DL Notes: Reed, Donald, Colts, Steelers, Cards, Jags, Jets, Bucs, Panthers, Texans
Jarran Reed‘s initial Seahawks tenure ended strangely, with the team’s attempt at a restructure leading to a communication breakdown that ended with the defensive tackle’s release. After Reed sought a Seahawks extension during the offseason in which the COVID-19 pandemic led to a salary cap reduction, he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs. That preceded a 2022 Packers pact. Reed is now back in Seattle, having signed a two-year, $9MM deal.
The veteran D-lineman said, via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, neither side wanted to part ways in 2021 and that he remained interested in a potential return while away. The Seahawks called Reed early in free agency, and the sides agreed to terms on what is a less lucrative contract compared to the one the team removed from its payroll two years ago (two years, $23MM). Reed, 30, will join Dre’Mont Jones as Seattle D-tackle additions.
Here is the latest from the D-line scene:
- The Cardinals met with Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith on Wednesday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), squeezing in a final visit before the deadline. They also recently brought in Texas Tech edge Tyree Wilson, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, adding the Jaguars also met with the former Big 12 dynamo for a late visit (Twitter link). The Cardinals hold the No. 3 overall pick. While Arizona has dangled it in trades, the team not receiving a viable offer opens the door to a best-defender-available pick. Wilson would qualify as an option at 3, though Smith — No. 17 on ESPN’s big board; No. 18 on Daniel Jeremiah’s — would seemingly enter Arizona’s equation after a trade-down maneuver.
- BJ Ojulari resides as a possible option for a team late in the first round or in the early second, and a few teams brought in the LSU alum recently. The Jets, Buccaneers, Panthers and Texans met with Ojulari, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). The younger brother of Giants outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, BJ profiles as a speed rusher. He combined for 12.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons with the Tigers, declaring for the draft after his junior year. Azeez Ojulari went 50th overall in 2020.
- Both the Colts and Steelers have met with Clemson defensive lineman Bryan Bresee, per Rapoport and ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor (Twitter links). Bresee is in Indianapolis today. A former top-five recruit, Bresee is not a candidate to go in the top five of this draft. But the multiyear Clemson starter joins Myles Murphy as Tiger D-linemen on the Round 1 radar. The Steelers came up regarding Bresee last month, and while the team recently re-signed Larry Ogunjobi, Cam Heyward is going into his age-34 season. The Colts, who added former first-rounder Taven Bryan in free agency, have DeForest Buckner signed for two more seasons.
- Buckner recently revealed he played all of last season with a UCL tear in his left elbow. Indicating he’s “not a quarterback or a pitcher,” Buckner said (via the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson) his injury will not require surgery. Buckner finished with eight sacks and a career-high 74 tackles in 2022. Although the Colts are at a crossroads after a wildly disappointing season, Erickson adds the team still views Buckner as a cornerstone. The former 49ers first-rounder is going into his age-29 season.
- Aaron Donald saw an injury sideline him for the first time as a pro. A high ankle sprain led the Rams superstar out of action, and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes the all-time great underwent a tightrope procedure to repair the injury (Twitter link). This is not an uncommon procedure; Tony Pollard underwent the same surgery in January. Donald, 32 next month, has also returned to full strength, per Rodrigue. Two years remain on Donald’s record-setting contract.
Rams To Trade Allen Robinson To Steelers
APRIL 19: This trade will go through. Robinson passed his Steelers physical Wednesday, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Pittsburgh will take on the final two years of Robinson’s contract, though the AFC North team is only responsible for a third of the veteran pass catcher’s 2023 money.
APRIL 18, 1:58pm: Should Robinson’s physical greenlight this trade, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes the Steelers are expected to pay $5MM of Robinson’s 2023 salary (Twitter link). Overall, the Rams still will end up paying Robinson $10.25MM in 2023.
As far as the trade compensation goes, Schefter adds the Steelers are sending the Rams a 2023 seventh-round pick (No. 234 overall) in exchange for Robinson and another 2023 seventh (No. 251). In exchange for the Steelers taking Robinson and eating $5MM of his deal, the Rams will move up 17 spots in this draft (Twitter link). Robinson’s physical is set for Wednesday.
12:16pm: The Rams have found a potential taker for Allen Robinson. The Steelers are near an agreement to acquire the veteran wide receiver, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Robinson is headed to Pittsburgh to take a physical with the Steelers; should the 10th-year pass catcher pass, the AFC North team is expected to pull the trigger on a trade. Two years remain on Robinson’s contract. The Rams have already paid Robinson $5.25MM of the $15MM guaranteed he is owed in 2023, via a March 19 roster bonus. While the Steelers are expected to pay some of the remaining $10MM owed, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), it sounds like the Rams will pick up part of the tab as well.
After a rough Rams debut, Robinson received permission to speak with teams about a trade. The Steelers, who have enjoyed extensive modern-era success in developing wide receivers, are in position to add the former Jaguars and Bears No. 1 wideout. Robinson is going into his age-30 season. Considering Robinson’s contract (three years, $46.5MM) and 2022 performance, it is unlikely the Steelers will give up much in trade compensation.
Not only did Robinson struggle last season, the 220-pound wideout finished the year as one of the many Rams starters on the shelf. He underwent surgery to repair a foot fracture late last year. In 10 games, Robinson caught 33 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns. That performance actually topped his 2021 work on a Bears franchise tag; Robinson managed just 38 grabs for 410 yards and one score in 12 games that year. The Rams made a bet on Robinson bouncing back, guaranteeing him $30MM via last year’s free agency accord. The move did not pay off.
The Steelers moved on from Chase Claypool at the deadline last year, acquiring what became the No. 32 overall pick from the Bears. Robinson is in position to join Diontae Johnson and George Pickens as Pittsburgh’s top wideouts. This move is a bit out of character for the Steelers, who have continually developed wideouts after Day 2 draft investments. Robinson is a former second-round pick, but the Jaguars made that selection in 2014.
Robinson’s last strong season came in 2020, when he helped the Bears to the playoffs as the top target on a team without much pass-catching depth. The 6-foot-2 receiver snagged a career-high 100 passes — from QBs Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles — and totaled 1,250 yards. Robinson, who is close to reuniting with Trubisky (under contract as Kenny Pickett‘s backup), topped that yardage total just once — a 1,400-yard year with the 2015 Jags. That season led the Bears to tag Robinson, after contentious extension talks, but he has not closely resembled his 2020 version since.
Both Von Miller‘s Bills defection and Odell Beckham Jr.‘s ACL tear led the Rams to Robinson last year — after the Eagles were in pursuit — but he is close to joining OBJ in the AFC North. The Rams still roster Van Jefferson as a Cooper Kupp sidekick, but former second-round pick Tutu Atwell has not done much to distinguish himself as a pro. Ben Skowronek also remains on Los Angeles’ roster. The Rams, who have prioritized cost-cutting moves this offseason, have not made a notable addition at the position this year.
No guarantees are present in Robinson’s deal for the 2024 season, making 2023 — should the Michigan alum pass the upcoming physical — a Pittsburgh audition of sorts. The Steelers have been rumored, per usual, as interested in a mid-round receiver investment. They have made eight second- or third-round picks at the receiver position over the past 10 years. Robinson may impact those plans, as the team also used a fourth-round selection on slot player Calvin Austin III last year. Austin spent all of last season on IR.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/23
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Ethan Greenidge
Chicago Bears
- Signed ERFA tender: DL Andrew Brown
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Michael Dunn
- Signed ERFA tender: DB Thomas Graham, DL Ben Stille
Detroit Lions
- Signed ERFA tender: TE Brock Wright, TE Shane Zylstra
Green Bay Packers
- Signed RFA tender: OL Yosh Nijman
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed ERFA tender: OL Blake Hance
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed ERFA tender: CB Shaun Jolly, LB Christian Rozeboom
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: CB Joejuan Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed RFA tender: CB Myles Bryant
New York Jets
- Signed ERFA tender: DT Isaiah Mack
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed ERFA tender: WR Jauan Jennings
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: T Jarrod Hewitt, CB Chris Steele, RB Darwin Thompson, WR Connor Wedington
- Signed ERFA tender: DT Myles Adams, CB Michael Jackson, LB Jon Rhattigan
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed ERFA tender: G Nick Leverett
Washington Commanders
- Signed RFA tender: S Jeremy Reaves
Teams with returning head coaches are now free to begin offseason workouts, leading to this high number of RFA and ERFA tenders being signed. Bryant and Reaves signed the low-end tender, while the Packers gave Nijman a second-round tender. Bryant and Reaves are tied to $2.62MM salaries; Nijman is attached to a $4.3MM number. Nijman has both played left and right tackle, settling in at the latter spot after the Packers moved Elgton Jenkins back to guard last season. ERFAs are two years from unrestricted free agency; RFAs are one year away.
An August shoulder injury cost Williams his 2022 season, but the former second-round pick was trending in the wrong direction with the Patriots. New England chose Williams 45th overall in 2019 but used him as a starter only once. New Vikings DC Brian Flores was no longer with the Pats when they drafted Williams, 25, but the team will take a flier on the Vanderbilt alum.
Matthew Stafford Fully Cleared For Rams’ Offseason Program
The Rams have made some significant changes this offseason, a period that has seen a perennially all-in team scale down its operation and proceed conservatively. But the Rams still feature many Super Bowl LVI starters on their roster. Obviously, none will be more important to the team’s 2023 cause than Matthew Stafford.
Stafford’s 2022 proved concerning through a long-term lens. The 14-year veteran did not throw during the Rams’ offseason program due to a nagging elbow injury, and he landed in the team’s concussion protocol twice during an abbreviated season. A spinal cord contusion ended up shutting Stafford down early. Stafford squashed retirement rumors — on his wife’s podcast — late during a season in which the Rams also sent organizational pillars Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp to IR. Donald and Kupp remain, but the team moved on from standouts Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and Bobby Wagner this offseason.
While injuries have started to pile up for Stafford, the former Lions centerpiece has managed to play through most of them over the course of his career. And the Rams’ 2021 trade that sent Jared Goff to Detroit did produce a Super Bowl title. Between the regular season and playoffs that year, Stafford threw for 6,074 yards and added 50 touchdown passes.
Sean McVay is now confident his starter will be ready to pick up where that season left off, following the injury-restricted 2022. While the team will likely proceed carefully with its starter, McVay said Stafford will have no limitations going into Los Angeles’ offseason program.
“I think he’d be better equipped to answer this, but I think it’s been a long time since he’s been healthy through an offseason, where he’s been able to throw,” McVay said, via Rams.com’s Stu Jackson. “I was just with him the other morning where he was in there early [at the facility] working, being able to do the things that are in alignment with preparing for the season.
“I think last year, there was such a unique combination and collaboration of things that prevented him from being able to play the way that he’s capable of, whether it was the things that he dealt with, some of the surrounding parts, missing a lot of time leading up into the season with some of the injuries and just different things that he was working through.”
Stafford missed eight games last season. He also missed eight during the 2019 campaign, with a back injury sidelining him. In the other seasons from 2011-21, however, the Super Bowl-winning QB did not miss a game. The Rams will bank on their veteran passer’s durability next season. They will have to, at this point, considering the contract they authorized last year.
As part of the four-year, $160MM deal the Rams gave Stafford — during an offseason in which L.A. also extended Kupp and gave Donald a record-setting raise — $57MM of the QB’s contract became guaranteed recently. Stafford’s $26MM option bonus and his $31MM 2024 base salary are now locked in. The Rams have their quarterback on a manageable $20MM cap number this season but may need to go to the restructure well for 2024, when the cap hit spikes to $49.5MM.
Giants Not Out On Odell Beckham Jr.; Jets, Ravens, Rams Interested
MARCH 28: Attempting to move this process along, Beckham has arrived in Arizona for this round of owners’ meetings. The free agent receiver is expected to meet with teams, and Josina Anderson of CBS Sports notes the Ravens are one of them (Twitter link). Baltimore has added Nelson Agholor in free agency, but the team still features a need for pass catchers — regardless of who will be playing quarterback in 2023. For the time being, Beckham is not expected to meet with the Giants at the league meetings, SNY’s Connor Hughes adds (on Twitter).
MARCH 27: The Giants have been busy at the receiver position this offseason, bringing back Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton and signing Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder. This glut of veterans, however, will not take them off the Odell Beckham Jr. radar.
While a previous report indicated the Giants are likely out on a Beckham reunion, John Mara said Monday (via the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard) he is in favor of bringing the standout wide receiver back. The longtime owner, however, deferred to his GM and head coach by indicating this is contingent on OBJ fitting into Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll‘s plans.
Mara’s comments come after Robert Saleh confirmed the Jets are indeed interested in signing Beckham, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The Jets have been on the OBJ radar for a bit now, with Aaron Rodgers wanting to see his likely next NFL team add the talented but injury-prone wideout. Mutual interest is believed to exist.
Beckham expressed interest in rejoining the Giants, who traded him in March 2019, and the team re-signing Shepard and franchise-tagging Saquon Barkley will help keep that door open. Both players have been longtime Beckham friends, dating back to the trio’s time together before the Browns trade. But the Giants still should be considered more likely to finish off their wide receiver augmentations early in the draft. Still, Beckham being available nearly four months after his free agency visit — and after the Cowboys went in another direction — keeps the door slightly ajar for the Giants, who should not be considered certain to carry each of the receivers they signed and re-signed on their 53-man roster come September.
Jets GM Joe Douglas confirmed Monday he has spoken with Beckham’s agent, noting productive conversations have taken place. Douglas expressed confidence in the team’s adjusted receiving corps, via Garafolo, but added OBJ is a “unique player” who remains on the team’s radar. A Beckham-Jets meeting is in play, but Douglas adds nothing is scheduled just yet.
The Jets have signed Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman while shipping out Elijah Moore after two seasons. Beckham remaining on the radar keeps Corey Davis on unsteady ground. The Jets can save $10.5MM by moving on from the former top-five pick, who has one season left on his three-year contract.
The Rams are still keeping tabs on Beckham, GM Les Snead said Monday. That said, The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue does not sense much urgency on the Rams’ part here (Twitter links). Last year, the Rams, as they eyed a Super Bowl title defense, loomed as the frontrunners for months. Snead, Sean McVay and COO Kevin Demoff expressed a desire for Beckham to be re-signed. But OBJ did not like the team’s incentive-laden offer and went ahead with Bills, Giants and Cowboys visits.
McVay’s team is in a different place a year later, trading Jalen Ramsey and cutting Leonard Floyd as they attempt to cut costs and regroup after years of a Super Bowl pursuit. Unless Beckham’s market nosedives further than it already has appeared to, the Rams do not make too much sense as a landing spot any longer.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/27/23
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DE Joe Gaziano
Indianapolis Colts
- Re-signed: DE Khalid Kareem
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: DT Marquise Copeland
NFC West Coaching Updates: Rams, Kubiak, Cardinals
The Rams announced that they’ve finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 season earlier this month, according to Rams staff writer Stu Jackson. We covered a number of the changes from 2022 already, but below are the ones we have yet to cover.
With the departure of Thomas Brown, who will be calling plays for the Panthers in 2023, head coach Sean McVay had an opening for a new assistant head coach. We heard last month that the team added Jimmy Lake to the staff, but we didn’t have details on his role. It turns out that he will be replacing Brown as the Rams assistant head coach.
On offense, the biggest change we have yet to cover is the addition of Ron Gould as the team’s new running backs coach. After allowing Ra’Shaad Samples to depart for a college position, the Rams went and poached Gould away from San Diego State a month after Gould was named the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Aztecs. He spent the last six years coaching running backs at Stanford. Additionally, two assistants received promotions this offseason. Jake Peetz, who was an offensive assistant last year has been given the new title of pass game specialist. Kenneth Black, last year’s coaching fellow in Los Angeles, will fill Peetz’s previous role of offensive assistant.
Los Angeles made two new additions to the defensive staff. They hired Joe Coniglio to coach outside linebackers in 2023. Coniglio played a similar role for Navy last season. The other addition is Andrew Carter, who will be the new assistant defensive line coach after the departure of Skyler Jones. Carter was a defensive quality control coach for the Broncos last year.
Additionally, the Rams’ defensive staff saw a rare swap occur. Chris Shula, who served last year as the team’s pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach, will spend 2023 as the inside linebackers coach/pass rush coordinator. Last year’s inside linebackers coach, Chris Beake, will now coach defensive backs.
Here are some other staff changes in the NFC West:
- We heard last month that the 49ers added Klint Kubiak to their staff in an unnamed role. The team recently announced that Kubiak will serve as San Francisco’s offensive passing game specialist in 2023. The 49ers also announced the hires of Jacob Webster as defensive quality control coach and Max Molz as coaching operations assistant. Both are making their NFL-debuts with Webster coming from Wisconsin as a graduate assistant and Molz serving as the associate director of football operations at Missouri last year.
- The Cardinals hired some personnel help for new general manager Monti Ossenfort earlier this week, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Arizona is bringing in Rob Kisiel to a pro personnel department executive position. Kisiel has been a pro scout for the Falcons for the last two seasons and previously served as director of pro personnel for the Texans.
NFL Restructures: Okwara, Allen, Fatukasi
Here are a few details on recent contract restructures around the league:
- Lions edge rusher Romeo Okwara came to an agreement to restructure his contract at the beginning of the week. According to Field Yates of ESPN, the renegotiated contract reduces his cap hit in 2023 from $14.5MM to $5.65MM.
- After center Brian Allen reportedly agreed to a renegotiated deal, the Rams benefitted from a bit of cap relief. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Allen’s restructured contract saved approximately $3.2MM in cap space for Los Angeles.
- The Jaguars were able to reach an agreement on a restructured contract with defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi recently. The team converted $7.38MM of Fatukasi’s base salary into a signing bonus and added three void years. The moves resulted in about $5.9MM of additional cap space in 2023.
AFC East Notes: Ramsey, Patriots, Hardman
A year after acquiring Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb via trade, the Dolphins added another standout in Jalen Ramsey. Miami became a destination for Ramsey, whom Albert Breer of SI.com notes had zeroed in on landing with the AFC East club. Sean McVay met with Ramsey in January and informed him the Rams would explore trade options, mentioning the team would explore a deal as a way to restock its draft capital and reduce costs. Rams GM Les Snead called teams two weeks before the Combine to gauge interest, and after Dolphins GM Chris Grier confirmed his team might be, Vic Fangio provided a positive opinion of Ramsey’s place in his defense.
After Ramsey’s agent informed him about a Miami deal, the All-Pro cornerback instructed his representative to make sure he ended up there. The Rams may not have traded Ramsey to the Dolphins just because he wanted to be there, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets, but they did want him out of the NFC. Snead’s price point was initially too high for the Dolphins, per Breer, but the sides settled on a package of a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. A far cry from what the Rams sent the Jaguars for Ramsey in 2019 — two first-round picks and a fourth — but the Dolphins now have the eighth-year veteran on the roster and have since adjusted his contract.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- The Patriots discussed DeAndre Hopkins with the Cardinals early this offseason, per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, but they backed off due to Arizona’s ask (subscription required). The Cardinals are rumored to be seeking a second-round pick and change here. The NFC West team is not expected to land that, as Howe adds other teams believe the Cards want to dump Hopkins’ salary ($19.45MM in 2023). The Bills and Chiefs are now the closest links to the former All-Pro wideout.
- Mecole Hardman committed to the Jets after Aaron Rodgers indicated he wanted to be traded to New York, but the ex-Chiefs wideout said (via ESPN’s Rich Cimini) the four-time MVP’s intentions did not affect his decision. While it would seem that would have at least moved the needle a bit — compared to a world in which Zach Wilson was on track for a third QB1 Jets season, at least — Hardman said he was excited to play with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. Hardman added (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello) the Jets showed interest throughout his free agency, which ended with a one-year deal worth up to $6.5MM. Hardman did not elaborate on a Chiefs offer to bring him back, but he seemed to confirm the defending champions’ previously reported plan to move on.
- A faction of the Patriots‘ locker room voiced support for Bailey Zappe during last season’s brief QB controversy, Devin McCourty confirmed during a WEEI interview (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss). “It was just a back and forth, which to me, spoke more about what we had on offense than the quarterback,” McCourty said. “We never were solidified as an offensive group that guys had full confidence in anything we were doing. There was never true hope.” The Pats, who regressed on offense in 2022, have since rehired Bill O’Brien as OC. While Mac Jones won his job back amid a dysfunctional season, the Pats will give Zappe a chance to push him this year.
- The incentives in Mike Gesicki‘s one-year, $4.5MM Patriots contract include $300K bumps starting at the 40-reception mark, Doug Kyed of AtoZSports.com tweets. Gesicki could collect $1.2MM if he reaches 70 catches in 2023. There are also up to $1.2MM in available yardage incentives, with that escalator package starting at 450 yards and ending at 750. Playing-time incentives are also included in the package.
- Up to $4MM in incentives are present in Riley Reiff‘s one-year, $5MM deal. He will earn $800K by playing 53% of the Pats’ offensive snaps, per Kyed (on Twitter). These figures decrease the higher the snap rate goes, but Reiff can earn all $4.5MM by reaching an 80% snap rate.
Packers Re-Sign OLB Justin Hollins
The Packers claimed Justin Hollins off waivers midway through the 2022 season, and his play upon arrival has earned him an extended stay. Per a team announcement, the veteran pass rusher has re-signed on a new deal in Green Bay. 
Hollins, 27, was a draftee of the Broncos but only spent his rookie campaign in Denver. He was waived ahead of the 2020 season and claimed by the Rams, with whom he took on an incrementally larger role in each season. Hollins registered seven starts across 34 games in Los Angeles, working his way up to a 50% snap share in his 10 games in 2022.
The former fifth-rounder notched only one sack in that span, however, leading the Rams to waive him in November amidst their general struggles in the pass rush department. No player outside of Leonard Floyd managed to record more than one sack for the Rams’ edge rushers, so the position figures to be a position of interest in the secondary waves of free agency and the draft.
With the Packers, Hollins saw a lesser role in six games compared to his workload with the Rams earlier in the year. He was more productive in Green Bay, though, notching 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. He added nine total tackles and four QB hits, numbers which will earn him a full season with the team in 2023.
The Oregon product will look to maintain a rotational role amongst the Packers’ edge rushers next season. Green Bay has Rashan Gary and Preston Smith at the top of the depth chart, but the former suffered an ACL tear in November. Hollins could serve as an insurance policy if Gary is unable to return in time for Week 1, and provide a depth option for the team when he is available moving forward.