Myles Jack

Steelers To Sign LB Elandon Roberts, Release LB Myles Jack

The Steelers’ Cole Holcomb addition will not round out their linebacker moves in free agency. They have also reached an agreement to bring in Elandon Roberts, Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com tweets.

Roberts agreed to a two-year deal with Pittsburgh. Brian Flores brought Roberts from New England to Miami in 2020. Though Flores is no longer with the Steelers, the team is bringing in a player the new Vikings DC coached in two cities. Roberts has 76 starts on his resume, including 32 over the past two seasons in Miami. Roberts’ deal is a two-year, $7MM pact, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who notes (via Twitter) the eighth-year veteran received a $2.3MM signing bonus.

Pittsburgh’s additions of Roberts and Holcomb will precede a release of Myles Jack, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweets. Jack signed a two-year , $16MM deal with the Steelers in 2022, but the team is moving to other options a year later. This marks the second straight March that a team has made Jack a cap casualty. A year after the Jaguars cut the longtime starter, the Steelers will save $8MM by making this move.

Although Roberts’ Miami tenure included a late-December knee injury in his first year with the team (2020), he bounced back and became a regular starter — both with Flores and following his firing. Roberts started every game for the Dolphins last year, totaling a career-high 107 tackles (10 for loss) and registering 4.5 sacks. That interesting combination is a bit of an outlier for Roberts, who had never produced more than two sacks in a season during his time with the Pats or Dolphins. But the versatile defender did enough to earn a multiyear commitment.

While Pro Football Focus rated Roberts just outside the top 60 at linebacker last year, he graded as the advanced metrics site’s No. 1 pass-rushing linebacker (among off-ball ‘backers). The Patriots used Roberts as a starter throughout their late-2010s run of Super Bowl appearances; he made 33 starts with the Pats from 2016-19.

Jack, who is still just 27 despite having played seven NFL seasons, made 104 tackles last season. PFF graded the former second-round pick just below Roberts — a 2016 sixth-rounder — at linebacker. The seven-year starter, who now has four 100-tackle seasons on his resume, will look for a third NFL team. He should not be expected to command a contract in the $8MM-AAV range, however.

The Steelers are making wholesale changes at linebacker. Robert Spillane, who played 59% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps last season, signed with the Raiders this week. Devin Bush has long been viewed as a one-contract Steeler; the former top-10 pick is visiting the Seahawks today.

Steelers To Sign LB Myles Jack

It didn’t take long for Myles Jack to find his next gig. The former Jaguars linebacker is signing with the Steelers, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a two-year deal worth $16MM.

[RELATED: Jaguars To Release Myles Jack]

Jacksonville’s spending spree was going to come with a cost, and the team ultimately decided to move on from their leading tackler yesterday. Jack inked a four-year, $57MM deal ($33MM guaranteed) with Jacksonville back in 2019.

With that said, Jack is still a productive player. He finished last season with 108 tackles in 15 starts, and he had a career-high 118 tackles as recently as 2020. The former second-round pick won’t turn 27 until September, so it makes sense that the Steelers still think he’s got something in the tank.

Many of the Steelers initial FA moves were focused on offense, but the team has started adding to their defense. We learned yesterday that the team was signing cornerback Levi Wallace to a two-year deal.

Jaguars To Release Myles Jack

Something had to give. After signing scores of high-end free agents on Monday, the Jaguars are releasing linebacker Myles Jack, according to a source who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Jack led the Jags with 108 tackles last year, his sixth season in Jacksonville. Ultimately, however, he was the victim of a numbers crunch, and the team had no room for the remainder of his four-year, $57MM deal.

It was less than a month ago that newly-hired defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell told reporters how much he was looking forward to working with Jack.

With Myles he was just, ‘Coach, I’m ready to go, whatever he wants to do,”‘ Caldwell said (via Sports Illustrated). “He’s that type of guy that whatever the team asks him to do, he’s a team-oriented guy. Whatever we want him to do, he’s going to go out there and do it to the best of his ability. But as coaches, it’s our job to let him go do what he does well, and that’s what we plan on doing.”

The “Jack Of All Trades” was a true disruptor in 2020 when he notched 118 stops, one sack, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, one interception, and five passes defensed. He was less of a factor in 2021, though the overall situation in Jacksonville certainly didn’t help.

Jack won’t turn 27 until September and should garner plenty of attention on the open market this week.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/31/21

Here are the New Year’s Eve additions and subtractions from teams’ reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from practice squad virus list: T Drew Himmelman, LB Barrington Wade

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/25-12/26/21

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed on or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Christmas and today. In some instances, players activated from the list remain on IR:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Steven Sims

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Jaguars Place Myles Jack On IR

Myles Jack is headed to injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jack has dealt with a number of injuries this season, so there’s no one known malady keeping him out of action.

Jack inked a four-year, $57MM extension with the Jaguars prior to the season, a deal that included $33MM guaranteed. Between 2017 and 2018, Jack played in 98% of Jacksonville’s snaps and notched 197 tackles.

As one of the league’s most talented linebackers, he’ll be missed on the field, even though this is a lost season for the 4-8 Jags. The 24-year-old finishes out the year with 66 tackles, one interception, and half-credit for a sack.

Prior to Week 13, Jack had not missed a game in his NFL career. Without the former second-round pick, third-year linebacker Donald Payne figures to hold down the fort at middle linebacker.

Jack hasn’t looked like his usual self this season, so he’ll look to heal up and enter 2020 at 100% health.

AFC South Notes: Tunsil, Brissett, Jack

New Texans starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil is wasting no time getting acclimated to his new team. Coach Bill O’Brien said the former first-round pick is putting in “double time” with regard to getting up to speed with Houston’s communication on packages, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle relays.

“Laremy has been in here all day working with Mike, working with a couple of guys, some of the veteran guys, Nick Martin, guys like that,” the coach said. “Look, at the end of the day, that’s going to be a challenge early on here because he just got here.

“But I think that he’s played a lot of football and maybe what somebody calls an apple, we call an orange. It’s just different terms, but it’s the same blocking assignment.”

Here’s more from the AFC South:

  • Jacoby Brissett, who recently signed a new two-year, $30MM extension, told Mike Chappell of CBS4 in Indianapolis that he negotiated the contract himself. “I don’t like people to BS on my behalf. I try to say it for myself. . . . all you can be is honest,” the Colts new starting quarterback said. “I did my rookie contract, too, so I kind of had the gist of it.’’
  • The details on Myles Jacks new contract are in. The deal pays the linebacker $26.06MM in guarantees, as Pro Football Talk details. That figure is second in the league among inside linebackers (C.J. Mosley).
  • Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline envisions Dion Lewis being heavily involved in the Titan’s offense. Lewis has three years remaining on the four-year, $19.8MM deal he inked during the 2018 offseason.

Jaguars, Myles Jack Agree To Extension

The Jaguars and one of their young defenders reached an extension agreement Saturday. The Jags will extend Myles Jack on a four-year, $57MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

One of a few impact defenders who entered camp extension-eligible, Jack will earn $33MM guaranteed on this pact. Jack joined Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue as members of the team’s standout 2016 draft class, and the team’s top linebacker became the first to see a new contract.

Jacksonville saw Telvin Smith step away earlier this offseason. It is not known if this is a retirement, but the Jags took care of his longtime running mate. This is a more lucrative deal than the one the team gave Smith (four years, $44MM), with Jack’s $14.25MM-AAV figure sitting behind only Bobby Wagner and C.J. Mosley among off-ball ‘backers. Jack’s $33MM guarantee ties him with Anthony Barr for sixth among this contingent.

Jack has been the least vocal of the Jags’ 2016 defender draftees about a re-up, with Ngakoue holding out into camp and Ramsey making no secret he believes the Jags can afford to give him top cornerback money. But this marks another win for a college superstar who entered the 2016 draft with injury-damaged stock. Both Jack and Jaylon Smith fell out of the first round because of injuries; both are now on high-end linebacker contracts.

The soon-to-be 24-year-old ‘backer has played in 98% of Jacksonville’s snaps since 2017. He’s made 197 tackles over the past two seasons, playing a key role on a defense that has been one of the league’s best in that span.

Myles Jack Discusses Contract Situation

The Jaguars have been dealing with a lot of contract drama recently. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue held out from the team’s mandatory minicamp in pursuit of a longterm deal, and cornerback Jalen Ramsey recently made it clear he won’t be taking a hometown discount from the Jags.

Another player who will need a new deal soon is linebacker Myles Jack, although his situation has flown much more under the radar. Speaking to John Reid of the Florida Times-Union recently, Jack emphasized that it’s been by choice that his contract isn’t getting too much attention. Jack is purposefully keeping a lower profile, and isn’t going to be making public demands anytime soon.

“When my time comes up, that’s when it’s going to come up. But right now, I’m just focused on going out there winning games, getting numbers and then by the end of the season that all will take care of itself,” Jack said. The UCLA product knows his payday will be tied to the stats he puts up, saying “obviously in my position, Telvin (Smith) is gone, so that’s 120 tackles unaccounted for, and I want at least 50 of those so I can get 150 tackles to create some leverage for myself.”

Telvin Smith recently announced he won’t be playing in 2019, meaning Jack will be even more important to the defense. Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Jack has been a very solid player since Jacksonville took him 36th overall in 2016. He’s been durable and hasn’t missed a game since entering the league, making 16 starts each of the past two seasons. Knee issues caused Jack to fall out of the first round in the draft, so it’s been a very good sign for his next contract that he’s been able to stay healthy.

Jack also acknowledged Ngakoue’s situation, and said that he and his teammates are paying attention to what’s happening across the league. “Obviously we love the game, but at the same time, we see the ESPN tickers going and guys getting this amount of money,” Jack said. “In [Ngakoue’s] case, from the numbers that he’s put up versus the other guys getting paid, he’s either better or neck and neck with (them). I completely understand why he’s doing what he’s doing.”

Jack was a large part of the team that helped Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game in 2017, and they’d surely like to keep him around. Some teams don’t like giving out big contracts to inside linebackers though, and it’ll be interesting to see how highly Tom Coughlin and co. value Jack. Still only 23, Jack could land a huge contract from a team desperate for linebacker help next offseason.

AFC South Notes: Mahomes, Titans, Jack

Earlier today, Deshaun Watson‘s Texans visit schedule became known. He will have some company, it appears. Patrick Mahomes is also meeting with Texans brass, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Mahomes is already in Houston and will be visiting with the Texans tonight and on Monday, John McClain of the Chronicle adds (via Twitter).

The Texas Tech product is one of the fastest-rising commodities in this draft. He’s had 18 visits and private workouts thus far, but this one is among the more interesting for the high-volume college passer because of the Texans’ status as a two-time reigning division champion and void at quarterback.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports noted earlier this month Mahomes was unlikely to slip past the Texans at No. 25, and the team is now doing some work on him. Houston would have a better shot at drafting the strong-armed former Big 12 signal-caller at No. 25 than Watson, but the former looks to have gained extensive ground and could be a priority for a team holding a higher pick — or one that trades up in front of the Texans — at this point.

Here’s more from the AFC South.

  • Corey Davis made a trip to Nashville, Tenn., today to visit with the Titans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Davis will meet with the Titans tonight and Monday before flying to Baltimore for a Monday-Tuesday Ravens summit, per Rapoport. The Titans recently met with fellow first-round wideout prospects John Ross and Mike Williams. The franchise holds two first-round picks (Nos. 5 and 18) and is believed to be targeting wideout help. Their aggressive Brandin Cooks pursuit made this rather apparent.
  • The Jaguars will have some movement at linebacker, it appears. Last year’s second-round pick, Myles Jack has already learned middle and strong-side linebacker and is set to supplant Paul Posluszny in the middle, relocating the career-long middle ‘backer to the strong side. But the Jags view Jack as a natural fit on the weak side long-term, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Telvin Smith currently occupies that position and is expected to start there again in 2017. However, Smith is slated to be a 2018 UFA, and another Jack move would stand to impact Jacksonville’s decision on Smith. O’Halloran adds that Smith extension talks could pick up after the draft, but the fourth-year linebacker’s spot could be tenuous if Jack is viewed as the future at that position.
  • The Jags could also be exploring the idea of moving A.J. Cann to left guard, per O’Halloran. A third-year player, Cann’s been the Jags’ right guard starter the past two seasons. Recently re-signed Patrick Omameh and former Cardinal Earl Watford are the team’s other top guards presently. Jacksonville made a push for Kevin Zeitler but saw him sign with the Browns.
  • After picking up his fifth-year option, the Texans are expected to pursue an extension for Jadeveon Clowney. But they are waiting to see if he can deliver a repeat showing of last year’s Pro Bowl campaign.