Titans Trade Taywan Taylor To Browns
The Titans traded wide receiver Taywan Taylor to the Browns for a 2020 draft pick, per a club announcement. Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com tweets that it will be an unconditional seventh-rounder. Taylor, a 2017 third-round draft pick, was inconsistent on the whole, but he did flash, at times.
The Western Kentucky product boasts speed and big-play ability, making him an intriguing addition in Cleveland. There’s no shortage of talented targets for Baker Mayfield, but Taylor represents another fun downfield threat.
Even without Taylor, the Titans still boast a WR group featuring Corey Davis, Adam Humphries, Tajae Sharpe, and A.J. Brown.
Chiefs To Send Carlos Hyde To Texans
The Texans will have an experienced running back headed their way. The Chiefs reached an agreement to trade Carlos Hyde to the Texans in exchange for offensive lineman Martinas Rankin, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Houston will address the league’s thinnest backfield position, adding a seasoned starter to its mix. The Texans were looking for running back help on the trade market, and they found it in the form of a player the Chiefs were set to release. The Chiefs signed Hyde earlier this offseason, but he was likely set to miss their 53-man roster.
Hyde spent 2018 with the Browns and Jaguars, being traded midseason. He initially signed a multiyear deal with the Browns, but the Jaguars released him after last season. The Chiefs added Hyde but will go with younger backs Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson behind holdover starter Damien Williams.
A former 49ers second-round pick, Hyde posted back-to-back 900-plus-yard seasons in 2016 and ’17. He totaled 1,288 yards from scrimmage for the ’17 49ers, scoring eight touchdowns. The 28-year-old back will join Duke Johnson in Houston.
Rankin was a 2018 third-round pick who made four starts with Houston last season. He will be set for a depth role in Kansas City.
Bengals Trim Roster To 53
The Bengals announced their final 53-man roster. One of the moves will be, as expected, placing Darqueze Dennard on their reserve/PUP list. Dennard now must miss at least the first six games of the season. This comes after the Bengals re-signed their former first-round pick on a one-year, $5MM deal. The team knew Dennard needed a post-signing knee surgery, but the arthroscopic procedure was performed several months ago.
Cincinnati is also placing Jonah Williams on its PUP list instead of season-ending IR. While the first-round tackle was believed to be set to miss the season, this move is a way of retaining a chance he can recover. Williams would revert to IR if he cannot recover from the shoulder injury he sustained this offseason.
Here’s the full list of the Bengals’ moves to meet the 53-man limit:
Placed on Reserve/Injured list:
- RB Rodney Anderson (rookie, Oklahoma; knee injury)
- QB Jeff Driskel (fourth-year player, Louisiana Tech; hamstring injury)
Placed on the Reserve/PUP list:
- CB Darqueze Dennard (sixth-year player, Michigan State; knee injury)
- OT Jonah Williams (rookie, Alabama; shoulder injury)
Released:
- G John Jerry (ninth-year player, Mississippi)
Waived:
- TE Moritz Böhringer (first-year player, Aalen [Germany])
- CB Jordan Brown (rookie, South Dakota State)
- WR Ventell Bryant (rookie, Temple)
- CB Anthony Chesley (rookie, Coastal Carolina)
- WR Cody Core (fourth-year player, Mississippi)
- LB Deshaun Davis (rookie, Auburn)
- LB Noah Dawkins (rookie, The Citadel)
- HB Jordan Ellis (rookie, Virginia)
- OT Justin Evans (first-year player, South Carolina State)
- HB Quinton Flowers (first-year player, South Florida)
- TE Jordan Franks (second-year player, Central Florida)
- CB Davontae Harris (second-year player, Illinois State)
- S Trayvon Henderson (second-year player, Hawaii)
- LB Malik Jefferson (second-year player, Texas)
- S Tyree Kinnel (rookie, Michigan)
- C Brad Lundblade (first-year player, Oklahoma State)
- WR Stanley Morgan (rookie, Nebraska)
- CB KeiVarae Russell (fourth-year player, Notre Dame)
- TE Mason Schreck (third-year player, Buffalo)
- WR Hunter Sharp (first-year player, Utah State; injury settlement)
- G Keaton Sutherland (rookie, Texas A&M)
Suspended:
- G Alex Redmond (third-year player, UCLA, suspended for four games)
All of the waived players, except for Core, will be practice squad eligible if they clear waivers.
Vikings To Cut Kaare Vedvik
Kaare Vedvik’s shaky preseason work with the Vikings will lead to his new team cutting him. The Vikings traded a fifth-round pick for the promising Ravens kicker, but after these recent struggles, Minnesota will keep Dan Bailey as its field goal specialist, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Following his trade from Baltimore, Vedvik made 1 of 4 field goal tries with Minnesota. This came after he went 4-for-4 in his Ravens finale. Vedvik retains practice squad eligibility, should he pass through waivers. But this could represent another squandered fifth-round pick on a kicker.
The Vikings drafted Daniel Carlson in the 2018 fifth round but waived him after two games last season. Vedvik did not make it that far. Matt Wile will remain the Vikings’ punter, with Bailey — Carlson’s replacement last season — staying on as the kicker.
Seahawks To Release WR Jaron Brown
Another key name from the 2018 Seahawks’ receiving corps will no longer be part of the current roster. Shortly after acquiring Jadeveon Clowney (and a $15.9MM salary cap number), Seattle will release Jaron Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The 2018 UFA signing was expected to play a role for the Seahawks’ post-Doug Baldwin receiving corps, but the team will now clear $2.75MM off its cap to help fit Clowney’s tag salary on the payroll.
Brown caught just 16 passes for 166 yards last season, though he did add five touchdown receptions. The former Cardinals target signed a two-year, $5.5MM deal in 2018. The Seahawks, however, drafted three wideouts — including D.K. Metcalf — and are set to supplement Tyler Lockett with rookie contracts.
Seahawks Release CB Jamar Taylor
The Seahawks are releasing veteran cornerback Jamar Taylor, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Just days ago, he seemed to be the frontrunner for Seattle’s nickel job, so this was an unexpected cut.
In May, Taylor was brought on to potentially replace the departed Justin Coleman. The 2013 second-round pick was productive in his two Cleveland seasons, including a 2016 campaign where he had three interceptions and 13 passes defended. In 2017, he appeared in a career-high 16 games and finished with a career-high 62 tackles.
It’s yet another move on a busy day for the Seahawks. They, of course, acquired Jadeveon Clowney on Saturday morning.
Steelers Trade Jerald Hawkins To Bucs
The Buccaneers have acquired offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins from the Steelers (Twitter link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). In the deal, the Bucs will swap positions with the Steelers in a late round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh shipped Hawkins and a 2021 seventh-round pick to Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round selection, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The deal amounts to a low-cost way to the Bucs to fortify their front five. Hawkins, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft, only has five career appearances and one start under his belt. Last year, he was slated to serve as Alejandro Villanueva‘s backup, but a quad tear wiped out his entire 2018 campaign.
Hawkins likely would have been cut by the Steelers, leaving his fate up to the waiver wire. Instead, he has secured a spot for Week 1, in a warm-weather destination. That’s not a terrible outcome for the Louisiana native and LSU product.
Jaguars, Myles Jack Agree To Extension
The Jaguars and one of their young defenders reached an extension agreement Saturday. The Jags will extend Myles Jack on a four-year, $57MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
One of a few impact defenders who entered camp extension-eligible, Jack will earn $33MM guaranteed on this pact. Jack joined Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue as members of the team’s standout 2016 draft class, and the team’s top linebacker became the first to see a new contract.
Jacksonville saw Telvin Smith step away earlier this offseason. It is not known if this is a retirement, but the Jags took care of his longtime running mate. This is a more lucrative deal than the one the team gave Smith (four years, $44MM), with Jack’s $14.25MM-AAV figure sitting behind only Bobby Wagner and C.J. Mosley among off-ball ‘backers. Jack’s $33MM guarantee ties him with Anthony Barr for sixth among this contingent.
Jack has been the least vocal of the Jags’ 2016 defender draftees about a re-up, with Ngakoue holding out into camp and Ramsey making no secret he believes the Jags can afford to give him top cornerback money. But this marks another win for a college superstar who entered the 2016 draft with injury-damaged stock. Both Jack and Jaylon Smith fell out of the first round because of injuries; both are now on high-end linebacker contracts.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old ‘backer has played in 98% of Jacksonville’s snaps since 2017. He’s made 197 tackles over the past two seasons, playing a key role on a defense that has been one of the league’s best in that span.
Packers To Cut QB DeShone Kizer
The 53-man roster deadline is always full of surprises. Here’s the latest one – the Packers have cut quarterback DeShone Kizer, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Just a couple of months ago, Kizer indicated that he did not see him “as Aaron Rodgers’ backup for the final era of his career.” Instead, he envisioned being a “future Super Bowl MVP.”
“That’s the level I want to play at. Therefore, if I’m competing and focused in on the backup competition, then once again, I’m limiting myself,” he said.
The good news for Kizer – he won’t be Rodgers’ backup for the final era of his career. The bad news – well, you know.
A second-round selection in 2017, Kizer was pegged as a green talent that had high upside. Unfortunately for the Notre Dame product, he was taken by the Browns, who proceeded to lose every game that season. At year’s end, he was shipped to Green Bay. Now, at the age of 23, he’ll look for his third NFL squad.
Saints To Release DT Sylvester Williams
The Saints will move on from one of their mid-offseason defensive additions. They will release veteran defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, Nick Underhill of The Athletic tweets.
Williams has bounced around since his four-year Broncos tenure concluded after the 2016 season. The former first-round pick played for the Titans in 2017 and split time with the Lions and Dolphins last season.
The 30-year-old defender played 376 snaps in 2018, starting four games with the Lions and playing 14 total in Detroit and Miami. His last full-season starter role came with the Broncos in 2016. The Titans used Williams as an 11-game starter in their 3-4 defense.
Williams marks the second veteran inside defender the Saints moved on from today. They also released Ziggy Hood, whom they signed just ahead of training camp. Hood was last a full-time player with the 2017 Redskins, with whom he was a 13-game starter.