Riley Bullough

Extra Points: Tight Ends, Bullough, Cowboys

With the regular season winding down, attention across the league is understandably starting to turn toward the offseason. There are a ton of interesting storylines for 2020 free agency, and one of them is that tight ends across the NFL are about to get paid. A number of top tight ends are either going to be entering free agency or the final years of their deals, and multiple sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com they will “redefine the value of NFL tight ends, and the position is about to see a major bump in the salaries paid to them.”

The 49ers’ George Kittle is going to be entering the final year of his deal and San Francisco will likely seek to work out an extension. Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz is also going to be entering a contract year, while Atlanta’s Austin Hooper will be a free agent this spring. The Chargers’ Hunter Henry and Eric Ebron of the Colts are also both slated to be free agents. Schefter writes that “few around the league believe that Kittle will play next season” still under his rookie deal, so it sounds like he’s going to land a massive extension. He’ll probably become the league’s highest-paid tight end whenever that happens. The position isn’t as deep as it used to be league-wide, but the top ones are playing huge roles on some of the NFL’s top offenses. Now, it sounds like they’re going to break the bank.

Here’s more as Week 15 comes to a close:

  • We’ve got minor retirement news to pass along, as linebacker Riley Bullough is hanging up his cleats, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A Michigan State product, Bullough is best remembered by NFL fans for being featured prominently in the 2017 season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ while with the Buccaneers. Bullough signed with Tampa as an UDFA in 2017, and bounced between their practice squad and active roster over the next two years. He started three games for the Bucs last year, and was in camp with Tennessee this summer. He comes from a football family, with his brother Max and father Shane both also playing at MSU. Max spent a few years in the NFL with the Texans and Browns.
  • The Cowboys pulled off a big win over the Rams on Sunday, but they also suffered a blow to their depth. Rookie linebacker Luke Gifford will miss the rest of the season with a fractured arm he picked up during the win, a source told Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Gifford, an UDFA from Nebraska, has only appeared in five games this season due to injury, but he’s been playing a pretty big role on special teams when healthy. He’s yet to take a defensive snap in his pro career.
  • In case you missed it, it looks like Freddie Kitchens will be back in Cleveland next year.

Titans Sign RB Akeem Hunt, Three Others

The Titans overhauled the bottom of their roster this morning, according to Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. The team added four players: running back Akeem Hunt, defensive end Eric Cotton, receiver DeAngelo Yancey and linebacker Ukeme Eligwe. The Titans also activated Jurrell Casey from the Physically Unable to Perform list.

To make room on the roster, the team made a series of roster moves: receiver Jalen Tolliver was waived, while linebacker Riley Bullough and offensive lineman Cody Conway were waived/injured. Wide receiver Cameron Batson and linebacker D’Andre Walker, a fifth-rounder out of Georgia, was placed on injured reserve.

Hunt is the most notable name among the additions, as the 26-year-old has appeared in 30 games during his four-year career. Hunt’s last stint in the NFL came in 2017, when he appeared in a career-high 15 games for the Chiefs. The running back finished that season with 23 rushing yards on eight attempts, and he added another 31 yards on four receptions. He also had 25 kick returns and five special teams tackles.

Yancey, a 2017 fifth-round pick out of Purdue, hasn’t seen the field for a regular season game. He’s had stints with the Packers, Jets, and Titans. Eligwe, a 2017 fifth-rounder out of Georgia Southern, has 12 career tackles in 24 games with the Giants and Chiefs. Cotton, a former undrafted free agent out of Stanford, had a previous stint with the Packers.

Casey suffered a knee injury towards the end of last season that ended up shelving him for training camp. The four-time Pro Bowler recently passed his physical, and he’ll immediately take his starting gig on the defensive line.

Titans Claim LB Riley Bullough

Shortly after the draft, the Buccaneers waived multiyear contributor Riley Bullough. The Titans will now see what the linebacker can do under their watch.

Tennessee submitted a successful waiver claim on the young linebacker on Tuesday. Bullough will now head to Nashville.

A 2017 UDFA who became a fan favorite on Hard Knocks that summer, Bullough made his way into Tampa Bay’s starting lineup in 2018. He was a first-stringer in three games last season. The Michigan State product started in three games and played in nine as an NFL sophomore. But he’s been mostly a special teams cog, having made just 15 career tackles in 12 games.

The Bucs waived Bullough with an injury designation prior to the 2018 regular season but brought him back in October. After waiving him again this year, they will not have an immediate chance to re-sign him.

The Titans closed their six-player draft with two linebackers — D’Andre Walker and David Long Jr., respectively chosen in the fifth and sixth rounds — but did not sign any veteran free agents at this spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/29/19

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns 

  • Waived: C Kyle Friend

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Waived: C Tejan Koroma

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: OL Jeremiah Kolone

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/22/18

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers LB Jack Cichy Tears ACL

Kwon Alexander isn’t the only Buccaneers linebacker who suffered a torn ACL on Sunday, as an MRI revealed Jack Cichy will miss the rest of the 2018 season with the same injury, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

This marks the second torn ACL of Cichy’s football career, as he previously suffered the injury in August 2017, just before the start of his final collegiate season at Wisconsin. Instead of taking a medical waiver and staying in Madison, Cichy entered the 2018 draft, and eventually was selected in the sixth round.

Cichy entered Sunday’s contest after Alexander had already gone down, playing outside linebacker while Adarius Taylor shifted to the middle to replace Alexander. With only four healthy linebackers — Taylor, Lavonte David, Cameron Lynch, and Devante Bond — still on their roster, the Buccaneers will need to make an addition this week. Kendell Beckwith is eligible to return from the non-football injury list, but given that he’s yet to practice, he’s probably not a realistic option.

The Buccaneers seem to have at least one candidate in mind to fill a linebacker void. Riley Bullough, who split the 2017 season between Tampa’s active and practice squad, was in town for a workout and physical, tweets Greg Auman of The Athletic. He reached an injury settlement with the Bucs earlier this year, and is now eligible to be re-signed.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/18

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Buccaneers Move Roster To 53

The Buccaneers have made the following transactions as they move to 53 players:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

Placed on injured reserve:

Placed on NFI:

Placed on suspended list:

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/12/17

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated to return from injured reserve: QB Jeff Driskel

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

  • Signed off Chiefs‘ practice squad: OL Damien Mama

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Promoted to active roster: LB Riley Bullough
  • Waived: CB Deji Olatoye

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers