Restructure Details: Brockers, Butker, Clark
Here’s a roundup of a few recent contract restructures:
- Michael Brockers, DT (Lions): Detroit converted $4MM of Brockers’ 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, which opened up $2MM of cap room, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Brockers signed a three-year, $24MM deal with the Lions in March 2021, and he appeared in 16 games (all starts) in his first year in the Motor City. However, he recorded just one sack and earned an abysmal 40.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
- Harrison Butker, K (Chiefs): Butker injured his ankle in Kansas City’s Week 1 win over the Cardinals and missed the club’s Week 2 victory over the Chargers as a result. According to Yates, Butker agreed to convert $2.19MM of his 2022 base salary into a signing bonus, thereby giving KC an additional $1.46MM of cap room (Twitter link). Butker is signed through 2024 and is the league’s 10th-highest-paid kicker by measure of AAV.
- Chuck Clark, S (Ravens): There are no specifics on this one, though Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets that Baltimore gave Clark a bit of a raise this year and also added some incentives to his deal. The Ravens doled out a big-ticket free agent contract to safety Marcus Williams in March and selected Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton in the first round of the draft, and Clark subsequently requested a trade. However, it eventually became clear that Clark would continue to play a prominent role on the defense in 2022, and in the team’s Week 1 victory over the Jets, the Virginia Tech product played in all 84 defensive snaps and tallied eight tackles and a forced fumble while continuing to wear the green dot. He is under club control through 2023 and was slated to earn $1.25MM in base pay this year. Per Zrebiec, this transaction represents a show of appreciation for how Clark handled himself this offseason.
- Desmond King, DB (Texans): The Texans have converted $911K of King’s 2022 salary into a signing bonus, thereby creating $455K of cap space (Twitter link via Yates). King re-signed with Houston this offseason after appearing in 16 games (12 starts) for the club in 2021 and posting 93 tackles to go along with three interceptions. His two-year contract is worth $7MM.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/17/22
Today’s minor moves around the league, including practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s action:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Devon Kennard, CB Jace Whittaker
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Caleb Huntley, DL Abdullah Anderson
- Placed on IR: RB Damien Williams (story)
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Daryl Worley, WR Raleigh Webb
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Arron Mosby
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: C Dieter Eiselen
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Jordan Kunaszyk, DT Roderick Perry
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed to active roster: QB Cooper Rush, K Brett Maher (story)
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Will Grier, C Alec Lindstrom
- Placed on IR: DE Tarell Basham
- Waived: DT John Ridgeway
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Kendall Hinton, G Netane Muti
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Anthony Pittman, T Dan Skipper
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Patrick Taylor
Houston Texans
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Jeff Driskel, WR Chris Conley
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Keke Coutee, K Chase McLaughlin (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: G Alex Bars, S Matthias Farley
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Jacob Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: T Larnel Coleman, WR River Cracraft
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: S Tony Jefferson, CB Fabian Moreau
New York Jets
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Grant Hermanns, TE Kenny Yeboah
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Christian Ringo
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Delontae Scott
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Xavier Crawford
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Kaylon Geiger, LB Kenny Young
Washington Commanders
- Promoted from practice squad: G Wes Martin, DT Benning Potoa’e
Latest On Texans C Justin Britt
Justin Britt will miss Sunday’s game due to personal reasons. The Texans center will be away from the team through the weekend, according to Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com. Britt was absent from practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
The veteran offensive lineman is “working through personal issues related to football as he contemplates his options,” per Wilson. Coach Lovie Smith refused to elaborate on the absence, but Wilson notes that Britt previously expressed disappointment in his own performance during Week 1. He got into 100 percent of his team’s snaps against the Colts, committing one false start penalty. He finished Week 1 with PFF’s second-lowest grade among centers, although he did score positively for his pass-blocking. At 31 years old and with more than 100 career games (including playoffs) under his belt, it’s not too hard to read between the lines of this report and infer that Britt may be contemplating his playing future.
After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Seahawks, Britt joined the Texans last offseason. He started each of his 11 games during his first season in Houston, missing a handful of contests thanks to a knee injury.
With Britt out of the lineup, Scott Quessenberry will step into the starting lineup against the Broncos. The team also has Jimmy Morrissey on the practice squad, and guard Justin McCray has past experience playing center.
“It’s just the next-man-up mentality,” Quessenberry said (per Wilson). “Always prepare like you’re the starter and like you’re going to play every snap of the game. Be ready for the unexpected. Just going to go out there and play hard-nosed football and try to finish every play and play hard and play to the whistle and give everything I’ve got for the four other guys out there. It feels good. I’ve played in this league before and this won’t be the last time I play in this league.”
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/22
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad additions and subtractions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Koda Martin
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Dylan Mabin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Harrison Hand
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Herb Miller, WR Chester Rogers
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Dominique Dafney
- Released: TE Dylan Parham
Houston Texans
- Signed: DB BoPete Keyes
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Darrell Baker Jr., S Henry Black, K Lucas Havrisik, K Chase McLaughlin (story)
- Released: G Arlington Hambright, S Will Redmond, CB Chris Wilcox
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: CB Dicaprio Bootle, WR Corey Coleman
- Released: S James Wiggins
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: DT Kyle Peko
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Breiden Fehoko
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LS Matt Overton
- Placed on practice squad injured list: DB Daniel Isom
New Orleans Saints
- Released: WR Dai’Jean Dixon
New York Jets
- Signed: P Ty Long
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OLB Ryan Anderson (story), TE Rodney Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Keith Ismael, RB Marlon Mack (story)
- Released: OL Keaton Sutherland, WR Connor Wedington
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: TE J.J. Howland
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Nate Brooks
Washington Commanders
- Signed: DT Benning Potoa’e
- Released: S Ferrod Gardner
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/22
Today’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DT Abdullah Anderson
- Placed on practice squad/injured: OL Tyler Vrabel
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OLB Andre Anthony, G Michael Niese
- Released: G Lachavious Simmons
Houston Texans
- Signed: RB Royce Freeman
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OL James Murray, DL Corey Peters
- Released: OL Nick Ford, LB Grant Morgan
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Tre Swilling
- Released: TE Tanner Owen
New York Giants
- Signed: OL KC McDermott
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Jack Gibbens
2022 Offseason In Review Series
This season will feature 12 new Week 1 starting quarterbacks, though the Jets’ decision is the result of an injury rather than a roster move. High-profile wide receivers also changed teams, igniting one of the biggest market shifts a single position has seen. The Offseason In Review series is now complete. Here are the PFR staff’s looks at how the 32 NFL teams assembled their 2022 rosters.
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/22
Today’s minor moves around the league, as teams prepare for the first Sunday slate of regular season games:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed to 53-man roster: WR Andre Baccellia
- Signed to 53-man roster (from Giants’ practice squad): OL Max Garcia
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Devon Kennard, CB Jace Whittaker
- Placed on IR: OL Cody Ford
- Released: CB Javelin Guidry
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Anthony Firkser
- Released: DL Abdullah Anderson
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: OLB Steven Means
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Arron Mosby
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: DL Mike Pennel, OL Dieter Eiselen
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Jordan Kunaszyk, DE Isaac Rochell
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Cooper Rush, K Brett Maher
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Justin Jackson, LB Anthony Pittman
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: S Micah Abernathy, WR Juwann Winfree
Houston Texans
- Signed to 53-man roster: DL Demone Harris, LB Kevin Pierre-Louis
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Chris Conley, QB Jeff Driskel
- Placed on IR: DE Mario Addison
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Tony Brown
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Daurice Fountain, LB Elijah Lee
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: S Matthias Farley
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Kemon Hall, TE Richard Rodgers
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: WR River Cracraft, S Verone McKinley III
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted from practice squad: S Myles Dorn
New England Patriots
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, LB Harvey Langi
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Christian Ringo
- Released: C Nick Martin
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: S Tony Jefferson, OLB Quincy Roche
New York Jets
- Promoted from practice squad: T Grant Hermanns
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Britain Covey, TE Noah Togiai
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted from practice squad: S Tashaun Gipson, WR Malik Turner
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Genard Avery
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Joe Jones, RB Trenton Cannon
The Cardinals’ moves come as a reaction to yesterday’s injury news. Baccellia’s roster spot was opened up in the short-term by the injury to Rondale Moore, but he won’t simply be a stop-gap. Arizona signed the 25-year-old to a two-year deal to remain on the main roster, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). A UDFA out of Washington, Baccellia has yet to make a regular season NFL appearance.
Likewise, the fact that Ford will miss at least the first four weeks of the season makes the re-acquisition of Garcia a logical one. The former fourth-rounder has plenty of guard experience, including his three seasons spent in Arizona. It was only in 2021 that he logged any starts, but he could provide veteran depth behind Justin Pugh at least until Ford is able to return.
Addison, 35, was one of several veteran signings the Texans made this offseason to add depth to their front seven. He had a productive season with the Bills last season, notching seven sacks despite not starting any games. In his absence, Harris and Pierre-Louis will provide depth in the edge rush department on Sunday, and likely the short-term future as well.
Quick reminder that standard game day practice squad promotions are a recent development from the new CBA and COVID-19 seasons. Essentially, each team is able to promote two players from the practice squad to the active roster for game days. The players will automatically revert back to the practice squad after the game, not needing to clear waivers before rejoining the developmental roster. A player can only be promoted three times per season. If a team would like to promote a player for a fourth game, they’ll need to go through the normal method of creating space on the 53-man roster to promote them and have them clear waivers before placing them back on the practice squad. That is the difference between “Signed to 53-man roster” from the practice squad and “Promoted from practice squad.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/22
Today’s minor moves leading up to Week 1:
Chicago Bears
- Released with injury settlement: WR Tajae Sharpe
- Released: DT Mike Pennel
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Herb Miller
Green Bay Packers
- Waived with injury settlement: DT Akial Byers, S Innis Gaines
Houston Texans
- Released: RB Royce Freeman
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released with injury settlement: WR Greg Ward
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived with injury settlement: DT Elijah Ponder
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on IR: DB Elijah Molden, LB Chance Campbell
The Texans had recently re-signed Freeman after he failed to make the initial 53-man roster. Houston will move forward with rookie Dameon Pierce, Rex Burkhead, and Dare Ogunbowale at running back.
Ward has been with the Eagles on-and-off since signing with the team after going undrafted in 2017. His first two seasons consisted mostly of time on the practice squad. The former University of Houston quarterback then took a hiatus from the NFL to sign with the Alliance of American Football. When the AAF suspended operations, Ward re-joined the Eagles. He had a bit of a breakout year in 2020, catching 53 passes for 419 yards and six touchdowns, but took a bit of a backseat in Philadelphia’s offense last season.
Miller was called up as a response to Browns cornerback Greedy Williams being placed on injured reserve today. Miller will slot in behind Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Martin Emerson, and A.J. Green as the secondary faces off against their former teammate Baker Mayfield in Week 1.
Contract Details: Watt, Rams, Texans
With teams preparing their cap sheets for the start of the NFL season, we’ve seen a number of front offices rework some contracts. We’ve compiled some of the recent contract maneuverings (as well as some details on recent signings and extension) below:
- T.J. Watt, LB (Steelers): restructured contract yesterday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The move opened $6.75MM in space for Pittsburgh. Watt inked a four-year deal worth up to $112MM (including $80MM guaranteed) last September.
- Rob Havenstein, OT (Rams): three-year extension. The deal is worth $34.5MM, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). The extension includes $24.1MM guaranteed and offers $6MM in incentives.
- Tyler Higbee, TE (Rams): restructured contract earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The team converted $4.75MM of Higbee’s base salary into a signing bonus, creating $3.8MM in space.
- Jalen Thompson, S (Cardinals): three-year extension. The $40MM deal includes $24.5MM in guaranteed money and a $10MM signing bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter).
- Lane Johnson, OT and Jake Elliott, K (Eagles): restructured contracts today, according to Yates (on Twitter). The Eagles converted $5.88MM of Johnson’s base salary and $2.715MM of Elliot’s base salary into signing bonuses, creating about $6.9MM in cap space.
- O.J. Howard, TE (Texans): one-year deal. The contract is worth $1.035MM, according to Wilson (on Twitter). The tight end will receive $910K in offset from the $1.945MM guaranteed base salary he got from his previous deal with the Bills. When coupled with the $1.25MM signing bonus he got from Buffalo, Howard will earn a total of $3.25MM this year.
- Eric Murray, S (Texans): restructured contract yesterday, per Yates (on Twitter). Specifically, the team converted $1.465MM of his contract into a signing bonus, opening $732.5K in cap space.
- Ka’imi Fairbairn, K and Cameron Johnston, P (Texans): restructured contracts earlier this week, per Wilson (on Twitter). The two moves saved the Texans $2.1MM in cap savings.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/8/22
Today’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: C Ross Pierschbacher
- Released: OT Darrin Paulo
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE/LB Derick Roberson
- Placed on IR: OT Cedric Ogbuehi
New York Giants
- Signed: OT Roy Mbaeteka
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LS Carson Tinker
- Released: S Scott Nelson