Patriots’ Hunter Henry To Miss Time?
Patriots tight end Hunter Henry is expected to miss “a couple of weeks” as he nurses a shoulder injury (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Fortunately, Schefter hears it’s not especially serious, so Henry hopes to be ready in time for Week 1. 
[RELATED: Patriots’ McMillan Tears ACL]
Henry inked a three-year, $37.5MM deal with the Patriots in March. The pact included $25MM in full guarantees, proof that the Pats are confident in his long-term health. However, if he misses time, the Patriots still have fellow newcomer Jonnu Smith to lead the way.
Henry missed the entire 2018 campaign with a torn ACL. He’s played at least 12 games in his other four seasons, he also never played a full 16 while with the Chargers. In 2020, Henry hauled in 60 catches for 613 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games.
Smith, meanwhile, is set to earn a whopping $50MM over the next four years with $31.25MM guaranteed. The former Titan enjoyed his best year yet in 2020, posting 41 grabs for 448 yards and eight touchdowns.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/9/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DT Darius Kilgo
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: CB Tyler Hall
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Siaosi Mariner
- Waived/injured: TE Jacob Breeland
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from PUP list: TE Dominique Dafney
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: LS Rex Sunahara
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Warren Jackson
New England Patriots
- Waived: QB Jake Dolegala
- Signed: LS Brian Khoury
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Blake Countess
- Waived/injured: S Obi Melifonwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from PUP list: TE Cameron Brate
Washington Football Team
- Signed: C Jon Toth
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/21
Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: DT Xavier Williams
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived/injured: DT Deadrin Senat
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DE Kendall Donnerson, DB LaDarius Wiley
- Waived: OL David Moore
- Waived/injured: DE Austin Larkin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Gage Cervenka
Denver Broncos
- Claimed (from Ravens): LB Barrington Wade
- Signed: DT Lorenzo Neal
- Released: S Tedric Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Graham Adomitis
- Waived/injured: WR Gary Jennings
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed (from Cardinals): CB Lorenzo Burns
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Bryan Witzmann
- Placed on reserve/retired list: TE Nick Keizer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Chris Okoye, CB K.J. Sails
New England Patriots
- Re-Signed: LB Cassh Maluia
- Placed on IR: TE Dalton Keene
New York Giants
- Claimed (from Jets): WR Matt Cole
- Signed: DB Chris Johnson
- Waived: WR Andy Jones
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Jaquiski Tartt
Washington Football Team
- Waived: OL Cole Boozer
Patriots’ Raekwon McMillan Tears ACL
Patriots linebacker Raekwon McMillan tore his ACL while practicing earlier this week (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). That marks the second ACL tear of McMillan’s career and the end of his 2021 season. is the second torn ACL for the former #Dolphins 2nd round pick, but this time on the other knee. 
This time around, it’s McMillan’s other knee. It’s another frustrating setback for the former Dolphins second-round pick who was once ticketed for a sizable role in Miami’s front seven.
McMillan spent the early part of his career with the Dolphins before being shipped to the Raiders in August of 2020. He came off the bench in most games, finishing the year with 27 stops and one forced fumble.
Before that, he flashed at times in South Beach and even ranked as the Dolphins’ best defensive player in 2019, per to Pro Football Focus. The Dolphins considered a long-term extension for him at one point but, ultimately, they were unwilling to commit, especially at the height of the pandemic.
Despite his ups, downs, and suspect pass coverage, the Patriots were excited to add him on a one-year deal earlier this year. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to join fellow newcomer Matt Judon in the LB group – at least, not until 2022.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/21
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves to report from what turned out to be a pretty busy Saturday in the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Tuzar Skipper
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Derrick Willies
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Danny Isidora
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB Brett Hundley, DT Joey Ivie
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Tevin Jones
- Cut: LB Leon Jacobs, K Aldrick Rosas
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Jerald Hawkins
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
New York Jets
- Signed: K Matt Ammendola
- Cut: K Sam Ficken
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Sean Mannion
Washington Football Team
- Claimed off waivers from Dolphins: OL Ross Reynolds
Hundley is the biggest signing on this list. The Colts adding him is a pretty good sign they expect Carson Wentz to miss some significant time. Assuming Wentz misses games, Hundley will battle it out with second-year pro Jacob Eason.
A couple of kickers who have started a bunch of games both found themselves sent packing in Ficken and Rosas. Mannion latched on with the Seahawks. He’s familiar with new Seattle OC Shane Waldron from their time together with the Rams, explaining why the Seahawks added him as an option behind Russell Wilson.
AFC East Notes: Waddle, Wilson, Jets, Pats
Jaylen Waddle missed most of his senior season at Alabama due to a broken ankle. While that injury occurred back in October, the top-10 pick does not appear to have fully recovered. Waddle’s ankle remains an issue at Dolphins camp, according to Adam Beasley of the Pro Football Network. Some with the Dolphins do not believe the No. 6 overall pick has regained his full explosiveness just yet, Beasley adds. The former Tua Tagovailoa Tuscaloosa weapon has walked with a limp during training camp but has gone through practices, avoiding a stay on Miami’s active/PUP list. Although the Dolphins have three first-round wideouts on their roster, with free agent pickup Will Fuller joining DeVante Parker, Waddle is the highest-drafted receiver in team history.
Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- The Jets making Zach Wilson the last of this year’s 259 draftees to sign is not especially surprising, given the timing of the sides’ negotiations. The Jets did not begin negotiating with the No. 2 overall pick until last week, per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (on Twitter). Gang Green wanted Wilson to defer $6MM of his signing bonus to 2022, but when the team agreed to pay it all this year, Wilson flew to the Big Apple. While payment schedule was an issue for Wilson’s camp, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano notes offset language was the top concern for the quarterback. Once the Jets agreed to pay out his bonus within 15 days, however, the BYU product caved on offsets, which are present in his deal.
- Marcus Maye and the Jets never came close on a deal ahead of the franchise tag extension deadline, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes. With a Maye tag in 2022 costing the Jets $12.7MM, Cimini expects this season to be it for Maye with the team. The Jets appear intent on gauging Maye’s fit in Robert Saleh‘s defense, but the timing here may well lead Maye elsewhere next year. Maye and Jamal Adams started together for three seasons on Gang Green’s back line. It is now looking likely each will have passed through before receiving a big payday with another team.
- Two-year incumbent Sam Ficken and rookie UDFA Chris Naggar are vying for the Jets’ kicker job, but the team held a workout recently at this position. Matthew McCrane, Matt Ammendola and Haidar Zaidan worked out for the team this week, Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790 tweets. Of the three, McCrane is the only one to kick in an NFL game. And that came back in 2018.
- The Patriots received a slight boost in their salary cap space this week. Patrick Chung‘s retirement being officially processed created $891K in cap space for the Pats, Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed tweets. Chung opted out last season but announced his retirement in March. New England currently carries just more than $13MM in cap space.
Patriots Claim QB Jake Dolegala
The Patriots have added another quarterback. The team announced today that they’ve claimed quarterback Jake Dolegala off waivers from the Packers. The 24-year-old was waived by Green Bay yesterday.
More notably, it sounds like today’s transaction was insurance for another QB on the roster. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic (via Twitter), backup Jarrett Stidham “isn’t expected back in the near future.” The quarterback landed on the physically unable to perform list earlier this week, and Howe writes that the player is battling a shoulder injury that could ultimately lead to surgery.
At one time, it was believed that Stidham could be the heir apparent to Tom Brady. Instead, the 2019 fourth-round pick barely played during his sophomore season, and he fell further down the depth chart when the team added Mac Jones this offseason. The Auburn product will be 25 by the start of the next season, and despite collecting only 48 attempts through two seasons, it’s unlikely his NFL career is in danger. However, it’s looking like he doesn’t have much of a future in New England.
Dolegala actually spent most of his rookie season on the Patriots practice squad, and after earning a reserve/future contract in January, he was waived by the team in April. His best chance of sticking with the Patriots is probably via the practice squad; even with Stidham temporarily out of the picture, the team is still rostering Jones, Cam Newton, and Brian Hoyer.
Patriots Cut WR Devin Smith
Bill Belichick has had some previous success with former-Jets reclamation projects, but Devin Smith apparently won’t be one of them. The Patriots announced today that they’ve released the wide receiver.
Smith joined the NFL as a second-round pick (No. 37) in 2015, but he didn’t show much during his first two seasons in the NFL. In two years with the Jets, the wideout collected only 10 receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown in 14 games (three starts). To be fair, a torn ACL derailed his rookie campaign, and another ACL tear in 2017 forced him to miss the entire season. The receiver was ultimately waived by the team in 2018 and ended up sitting out that entire season, as well.
He got another chance in 2019 with the Cowboys, finishing with five receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown in four games (two starts). He was released by Dallas prior to last season, and he spent most of the 2020 campaign on the Texans and Patriots practice squad.
New England held on to him for the entire offseason but ultimately decided to move on. Smith would have been an interesting piece for the Patriots, but the organization already has plenty of their own projects behind Jakobi Meyers and free agent additions Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Lorenzo Burns
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Luq Barcoo, CB C.J. Henderson, QB Jake Luton
- Placed on active/PUP list: LB Leon Jacobs
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
- Waived: DE Nick Coe, LS Rex Sunahara
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE David Wells
New York Jets
- Placed on NFI list: DE Vinny Curry, DT Folorunso Fatukasi, S Marcus Maye
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Ashtyn Davis, DL Jonathan Marshall, DL Kyle Phillips, DT Quinnen Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Cameron Scarlett
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Jordan Whitehead
Patriots Co-Offensive Line Coach Off Staff Due To COVID-19 Policy
Following Rick Dennison‘s departure from the Vikings due to a COVID-19 vaccine refusal, the Patriots will also part ways with one of their offensive line coaches.
Co-offensive line coach Cole Popovich is off the Patriots’ staff, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reports. Popovich is gone due to his refusal to comply with the NFL’s vaccine policy, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com adds (on Twitter). Popovich and Carmen Bricillo worked as co-O-line coaches in New England last season, but McBride adds the latter will helm the position solo this year.
Popovich, 36, has been with the Patriots since 2016. He broke into the NFL on Bill Belichick‘s staff and moved up to assistant running backs coach in 2019. In 2020, the Pats promoted he and Bricillo to fill the void created by famed O-line coach Dante Scarnecchia‘s retirement. Popovich’s NFL career is now in limbo.
In order to work with players, coaches must be vaccinated. The NFL has not required players to be vaccinated, but staffers — in order to qualify for Tier 1 or Tier 2 status — must either do so or provide medical or religious grounds for refusing. Teams are not permitted to cut players because of their refusal to be vaccinated, though they can jettison unvaccinated players for other reasons. However, no such rule is in place for coaches. NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said Friday nearly 100% of NFL staffs are vaccinated, so it will be interesting to see if any additional coaches are moved off staff in the coming days.