Bears To Re-Sign DL Brent Urban
The Bears have agreed to re-sign free agent defensive end Brent Urban to a one-year deal, according to what Pro Football Rumors considers to be a very reliable source….Urban’s wife Kate (Twitter link).
Urban, 28, spent the first five seasons and 41 games of his career with the Ravens after being selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. A 16-game starter in 2018, Urban inked a deal with the Titans last spring, but was cut midway through the season. He quickly latched on with the Bears, where he appeared in nine games and played 183 defensive snaps.
Urban has spent the entirety of his career in a 3-4 scheme, so he’s surely ready for another go-round in Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano‘s front. He’ll compete with Roy Robertson-Harris ans Bilal Nichols for playing time alongside Chicago defensive line stalwart Akiem Hicks.
49ers To Sign DE Kerry Hyder
The 49ers have reached a one-year deal with edge rusher Kerry Hyder, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Hyder, 28, appeared in 16 games as a reserve for the Cowboys in 2019 after spending the previous three seasons with the Lions. Last year, Hyder played on 40% of Dallas’ defensive snaps, posting one sack and four quarterback hits.
Hyder’s best season came in 2016, when he managed a career-high eight sacks with Detroit. His defensive line coach that year was Kris Kocurek, who now holds the same role with the 49ers.
Nick Bosa and Dee Ford will start at defensive end for San Francisco, so Hyder will compete with Ronald Blair, Kentavius Street, and others for playing time on the edge.
Chiefs To Sign XFL QB Jordan Ta’amu
The Chiefs have agreed to a one-year deal with former XFL quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Ta’amu, 22, went undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2019 but spent a month with the Texans after being signed as an undrafted free agent. Soon after, Ta’amu joined the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL and proceeded to complete 72% of his passes for 1,050 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. He became available to NFL teams when the XFL suspended its 2020 season due to coronavirus earlier this month.
Clearly, Ta’amu won’t come anywhere near the starting job in Kansas City, and doesn’t have a realistic shot at the No. 2 role after the Chiefs re-signed veteran Chad Henne. But Ta’amu will get the opportunity to join the reigning Super Bowl champions and work with one of the league’s best quarterback gurus in Andy Reid.
Ravens To Re-Sign CB Jimmy Smith
The Ravens have agreed to re-sign cornerback Jimmy Smith, as Smith himself tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Smith will ink a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who adds Smith can earn another $2.5MM via playtime incentives.
Smith had spent his entire career in Baltimore since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2011, but it was unclear if he’d be sticking with the Ravens going forward. Baltimore allowed the veteran defensive back to reach the free agent market, but he’s now returning on a relatively team-friendly deal.
Smith made the fewest starts of his career (five) in 2019, thanks in large part to a knee injury that sidelined him for much of the season. Health questions have historically been a problem for Smith, who has only played a full 16-game slate twice in nine NFL seasons.
Baltimore ranked fourth in the league in pass defense DVOA, and the club will now return almost all of its cornerbacks — save for Brandon Carr — in 2020. Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and Tavon Young comprise the Ravens’ starting corner package, leaving Smith as a well-compensated, highly-experienced dime defensive back.
Seahawks To Acquire CB Quinton Dunbar
The Seahawks have agreed to acquire cornerback Quinton Dunbar from the Redskins, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Seattle will ship a fifth-round pick to Washington in exchange for Dunbar, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.
Unhappy with the extension he signed with the Redskins in 2018, Dunbar has been attempting to orchestrate a trade or release since February. Further reports indicated that Dunbar had been open to working out a “reasonable” restructure of his contract with the Redskins, but the club reportedly had no interest in doing so.
Dunbar, 27, arguably has every reason to be displeased with the three-year, $10.5MM deal he inked two years ago, as he’s largely outplayed the pact. The former undrafted free agent played the most snaps of his NFL tenure in 2019 and posted a career-high four interceptions. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, graded Dunbar as the league’s second-best cornerback behind only Richard Sherman.
Now heading into the final year of his contract, Dunbar will surely ask the Seahawks for an extension at something closer to market value. On the field, he’ll compete with Tre Flowers — who took a large step back in his second NFL campaign — to play opposite Shaquill Griffin.
Washington, meanwhile, is losing yet another member of its defensive backfield after parting ways with Josh Norman earlier this offseason. The Redskins brought back Kendall Fuller on a four-year deal last week, but the club’s secondary depth behind him is largely barren.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/20
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Anthony Levine
Chicago Bears
- Signed: S DeAndre Houston-Carson, S Jordan Lucas
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Noah Spence, LS Zach Wood
New York Jets
- Signed: LB James Burgess, DB Deatrick Nichols
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Nick Dzubnar
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DT Caleb Brantley
Jets To Re-Sign Jordan Jenkins
The Jets have agreed to re-sign linebacker Jordan Jenkins to a one-year, $5MM deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News was the first to report a deal between Jenkins and New York was close (on Twitter).
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams represents a key part of why Jenkins is interested in returning, tweets Mehta. Jenkins has led the Jets in sacks in each of the past two seasons, totaling 15 in that span.
Previously, both Mehta and SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano indicated the Jets and Jenkins were either far apart on terms or that the team had not made much of a push to re-sign the mid-level edge rusher. The Giants expressed interest in bringing Jenkins to MetLife Stadium’s other locker room, but the Jetswill take a step toward filling their annual need at outside linebacker with a Jenkins reunion. The team still has a need at this spot, but the late-blooming Jenkins will be a good start for Gang Green.
Despite being a near-full-time player in 2016-17, Jenkins totaled just 5.5 sacks in that span. The former third-round pick out of Georgia took a step forward over the final two years of his rookie contract, totaling 15 sacks and 28 QB hits. The 2020 season will be Jenkins’ age-26 campaign.
Giants, Dion Lewis Agree To Deal
Dion Lewis will be heading back east. Recently released by the Titans, the veteran running back will sign with the Giants, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The parties agreed to a one-year deal.
The former Patriots running back spent two years with the Titans. While Lewis will turn 30 in September, he has logged only 710 touches in since coming into the league in 2011.
A 2011 Eagles fifth-round pick, Lewis was a late-blooming talent. He caught on as a key Patriots presence in the mid-2010s and led the team in rushing (with 896 yards) in 2017. The Titans signed the diminutive back to a four-year, $20MM deal. Lewis’ market did not hit the level it did two years ago, but he will have a chance to work as the top complementary option to Saquon Barkley.
This move will also reunite Lewis with Joe Judge. He becomes the latest Patriot to join the Giants, following tackle Cameron Fleming and special-teamer Nate Ebner. Lewis spent three seasons with the Patriots, coming back from injuries in both 2015 and ’16 to spearhead the ’17 Pats’ ground attack. Lewis scored nine of his 18 career touchdowns during that 2017 slate. Lewis lost out to rushing champion Derrick Henry last year, totaling just 54 carries and just 373 scrimmage yards.
The Giants have struggled to fill their No. 2 running back spot. Wayne Gallman remains under contract, but he was drafted two coaching staffs ago and saw just 29 carries last season.
Redskins Cut Nicholson, Four Other DBs
Despite Montae Nicholson having one more season on his rookie contract, the Redskins will waive the fourth-year safety, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Nicholson worked as a full-time starter for last season’s Redskins team, being a first-stringer in 13 games. His departure will create more than $2MM in cap space for Washington, which also cut veteran cornerback Kayvon Webster (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). The latter is a vested veteran and will go straight to free agency, while Nicholson will hit the waiver wire.
As it turns out, this was part of an interesting position-specific purge. The Redskins cut three other defensive backs as well, dropping cornerbacks Coty Sensabaugh, Dee Delaney and Breon Borders.
In his full-time role, however, Nicholson did not fare especially well. Pro Football Focus graded the former fourth-round pick as its third-worst safety in 2019. PFF also graded Nicholson as one of the league’s worst safeties in 2018. The Michigan State alum did intercept two passes in his third season and, due to his experience, profiles as an interesting waiver claim for a team in need of safety help.
Both Sensabaugh, 31, and Webster, 29, played in just two games with Washington last season. They joined the team as late-season injury replacements.
Patriots To Release Stephen Gostkowski
The longest-tenured kicker in Patriots history will need to head elsewhere to continue his career. The Pats are releasing Stephen Gostkowski, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).
Gostkowski signed a two-year deal to stay with the Patriots in 2019 but is coming off an injury-marred season. He has been New England’s kicker since 2006, taking over after the Pats let Adam Vinatieri walk in free agency. A Gostkowski release will save the Pats nearly $3.5MM. They entered Monday with less than $5MM in cap space.
Gostkowski spent a few days as the Patriots’ longest-tenured player, rising to that position after Tom Brady defected to the Buccaneers. That distinction now belongs to 12th-year special-teamer Matthew Slater. Gostkowski’s 204 regular-season games played ranks fourth in Patriots history. When postseason contests are included, his games-played total ranks only behind Brady’s.
New England used four kickers last season, with Kai Forbath, Nick Folk and Mike Nugent taking turns replacing the injured Gostkowski. While Folk finished the season as the Pats’ kicker, he is currently a free agent. Gostkowski, 36, is coming off hip surgery. This marks another big change for the Pats, who last week saw the most decorated player in franchise history opt to leave.
A four-time Pro Bowler, Gostkowski resides as one of this era’s best kickers. He landed on the 2008 and 2015 All-Pro first teams as well. The former fourth-round pick’s 87.4% career field goal success rate ranks fifth in NFL history, and his 39 career playoff field goals rank behind only Vinatieri’s 56 in playoff history.