HEADLINES

Ryan Griffin (TE)

Jets Cut TE Ryan Griffin

April 4th, 2022 at 7:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

Having added two notable free agents at the position, more change was likely inevitable for the Jets. It comes as little surprise, then, that the team announced on Monday the release of veteran tight end Ryan Griffin. 

The 32-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Texans in 2013. His role developed over the course of multiple years in Houston, peaking in 2016. During that campaign, he posted career-highs in receptions (50) and yards (442). Across six seasons with the Texans, he played in 77 games (including 36 starts), registering 1,491 yards and seven touchdowns.

In July 2019, Griffin signed with the Jets, who were short on experience at the position. He remained there for three campaigns, starting 31 of 42 games. The 2020 season saw him make only nine catches, but the years before and after were in line with his standard levels of production. Overall, he totalled 70 catches for 667 yards and seven scores in the Big Apple.

Releasing Griffin (who was under contract for one more season) will save the Jets just over $3MM. Regardless of the financial implications, New York had already re-vamped the depth chart at the position this offseason. The Jets signed C.J. Uzomah as well as Tyler Conklin as two of their early moves in free agency. With those two in place, Griffin will now hit the open market for the second time in his career as he looks for his next NFL home.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC East

September 1st, 2021 at 6:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bills, Dolphins, Jets and Patriots moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Buffalo Bills

Signed:

Placed on IR: 

Signed to practice squad:

Miami Dolphins

Claimed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

New England Patriots

Claimed:

Waived: 

Signed to practice squad:

New York Jets

Claimed:

Re-signed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Jets Cut 26 Players, Get To Roster Limit

August 31st, 2021 at 9:21pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets let go of 27 players today, reducing their roster to the 53-man limit. The team made the following moves:

Released

Waived

Placed on Reserve/PUP list

The Jets added Johnson earlier this month. While the 35-year-old hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2018, there was some optimism that he could compete for a spot as Zach Wilson‘s backup. That ultimately wasn’t the case, and with James Morgan also getting waived, the team will roll with Mike White as the second QB.

Jets Exercise 2021 Option On Ryan Griffin

March 21st, 2020 at 8:53pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets want Ryan Griffin to stay around. New York has exercised their 2021 option on the tight end, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Originally a sixth-round pick of the Texans in 2013, Griffin spent his first six years in Houston. He showed some flashes and had 442 yards in 2016, which earned him a three-year extension the following year. He played a little bit smaller role the next two seasons and was released in May of last year not long after he was arrested for punching a hotel window. The Jets scooped him up last summer, and he turned into a pleasant surprise for the team.

He ended up starting all 13 games that he appeared in for Gang Green, catching 34 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns. The Jets were impressed enough to give him a three-year, $10.8MM extension in November of last year, which included this option year. Overall, he’s under team control through 2022. He’ll try to fend off third-year player Chris Herndon for the starting job in training camp.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Jenkins, Lotulelei

November 24th, 2019 at 12:20pm CST by Rory Parks

Patriots QB Tom Brady will play against the Cowboys this afternoon, but as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link) notes, the team will need to closely monitor Brady’s elbow moving forward. Brady was unable to finish practice on Friday due to elbow pain, and while he was able to take all necessary reps on Saturday, he will continue to get work on the elbow as the season goes on.

Now for more from the AFC East:

  • It’s not unusual for teams to distance themselves from certain prospects in the pre-draft process in order to hide their interest in those prospects, and that’s exactly what the Patriots did with punter Jake Bailey, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. New England neither interviewed nor held a workout with Bailey, but it traded up in the fifth round of this year’s draft to select him. That move paid off, as the rookie specialist has two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week nods and is currently a favorite for the Pro Bowl.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPN.com expects the Jets to make a concerted effort to re-sign linebacker Jordan Jenkins this offseason. Jenkins, who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time, has steadily improved during his first four years in the league, and despite missing two games this season with a calf injury, he has posted five sacks, just two shy of his career-high of seven (which he set last year). Jenkins will likely command a contract paying him over $10MM per year.
  • The Jets will have a lot of positions to address this offseason, but tight end isn’t one of them. As Cimini tweets, the club appears set at TE with Ryan Griffin — who agreed to a three-year extension on Saturday — Chris Herndon, and improving rookie Trevon Wesco.
  • Bills fans have been less than impressed with the performances of front-seven defenders Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy, but Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that Lotulelei will definitely be back with the team next year (the Bills could save $10.1MM against the 2020 cap by cutting Lotulelei after the season, but they would also take on a $7.8MM dead cap charge). Murphy’s status is a bit tougher to predict, but if the Bills move on from Shaq Lawson, Murphy is likely to be back for the final year of his contract.

Jets TE Ryan Griffin Signs Multi-Year Extension

November 23rd, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Jets tight end Ryan Griffin has signed a three-year $10.8MM extension that includes $4MM in guarantees with the team, according to Mike Garafolo on the NFL Network. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News was the first to report the agreement.

While Gang Green has failed to meet their expectations entering the season, Griffin has been one of the team’s bright spots. Griffin is far from an elite player at his position, but represents a solid rotational piece.

Originally drafted by the Texans in the 6th round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Griffin spent the first six years of his career in Houston averaging six starts a year and accumulating 1491 receiving yards, 136 receptions, and 7 receiving touchdowns. Griffin receive consistent playing time, but generally only after an injury.

Griffin signed a one-year, $1.125 MM contract this offseason with the Jets that included no base salary guarantees. Since joining the team, he quickly moved to the top of the depth chart and has started every game of the season. Griffin has caught a career-high four touchdown passes and has grabbed a total of 25 receptions for 269 yards.

Jets To Sign TE Ryan Griffin

July 22nd, 2019 at 4:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Set to be without Chris Herndon for the season’s first month, the Jets added some experience Monday. The team and veteran tight end Ryan Griffin agreed to terms, per Brian Costello of the New York Post.

A six-year veteran, Griffin joins fourth-round rookie Trevon Wesco and fifth-year players Eric Tomlinson and Daniel Brown (a combined 51 career catches). Griffin ended his Texans run with 136 receptions, topping out with a 50-catch, 442-yard 2016 season.

Following an arrest on charges of misdemeanor vandalism and public intoxication, the Texans released Griffin in May. The charges were later dismissed. Griffin, 29, will now have a chance to make an impact with a second franchise.

Griffin’s functioned as a part-time starter throughout his career, earning that distinction 36 times since debuting in 2013 after being a sixth-round Texans pick. He started a career-high 11 games for the 2018 Texans and, with Herndon set to be shelved on a four-game suspension, stands to have a decent chance at working with Jets first-stringers in September.

Extra Points: McCoy, Incognito, Packers

May 31st, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Another day, another Gerald McCoy update. The biggest name left available has been taking his time, taking several visits, but it sounds like he could be nearing a decision. So far, the veteran defensive tackle has visited the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers. Although McCoy left Cleveland without a contract, a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Browns are still very “much in the running” for McCoy’s services (Twitter link).

What suggests he should be signing imminently is that Kay Cabot also writes that he wants to attend his new team’s voluntary minicamp. As she points out, the Browns’ camp starts June 4th, which is in just a few days. To that end, she writes that McCoy could sign on Monday or Tuesday. It sounds like we’ll still be on McCoy-watch this weekend.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Richie Incognito has become more well known for things not related to football than for what he’s done on the field. The Raiders raised a lot of eyebrows when they signed the veteran guard to a deal earlier this week. Incognito spent the entire 2018 season out of football before retiring and then quickly reversing his decision. His retirement came at a tumultuous time for him, and a source told Josh Dubow of the Associated Press that “security was stepped up at the Bills headquarters around the time Incognito announced his retirement,” and that “security personnel were placed on alert if Incognito arrived.” Clearly Buffalo was concerned about him, which isn’t too shocking. Raiders GM Mike Mayock recently said while defending the signing, that “at the end of the day, you can’t have all Boy Scouts.” Speaking of Incognito, he’s had some run-ins with the law that were heavily publicized, but one slipped under the radar. According to documents obtained by ESPN, Incognito plead guilty to “charges of criminal damage and disorderly conduct,” last month, stemming from an August argument at his grandmother’s house. Incognito reportedly blamed his grandmother for his father’s death, which had happened just prior to the argument.
  • The Packers’ 90-man roster just got trimmed by one. Tight end Davis Koppenhaver, an undrafted rookie from Duke, “has decided to step away from the game and pursue a career outside of football,” a source told Michael Cohen of The Athletic (Twitter link). Koppenhaver never topped 157 yards during his time at Duke, so this isn’t too big of a loss for Green Bay.
  • Charges against former Texans tight end Ryan Griffin were dismissed earlier today, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Griffin was arrested last month at the NFL Draft in Nashville, and charged with misdemeanor vandalism and public intoxication. A few weeks later, Houston released him. The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, and has never played a huge role on offense. After a relatively strong 2016 season where he had 442 yards and two touchdowns, the Texan gave him a three-year, $9MM deal. The charges against him never seemed too serious, and he should resurface soon.

Texans Release TE Ryan Griffin

May 17th, 2019 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have released tight end Ryan Griffin, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Griffin was arrested last month in Nashville after allegedly punching a hotel window. 

The incident occurred near the site of the NFL Draft and made headlines for the Texans at an inopportune time. Hotel security reported Griffin to police, and the tight end was subsequently arrested and charged with vandalism and public intoxication. The player was also reportedly bleeding from his left hand, although the extent of the injury is not clear. Instead of writing Griffin a citation, police decided to arrest the player “for his own safety.” The tight end was ultimately released from jail after paying his bond.

The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, serving in mostly a backup role. His best season came in 2016, when he hauled in a career-high 50 passes. Griffin started a career-high 11 games (in 14 appearance) in 2018, compiling 24 receptions for 305 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance last season, ranking him 56th among 70 eligible tight ends.

After selecting San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring in the third round and adding free agent Darren Fells this offseason, the Texans had little reason to keep Griffin. By releasing him, the Texans have brought an early end to the three-year, $9MM extension ($3.22MM guaranteed) he inked back in 2017.

Texans TE Ryan Griffin Arrested

April 27th, 2019 at 9:43am CST by Ben Levine

Texans tight end Ryan Griffin was arrested last night in Nashville, according to a report from Tennessean.com.

Police say the 29-year-old punched a window at a hotel (which, notably, was located near the NFL Draft). Hotel security reported Griffin to police, and the tight end was subsequently arrested and charged with vandalism and public intoxication. The player was also reportedly bleeding from his left hand, although the extent of the injury is not clear. Instead of writing Griffin a citation, police decided to arrest the player “for his own safety.” The tight end was ultimately released from jail after paying his bond.

The 2013 sixth-round pick has spent his entire six-year career with the Texans, serving in mostly a backup role. His best season came in 2016, when he hauled in a career-high 50 passes. Griffin started a career-high 11 games (in 14 appearance) in 2018, compiling 24 receptions for 305 yards. ProFootballFocus wasn’t particularly fond of his performance last season, ranking him 56th among 70 eligible tight ends.

His underwhelming advanced metrics could (partly) explain why the Texans ended up selecting San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring in the third round last night. The team also added free agent Darren Fells this offseason, so there’s no guarantee that Griffin makes it to the regular season with his current squad. Griffin signed a three-year, $9MM extension ($3.22MM guaranteed) with the Texans back in 2017.

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