NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/19
One lone practice squad move to pass along:
New England Patriots
- Released: TE Stephen Anderson
Anderson was actually one of the Patriots more interesting practice squad stashes, as he was one of the only active tight ends in the organization. The 26-year-old has 36 career receptions for 342 yards and one touchdown. The Patriots moved on from another tight end today when they cut veteran Lance Kendricks.
Patriots Work Out OT Marshall Newhouse
The Patriots have another offensive lineman dealing with an injury, so they’ve turned to the free agent pool to potentially provide some depth. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports (via Twitter) that the team worked out veteran offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse today. The team also auditioned defensive back Nate Brooks.
The Patriots lost starting right tackle Marcus Cannon to a shoulder injury during last night’s win, further depleting a grouping that recently lost David Andrews. With backup lineman Ted Karras already thrust into the starting center role, the team had to turn to the recently-acquired Jermaine Eluemunor to fill in for Cannon. This left New England with former undrafted free agent James Ferentz as their lone backup lineman.
If the Patriots are specifically looking for a tackle, Newhouse would fit the bill. The 30-year-old had started 72 games throughout his nine-year career, although he was limited to only two in 14 appearances between the Bills and Panthers last season. The Saints added the lineman back in May, but he landed on the IR before being released with a settlement. Even if Cannon isn’t sidelined for very long, Newhouse could provide the Patriots with an upgrade over some of their inexperienced options.
Brooks, a former standout at North Texas, spent the preseason with the Cardinals. After failing to make the 53-man roster, the defensive back caught on with Arizona’s practice squad, although he was let go last week.
Patriots To Cut Kendricks, Melifonwu
For the time being, the Patriots will have eight wide receivers on their roster. Their move to bring aboard Antonio Brown will not be cutting a wide receiver, but instead, one of their defensive backs received word he’s out.
The Patriots will waive safety Obi Melifonwu, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Additionally, the Pats are releasing Lance Kendricks. The tight end was suspended for Week 1 and did not count against New England’s 53-man roster.
Melifonwu was also a former Raider, though the one-time second-round pick was with New England throughout the Brown debacle in Oakland. Jon Gruden jettisoned Melifonwu, a Reggie McKenzie draft choice, last year. Melifonwu, a UConn product, played in two games for the Patriots last season.
Kendricks was one of the many tight ends the Patriots added this offseason. The former Rams and Packers pass catcher/blocker drew a one-game suspension. While it shouldn’t be ruled out Kendricks could return, as the Patriots will be without Benjamin Watson until Week 5, the defending Super Bowl champions did not exactly miss him in their Week 1 romp over the Steelers.
Antonio Brown Recorded Jon Gruden With Consent
It seems that Antonio Brown‘s pseudo-commerical – featuring sound bites of a phone conversation with Jon Gruden – was part of his social media campaign to push the Raiders for his release. It was speculated that Brown recorded Gruden without his consent, which would open the wide receiver up to legal consequences and NFL discipline. 
Apparently, that’s not the case. The producer of the video tells ESPN’s Dan LeBatard that Gruden approved the use of their conversation (Twitter link).
This would help to explain why Gruden reportedly thought the video was “awesome,” though Brown was released hours after its release. Apparently, this was not the straw that broke the camel’s back, probably because there were many other straws that infuriated the Raiders far more.
Brown, the newest member of the Patriots (somehow), has himself a one-year deal worth up to $15MM, plus a 2020 club option that could be worth $20MM. Here’s the Year One breakdown, per Rapoport (Twitter link): $9MM signing bonus ($5MM paid now, $4MM later), $1MM base pay, $500K in46-man roster bonuses, and “Not Likely To Be Earned” incentives of $1.5MM for each of the following: 105 catches, 1,298 yards, 16 TDs.
Given Brown’s ability and past production, those benchmarks are far from “not likely.” However, for cap purposes, they are designated as NLTBEs.
Pats Have 2020 Option For Antonio Brown
For many reasons, there’s no telling how long Antonio Brown‘s run with the Patriots will last. But, if things go well, the Patriots will have the option to keep the wide receiver through the 2020 season, Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter) hears. 
[RELATED: Patriots, Antonio Brown Agree To Deal]
It was initially reported that Brown’s deal would be worth “up to” $15MM with $10MM guaranteed in total. As it turns out, Brown’s deal also includes a $20MM option for the 2020 campaign. The option serves two purposes. First, the obvious – the Patriots can keep the partnership for another year, if they choose to do so. Secondly, the additional year will help with cap proration for 2019, giving them extra flexibility this year.
It’s a potentially big win for Brown, as well. If he hits on his incentives this year and cashes in for $20MM next year, he’ll reel in even more than the ~$30MM guarantee that he was set to collect from Oakland. There’s also still an outside chance that he can walk away with some of that guaranteed cash from the Raiders, even though he never played a down of real football for them.
Several Teams Had Interest In Antonio Brown
Several teams were interested in signing Antonio Brown prior to him agreeing to a deal with the Patriots, Chris Mortensen reports on ESPN. Mort lists the Seahawks and Browns among the teams that were eyeing the wide receiver. QB Russell Wilson worked out with Brown during the offseason.
As a vested veteran, Brown was not subjected to waivers, meaning he was able to sign anywhere he pleased once the Raiders released him. Here’s more on the Brown-saga:
- The Patriots attempted to trade for Brown back in March but the Steelers rebuffed those inquiries as they didn’t want to send him to a rival, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. New England was willing to give up picks for him then but now, after the signing him as a free agent, they were able to land Brown without surrendering compensation.
- According to Mortensen (above link), the Patriots were willing to give the Steelers a first-round pick for Brown during the offseason. Pittsburgh ultimately didn’t want to trade Brown to a place they would have to face him.
- Antonio Brown sought advice from social media consultants on how he could accelerate his release from the Raiders, per Mortensen (same link). Posting the letter from GM Mike Mayock that stated he would be fined was among the moves Brown made on social media leading up to his release.
- Brown could be suspended by the league office, as we passed along on Saturday. It was reported that the Raiders were considering suspending him prior to him finding his way to the free agent market.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/7/19
We’ve got another big batch of workouts, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter).
Cleveland Browns
- DT Ricky Walker
Houston Texans
- Ps Ryan Allen, Matt Wile; LB Christian Kuntz; LS Carson Tinker
Indianapolis Colts
- LB Tre’ Crawford; DE Jamell Garcia-Williams; CBs Quenton Meeks, Jackson Porter; S Jonathan Owens
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WRs Terry Godwin, Ishmael Hyman; RB Jeremy McNichols; P Brock Miller
Minnesota Vikings
- Safeties Briean Boddy-Calhoun, C.J. Reavis; DT Anthony Zettel
New England Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Safeties Andrew Adams, Chris Banjo; OTs Dino Boyd, Pace Murphy, Josh Wells; G Bryan Witzmann
The Texans could be looking for specialist help, as they worked out a pair of punters and a longsnapper. Boddy-Calhoun, who worked out for the Vikings, is probably the biggest name on this list. He started at least seven games for the Browns each of the past three seasons, but was released by Houston at final cuts.
Latest On Antonio Brown
One of the weirdest opening weeks in recent memory is starting to wind down, and a full slate of regular season games is right around the corner. Before that though, we have one more batch of notes on Antonio Brown. The All-Pro receiver is a member of the Patriots now, and there will surely be more fallout to come as the dust settles. Brown was on the open market for just a few hours before inking a one-year deal with New England, and the defending champions now have one of the best group of skill position players in the league.
Here’s the latest on the star of the 2019 offseason:
- First off we have more details on his new contract, courtesy of Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. It was initially reported that Brown’s deal would be worth “up to” $15MM, and include a $9MM signing bonus. Per Schefter, there’s only $1MM in guaranteed money besides the signing bonus. The other $5MM is incentives, he reports.
- The Raiders ultimately didn’t suspend Brown over his confrontation with GM Mike Mayock, and the Patriots obviously won’t be suspending him. That doesn’t mean he is out of the woods entirely though, as Brown could apparently be suspended by the league office for a Personal Conduct Policy violation. A league spokesman declined to comment on the matter, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, who notes the policy specifically prohibits “[v]iolent or threatening behavior toward another employee or a third party in any workplace.” If the league finds that Brown threatened Mayock as some have reported, he could be slapped with a suspension.
- The Patriots raised a lot of eyebrows by giving Brown a $9MM signing bonus given his recent erratic behavior. Teams can usually recoup 25 percent of a signing bonus if something goes wrong, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). La Canfora wonders whether the Patriots asked for different language in the contract to protect them further in the event that things go off the rails like they did in Oakland.
- The Raiders voided Brown’s guarantees before releasing him, and there have been rumblings that Brown might pursue a grievance to try to recoup some of that money. Even if his agent Drew Rosenhaus does pursue the grievance and it is successful, he won’t be getting all that money back. Brown’s deal with Oakland contained offset language, so “the $9 million signing bonus he’ll get from the Patriots — and any other money he earns as a player in 2019 and 2020 — reduces the amount he could pursue in a potential grievance over his voided guarantees,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. As such, it doesn’t seem like the grievance will be very high-stakes, if it gets filed at all.
Patriots Sign Antonio Brown
Hours after the Raiders released Antonio Brown, the Patriots are set to swoop in. They have agreed to terms with the mercurial superstar, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The defending Super Bowl champions are set to take a chance on arguably this era’s premier wide receiver, despite his drama-filled 2019. The Patriots announced the signing.
This will be a one-year deal worth up to $15MM, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets. Brown will receive a $9MM signing bonus, which could well end up being more than he will end up collecting from the Raiders.
Unfortunately for the football-following world, Brown cannot face the Steelers on Sunday night. But he stands to be part of this stunningly high-profile receiving corps Monday. Brown’s Instragram, as could be expected, has him Photoshopped in a Patriots jersey. Bleacher Report’s Master Tefatsion was the first to report Brown was nearing a Patriots deal (Twitter link).
In one of the league’s ultimate talent-trumps-everything moves, the four-time first-team All-Pro will move from the Raiders — who sent third- and fifth-round picks to the Steelers for Brown in March — to the Patriots. Different circumstances are obviously involved, but this mirrors another polarizing great’s trek from 12 years ago. The Pats traded a fourth-round pick to the Raiders for Randy Moss in 2007; Moss set the NFL’s single-season receiving touchdown record that season.
The Patriots exited their sixth Super Bowl season with question marks at wide receiver. They are set to enter Week 1 with Brown, Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas joining Julian Edelman. For a franchise that thrives on strikes of this sort, this qualifies as one of the Patriots’ all-time transactions. (Of course, the Pats will likely part ways with one of their wideouts, with Florio positing — on Twitter — Thomas might be the one to go.)
New England entered Saturday with $6.21MM in cap space, so some maneuvering will need to be done. But the perennial AFC favorites will see if they can manage the 31-year-old talent in a way the Raiders could not.
Brown has since released another video showing not exactly veiled excitement once he learned the Raiders released him (Twitter link). This came a day after a reportedly emotional apology Brown issued to his Raider teammates. There are not many NFL stories that can compete with this one, pound-for-pound.
Brown’s offseason included multiple retirement threats, him forcing his way out of Pittsburgh, the cryogenic chamber mishap and a months-long helmet dispute that ended with two rulings against him. His week included sharing a photo of a Raiders fine, a confrontation with GM Mike Mayock and a social media leak of a Jon Gruden phone call. The Raiders voided Brown’s $29MM-plus guarantees and released him shortly after, doing so a day after opting not to suspend him for Week 1. Brown will not play in Week 1 but will be eligible to suit up when the Patriots travel to Miami next week.
On the field, Brown has submitted a Hall of Fame resume. He transformed from sixth-round Steelers find to perennial Pro Bowler; he landed on the top All-Pro team from 2014-17. Last season, his yardage dropped to 1,297 but he still led the league with 15 touchdown catches. Brown has surpassed 1,499 yards in a season four times; the Patriots have only had one player (Wes Welker in 2011) do that in their 59-season history.
While not all of the Patriots’ gambles have worked out, with the likes of Chad Johnson and Albert Haynesworth disappointing following Foxborough arrivals, Moss and Corey Dillon delivered a major return. There certainly is no guarantee here, but the Patriots’ signing bonus reveals a degree of confidence they can make Brown’s Massachusetts stay look closer to his All-Pro work than what transpired in Oakland.
Patriots, Jonathan Jones Agree To Deal
The Patriots are closing in on a deal for fourth-year cornerback Jonathan Jones, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Given a second-round tender this offseason, Jones is nearing a long-term extension before New England’s Week 1 game.
It’s a three-year deal worth $21MM in base value, Rapoport tweets. Jones could earn up to $25MM and will receive $13MM guaranteed. He was slated to play for $3.095MM on the tender. The Patriots landed Jones as a 2016 UDFA out of Auburn.
Jones has not missed a regular-season game since coming into the league, though he did miss the 2017 AFC championship game and Super Bowl LII. The corner has been a part-time starter as a pro, opening with the Pats’ first unit in 10 games. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 73 corner last season.
This deal would tie the soon-to-be 26-year-old defender to the Patriots through the 2022 season. He and second-round pick Joejuan Williams would be the only Pats DBs signed through 2022. Stephon Gilmore‘s deal runs through 2021. Jones remains part of a deep New England cornerback corps, joining also Jason McCourty and J.C. Jackson. The Pats dealt from their surplus, unloading 2018 second-rounder Duke Dawson and Keion Crossen, recently but are prioritizing Jackson.