears up or we’re able find another way to do it,” Gutekunst said. The Packers have already announced the deal, which is a one-year pact worth as much as $6.25MM. After hauling in 63 receptions for 840 yards and eight scores in 2017, the 25-year-old has only collected 54 receptions for 844 yards and nine touchdowns over the past two years (31 games).
- Gutekunst isn’t particularly worried about any of the technical glitches during the league’s mock draft. “We got a lot of answers,” Gutekunst said (via the team’s website). “That was the big thing, getting through this and finding out the answers how we really want to do this.”
Ravens Sign LB Jake Ryan
After being limited to only a pair of games over the past seasons, Jake Ryan has found another gig. The linebacker has signed a one-year deal with the Ravens, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).
The 2015 fourth-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with the Packers, and he started at least 10 games and compiled at least 80 tackles each year between 2016 and 2017. A torn ACL forced him to miss the entire 2018 campaign, and he proceeded to sign with the Jaguars last offseason.
Ryan started the 2019 season on the reserve/NFI list, but he managed to make two appearances after getting activated in November. He landed on the IR in December, and the Jaguars declined his option a few months later.
The Ravens have needed some depth at the position, and there were rumblings that the front office could opt for a linebacker in one of the first three rounds. While this signing certainly won’t prevent the organization from taking a prospect, it’ll certainly reduce the urgency to add at the position.