Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: LB/DE Jeff Holland
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: C Kirk Barron
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: CB Jhavonte Dean
Detroit Lions
- Signed: QB Luis Perez, RB Justin Stockton
- Waived: WR Deontez Alexander
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: RB Lamar Miller, T David Steinmetz
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Micah Abernathy, S Jacob Thieneman
- Waived: S Matthias Farley
Miami Dolphins
- Released: OL Will Holden
New England Patriots
- Waived: RB Robert Martin
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: TE Garrett Griffin
New York Jets
- Signed: S Santos Ramirez
- Waived: CB Dee Delaney
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Jordan Holland
- Placed on IR: CB Tim Harris Jr.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/19
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: LB Hayes Pullard
- Placed on IR: S Josh Shaw
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: K Elliott Fry
- Waived: LB Nicholas Grigsby
Buffalo Bills
- Released with an injury settlement: OL Garrett McGhin
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers from Ravens: LB Nicholas Grigsby
- Signed: LB James Folston, CB Jocquez Kalili
Houston Texans
- Signed: OT Christian DiLauro
Texans Seeking OT In Jadeveon Clowney Trade?
There was a lot going on in the AFC South on Saturday night. In addition to Andrew Luck‘s shocking retirement announcement, reports surfaced that the Texans were likely to trade star edge defender Jadeveon Clowney in the next couple of days.
Those reports suggested that Houston is looking to acquire a wide receiver in a Clowney trade, but John McClain of the Houston Chronicle says that while he does expect Clowney to be dealt, he believes the Texans are going to swap him for an offensive tackle when he signs his franchise tender.
As we heard last night, Clowney does have some control over where he gets traded since he has to sign the tender before he can be moved. McClain thinks that head coach and de facto GM Bill O’Brien already has a deal worked out with another team, but the Texans and their trade partner just have to wait until Clowney puts pen to paper.
The O-line was the Texans’ biggest weakness in 2018, and while the club made some efforts to address that unit this offseason, it’s unclear whether the additions will result in a notable uptick in performance. But, with Luck out of the picture, the AFC South landscape has changed dramatically, and Houston now looks like the favorite to bring home the division crown. Given that, and since it’s clear the Texans are never going to sign Clowney to a long-term contract, it makes sense that Houston would want to get something of value for the former No. 1 overall pick before the season starts.
Of course, it’s fair to question whether losing Clowney on the defensive side of the ball will be worse for the team than rolling with their current group of O-lineman, but it seems that Houston is set on trading him. McClain believes the team should also ask for a running back in a trade in order to offset the loss of Lamar Miller, who tore his ACL in Saturday’s preseason game.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/19
Today’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Released: RB Darrin Hall
Houston Texans
- Released from IR with injury settlement: CB Jermaine Kelly
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: QB Vincent Testaverde
- Waived/Injured: OLB Kahzin Daniels
Texans RB Lamar Miller Tears ACL, Possibly MCL
Texans running back Lamar Miller suffered a torn ACL in Saturday’s preseason contest, as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Per McClain, Miller may have also torn his MCL. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported last night that Houston feared an ACL tear for their No. 1 RB (Twitter link).
Miller will obviously miss the entire 2019 campaign, so Duke Johnson will become the team’s top running back for now. The Texans acquired Johnson from the Browns a few weeks ago, but he isn’t necessarily a workhorse type of back (though as McClain adds in a separate tweet, Johnson will get all the playing time he can handle).
The Texans don’t have much else on the depth chart behind Johnson at the moment. They have veteran Taiwan Jones, who has mostly been a special teamer in recent years, and then a bunch of unproven young/UDFA types. It’s quite possible that they’ll look to acquire a veteran either through a trade or from what’s left on the free agent market. Indeed, the club could ask for an RB in the Jadeveon Clowney trade that is expected to be consummated soon.
Among available free agents, Jay Ajayi is probably the biggest name. Ajayi would make some sense, although he obviously has a significant injury history of his own.
Miller was entering the final year of the four-year, $26MM contract he signed with Houston back in 2016, so this is a tough blow to his open market value entering next offseason. He’ll be 29 in April, and coming off a major injury, he will likely have to settle for a prove-it deal.
Jadeveon Clowney Likely To Be Traded In Next 24-48 Hours?
Things appear to be reaching a head between Jadeveon Clowney and the Texans. Clowney was franchise tagged earlier this offseason, and the two sides were unable to agree on a longterm extension. Clowney has been holding out all summer, and reportedly didn’t plan to show up until just before the start of the regular season.
There have been rumors that the Texans want to trade Clowney to ensure they get something for him, and those rumors are starting to heat up. Clowney “will be traded within the next 24-to-48 hours,” according to Michael Lombardi of The Athletic (Twitter video link), who adds that he would be “shocked” if he isn’t. Lombardi also reports that “there’s a lot of teams that are after him.”
As for what Houston is looking for in terms of compensation, Lombardi says that they’re looking to add a receiver to play opposite DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans already have a very solid group of pass-catchers with Hopkins, Will Fuller, and Keke Coutee, but they apparently aren’t satisfied. Fuller is coming off a torn ACL and Coutee is seemingly always hurt, so maybe that has something to do with their interest in another wideout.
Lombardi says he knows of two teams that are currently negotiating with Clowney to try to get him to agree to come to them. As he points out, Clowney has some leverage and control in trade talks since he has to sign his franchise tender before he can get traded. The former first overall pick is scheduled to make 15.967MM under the tag in 2019 after being classified as a linebacker, although there have been rumblings about a potential grievance being filed to get him classified as a defensive end.
Lamar Miller Carted Off With Knee Injury
The Texans may have just suffered a significant injury in their regular season dress rehearsal. Starting running back Lamar Miller went down with a knee injury and had to be carted off, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s unclear how severe the injury is, although obviously the cart coming out isn’t a great sign. Miller was at least able to walk to the cart, tweets David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, so there is some hope. If you want to watch video of the play, you can view that here, courtesy of Ben Baldwin of The Athletic (Twitter link).
D’Onta Foreman was expected to be Miller’s backup coming into the season, but the Texans cut him a few weeks back after he was unable to ever fully recover from his Achilles tear. Houston traded for Duke Johnson shortly after, and they’re surely glad they acquired the former Browns running back now. That being said Johnson is more of a pass-catcher than a runner, and he likely won’t be able to take on a full workload if Miller misses regular season time.
Behind Miller and Johnson, the Texans mostly have unproven young guys. Buddy Howell, a second-year UDFA from FAU, led the team in carries in their second preseason game. Houston also signed veteran Taiwan Jones back in May, although he’s been more of a special teams guy in recent years. It’s quite possible the Texans will look to add a veteran either through a trade or free agency if Miller is going to be out a while.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/19
AFC South Notes: Texans, Robinson, Colts
Rumblings about the Texans attempting a last-ditch Jadeveon Clowney trade have cooled down, with the team unlikely to recoup too much value for the three-time Pro Bowler after the franchise tag extension deadline passed (and with Clowney being able to effectively block a trade by virtue of not signing his tender). The last report on Clowney’s return indicated he was expected to report back between the start of next week and the end of the preseason. Clowney also has a grievance rumored, seeking to be tagged as a defensive end ($17.1MM) instead of as an outside linebacker ($15.9MM). But the former No. 1 overall pick should be fighting to ensure the Texans cannot tag him again in 2020, Joel Corry of CBS Sports writes. However, with this prohibition clause having not occurred since 2008 (Albert Haynesworth with the Titans), Corry predicts the sixth-year Texans edge defender will fail on this front and end up being tagged again in 2020.
Here is the latest news from the AFC South, shifting to a player who will draw Clowney blocking assignments this season:
- Recently deemed iffy for Week 1, Cam Robinson appears a good bet to suit up against the Chiefs in two-plus weeks. The Jaguars‘ left tackle starter took snaps with the first unit in the team’s third preseason game, with Phillip Heilman of The Athletic tweeting Robinson joined the likely starting line of Andrew Norwell, Brandon Linder, Will Richardson and Jawaan Taylor on Thursday night. Robinson tore one of his ACLs in September of last year and spent the next several months rehabbing.
- D’Onta Foreman will not have a chance to exact any revenge on the Texans this season, with the now-Colts running back set to miss the season. But the Colts still have him in their plans. A torn biceps will shelve Foreman, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets, but the team will not opt for an injury settlement. The Colts plan to stash the former third-round pick on IR and have him learn their system in time for a hopeful 2020 debut in Indianapolis.
- While Matt Kalil was recently named the Texans‘ starting left tackle, Wilson adds that Roderick Johnson is “firmly” in the conversation to start against the Saints in Week 1. The Texans have held Kalil out of recent practices for conservation purposes, per Bill O’Brien. Kalil missed all of last season with a knee injury. Encouraging work in games and practices has allowed Johnson, a former Browns fifth-round pick and Texans waiver claim, to improve to the point of being a first-stringer. The Florida State product appears set to receive the first crack if Kalil cannot go, pointing to first-round rookie Tytus Howard staying at left guard.
- Titans running back David Fluellen underwent knee surgery recently, but Paul Kuharsky (of PaulKuharsky.com) notes the backup is expected to be ready by Week 1. Fluellen is expected to keep his job as Tennessee’s No. 3 back.
Justin Hunter Working Out For Four Teams
Former Steelers wide receiver Justin Hunter has healed up from a torn labrum and will work out for four NFL teams, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). The Jets, Redskins, Texans, Patriots, and Ravens will all kick the tires on Hunter, giving the former Steelers wideout an opportunity to get on the field for 2019.
Hunter, a freakish athlete, has yet to really make his mark at the pro level. He seemed to hold serious promise when he entered the league as a second round pick of the Titans in 2013. but he has spent time with three other teams in his young career.
Hunter managed just 14 catches with the Bills, Dolphins, and Steelers between 2017 and 2018. His most productive season came in 2014 when he had 28 catches for 498 yards and three scores with the Titans, though he did manage four TDs with Buffalo in 2016.
The Patriots auditioned Hunter before the start of training camp, but he left New England without a deal.