Delano Hill

Panthers To Sign S Delano Hill

New Panthers GM Scott Fitterer will bring in one of the Seahawks’ former Day 2 picks. Defensive back Delano Hill agreed to terms with the Panthers on Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

A third-round pick during Fitterer’s lengthy Seattle stay, Hill saw extensive action on special teams with the Seahawks and contributed on defense as a part-timer during the 2018 and ’19 seasons. The Michigan alum spent four seasons with the Seahawks, playing out his rookie contract.

Hill, 25, started six games between the 2018 and ’19 slates, making 49 combined tackles in that span. Last season, Hill played in only two games. A nagging back injury sent Hill to IR in October, leading to Damarious Randall joining the Seahawks’ 53-man roster. Hill will attempt to return to action with Carolina.

Carolina’s roster has an apparent opening at safety. The team has standout 2020 draftee Jeremy Chinn, but he saw plenty of time in the box in a linebacker role as well. The Panthers signed Juston Burris last year, using him as a 12-game starter. The former Jets draft choice stands to be back in the starter mix this year, but the team does not have much in the way of depth behind them. Carolina cut two-stint safety starter Tre Boston earlier this year.

The Panthers also agreed to terms with linebacker Kendall Donnerson. A 2018 Packers seventh-round pick out of Southeast Missouri State, Donnerson has not seen any regular-season action as an NFLer.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/20

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Matt Pryor

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Seahawks Place S Delano Hill On IR

The Seahawks will be down one of their top backups the rest of the way. They placed safety Delano Hill on IR on Tuesday.

Hill started two games in relief of Tedric Thompson, with Seattle shifting Bradley McDougald from strong to free safety in those contests. Hill suffered a non-displaced fracture in his hip during the Seahawks’ Week 17 win over the Cardinals.

Seattle entered the season with a quartet of Earl Thomas, McDougald, Thompson and Hill at safety. Going into the team’s trip to Dallas, it is now down to the McDougald-Thompson tandem. Trade acquisition Shalom Luani and Maurice Alexander are the other safeties on Seattle’s roster.

A third-round pick in 2017, Hill played 321 snaps this season. He made 24 tackles. The Seahawks promoted wide receiver Malik Turner from their practice squad to fill the roster spot.

Seahawks Notes: Thomas, Fluker, Fant, Hill

Earl Thomas remains at an impasse with the Seahawks, who’ve stripped the defense — at least, their first and third levels of it — almost completely bare of Thomas’ Super Bowl teammates this offseason. But future franchise tags give the Seahawks the leverage on Thomas in this holdout, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com writes. The 29-year-old safety skipping regular-season weeks would obviously cost him financially, and he must report by the midseason point to avoid his contract tolling over to 2019. Thomas’ four-year, $40MM deal expires after this season. Pete Carroll expects Thomas to be at camp, but Brooks writes the Seahawks probably don’t want to pay him $12MM per year (or north, if the three-time All-Pro is intent on surpassing Eric Berry‘s $13MM-AAV deal that doubles as the safety high-water mark) in what’s been an oddly soft safety market.

If the Seahawks do decide to get serious about a trade, Brooks notes that, beyond the Cowboys, the Chargers, 49ers, Buccaneers and Bengals are the most logical destinations. The Bolts drafted Derwin James and have Jahleel Addae on the books for three more seasons, but Brooks cites the need for a deep centerfielder-type safety nonetheless. And Thomas has a history with Los Angeles DC Gus Bradley. He has a background with San Francisco DC Robert Saleh as well. The Bengals hosted Eric Reid on a visit that went poorly, but they were only in the market for a backup safety at that time. Tampa Bay spent plenty to add to its defensive front this offseason and added three DBs in the draft’s middle rounds. The Bucs boast Chris Conte and second-year man Justin Evans as their top safeties.

Here’s the latest out of Seattle:

  • A Chargers trade for Thomas wouldn’t add up with the franchise’s usual M.O., Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes. Tom Telesco and football ops president John Spanos aren’t big on parting with draft capital, with Krasovic adding that extensions for Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon — along with Los Angeles’ approximate $9MM cap-space total — would also impede a move like this.
  • Should the Seahawks deal Thomas, Delano Hill would be the favorite to succeed him alongside Bradley McDougald, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. McDougald would move to free safety, with Hill — a 2017 third-rounder — making his starting-lineup debut as Seattle’s strong safety. Hill ran with the starters in Thomas’ stead during minicamp.
  • The right side of Seattle’s offensive line figures to be manned by tackle Germain Ifedi and guard D.J. Fluker, per Condotta, who adds Fluker could be an option at tackle if Ifedi struggles. Fluker, though, has not played much tackle since the Chargers shuttled him to guard prior to the 2015 season. However, former left tackle starter George Fant will be thrust into the right tackle competition in training camp, Condotta writes. Fant is expected to be healthy after suffering a torn ACL last summer and would profile as the Seahawks’ swing tackle if Ifedi keeps the top right-edge job.
  • Amara Darboh (eight receptions, 71 yards in 2017) received essentially a redshirt year as a rookie, but Condotta notes the Seahawks are “counting on” the third-round pick to see a significant playing-time uptick this season. Seattle has Tyler Lockett and recently added UFAs Jaron Brown and Brandon Marshall. However, the latter is coming off a poor season and spent time recovering from multiple injuries this offseason. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Darboh’s role could hinge on how Marshall fares in camp. Seattle did not guarantee Marshall much, so it’s not certain the 34-year-old target makes the roster.

Seahawks Wrap Up Draft Class

The Seahawks have locked up the entirety of their 2017 draft class by signing third-round defensive backs Shaquill Griffin and Delano Hill, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).Delano Hill (Vertical)

Griffin and Hill were selected within with five picks of each other, as Griffin — a UCF product — came off the board with the 90th overall selection while Hill, a Michigan alum, went at No. 95. Griffin, specifically, could see action early in his rookie campaign as incumbent corner DeShawn Shead recovers from a torn ACL. Hill, meanwhile, could act as insurance if Earl Thomas‘ rehab from a broken leg takes longer than expected.

Here’s an overview of Seattle’s entire 2017 rookie crop: