Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/21
Jaguars Sign Travis Etienne
The Jaguars have agreed to terms with first-round running back Travis Etienne (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). As the No. 25 overall pick, he’ll earn $12.9MM on his four-year deal. Etienne doesn’t have any offset language in his contract, just like No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. 
With Etienne, Lawrence, and new head coach Urban Meyer in the fold, things are looking up for the Jaguars after last year’s freefall. Considered a top prospect in the 2020 class, the Clemson product surprised many by returning for his senior season. His yards-per-carry figure dropped from 7.8 to 5.4, which probably helped the Jaguars secure him towards the end of the first round.
Despite the dropoff, he’s got two 1,600-yard seasons and 70 career rushing TDs to his credit. Even though he was outshined by Alabama’s Najee Harris, the Jaguars are still high on his potential. Some scouts say that Etienne even improved in certain parts of the game, like receiving and pass blocking.
At 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds, the rookie has the strength, speed, versatility, and elusiveness to become a three-down back. Now, he’ll fight for time in an RB group that also includes rising star James Robinson and veteran Carlos Hyde.
Cowboys Cut CB Rashard Robinson
The Cowboys have cut cornerback Rashard Robinson, per a club announcement. The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since he was already unavailable until Week 3.
Robinson has his latest suspension in April, a two-game ban for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Before that, Robinson received four- and 10-game suspensions in 2018 and ’19, respectively. Both of those bans were for substance abuse — this was the five-year vet’s first PED ban.
The Cowboys signed Robinson to the taxi squad in September of last year, giving the former fourth-round pick a chance to show his stuff. Once a 13-game starter in San Francisco, he hasn’t seen much playing time since. The Cowboys used the soon-to-be 26-year-old cover man in just four games last season, though he did start three of those, shuttling him on and off their active roster.
All in all, Robinson has two interceptions, 15 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries to his credit across 42 career games.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/16/21
Panthers, Taylor Moton Agree To $72MM Deal
The Panthers and Taylor Moton have officially agreed to a new four-year, $72MM deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal includes $43MM in guaranteed cash, putting Moton at the top of the market for right tackles. 
Moton is now one of the highest-paid players at his position, scoring long-term stability over his original one-year, $13.75MM tender. The 26-year-old (27 in August) has started 48 straight games at right tackle for the Panthers, with Pro Football Focus grading him as a top-20 tackle in each of those three campaigns. That included 2020, a season where the lineman ranked as a top-five right tackle. He also saw just one penalty called against him, an impressive feat given all those snaps. And, in 2019, he played on all but six of the Panthers’ plays.
Previously, we heard that the Panthers were a long ways from locking down their former second-round pick. Now, they’ve got him under contract for years to come. It’s a slightly shorter deal than Ryan Ramczyk’s recent pact with the Saints, but he’s not too far behind in terms of average annual value. Still, Ramczyk has the edge with his five-year, $96MM deal that includes $60MM in guarantees, good for a $19.2MM AAV. Eagles veteran Lane Johnson, meanwhile, is just behind with $55MM in guaranteed dollars.
Moton was the third offensive lineman to be tagged in team history. Now, just like left tackle Jordan Gross and center Ryan Kalil, he’s parlayed that into a long-term arrangement.
Former Steelers FB Roosevelt Nix Retires From NFL
Former Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix is calling it a career. Nix announced his retirement from the NFL with an Instagram post on Tuesday night. 
“This game has given me everything I could ask for and everything I needed. GOD blessed me with a talent that allowed me to touch so many souls all across the world and I’m truly grateful for it,” Nix wrote.
Nix, a defensive end at Kent State, first tried to break into the NFL as a linebacker. After going undrafted in 2014, he joined the Falcons on a three-year deal and switched to fullback. However, he didn’t see his first live action until 2015 with the Steelers.
Nix proceeded to appear in 60 games (11 starts) during his five seasons in Pittsburgh, serving primarily as a fullback and special teamer. He hauled in 12 receptions for 69 yards and one score across five seasons, plus two forced fumbles on special teams. The highlight of his career came in 2017, when he went to the Pro Bowl as James Develin‘s replacement.
Nix was named a Steelers captain prior to the 2019 season, but he was limited to only three games as he dealt with a knee injury. Last year, he signed with the Colts, but missed the final cut. After spending a full year out of the league, Nix has decided to move on to his next chapter.
LB Anthony Chickillo Retires
Former Steelers and Broncos linebacker Anthony Chickillo is calling it a career. The 28-year-old announced his retirement via Instagram earlier today.
Chickillo entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers in 2015. Over five years in Pittsburgh, he played in 65 games, primarily as a rotational defender and as a key special teams contributor.
After a quality platform campaign in 2018, during which he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 40th-best edge defender out of 103 qualifiers, Chickillo drew free agent interest from the Patriots but elected to re-up with the Steelers on a two-year, $8MM contract. However, a foot injury and an assault arrest — on charges that were later dropped — marred his 2019 season, and the Steelers cut him last March.
Chickillo hooked on with the Saints several months later, but he did not survive final cutdowns and was ultimately signed to New Orleans’ practice squad. The Broncos poached him from there and he went on to appear in 11 games for Denver in 2020, with his snaps almost equally divided between defense (164) and special teams (147).
The Miami product ends his playing career with 108 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and roughly $7.5MM in career earnings. We at PFR wish Chickillo the best in the next chapter of his life.
Falcons Release Barkevious Mingo
In light of Barkevious Mingo’s arrest on the charge of “indecency with a child–sexual contact,” the Falcons have elected to release the veteran linebacker. In a statement announcing the move, the team said, “After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract.”
We now have a few more details on the matter, courtesy of Jon Wertheim of SI.com. Wertheim reports that the alleged incident took place during the Fourth of July weekend in 2019, when Mingo treated a teenage family member and the boy’s friend (also a teenager) to a trip to an amusement park and a go-kart complex. Mingo also took the boys to dinner at a local steakhouse and paid for an online shopping spree at Nike.com.
The boys spent the evening of July 4, 2019, at the hotel where Mingo was staying. The alleged victim said the boys were supposed to sleep in a different room from Mingo, but at around 3am, he woke up to find Mingo lying in bed with him. At this point, we will direct you to Wertheim’s article for the rest of the details, which are disturbing.
The alleged victim’s mother filed a complaint with police in January 2021, and the investigation — which included a search warrant for Nike’s sales records — culminated in a felony charge against Mingo. The No. 6 overall pick of the 2013 draft faces up to 20 years in prison.
Mingo’s attorney, Lukas Garcia, issued the following statement: “At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/6/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: DT Demarcus Christmas
Christmas was waived by the Steelers last week to make roster space for kicker Sam Sloman. The defensive lineman was waived with an injury designation, but it’s uncertain what is ailing the 26-year-old. It’s worth noting that Christmas missed the entire 2019 season with a back injury.
The Florida State product was a sixth-round pick by the Seahawks back in 2019. He spent that entire campaign on the PUP list, and he spent most of the 2020 campaign bouncing between Seattle’s practice squad and active roster. He joined the Steelers practice squad in November, and he was retained into the offseason thanks to a futures contract.
49ers Cut LB Nate Gerry
Nate Gerry‘s stint with the 49ers has ended after only a few months. The team cut the linebacker today, according to SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
The 49ers added Gerry back in March on a one-year, $990K deal that included an additional $137+K in incentives. The contract contained no guaranteed money, so San Francisco is off the hook financially.
The 2017 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska had spent his entire career with the Eagles, appearing in 46 regular-season games and six postseason games (including three during Philly’s 2017 run to a Super Bowl championship). After serving as mostly a backup during his first two years in the pros, Gerry started 12 of his 16 contests in 2019, finishing with 78 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six), and five QB hits.
The 26-year-old started each of his seven games in 2020, collecting 57 tackles, one sack, and four tackles for loss. He was placed on injured reserve in late October with an ankle injury, ending his season.
Gerry struggled at linebacker in 2020, and the 49ers already had plenty of depth at the position. The veteran’s best chance to make another roster will be via special teams, especially after he logged 834 special teams snaps for the Eagles over his four years with the team.