AFC South Notes: Tunsil, Brissett, Jack
New Texans starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil is wasting no time getting acclimated to his new team. Coach Bill O’Brien said the former first-round pick is putting in “double time” with regard to getting up to speed with Houston’s communication on packages, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle relays.
“Laremy has been in here all day working with Mike, working with a couple of guys, some of the veteran guys, Nick Martin, guys like that,” the coach said. “Look, at the end of the day, that’s going to be a challenge early on here because he just got here.
“But I think that he’s played a lot of football and maybe what somebody calls an apple, we call an orange. It’s just different terms, but it’s the same blocking assignment.”
Here’s more from the AFC South:
- Jacoby Brissett, who recently signed a new two-year, $30MM extension, told Mike Chappell of CBS4 in Indianapolis that he negotiated the contract himself. “I don’t like people to BS on my behalf. I try to say it for myself. . . . all you can be is honest,” the Colts new starting quarterback said. “I did my rookie contract, too, so I kind of had the gist of it.’’
- The details on Myles Jack‘s new contract are in. The deal pays the linebacker $26.06MM in guarantees, as Pro Football Talk details. That figure is second in the league among inside linebackers (C.J. Mosley).
- Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline envisions Dion Lewis being heavily involved in the Titan’s offense. Lewis has three years remaining on the four-year, $19.8MM deal he inked during the 2018 offseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/3/19
Here are today’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Allen Lazard
- Placed on IR: TE Jace Sternberger
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: TE Jordan Thomas, TE Kahale Warring
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed: LB Austin Calitro
- Waived: LB Joe Giles-Harris
Texans, Seahawks Talked Clowney Trade Before Draft
- Jadeveon Clowney was almost a Seahawk all the way back in the spring. The Texans and Seahawks first discussed a Clowney trade before the draft, Seattle GM John Schneider tells Albert Breer of The MMQB. However, there were logistical roadblocks – namely, extension talks with quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner. Meanwhile, the April price tag for Clowney was too high for the Seahawks’ taste. Over the weekend, the Seahawks acquired Clowney for a 2020 third-rounder, defensive end Barkevious Mingo, and linebacker Jacob Martin.
Texans To Workout LB Brandon Marshall
Brandon Marshall is starting to draw interest. The veteran linebacker was recently cut by the Raiders, and now he has his first visit line up.
The Texans will host Marshall for a workout, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The workout will happen on Tuesday. Marshall originally entered the league as a fifth-round pick with the Jaguars back in 2012. After bouncing between their active roster and practice squad, Marshall was scooped up by the Broncos. Marshall spent the next six seasons in Denver, and became a big part of their defense.
From 2014-2017, Marshall started almost every game for the Broncos. He won Super Bowl 50 with the team, but then began to fall out of favor with the front office. Last season he appeared in only 11 games and made seven starts, and after the season the Broncos informed him they weren’t picking up his option for 2019. He got a one-year deal worth up to $4.1MM from the Raiders, but failed to make the team.
Texans To Sign Logan Paulsen
His name was Logan Paulsen, and he was cut by the Falcons over the weekend. On Monday, he agreed to a brand new deal with the Texans, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
The 32-year-old joined the Falcons in the 2018 offseason and proceeded to appear in 15 games (ten starts). The tight end didn’t contribute much in the passing game, finishing with nine catches for 91 yards and one touchdown. However, Paulsen did contribute as a blocker, with Pro Football Focus giving him solid grades for his pass-blocking. Ultimately, the site ranked the veteran 39th among 70 eligible tight ends.
Paulsen has had previous stints with the Redskins, Bears, and 49ers. Now, he adds a new jersey to his collection with an opportunity to catch passes from Deshaun Watson. As of this writing, the Texans have Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas, Darren Fells, third-round pick Kahale Warring, and Jerell Adams on the 53-man roster. In the coming hours, one of those TEs will likely be displaced.
Orlando Scandrick To Visit Texans
In moving their roster down to 53 players, the Eagles released Orlando Scandrick this week. While it is still possible the parties reunite, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets the veteran cornerback will visit the Texans in the meantime.
Scandrick will trek to Houston on Monday. The Texans made major changes to their roster on Saturday, adding Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, Carlos Hyde and Barkevious Mingo to it — while also trading away Jadeveon Clowney. The Texans’ cornerback situation also changed this offseason.
Houston lost Kareem Jackson, Kevin Johnson and Tyrann Mathieu and added Bradley Roby, Tashaun Gipson and Jahleel Addae. They drafted Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Xavier Crawford in the second and sixth rounds, respectively, and also made a depth trade in acquiring Keion Crossen from the Patriots.
Scandrick has logged 11 NFL seasons, spending much of that time as a slot corner. He played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season, starting seven.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Colts, Jaguars, Texans and Titans are noted below.
Additionally, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads today. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.
Houston Texans
- Signed:
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed:
- CB Ryan Lewis
- Waived:
- CB Chris Milton
- Signed to practice squad:
- T Jackson Barton
- CB Jalen Collins
- WR Ashton Dulin
- G Jake Eldrenkamp
- LB Skai Moore
- QB Phillip Walker
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed:
- TE Seth Devalve
- RB Tyler Ervin
- TE Matt Orzech
- RB Devine Ozigbo
- Placed on IR:
- RB Alfred Blue
- Released:
- LS Matt Overton
- Waived:
- TE Ben Koyack
- NT Eli Ankou
- Signed to practice squad:
- OL Ka’John Armstrong
- CB Tae Hayes
- RB Elijah Hood
- TE Charles Jones
- WR Michael Walker
- CB Brandon Watson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Amani Bledsoe
- LB Ukeme Eligwe
- TE Parker Hesse
- WR Cody Hollister
- DB Kareem Orr
- LB Derick Roberson
- OL Aaron Stinnie
- WR Papi White
- QB Logan Woodside
Texans Release OT Matt Kalil
The Texans are cutting a big-name veteran. Houston is releasing offensive tackle Matt Kalil, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Texans acquired Laremy Tunsil in a blockbuster trade yesterday, and Kalil was deemed expendable in the wake of it. Just a couple of weeks ago Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said unequivocally that Kalil would be the team’s starting left tackle in 2019, but obviously things have changed since then. Kalil would’ve been a backup with Tunsil now in the fold, and the Texans didn’t want to pay him his large salary to ride the bench.
Former Browns fifth-round pick Roderick Johnson is now set to begin the year as the top backup tackle, and he comes at a much cheaper price. Kalil signed a one-year deal back in March that would’ve been worth $7.5MM had he stayed on the active roster the whole season. He received a $2.25MM signing bonus which the Texans will have to eat, but they’ll save the other $5.25MM by cutting him now.
The fourth overall pick of the 2012 draft, Kalil signed a massive five-year, $55MM contract with the Panthers before the 2017 season. He started all 16 games for Carolina that year, but missed the entire 2018 season with a knee injury. Now on the wrong side of 30 and coming off a major injury, it might be tough for him to find a starting job. That being said, he’ll likely resurface soon with a team in need of tackle help.
More On Jadeveon Clowney Trade
A pair of blockbuster trades were consummated on cutdown day, one of which featured Jadeveon Clowney heading to Seattle. More details on that trade and how it went down may come out over the next couple of days, but here’s a roundup of what we have so far:
- Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that the Texans paid Clowney a $7MM signing bonus while the Seahawks will pick up the remaining $9MM of Clowney’s 2019 salary (Twitter link). The trade was already viewed as a big win for Seattle, and this tips the scales even further in the Seahawks’ favor. Critically, the Seahawks have promised Clowney that they will not put the franchise tag on him in 2020.
- At one point, the Dolphins believed they were the frontrunners for Clowney, and when the trade to Seattle was first reported, we heard that Miami and the Texans were indeed headed towards a deal before Clowney made it clear that he would refuse to play for the Fins. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald confirms that report and says the Dolphins and Texans were on their way to a trade that would have sent Clowney and two very high picks to Miami in exchange for LT Laremy Tunsil, but Clowney’s aversion to South Beach scuttled that (Twitter link). Of course, the two sides did agree to a Tunsil trade, it just didn’t include Clowney.
- Jackson adds in a separate tweet that the Dolphins only really considered Clowney a bonus, not necessarily a long-term piece. The team really wanted premium draft capital in a Tunsil trade, and that’s ultimately what Miami got.
- Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network says that, when Clowney did not report to the Texans after their third preseason game, as Houston had expected, the team’s leverage was reduced even further. And when Clowney suggested that he was willing to miss regular season action if he was not traded, the Texans had to act to make the best deal they could (Twitter link).
- Clowney will re-hire longtime agent Bus Cook, whom he had fired less than a week ago, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
Texans Trim Roster To 53
The Texans made a flurry of roster moves to get down to 53 players today. Among the notable names that were cut was former Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Boddy-Calhoun started at least seven games for Cleveland in each of the past three seasons, but couldn’t crack Houston’s roster after signing a one-year deal back in March.
Receiver Chad Hansen, a fourth-round pick of the Jets in 2017, was also let go. He’s bounced around the league ever since New York cut bait after just one season. Houston also cut ties with reserve pass-rusher Joel Heath. An undrafted rookie in 2016, Heath started 15 games for the Texans across his first two years in the league.
Here are the rest of the players who failed to make the team:
Waived:
WR Floyd Allen
OLB Jesse Aniebonam
CB Derrick Baity Jr.
OLB Davin Bellamy
OLB Jamal Davis II
T Christian DiLauro
NT Javi Edwards
RB Karan Higdon Jr.
T Rick Leonard
WR Steven Mitchell Jr.
CB Jermaine Ponder
OLB Gimel President
G Malcolm Pridgeon
G Maurquice Shakir
WR Jester Weah
Placed on IR:
QB Joe Webb III