Minor NFL Transactions: 8/19/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: OL Marquis Lucas
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived from IR: S Cedric Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Terran Vaughn
- Waived/injured: LB Deiontrez Mount
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Carlos Davis
- Waived: WR C.J. Germany, WR Justin Thomas
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Mariel Cooper
- Waived: FB Quayvon Hicks
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Darrius Sims
- Waived/injured DE Kourtnei Brown
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/17
Today’s minor moves:
Houston Texans
- Waived/injured: WR DeAndrew White
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE David Grinnage, CB Dwayne Thomas
- Waived: CB Ezra Robinson
- Waived/injured: CB Josh Johnson
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Chris Casher, WR Andrew Turzilli
- Waived: WR Kevin Norwood, TE Colin Thompson
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Daniel Williams
- Waived: WR Deshon Foxx
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Austin Gearing
- Waived: Canaan Severin
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived/injured: S Chanceller James
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from injured reserve: G Robert Myers (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LS Ryan DiSalvo
- Waived: P Jordan Gay
Latest On Titans’ Ownership
The NFL has had concerns about Titans ownership since the 2013 passing of franchise founder Bud Adams, who bequeathed equal parts of the team to daughter Amy Adams Strunk and two other heirs. That left the franchise without a true controlling owner (though Strunk has taken the reins), which led the league to hit Strunk with a six-figure fine last year when the Titans remained in violation of NFL rules.
The Titans still haven’t rectified their ownership situation, and now one of Strunk’s fellow heirs, sister Susie Adams Smith, is selling her share of the team’s parent company, Houston-based KSA industries. That stake includes her one-third ownership of the Titans. Forbes values Smith’s piece of the team at approximately $660MM, writes Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.
Smith’s decision to sell “will not impact team operations in any way,” announced Strunk, who added that “I will continue to serve as the controlling owner of the Titans. The remaining two-thirds of the team controlled by myself, Kenneth Adams IV, Barclay Adams and Susan Lewis is not and has never been for sale.”
While Strunk is confident in how the Titans are currently operating, Smith’s move to relinquish her share only complicates an already complex situation, a source told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. There’s an “impasse” among the three Adams families, per Florio, who notes that the league’s desire continues to be for one faction to have clear control over the franchise. Therefore, with Smith soon exiting the picture in favor of an outside party, the league could make an aggressive push for the Titans to finally solve their ownership situation, according to Florio.
Tajae Sharpe Could Begin Season On PUP
- If the stress fracture in his right foot continues to act up, Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe could begin the season on the physically unable to perform list, which would force him to miss the first six games of the year, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com writes. Sharpe, a fifth-round selection in 2016, reportedly has a tenuous grasp on a roster spot, but placing him on PUP could give Tennessee more time to make a decision on his fate. Currently being sued after an alleged assault, Sharpe is countersuing his accuser.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/17
Here’s a list of today’s minor moves:
- A day after the Dolphins cut him, tackle Terry Poole landed with the Texans via waiver claim, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Poole was initially a Seahawks fourth-round pick but hasn’t yet played in an NFL game.
- The Saints worked out their longtime long snapper Justin Drescher this week and reached an agreement to bring him back on Sunday, Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reports. Sean Payton had been frustrated by the long snapping during camp recently, and the team made the decision to release veteran Thomas Gafford and Chase Dominguez on Sunday. Drescher returns to the Saints after spending the past seven seasons in New Orleans. The team did not re-sign the 29-year-old specialist after his contract expired following last season.
- Former VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox cleared waivers and will revert to the Colts‘ IR list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
- The Titans have signed RB Brandon Radcliff, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). They waived/injured Victor Ochi to make room, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. Ochi tore his ACL on Friday.
- The Steelers have signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd and cut defensive end Nelson Adams. Originally a sixth-round Eagles selection in 2015, Shepherd followed Chip Kelly to San Francisco and played in 11 games for the 49ers last season.
Victor Ochi Tears ACL
- Titans LB Victor Ochi tore his ACL in Friday night’s practice, per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com (via Twitter). Ochi is a small school (Stony Brook) product who has spent time with the Ravens, Jets, Chiefs, and Titans in his brief career, appearing in two games with the Jets last season. He has a great deal of raw pass-rushing ability, but it seems he will have to wait until 2018 to put that ability back on display.
Corey Davis To Miss At Least One Week
- Titans receiver Corey Davis, the fifth pick in this year’s draft and the last rookie to sign his contract, will sit out at least a week after suffering a hamstring injury Thursday, head coach Mike Mularkey told 104.5 The Zone in Nashville (via Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com). Davis will not need surgery, fortunately, though the Titans will evaluate him week to week. He expects to be in Tennessee’s lineup come Week 1, tweets Wolfe.
Details On Erik Walden's Deal
- Erik Walden‘s one-year. deal with Titans is worth up to $3.25MM, Terry McCormick of Titan Insider tweets. The deal includes a $1.35MM base, a $300K signing bonus, a $1.1MM roster bonus, and $500K in incentives. It’s a decent package for Walden considering the tepid market he was met with this offseason. Meanwhile, the Titans are making only a small investment in a player who recorded 11.0 sacks in 2016.
Contract Details: Griffen, Casey, Kelly
This week, two defensive linemen signed landmark extensions with their franchises. Here’s how their contracts are structured.
- Everson Griffen‘s four-year, $58MM Vikings extension included $18.8MM fully guaranteed at signing, and that will pay out over the next two years, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Griffen’s 2017 cap number rises to $8.6MM, and in 2018, that figure comes in at $11.6MM. The 29-year-old defensive end’s cap figures from 2019-22 are as follows: $11.9MM in ’19, $13.9MM (’20), $14.4MM (’21) and $15.5MM (’22). Griffen received a $2MM signing bonus. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports Griffen’s $3.9MM base salary for 2018 is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the next league year. His $10.9MM base in ’19 becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2019 league year. After ’19, though, the guarantees are partial. $4.3MM of Griffen’s 2020 base ($12.9MM) is guaranteed for injury only at signing. Griffen has no guarantees attached to the 2021 or ’22 seasons, leading Florio to tab this a two-year deal with extra injury protection in the following two seasons.
- Jurrell Casey‘s four-year, $60.4MM Titans re-up contains $22MM fully guaranteed at signing, Florio reports. Over the next two years, the interior defender will make $25.2MM — $11.27MM of which will be new money, per Florio. Most of Casey’s 2017 wages come through bonuses; he will earn $1.4MM in base salary. In 2018 and ’19, Casey will earn $10.6MM base salaries. The 2018 base is over $4MM more than he was set to earn under the terms of the initial Titans extension he signed in 2014. That rises to $11.25MM in 2020 and climbs to $11.68MM in ’21. By 2022, which would be Casey’s age-31 season, the two-time Pro Bowler is set to earn $13.25MM.
- The Titans agreed to extend offensive lineman Dennis Kelly as well. It’s a two-year deal worth $3.05MM, with $400K guaranteed, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The swing backup will earn base salaries of $775K (2017), $1.1MM (’18) and $1.35MM (’19), per Terry McCormick of TitansInsider (via Twitter).
Titans, Corey Davis Agree To Deal
The 2017 rookie class is now completely signed. Corey Davis reached an agreement with the Titans on the customary four-year rookie contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Davis is on his way to the Titans facility to sign the contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The No. 5 overall pick follows first-rounders Solomon Thomas (49ers) and Gareon Conley (Raiders) as draftees signed on camp weekend.
Offset language appeared to be at the root of the impasse between Davis and the Titans, and the team typically includes it in its rookie deals. It’s unclear whether the Titans budged on their precedent.
Davis headlines a wide receiver makeover in Tennessee, which also added third-round pick Taywan Taylor and UFA Eric Decker. The Western Michigan prodigy posted three straight seasons of 1,400-plus air yards and caught 52 touchdowns during his four-year career with the Mid-American Conference program.