The Ravens have once again parted ways with veteran linebacker Josh Bynes, according to Field Yates of ESPN, releasing the 33-year-old today. The loss is not a significant one to the Ravens defense considering Bynes has been inactive since October.
Bynes was introduced to the NFL as an undrafted free agent in Baltimore back in 2011. In his second season with the team, Bynes was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad following an injury to Ray Lewis but remained a backup behind starters Dannell Ellerbe and Jameel McClain. An eventual injury to McClain would grant Bynes his first career starts near the end of the regular season. Bynes would go on to make the final tackle of the Ravens’ Super XLVII victory.
Bynes was named a season starter in the following year after Lewis’s retirement, but he would eventually lose the starting job to McClain and would be placed back on the practice squad following the drafting of C.J. Mosley in 2014. Bynes was signed off Baltimore’s practice squad by the Lions and would eventually become a starter in Detroit, as well, finishing second on the team in 2015 with 82 total tackles.
After his time with the Lions, a short stay in Arizona would be followed with a second stint in Baltimore. He would follow that with his best career season in Cincinnati in 2020, when he would finish third on the team with a career-high 99 total tackles. Bynes would spend the 2021 preseason in Carolina before getting cut in final roster decisions. Now a journeyman, Bynes would return to Baltimore for a third time, finally getting an opportunity as a full-time starter. After a strong 2021 season, the Ravens re-signed Bynes to one-year deal for this season. A quadriceps injury in a Week 7 win over the Browns would take him out of the lineup and keep him inactive for the next seven games.
Luckily for Baltimore, its in-season addition of linebacker Roquan Smith helped ease the team’s loss of Bynes. Having operated for so long without Bynes at this point, his dismissal from the roster shouldn’t require much of an adjustment. Starters Smith and Patrick Queen are still backed up by Malik Harrison and special teamers Kristian Welch and Del’Shawn Phillips.
In an additional couple of roster moves, the Ravens have promoted quarterback Anthony Brown and wide receiver Andy Isabella from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations against the Falcons tomorrow. With star passer Lamar Jackson inactive for tomorrow’s contest, Brown will be elevated to perform backup duties behind fill-in starter Tyler Huntley. Isabella is making his Ravens debut and should provide depth to a receiving corps that currently shows Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, and Tylan Wallace all on injured reserve. Huntley will be passing to the likes of Demarcus Robinson, DeSean Jackson, newly re-acquiredSammy Watkins, James Proche, and Isabella.
Here are some details on deals recently signed around the NFL:
Stephon Gilmore, CB (Colts): Two-year, $20MM. The deal includes $10.51MM guaranteed at signing and $14MM in overall guarantees. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Gilmore’s Year 1 payout will total $10.02MM.
Brandin Cooks, WR (Texans): Two-year, $39.76MM. The deal includes $36MM guaranteed at signing consisting of the $16MM signing bonus (applied over three years) and the first two years of base salary ($2MM in 2022 and $18MM in 2023), according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Cooks will have a per game active bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000 and will receive a roster bonus in 2024 of $3MM.
Steven Nelson, CB (Texans): Two-year, $9MM. The deal is worth up to $10MM, according to Wilson. It includes $4.5MM guaranteed at signing consisting of a $2MM signing bonus, the 2022 base salary of $1.75MM, and $750,000 of the 2023 base salary. Nelson will have a 2022 per game active bonus of $44,117 for a potential season total of $750,000 and a 2023 per game active bonus of $58,832 for a potential season total of $1MM. The deal includes an unspecified incentive worth $250,000 for the 2022 season.
Geno Smith, QB (Seahawks): One-year, $3.5MM. The deal is worth up to $7MM, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, with up to $3.5MM worth of incentives likely triggerable if he wins the starting job. The deal includes a guaranteed amount of $500,000.
Josh Bynes, LB (Ravens): One-year, $1.27MM. According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN, the deal includes $600,000 of guaranteed money consisting of the signing bonus worth $152,500 and $447,500 of the base salary (worth $1.12MM total).
Sammy Watkins, WR (Packers): One-year, $1.85MM. The deal includes a signing bonus of $350,000 and is worth up to $4MM, according to USA Today’s Ryan Wood, with incentives for playtime, catches, yards, and touchdowns. Watkins can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he plays a snap count percentage of 55%, 60%, or 65%, respectively. He can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he records a receptions total of 50, 60, or 70 catches, respectively. He can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he has yardage totals of 550, 650, or 700, respectively. Lastly, Watkins can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $575,000 if he catches 7, 8, or 9 touchdowns, respectively.
After seeing Bobby Wagner sign with the Rams, the Ravens are bringing back one of their own at linebacker. Josh Bynes will return to Baltimore, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
Bynes agreed to a one-year deal Friday. This will continue Bynes’ third stint in Baltimore, which acquired him as a UDFA in 2011 and brought him back in 2019. After a year in Cincinnati in 2020, Bynes returned to the Ravens and started 12 games last season.
Baltimore deployed Bynes and Patrick Queen as its primary off-ball linebackers last season, using the former on 61% of their defensive snaps. Bynes played far more regularly than 2020 third-rounder Malik Harrison and, despite going into his age-33 season, will have a chance to reprise his role in 2022.
Last season, Bynes made 76 tackles (six for loss) and registered two sacks in 2021. The Auburn alum has played with four teams, also seeing time with the Cardinals and Lions, but the Ravens have been his most frequent NFL employer.
The Ravens offered Wagner a deal that included $18MM fully guaranteed in the first two years, but the Rams convinced the Los Angeles native to return home. Bynes returning may not mean Baltimore is done at inside linebacker, but this could allow the Ravens to allocate their top remaining offseason resources to other areas.
September 1st, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Sam Robinson
Shortly after the Panthers released Josh Bynes, the veteran linebacker reached an agreement with a familiar team. The Ravens are bringing Bynes back, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets.
Because Bynes is a vested veteran, he did not need to pass through waivers after his Panthers exit. Bynes entered the NFL 10 years ago as a Ravens UDFA and found his way back to Baltimore in 2019. The Ravens will return to this well ahead of Bynes’ age-32 season.
The Ravens kept four inside linebackers — starters Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison and backups Chris Board and Kristian Welch — so Bynes profiles as high-end insurance, at the very least. It would seem likely the veteran off-ball ‘backer will make his way onto Baltimore’s active roster again at some point.
Bynes spent last season with the Bengals, operating as a 16-game starter. He made 99 tackles during his one-season Cincinnati stay. The 2019 Ravens used Bynes as a seven-game starter, after he largely worked as a backup and occasional first-stringer during his initial Baltimore stint from 2011-14.
August 31st, 2021 at 3:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
Add the Panthers to the list of teams who have officially trimmed their roster down to the required 53 players. Remember this is only the initial roster, so not everybody who was spared Tuesday will make it through to the regular season after the waiver wire frenzy the next few days.
Here’s the list of players Carolina cut on Tuesday:
You’ll probably recognize at least a few names on this list, including Bynes, Grier, Kirkwood, and Bonnafon. Bynes is a veteran linebacker with 117 appearances and 63 starts under his belt since entering the league all the way back in 2011. He started all 16 games for the Bengals last year, but it took him until just a few weeks ago to get signed by Carolina.
Grier is the West Virginia product who had a fair amount of buzz coming out of college. Despite some initial talk that he could get drafted in the first or second-round, he ended up as a third-round pick in 2019. He ended up starting two games for the Panthers as a rookie, struggling mightily while tossing four interceptions and no touchdowns. Carolina is throwing in the towel after just two seasons, electing to roll with only P.J. Walker behind Sam Darnold. Grier should be able to at least end up on somebody’s practice squad.
The Panthers have signed linebacker Josh Bynes, per a club announcement. To make room on the roster, the Panthers released safety Lano Hill.
Bynes was one of a handful of veterans the Ravens added to their defense in the middle of the 2019 season. In 2019, he recorded 46 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions, and Pro Football Focus gave him high marks for his coverage and run-stopping abilities.
After helping to stabilize Baltimore’s front seven, the Bengals picked him up last year and made him a first-stringer for all 16 games. Bynes finished out 2020 with some of the best numbers of his career — 99 tackles, a sack, and two passes defensed.
Bynes, 32 later this month, isn’t an elite stopper, but he could provide valuable veteran experience for the Panthers. He’s got 117 career appearances under his belt and a championship ring on his finger after securing the final tackle of Super Bowl XLVII.
The Bengals acted quickly to replace starting linebacker Nick Vigil, who agreed to terms with the Chargers earlier today. Per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Cincinnati is signing free agent Josh Bynesto a one-year deal (Twitter link).
Bynes was one of a handful of veterans the Ravens added to their defense in the middle of the 2019 season, and his presence helped stabilize the unit. Though he is by no means an elite player, he is a solid ‘backer whose experience and on-field savvy will be a boost to the Bengals’ front seven.
He has started 47 games in his nine-year career, which includes an earlier stint with the Ravens from 2011-13, a three-year run with the Lions, and a two-year stay with the Cardinals. In 2019, he recorded 46 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions, and Pro Football Focus gave him high marks for his coverage and run-stopping abilities.
The Ravens had expressed interest in retaining the Auburn product, and it’s not as though Baltimore is loaded with ILBs at the moment, but Bynes saw a better opportunity with the division-rival Bengals. As it stands now, he would start alongside second-year pro Germaine Pratt.
During his first stint in Baltimore, Bynes made the final tackle of Super Bowl XLVII, which earned him a championship ring.
