Raiders Sign S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix To Practice Squad
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has found his next gig. After getting cut by the 49ers earlier this month, the veteran safety has signed with the Raiders practice squad.
Clinton-Dix found himself without much of a market during the 2020 offseason, but he ultimately got a one-year, $3.75MM deal from the Cowboys. He didn’t even make it to the regular season with his new club, and he remained unsigned for the entire campaign. The veteran had a handful of workouts this offseason before signing with San Francisco, but the 49ers sent him packing at the end of the preseason.
Still only 28, Clinton-Dix has more starting experience than most players on the market. The safety started 16 games as recently as 2019 with the Bears, when he finished with 78 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Clinton-Dix spent most of his career with the Packers, including a 2016 season where he collected 80 tackles and five interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
The veteran will now sit on the Raiders practice squad, but he could find himself on the active roster if one of the team’s current options suffer an injury.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/21
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed to active roster: WR Alex Erickson
- Placed on IR: S Myles Hartsfield
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: WR Michael Gallup (story)
- Activated from Reserve/COVID list: OT Brandon Knight, G Zack Martin
- Placed on Reserve/COVID list: DE Randy Gregory
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: RB Trey Ragas
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: DL Montravius Adams
- Waived: DB Jordan Miller
- Activated: DB CB Bradley Roby
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: DT T.Y. McGill
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on IR: DB Sean Murphy-Bunting (story), LS Zach Triner
- Promoted: S Andrew Adams
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: DB Bradley McDougald, TE MyCole Pruitt
- Waived: K Michael Badgley, TE Tommy Hudson
Raiders Notes: Ruggs, Key, Joyner
The Raiders will kick off their regular season on Monday Night Football against the Ravens tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s round up a few recent items on the Silver-and-Black:
- The 2020 wide receiver draft class was absolutely loaded, and plenty of pundits believed Jerry Jeudy was the cream of the crop. Although no WR had been selected by the time the Raiders were on the board with the No. 12 overall pick, Las Vegas ultimately chose Henry Ruggs over Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb. As Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes, there were Jeudy supporters in the Raiders’ war room, but head coach Jon Gruden wanted his own version of Tyreek Hill, and he saw Ruggs as a player who fit that bill.
- The Raiders selected DE Arden Key, who was once believed to be a first-round talent, in the third round of the 2018 draft. But the LSU product posted just three sacks in three seasons, and Vegas deemed him surplus to requirements in April. He was quickly scooped up by the 49ers, and he did not mince words when asked about his time with the Raiders. “To be honest, I wanted to get out of there,” Key said (via Jacob Hutchinson of KNBR.com). “I been wanting to get out of there. I wasn’t surprised. I was more happy than surprised. I wish it happened a little earlier but, hey, I got what I wanted and I’m good.” Key went on to say that the Raiders’ defensive scheme was a poor fit for him, and while he did not explicitly say so, it seems he is happy to be away from Gruden.
- Count Lamarcus Joyner as another ex-Raider who is happy to be away from the club. The Raiders deployed Joyner — who primarily played safety with the Rams before signing a big-money free agent contract with Vegas — as a nickelback over the past several seasons, and he struggled in that role. The Raiders released him in March, and he signed with the Jets 10 days later. Gang Green will deploy him as single-high safety, and he is pleased with how things turned out. “I’m pretty sure the whole world knows that (I’m happy to be away from the Raiders),” he said. “I made that known. I’m so happy it’s over and I’m here with coach [Robert] Saleh right now” (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). Joyner was clear that he didn’t have an issue with Gruden personally.
Raiders Host RB Kerryon Johnson
The Raiders are apparently serious about looking for veteran running back help. We heard yesterday that Las Vegas brought in free agent rusher D’Onta Foreman, and he apparently wasn’t the only one.
The Raiders also hosted Kerryon Johnson yesterday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. It’s the first we’ve heard of Johnson since he was cut by the Eagles with an injury settlement back on August 26th. The 43rd overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Lions, Johnson’s stock has dropped sharply the past couple years. He shined as a rookie, carrying the ball 118 times for 641 yards (5.4 YPC) in 10 games while adding 32 catches.
He was Detroit’s starter in 2019, but missed eight games due to injury. After undergoing knee surgery he quickly fell out of favor with the team, and was buried behind D’Andre Swift on the depth chart. He played in all 16 games in 2020, but got only 52 carries. Waived back in May, he was promptly claimed off waivers by Philly.
He then got hurt in camp with the Eagles, and found himself cut once again. Johnson only turned 24 in June, so he shouldn’t be out of chances by now. The Raiders are a bit thin in their backfield with Jalen Richard on injured reserve, which explains their interest.
Contract Restructures: Graham, Nassib, Ryan
With the start of Week 1 quickly approaching, NFL front offices are still finding ways to open some cap space. A handful of players restructured their contracts today, and we’ve compiled some of the notable transactions below:
- TE Jimmy Graham, Bears: Converted $5.825MM of salary into signing bonus, opening $4.66MM in cap space while also adding four voidable years to contract (via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter). The veteran inked a two-year, $16MM deal with the Bears prior to last season, and he finished his first season in Chicago with 50 receptions for 456 yards and eight touchdowns.
- DE Carl Nassib, Raiders: Converted $2.51MM of salary into a signing bonus, opening $2.008MM in cap space (via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter). Nassib inked a three-year, $25MM deal (including $16.75MM guaranteed) with the Raiders last offseason. The 28-year-old got into 14 games (five starts) during his first season in Las Vegas, finishing with 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine QB hits.
- DB Logan Ryan, Giants: Converted “most of the base salary” into signing bonus (per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter). The veteran was set to earn around $5.5MM this upcoming season. After inking a one-year deal with the Giants last offseason, Ryan signed a three-year, $31MM extension (with $20MM guaranteed) in December. After switching from cornerback to safety, Ryan finished his first season in New York with 94 tackles, three forced fumbles, nine passes defended, and one interception.
- OT Duane Brown, Seahawks: Converted $7MM of base salary into signing bonus, saving the team $3.5MM in cap space. After skipping training camp in pursuit of an extension, we learned earlier today that the veteran lineman got an extra year tacked onto his contract. Indeed, as veteran reporter John Clayton points out, Brown got an extra year “with an injury protection benefit for 2022.”
Seahawks To Add Tanner Muse To P-Squad
Former Raiders linebacker Tanner Muse cleared waivers and selected a new home shortly after. The Seahawks are signing the former third-round pick to their practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Caught in a sudden roster crunch, after the Raiders both traded for Denzel Perryman and signed K.J. Wright, Muse will receive another opportunity in Wright’s old stomping grounds. The Raiders did make an attempt to keep Muse via practice squad invite, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter), but the young defender opted for Seattle’s offer.
This stands to be Muse’s first healthy NFL season. He missed all of his rookie year due to a toe injury. One of a few Raiders draft picks from Clemson, Muse intercepted four passes during his senior season with the Tigers and saw regular time for the ACC powerhouse’s previous two outfits.
After playing safety at Clemson, Muse moved to linebacker this offseason. While the Raiders previously had injury-created openings for linebackers during their preseason slate, ex-Gus Bradley charges Perryman and Wright filled them. Acquired during Paul Guenther‘s defensive coordinator stay, Muse ended up being jettisoned to create roster space.
The Seahawks only kept four linebackers on their active roster, giving Muse a potential early chance to contribute as a backup. Cody Barton resides as Seattle’s fourth linebacker, behind starters Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Darrell Taylor. Teams have until Saturday afternoon to set their active 53-man for the week.
Raiders To Host D’Onta Foreman
Released from the Falcons’ practice squad on Friday, D’Onta Foreman is already drawing some new interest. The free agent running back is visiting with the Raiders on Tuesday, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets.
Foreman worked out for Atlanta at the beginning of August, and signed to the team’s practice squad after roster cuts. He lasted just a couple of days on the practice squad before getting the boot. Foreman also had a workout with the Seahawks back in April, his only other publicly reported visit this offseason. Foreman was highly regarded coming out of Texas, and the Texans drafted him 89th overall in 2017.
He flashed potential as a rookie, and was viewed as the future starter in Houston. Unfortunately, midway through his first pro season he tore an Achilles, an injury he struggled to recover from. He started the following year on the PUP list, and only ended up appearing in one game in 2018.
Foreman quickly fell out of favor with the team, with the organization accusing him of having poor work habits, and he was released in 2019. He latched on with the Colts, but then tore a bicep and sat out all of that season.
Signed to the Titans’ practice squad last season, he ended up appearing in six games for Tennessee, rushing 22 times for 95 yards. Jalen Richard was recently placed on injured reserve, which left the Raiders a bit thin at running back. They did just sign Peyton Barber a few days ago, but they still only have three active guys in the backfield for now. Despite being around for a while, Foreman only turned 25 back in April.
Raiders To Waive LB Tanner Muse
The Raiders are waiving linebacker Tanner Muse (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The news comes as a surprise, given that Muse was a third-round pick just last year.
Muse missed his entire rookie season with a toe injury. This summer, he’s seen reps with the first string unit while also working as a special teams player.
The Clemson product was first-team All-ACC in his final year on campus and drew league-wide attention. He registered 73 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, and a team-high four interceptions in 2019, prompting the Raiders to take him No. 100 overall in 2020.
It’s worth nothing that the move has not officially hit the NFL’s transactions wire yet. Given the 6’2″, 230-pounder’s potential, it’s possible that the Raiders could find a trade for Muse before he hits the waiver wire.
In any event, this marks a clear miss for GM Mike Mayock & Co. Muse was one of three Raiders third-round picks in 2020. Now, two of those players are gone — wide receiver Lynn Bowden was shipped to the Dolphins before the start of last season for a fourth-round choice.
Raiders Rework LB Nick Kwiatkoski’s Deal
The Raiders have made multiple moves to bolster their linebacking corps over the past two weeks, trading for Denzel Perryman and signing K.J. Wright. They have also done some contractual maneuvering to help create cap space for these additions.
In addition to freeing up $8MM in cap room by restructuring Yannick Ngakoue‘s recently agreed-upon deal, the Raiders moved past $10MM in new space by reworking Nick Kwiatkoski‘s contract. Las Vegas created $2.31MM in cap space with its latest base salary-to-bonus adjustment, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
This marks the second adjustment to Kwiatkoski’s deal this year. The team made a previous tweak in March, doing so along with its second revision to Cory Littleton‘s contract. Together, the two 2020 linebacker acquisitions’ deals have been redone four times. Kwiatkoski signed a three-year, $21MM pact in March 2020 and started a career-high 12 games last season. The Raiders added void years to the deal in March, creating some cap room, and did a more traditional restructure this week.
While the terms of Wright’s agreement are not in yet, the Raiders’ latest adjustment to the Kwiatkoski contract helped their linebacking corps add an experienced piece. The team now has Wright (140 career starts), Perryman (51), Littleton (51) and Kwiatkoski (34) on its active roster. Nicholas Morrow (29 starts) is on IR to begin the season. But this quintet gives the Raiders, whose defensive struggles followed them to Nevada last year, one of the NFL’s most experienced off-ball linebacker groups.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/21
Here are Friday’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Keelan Doss, LB James Vaughters
- Released: RB D’Onta Foreman
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jalen Camp, CB Antonio Phillips
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Tyler Davis, CB Marvell Tell
- Released: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Tyler Vaughns
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Cortez Broughton, CB Shakur Brown, LB Christian Rozeboom
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Marquel Lee
- Released: LB Max Richardson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: S Antoine Brooks, RB Buddy Howell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Milo Eifler, CB Jamal Perry
- Released: RB Jordan Scarlett
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Ryan Izzo
- Released: G Jake Burton, TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart, OL Brett Heggie, WR Damion Willis
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Tanner Hudson, LB Rashad Smith, CB Dee Virgin, WR Isaiah Zuber
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: G Phil Haynes
Washington Football Team
- Signed: K Eddy Pineiro