Lions Sign 13 UDFAs
Brad Holmes just completed his first draft as Lions GM, and the executive has now completed his first crop of undrafted free agent signings. The Lions agreed to terms with 13 UDFAs today, per the team website:
- Jonathan Adams, WR, Arkansas State
- D’Angelo Amos, S, Virginia
- Tavante Beckett, LB, Marshall
- Rakeem Boyd, RB, Arkansas
- Jake Hausmann, TE, Ohio State
- Drake Jackson, C, Kentucky
- Jerry Jacobs, CB, Arkansas
- Tommy Kraemer, G, Notre Dame
- Javon McKinley, WR, Notre Dame
- Dedrick Mills, RB, Nebraska
- AJ Parker, CB, Kansas State
- Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest
- Brock Wright, TE, Notre Dame
McKinley received a lucrative payday to join the Lions, receiving $100K in guaranteed money, including an $85K guaranteed base salary (per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter). After dealing with injuries through his first three years of college, McKinley had a breakout campaign in 2020, hauling in 42 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns. He’ll be joined in Detroit by two of his college teammates, offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer and tight end Brock Wright.
Jacobs is one of the more intriguing signings. The cornerback put himself on the NFL radar following a 2018 campaign where he compiled 31 tackles, 12 passes defended, and four interceptions. However, he missed the majority of the 2019 season with a torn ACL, and he ultimately sat out the entire 2020 campaign.
Packers Sign 7 UDFAs
The Packers have added on to their rookie class. The team agreed to terms with seven undrafted free agents today (per the team’s website):
- Jacob Capra, OL, San Diego State
- Coy Cronk, OL, Iowa
- Jon Dietzen, OL, Wisconsin
- Bailey Gaither, WR, San Jose State
- Jack Heflin, DL, Iowa
- Carlo Kemp, LB, Michigan
- Christian Uphoff, S, Illinois State
Dietzen will surely be a fan favorite in camp, as the offensive lineman grew up in nearby Black Creek, Wisconsin. Dietzen actually retired from football after the 2018 campaign, but he returned this past season and started all seven games for Wisconsin, including time at left guard, right guard, and left tackle.
Some scouts expected Uphoff to a be a fourth- or fifth-round pick (per The Athletic’s Bob McGinn), but he ended up falling off the board entirely. The Illinois State product had a standout season, but he suffered a hamstring injury that ultimately put a damper on his pro day. However, the prospect isn’t letting the draft process ruin his hopes of reaching the NFL.
“It happened,” Uphoff said of his workout (via McGinn). “If I would have had better numbers, I’m sure I would have been drafted. You’ve got to deal with it.”
As The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman tweets, these signings take the Packers to 88 players, leaving room for two more additions. The reporter believes the organization could use both of those spots on quarterbacks, whether it be rookies or veterans.
Jaguars Decline Taven Bryan’s Option
Add another player to the list of 2018 first-round picks not getting their options picked up. The Jaguars have declined the fifth-year option on Taven Bryan, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
Had they picked it up, the Jags would’ve owed Bryan a fully guaranteed $7.368MM in 2022. He’ll now be a free agent after this season. The 29th overall pick of the 2018 draft hasn’t done much to stand out in the pros. The defensive tackle has appeared in all 48 games since getting drafted, but has only started 17.
This past season in 16 games and eight starts, he played about 45 percent of the defensive snaps as a run-stuffer. He finished with 18 tackles, three for a loss, and a half sack. In 2019 the Florida product was more productive, with 30 tackles, five for a loss, and two sacks.
The new regime in Jacksonville has no ties to him, and they made upgrading defensive tackle a priority this offseason. The Jags signed Roy Robertson-Harris and traded for Malcolm Brown.
Browns Sign Malik McDowell
The Browns made an intriguing addition on Monday. Cleveland has signed defensive tackle Malik McDowell to a contract, the team announced.
McDowell was drafted 35th overall by the Seahawks in 2017, but has never played in an NFL game. A serious ATV accident that summer landed him on the NFI list for the whole season, and he was arrested a couple of times for DUI and disorderly conduct. The Seahawks waived him in July of 2018 with a non-football injury designation, and there were questions about whether he would ever be medically cleared to play football again.
He was arrested a couple of more times in 2019, and eventually sentenced to 11 months in prison. He worked out for the Dolphins in October of last year, and his representatives say he has been fully medically cleared. At the time of his imprisonment, McDowell said “I’m doing everything I need to do, seeing all the doctors I need to, working out…doing everything I can to get back to where I was, back to the NFL.”
Browns GM Andrew Berry issued a statement on the signing, which you can read courtesy of this tweet from Tony Grossi of ESPN. “We are certainly aware of Malik’s past, as we have done extensive work on him for the last two months. He is accountable for his actions and has had to live with the consequences for decisions earlier in his life,” Berry said.
“We believe Malik is in a good place, personally & medically. He has taken the necessary steps to get on a healthy path, & has learned from his experiences. Malik understands the expectations we have of him as he attempts to make our football team. He is committed to taking advantage of the support network in place to become the best version of himself—both on and off the field—and we will support him as he attempts to make his return to football.”
McDowell obviously has a ton of theoretical potential, as he was considered a first-round talent back in the day. Although it’s been years since he played on a team, he’s still only 24. It’s a low-risk flyer for the Browns that could pay dividends down the line. They could use some defensive tackle depth after cutting Sheldon Richardson earlier this offseason.
Broncos Release Jeff Driskel
After adding Teddy Bridgewater in a trade, the Broncos are making some space in the quarterbacks room. Denver is releasing veteran backup Jeff Driskel, Mike Klis of Denver 9 News tweets. He made $2.5MM last year and was scheduled to make the same in 2021, which the Broncos had no reason to pay.
Denver will move forward with Bridgewater, Drew Lock, and Brett Rypien as their quarterbacks. Driskel was the top quarterback recruit in the country coming out of high school, but had a bumpy college career that ended at Louisiana Tech. The 49ers drafted him in the sixth-round in 2016, but he was waived at final cuts.
The Bengals claimed him off waivers, and he spent the next few seasons in Cincy. He ended up starting five games in 2018 in place of an injured Andy Dalton. He had six touchdowns and only two interceptions, but averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt. He latched on with the Lions in 2019, and started three games for them that year.
He was once again mediocre. He achieved journeyman status by signing with the Broncos last year, and played well in relief as he nearly led them to a come from behind victory against the Steelers. He started the following week, his lone start for Denver, and collapsed against the Buccaneers. He turned 28 last month.
Patriots Pick Up Isaiah Wynn’s Option
As we continue to inch closer to the deadline, another player just locked in a big payday for 2022. The Patriots are picking up the fifth-year option on Isaiah Wynn‘s contract, a source told Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link).
Wynn will now earn a guaranteed $10.413MM in 2022. Wynn is the 22nd player from the 2018 draft class to get his option picked up, Breer tweets. Interestingly, many assumed that fewer options would get picked up since they’re fully guaranteed for the first time under the new CBA, but that hasn’t been the case. Breer writes that 22 is the second-most that have been picked up since the option system went into place.
Wynn was the 23rd overall pick in that draft out of Georgia. He devastatingly tore an Achilles in his first preseason and missed his entire rookie campaign, and has also struggled with injuries the past two seasons. He’s never played in more than 10 games, but those health issues weren’t enough to scare Bill Belichick away.
Wynn has played well when on the field, starting all 18 games that he’s appeared in. He’s mostly played left tackle but has also played a bit of guard.
The injury issues are concerning, but $10.413MM isn’t all that much for a quality starting left tackle if he can stay healthy.
Vikings Decline Mike Hughes’ Option
Fifth-year option decisions continue to trickle in, and we’ve got another decline to pass along. The Vikings have elected not to pick up the option on cornerback Mike Hughes‘ contract, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
This one isn’t surprising and had more or less been the expectation, since Hughes would’ve been due a guaranteed $12.643MM in 2022 under it. Given his injury history, there’s no way the Vikings were going to pay that. The 30th overall pick of the 2018 draft tore an ACL a little over a month into his rookie season.
Then he missed a couple of games in 2019 with a neck injury. In 2020 more neck issues limited him to only four games before landing on injured reserve for the rest of the season. Through three pro campaigns he’s appeared in only 24 games, making seven starts.
In those games he’s recorded 80 tackles, three forced fumbles, 13 passes defended, and two interceptions. Hughes’ role was going to be uncertain this year anyway after the team added corners Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander in free agency. The UCF product will now hit free agency after this season. He’ll turn 25 next February.
Bears To Release Charles Leno
The Bears are cutting a staple of their offensive line for nearly the past decade. Chicago will be releasing veteran left tackle Charles Leno, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
No matter what Bears fans think of Leno, he far out-performed his draft status. A seventh-round pick back in 2014, he got his first start as a rookie and became the full-time starter at left tackle in 2015. He’s been durable, starting all 16 games in each of the past five seasons for Chicago.
In a follow-up tweet Rapoport describes the cut as a purely financial decision, one which will save the Bears $9MM in cap space when they make it a post-June 1 release. Leno certainly never was a star and caught a lot of flak the past couple yeas in Chicago, but he did make the Pro Bowl in 2018.
The Bears traded up to draft Oklahoma State’s Tevin Jenkins in the second-round this weekend, and Rapoport says they plan to plug him into the left side of the offensive line immediately. The 39th overall pick will be tasked with protecting the blindsides of Justin Fields and/or Andy Dalton as a rookie.
Leno had signed a four-year, $38MM extension with the Bears in 2017. He’ll now hit free agency at 29 and could become an intriguing option for teams like the Colts, who mostly decided to punt on offensive tackle during the draft. Indy currently only has Sam Tevi set to replace Anthony Castonzo, and Colts owner Jim Irsay recently hinted they could explore other veteran options.
Cowboys Decline Leighton Vander Esch’s Option
Another big name player is getting his option turned down. The Cowboys have informed Leighton Vander Esch‘s agent that they won’t be picking up the fifth-year option on the linebacker, Jane Slater of NFL Network tweets.
That means Vander Esch is now set to be a free agent after this season. What it doesn’t mean however is that the Cowboys no longer view the Boise State product in their future plans. Instead, Slater writes that the decision was “due to ongoing salary-cap uncertainty” and that the Cowboys “instead hope to sign Leighton to a contract extension before his current deal expires.”
Picking up the option would’ve fully guaranteed LVE $9.145MM for 2022, a steep price considering he’s missed 13 games due to injury the past two seasons. Dallas drafting Micah Parsons in the first-round this past week provided the writing on the wall for this decision, even if the team insists they still want to keep Vander Esch around.
Vander Esch was the 19th overall pick of the 2018 draft. He made the Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro as a rookie, but his last two seasons have been disappointing.
As a rookie, he had 140 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions. In 2020 he had only 60 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and no passes defended in 10 games. He only turned 25 in February, and will have the chance to secure an even bigger payday if he can have a strong 2021 campaign.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/3/21
Today’s minor moves:
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: RB Paul Perkins
New York Jets
- Released: DL John Daka
Washington Football Team
- Released: WR Trevor Davis, WR Jeff Badet