Jalen Ramsey Eyeing Other Teams
- Jalen Ramsey is under Jaguars control through the 2020 season, thanks to the fifth-year option the team exercised this spring. But the contract-seeking cornerback has not exactly been pleased with the franchise as of late, considering his 2018 team-imposed suspension and the high-end corner still attached to his rookie contract. When asked by Titans tackle Taylor Lewan and former Titans linebacker Will Compton (during the duo’s “Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, via the Florida Times-Union) about where he would like to play if he left Jacksonville, Ramsey responded by saying he would like to go to the Titans or the Raiders. Ramsey is a Nashville-area native and said he would be attracted to Las Vegas. The standout corner, set to play for $3.6MM this season, continues to stir the pot.
- The Bucs worked out rookie UDFA defensive lineman Shane Bowman on Thursday morning, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. The Jaguars waived Bowman earlier this summer.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: T Jarron Jones
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Tommy Doles
- Placed on IR: QB Kurt Benkert
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR: WR Blake Jackson
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Lukayus McNeil
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Johnathan Alston
- Waived/injured: Tarvarus McFadden
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on IR: LB James Onwualu
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: P Brock Miller
New York Jets
- Waived: TE Nick Truesdell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Kasim Edebali, CB Ajene Harris
- Placed on IR: DE Joe Ostman
- Waived/injured: T Casey Tucker
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Jermaine Ponder
- Waived: CB Derrek Thomas
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Chris Worley
- Waived: WR Nyqwan Murray
TE Niles Paul Announces Retirement
Recently released by the 49ers, Niles Paul will no longer pursue a ninth NFL season. The free agent tight end announced his retirement on Tuesday via Instagram.
Paul signed with the 49ers in July but was quickly cut. Citing the toll football has taken on his body, the 29-year-old pass catcher will move on from the league.
“I was quickly reminded how taxing this game can be after only spending a week in camp,” Paul wrote. “Now it’s time to start listening to my body. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m still able to compete and make a 53 man roster somewhere but I’m not sure my body can handle it anymore.”
Mostly known for his lengthy run with the Redskins, Paul finished his career with 78 receptions for 954 yards and two touchdowns. The former Nebraska wide receiver spent seven seasons in Washington, being converted to tight end early in his career. He ended up playing more games (82) as a Redskins tight end than anyone this decade.
By far Paul’s best season came in 2014, when he caught 39 passes for 507 yards. That earned him a three-year Redskins deal. However, injuries followed in the years to come. Paul missed all of 2015 and returned to Washington’s IR list in November 2016. While Paul spent all of 2017 on the Redskins’ active roster, he suffered a concussion that season. The Jaguars placed Paul on IR in 2018 before releasing him.
Jaguars To Sign Roc Thomas
The Jaguars are signing former Vikings RB Roc Thomas, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Thomas, who signed with Minnesota as a UDFA last year, had an impressive preseason in 2018 and ultimately appeared in five games for the Vikes.
However, he was arrested in March for felony drug possession, and the NFL announced several weeks ago that he would be suspended for three games. Minnesota waived him shortly thereafter, and now he will attempt to catch on with the Jags (Thomas was sentenced to probation but avoided jail time for the drug charge).
Jacksonville’s RB depth chart is currently topped by Leonard Fournette, but behind him, the situation is largely unsettled. The team added a number of backs this year, including Alfred Blue, Thomas Rawls, Benny Cunningham, Devante Mays, and fifth-round rookie Ryquell Armstead, but none of them (outside of Armstead) are slam dunks to make the roster. Thomas will have a chance to compete for touches and could at least carve out a role on special teams.
The Jags are heading to Baltimore for joint practices with the Ravens this week, and Thomas will be a part of those practices, per Schefter.
In a corresponding move, Jacksonville has waived DB Jocquez Kalili.
Yannick Ngakoue Reports To Camp
Jaguars star defender Yannick Ngakoue still doesn’t have a new contract, but he reported to camp Sunday, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He needed to report by Tuesday in order for 2019 to count as an accrued season towards free agency, and the 24-year-old pass rusher did not want to miss that deadline. He is now eligible for unrestricted free agency next year.
The last report concerning negotiations between Ngakoue and Jacksonville indicated that the club had offered a short-term extension to the Maryland product, which Ngakoue declined. It is currently unclear how close the two sides are to getting something done, but Ngakoue indicated that talks are not active. He said, “I don’t want to keep talking about the deal. Like I said they had a chance to sign me for a long-term deal and it didn’t get done” (Twitter link via James Palmer of the NFL Network).
However, Ngakoue’s return does restore a key piece to one of the league’s best defensive lines, a unit that includes players like four-time Pro Bowler Calais Campbell and promising rookie Josh Allen. With 29.5 sacks, 70 QB hits, and no missed games over the last three years, Ngakoue has emerged as one of the best young pass-rushers in the league, and if the Jags are to return to contention this season, he will likely be a big reason for it.
Luckily, the 2016 third-round draft choice apparently doesn’t need any time to knock the rust off. Head coach Doug Marrone said that Ngakoue has passed his conditioning test and will immediately be a full participant in practice (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com).
The team has officially removed Ngakoue from the Reserve/Did Not Report list and has waived Fish Smithson in a corresponding move.
Jaguars Notes: Williams, Allen
Jaguars rookie linebacker Quincy Williams is expected to miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a slight tear in his meniscus, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Williams, a third-round pick in the 2019 draft, will need to undergo surgery, but given his recovery timeline, he shouldn’t be expected to miss more than a few regular season games. Per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, Williams was the “leading candidate” to take over for the retired Telvin Smith as Jacksonville’s weakside linebacker. Williams, the older brother of third overall pick Quinnen Williams, will now likely be replaced by either D.J. Alexander or Ramik Wilson.
- Only one NFL rookie received a contract with no offset language in 2019: Jaguars first-round edge rusher Josh Allen, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Without offset language, Jacksonville won’t receive a cap credit if Allen is cut midway through his rookie contract and signs elsewhere. If such language were included, the Jaguars would be off the hook for whatever salary Allen was able to earn on the open market.
More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/19
We’ve already posted one round of minor transactions, but NFL clubs keep making moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: LB Matthew Thomas
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed off waivers: TE Donnie Ernsberger
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: TE Daniel Helm
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed off waivers: G Tyler Catalina
- Waived: G Tiano Pupungatoa
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Jake Powell
- Waived: QB J.T. Barrett
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Nyqwan Murray
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Chris Nelson, DE Jordan Williams
- Waived: DB Jonathan Crawford, LB Gimel President
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Garrett Sickels
- Waived: RB Elijah Wellman
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Nicholas Grigsby
Buffalo Bills
- Released from injured reserve: OL Jeremiah Sirles
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Justin Phillips
- Waived: G Larry Allen Jr.
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers: DE Markus Jones
- Waived/injured: CB Javien Hamilton
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Devante Mays
- Waived/injured: RB Taj McGowan
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: P Stone Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Claimed off waivers: WR Brandon Reilly
- Waived/non-football injury: CB Alexander Myres
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: WR Daniel Williams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed off waivers: T William Poehls
- Signed: WR Matt Eaton, TE Scott Orndoff
- Waived: TE Donnie Ernsberger, T Riley Mayfield
- Waived/injured: S Orion Stewart
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Tanner McEvoy, WR Papi White
- Waived: WR Joe Parker
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Cameron Batson
AFC South Notes: Henry, Lewan, Jags, Texans
Mystery still surrounds the extent of Titans running back Derrick Henry‘s leg injury, but as of now, there is no official timetable for when to expect the bruising back to return to the field, Titans online’s Jim Wyatt tweets.
The big back has missed a few days of training camp with the injury and was seen in a walking boot. Many do not expect the injury to be a serious one, but it does have an ominous feel to it after the team announced him as day-to-day on Saturday.
After taking over down the stretch in 2018, the former Alabama running back was expected to enter 2019 as the unquestioned workhorse. We will see if those plans are affected by the latest injury, but Tennessee has the likes of Dion Lewis waiting in the wings.
Here’s more from around the AFC South:
- Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan‘s four-game suspension will cost him $3.4MM in base salary, Paul Kuharsky writes. In addition to the base salary, the Titans also be able recoup part of his signing bonus. Lewan was suspension earlier this week for violated the league’s PED policy.
- Since Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has held out of camp for four days, he’s currently facing a fine of $160,000, ESPN’s Michael DiRocco tweets. That brings his total fine to $248,650 due to him missing mandatory minicamp. The fourth-year defensive end is expected to report back to the team in early August as he looks for a long-term deal.
- Texans head coach Bill O’Brien confirmed Lamar Miller is the team’s lead back but the other spots behind him are wide open, ESPN’s Sarah Barshop tweets. Behind Miller, Houston boasts a large collection of unproven backs looking to make an impact, led by D’Onta Foreman.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived/injured: WR Quincy Adeboyejo
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LS Dan Godsil
- Waived: WR Kermit Whitfield
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Fish Smithson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: T.J. Green
- Waived/injured: DL Kenny Bigelow, WR Chad Hansen
New York Jets
- Waived: DL Fred Jones
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: CB Alex Brown
- Waived/injured: OL Erik Magnuson
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: S Damon Webb
Washington Redskins
- Signed: RB Shaun Wilson
- Waived: T Brian Wallace