Giants To Place RB Rod Smith On IR
One of Saquon Barkley‘s backups will head to IR. The Giants signed Rod Smith as a free agent but will place the longtime Cowboy on IR with a adductor injury, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets.
Smith joined holdovers Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins as candidates to back up Barkley. Now, Big Blue may be in the market for a waiver claim. Or two of Jerry Reese’s draft picks will stick around and reprise their roles as Barkley’s understudies, with the three-down dynamo not coming off the field especially often.
The Giants will place Smith on season-ending IR, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, who adds Perkins will make the team after missing all of last season (Twitter link). Had Big Blue carried Smith over to its 53-man roster, he would have been eligible for IR-return status later this season. Now, he’ll be shelved for 2019.
Smith averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, on 44 totes, last season. However, he was more productive in 2017, averaging 4.2 yards per handoff for a Cowboys team that lost Ezekiel Elliott to suspension midsseason.
Colts, Texans, Browns Lead NFL In Cap Space
On Tuesday morning, the NFL released a report of every team’s cap space. The total number accounts for the top-51 cap numbers on every team’s roster. Therefore, these numbers will naturally change before next week as teams set their 53-man rosters (although the 52nd- and 53rd-ranked cap numbers (and beyond) for each team will hardly change anything).
It’s also worth noting that there have been a handful of extensions, trades, signings, and cuts since this report was released. However, there weren’t any significant moves that would drastically alter these rankings.
Why are these numbers important at this time of year? Well, rosters will be trimmed on Saturday, meaning an influx of players will hit the open market. While we can’t imagine any roster casualties earning a lucrative contract from a new team, these numbers can help illustrate the monetary advantage one organization has over another. These numbers are also useful in regards to any potential trades or extensions.
With help from TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer on Twitter, we’ve listed the league’s cap space totals (as of Tuesday morning) below:
- Indianapolis Colts: $56.6MM
- Houston Texans: $37.0MM
- Cleveland Browns: $34.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $26.1MM
- Tennessee Titans: $26.0MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $25.5MM
- Buffalo Bills: $23.3MM
- Miami Dolphins: $22.1MM
- Chicago Bears: $22.1MM
- Washington Redskins: $21.7MM
- Detroit Lions: $21.5MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $21MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $19.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $19.5MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $18.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $18.2MM
- Oakland Raiders: $17.3MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $16.4MM
- Green Bay Packers: $15.2MM
- New York Jets: $14.9MM
- New England Patriots: $14.1MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $13.4MM
- New Orleans Saints $7.5MM
- Carolina Panthers $5.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams $5.6MM
- New York Giants $5.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers $4.9MM
- Minnesota Vikings $4.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals $4.7MM
- Denver Broncos $4.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers $4.3MM
- Atlanta Falcons $3.4MM
More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Sean Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell, OL Tyler Catalina
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Jonathan Celestin, G Norman Price
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers: S Montrel Meander
- Placed on injured reserve: WR D.J. Montgomery
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: LB Aaron Wallace
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Da’Mari Scott
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Andrew Lauderdale, S Tyree Robinson
- Waived: OL Christian DiLauro, WR Shawn Poindexter, RB Brandon Wilds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
- Waived/injured: DT Shane Bowman
Could Giants Trade For Laquon Treadwell?
- Former first-round pick Laquon Treadwell is on the trade block, and Matt Lombardo of NJ.com believes the Giants could make a play for him. Treadwell played under New York head coach Pat Shurmur when the latter served as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, and Shurmur held the Ole Miss product in high regard not that long ago. Given the current state of the Giants’ WR depth chart, Lombardo suggests it would be reasonable for Big Blue to send a sixth- or seventh-round pick to Minnesota to see if a change of scenery can unlock some of Treadwell’s potential.
Giants Still Eyeing Daniel Jones Redshirt?
People inside the Giants organization acknowledge the perception of Daniel Jones has changed over the summer, with Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv noting the rookie’s rise has been “dizzying” to many staffers. The No. 6 overall pick has surprised most of the football community with his preseason readiness.
After a take-notice drive in his preseason debut, Jones completed 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown (while losing two fumbles) against the Bears on Friday. Eli Manning was 4-for-4 in limited duty. Despite Manning’s struggles in recent years and Jones’ August work, the hope remains the incumbent will play throughout 2019, per Vacchiano. The team does not believe Jones needs to be rushed.
Big Blue will not hold a quarterback competition in the near future. The belief still appears to be that Jones is not ready to usurp Manning, and Vacchiano adds the plan will be for the 16th-year starter to keep his job until at least the playoffs are out of reach. The Giants believe Manning can keep them in contention, so Dave Gettleman‘s hope to execute the “Kansas City model” — where Jones would play the Patrick Mahomes role to Manning’s Alex Smith — would be in play in this unlikely (per Las Vegas) scenario. John Mara said recently he hopes Jones “never sees the field” in 2019.
If the Giants fall out of contention, it should be expected their 22-year-old hopeful heir apparent will see the field. But for now, the organization does not look to be giving legitimate consideration to demoting its 38-year-old cornerstone.
Biggest Roster Weakness: NFC East
The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.
Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club. Today we’ll examine the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys
- Weakness: Defensive tackle. Antwaun Woods and Maliek Collins each played more than 45% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps in 2018, but neither proved particularly effective, as both ranked in the bottom-half of Pro Football Focus‘ interior defender grades. Christian Covington has played well during training camp, and Dallas used a second-round pick on defensive tackle Trysten Hill, but the Cowboys could look to the free agent market for another veteran to play inside. Safety was another consideration here, but the Cowboys seem to be all-in on starting Jeff Heath despite his lack of 2018 production.
- Solution: Sign Muhammad Wilkerson to a cheap one-year deal. Given the need to extend Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, and Byron Jones, the Cowboys probably aren’t willing to spend much on a late free agent addition. And that’s just fine, because Wilkerson shouldn’t cost much after a fractured ankle limited him to three games last season. Wilkerson’s deal with the Packers was worth $5MM and carried $3MM in available incentives, but he could be hard-pressed to earn anything more than a minimum salary this time around.
New York Giants
- Weakness: Wide receiver depth. Nearly any position on the Giants’ defensive depth chart could use help, but have you taken a look at New York’s possible Week 1 receivers? Golden Tate is suspended through Week 4, so if Sterling Shepard can’t return from a fractured thumb in time for the season opener, Big Blue would likely roll out Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, and Bennie Fowler as its top three wideouts. Even if Shepard is able to make it back for Week 1, the Giants could still use more help at receiver.
- Solution: Trade for Keelan Cole. The now 26-year-old Cole played well to start the 2018 campaign, but ultimately couldn’t live up to the expectations set by his 2017 season. The former undrafted free agent’s yards per reception fell from 17.8 in 2017 to just 12.9 in 2018, and he’s now listed as a third-team receiver on Jacksonville’s latest depth chart. Capable of lining up in the slot or outside, Cole could help tide the Giants over until Tate and Shepard are back.
Philadelphia Eagles
- Weakness: Cornerback. Thanks to a smart front office headed by general manager Howie Roseman, the Eagles don’t have many weaknesses on their roster. One area of potential concern is at cornerback, where Ronald Darby may not be ready for Week 1 and Cre’Von LeBlanc could be a candidate for injured reserve after suffering a foot injury.
- Solution: Trade for a Patriots or Saints corner. Rumblings in the past week have indicated the Patriots and/or Saints could have a spare corner to deal, and the Eagles could make for a potential trade partner. New England defensive back Jonathan Jones could make sense for Philadelphia — he’s on a one-year, restricted free agent deal, so the Eagles could evaluate him in 2019 before deciding whether to extend him through 2020 and beyond. The Patriots and Eagles already lined up for one veteran trade this offseason when New England acquired defensive lineman Michael Bennett in March.
Washington Redskins
- Weakness: Linebacker. Zach Brown and Mason Foster were the Redskins’ primary inside linebackers last season, but both have since been released. Foster isn’t a tremendous loss, but PFF graded Brown as the third-best ‘backer in all of football in 2018. Reuben Foster, claimed off waivers last November, isn’t going to play this year after tearing his ACL, so Washington is relying on journeyman Jon Bostic and 2018 sixth-rounder Shaun Dion Hamilton to hold down the middle of its defense.
- Solution: Wait for Wesley Woodyard to get cut by the Titans. Even at age-33, Woodyard is still a solid linebacker, but with the Titans turning to Rashaan Evans and Jayon Brown, he’s not expected to be a starter in 2019. Most Tennessee roster projections still have Woodyard making the team, but the Titans might be loathe to keep a backup who accounts for more than $4MM on their salary cap. If and when he’s released, Woodyard should become a target for Washington.
Complaint Against Kamrin Moore Dropped
The domestic violence complaint against suspended Giants safety Kamrin Moore has been dismissed and the temporary restraining order against him has been vacated, according to ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. The court determined that the allegations against Moore were not substantiated and lawyers for the 22-year-old (23 in October) tells Raanan that he feels “vindicated” by the outcome.
Moore was arrested in mid-July on assault charges after allegedly punching a woman, knocking her unconscious and stepping on her neck. Police were not called to Moore’s home, however, and we’ve heard little about the case in the last month.
The initial police report indicated that the alleged victim got into an altercation with another woman at Moore’s residence. When the accuser was knocked to the ground, she says that Moore intervened, stepped on her neck, and punched her when she returned to her feet.
Immediately after the story broke, the Giants suspended Moore, pending further investigation. There’s no word yet on whether the Giants will welcome him back.
The Giants claimed Moore off waivers last summer from the Saints. He went on to appear in two games for the G-Men in 2018.
Golden Tate May Sue Doctor Who Prescribed Drugs
- After getting handed a four-game suspension for taking what he claims were fertility drugs, Giants wideout Golden Tate is considering a lawsuit against the doctor who originally prescribed the drugs, as Williams writes in a separate piece. Tate, who self-reported his violation after realizing the active ingredient in the medication was on the NFL’s banned substance list, will lose salary and signing bonus, while his 2020 guarantees are also expected to void. The veteran pass-catcher appealed his ban but was formally denied earlier this week.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/19
Here are today’s minor moves, which will be updated throughout the night:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed: DE Dare Odeyingbo
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Ben Johnson
- Waived: LB Josh Corcoran
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Drew Lewis
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Terrell Sinkfield
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived off IR: CB Davante Davis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed: WR Emanuel Hall
- Waived: S Micah Abernathy
Giants Re-Sign TE Scott Simonson
How can a team re-sign someone who’s still on the roster? The Giants sort of answered that question today, as they re-signed veteran tight end Scott Simonson, though Simonson was ostensibly under contract with Big Blue already.
Simonson appeared on the league’s transaction wire Wednesday afternoon, leading a number of beat writers to report that he had been cut. But according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Simonson’s previous contract didn’t “register” for the current league year, so he appeared on the wire not because the Giants cut him, but because they re-signed him (Twitter link). Raanan speculates (via Twitter) that there was simply an error in filing the previous contract.
Simonson was a quality blocking TE for the Giants last season, so his “release” was something of a surprise. He remains in the fold, though, and Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com believes New York will carry four TEs, including Simonson (Twitter link). It seems that UDFA C.J. Conrad is the favorite to be the fourth tight end on the roster.
Simonson, who has also suited up for the Raiders and Panthers in his career, has never been much of a receiving threat. He posted nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown for New York in 2018, all of which represented professional high-water marks. But it seems as if his blocking ability will earn him a second season in the Big Apple.