Kyler Gordon

DB Notes: Baker, Gordon, Lions, Chinn

June 15th, 2023 at 12:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Budda Baker issued a trade request in February, though it did not become public until mid-April. The Pro Bowl safety remains with the Cardinals and attended the team’s minicamp this week. But the disgruntled defender did not participate in on-field work, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. This hold-in effort did involve some degree of participation, with Jonathan Gannon indicating Baker has texted with him regarding film and has been in contact with coaches.

“It was good to have him in the building today,” Gannon said (via Weinfuss), calling Baker’s situation “the business side of it.” “Smile on his face. He was asking a bunch of questions. I told the coaches, you better be on your toes cause he’s going to ask good questions. The dialogue has been great, and I’m ready to get [No.] 3 back out there.”

With the Cardinals rebuilding and unlikely to have Kyler Murray available to start the season, it would be interesting to see if they listened to offers for Baker. It also is understandable for Gannon to want the decorated safety back in the mix, given the talent the Cardinals lost on defense this offseason (J.J. Watt, Zach Allen, Byron Murphy, Markus Golden). Two years remain on Baker’s $14.75MM-per-year contract, which has paid out its guarantees.

Here is the latest DB news from around the NFL:

The Bears now have three second-round cornerbacks on their roster, adding Tyrique Stevenson to a mix that includes Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. A 2022 Round 2 choice, Gordon is now ticketed for a full-time slot role, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic notes (subscription required). The Washington product played both inside and outside last season, logging a 97% snap rate in the 14 games he played. Gordon intercepted three passes and forced a fumble as a rookie, though Pro Football Focus did not view his coverage work especially fondly, ranking the 6-foot defender 108th among qualified corners.
Will Harris moved from safety to slot corner with the Lions last year, but the team’s secondary overhaul included the additions of two hybrid players — C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Brian Branch. Both safeties have extensive slot experience, and Gardner-Johnson — despite leading the NFL with six interceptions last season as an Eagles safety — is expected to play plenty in the slot with the Lions. Harris should be expected to be a backup in 2023, per the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett, who notes the fifth-year defender should work as the top reserve on the outside and in the slot. A former third-round pick who re-signed on a one-year deal this offseason, Harris started 10 games last year.
Used as a linebacker and a safety over his first three seasons, Jeremy Chinn is set to stay on a versatile track in Carolina. The former Panthers second-rounder has worked as a nickel presence throughout the offseason, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. New Panthers secondary coach Jonathan Cooley said the staff has not fully pinned down Chinn’s role, which will make this run-up to a contract year interesting. The Panthers held off on trading Chinn last year, keeping him as part of a young defensive core.
Texans cornerback Steven Nelson hired a new agent recently, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who notes David Mulugheta is now representing the ninth-year defender. Nelson signed a two-year, $9MM deal with the Texans in 2022, but started all 15 games he played. Going into his age-30 season, the former Chiefs, Steelers and Eagles corner is running out of time to make another financial splash.
The Cardinals made tiny splashes in the secondary recently, adding corners Dylan Mabin and Bobby Price. Both will be on league-minimum deals, with GOPHNX.com’s Howard Balzer tweeting Price will earn $1.01MM (the minimum for a fourth-year player) while Mabin is at $870K (the basement for a player with one year of experience). With neither assured of a roster spot, no money here is guaranteed.

Bears Sign Second-Round CB Kyler Gordon

June 25th, 2022 at 9:23am CST by Ben Levine

The Bears have inked their top draft pick to a contract. The team announced that they have signed second-round Kyler Gordon to his four-year rookie contract.

The Bears traded off their 2022 first-round pick in order to acquire QB Justin Fields during the 2021 draft, so they were armed with the No. 39 selection heading into the 2022 selection show. The front office ended up using their top pick on the Washington cornerback, and for good reason.

Gordon was a standout during four seasons with the Huskies. In 33 games, the defensive back collected 98 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, 14 passes deflected, and a pair of forced fumbles. He earned first-team all-Pac 12 honors in 2021 after finishing with 46 tackles.

The rookie cornerback is expected to start opposite Jaylon Johnson at cornerback. If Gordon hits a rookie wall, he could see some competition from the likes of Kindle Vildor or Duke Shelley.

With the signing, the Bears have now signed 11 of their 12 draft picks. Second-round safety Jaquan Brisker is the only rookie to remain unsigned.

CB Notes: Bills, Bradberry, Giants, Gardner, Texans, Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Ward

April 20th, 2022 at 6:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Losing Levi Wallace in free agency, the Bills have a cornerback need a week away from the draft. The two-time defending AFC East champions will be linked to corners early, but they are still looking into the veteran market. Brandon Beane confirmed the team has spoken with free agent corners, via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia (on Twitter). While Stephon Gilmore is now off the board, several other accomplished vets remain available. The player Gilmore is set to replace in Indianapolis, Xavier Rhodes, is a free agent. So is Joe Haden, whom the Steelers appear to have replaced with Wallace. Buffalo has Taron Johnson as its slot cornerback, so boundary players would seemingly be the focus on the veteran front. Jackrabbit Jenkins‘ Titans contract expired, and Trae Waynes and Kyle Fuller loom as potential bounce-back candidates. Richard Sherman is set to turn 34 this year, but he has a career’s worth of high-end zone production.

Here is the latest from the cornerback scene:

Lovie Smith indicated his team needs cornerback help, and it might even come at No. 3 overall. Several teams believe Ahmad Gardner could be the Texans‘ choice at 3, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler tweets. Houston has also done extensive work on LSU’s Derek Stingley. Given where they are in the rebuilding process, the Texans make sense as a true best-player-available team. That would seemingly point to a tackle choice — be it Evan Neal or Ikem Ekwonu — but corner buzz has followed this team for a bit now.
Stingley played just 10 games between the 2020 and ’21 seasons, seeing injuries slow his momentum after a dominant freshman season. But the LSU product is creeping into the top-10 picture, with ESPN.com’s Matt Miller noting Stingley and Gardner are looking likely to each be top-10 selections (Twitter link). The 6-foot defender, per one evaluator who spoke to NBC Sports’ Peter King, has “the best feet of any corner I’ve ever seen.” Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent ESPN.com mock draft has Gardner going fourth to the Jets and Stingley going 12th to the Vikings. The Jaguars and Jets hosted Stingley on visits this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Washington Huskies could see two corners go in the first round. With Trent McDuffie positioning himself as the draft’s third-best corner, Miller adds a few teams do not expect Kyler Gordon to reach Day 2 of the draft (Twitter link). ESPN ranks Gordon 31st overall, though Todd McShay has him going 42nd in he and Kiper’s latest mock. The 5-foot-11 defender played four seasons at Washington, but only two (2019 and ’21) involved more than three games.
New Giants GM Joe Schoen said a scenario exists where the Giants retain James Bradberry, via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano (on Twitter). Entering the final year of his contract, Bradberry has long expected to be dealt. The Giants have discussed their No. 1 corner with teams, and while they have said an extension for the Dave Gettleman-era signee is possible, Bradberry’s $21.9MM cap number sits second on Big Blue’s payroll. The Giants ($6MM-plus in cap space) would save more than $11MM by designating Bradberry as a post-June 1 cut, if no team offers a draft pick to take on the veteran cover man’s $13.4MM base salary.
Denzel Ward‘s five-year, $100.5MM Browns extension includes $44.5MM fully guaranteed, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. That figure also leads all corners. In addition to his signing bonus, the Browns fully guaranteed Ward’s 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($1MM, $4MM, respectively). Ward’s 2024 base ($15.3MM) shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2023 league year. That same structure is present for 2025, with that base salary ($13.5MM) already being guaranteed for injury. It becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2024 league year.