Bengals Trade Bene Benwikere To Cowboys
Bene Benwikere will find himself on a fifth team in the past 11 months after the Bengals and Cowboys agreed to a trade. Dallas will acquire the fourth-year cornerback for a late-round pick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Bengals signed Benwikere on a league-minimum deal in February. The former Panthers contributor hasn’t played in a game since Carolina cut him after a rough outing against the Falcons early last season.
Benwikere spent time as a UFA after stints with the Dolphins and Packers last season. The former Carolina starter received interest when on waivers last season, but the Cowboys were not one of the teams who put in a claim for the corner. Benwikere started 14 games with the Panthers from 2014-16 but was not part of their Super Bowl 50 effort, suffering an injury late in the 2015 season.
The Cowboys drafted three corners — Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Marquez White — and signed Nolan Carroll. Benwikere could provide some experience as a reserve to a Dallas roster that lost Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne in free agency.
Titans To Place Tajae Sharpe On IR
The Titans’ revamped receiving corps may not include second-year talent Tajae Sharpe. The team will place Sharpe on IR, according to Jason Wolfe of the Tennesseean.
A 10-game starter for the Titans last season, Sharpe suffered a stress fracture in his foot this offseason and underwent surgery. Although he returned to play in two Tennessee preseason games after spending much of the exhibition slate on the PUP list, Sharpe re-aggravated the injury and will spend time on IR.
Because he was placed on injured reserve before initial rosters were set, Sharpe isn’t eligible to return later this year. The 2016 fifth-round pick caught 41 passes for 522 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie but saw the team add Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor and Eric Decker this offseason to make his role uncertain.
Steelers Trade Sammie Coates To Browns
Joe Haden won’t be the only AFC North player to see his old team when the Steelers and Browns convene in Cleveland come Week 1. Sammie Coates will be a part of the Browns in that contest after the Steelers traded him to Cleveland on Saturday, the team announced.
The Steelers shipped the wide receiver to the Browns in exchange for a 2018 sixth-round selection. Cleveland will also receive Pittsburgh’s 2019 seventh-round pick.
Coates was jockeying for position among a crowded Pittsburgh receiving corps, one that again has the services of Martavis Bryant. He, second-rounder JuJu Smith-Schuster and Eli Rogers comprise the Steelers’ top Antonio Brown complements.
Coates will see his tenure in western Pennsylvania conclude early after two underwhelming seasons.
The 6-foot-2 deep threat mostly observed as a rookie behind a Brown-, Bryant-, and Markus Wheaton-fronted Steelers receiving attack. But last season with Bryant suspended and Wheaton mostly sidelined, Bryant played in 14 games and started five. However, after a midseason spurt of productivity, the former Auburn talent struggled due partially to a broken finger. The 24-year-old Coates finished his Steelers run with just 22 receptions.
He figures to receive a better chance to play in Cleveland. The Browns have an opening behind Kenny Britt and Corey Coleman. Their five-wideout draft class of 2016 hasn’t produced a surefire second contributor behind Coleman, so Coates figures to compete with the Browns’ incumbents for work off the bench.
Redskins To Cut Matt Jones
The drawn-out Redskins/Matt Jones saga appears to have ended. The franchise informed the running back he’ll be waived today, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Jones fell out of favor with the team early during his second season and found himself on the trade block, having fallen behind Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine on Washington’s depth chart. He’ll venture onto waivers after the Redskins were evidently unwilling to find a trade partner, one they were reportedly searching for as far back as the 2016 trade deadline.
The former Florida running back’s former agent lobbied for a release in June, and Jones then switched representation to Drew Rosenhaus. Being a former third-round pick whose yards-per-carry average spiked by more than a yard to 4.6 per tote last season, Jones figures to draw interest on the waiver wire.
Washington benched Jones midseason, however, after using him as a starter in seven games. He nearly outdid his 2015 production (490 yards) despite playing in six fewer contests. But the team clearly soured on the former well-regarded investment. Jones’ improved per-carry numbers notwithstanding, he’s fumbled eight times over the past two seasons.
Texans Release Nick Novak
Despite reaching an agreement to re-sign Nick Novak in March, the Texans will move on from the veteran kicker. Houston released Novak on Saturday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.
Novak kicked for the Texans for both of their past two AFC South-winning teams, but it appears the franchise will opt for second-year specialist Ka’imi Fairbairn. The Texans signed Fairbairn as a UDFA out of UCLA in 2016, but Novak won last summer’s kicking competition. A year later, the 23-year-old Fairbairn looks to have prevailed in the rematch after spending a season on IR.
The 36-year-old Novak signed a one-year, $1.15MM deal with a $250K signing bonus. The former longtime Chargers kicker hit 85.4 percent of his attempts last season, a tick above his career average.
Novak figures to receive interest in free agency after being a regular kicker for the past six seasons.
Broncos To Release T.J. Ward
The Broncos will release safety T.J. Ward, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Denver had been expected to cut Ward if it couldn’t find a trade partner.
Ward, 30, had been entering the final year of his contract, which would’ve paid him $4.5MM in base salary. While none of that total was guaranteed, the Broncos will still absorb $1.25MM in dead money as a result of Ward’s signing bonus proration accelerating onto their salary cap.
Ward started 41 games over three seasons in Denver after inking a four-year deal with the club prior to the 2014 season. Last season, he made 14 appearances, totaling one interception and one sack while ranking as the NFL’s No. 48 safety, per Pro Football Focus. Ward’s 75.9 grade was the worst mark of his career.
With Ward out of the picture, the Broncos will turn to Justin Simmons to start at safety opposite Darian Stewart. Simmons was a third-round pick in 2016 and made three starts during his rookie campaign.
Bears Waive Roberto Aguayo
The Bears have waived kicker Roberto Aguayo, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Veteran Connor Barth will be Chicago’s kicker in 2017.
Aguayo joined the Bears last month after Chicago made the curious decision to claim the former second-round pick off waivers from the Buccaneers. While giving a young kicker an opportunity wasn’t a bad idea on its face, the Bears took on Aguayo’s $428K salary guarantee, a total they’ll now be forced to absorb as dead money.
Aguayo, of course, posted subpar numbers in 2016 after being drafted in the second round, making only 22-of-31 field goal attempts (71%) and missing two extra points. That performance, combined with his struggles in camp and the preseason, was enough for Tampa Bay to thrown in the towel, despite having traded up in the draft to select him a year ago.
Vikings To Acquire Tramaine Brock
The Vikings are set to acquire cornerback Tramaine Brock from the Seahawks, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Minnesota will send a seventh-round pick to Seattle, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, and it’ll be a conditional selection in 2018, per Shawn Zobel of Zobel Sports Consulting (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN) and Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
This continues an action-packed 2017 for Brock, who will join his third team of the year when the trade goes through. The 49ers released Brock in April on the heels of a domestic violence arrest, one that led to a felony charge, but the case was dismissed Aug. 9. As many as 12 teams – including the Vikings – then courted Brock, who joined the Seahawks on a $980K deal on Aug. 16. Seattle acquired fellow cornerback Justin Coleman from the Patriots on Friday, helping to make Brock expendable in the team’s eyes.
While Brock’s off-field incident damaged his stock, he has been a superb on-field performer at times during his seven-year career. As such, this looks like a worthwhile move for the Vikings, who were in need of a quality complement to No. 1 corner Xavier Rhodes. Brock will serve as one if he continues to post production along the lines of his recent output. The 29-year-old started in all 31 appearances from 2015-16, including each of the the 49ers’ 16 games last season, and has combined for nine interceptions since 2013. He picked off one pass in 2016, finished second among 49ers defenders in snaps (1,102) and graded a respectable 21st in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified corners (Rhodes was 29th).
NFL Suspends Saints WR Willie Snead
The NFL has suspended Willie Snead for the first three games of the season, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Snead’s ban is for a personal conduct violation that stemmed from an off-season DUI, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He was booked by police in Kenner. La., on June 11 after he struck another vehicle and registered a blood alcohol content level of .125, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (on Twitter). Snead was initially suspended for four games, but he had it reduced to three games following a successful (and quiet) appeal. 
The suspension is a big blow for the Saints as Snead was being counted on as one of Drew Brees‘ top targets to open the season. The team will have to lean more on supporting receivers Ted Ginn and Brandon Coleman as well as tight end Coby Fleener until they get Snead back in October. Of course, the Saints no longer have the services of Brandin Cooks after trading him to New England earlier this year.
Snead and the Saints were said to be working on a long-term deal this summer, but he wound up signing his exclusive rights free agent tender in July instead. The DUI may or may not have had something to do with the talks breaking down.
Snead, a former undrafted free agent out of Ball State, has established himself as one of Drew Brees‘ top targets over the past two seasons. Between the last two campaigns, the 24-year-old has appeared in 30 games (12 starts) and compiled 141 receptions for 1,879 yards and seven touchdowns.
Bears Release Victor Cruz
The Bears have released wide receiver Victor Cruz, Josina Anderson of ESPN tweets.
This is the latest setback in the career of Cruz, a former star who has dealt with significant injury issues in recent years. Cruz suffered a knee injury during the Bears’ preseason finale on Thursday and will undergo an MRI, per Anderson (on Twitter).
A longtime Giant, Cruz played just six games from 2014-15, and while he bounced back last year to appear in all but one of Big Blue’s contests, he only one caught 39 passes and one touchdown. At his best, Cruz combined for between 73 and 86 receptions in each season from 2011-13, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2012.
The 30-year-old Cruz joined the Bears in May on a deal worth up to $4MM. Chicago will save $1.97MM of Cruz’s $2.47MM cap hit, but it’s even thinner at receiver after losing Cameron Meredith to a season-ending injury last week. The Bears are now down to Kevin White, a 2015 first-rounder who has battled injuries during his short career, Markus Wheaton and Josh Bellamy, among others, at the position.