Nate Palmer

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/18

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Claimed off waivers: G Ethan Cooper
  • Waived with left squad designation: C Jack Allen

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

AFC Contract Details: Gilmore, Kirkpatrick

The latest contract details from the AFC (all Twitter links):

  • Cornerback Stephon Gilmore‘s five-year, $65MM accord with the Patriots includes an $18MM signing bonus, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The arrangement comes with a fully guaranteed $31MM through 2018 and $9MM guaranteed for injury only in 2019. It contains up to $500K in per-game roster bonuses each year, as well (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
  • Fellow corner Dre Kirkpatrick‘s Bengals deal, worth $52.5MM over a five years, includes $15MM in 2017, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The contract features another $2.5MM in incentives. It’s essentially a pay-as-you agreement after 2018, notes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, who adds that Kirkpatrick got $7MM to sign, $12MM in guarantees, and will make $23.2MM during the first two years of the contract.
  • Guard Ronald Leary‘s pact with the Broncos is worth $36MM over four years and will receive $18.75MM guaranteed, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Leary will collect a $3.5MM signing bonus.
  • Newly re-upped Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills landed a $7MM signing bonus, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
  • Fullback Patrick DiMarco‘s four-year deal with the Bills features $4.8MM in guarantees, more than the originally reported $4MM, per Wilson. It also comes with a $2MM bonus and an annual workout bonus worth $59K.
  • Safety Nate Allen‘s contract with the Dolphins is for one year and $3.4MM, relays Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
  • The Titans gave linebacker Nate Palmer $2.3MM over two years, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. He also received a signing bonus worth $850K.
  • Tight end David Johnson‘s agreement with the Steelers is worth $2.05MM over two years, per Wilson. It includes a $235K signing bonus and a $915K roster bonus.

Titans Agree To Deals With Three

Looking to bolster their special teams unit, the Titans have made a trio of notable moves in that phase of the game. In addition to re-signing linebacker Nate Palmer, the club has agreed to deals with safety Brynden Trawick and another LB, Daren Bates (Twitter links via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN, Adam Caplan of ESPN and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports).

Trawick is now the highest-paid special teamer in the NFL, having landed a contract worth a max of $6.85MM over two years. The Titans will be the third team for the 27-year-old Trawick, who was with the Ravens from 2013-15 and the Raiders last season. Trawick saw action in 67.7 percent of the Raiders’ special teams plays.

Bates was teammates with Trawick last year in Oakland, where the former was involved in 83.9 percent of the club’s special teams plays. Bates, who spent 2013-15 with the Rams, will make $6MM on a three-year deal.

Palmer, meanwhile, was on the field for 60 percent of the Titans’ special teams snaps a year ago and is now set to remain with the club for the next two seasons. The 27-year-old was with Green Bay in the 2013 and ’15 campaigns.

Each of these moves should aid a Titans club whose ST unit finished a below-average 19th in DVOA last season.

How The Cowboys Could Replace Rolando McClain

For the second consecutive season, Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain will serve a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on substance abuse. In 2015, Dallas only had to survive without McClain for a quarter of the season, but given that McClain is facing a 10-game ban for 2016, the Cowboys will need to more seriously consider how they’re going to make up for the loss of their middle linebacker.

We’ve examined how Dallas might go about finding a replacement for McClain, looking at players already on the Cowboys’ roster, free agents sitting on the open market, and veterans who could be on the roster bubble with their respective clubs. Let’s dive in…

Internal options:

The primary name being floated to replace McClain in the middle is third-year linebacker Anthony Hitchens, whom the Cowboys selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. Thing is, Hitchens was already a starter — he played on the inside in Anthony Hitchens (Vertical)McClain’s absence last year, and then moved to the outside, ultimately seeing action on about half of Dallas’ defensive snaps. So if Hitchens is being counted on to man the middle full-time, including in sub packages, the Cowboys would need to find a replacement at strong-side linebacker, meaning Kyle Wilber and/or Andrew Gachkar could see meaningful snaps after spending most of their respective careers as special teams players.

[RELATED: Updated Dallas Cowboys depth chart]

Gachkar, meanwhile, is another option to fill in at middle linebacker, and he has experience at the position. If chosen, Gachkar would likely be a two-down player, as Pro Football Focus’ grades have shown him to be effective against the run but a liability in pass coverage. The 27-year-old has never been a major defensive contributor — he was forced to step into the starting lineup when the Chargers suffered a variety of injuries at the linebacker position in 2014, but even then, he only played on 36.5% of San Diego’s defensive snaps.

The “wild card” in this race is second-year player Mark Nzeocha, according to Bryan Broaddus of the Cowboys’ website. A seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, Nzeocha only appeared in two games during his rookie season, managing 14 snaps, all of which came on special teams. Extremely athletic, Nzeocha was all over the field at Wyoming, playing safety and all three linebacker positions. His learning curve might be steep, but he clearly has all the physical tools to play the position.

A source tells PFR that the Cowboys are, for the most part, satisfied with the current state of their linebacker room, and are looking forward to have their young players compete for playing time while McClain is suspended. Dallas, says the source, hasn’t shown a lot of interest in scouring the free agent market for substitutes, so one of Hitchens, Gachkar, or Nzeocha might be the favorite to earn significant snaps this fall.

Free agents:

Donald Butler — After selecting Denzel Perryman in 2015 and Joshua Perry in this year’s draft, the Chargers parted ways with Butler, who had spent the past five seasons with the club. At age-27, Butler is the youngest free agent option on this list, but he’s coming off the worst season of his career, having posted just 40 tackles during the 2016 campaign. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune accused Butler of “losing interest” after receiving a massive extension prior to the 2014 season, so perhaps some other clubs have made that same assessment.Justin Durant (vertical)

Justin Durant — Durant started 12 games for the Falcons last year, but prior to his time in Atlanta he spent two seasons with the Cowboys, so at the very least he’d offer some familiarity with Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli‘s playbook. Versatility is another point in Durant’s favor, as he played mostly inside linebacker with Atlanta and Detroit, roamed the middle during his Jacksonville tenure, and moved between both positions with the Cowboys.

A.J. Hawk — The Bengals signed Hawk to a two-year deal before the 2015 campaign, but despite injuries limiting fellow linebacker Vontaze Burfict to just 10 games, Hawk rarely saw the field, playing on roughly a quarter of Cincinnati’s defensive snaps. Hawk recently told Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer that although he’s aware a club might not express interest until late in camp (or perhaps after the season begins), he’s staying in shape in the hopes of receiving a phone call.

David Hawthorne — Like Durant, Hawthorne offers positional versatility, having seen action at both inside and outside linebacker. In 2015, Hawthorne was shifted to the weak side in favor of rookie Stephone Anthony, but was then benched, declared inactive, and ultimately released after an unproductive season. Still, he’s got 83 career starts under his belt, and would presumably feel comfortable in the middle of the Dallas defense.

Keep reading for more external options that could be on the Cowboys’ radar…

Read more

Titans Claim Nate Palmer

The Titans have claimed linebacker Nate Palmer, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets. Palmer was waived by the Packers late last week. "<strong

Palmer, a sixth-round pick in 2013, saw a little playing time during his rookie season before spending the entire 2014 campaign on the injured reserve list. In 2015, he earned a starting job at inside linebacker, but ultimately ceded playing time to rookie Jake Ryan before the year was over. In 16 games (10 starts) last season, Palmer compiled 64 tackles, a sacks, and a pair of passes defended.

Palmer now joins Wesley Woodyard, Avery Williamson, and offseason pickup Sean Spence on the Titans’ depth chart at inside linebacker.

By cutting Palmer, Green Bay reduced his cap number from about $700K to just $25K in dead money. The Titans have now picked Palmer up for the final year of his low-scale rookie deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Packers Waive Nate Palmer

SATURDAY, 8:55am: The move is official, according to the team’s website.

FRIDAY, 4:07pm: The Packers have parted ways with a player who started 10 games for them last season, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who tweets that the team has cut inside linebacker Nate Palmer. Because he has less than four years of service time, Palmer will have to pass through waivers before he becomes a free agent.Nate Palmer

Palmer, a sixth-round pick in 2013, saw a little playing time during his rookie season before spending the entire 2014 campaign on the injured reserve list. In 2015, he earned a starting job at inside linebacker, but ultimately ceded playing time to rookie Jake Ryan before the year was over. In 16 games (10 starts) last season, Palmer compiled 64 tackles, a sacks, and a pair of passes defended.

In spite of their willingness to let go of Palmer, the Packers aren’t particularly deep at inside linebacker, having frequently used Clay Matthews there, rather than at his natural outside linebacker spot, in recent years. Although Ryan, Sam Barrington, Joe Thomas Jr., and others will be in the mix for playing time at ILB for the Packers, the team figures to address the position at some point in the draft.

By cutting Palmer, Green Bay will reduce his cap number from about $700K to just $25K in dead money.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Packers Cut Roster Down To 53

5:50pm: The Packers have formally announced their last few transactions to get down to 53 players. The team placed tight end Jake Stoneburner and defensive end Khyri Thornton on injured reserve, and cut center Garth Gerhart, tight end Justin Perillo, defensive end Luther Robinson, and tackle Jeremy Vujnovich. Additionally, Hubbard has been fully cut from the roster rather than being placed on IR, as indicated earlier.

1:30pm: The Packers are not finished making moves, as they’ve parted ways with five more players in addition two placing a duo on injured reserve:

Cut:

Placed on injured reserve:

10:55am: The Packers have released eight players this morning. You can find a running list of the team’s moves below:

  • Ryan White (CB) (via Rob Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Michael Hill (RB) (via Tom Silverstein on Twitter)
  • John Fullington (OT) (via Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Jordan McCray (OG) (via Ryan Wood on Twitter)
  • Jake Doughty (LB) (via Demovsky on Twitter)
  • Alex Gillett (WR) (via Silverstein on Twitter)
  • LaDarius Perkins (RB) (via Silverstein on Twitter)
  • Tanner Miller (S) (via Silverstein on Twitter)

A handful of these players have an opportunity to catch on with the Packers’ practice squad. As mentioned in each player’s respective tweet, White and Doughty have a chance of sticking around. The team could also bring back Hill or Perkins, but Silverstein indicates that the team won’t bring back both.