Jaguars Sign T Ben Ijalana
Doug Marrone revealed Saturday the Jaguars’ tackle situation may not be optimal until after the regular season begins. A day later, the Jags added an experienced blocker.
Former Jets tackle Ben Ijalana agreed to a Jaguars deal Sunday. The team also released running back Benny Cunningham with an injury designation. Cunningham, who signed with the Jaguars in April, is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Left tackle starter Cam Robinson, who is in the final stages of recovering from the ACL tear he suffered last September, may not be ready in time for Week 1. The Jags signed former Bengals first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi and Buccaneers UDFA Leonard Wester this offseason. They drafted Jawaan Taylor in Round 2; the former Florida Gator is expected to be Jacksonville’s opening day right tackle, with the other two vying to be the Robinson stopgap on the other side. Ijalana, 30, may now be in that mix while also representing a depth option.
The Jets used Ijalana in 30 games from 2014-17. His most notable work came as New York’s starting left tackle for 13 games in 2016. He wound up on Gang Green’s IR list in August of 2018. Ijalana’s NFL action has come in spurts, with the former Colts second-round pick not playing in the 2013, ’15 or ’18 regular seasons.
Cunningham has played six NFL seasons, for the Rams and Bears. He will exit a Jaguars running back room headed by Leonard Fournette but also housing Alfred Blue, Thomas Rawls, Roc Thomas and fifth-round pick Ryquell Armstead.
The Jags also signed rookie offensive lineman Ka’Jahn Armstrong and tight end Ethan Wolf. They waived fellow blockers Jordan Agasiva and Andrew Lauderdale, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com notes.
Vikings To Acquire K Kaare Vedvik From Ravens
The Kaare Vedvik sweepstakes will end with the Ravens sending their backup kicker to the Vikings, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Minnesota will send a 2020 fifth-round pick to Baltimore.
Not previously mentioned as a destination for the suddenly in-demand specialist, the Vikings outflanked a rival that almost certainly was in that mix. The Bears, who have featured one of the more public kicker needs in modern NFL history, were reported to be in the hunt for Vedvik. So were the Jets and two other teams. Instead, Vedvik will wear a slightly different shade of purple soon.
Interestingly, Schefter adds Vedvik could be used as Minnesota’s kicker and punter. Dan Bailey and Matt Wile serve as the Vikings’ incumbents at those roles. It would be obviously unique for a team to use a specialist for both roles in this era. When asked about the trade report Sunday, Mike Zimmer said, “I really like Dan Bailey,” Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets.
The Ravens have stashed Vedvik, a 2018 UDFA, for two offseasons and kept him on IR last season in hopes of a future trade. The mid-Day 3 return represents good value for a kicker without any NFL game experience. He did, however, connect on each of his four field goal tries in the Ravens’ preseason opener. This included a 55-yarder.
For the most part, Vedvik only saw action for two seasons at Marshall. He did serve as the Thundering Herd’s kicker and punter in his 2017 senior season, however. The Norwegian-born specialist also began as a punter before seeing action as a kicker. Vedvik was Marshall’s punter for two seasons and made 10 of 16 field goals for the Conference USA program as a senior.
For the Vikings, this represents another fifth-round draft choice used on a kicker. They drafted Daniel Carlson in Round 5 in 2018 but cut him after a woeful performance against the Packers in a Week 2 tie. Bailey became the Vikings’ kicker soon after. The longtime Cowboy made 21 of 28 field goal tries as a Viking, also hitting 30 of 31 PATs. A fourth-year punter, Wile averaged 45.2 yards per boot (14th in the NFL) last season in Minnesota.
Browns Sign Rico Gathers
The Browns have signed TE Rico Gathers, as Mark Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports (via Twitter). In a related move, the club has waived FB/TE Orson Charles.
The Cowboys waived Gathers last week, and Cleveland is taking a low-risk gamble on Gathers’ athletic upside. Dallas selected the former Baylor basketball player in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, but Gathers spent his entire rookie campaign on the practice squad and the entirety of his second professional season on IR.
He finally saw regular season action last year, and though he appeared in 15 games (four starts), he caught only three passes for 45 yards. With Jason Witten back on the team and fellow tight ends Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz ahead of Gathers on the depth chart, the Cowboys decided to cut ties.
But the Browns have very little depth behind starter David Njoku. Though Gathers will be suspended for the first week of the season due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, he should have a chance to earn meaningful playing time in Cleveland.
Charles, 28, appeared in 13 games and made two starts for the Browns in 2018. He saw action on 173 offensive plays, the most snaps he had played since his rookie campaign with the Bengals in 2012
Bills Sign DE Sam Acho, Release OG Vlad Ducasse
The Bills have signed defensive end Sam Acho and have released guard Vlad Ducasse, the team announced. Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic observes that Ducasse was running with the third-stringers when all of Buffalo’s O-linemen were healthy, so he was clearly not going to make the team (Twitter link). As a veteran and former starter, the club likely wanted to give him a chance to catch on elsewhere.
Indeed, Ducasse started 21 games for the Bills over the past two seasons, but he did not fare particularly well in either campaign. Buffalo made the O-line a primary focus this offseason, and the former second-round pick of the Jets slid down the depth chart as a result. Although he has never been a top performer, another club will likely bring him in to serve as experienced depth.
Acho, meanwhile, missed most of 2018 with a pectoral injury. In 2017, he started 12 games and played on 60% of the Bears’ defensive snaps, posting 27 tackles, three sacks, and one pass defensed. Last year, he had just two tackles across four games.
After recording seven sacks in his rookie campaign in Arizona in 2011, Acho has never been able to replicate that success. He will attempt to make the Bills as a situational pass rusher after Buffalo traded Eli Harold earlier this week.
Jets K Chandler Catanzaro Retires
Jets K Chandler Catanzaro, 28, has retired, according to a team announcement. To take his place on the roster, the club has signed K Taylor Bertolet.
Catanzaro’s job was clearly in jeopardy after he missed a pair of extra points in the Jets’ preseason opener. It was reported yesterday that New York would be bringing in kickers Blair Walsh and Chris Blewitt for tryouts, and the Jets are said to still be interested in Ravens’ kicker Kaare Vedvik, who also caught their eye last summer.
In addition to his difficulties in the first preseason game, Catanzaro had apparently struggled in camp as well. Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and elected to leave the game on his terms rather than being cut.
Catanzaro, a Clemson product, signed with the Cardinals as a UDFA in 2014 and won Arizona’s kicking competition that year. His first two seasons in the league were quite promising, as he nailed 87.9% of his kicks in his rookie campaign and 90.3% in 2015. But his success rate dipped to 75% in 2016, and he signed with the Jets in March 2017. He experienced something of a bounceback in his first stint with Gang Green, converting 83.3% of his kicks and all of his PATs, and he signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers last offseason. Tampa Bay released him after he missed two field goals in a loss to the Redskins last November — he ultimately made just 73.3% of his kicks with the Bucs — and he caught on with the Panthers for the last few games of the season.
The Jets saw Jason Myers turn in a Pro Bowl effort last year, but they lost Myers to free agency in March and hoped that Catanzaro would be an adequate replacement. Obviously, that did not turn out to be the case, though as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets, the Jets could at least recoup Catanzaro’s $500K signing bonus if they so choose.
Bertolet was with the Jets last summer and performed well, but he has no regular season experience.
Bills To Sign CB Captain Munnerlyn
The Bills are expected to sign veteran cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets.
A 10-year veteran, Munnerlyn has spent seven of those seasons, including the last two, in Carolina. Before his latest stint with the Panthers, Munnerlyn played under the direction of current Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who served as the team’s defensive coordinator from 2011-16.
Following E.J. Gaines‘ placement on IR, the Bills had an open spot in the secondary. They tabbed the veteran to fill a leadership role for a young secondary.
A consistent starter between Carolina and Minnesota from 2011-14, Munnerlyn has taken on a backup role in recent campaigns. In 2018, he appeared in all 16 games, starting five, and registered one interception and nine passes defensed. In his 10-year career, Munnerlyn has logged 12 interceptions, five of which he has returned for scores.
Cardinals Cut Darius Philon Following Arrest
On Friday, defensive lineman Darius Philon was arrested and charged with aggravated with a deadly weapon from an incident in May. On Saturday, the team made the decision to cut Philon, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. 
Philon allegedly pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a woman outside of a strip club on May 17th. The police report says the player pointed the gun at the victim, who was with another female, twice before she returned to the club, asking at one point “which one of you wants a bullet?” Philon drove away following the incident. On Friday, he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and on Saturday he posted a $5,000 bond and was released.
The Cardinals signed the defensive end to a two-year deal in March worth $10MM and had slated him to fill a big role with the team in 2019. With Philon no longer in the picture, third-round pick Zach Allen is now expected to take over as a starter in Arizona.
A sixth-round selection in 2015, Philon played four seasons with the Chargers before signing with the Cardinals in 2019. The defensive lineman has appeared in 54 career games (19 starts) with 80 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Bucs Release OL Evan Smith
The Buccaneers have released veteran offensive lineman Evan Smith, The Athletic’s Greg Auman tweets.
Entering his 11th season in the league and coming off two hip surgeries, Smith was due to make $2 MM in 2019. The move did not result in any dead cap space for Tampa Bay. Smith was slated to be a backup for the Bucs in 2019. His release now opens a spot as a backup guard/center for Earl Watford, Josh LeRibeus and undrafted rookie Nate Trewyn.
Undrafted coming out of Idaho State, Smith caught on with the Packers in 2009 and appeared in 13 games. He stayed in Green Bay as a versatile lineman for four seasons before joining the Buccaneers in 2014, with whom he started 15 games at center. Splitting time between both guard positions and center, Dietrich-Smith has been plagued by injuries in his last four season, playing in just 42 of a possible 64 games.
Saints Release WR Rishard Matthews
Rishard Matthews‘ Saints tenure will end shortly after it began. After signing the former Dolphins, Titans and Jets wideout in June, the Saints released Matthews on Saturday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
The team used the reserve/left squad designation to make the move. Matthews has not been able to land on his feet since a 2018 injury sidetracked his career. He managed just five receptions for 24 yards last season, splitting time with the Titans and Jets.
A seventh-round pick by Miami in 2012, Matthews enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Titans in 2016, leading the team in receptions (65), yards (945) and receiving touchdowns. He again paced Tennessee the following campaign before being released in 2018.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/19
Here are Saturday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day.
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: C John Yarbrough
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: FB Joe Kerridge
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Justin Stockton
- Placed on IR: WR Jermaine Kearse (full story), NT Darius Kilgo
- Waived/injured: CB Tarvarus McFadden
Green Bay Packers
- Released: WR Jawill Davis
Houston Texans
- Signed: DE Tracy Sprinkle
- Waived: LB Chris Landrum
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nate Theaker
- Released-NFI: G Ian Silberman
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Nick Truesdell
- Waived: CB Derrick Jones
New Orleans Saints
- Released: TE Jake Powell
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Brandon Wilds
- Waived: S Tyree Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB J.T. Barrett, LB Juwon Young
- Waived: SS Marwin Evans, LB Chris Worley