Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski Takes Pay Cut
Sebastian Janikowski has in fact taken a pay cut. The Raiders kicker’s salary has gone from $4.05MM to $3MM fully guaranteed, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). As a part of the revised deal, however, Janikowski can make an additional $250K if he sinks 83% of his field goals. 
On late Wednesday night it was reported that Janikowski had resolved his “contractual differences” with the team. Unsurprisingly, that included a bit of a hair cut for the veteran kicker.
The Raiders auditioned kickers Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo, and Marshall Koehn on Labor Day and Lambo in particular was said to have excelled. Meanwhile, Janikowski was missing kicks in practice thanks to his bad back. The Raiders may or may not have been serious about the idea of cutting ties with their longest tenured player, but either way the tryouts gave them the leverage they needed to save some money against the cap.
Last year, Janikowski made 82.9% of his field goals and went 37-of-39 on extra point tries. He has not cleared the 83% mark on field goals since 2014.
Sebastian Janikowski To Stay With Raiders
The longest-tenured Raider in franchise history is not going anywhere. Sebastian Janikowski has “resolved” his “contractual differences” with the team, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears. 
Janikowski’s future with the Raiders seemed uncertain this week when the team asked him to take a pay cut and auditioned other kickers. When he was put up against younger competition, the 39-year-old was said to have struggled, thanks in part to back trouble.
We don’t know for certain, but it sounds like Janikowski agreed to a salary reduction in order to keep his place with the team. The Raiders’ concerns about Janikowski’s performance may have merit, but it would have been terrible PR for the team to cut ties with him in the midst of its relocation to Las Vegas.
For his part, Janikowski says he would like to kick for the Raiders through their move to Las Vegas, which could be as late as the 2020 season. First, he’ll have to make it through the 2017 campaign.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jordan Tripp
- Placed on IR: LaRoy Reynolds
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR: S Chris Prosinski
Detroit Lions
- Released from IR: DB Tramain Jacobs
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Marcus Burley
- Released from IR: WR Wendall Williams
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: LB Nick Dzubnar
Los Angeles Rams
- Released from IR: WR Nelson Spruce
New England Patriots
- Released from IR: DE Corey Vereen
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: T Bryce Harris
New York Giants
- Released from IR: S Duke Ihenacho, S Mykkele Thompson
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Neal Sterling
- Waived: FB Julian Howsare
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: S Erik Harris, LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- Placed on IR: OL Denver Kirkland, S Obi Melifonwu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Placed on IR: DE Alex McCalister, S Tre Sullivan
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DL Will Clarke, LS Garrison Sanborn
- Placed on IR: QB Ryan Griffin
- Waived: DL Channing Ward
Raiders, Sebastian Janikowski At Contract Impasse
The Raiders and 18th-year kicker Sebastian Janikowski are locked in an impasse over his contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, and this matter could be resolved as soon as Tuesday.
Oakland’s brass has asked the 39-year-old specialist to take a pay cut, and thus far, Janikowski has declined, per Schefter. Janikowski is owed $4MM in base salary this season. A small portion of that figure ($238K) becomes guaranteed at 3pm Tuesday, per Schefter (via Twitter), who adds the rest of that salary will be fully guaranteed if Janikowski’s a part of the Oakland roster on Saturday.
This would explain the Raiders bringing in kickers to work out earlier Monday. Oakland auditioned Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo and Marshall Koehn on Labor Day. Should Janikowski stay on the team, it will be his 18th Raiders season. The former first-round pick has played in more games than any player in franchise history.
The Raiders are also concerned about Janikowski’s back injury. The back trouble caused the kicker to look “awful” today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Lambo, in particular, stood out during the workouts, Rapoport reports (on Twitter).
Janikowski has one season remaining on his latest Oakland contract, and the cap figure ($4.41MM) sits only behind the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski among kickers in 2017. One of the strongest-legged kickers in NFL history, Janikowski has one Pro Bowl (2014) on his resume and has made a 63-yard field goal. Playing in 268 career games, the veteran kicker has missed just one contest since the start of the 2002 season.
The former Florida State kicker said earlier this summer he would like to kick for the Raiders through their move to Las Vegas, which could be as late as the 2020 season. He will be 42 by that point. A Janikowski release would surely cause other teams to consider an 11th-hour addition.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/4/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Browns claimed offensive lineman Zach Banner off waivers from the Colts, who cut him despite drafting him in the fourth round this year. Cleveland made room for Banner by placing offensive lineman Rod Johnson on IR. Additionally, the Browns continued their busy offseason regarding secondary turnover by releasing former safety starter Ed Reynolds from IR.
- The Steelers re-signed linebacker Steven Johnson and waived safety Jordan Dangerfield with an injury designation. Johnson initially saw his name appear on Pittsburgh’s cut list Saturday, but the backup will return. Pittsburgh also placed cornerback Cameron Sutton, a rookie third-rounder, on IR.
- Jacquies Smith will move from the PUP list back to the Buccaneers‘ 53-man roster. The team reinstated the defensive end on Monday. A fourth-year player, Smith is expected to be a rotational player in Tampa Bay this season.
- The Dolphins re-signed tackle Sam Young. Miami cut the offensive lineman on Saturday but will keep him around for now. Miami guaranteed Young’s salary, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets, signing Young this week instead of next because an unspecified team wanted him. This will mark Young’s eighth NFL season. The Dolphins signed him to an extension in December.
- Quarterback Jeff Driskel will land on the Bengals‘ IR list. The former 49ers sixth-rounder has yet to play in a game.
- A starter in three games last season, linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin landed on the Jets‘ IR Monday. To replace the third-year player, Gang Green re-signed linebacker Bruce Carter. Now a seventh-year veteran, Carter played a depth role with the Jets last season.
- Wide receiver Chris Matthews re-signed with the Ravens, who made room on their 53-man roster by placing cornerback Maurice Canady on IR.
- The Falcons released defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, who resides on the Commissioner’s Exempt list as a result of misdemeanor charges from 2016. While Hageman is on that list, the Falcons will not have to pay Hageman.
- The Chargers claimed linebacker Hayes Pullard off waivers from the Jaguars. A former Browns seventh-rounder in 2015, Pullard started two games for the 2015 Jags and played in all 16 Jacksonville contests last season.
- Jelani Jenkins was expected to start for the Raiders, but the former Dolphins linebacker found himself on the team’s cut list Saturday. The Raiders, though, reached an injury settlement with the fifth-year linebacker, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (on Twitter). Jenkins suffered a groin injury during the preseason. Oakland also reached an injury settlement with Jaydon Mickens, per Gehlken, who adds Mickens suffered an ankle injury.
- The Seahawks waived cornerback Demetrius McCray with an injury settlement, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets.
- The Redskins reached an injury settlement with center Ronald Patrick, waiving the interior blocker from IR as a result.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/4/17
NFL teams began forming their practice squads on Sunday, but they’re tinkering with them today as they will throughout the season. We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt, G Will Pericak, LB Zach Vigil
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Sojourn Shelton, G Cole Toner
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB B.J. Bello, OL Travis Averill
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DE Earl Okine
- Cut: DT Derrick Lott
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, OLB/DE Carroll Phillips
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Gabe Wright
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: C Cornelius Edison, OT Cedrick Lang
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Demarcus Ayers
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Terrell Sinkfield, DL Patrick Gamble, OLB Geoff Gray, WR JoJo Natson, OLB Freddie Bishop, RB Marcus Murphy
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: C James Stone, DE Max Valles
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Trevone Boykin, WR David Moore, LB Austin Calitro, OT Jarron Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Zach Pascal
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Alek Torgersen, WR Dres Anderson, OL Anthony Fabiano
Raiders Work Out Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo
Sebastian Janikowski is set to enter yet another season as the Raiders kicker, but the team appears to be exploring outside options in advance of his 18th year.
Oakland brought in Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo and Marshall Koehn — all cut on Saturday — for workouts Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Nugent did not win the Giants’ job, and Lambo also saw a younger kicker displace him with the Chargers. Koehn did not win the competition in Minnesota.
The 39-year-old Janikowski has kicked with the Raiders since the 2000 season. He’s in the final year of his contract and is set to count $4.41MM against Oakland’s cap. That figure represents the second-most in the league, behind only Stephen Gostkowski.
Lambo kicked for the Bolts for the past two seasons, and Nugent — a former second-round pick — has 12 years’ experience. Almost all of that came with the Jets and Bengals. Koehn has yet to kick in an NFL game.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Denver Broncos
- Signed:
- DT Kyle Peko
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Dymonte Thomas
- DT Tyrique Jarrett
- CB Marcus Rios
- T Elijah Wilkinson
- LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams
- LB Deiontrez Mount
- WR Hunter Sharp
- C Dillon Day
- TE Austin Traylor
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed:
- Placed on IR:
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Orson Charles
- OL Joseph Cheek
- WR Gehrig Dieter
- WR Marcus Kemp
- G Damien Mama
- S Leon McQuay
- RB Devine Redding
- LB Marcus Rush
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed:
- DB Jeff Richards
- OL Michael Schofield (story)
- Signed to practice squad:
- G Brett Boyko
- CB Michael Davis
- CB Randall Evans
- WR Andre Patton
- DE Whitney Richardson
- WR Artavis Scott
- RB Andre Williams
Oakland Raiders
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Breon Borders
- DE Fadol Browl
- TE Pharaoh Brown
- LB Shilique Calhoun
- WR Keon Hatcher
- RB Elijah Hood
- G Jordan Simmons
- WR Issac Whitney
Raiders Cut Down To 53-Man Roster
The Raiders were among the teams to drag their feet on announcing their 53-man roster. Now that we can see their initial roster in full, we have to say that they’re looking a little thin at linebacker. Here’s the full rundown of their moves:
Waived:
- OL Kareem Are
- RB George Atkinson
- CB Breon Borders
- DT Paul Boyette
- WR K.J. Brent
- OT Chauncey Briggs
- DE Fadol Brown
- TE Pharaoh Brown
- LB Shilique Calhoun
- S Anthony Cioffi
- RB John Crockett
- CB Kenneth Durden
- LS Andrew East
- DE IK Enemkpali
- LB Najee Harris
- WR Keon Hatcher
- TE Gabe Holmes
- RB Elijah Hood
- CB Chris Humes
- DL Branden Jackson
- S Rickey Jefferson
- DE Rufus Johnson
- LB LaTroy Lewis
- S Marcus McWilson
- TE Ryan O’Malley
- G Oni Omoile
- LB Brady Sheldon
- G Ian Silberman
- G Jordan Simmons
- K Giorgio Tavecchio
- WR Issac Whitney
- LB Xavier Woodson-Luster
- WR Ishmael Zamora
Released:
Waived/Injured
Waived/NFI:
- LB Ben Heeney
Raiders Release LB Jelani Jenkins
The Raiders have apparently parted ways with their lone defensive free agent signing. Linebacker Jelani Jenkins tweeted that he’s been released by the organization.
The 25-year-old inked a one-year deal with the Raiders back in March, and many expected him to serve as a top reserve for starting outside linebackers Bruce Irvin and Shilique Calhoun. Now, the team might be eyeing Tyrell Adams or James Cowser for that top backup role, or they could also turn to their trio of undrafted rookies (LaTroy Lewis, Brady Sheldon, and Nicholas Morrow).
Prior to his brief Raiders tenure, Jenkins spent four seasons in Miami. Selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, the linebacker had a breakout campaign in 2014, compiling 110 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Jenkins started another 13 games in 2015, but his role was reduced in 2016. The linebacker ultimately appeared in nine games (seven starts), compiling only 29 tackles.