John Jenkins

Raiders Re-Sign DT John Jenkins

The Raiders have re-signed defensive tackle John Jenkins, per ESPN’s Amber Wilson. It will be a one-year, $3.25MM pact for the 34-year-old.

Las Vegas signed Jenkins to a one-year deal last March, and he wound up starting all 17 games for the club in 2023 while piling up a career-high 61 total tackles. That mark was also the highest among all of the Raiders’ interior defenders last season (h/t Levi Damien of Raiders Wire).

That said, Pro Football Focus was not particularly high on his work, assigning Jenkins a middling 61.2 overall grade and a 55.6 mark for his efforts against the run. Still, he was a key part of a unit that finished eighth in defensive DVOA in 2023, and GM Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce clearly believed that Jenkins and fellow D-lineman Adam Butler, who was re-upped just yesterday, were worthy of another contract.

Of course, the Raiders’ biggest splash this offseason was the acquisition of former Dolphin Christian Wilkins on a four-year, $110MM deal. Wilkins will replace Bilal Nichols — who recently signed with the Cardinals — and his presence will only help Jenkins and Butler, who will likely get the most reps at the other DT spot. Keeping Jenkins and Butler around will also allow the club to continue developing recent draftees like Byron Young, Matthew Butler, and Nesta Jade Silvera in a reserve capacity. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal expects Telesco to make further additions to the defensive line in the upcoming draft.

Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the Dolphins — who employed Jenkins in 2019 and then again from 2021-22 — brought their former defender in for a visit a few days ago as part of their extensive efforts to replace Wilkins’ production. We do not know if Miami extended an offer.

Raiders Sign DT John Jenkins

The Raiders have made an outside addition to their defensive line for the first time so far in free agency. The team announced on Friday that they have signed defensive tackle John Jenkins.

This deal sets Jenkins up for a sixth career NFL franchise, having bounced around the league after being drafted in 2013 by the Saints. He most recently spent the past two seasons in Miami, working in a rotational capacity behind entrenched starters Raekwon Davis and Christian Wilkins. Jenkins’ departure will leave the Dolphins in need of a depth replacement at nose tackle.

The 33-year-old has seen a snap share of 50% only once in his career, the 2015 season. Since then, his playing time has fluctuated, but it dropped in 2022 compared to the year prior, which itself represented his second stint with Miami. Jenkins totaled 20 tackles last season, adding one stop in the team’s wild card loss. A new depth role likely awaits him in Vegas.

The Raiders have made a number of moves on defense this offseason, aiming to bolster a unit which made a habit of blowing double-digit leads in 2022. That effort had yielded little along the defensive line to date, however. Vegas has lost Andrew Billings to the Bears, while re-signing midseason waiver claim Jerry Tillery. Jenkins will look to carve out a rotational role behind the latter, along with the likes of Bilal Nichols and Neil Farrell Jr.

More moves could be coming on the Raiders’ part along the defensive interior, since Isaac Rochelle and Kyle Peko are still on the open market. With Jenkins in place, the unit will have at least one new member, however, as the team aims to take a step forward on defense in 2023.

Dolphins Re-Sign John Jenkins

John Jenkins‘ second stint in Miami will continue in 2022. The Dolphins announced on Thursday that they have re-signed the veteran defensive tackle. 

Jenkins, 32, began his career in New Orleans after the Saints drafted him in 2013. It was in his three-plus years there that he saw the most playing time of his career, eclipsing the 50% mark in terms of snap share for the first and only time in 2015. In 49 games as a Saint, he totalled 100 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Jenkins seemed to be on the way out of New Orleans during his fourth year there, so it came as little surprise that the team gave him a head start on free agency and released him mid-season in 2016. That began a series of brief stints with four different teams, including the Seahawks and Giants. Between those two stays was the first of a pair of campaigns in Chicago.

His heaviest workload since his time with the Saints came with the Dolphins, however. Jenkins signed in Miami in 2019, then again last offseason. In two years in Florida, he has started seven of 23 contests and made 50 tackles. His retention will not only give him a tenure of multiple seasons with the same team for the first time in six years, but it also marks another re-signing from the Dolphins’ 2021 defense. That unit will still feature, most notably, Emmanuel Ogbah and Xavien Howard as it looks to help the team take a step towards AFC contention in 2022.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/3/22

Here are Monday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OT Mike Remmers (remains on IR)

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Raymond Calais (remains on IR)

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Dolphins To Sign John Jenkins

The Dolphins already signed Adam Butler to help replace fellow defensive tackle Davon Godchaux after he signed with the Patriots, and now they’re adding another. Miami has agreed to terms with free agent John Jenkins, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald confirmed on Twitter.

Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post was first to tweet the news. Financial terms weren’t immediately available, but it’s a one-year deal for Jenkins. The Georgia product was originally drafted by the Saints back in 2013. He started 12 games for New Orleans in 2015, but was released midway through the 2016 season and quickly scooped up by the Seahawks.

After that brief stint with Seattle he signed with the Bears, then the Giants, before landing with the Dolphins in 2019. He appeared in all 16 games that year, starting five and racking up 34 tackles and a sack. He signed back with Chicago last season and played a rotational role. Miami will likely be looking for him to play a similar rotational role on running downs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/20

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Placed on IR: TE Hunter Bryant

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Matt Pryor; Pryor did not test positive for the coronavirus, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/20

Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Placed on practice squad-IR: TE Justin Johnson

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans

NFC North Notes: Packers, Rodgers, Vikings

Let’s take a quick spin around the NFC North:

  • Appearing on a recent episode of “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers confirmed he was surprised Green Bay didn’t select a wide receiver in the 2020 draft, and also admitted he’s likely to be traded in the future due to the Packers’ addition of first-round signal-caller Jordan Love (Twitter link via Kevin Clark of The Ringer). The entire clip is well-worth a watch, as Rodgers doesn’t indicate any anger at the Love pick — instead, he comes off as pragmatic and realistic regarding his future in Green Bay. The Packers could most likely move on from Rodgers — whether via trade or release — after the 2021 season.
  • Incumbent Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff is likely to stay put on the blindside, so second-round pick Ezra Cleveland has been working at guard, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak told reporters, including Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cleveland, who played tackle at Boise State, hasn’t seen much action at guard, but it’s possible he could compete with Pat Elflein and Dru Samia for a starting role at either left or right guard. Minnesota ranked in the top-half of the league in Football Outsiders‘ offensive line metrics in 2019.
  • Packers kicker Mason Crosby and tight end Jace Sternberger, as well as Bears defensive tackle John Jenkins, were among the NFL players recently placed on the COVID reserve list, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/28/20

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

  • Waived: OT Ka’John Armstrong

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Claimed off waivers (Lions): G Casey Tucker

Seattle Seahawks

Jenkins, 30, spent the 2017 season with the Bears before spending time with the Giants and Dolphins. In Miami last year, he started five times and appeared in all 16 games. He finished out the year with 34 total tackles and his first sack since 2015. The deal also reunites him with old colleague Ryan Pace, the Bears GM who worked in the Saints’ front office when Jenkins was drafted back in 2013.

Dolphins Cut Vincent Taylor

The Dolphins have released defensive tackle Vincent Taylor, per a team announcement. To take his place, the club signed fellow DT John Jenkins. Meanwhile, the Dolphins also inked long snapper Taybor Pepper, which seals the end of John Denney‘s storied run with the team.

[RELATED: Dolphins Cut John Denney]

Taylor only played in eight games last year as a reserve before a foot injury knocked him out for the second half of the season. But, when he was on the field, he was one of the Dolphins’ most effective interior defensive linemen. Taylor, who tallied 27 tackles and two sacks, will now look for work elsewhere.

The Dolphins cut Denney on Monday afternoon, but there was some speculation that he could be brought back after some roster juggling. That, apparently, won’t be the case. The 40-year-old is out in Miami and a player 15 years his junior is taking his place.