Charles Johnson Announces Retirement
On Wednesday, former Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL. We heard rumblings that Johnson would retire this year, but those plans were not formalized until now. 
Johnson was long considered to be one of the better pass rushers in the league. Selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2007 draft, Johnson showed flashes of promise during his first three years in the pros and broke out when he was given the chance to be a full-time starter in 2010. During the 2010 season, Johnson put up 11.5 sacks and secured a six-year, $72MM extension from Carolina the following offseason.
He mostly lived up to that payday over the early stages of the contract, as he posted 32.5 sacks during the 2011-13 seasons. He added 8.5 sacks in the 2014 campaign and, although he missed some of the 2015 season due to injury, he notched three sacks during the Panthers’ playoff run that year, including one in Super Bowl 50.
Things changed in 2017, however, after Johnson underwent back surgery. He failed to produce a sack in eleven games, and he was hit with a PED suspension in December. After the Panthers cut him earlier this year, there was no reported interest in the 32-year-old.
“Once you have back surgery, I don’t care who you are, it’s a beast to get back,” Johnson said. “My body was just… I haven’t worked out since this winter. I tried to get motivated to work out, and my body said, ‘We’re not working out right now.’ It was about that time.”
Johnson leaves the game after spending eleven season with the Panthers and registering 67.5 sacks. We wish him the best in retirement.
Vikings Sign S George Iloka
It’s a done deal. On Wednesday, the Vikings announced the signing of safety George Iloka. 
Iloka was released by the Bengals earlier this week, a move that seemingly came out of nowhere. While Cincinnati preferred to go with younger players in the secondary, plenty of other clubs expressed interest in the hard-hitting veteran. The Cowboys and Raiders both discussed signing Iloka, but he was ultimately drawn to Minnesota in order to reunite with coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer was Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator for Iloka’s first two seasons before Zimmer went to Minnesota in 2014. When Iloka became a starter in 2013 under Zimmer, the Bengals’ D ranked third in yards allowed per game (305.5) and tied for fifth in points allowed per game (19.1). His relationship with Zimmer nearly led him to sign with the Vikings as a free agent in 2016.
“If I was going there, I was going because of Zim,” Iloka told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press back in ’16. “I know what type of locker room he has there just by the type of coach he is.’’
The Vikings missed out on Iloka, but they did manage to re-sign strong safety Andrew Sendejo to a reasonably priced four-year, $16MM deal. Now, Iloka may take Sendejo’s place in the starting lineup.
This has been a tremendous offseason for the Vikings’ defense, and the team as a whole. In the last six moths, the club has signed quarterback Kirk Cousins, defensive lineman Sheldon Richardon, and now Iloka. They’ve also managed to extend key players such as defensive end Danielle Hunter, linebacker Eric Kendricks, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The last major item on the agenda is an extension with linebacker Anthony Barr, who says he badly wants to stay with the Vikings beyond the final year of his current deal.
Iloka has 76 career starts to his credit with nine career interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Victor Cruz Announces Retirement
Victor Cruz is officially hanging up his cleats. On Tuesday, Cruz announced that he is retiring from the NFL in order to begin his broadcasting career. 
“I’m excited to close down and open a new chapter and join the media world at ESPN,” Cruz said (video link). “I’m excited for the future, I’m excited for the next chapter, I’m excited for you all to be a part of this with me, and here we go.”
Cruz, 32 in November, inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Bears last offseason. The deal included a a $500K signing bonus, but that guarantee didn’t stop the Bears from cutting him just before the start of the season. Cruz later lobbied the Giants to re-sign him after they lost Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Dwayne Harris, and Sterling Shepard to injury, but the G-Men never reciprocated interest in a reunion. As recently as May, Cruz expressed interest in continuing his NFL career.
Cruz will be fondly remembered for his best years with the Giants. From 2011 through 2013, Cruz averaged 80 receptions 1,209 yards, and averaged eight end zone salsa dances per season. Unfortunately, injuries hampered and ultimately ended his career, but Cruz’s bold personality should suit him well on the airwaves.
Ravens CB Jimmy Smith Facing Suspension
The Ravens are preparing for cornerback Jimmy Smith to receive a multi-game suspension for violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, sources tell Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. The 30-year-old is appealing the punishment, and after leaving the team this weekend, he isn’t expected to play during Monday’s game against the Colts. The organization had known about the impending suspension for some time, and Smith was set to meet with league officials today.
Specifics of Smith’s violation aren’t clear, but Zrebiec reports that the league had been monitoring a child custody case between the player and his first child’s mother. Last year, the woman had accused Smith of domestic violence and drug use, allegations that the cornerback denied.
The seven-year veteran has missed plenty of time since entering the league, and his 2017 campaign ended with a torn Achilles’ tendon. The NFL suspended Smith soon after for performance-enhancing drugs. The cornerback was banned for four games, but he was allowed to serve the suspension while he recovered from his injury. The cornerback ultimately finished the campaign having compiled 28 tackles, nine passes defended, and three interceptions.
The Ravens had worked out cornerback Bashaud Breeland back in July, and they could reconsider signing the free agent if Smith is indeed suspended. The Ravens could also roll with their current crop of cornerbacks, a grouping that includes Brandon Carr, former first-rounder Marlon Humphrey, and rookie fourth-rounder Anthony Averett.
Redskins To Sign Adrian Peterson
The Redskins have agreed to sign running back Adrian Peterson to a one-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Peterson auditioned for the Redskins on Monday morning and it did not take long for a deal to come together. 
Peterson will provide the Redskins with another option in the wake of several running back injuries. The Redskins have lost presumptive starter Derrius Guice to a torn ACL and there are questions about the readyness of Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall for Week 1. The addition of Peterson gives the ‘Skins four healthy backs as he joins Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, and Kapri Bibbs on the practice field.
For all of his star power and past accomplishments, it’s hard to say exactly what the Redskins are getting in Peterson. Last year, Peterson averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 156 rushes between the Saints and Cardinals. While there were flashes of greatness, including two 130-yard games, the Redskins will look for Peterson to prove himself between now and the season opener.
It should be noted that Peterson, 33, has a track record of proving doubters wrong. After missing the majority of the 2014 season, Peterson came roaring back in 2015 to post a league-leading 1,485 yards with 11 rushing TDs.
The Redskins have now become Peterson’s fourth NFL team across 12 NFL seasons. This may be an opportunity for Peterson to further his place in the history books. With four more rushing yards, he’ll pass Marshall Faulk for eleventh on the all-time list. With 37 more, he’ll leapfrog Jim Brown, putting him in the top ten.
Before signing Peterson, the Redskins also worked out fellow running backs Orleans Darkwa and Jamaal Charles. It’s unlikely that the Redskins will sign either player, though deals have not explicitly been ruled out in either case.
Broncos To Cut OL Menelik Watson
The Broncos will release offensive lineman Menelik Watson, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos will be left on the hook for his $5.5MM guarantee. 
Technically, Watson will first be placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Then, when he’s healthy, he’ll be released and permitted to sign with any team. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that Watson’s pec strain should be cleared up in a couple of weeks, so it sounds like he’ll be able to catch on with another team before the season begins.
Watson came to Denver on a three-year, $18.75MM contract last year. Although he is talented, injuries have plagued him throughout his career. Last year, a foot injury shut Watson down in November, meaning that he has missed 48 career games out of 80 possible appearances for the Raiders and Broncos. The former second round pick has yet to play in more than 12 games in any given campaign.
This year, the Broncos were giving some thought to moving Watson from right tackle to guard, but they bailed on that experiment with a few weeks to go before the start of the season. Instead, the Broncos will start Ronald Leary and Connor McGovern at the guard spots with the likes of Max Garcia and Billy Turner in support. Tackle Cyrus Kouandjio and center Sam Jones may also be asked to play guard, if necessary.
Redskins To Host Adrian Peterson
The Redskins will host free agent running back Adrian Peterson on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Washington is in serious need of backfield depth, especially after losing presumptive starter Derrius Guice to a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Samaje Perine is expected to miss at least a week with an ankle injury, and Byron Marshall could be sidelined for a month with his own ankle issue. The Redskins also waived/injured running back Martez Carter earlier today, leaving them with Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, and Kapri Bibbs as their only health backs.
Guice was expected to handle early-down work for the Redskins, and that’s a role Peterson can conceivably still handle. However, the 2017 campaign wasn’t Peterson’s finest, as he averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 156 rushes between the Saints and Cardinals. That was the second-lowest figure league-wide among backs with at least 150 carries, while Peterson also finished 46th among 47 RBs in Football Outsiders’ DVOA, meaning he wasn’t efficient on a per-play basis.
At his best, of course, Peterson is a Hall of Fame-caliber player, and he managed more than 1,400 yards on the ground as recently as 2015. His pass-game deficiencies aside, Peterson could give Washington a Guice replacement, one capable of handling running downs before ceding to Thompson on passing plays.
The Redskins worked out fellow running backs Orleans Darkwa and Jamaal Charles on Sunday, but it doesn’t appear Washington is in a hurry to sign either player, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Bengals To Release George Iloka
In a very surprising move, the Bengals are releasing veteran safety George Iloka, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Rapoport adds that the decision is a purely financial one, as Iloka has started every game he has played since 2013. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network confirms as much, pointing out that Iloka was due $5.3MM in base salary and roster bonuses this season (Twitter link). The Bengals will absorb a dead money hit of $2.1MM but will save $4.1MM against the cap in the process.
Garafolo adds that he expects Iloka to have a new job soon, and plenty of writers are already speculating that the Cowboys could be a fit. Others, however, are more skeptical. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, for instance, notes that all of Iloka’s former coordinators/positional coaches are now with teams who are set at safety, and given the abysmal market for free agent safeties this offseason, Barnwell believes a modest one-year deal could be in the cards for Iloka (Twitter link).
As Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets, the Bengals have frequently spoken this offseason about their desire to trim payroll and about their safety depth. With Iloka gone, it appears that impressive rookie Jessie Bates III, the No. 54 overall pick in this year’s draft, will become the team’s starting free safety.
Iloka, a 2012 fifth-round choice out of Boise State, played in seven games during his rookie campaign but has been a fixture in the Bengals’ starting lineup ever since. He has been quite durable as well, as he has played in 76 of a possible 80 regular season games and all three of the team’s playoff contests since 2013. He made the move from strong safety to free safety in 2016, and while he has not been much of a play-maker at either position — he has nine interceptions and zero sacks in his career — he is a solid overall player who would be an upgrade for a number of teams. He signed a five-year, $30MM pact with Cincinnati in March 2016 after a very good 2015 campaign.
Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com, though, writes that Iloka’s on-field play did factor into his release, as Cincinnati was apparently unhappy with how he performed last season. He will have a chance to prove them wrong on another club.
Chiefs Sign Orlando Scandrick
After meeting with him last Tuesday, the Chiefs have signed cornerback Orlando Scandrick, as the team officially announced this morning. ESPN’s Field Yates was the first to report (Twitter link) that Kansas City was set to sign Scandrick, and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets that it will be a one-year, $1.5MM deal for the veteran DB.
Scandrick, who spent the first 10 years of his professional career with the Cowboys after Dallas selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, signed a two-year pact with the Redskins back in March. Washington, however, made the somewhat surprising move to cut Scandrick last week, putting him back on the open market.
Although Pro Football Focus painted Scandrick as one of the 15 worst qualified cornerbacks in the NFL in 2017 — and the advanced metrics have not been kind to him since 2014 — Redskins head coach Jay Gruden indicated that the Boise State product was not released because of poor performance during his brief time in Washington. Gruden said, “It has nothing to do with his play. It was really the emergence of the rookies and [we] wanted Orlando to latch on to another team.”
Financially, Scandrick’s release has not worked out well for him. His two-year deal with the Redskins was worth $7MM and could have climbed to $9-10MM if he had hit certain incentives, but he collected only his $1MM signing bonus with Washington before being let go and will earn just $1.5MM with Kansas City this year.
Nonetheless, Scandrick should see a fair amount of playing time. The Chiefs project to use newcomers Kendall Fuller and David Amerson as their top corners, but Scandrick will otherwise be battling for snaps with players like Steven Nelson and Will Redmond.
Kansas City was one of the clubs in the market for Bashaud Breeland, but the Scandrick acquisition likely means that Breeland will not be signing with the Chiefs.
Hunter Henry Could Return In 2018?
Chargers tight end Hunter Henry is now three months removed from undergoing surgery for a torn ACL, and there is reportedly a “glimmer of hope” the third-year pro could return during the 2018 campaign, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
Most ACL injuries require a minimum nine-month recover period, a timeline which should have ruled out Henry for the regular season. But Henry has been moving well during Los Angeles’ training camp, per Williams, who adds Henry “doesn’t look like someone who believes [his] season is over.”
The Chargers will almost surely place Henry on injured reserve during roster cutdowns in September, but there’s a chance he could be designated as an IR/return player. (A player with that designation must be carried through to his club’s respective initial 53-man roster before being moved to IR.) Henry would be able to play after missing Los Angeles’ first eight games, meaning he could return on November 11, just shy of six months after his ACL surgery.
At that point, the Chargers’ team record and standing within the AFC West would likely play a role in their decision on Henry. If Los Angeles isn’t in contention, it won’t risk Henry’s health in a lost season. As Williams notes, the Chargers must take into account the 23-year-old Henry’s long-term outlook with the club, not just his potential 2018 impact.
Without Henry available, the Chargers will begin the season with Virgil Green as their top tight end, while Sean Culkin, Braedon Bowman, Je’Ron Hamm, Cole Hunt, and Ben Johnson are also on the roster. However, Los Angeles is still negotiating with franchise icon Antonio Gates, who reportedly won’t play for any team besides the Chargers.