Steve McLendon Knew Of Trade Before Game
- The Jets dealt nose tackle Steve McLendon to the Buccaneers shortly after their Week 6 game, and in a rare development, McLendon knew he would be a postgame trade piece a day in advance. The Jets interestingly opted not to hold him out of last week’s game. “I got the news on Saturday night that a car would be waiting for me after the game Sunday to come to Tampa,” McLendon said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “I was like, ‘OK.’ Sunday morning, I woke up, I prayed, and I was like, ‘This is one last ride.’ A lot of guys were saying, ‘Man, you’re really gonna play?’ And I was like, ‘Man, this could be the last time I play with y’all in my career.'” The 11th-year veteran will now be tasked with replacing Vita Vea.
NFL Moves Raiders-Bucs Game; Raiders Under Investigation For COVID-19 Compliance
2:56pm: The players the Raiders sent home from the team’s facility Wednesday — Abram, Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson — will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. These players now qualify as high-risk contacts of Brown and will need to isolate for five days. Their last contact with Brown was Monday, however. That would allow these players — barring a positive test — to play Sunday, though it will sideline them from practice this week. Still, this development probably points to the NFL needing to postpone this game to Monday or Tuesday.
One good sign: no new positive tests emerged from Wednesday’s round of testing, Pelissero tweets. But the issues the Patriots and Titans experienced with the coronavirus illustrate the Raiders have not necessarily turned a corner here.
2:36pm: The NFL is preparing to move the Raiders-Buccaneers game off its Sunday slate, it appears. The league announced Thursday it will shift Bucs-Raiders from a primetime slot to 3:05pm CT Sunday. Seahawks-Cardinals will now be Sunday’s primetime game.
Positive COVID-19 tests for Trent Brown and Damon Arnette have put the Raiders’ Sunday status in jeopardy. Additionally, the NFL and NFLPA are investigating the Raiders for COVID-19 compliance, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The league has video of Brown and other Raiders offensive linemen congregating without masks, Pelissero adds, and Brown is not believed to have consistently worn his tracking device. He is now on Las Vegas’ reserve/COVID-19 list, and none of the other Raiders told to isolate — the rest of their starting O-line and safety Johnathan Abram — have returned to practice.
This has obviously clouded Sunday’s game. The Raiders have already had their bye week, giving the NFL another major test in this COVID-19-altered season. Brown is asymptomatic, per Pelissero (video link).
The NFL has shifted a few games around this season, but it has thus far avoided postponing a team’s game after a bye week. Las Vegas’ bye came in Week 6. Were the Raiders to see their Week 7 contest postponed to a later date, the league would run into logistical issues getting that contest scheduled. The rumored Week 18 makeup window remains in play, though the league has been able to avoid serious discussions of implementing it. A Raiders postponement beyond Tuesday would push that issue back to the forefront.
Thursday’s schedule change is not the first time the Raiders have run into COVID-19-related trouble. Jon Gruden was issued a six-figure fine for mask violations in September, and Darren Waller‘s charity event last month featured Raiders seen without masks. For now, the league expects Bucs-Raiders to take place in a lower-profile time slot Sunday. But the schedule change makes it easier for another postponement to commence.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/21/20
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad decisions:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DL Walter Palmore
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Ben Braden
Las Vegas Raiders
- Reinstated from practice squad IR: WR Marcell Ateman
- Released: WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: TE Daniel Helm
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Ray-Ray Armstrong
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR John Hurst
Buccaneers Restructure Ali Marpet’s Deal
The Buccaneers and offensive lineman Ali Marpet have agreed to restructured deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Now, after converting a portion of his salary into a signing bonus, the Bucs will have an extra $4.125MM to work with this year.
Marpet inked a five-year add-on with Tampa Bay in 2018. The deal — worth $55MM in total with $27.125MM in guarantees — secured one of the league’s most reliable protectors through 2023.
Marpet has been a full-time starter along the Buccaneers’ offensive line ever since being selected in the second round of the 2015 draft. A right guard during his first two years in the league, he started seeing time at center, left guard, and tackle starting in 2017. He’s repeatedly made Pro Football Focus’ Top 10 positional rankings and he’s on track to do it again in 2020. Through six games, PFF has him ranked third in the NFL.
Still only 27, Marpet’s skillset and versatility makes him one of the league’s most valuable blockers. Eventually, the Bucs will have to address his contract to put him in line with the ever-ballooning market. For now, Marpet is under contract through ’23 with $10-11MM cap figures in each season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/20/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Activated from practice squad IR: RB D.J. Foster, TE Justin Johnson
- Signed: T Rick Leonard
- Released: S Kentrell Brice, CB Jalen Davis, S T.J. Ward
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Shyheim Carter, LB Pita Taumoepenu
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Josh Hawkins, DT Mike Panasiuk, DE Greg Roberts, RB Mike Warren
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Prince Smith
Detroit Lions
- Cut: WR Joe Webb
Green Bay Packers
- Released: WR Kalija Lipscomb
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Damion Ratley
- Released: DT Ryan Glasgow
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Emmanuel Smith
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Jonas Griffith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DB Mazzi Wilkins, DT Kobe Smith
- Released: S D’Cota Dixon
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Breon Borders
- Signed: TE Parker Hesse
- Released: CB Greg Mabin, DB Maurice Smith
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/20/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: S J.J. Wilcox
Carolina Panthers
- Signed off Giants’ practice squad: S Sean Chandler
- Promoted: S Kenny Robinson, OL Sam Tecklenburg
- Placed on IR: S Juston Burris, WR Keith Kirkwood
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Falcons’ practice squad: LB James Burgess
- Placed on IR: CB Parry Nickerson
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: LB Frankie Luvu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR: CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Parnell Motley
- Placed on IR: C Ben Garland (story)
- Waived: TE Daniel Helm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: WR John Hurst
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE MyCole Pruitt
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
As shown by Le’Veon Bell‘s recent deal with the Chiefs, big name free agents can come available at any point throughout the season. His contract wasn’t particularly pricey, but teams like to keep cash on hand during the year, especially when mulling potential trades before the deadline. Excess cap room can also be rolled over from year-to-year and give clubs the opportunity to lock up their most valuable players with extensions.
Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.1MM
- New York Jets – $27.9MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $23.9MM
- Washington Football Team – $23.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars– $22.9MM
- New England Patriots – $22.9MM
- Denver Broncos – $19.7MM
- Detroit Lions – $17MM
- Philadelphia Eagles– $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $15.8MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $10.4MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $9.6MM
- Cincinnati Bengals– $9MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $9MM
- Arizona Cardinals– $8.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $8.4MM
- Tennessee Titans – $8.3MM
- Houston Texans – $8.1MM
- Los Angeles Chargers — $8MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $7.7MM
- New York Giants – $7.2MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $6.3MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.2MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $5.8MM
- Buffalo Bills – $5MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $4MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $4MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $158K
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/19/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Albert Huggins
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Mason Kinsey
- Cut: WR Devin Ross
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DE Shareef Miller
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Mazzi Wilkins
Jets Trade Steve McLendon To Buccaneers
Is the fire sale starting? Just hours after their latest loss the Jets have agreed to trade defensive tackle Steve McLendon to the Buccaneers, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
The Buccaneers will send a sixth-round pick in 2022 and get back a seventh-round pick in 2023, Stroud tweets. Tampa Bay was in need of a nose tackle run-stuffer after the season-ending injury to Vita Vea, so they went out and made a quick move. McLendon will be reuniting with Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who was his head coach with the Jets, which helps explain this acquisition.
McLendon was a locker room leader for the Jets and his departure will ‘sting’ some current Jets players, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. McLendon was one of the few vocal guys in the locker room, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The Jets are now 0-6 on the year, and it’s hard not to feel like this is the beginning of a larger tanking process.
There are still two-plus weeks until the trade deadline, and it wouldn’t be surprising if more of New York’s veterans were shipped out before it as they currently lead in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. McLendon is 34 now, but still capable of clogging up some running lanes.
He’s a free agent at the end of the year, so it makes sense for Jets GM Joe Douglas to get anything for him while he still can, no matter how small. An UDFA from Troy in 2009, McLendon spent his first seven years with the Steelers before signing a three-year, $12MM pact with the Jets in 2016. He’s started at least 14 games in each of the past three seasons. He’s never provided too much as a pass-rusher, although he did have 2.5 sacks last year. He’s not Vea, but this will still be a welcome addition for a contending Tampa team in need of bodies in the middle.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Marcus Gilchrist, LB Kristian Welch
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: WR Keith Kirkwood
- Promoted: DT Woodrow Hamilton, DE Austin Larkin
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DT Kahlil McKenzie
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: S Elijah Benton
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB Jeremy Cox, LB Josh Watson
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: G Joe Dahl
- Promoted: QB David Blough, TE Isaac Nauta
- Waived: CB Chris Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Houston Texans
- Promoted: S Jonathan Owens
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: DE Jabaal Sheard
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DT Eli Ankou
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: DT Benito Jones
New York Giants
- Promoted: LB Trent Harris
New York Jets
- Promoted: LB Blake Cashman, WR Vyncint Smith, QB Mike White
- Released: S Marqui Christian
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: WR Deon Cain
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from IR: WR Richie James
- Promoted: DT Darrion Daniels, WR Kevin White
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: LB Daren Bates, WR Cameron Batson, DB Kareem Orr
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: TE Temarrick Hemingway