Matt Gono

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/22

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived/injured: DT Bryce Rodgers

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: WR Matt Cole
  • Reverted to IR: WR Jequez Ezzard

Giants Notes: McKinney, Gono, Cunningham, Bonuses

Xavier McKinney enjoyed a career year in his second NFL season, leading the Giants with five interceptions. The former second-rounder figures to remain a bright spot on the team, but some aspects of the defense under ex-DC Patrick Graham were the subject of remarks the young safety recently made.

In conversation with Steve Serby of the New York Post, McKinney noted a marked difference in practices since the arrival of Graham’s replacement, Don Martindale, particularly in the level of communication between players and coaches. “We didn’t really have much of that these last two years, and that was a big problem,” he said. “That came with obviously a lot of like everything didn’t look organized. Even defensively there were times we played good, but sometimes the communication wasn’t there, and that’s because everybody was kind of on different… it was a lot of different things going on.

“[Under Martindale] we don’t have to worry about making a mistake on a third down or a fourth down or something like that… and I think that’s what we’ve missed obviously the past two years… I think everybody could tell you on the defensive side everybody was so afraid of being the one to make the mistake instead of just actually going out there and playing.”

The Giants ranked 21st and 23rd, respectively, last season in terms of yards and points allowed per game last season – something McKinney will look to help the team improve on moving forward, and which could be made easier with a new voice on the sidelines. Graham is now the Raiders’ DC.

Here are some other notes concerning Big Blue:

  • Earlier this week, the Giants placed offensive tackle Matt Gono on the exempt/left squad list due to an undisclosed injury. It turns out that the neck injury which caused that absence is likely to end his career (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). The 26-year-old missed all of last season after having neck surgery, so the return of symptoms in practice would make it challenging for him to make his way back onto the field. Scheduled to be the Giants’ swing tackle, his absence could lead to a larger role for 2020 third-rounder Matt Peart, or require the team to find a depth option in free agency.
  • Staying on the theme of offensive lineman, Korey Cunningham will try to earn a roster spot at his natural position, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (subscription required). The previous coaching staff experimented with a move to tight end for the six-foot-six, 305-pounder, but the new regime led by Brian Daboll will keep him as an o-linemen. The absence of Gono could help him secure a place at the backend of the roster.
  • Earlier this week, Duggan also relayed (on Twitter) that quarterback Daniel Jones and left tackle Andrew Thomas received roster bonuses of $3.2MM and $2.7MM, respectively. 2022 is seen as a make-or-break year for Jones, whose fifth-year option was declined, whereas Thomas could make that same decision easier on the team with a strong performance this campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/22

Today’s minor moves

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: LS Harrison Elliott
  • Activated from PUP: DB Tristin McCollum
  • Waived-injured: WR Davion Davis

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

*Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter), Gono has left the squad due to an undisclosed physical issue. The lineman will meet with a doctor tomorrow, which should provide some clarity.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/9/22

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Falcons Cut 27 Players, Down To 53

The Falcons are down to 53. With several hours to go before the 4pm ET/3pm CT deadline, the Falcons have released 27 players to meet the new max.

Some of these players will re-appear on the Falcons’ 16-man practice squad, if they’re not scooped up by another team. None of the cuts are particularly surprising, though D’Onta Foreman‘s name stands out on this list. The former UT star is still looking to reprise his rookie year with the Texans when he notched 327 rushing yards and two scores in ten games. However, he’ll have to do it somewhere else.

For now, the Falcons are keeping both of their backup quarterbacks. That means Feleipe Franks and Josh Rosen could be on the roster for the season opener, backstopping Matt Ryan.

Here’s the full rundown:

Falcons OL Matt Gono Has Surgery

It sounds like the Falcons’ offensive line may have just taken a significant blow. Versatile offensive lineman Matt Gono has undergone surgery recently, a source told Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The source told Rothstein that the injury, which is undisclosed, “is not season ending.” That’s concerning, since the fact they felt the need to say it’s not season-ending likely means it’s a pretty serious injury. Details are light, but it sure seems like the implication is Gono might miss some significant time.

A 2018 UDFA from Wesley College, Gono has done well for himself. He established himself as the team’s swing tackle, and can also play guard. He made four starts last year, and the team thought highly enough of him to place a second-round restricted free agent tender on him this offseason.

That means he’s set to make around $3.3MM in 2021. Gono was seen by many as the favorite to be the team’s starting left guard this year after the Falcons cut James Carpenter earlier this offseason. We should know more on the situation soon.

Falcons Sign 27 UDFAs

The Falcons have signed a whopping 27 undrafted free agents. Here is the full rundown:

Most NFL teams do not employ a fullback but the Falcons rostered one last year in Derrick Coleman, so McNitt and Marx may have a shot at making the team. At quarterback, there may be an opportunity for Benkert and Lamar Jordan to unseat Garrett Grayson as the third QB (assuming Jordan is being evaluated as a QB), though they are well set with Matt Schaub as the primary backup to Matt Ryan.

Benkert received a $60K guarantee to sign, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, so it’s clear that the Falcons think highly of him. Benkert started his collegiate career at East Carolina before transferring to Virginia for the 2016 season. In two years as Virginia’s starter, he completed 57.7% of his passes with 46 touchdowns against 21 interceptions.

In other Falcons news, GM Thomas Dimitroff recently addressed speculation about the team’s relationship with star Julio Jones. The Falcons also triggered the fifth-year option for defensive end Vic Beasley recently.