Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/20
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns:
- Signed: CB Donovan Olumba
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: LB Joseph Jones
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: RB Rod Smith
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt
Details On Raiders’ Pursuit Of Tom Brady, Quarterback Situation
Tom Brady is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer now and that’s settled, but we’re starting to learn more about the process that ended in him landing there. It’s been reported that the Chargers and Buccaneers were the only two teams to make concrete offers, and that Brady also had the option of returning to New England. But while some have said the Raiders were never that serious in their pursuit, Las Vegas was indeed “sniffing around Brady as late as this week,” sources told Vic Tafur of The Athletic.
While Tafur acknowledges that the Raiders never made an official offer to Brady, he writes that “some ballpark numbers were made known to him at some point.” Tafur also reports that the Raiders weren’t willing to spend the $50MM guaranteed the Bucs ended up giving over two years as the “game film the last two years just didn’t warrant that in the Raiders’ minds.”
Had Brady signaled to the Raiders that they were a “serious finalist,” they would’ve started shopping Derek Carr, Tafur writes. But while they were interested in adding the legendary Brady, that doesn’t mean they aren’t satisfied with Carr. Tafur writes that the team won’t be pursuing another veteran, and they won’t be making a surprise trade up in the draft to take a quarterback early.
Of course, the Raiders ended up signing Marcus Mariota in free agency, but Tafur doesn’t view him as a serious threat to Carr’s job. Instead he writes that many in the organization feel Carr deserves a third year in Jon Gruden’s system. Carr’s numbers certainly got better in his second year under Gruden, but the offense as a whole wasn’t great and Carr once again received a ton of criticism for being too risk-averse.
Carr and Gruden clashed on the sidelines a number of times and while they both downplayed the incidents, both Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock hedged instead of committing to him this offseason. Tafur no longer thinks the Raiders are considering Utah State’s Jordan Love with either of their first-round picks, so it sounds like Carr will be entering 2020 as the starter no matter what. How long his leash will be is an entirely different question.
Raiders To Add TE Nick O’Leary
The Raiders have agreed to terms with a second tight end this week. Days after their Jason Witten commitment, the Raiders are signing Nick O’Leary, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link).
Tight ends currently on the Raider roster: Darren Waller, Witten, Derek Carrier, Foster Moreau and now O’Leary. It would appear Carrier’s roster spot is in jeopardy.
O’Leary spent last season with the Jaguars and Dolphins. Initially a 2015 fifth-round pick, O’Leary spent three seasons with the Bills. He topped out with 22 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns on the 2017 Bills but spent the 2018 season on Adam Gase‘s final Dolphins squad.
While O’Leary is not a prolific receiver, he will certainly not be asked to do that much in Las Vegas given the Waller-Witten tandem’s presence. O’Leary graded as the NFL’s best tight end in a somewhat obscure skill last year, however. He rated as significantly ahead of the next-closest player in pass protection among tight ends. He played 320 snaps with Miami and Jacksonville in 2019.
Raiders To Add WR Nelson Agholor
The Raiders continue to make additions in the opening days of free agency, and they will add a wide receiver who played a key role for a Super Bowl champion.
Nelson Agholor and the Raiders agreed to a deal, Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group tweets. The former first-round pick played out his five-year rookie contract with the Eagles and will follow Jason Witten in moving from the NFC East to the Raiders’ first Las Vegas pass-catching contingent. Agholor’s pact is for one year, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
This marks an interesting move for Las Vegas, which has been linked to high-end free agent wideout Robby Anderson and has been deficient at the position since Antonio Brown‘s drama tour involved a release from Oakland. Agholor was inconsistent during his Eagles tenure, but the former first-round pick proved essential during Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII march.
The USC product surpassed 700 yards in both the 2017 and ’18 seasons, helping Carson Wentz emerge as one of the game’s most promising young players. Working mostly as a slot target in Philly, Agholor combined for 12 touchdown grabs in those seasons. He caught a game-high nine passes for 84 yards in the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory.
However, Agholor failed to eclipse 400 yards in his other three seasons and is coming off a 2019 slate marred by a knee injury. The ailment kept Agholor out of Philadelphia’s first-round playoff game, but he caught just 39 passes for 363 yards in 10 games last season. As a result of the down campaign, the 2020 season will double as a value-reviving opportunity for the once-coveted prospect.
The Raiders picked up Tyrell Williams‘ 2020 option and have Hunter Renfrow established as their slot receiver. Former second-round pick Zay Jones also remains on Las Vegas’ roster. The Raiders still figure to make a splashier addition to their receiving corps this offseason, but Agholor profiles as an interesting flier.
Raiders Sign OL Eric Kush
Eric Kush is joining the eighth team of his career. The veteran offensive lineman is joining the Raiders, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
After inking a two-year deal with the Browns last offseason, Kush was cut by the team this past February. During his lone season in Cleveland, the 30-year-old appeared in a career-high 16 games, including seven starts.
Kush was with the Bears between the 2016 and 2018 seasons, including a 2017 campaign that was wiped out by a torn hamstring. The lineman has also spent time with the Rams, Texans, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Chiefs.
Chris Harris Turned Down Raiders Offer
- Veteran cornerback Chris Harris says he turned down a three-year offer from the Raiders before inking a two-year, $20MM deal with the Chargers, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Per Harris, he simply didn’t feel “comfortable” with the Raiders, and preferred to join a Chargers defense that already includes stalwarts like Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Casey Hayward, and Derwin James. Harris, 30, also attracted interest from teams like the Saints, Jets, Eagles, and says he picked up “tons” of one-year offers before deciding on Los Angeles.
Raiders Decline Option To Play 2020 Season In Oakland
An option existed for the Raiders to play a fourth lame-duck season in Oakland, in the event their Las Vegas stadium was not ready on time. But the Raiders will not take it, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
The COVID-19 pandemic has injected uncertainty into the Raiders’ stadium situation, but they notified officials in Oakland they will not exercise an option to play at the Oakland Coliseum in 2020. The Raiders still plan to play in Las Vegas; 2020 has served as their relocation window for years.
As for the stadium construction amid this health crisis, Dubow adds that the project remains ongoing. Nevada has shut down numerous businesses, and casinos have been temporarily closing. But the stadium project has been deemed “essential” and is continuing as scheduled. The $1.9 billion domed stadium remains scheduled to open this summer.
The Raiders received approval to relocate in 2017 but played the 2017, ’18 and ’19 seasons in Oakland. UNLV’s current home venue — Sam Boyd Stadium — was deemed a non-starter as a temporary Raiders site years ago. Mark Davis also did not give serious consideration to sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, so it appears, for the time being, the Raiders will power through this coronavirus pandemic in an effort to have their stadium ready.
Chris Harris To Sign With Chargers
Another key domino will fall, and the Chargers now have another key commitment from a veteran. Chris Harris will sign with the Bolts, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. 
The Harris sweepstakes included numerous teams. The Eagles and Saints joined the fray later in the process, but Harris will defect from his nine-year post as one of the Broncos’ best players to join another AFC West team. Harris follows the likes of Trai Turner, Bryan Bulaga and Linval Joseph as experienced cogs headed to Los Angeles.
The path for Harris to join the Chargers was cleared earlier today when the team decided to roll with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback and put their cash elsewhere. Harris is set to earn $20MM over two years, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.
Harris, 31 in June, has spent all nine of his NFL seasons to date with the Broncos. In the past, the Broncos have made an effort to keep him, though their offer of a $12MM/year deal before the 2019 trade deadline fell short. Reportedly, that offer included only one guaranteed season. Even though he didn’t play up to his usual standards in 2019, Harris set out to find something better.
“I didn’t really do what I’ve done in the past,” Harris said recently. “I (previously) played everywhere on the field on the defensive side, getting everybody lined up, telling them what’s about to happen and things like that. But when really, when you just have me at corner, I’m just playing corner. I’m not doing everything that I’m doing on the football field.”
The Chargers weren’t the AFC West rival to chase Harris. The Raiders also made a play for him, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears (via Twitter), but he did not want to play for them.
Raiders Agree To Terms With CB Eli Apple
The Raiders continue to spend money revamping their defense. Las Vegas has agreed to terms with free agent cornerback Eli Apple, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have been handing out big contracts left and right to defenders, already signing defensive end Carl Nassib, linebacker Cory Littleton, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and safety Jeff Heath. We also heard that the Raiders offered more money for corner Byron Jones than the Dolphins did before Miami signed him to his record-breaking contract, so they’ve certainly been bold.
The Raiders have been low on talent on that side of the ball during Gruden’s first two years back coaching the team, but this flurry of activity is still wild. They’ve now essentially added a player at every defensive position, and Paul Guenther’s unit is going to look entirely different when they take the field at their new stadium for the first time.
Apple was drafted tenth overall by the Giants back in 2016, and things didn’t go smoothly in New York. Although he flashed talent his tenure there was strained from the start, and he frequently clashed with teammates and coaches over a perceived lack of effort on his end. Eventually he was traded to the Saints for fourth and seventh-round picks midway through the 2018 campaign.
The change of scenery seemed to do him some good, and he developed into a somewhat consistent starter opposite Marshon Lattimore in New Orleans. Apple was only 20 when he was drafted and is still only 24, so he should have more room to grow. He’ll now be a key piece of a very young and intriguing Raiders secondary that includes last year’s early picks Trayvon Mullen and Johnathan Abram.
Contract Details: Nassib, Alonso, Jefferson
Some more contract details from around the league:
- DE Carl Nassib, Raiders: signed. Three-year, $25MM deal with $17MM guaranteed, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The deal has a max value of $28MM.
- LB Kiko Alonso, Saints: restructured contract. Base salary reduced from $6.4MM to $1.7MM, $4.7MM available in incentives. Already has $1.45MM roster bonus, meaning he can still hit his previous $7.85MM total via playing-time bonuses. All notes via ESPN’s Mike Triplett on Twitter.
- DE Quinton Jefferson, Bills: two-year deal. Contract worth $13.5MM total, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Twitter.
- FB Derek Watt, Steelers: signed. Three-year deal worth $9.75MM, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on Twitter.
- LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dolphins: one-year deal. Contract worth $3MM, including $2MM signing bonus, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Twitter. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that there’s up to $500K in playing time incentives.