Texans, G Shaq Mason Finalizing Extension
Acquired via trade in March, Shaq Mason is set to sign a long-term deal with the Texans. The veteran guard is finalizing a three-year extension with Houston, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports (on Twitter).
The deal is worth $36MM, with Wilson adding $22MM will be guaranteed in total. This represents another nice payday for Mason, who played his 2022 Buccaneers season on his Patriots-constructed contract. That deal was set to expire after the 2023 season, but the Texans are eyeing a longer-term partnership. As part of that guarantee, Mason will collect a $10MM signing bonus.
Previously attached to a $9MM-per-year contract, Mason will do better on his third NFL deal despite readying for his age-30 season. At $12MM per annum, Mason’s new contract will check in 11th among guards. While his Patriots pact from 2018 landed higher on the guard hierarchy, the $22MM guarantee will bring solid security in his third NFL city.
Mason, who will soon be signed through the 2026 season, landed in Houston in a pick-swap trade. The Bucs only pried a 2023 sixth-round pick for the veteran blocker, who has been traded twice in two years. New England fetched a fifth-rounder from Tampa Bay in 2022. During a turbulent season for the Bucs’ offensive line, Mason started all 17 games. He will be expected to anchor Houston’s interior O-line going forward.
Texans GM Nick Caserio was with the Patriots when they drafted Mason in the 2015 fourth round, and he remained with the AFC East franchise when Mason signed his initial extension. The Texans used a first-round pick on guard Kenyon Green last year; the Texas A&M product will be set to team with Mason on a line that includes three first-rounders. The Texans have extended one of those this offseason — left tackle Laremy Tunsil — while right tackle Tytus Howard is heading into his fifth-year option season. Houston gave Tunsil another market-resetting contract. Although Mason’s is an upper-middle-class deal, the Texans will complement C.J. Stroud‘s rookie contract with two eight-figure-per-year accords.
Despite being a Day 3 pick, Mason has become one of this era’s best guards. He started for each of the Patriots’ three late-2010s Super Bowl teams, lining up as a Tom Brady protector in each of those Super Bowls. Pro Football Focus ranked Mason as a top-10 guard in each season from 2016-21, with the Georgia Tech alum playing a key role in the Pats’ Mac Jones-piloted 2021 playoff season as well. As they did with Rob Gronkowski, the Pats shipped Mason to the Bucs for a Day 3 choice. The Bucs had lost longtime guards Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa and saw center Ryan Jensen suffer a severe knee injury in training camp. Mason joined Tristan Wirfs in anchoring Tampa Bay’s O-line last season, and PFF slotted the former just outside the top 20 at guard amid the Tampa chaos.
While the Texans have hovered far off the playoff radar over the past three seasons, they have assembled an intriguing O-line. Wednesday’s agreement will position Mason to join Tunsil and Green as long-term Stroud blockers.
Saints Sign TE Foster Moreau
Foster Moreau‘s Saints visit revealed a concerning health matter for the tight end, but barely a month after his cancer diagnosis, the veteran tight end looks set to resume his career. He is signing with the Saints, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The Saints are giving Moreau a three-year, $12MM deal, per Fowler, who adds the contract also includes $3MM in incentives. This represents a remarkable comeback for the former Raiders tight end, whose career encountered a brief hiatus after the Hodgkin’s lymphoma discovery earlier this year. The deal includes $8MM fully guaranteed, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter adds (on Twitter).
Moreau’s trip to New Orleans for a free agency meeting in March led to the Hodgkin’s lymphoma finding — revealed during a routine physical — and the four-year veteran stepped away from football as a result. Last month, Moreau said the cancer had spread from its initial location but still indicated positive momentum. Given the timeframe between Moreau’s cancer discovery and this agreement, this marks a stunning turnaround for the former fourth-round pick.
Moreau, who turned 26 last week, has indeed received clearance and expects to play in 2023, Schefter tweets. He is still receiving treatment, according to NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill, who adds the free agency addition will be brought along slowly. But Moreau received a positive diagnosis and is not expected to have limitations upon return (Twitter link).
This will present a homecoming for Moreau, a New Orleans native who caught teams’ attention while playing at LSU, and a reunion with Derek Carr. In between Moreau’s cancer being found and this signing, the Saints traded former third-round pick Adam Trautman to the Broncos. The fourth-year veteran had requested the move. Moreau will join the recently extended Juwan Johnson in the Saints’ tight end room.
Darren Waller served as the Raiders’ starting tight end throughout Moreau’s time with the team, but the younger pass catcher became needed as Waller injuries piled up over the past two seasons. Moreau combined to catch 63 passes for 793 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons, stepping in as Waller missed extensive time in that span. Moreau made 34 starts during his Raiders tenure. Pro Football Focus also graded Moreau as a top-15 pass blocker — among tight ends — last season.
Also meeting with the Bengals before his cancer became known, Moreau will join a Saints team that is largely running it back at the pass-catching positions. The team re-signed Michael Thomas and extended Johnson. New Orleans still rosters Tre’Quan Smith and returns Rashid Shaheed as a Chris Olave complement. The team drafted wideout A.T. Perry with the pick obtained in the Trautman deal and signed ex-Raiders receiver Bryan Edwards. This Moreau signing, however, represents the team’s biggest outside addition at a pass-catching spot this offseason.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/10/23
Teams are moving quickly on inking their Day 3 draftees to their four-year rookie deals, with this process involving a slot system that does not feature many complications for late-round players. Here are the latest such agreements to commence:
Atlanta Falcons
- S DeMarcco Hellams (seventh round, Alabama)
Buffalo Bills
- LB Dorian Williams (third round, Tulane)
- WR Justin Shorter (fifth round, Florida)
Carolina Panthers
- OLB D.J. Johnson (third round, Oregon)
Detroit Lions
- WR Antoine Green (seventh round, North Carolina)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- FB Derek Parish, (seventh round, Houston)
New England Patriots
- P Bryce Baringer (sixth round, Michigan State)
- WR Demario Douglas (sixth round, Liberty)
San Francisco 49ers
- K Jake Moody (third round, Michigan)
- CB Darrell Luter Jr. (fifth round, South Alabama)
Washington Commanders
- DE Andre Jones Jr. (seventh round, Louisiana)
Johnson transferred back to the west coast after a freshman year at Miami (FL). He established himself as one of the most versatile players in the country while in Eugene, contributing for the Ducks on defense as an edge rusher and on offense as a tight end. Carolina drafted him for his defensive potential.
Moody is the expected replacement for Robbie Gould, who departed in free agency this spring after six years with San Francisco. Likewise, New England moved on from punter Jake Bailey after a couple of internal disagreements. Baringer is expected to take over for the one-time All-Pro punter.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/23
Here are the league’s minor moves from today:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed off waivers (from Browns): DL Ben Stille
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Matt Dickerson, CB Lamar Jackson, DT Chris Williams
- Released: DT Byron Cowart
- Waived: S Martez Manuel
New England Patriots
- Waived: WR Lynn Bowden
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Bryant Koback
Bowden will now be searching for the fourth team of his young NFL career. The former third-round pick was traded to Miami before his rookie season began. In South Beach, he recorded 243 yards from scrimmage with 28 receptions and nine rush attempts. After missing his sophomore season on injured reserve, Bowden was waived just before last season and signed to the Patriots practice squad.
Broncos Release OLB Jacob Martin
Two months after cutting Chase Edmonds, the Broncos have parted ways with the other player they acquired at last year’s trade deadline. They released Jacob Martin on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.
While Edmonds came over in the Bradley Chubb trade — a deal that also included the first-rounder sent to the Saints for Sean Payton — Martin was part of the team’s post-Chubb edge-rushing contingent. The Jets dealt Martin to the Broncos in a pick-swap trade, which sent a 2024 fourth-rounder to New York and a 2024 fifth to Denver.
A Denver-area native, Martin played in five games with his hometown team. The outside linebacker recorded a sack and two tackles for loss as a Bronco. Knee trouble limited Martin last season, and he finished his Denver cameo on IR.
As a vested veteran, Martin will skip the waiver process and pass through to free agency. The Jets gave Martin a three-year, $13.5MM deal in 2022. The Broncos will save $3.8MM by shedding the through-2024 contract from their cap sheet. This will bump Denver’s cap-space figure just past $10MM. Denver had created $5.9MM in cap space by cutting Edmonds in March.
Last season, the Broncos dealt with injuries to most of their edge rushers. Randy Gregory went down in October and did not return until mid-December. Both he and Martin finished the season on IR, with the Broncos moving Martin off their 53-man roster in December. Denver also played without Baron Browning for a stretch. These maladies and Chubb’s midseason exit certainly affected the Broncos’ pass rush.
Martin had tallied at least three sacks from 2018-21, totaling four with the Texans during his ’21 platform year. Also part of the 2019 trade that sent Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle, Martin played three seasons for the Texans before commanding that Jets free agency deal. Gang Green guaranteed the former sixth-round pick $6MM via the 2022 agreement, but the Broncos’ Wednesday decision closes the book on that contract.
Gregory, Browning and 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto reside as the Broncos’ top edge players. The team did not draft an outside ‘backer nor did it make a notable investment at the position in free agency. Though, third-round linebacker Drew Sanders recorded 9.5 sacks at Arkansas last season and may be set for a hybrid role of sorts.
Lions Sign DL Christian Covington
Although Christian Covington‘s 2022 season ended early, the Lions will give him a shot to bounce back. The well-traveled defensive lineman agreed to terms with the Lions on Wednesday, according to his agent (on Twitter). The Lions have since announced the signing.
An eight-year veteran, Covington has worked as a rotational defensive lineman and occasional starter throughout his career. He topped 500 defensive snaps in both 2020 and ’21, but a torn pectoral muscle ended his second Chargers season.
Covington, 29, has mostly served as an interior D-line presence for his various teams. A 2015 Texans draftee, Covington later journeyed to Dallas, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. He has 32 starts on his resume. Covington worked in the Bolts’ 3-4 defense but was part of 4-3 schemes with the Bengals and Cowboys in the two years prior, making for a fit in either alignment. Pro Football Focus rated Covington as a plus run defender in the late 2010s and slotted him as a middle-of-the-pack interior D-lineman in 2021.
The Chargers gave Covington two one-year contracts, both for the league minimum. Considering the pec tear ended Covington’s 2022 season after four games, it stands to reason his Lions deal will check in around the same financial territory.
In 2021, Covington totaled a career-high 52 tackles and forced a fumble. The Bengals gave the 289-pound defender a career-most 14 starts in 2020. Beyond that season, however, Covington has never started more than six games in a single slate.
Detroit has made a number of defensive augmentations this offseason, which is understandable given its last-place ranking last season. The Lions have added more notable players on the second and third levels. They signed three starter-caliber DBs (Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Emmanuel Moseley) and drafted Brian Branch in the second round. They also made linebacker Jack Campbell a surprising first-round pick. Up front, the Lions did use a third-round pick on D-tackle Brodric Martin. Beyond that and the re-signing of John Cominsky, the Lions have stood pat up front. Covington will be given a chance to catch on as a rotational presence for Dan Campbell‘s team.
Steelers To Release CB Arthur Maulet
The Steelers will cut ties with their primary slot cornerback from last season. They informed Arthur Maulet he will be released, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
This move comes just more than a week after the team agreed to terms with veteran slot defender Chandon Sullivan, who will come to Pittsburgh after a year in Minnesota. Maulet, 29, spent the past two seasons with the Steelers, joining the AFC North team after bouncing around the league early in his career.
Pittsburgh re-signed Maulet to a two-year, $3.83MM contract in March 2022 and used him frequently in the slot last season. Although Pro Football Focus rated Maulet as slightly better than Sullivan in 2022, the rankings difference was negligible (90th and 96th, respectively). The six-year veteran did improve on his coverage numbers in 2022, allowing a 61.5% completion rate (down from 75.9% in 2021) and dropped his passer rating number — as the closest defender — from 119.0 to 105.5. But Sullivan is now in place as the expected Steelers slot player.
Maulet’s signing comprised part of a low-cost Steelers corner corps last season. Neither he nor Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon made more than $5MM. The team has since made some changes at the position, adding Sullivan, Patrick Peterson and second-round pick Joey Porter Jr. Wallace and Witherspoon remain on the roster, each going into the final year of their respective contracts. Sutton signed with the Lions on Day 1 of the legal tampering period.
A former Saints UDFA, Maulet has played for four teams over the course of his career. The 5-foot-10 cover man spent time with the Colts and Jets prior to his Steelers stay, starting 11 Jets games — at both corner and safety — from 2019-20. He joined the Steelers in May 2021. Last season, Maulet made a career-high 59 tackles, registered two sacks and intercepted a pass. He played a career-high 481 defensive snaps last year. As a vested veteran, Maulet will immediately hit free agency after this release.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/9/23
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed (from Eagles): DB Andre Chachere
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Marquez Stevenson, DT Ben Stille
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Juwann Winfree
- Waived: DE Guy Thomas
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Sebastian Gutierrez
- Waived: CB Montrae Braswell, OL Blake Haynes
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: CB Tae Hayes
Chachere will rejoin Jonathan Gannon in Arizona. The San Jose State alum played two seasons with the Eagles, working as a regular special-teamer in Philly. He played 322 ST snaps for the Eagles in 2021 and 141 last season. He will accompany linebacker Kyzir White in following Gannon to the desert.
A 2019 Broncos sixth-round pick, Winfree spent the past three seasons with the Packers. He caught nine passes for 75 yards in that span. The Patriots initially picked up Hayes as a practice squad addition in December. Hayes, who played seven games with the Pats and Panthers last season, has been on six teams since being a 2019 UDFA.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/9/23
Teams are moving quickly on inking their Day 3 draftees to their four-year rookie deals, with this process involving a slot system that does not feature many complications for late-round players. Here are the latest such agreements to commence:
Cincinnati Bengals
- RB Chase Brown (fifth round, Illinois)
Denver Broncos
- C Alex Forsyth (seventh round, Oregon)
Detroit Lions
- OL Colby Sorsdal (fifth round, William & Mary)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- OLB Yasir Abdullah (fifth round, Louisville)
New England Patriots
- G Atonio Mafi (fifth round, UCLA)
Seattle Seahawks
- DE Mike Morris, (fifth round, Michigan)
An additional quintet of fifth-round picks is now under contract. Last year, the slot system pegged Round 5’s contracts between $4.1MM and $3.9MM over four years, with full guarantees ranging from $361K to $243K.
Brown finished his Fighting Illini tenure with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including a 1,643-yard slate as a senior. He joins a Bengals team that did not outbid the Broncos for Samaje Perine and had been expected to ask Joe Mixon for a pay cut. Post-draft, Zac Taylor issued a vote of confidence for Mixon to be back. Abdullah combined to tally 19.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss during his final two seasons at Louisville.
Lions Waive WR Stanley Berryhill
The Lions have now cut ties with three of the four players who received gambling suspensions last month. The team handed wide receiver Stanley Berryhill his walking papers Tuesday.
A UDFA who caught on with the Lions last year, Berryhill incurred a six-game gambling ban. While Berryhill’s punishment was not as extreme as the indefinite suspensions — which will last at least one season — given to wideout Quintez Cephus, special-teamer C.J. Moore and Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney, Berryhill will hit the waiver wire.
Jameson Williams is the only gambling policy violator left on Detroit’s roster. The 2022 first-round pick, who joined Berryhill in receiving a six-game suspension, obviously is not at risk of being cut. Berryhill, however, played in four games last season but saw just six offensive snaps. The Falcons signed the Arizona alum as a UDFA; he made his way to the Cardinals’ practice squad in September and landed on the Lions’ P-squad in October.
The Lions have also fired at least three staffers — believed to be a strength and conditioning coach and two equipment managers — for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. Unspecified league employees have also been canned for violating the policy, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. After decades of dormancy on the gambling suspension front, seven players — also including Calvin Ridley and former defensive back Josh Shaw — have received bans since 2019.
Detroit, which also waived cornerback Mac McCain and defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor, did not draft a wide receiver until the seventh round (North Carolina’s Antoine Green). Josh Reynolds remains on the Lions’ roster, and the team reunited with Marvin Jones — a Lion from 2016-20 — in late March. Kalif Raymond, Tom Kennedy, Trinity Benson and 2022 UDFA Maurice Alexander round out the rest of Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s potential supporting cast. The Lions cut McCain with a failure to disclose a physical condition designation, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.