Kamalei Correa

Chiefs Release LB Kamalei Correa

Less than a month after signing with the Chiefs, Kamalei Correa has been handed his walking papers. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that Kansas City has released the veteran linebacker.

The 27-year-old signed with the Chiefs in May after splitting the 2020 campaign between Tennessee and Jacksonville. He started the season with the Titans, but he was traded to the Jaguars in mid-October. He ultimately finished the season having seen time in nine games (six starts) with nine tackles and a pair of QB hits.

After spending the first two seasons of his career with the Ravens, the former second-round pick was traded to the Titans in 2018. He spent two-plus seasons in Tennessee, collecting 8.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 32 games.

Correa joined the Chiefs as a potential depth piece that could bounce around the front seven. Since the start of camp, the team has presumably liked what they’ve seen from their young pass rushers, including second-round pick Nick Bolton. This could also mean that Taco Charlton, who was limited to only seven games in 2020, is on the mend.

Chiefs Sign Kamalei Correa

The Chiefs have signed linebacker Kamalei Correa, according to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star. The Jaguars cut Correa in February, but he’s found a home well in advance of training camp.

Correa, a sixth-year pro, has bounced around throughout his career, including two trades. The Ravens dealt the outside linebacker to the Titans just before the 2018 season. The former second-round pick went on to play 32 games for Tennessee, making nine starts and tallying 8.5 sacks. Then, in October of last year, the Titans traded him to the Jaguars in a swap of late-round picks.

The veteran played in three games for the Titans and started six games for the Jaguars before going on the reserve/left squad list in December. Now, Correa will look to find a spot in the LB rotation alongside Willie Gay, Anthony Hitchens, and new second-round pick Nick Bolton.

Jaguars Release LB Kamalei Correa

The Jaguars will make Kamalei Correa‘s stay brief. A few months after trading for the veteran linebacker, the Jags will release him, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

This is not surprising. Correa’s season ended when the Jags placed him on the reserve/left squad list in December. Jacksonville acquired the former second-round pick from Tennessee in October.

Correa, 26, played in six games with the Jaguars and started all six. While Correa saw an uptick in his playing time compared to how the Titans were utilizing him, he still worked as a part-time linebacker with the Jags. He finished his season with seven tackles in six Jaguar games.

The Titans were planning to release Correa last year, but the Jaguars offered them late-round draft compensation. The Ravens traded the 2016 draftee to the Titans in 2018. With Urban Meyer now in charge, there figure to be quite a few changes to Jacksonville’s roster in the coming weeks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/20

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Titans Trade LB Kamalei Correa To Jags

The Titans have found a taker for Kamalei Correa. After the linebacker requested a trade, the Titans agreed on a deal that will send him to the Jaguars, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (via Twitter).

As expected, the compensation is minimal. In a pick-swap agreement, the Jags will send the Titans their 2021 sixth-round pick and receive a 2021 seventh-rounder from Tennessee.

Correa has played just 39 defensive snaps this season and, after coming off Tennessee’s reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday, did not play against the Bills. As a result, a rare intra-division trade will commence. The Titans were set to release Correa had they not found a trade partner.

This marks the second trade of Correa’s five-year career. The Ravens dealt the outside linebacker to the Titans just before the 2018 season. The former second-round pick played 32 games with the Titans, making nine starts and tallying 8.5 sacks.

Correa will follow Jabaal Sheard to Jacksonville. The Jaguars gutted their “Sacksonville” defensive line this offseason, cutting Marcell Dareus and trading Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. Like Sheard, Correa is in line to work as a depth piece behind first-round picks Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson.

Titans To Release Or Trade Kamalei Correa

Titans linebacker Kamalei Correa demanded a trade after being inactive on Tuesday night, according to Mike Garafolo and TomPelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Titans will oblige — they try to trade Correa, and they’ll release him if they can’t find a taker. 

Correa has seen just 39 defensive snaps and 24 special teams plays this season. After spending time on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, he was eager to get back on the field this week. In 2019, the Boise State product saw the most action of his career, appearing in all 16 games and starting five of them. He played in about 40% of the Titans’ defensive snaps and served as a major special teams contributor. Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him an average pass rusher, he did pick up a career-high five sacks.

Lauded for his coverage abilities, the former Ravens second-round pick was a favorite of former Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees. When Pees retired this year, Correa lost one of his biggest supporters. Still, Correa agreed to a new one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Titans in April, hoping that he’d still be a defensive regular.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/20

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves. While the Titans are moving some players off their reserve/COVID-19 list, other teams have placed players on their respective coronavirus lists.

Atlanta Falcons

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Marlon Davidson; the rookie defensive lineman tested positive for the coronavirus, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Promoted: CB Tyler Hall

Buffalo Bills

  • Promoted: CB Dane Jackson, LB Andre Smith

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed off Browns’ practice squad: QB Garrett Gilbert 

Green Bay Packers

  • Placed on IR: TE Josiah Deguara, C Jake Hanson

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: FB Anthony Sherman; the 10th-year veteran did not test positive for the coronavirus, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

Los Angeles Rams

  • Promoted: S JuJu Hughes
  • Placed on IR: S Jordan Fuller

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived: Hercules Mata’afa

New York Jets

  • Promoted: CB Lamar Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Waived: DB Grayland Arnold, DE Casey Toohill

San Francisco 49ers

  • Claimed off waivers from Buccaneers: CB Parnell Motley

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Promoted: CB Ross Cockrell, LB Chapelle Russell

Tennessee Titans

  • Activated off reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Kamalei Correa, CB Kristian Fulton
  • Promoted: LB Darren Bates, WR Cody Hollister, CB Kareem Orr, OL David Quessenberry

NFL Postpones Steelers-Titans

The NFL has postponed Sunday’s game between the Steelers and Titans, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). From here, the league will weigh its options, including rescheduling the game for Monday night. Tuesday night is also on the table, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), but Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports that the CBS crew covering the game has been told that it will happen on Monday (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).

The Titans put everything on pause this week after three players and five personnel members tested positive for COVID-19. The Titans have since placed linebacker Kamalei Correa, defensive lineman DaQuan Jones, long snapper Beau Brinkley, and practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson on the reserve/COVID-19 list (we already knew about the latter three players, but Correa is a newer addition to the list). The Vikings, who faced the Titans in Week 3, have also suspended their activities. They’re currently scheduled to face the Texans in Houston and, so far, they have not received any positive tests.

Thankfully, no one on the Titans’ side appears to be critically ill. “Some of them are indeed experiencing flu-like symptoms, (but) nothing out of the ordinary. We anticipate they will feel better shortly,” head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com).

The Titans advanced to 3-0 after their 31-30 win over the Vikings on Sunday. The Vikings, meanwhile, are winless through three games with a thoroughly depleted defense.

Titans Re-Sign Kamalei Correa

The Titans are bringing back linebacker Kamalei Correa, as Correa’s agency, DEC Management, announced via Twitter. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says it will be a one-year deal worth up to $3.5MM (Twitter link).

The Ravens selected Correa in the second round of the 2016 draft with the hopes that he could become a fearsome edge rusher. Although he showed some flashes of that ability here and there, he was never able to put it together in Baltimore, and he was traded to the Titans before the 2018 season in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

In Tennessee, Correa continued to work with Dean Pees, who had served as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for the prior six seasons and who agreed to join the Titans’ staff in the same capacity in 2018. Pees announced his retirement in January, so Correa has lost one obvious supporter, but the team clearly saw enough from him to re-sign him.

The Boise State product saw the most action of his career in 2019, appearing in all 16 games and starting five of them. He played in about 40% of the Titans’ defensive snaps and continued to be a major special teams contributor. Although Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics considered him an average pass rusher, he did pick up a career-high five sacks. He has also been lauded for his coverage abilities.

Per Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Correa has had an offer from the Titans for a couple of weeks (Twitter link). Clearly, he did not get a more attractive proposal on the open market.

AFC Notes: Bowlen, Shazier, Titans

The family of late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen will receive Bowlen’s Gold Jacket and Hall of Fame ring, as Mike Klis of 9News.com writes. Bowlen was elected to the Hall of Fame in February but passed away in June, making him the first HOFer to die between his election and his induction. Typically, the HOF doesn’t present the jacket and the ring to those enshrined posthumously because it doesn’t want the family to fight over the artifacts or sell them, but the production of the artifacts had already begun before Bowlen passed.

The family will display the items in the front lobby of the Broncos’ UCHealth Center headquarters so that they can be enjoyed by fans.

Now for more from the AFC:

  • David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the relationship between Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier and his high school teammate, trainer, and close friend, Jerome Howard. Howard has been with Shazier throughout his recovery and has assisted him in his efforts to get back to the playing field. The piece is well-worth a read, especially for Steelers fans, as it also details the remarkable progress that Shazier has made. A return to football is still a long way off, but he has already overcome tremendous odds just to be walking again, let alone exercising the way he is.
  • We heard in May that Colts WR Deon Cain was expected to be a full participant in training camp, but Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk says that Cain’s status is still unclear. However, she does hear that Cain should be ready to go at least by the regular season opener, which could a huge boon to Indianapolis’ aerial attack. Cain, a 2018 sixth-rounder, generated a lot of hype before tearing his ACL last August and is highly-regarded by the coaching staff. He is currently the fourth WR on the depth chart.
  • Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com believes linebacker Kamalei Correa will make the Titans‘ roster and will have an impact in 2019, but he is on the bubble and will need to fight for a spot on the club. In the same piece, Wyatt says that he does not expect Tennessee to bring back safety Johnathan Cyprien, although the team said after releasing Cyprien in March that it would like to re-sign him at a cheaper rate.
  • Bills RB Christian Wade was assigned to Buffalo’s roster as part of the league’s international pathway program, which means he is eligible to be the 11th man on the club’s practice squad. But as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes, Wade believes he can crack the 53-man roster. That will be a tall order given that veterans LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, and T.J. Yeldon, along with third-round rookie Devin Singletary, are ahead of him on the depth chart. But McCoy and Gore will be free agents after the season, and Yeldon could be a cap casualty by that time, so if Wade impresses, he could be a roster candidate in 2020.