NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/20
Here are Monday’s reserve/futures deals:
Green Bay Packers
- WR Reggie Begelton, RB Elijah Wellman
Miami Dolphins
- QB Jake Rudock
New England Patriots
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo, LB Terez Hall, S Obi Melifonwu, S Adarius Pickett, WR Devin Ross, DL Nick Thurman, G Najee Toran
Oakland Raiders
- CB Dylan Mabin
Philadelphia Eagles
- WR River Cracraft, TE Alex Ellis, WR Marcus Green, DT Albert Huggins, QB Kyle Lauletta, WR Marken Michel, C Keegan Render, CB Tremon Smith
Former Chiefs S Ron Parker Retires
Former Chiefs safety Ron Parker has formally announced his retirement from the NFL. Parker did not play in 2019, so the news doesn’t come as a huge surprise. 
Parker first entered the league as a UDFA out of Division II Newbury College with the Seahawks in 2011. After stops with the Raiders and Panthers, he hooked on with the Chiefs in 2013, where he eventually cracked the starting lineup.
Parker went on to appear in 95 games for KC, including 78 starts. His best work came in 2015, when he notched five sacks and three interceptions as the Chiefs’ starting strong safety. All in all, Parker logged 104 games, 397 tackles, 11 interceptions, and eight sacks.
We here at PFR wish Parker the best in retirement.
Panthers Sign Efe Obada To Extension
The Panthers have signed defensive end Efe Obada to a new one-year deal, per a club announcement. Obada was set to be an exclusive rights free agent, so he wouldn’t have been able to sign with another club anyway.
The Panthers are still searching for their next head coach, so it’s unlikely that the new pact includes significant guarantees. After all, their next HC might not be as high on Obada as current GM Marty Hurney.
Obada was born in Nigeria and did not play football at the collegiate level. In 2014, he hooked on with the London Warriors of the British American Football Association and wound up joining the Cowboys’ practice squad in 2015 as a part of the international pathway program. Finally, in 2018, he became the first international pathway program player to crack a 53-man roster when he was activated by the Panthers.
In 2019, Obada registered 24 total tackles and one pass defensed while appearing in all 16 games.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/5/20
Here’s a couple transactions we missed from earlier in the week:
San Francisco 49ers
Signed to practice squad: DL Ray Smith
Seattle Seahawks
Signed to practice squad: WR Brendan Langley
49ers Designate Kwon Alexander For Return
Kwon Alexander will have a chance to suit up for the 49ers in the playoffs. On Thursday, the Niners designated the linebacker for return, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports tweets. 
It’s not a given that Alexander will be able to play the Niners’ divisional round game so soon after suffering a pectoral injury. However, the move to bring him back from IR leaves that possibility open, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com says Alexander has a good chance to play next Saturday.
Alexander, 25, was said to be done for the year after landing on IR with a torc pec on November 1st. In eight games, Alexander rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 33 ranked linebacker in the NFL, but it’s worth noting that PFF’s metrics have never been high on his work.
Getting Alexander back on the field in time for their Jan. 11 game would be a huge left for SF, particularly after their rash of injuries in the front seven.
Mike McCarthy To Meet With Cowboys
While the Cowboys haven’t said anything official about the status of head coach Jason Garrett, it sounds like the organization is preparing to meet with candidates. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is traveling to Dallas to meet with the Cowboys. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the interview will take place today.
Rapoport adds that the organization is “laying the groundwork” for an inevitable head coaching search, with a particular focus on former NFL head coaches. To that end, Rapoport hints that Marvin Lewis could also be a candidate for the gig, with the former Bengals head coach receiving interest from some within the organization.
As our head coaching tracker shows, McCarthy has been one of the more popular names on the interview circuit, as he’s already interviewed for the Panthers, Browns, and Giants vacancies. McCarthy was out of the NFL for the entire 2019 campaign, but he spent the season studying film and designing plays in preparation for his next opportunity.
Now, the former Super Bowl winner becomes the first known candidate to (presumably) replace Garrett in Dallas. The former Packers head coach did have a pair of Hall of Famers (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers) for nearly the entirety of his Green Bay stint, but he’d be inheriting an offense that has plenty of weapons of their own. His play-calling was also called into question towards the latter stages of his tenure, but it sounds like he was focused on improving that aspect of his coaching throughout the past year.
We heard yesterday that Garrett and the Cowboys were likely heading towards a divorce. The Cowboys were scheduled to meet with Garrett on Thursday, but that meeting was scrapped. Before the 86’d sit-down, the Cowboys were rumored to be considering a middle-ground scenario in which Garrett would remain with the organization in a different role. At this moment, a clean break seems more likely.
Earlier today, Rapoport reported (via Twitter) that the Cowboys aren’t expected to make any definitive announcement about Garrett until at least Monday. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that the Cowboys head coach has been campaigning to keep his gig. Garrett’s contract is set to expire on January 14th.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/20
Today’s minor moves:
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to reserve/futures contract: DB Marcus Sayles
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: S Antone Exum
- Signed to reserve/futures contract: S Derrick Kindred
Since it’s a reserve/futures deal, Kindred won’t be playing for the 49ers in the playoffs, he’ll be added to the offseason roster for 2020. A fourth-round pick of the Browns back in 2016, he started 17 games for Cleveland from 2016-18.
Vikings Place Mike Hughes On IR
The Vikings will head into the playoffs without the services of Mike Hughes. On Friday, the Vikes placed the cornerback on injured reserve with a neck injury.
Hughes, a 2018 first-round pick, figured to see an increased role against the Saints in the Wild Card round as Mackensie Alexander nurses a knee injury. Now, the Vikings are without both corners for the big game on Sunday.
Hughes played in 14 games (three starts) in 2019, logging one interception, two forced fumbles, and 43 total tackles. The Vikings already had their work cut out for them with Michael Thomas & Co., but things are looking extra bleak for them at this moment.
To fill in at cornerback, the Vikings re-signed old friend Marcus Sherels. Sherels, a Minnesota native, spent nine straight seasons with the Vikings. From 2011-18, Sherels returned 231 punts for 2,447 yards (10.6 average) and five touchdowns, setting franchise records in all three categories.
Bears Sign Eddie Jackson To Extension
The Bears have locked down star safety Eddie Jackson for years to come. On Friday, his agents announced the signing of a four-year add-on worth $58.4MM. 
The new deal includes $33MM in overall guarantees and $22MM fully guaranteed. The $14.6MM average annual value of the deal ranks as the highest of any safety in the NFL.
Jackson, 27, still had one year to go on his paltry four-year, $3.065MM rookie deal. But, after back-to-back Pro Bowl nods, the Bears didn’t want to wait until the asking price jumped even further.
The Bears were somewhat limited on cap space for 2020, but thanks to some help from Kyle Fuller, they were able to carve out enough room to extend Jackson through the 2024 campaign.
Jackson entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Bears in 2017. Since then, he’s started in 100% of his games and solidified himself as one of the league’s premier safeties. Over the last three seasons, he’s notched ten interceptions and returned three of those picks for touchdowns.
The advanced metrics back up the traditional stats, too. In 2018, Jackson earned an eye-popping 93.2 score from Pro Football Focus, tying him for the highest grade ever given to a safety. He wasn’t quite as sharp in 2019, but the Bears believe that he’ll bounce back in 2020, along with the rest of the team’s high-priced defense.
Before Jackson’s deal, Titans safety Kevin Byard had the highest AAV at the position ($14.1MM) thanks to the five-year, $70.5MM extension he signed last summer. In terms of overall compensation, Redskins standout Landon Collins still reins supreme at safety with his six-year, $84MM deal.
Designated To Return: Packers, Vikings
Teams may still designate players to return from IR during the playoffs, and the two NFC North squads still playing took advantage of this flexibility. Teams are designated two IR-return spots each season.
- Reserve offensive lineman Brett Jones returned to Vikings practice. The former Giants starting center went down with a knee injury in November. Since he went on IR in advance of Week 11, Jones is not eligible to suit up in the Vikings’ first-round game. Should the Vikings upset the Saints in Round 1, he would then be eligible to be activated for the divisional round. The Vikings signed Jones to a one-year deal this offseason but used him in only two games. With the Vikings having brought Josh Doctson off IR earlier this season, they are out of IR-return moves.
- The Packers followed suit, designating safety Raven Greene to return. Green Bay placed Greene on IR in September due to an ankle injury, making him eligible to be activated before the Packers’ divisional-round game. The second-year UDFA also finished the 2018 regular season on IR. Greene played in two games for the Packers this season, starting one. Green Bay used its first IR-return designation on tight end Jace Sternberger.