Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/21
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves to report from what turned out to be a pretty busy Saturday in the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Tuzar Skipper
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Derrick Willies
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Danny Isidora
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB Brett Hundley, DT Joey Ivie
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Tevin Jones
- Cut: LB Leon Jacobs, K Aldrick Rosas
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Jerald Hawkins
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
New York Jets
- Signed: K Matt Ammendola
- Cut: K Sam Ficken
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Sean Mannion
Washington Football Team
- Claimed off waivers from Dolphins: OL Ross Reynolds
Hundley is the biggest signing on this list. The Colts adding him is a pretty good sign they expect Carson Wentz to miss some significant time. Assuming Wentz misses games, Hundley will battle it out with second-year pro Jacob Eason.
A couple of kickers who have started a bunch of games both found themselves sent packing in Ficken and Rosas. Mannion latched on with the Seahawks. He’s familiar with new Seattle OC Shane Waldron from their time together with the Rams, explaining why the Seahawks added him as an option behind Russell Wilson.
Sean Mannion Auditions For Seahawks, Jets, Giants
After spending the past two years as Kirk Cousins‘ backup with the Vikings, Sean Mannion has been in free agency for the past four-plus months. The veteran reserve may have a new gig soon.
Mannion worked out for both the Seahawks and Jets this week, according to Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter links). The Jets have both Mannion and Josh Johnson at their facility Thursday. While in New York, Mannion also stopped through the Giants’ facility for a workout, Caplan tweets.
The Giants let Colt McCoy defect to the Cardinals and signed Mike Glennon. The latter has eight years’ experience but has not provided an especially steady hand as a backup, bouncing to four teams over the past four years.
Although the Jets signed No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson on Thursday afternoon, they have an apparent need for signal-caller depth. Neither of New York’s QB2 candidates — 2020 fourth-round pick James Morgan and former UDFA Mike White — has never taken a regular-season snap. While Mannion has spent his career behind largely durable quarterbacks — Jared Goff in Los Angeles, Cousins in Minnesota — he has six years’ experience and is one of the top QBs left on the market.
Mannion has experience with new Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron; the duo worked together with the Rams. Waldron served as the Rams’ passing-game coordinator in 2018, Mannion’s final year with the team. The Vikings moved on from Mannion this offseason and drafted Kellen Mond in the third round. The Seahawks re-signed Geno Smith, who has been Russell Wilson‘s backup since 2019, but may be looking for competition.
Johnson has famously been with 14 teams in his lengthy NFL career, which began in 2008. Now 35, Johnson has a key connection to the current Jets staff. He was most recently with the 49ers, who cut him in June. The Jets hired both 49ers DC Robert Saleh and ex-San Francisco passing-game coordinator Mike LaFleur. Johnson’s historic journeyman run included a Jets stopover in 2015. The team cut him after barely a week.
Vikings Likely To Re-Sign QB Sean Mannion
Sean Mannion appears in the picture to reprise his role as Kirk Cousins‘ backup. The Vikings are likely to bring their QB2 back on a third contract, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
The Vikings initially added Mannion in 2019, and he stuck around on a second one-year contract last year. Mannion played at the veteran-minimum rate last season; a similar Vikings pact should be expected.
Originally a third-round Rams draft pick in 2015, Mannion did not make inroads to being a starter in St. Louis. And the Rams traded up for Jared Goff upon moving to Los Angeles ahead of Mannion’s second season. The Oregon State product has done well to land jobs that have not required him to play in games especially often.
Mannion’s only two career starts — Week 17 in 2017 and Week 17 in 2019 — have come when his respective team has rested starters ahead of the playoffs. Cousins has not missed a game due to injury in three Vikings seasons. Mannion, 29 next month, is 45 of 74 for 384 yards and three INTs in his six-year career.
Vikings To Re-Sign QB Sean Mannion
Sean Mannion will stay on as Kirk Cousins‘ backup. The Vikings are re-signing Mannion, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes (on Twitter).
The parties agreed on a one-year deal, Goessling tweets. This will mark the second straight offseason Mannion agreed to a one-year Minnesota pact.
For the second time in three years, Mannion saw the NFC playoff picture produce a Week 17 starting opportunity. He filled in for a resting Cousins in last year’s regular-season finale. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions against the Bears. These marked Mannion’s only pass attempts last season.
A third-round pick in 2015, Mannion stayed with the Rams for four seasons before moving on. He replaced Trevor Siemian as Cousins’ backup last year. The 27-year-old QB2 has thrown 74 career passes in five seasons and has yet to record his first regular-season touchdown pass.
NFC Rumors: Cowboys, Thomas, Vikes, Rams
Robert Quinn‘s initial Cowboys preseason slate will be nullified because of an injury he suffered at practice Tuesday. The trade acquisition will undergo surgery in Dallas after breaking his left hand, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). Quinn’s fracture, however, may not shelve him for any regular-season time. Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones expects the ninth-year defensive end to be ready by the time the Cowboys face the Giants in Week 1. So, the Cowboys’ August lineup graphics will not feature either of the team’s projected D-end starters, with DeMarcus Lawrence also out for the preseason slate.
Moving first (perhaps predictably) to the Cowboys’ glut of extension candidates, here is the latest from around the NFC:
- Jones said earlier today the Cowboys are offering deals that would, at the moment, make Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper among the five highest-paid players at their respective positions. That represents a low bar for Elliott, but Jones revealed one Cowboys stance: that Le’Veon Bell‘s Jets deal slightly lowered the running back market compared to where it was when Todd Gurley signed his lucrative pact. As for the status of Dallas’ deals, Jones does not expect them to be done during the team’s training camp stay in Oxnard, Calif. “To set all expectations, I’d be floored if anything got done before we got (back) to Dallas, with any of the three,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic (on Twitter). “I’m not concerned. I don’t feel any momentum. I don’t see anything happening.” The Cowboys will be in Oxnard until August 15.
- Solomon Thomas has not lived up to his lofty draft status thus far, but the 49ers will try and capitalize on the former No. 2 overall pick’s interior-rushing talent. With Dee Ford and Nick Bosa now on the edge, Thomas has been rotating with defensive tackles DeForest Buckner at Arik Armstead, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Thomas saw the majority of his 644 49ers snaps last season on the edge. The Stanford product has just four sacks in two seasons.
- Going into their preseason slate, the Vikings have leaned toward Sean Mannion being Kirk Cousins‘ primary backup. That is not surprising, given Mannion’s status as the Rams’ QB2 recently. Mannion and 2017 UDFA Kyle Sloter were rotating No. 2 reps recently, but Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out Sloter is now rotating with rookie UDFA Jake Browning with Minnesota’s third-team offense. Both backups are playing for league-minimum money.
- Rams rookie linebacker Justin Lawler underwent foot surgery Tuesday, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com tweets. The Rams drafted Lawler in the seventh round out of SMU. He profiles as a full-season IR candidate. Teams must carry players through to the 53-man roster for them to be eligible for IR-return status during the season.
North Notes: Packers, Steelers, Vikings
The Packers will bring back veteran tight ends Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis in 2019, but that given that both players are over the age of 30, tight end must be a priority for Green Bay in next weekend’s draft, opines Jim Owczarski of PackersNews.com. Given that they own 10 picks and possess the fourth-most draft capital, the Packers will certainly have an opportunity to find a youthful tight end. With the 12th overall selection, Green Bay could theoretically target Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson, while fellow Hawkeye Noah Fant or Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. could be in play with pick No. 30. The 2019 draft class is exceptionally deep at tight end, so the Packers should have plenty of chances to add to the position throughout the weekend.
Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:
- Speaking of the Packers‘ draft, Green Bay recently hosted Ole Miss offensive tackle Greg Little, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Not to be confused with the former Browns receiver of the same name, this Little is anything but at 6’6″, 325 pounds. Viewed as a potential Day 2 selection, Little could help reinforce a Packers offensive line that took a step back in 2018. While left tackle should be manned by David Bakhtiari for the foreseeable future, right tackle Bryan Bulaga is entering the final year of his contract.
- While other quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have recently campaign for new deals, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has not taken the same tack, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Roethlisberger, 37, is entering the final year of his contract: he’s due a $12MM base salary and will count for $23.2MM on Pittsburgh’s salary cap. He’s still engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Steelers, and as Florio notes, Roethlisberger would be due more than $60MM over the next two years if the franchise tag was deployed, so that could be a starting point in talks.
- Free agent defensive end Geneo Grissom worked out for the Lions today, reports Howard Balzer (Twitter link). A former third-round pick of the Patriots, Grissom should be familiar with current Detroit head coach/former New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia‘s scheme. Grissom, 26, never lived up to his draft billing and played in fewer than 200 defensive snaps for the Patriots before being cut last November.
- New Vikings backup quarterback Sean Mannion‘s one-year deal is a minimum salary benefit pact, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. As such, Mannion will only carry the salary cap charge of a second-year player despite having four years of NFL experience under his belt. The former Rams signal-caller received a $90K signing bonus to become Kirk Cousins‘ understudy.
Vikings To Sign QB Sean Mannion
The Vikings have agreed to sign backup quarterback Sean Mannion, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal for Mannion, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, and it’s worth up to $900K, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link).
Having lost 2018 backup Trevor Siemian to the Jets, Minnesota was searching for a signal-caller to play behind Kirk Cousins. Mannion met with the club last week, as did former Dolphins passer David Fales.
A third-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 draft, Mannion has only attempted 53 passes during his four-year NFL career. His most significant action came in Week 17 of the 2017 campaign, when he started a meaningless game against the 49ers. In Mannion’s only pro start, he completed 20 of 34 passes for 134 yards.
Mannion was replaced in Los Angeles by former Jaguars starter Blake Bortles, and hadn’t been linked to any other clubs in free agency. Despite his inexperience, Mannion is the favorite for No. 2 duties in Minnesota, although he could face competition for 2017 undrafted free agent Kyle Sloter.
Cousins has proven extremely durable throughout his career, so Mannion may not get the opportunity to see much action for the Vikings. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2015, Cousins has started 64 consecutive games.
NFC North Notes: Packers, Vikings, Lions
After surprisingly getting canned by the Packers midseason, Mike McCarthy had remained conspicuously quiet. Until now. If you haven’t read it yet, you should check out Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com‘s recent interview with McCarthy. McCarthy finally dished on everything related to his firing, and expressed his displeasure with how it was handled. McCarthy was apparently blindsided by the decision to fire him midseason, and said it “couldn’t have been handled any worse” by Green Bay’s management.
Notably published just one day before the explosive reports of dysfunction within the organization from Bleacher Report, McCarthy downplayed any tension between him and Aaron Rodgers. All McCarthy did to acknowledge a potential strain in their relationship was saying “to think you can be in a relationship that long and not have any frustrations, that’s unrealistic.” McCarthy also told Demovsky that he 100 percent plans to continue coaching in 2020. The longtime Packers coach was reportedly a candidate for the Jets and Browns openings, and it’s still unclear if he pulled himself out of the running or if he just wasn’t able to land a job.
Here’s more from around the NFC North:
- With Trevor Siemian bolting for the Jets, the Vikings are still trying to figure out their backup quarterback situation. They met with quarterback David Fales on Friday, per a team announcement. Fales spent last year as Miami’s number three quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler. Minnesota also hosted former Rams backup Sean Mannion on a visit last week, but he left without a contract. Even though there was no agreement, Mannion is still “VERY much on the Vikings radar,” tweets Darren Wolfson of 5News Minneapolis. As of this writing, Kyle Sloter is the only other QB on the roster behind Kirk Cousins.
- When T.J. Lang opted to retire, he left a big hole on the right side of the Lions’ offensive line. But Detroit is apparently confident they’ll be able to replace him, according to recent comments head coach Matt Patricia made, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website. As Twentyman and Patricia broke down, the team has a number of options. They have Joe Dahl and Kenny Wiggins returning from last year, and they added Oday Aboushi this offseason. Patricia also said that second-year offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby could play some guard.
- Speaking of the Lions and holes, they had a massive one at tight end last year after Eric Ebron left. They got virtually nothing from the position last year, so it won’t be surprising if they draft one early in this year’s draft. To that end, the team hosted Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. for a visit on Thursday, according to a tweet from Josh Norris of Rotoworld. Smith Jr. is most analyst’s third-rated tight end, and could go as high as the first round. He caught 44 passes for 710 yards and seven touchdowns for the Crimson Tide last season.
Vikings To Meet With QB Sean Mannion
After seeing their 2018 backup sign with the Jets, the Vikings have a need behind Kirk Cousins. They will explore a replacement option this week.
The Vikings are planning to meet with Sean Mannion at some point this week, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Mannion was viewed as a possible Trevor Siemian contingency plan. Siemian signed with the Jets last week.
Mannion has only thrown 53 career passes, having backed up Jared Goff the past two seasons. Blake Bortles will now assume that position. A 26-year-old Oregon State product, Mannion spent four years with the Rams after arriving as a third-round pick in 2015. Mannion’s most significant audition came in Week 17 of the 2017 season, when Sean McVay rested his starters. His then-backup quarterback completed 20 of 34 passes for 169 yards. No other teams have been linked to Mannion thus far in free agency.
While Minnesota wants to add a veteran to work as Cousins’ backup, Mike Zimmer did not rule out 2017 UDFA Kyle Sloter or a to-be-determined rookie filling that role, per Tomasson. Sloter, a Broncos UDFA the Vikings added on waivers in 2017, has yet to throw an NFL pass. Siemian also threw zero passes as a Viking. Cousins took all the snaps for the Vikings last season.
Jets To Meet With Trevor Siemian
Trevor Siemian will travel east to meet with the Jets about their backup job, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). This meeting will occur Wednesday.
The Vikings are interested in keeping Siemian as their backup, but the first-time free agent has a few teams interested, Garafolo adds. The Jets have been connected to Siemian for a while now.
Siemian was on their radar a year ago, with the team connected to the then-Broncos quarterback via trade. New York had already re-signed Josh McCown and added Teddy Bridgewater, leading to Minnesota’s trade acquisition. In 2017, when some brief Tony Romo-to-Denver smoke surfaced, rumors of Jets-Siemian interested emerged. But Siemian returned as the Broncos’ 2017 starter.
Now that Siemian’s a free agent and McCown is considering retirement, the Jets are exploring this addition for a third straight offseason.
Siemian did not appear in a Vikings game last season; Kirk Cousins took every snap for Minnesota. Siemian, 27, fared better as the 2016 Broncos’ starter, with Peyton Manning‘s immediate successor leading the team to a 9-7 record and throwing 18 touchdown passes compared to 10 interceptions. In 2017, he rated as one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks, prompting the Broncos to abandon their unusual experiment with the former seventh-round pick.
Should Siemian defect to the Jets or sign with another team, the Vikings are interested in recent Rams backup Sean Mannion, Garafolo adds. The Rams just added Blake Bortles to be Jared Goff‘s backup. Mannion, who has thrown 53 career passes, is a free agent.