49ers Sign WR/PR Ray-Ray McCloud
The 49ers are adding a special teams ace. San Francisco is signing wide receiver/return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud to a two-year deal, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter). The deal is worth up to $10.4MM, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
The former sixth-round pick bounced around the NFL during his first two years in the league, but he found a home in Pittsburgh over the past two saeasons. He got into 16 games during his first year with the Steelers, but he took a significant step forward in 2021.
McCloud made a name for himself on special teams, leading the NFL in punt return yardage at 367. He also returned 35 kickoffs for 776 yards. He wasn’t a scrub on offense, either; he hauled in 39 receptions for 277 yards, and he added another 15 yards on two carries.
Now, the 25-year-old is off to San Francisco. The Steelers made an effort to retain McCloud but the 49ers made a “stronger commitment,” according to Fowler (on Twitter).
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/22
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: LS Aaron Brewer, P Andy Lee
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: OL Colby Gossett, NT Anthony Rush
- Signed: S Teez Tabor, OT Elijah Wilkinson
Chicago Bears
- Released: LS Beau Brinkley
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: WR Mike Thomas
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: QB David Blough
- Signed: TE Garrett Griffin
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: P Pat O’Donnell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Trent Sherfield
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Kentavius Street
New York Giants
- Re-signed: OT Korey Cunningham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Oren Burks (two-year deal)
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/22
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: WR Brandon Zylstra
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: LS Clark Harris
Houston Texans
- Acquired via trade (from Jets): LB Blake Cashman
- Signed: TE Scott Quessenberry
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OL Will Richardson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: FB Jakob Johnson
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: P Jordan Berry
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, OL Austin Schlottmann
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LS Casey Kreiter
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Trenton Cannon
George Kittle, Arik Armstead Rework Contracts With 49ers
The 49ers have opened up a significant chunk of cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the team has restructured the contracts of tight end George Kittle and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. These moves will open $18.75MM in cap space.
Kittle inked a sizable five-year, $75MM deal with the 49ers prior to the 2020 season, but he was limited to only eight games that year while dealing with a knee injury and a broken bone in his foot. He got into 14 games this past season and returned to his Pro Bowl form, hauling in 71 catches for 910 yards and six touchdowns.
Armstead has spent his entire career with San Francisco. The former first-round pick signed a five-year, $85MM deal ($48.5MM guaranteed) with the 49ers following a 2019 season where he finished with 10 sacks. Armstead has collected only 9.5 sacks over the past two seasons (33 starts), but he’s still collected 58 tackles and 24 QB hits.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/22
Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: OL Ryan Bates
- Broncos: OLB Malik Reed
- Commanders: K Joey Slye
- 49ers: LB Azeez Al-Shaair
- Jets: K Eddy Pineiro, QB Mike White
- Rams: LB Travin Howard
- Saints: DL Shy Tuttle
Non-tendered:
- Bills: DT Justin Zimmer
- Broncos: DL DeShawn Williams
- Chiefs: CB Chris Lammons
- Giants: QB Jake Fromm
- Jets: DE Kyle Phillips, OT Greg Senat
- Raiders: CB Keisean Nixon
- Jaguars: RB Dare Ogunbowale
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Commanders: C Keith Ismael, K Brian Johnson, DE Bunmi Rotimi
NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2022 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2022 draft. These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2021 offseason.
This year, the NFL awarded 39 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks.
This year’s formula also includes the changes made last year, when teams began receiving third-round comp picks due to the hiring of minority head coaches and general managers. Seven such picks were awarded this year. The 49ers landed two additional third-rounders this year, obtaining the extra selections for the Jets’ 2021 Robert Saleh hire and the Dolphins hiring Mike McDaniel this year. Miami’s McDaniel hire will give San Francisco another third-rounder in 2023.
The Chiefs obtained a third-rounder for the Bears’ Ryan Poles GM hire, while the Browns landed a third because of the Vikings’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah GM hire. The Ravens collected their second third-round for the Texans’ 2021 David Culley hire; Culley has since been fired. The Saints and Rams obtained one apiece after seeing the Falcons and Lions hire minority execs Terry Fontenot and Brad Holmes as GMs in 2021. New Orleans and Detroit also landed thirds because of players given high-value contacts last year (Trey Hendrickson and Kenny Golladay, respectively).
Here is the full list of 2022 compensatory selections:
By round:
Round 3: Lions (No. 97 overall), Saints (98), Browns (99)*, Ravens (100)*, Saints (101)*, 49ers (102)*, Chiefs (103)*, Rams (104)*, 49ers (105)*
Round 4: Steelers (No. 138), Ravens (139), Packers (140), Ravens (141), Rams (142), Titans (143)
Round 5: Cowboys (No. 176), Lions (177), Cowboys (178), Colts (179)
Round 6: Rams (No. 211), Rams (212), Falcons (213), Chargers (214), Cardinals (215), Colts (216), Lions (217), Rams (218), Titans (219), 49ers (220), 49ers (221)
Round 7: Chargers (No. 254), Chargers (255), Cardinals (256), Cardinals (257), Packers (258), Chiefs (259), Chargers (260), Buccaneers (261), 49ers (262)
By team:
San Francisco 49ers (5)
Los Angeles Rams (5)
Los Angeles Chargers (4)
Arizona Cardinals (3)
Baltimore Ravens (3)
Detroit Lions (3)
Dallas Cowboys (2)
Green Bay Packers (2)
Indianapolis Colts (2)
Kansas City Chiefs (2)
New Orleans Saints (2)
Tennessee Titans (2)
Atlanta Falcons (1)
Cleveland Browns (1)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
* = special compensatory selection
49ers DE Dee Ford Reworks Contract
The 49ers have opened up a chunk of cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), the 49ers have restructured the contract of defensive end Dee Ford.
Following a trade in 2019, the 49ers inked the pass rusher to a five-year, $87.5MM deal. Last March, he agreed to scale it down to a two-year pact worth $24MM. Today’s move will create $4.96MM in 2022 cap space.
The 49ers traded for Ford during the 2019 offseason and saw him play a key role in their Super Bowl LIV run as a part-timer. Unfortunately, he’s been limited to just 18 regular season games in SF over the last two seasons and change.
The 30-year-old got into six games in 2021, collecting three sacks and four QB hits. However, his season ended on injured reserve with back and neck injuries.
49ers To Sign CB Charvarius Ward
Charvarius Ward is signing with the 49ers, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The cornerback confirmed the news on Twitter.
It’s a three-year deal worth $42MM, including $26.7MM in guaranteed money.
Ward joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee in 2018. After seeing time in 13 games as a rookie, Ward ended up starting 16 games in 2019 for the eventual Super Bowl champs. Ward finished that season with 74 tackles, ten passes defended, and two interceptions. He also added another nine tackles in three postseason games.
The 25-year-old started 13 of his 14 games in 2020, finishing the year with 51 tackles, one sack, and six passes defended. Then, he started in each of Kansas City’s three playoff games, collecting 18 tackles. He ended up inking his second-round tender with the organization last offseason, and he proceeded to start 12 of his 13 games in 2021, collecting 67 tackles, 10 passes defended, and two interceptions. He also got into all three playoff games.
Broncos To Sign DL D.J. Jones
The Broncos made last week’s biggest splash but went through a dormant Monday. They are making a move tonight, however, in signing former 49ers defensive lineman D.J. Jones.
Jones agreed to a three-year, $30MM deal with Denver, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Breaking through during his contract year, Jones will collect a nice payday. The Broncos are giving the interior D-lineman a fully guaranteed $20MM.
The sixth-year D-lineman will essentially take the place of Shelby Harris, whom the Broncos included in their Russell Wilson trade. Harris, a Bronco from 2017-21, was attached to a $9MM-per-year deal.
A former sixth-round pick, Jones displayed considerable promise during his contract year. The Ole Miss alum started 17 games for San Francisco, registered 10 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles. The 49ers used Jones as a 46-game starter over the past three seasons, during which time the inside defender recorded seven sacks and 21 TFLs. Jones added a sack, during the 49ers’ five-sack game against the Cowboys, in the playoffs earlier this year.
At 27, D.J. Jones is nearly four years younger than Harris. He will team with Dre’Mont Jones, who is going into a contract year, and nose tackle Mike Purcell on the Broncos’ D-line. D.J. Jones is the only projected starter acquired or extended during George Paton‘s GM tenure.
Jaguars To Sign TE Evan Engram
The Jaguars continue to add to their offense. Jacksonville is signing tight end Evan Engram, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Jaguars To Sign Christian Kirk]
It’s a one-year deal worth $9MM, and the contract could be worth up to $10MM with incentives. PFF’s Doug Kyed tweets that the deal contains $8.25MM in guaranteed money, which includes a $3MM signing bonus and $5.25MM base salary. The tight end has $800K worth of reception and receiving yard incentives.
A first-round pick by the Giants in 2018, Engram had an inconsistent five years in New York. After missing 13 combined games between 2018 and 2019, Engram earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2020 after finishing with 63 receptions for 654 yards and one touchdown. However, his numbers took a step back in 2021, with the tight end finishing with 46 receptions for a career-low 408 receiving yards.
Still, those numbers would represent an upgrade at the position for the Jaguars. The team’s top receiving TE in 2021 was Dan Arnold, who finished with 28 receptions for 324 yards. Engram will join a tight ends depth chart that already includes Arnold, James O’Shaughnessy, Chris Manhertz, and Luke Farrell.
However, there’s a chance Engram doesn’t even line up as TE for his new squad. There were recent reports that teams were looking into Engram as a wide receiver, with the player’s combination of speed, agility, and size making him a potential matchup nightmare. We’ll see if that ends up being the case in Jacksonville. According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post (on Twitter), the Colts, 49ers, and Bills were among the teams to express interest in Engram before he landed in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars have been busy adding to their offense this afternoon. After agreeing to a deal with offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, the organization inked receiver Christian Kirk to a lucrative deal.