Minor NFL Transactions: 5/24/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Johnnie Dixon
Detroit Lions
- Signed: T Darrin Paulo
Green Bay Packers
- Released: CB KeiVarae Russell
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed (from Texans): OL Cohl Cabral
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/19/21
The Colts have now officially signed every member of their draft class. We’ll keep track of all the new draftees signing their rookie deals today here:
Indianapolis Colts
- TE Kylen Granson (fourth-round; SMU), QB Sam Ehlinger (sixth-round; Texas)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Janarius Robinson (fourth-round; Florida State)
New England Patriots
- Signed: RB Rhamondre Stevenson (fourth-round; Oklahoma)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR Jaelon Darden (fourth-round; North Texas)
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/18/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: K Jake Verity
- Waived: LS Brian Khoury
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Julian Stanford
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: OL William Sweet
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed (from Vikings): WR Austin Proehl
New England Patriots
- Waived: OL Najee Toran
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Alex Hoffman
- Re-signed: S Eric Burrell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OT Casey Tucker
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Cardinals): S Chris Miller
Vikings Eyed Alex Leatherwood?
- Continuing recent tradition, the Raiders surprised draft viewers with their first-round pick. The Jon Gruden–Mike Mayock regime chose Alex Leatherwood 17th overall. The Alabama tackle was viewed by most as a major reach; Scouts Inc. rated him as this draft’s 60th-best prospect. The Raiders may have been leery of two teams eyeing Leatherwood in the back half of Round 1, however. The Steelers and Vikings had Leatherwood on their respective radars, per Fowler. The Vikings drafted Virginia Tech’s Christian Darrisaw (Scouts Inc.’s No. 20 overall prospect) at No. 23. Pittsburgh preferred him to most of the draft’s second-tier tackles, but the team appeared locked in on ex-Leatherwood teammate Najee Harris at No. 24. Leatherwood is expected to work as a right tackle in Las Vegas.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/17/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed CB Tae Hayes
- Released S Chris Miller, WR Darece Roberson
Atlanta Falcons
- Cut: OLB Eli Howard
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OLB Pita Taumoepenu, OT Cody Conway
- Cut: OT Ryan Pope, LB David Curry
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Alex Brown
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Daurice Fountain, DB Manny Patterson
- Waived: DB Jaylon McClain-Sapp
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed off waivers from Saints: CB Trill Williams
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed CB Parry Nickerson, OT Evin Ksiezarczyk
San Francisco 49ers
- Cut: WR Austin Proehl
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Kalija Lipscomb
- Released: LB Davin Bellamy (non-football injury), WR Rashard Davis
Vikings' CB Moves Prompted Hughes Trade
The Vikings punted on Mike Hughes‘ contract year, sending the former first-round cornerback to the Chiefs in a pick-swap trade involving late-round selections. They felt comfortable doing so because of their additions at the position this offseason.
Minnesota signed Peterson to a one-year, $10MM deal and reunited with former second-round pick Mackensie Alexander on a one-year pact. The Vikings drafted two corners high last year — first-rounder Jeff Gladney and third-rounder Cameron Dantzler — but a Gladney arrest earlier this year could affect his NFL future. Taken 30th overall in 2018, Hughes has only played 24 regular-season games during his career. The Chiefs have now taken fliers on two recent first-round corners — Hughes and DeAndre Baker — at low-cost rates.
Vikings Sign Fourth-Round RB Kene Nwangwu
The Vikings have signed their sixth draft pick. Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed fourth-round running back Kene Nwangwu. It’s a four-year pact worth $4.23MM, including a $752K+ signing bonus.
[RELATED: Vikings Sign First-Round Pick Christian Darrisaw]
Nwangwu didn’t really emerge on the NFL radar until the completion of his 2020 season. While the six-foot-one, 210-pound running back didn’t put up crazy counting stats (only 361 yards from scrimmage and four scores), he still had a solid 5.6 yards per rushing attempt (down a bit from his eye-popping 7.2 mark in 2019). Nwangwu was also productive on special teams during his college career, returning 92 kicks.
In Minnesota, the rookie will likely compete with Ameer Abdullah for the third spot on the depth chart behind Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. His real opportunity for playing time will be in the return game, where he’ll compete with Abdullah and rookie wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
The Vikings still have five of their draft picks unsigned, as our NFL Draft Results page shows:
Round 1: No. 23 (from Seahawks through Jets) Christian Darrisaw, OT (Virginia Tech) (signed)
Round 3: No. 66 (from Jets) Kellen Mond, QB (Texas A&M)
Round 3: No. 78 Chazz Surratt, LB (North Carolina)
Round 3: No. 86 (from Seahawks through Jets) Wyatt Davis, G (Ohio State)
Round 3: No. 90 (from Ravens) Patrick Jones II, DE (Pittsburgh)
Round 4: No. 119 Kene Nwangwu, RB (Iowa State) (signed)
Round 4: No. 125 (from Bears) Camryn Bynum, CB (California) (signed)
Round 4: No. 134 (from Bills) Janarius Robinson, DE (Florida State)
Round 5: No. 157 Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR (Iowa) (signed)
Round 5: No. 168 (from Steelers through Ravens): Zach Davidson, TE (Central Missouri) (signed)
Round 6: No. 199 Jaylen Twyman, DT (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Vikings Sign First-Round Pick Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings have their first-round pick under contract. According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Minnesota has signed No. 23 overall selection Christian Darrisaw.
Darrisaw, a Virginia Tech product, is likely to become the Vikes’ starting left tackle right away. The team had a major need there after parting ways with Riley Reiff this offseason, and Darrisaw has a high floor thanks to his natural athleticism and the proficiency he has already displayed as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker. Some scouting reports suggest he will need to do a better job of finishing his blocks at the professional level, but there is no reason to believe he won’t develop that ability with time.
The Vikings originally held the No. 14 overall pick, and they discussed trading up from that spot in an effort to land quarterback Justin Fields. Ultimately, the Bears beat them to the punch by jumping up from the No. 20 selection to No. 11 — a move that required the forfeiture of a 2022 first-rounder — and with Fields and Northwestern LT Rashawn Slater off the board, Minnesota GM Rick Spielman dropped from No. 14 to No. 23.
However, as we later learned, Spielman was prepared to trade back up from No. 23 to make sure he landed Darrisaw (as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes, Minnesota may have made an offer to the Raiders, who were holding the No. 17 pick). Ultimately, Spielman was able to keep the draft capital he acquired as part of his trade down while still getting the former Hokie to protect Kirk Cousins‘ blind side.
In addition to Darrisaw, the Vikings have signed fourth-round selection Camryn Bynum. Bynum, a cornerback out of California-Berkeley, was one of three fourth-rounders for the Vikings this year. Minnesota just traded fellow corner Mike Hughes to the Chiefs, thereby giving Bynum a bit of a better shot at immediate playing time. Over 42 collegiate games, he tallied 184 total tackles (eight TFL) and six interceptions.
Vikings Trade Mike Hughes To Chiefs
It’s been a busy afternoon with lots of draft pick signings, and now we’ve got a trade! Minnesota is sending cornerback Mike Hughes to the Chiefs, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Kansas City is sending their sixth-round pick in 2022 and getting back Hughes and a 2022 seventh-rounder, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. In essence, the Chiefs are getting Hughes for practically nothing to take on the final year of his rookie deal. The 30th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Hughes just recently had his fifth-year option declined by the Vikings. To say Kansas City GM Brett Veach has been aggressive this offseason would be a big understatement.
His latest acquisition is the young cornerback from UCF who has had a really tough time with injuries in his brief career. First, Hughes tore an ACL a little over a month into his rookie season. Then he missed a couple of games with a neck injury in 2019, before a neck issue limited him to only four games this past year.
Through three pro campaigns he’s appeared in only 24 games, making seven starts. In those games he’s recorded 80 tackles, three forced fumbles, 13 passes defended, and two interceptions. The Vikings added Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander this offseason, leaving Hughes with an uncertain role in their secondary.
The Chiefs have yet to re-sign Bashaud Breeland this offseason, so the could use some cornerback depth behind L’Jarius Sneed and Charvarius Ward. Hughes only turned 24 in February, so he’s still got some theoretical upside.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/21
Today’s late round signings:
Buffalo Bills
- G Jack Anderson (seventh-round; Texas Tech), OL Tommy Doyle (fifth-round; Miami Ohio), WR Marquez Stevenson (sixth-round; Houston), CB Rachad Wildgoose (sixth-round; Wisconsin)
Carolina Panthers
- DT Daviyon Nixon (fifth-round; Iowa), CB Keith Taylor (fifth-round; Washington), OL Deonte Brown (sixth-round; Alabama), Thomas Fletcher (sixth-round; Alabama), WR Shi Smith (sixth-round; South Carolina), DT Phil Hoskins (seventh-round; Kentucky)
Cleveland Browns
- RB Demetric Felton (sixth round; UCLA), LB Tony Fields II (fifth-round; West Virginia), S Richard LeCounte (fifth round; Georgia)
Dallas Cowboys
- DT Quinton Bohanna (sixth round; Kentucky) WR Simi Fehoko (fifth round; Stanford), OL Matt Farniok (seventh-round; Nebraska), DB Israel Mukuamu (sixth-round; South Carolina)
Denver Broncos
- S Jamar Johnson (fifth round; Indiana), DL Marquiss Spencer (seventh round; Mississippi State)
Detroit Lions
- DT Alim McNeill (third round; North Carolina State)
Green Bay Packers
- OL Cole Van Lanen (sixth-round; Wisconsin), RB Kylin Hill (seventh-round; Mississippi State)
Kansas City Chiefs
- DE Joshua Kaindoh (fourth-round; Florida State), WR Cornell Powell (fifth-round; Clemson), TE Noah Gray (fifth-round; Duke), OL Trey Smith (sixth-round; Tennessee)
Los Angeles Chargers
- OL Brenden Jaimes (fifth-round; Nebraska)
Miami Dolphins
- OL Larnel Coleman (seventh-round; UMass), RB Gerrid Doaks (seventh-round; Cincinnati)
Minnesota Vikings
- WR/KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette (fifth-round; Iowa), DL Jaylen Twyman (sixth-round; Pittsburgh), TE Zach Davidson (fifth-round; Central Missouri
New England Patriots
- S Joshuah Bledsoe (sixth-round; Missouri)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Jaylon Moore (fifth-round; Western Michigan), CB Deommodore Lenoir (fifth-round; Oregon), S Talanoa Hufanga (fifth-round; USC), RB Elijah Mitchell (sixth-round; Louisiana)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LB K.J. Britt (fifth-round; Auburn), CB Chris Wilcox (seventh-round; BYU), LB Grant Stuard (seventh-round; Houston)
Washington Football Team
- CB Benjamin St-Juste (third-round; Minnesota), S Darrick Forrest (fifth-round; Cincinnati), DE Shaka Toney (seventh-round; Penn State)