Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/23
Monday’s minor moves:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed (ERFA tender): OL Cole Van Lenen
- Waived: RB Mekhi Sargent
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: LB Andrew Dowell
Dolphins Extend TE Durham Smythe
After losing Mike Gesicki in free agency and including Hunter Long in the Jalen Ramsey trade, the Dolphins will prioritize one of their own tight ends. They reached an extension agreement with Durham Smythe on Monday.
The Dolphins are re-upping Smythe on a two-year, $7.75MM deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets, adding that this agreement comes with $5.5MM guaranteed at signing. Smythe, 27, is now signed through 2025.
A 2018 fourth-round pick, Smythe has been with the Dolphins throughout his pro career. This extension is similar to the pact he inked last year — a two-year, $7MM accord — but Pelissero adds this one will bump his 2023 pay to $4.5MM. Smythe’s guarantees in his third NFL contract also surpass those in his second ($3.5MM). The Dolphins will undoubtedly add at the tight end position later this offseason, but Smythe’s role may well expand due to Gesicki and Long’s relocations.
Miami selected Smythe two rounds after taking Gesicki five years ago, and the former has proven a better fit in Mike McDaniel‘s offense. Although Gesicki played all 17 regular-season games, Smythe played nearly 100 more offensive snaps. The Notre Dame alum was on the field for 557 of Miami’s offensive plays in 2022, topping Gesicki’s 478. Smythe managed that total despite missing a game.
Like Gesicki, Smythe saw his receiving numbers drop in McDaniel’s offense. He caught 34 passes for 357 yards in 2021 but tallied just 15 catches for 129 yards last season. Pro Football Focus, however, graded Smythe as a top-15 run-blocking tight end. The Dolphins are bringing back their entire backfield, having re-signed Jeff Wilson, Raheem Mostert and Myles Gaskin in March. Smythe will be tasked with helping this trio again in 2023 and stands to be a part of assisting future Miami rushing attacks.
The Dolphins have Smythe, the recently signed Eric Saubert, and 2022 UDFA Tanner Conner on their roster at tight end. Although an early-round addition should not be ruled out, Smythe will be a key part of McDaniel’s second Dolphins offense.
Bills Sign S Taylor Rapp
APRIL 3: The former Rams safety agreed to a low-cost Bills deal. Rapp signed a one-year, $1.77MM contract, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This low figure will not lead to Rapp’s contract counting against the compensatory formula. Rapp will have a chance to bolster his value ahead of a potential second run at free agency in 2024.
MARCH 27: Taylor Rapp recently visited the Patriots, but he will be heading elsewhere in the AFC East. The safety is signing a one-year deal with the Bills, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). 
Rapp will bring significant experience to Buffalo after his four-year stint with the Rams to begin his career. The 25-year-old logged 48 starts during his time in Los Angeles, including every game he was available for over the past two campaigns. That will allow him to carve out a role for himself on the Bills’ backend.
A former second-round pick, Rapp made 100 tackles in his rookie season, adding a pair of interceptions. He was limited to nine games the following year, but was able to remain healthy for the following two campaigns. Overall, he has racked up 330 stops, nine interceptions and 23 pass breakups while operating as a mainstay for the Rams’ defense, a unit which has moved on from several 2022 contributors.
Many of the defenders Los Angles has either released or allowed to sign elsewhere in free agency (such as Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd) were older veterans, but Rapp’s age led to interest from a number of suitors. That included the Patriots, who hosted the Washington alum earlier this month as one of several free agents they met with, as well as the Bengals, who have lost both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell.
Instead, Rapp will look to put together another productive year (particularly in run defense, compared to coverage in the passing game) in Buffalo. The Bills will see Micah Hyde return to health in 2023, and they were able re-sign fellow safety starter Jordan Poyer earlier in the offseason. That will give the team options at the position with Rapp now also in the fold as a starting-caliber piece.
Much of the Bills’ safety situation moving forward will also depend on the future of Damar Hamlin. With his recovery still headed in a positive direction, it remains Hamlin’s intention to resume his playing career whenever possible. Assuming he is able to return to the field, Hamlin will give the team plenty of depth behind Hyde, Poyer and Rapp. The latter will aim for a strong campaign in the hopes of boosting his value ahead of next offseason.
NFC Coaching Updates: Giants, Commanders, Eagles, Bucs, Seahawks
The Giants announced the finalization of their 2023 staff early last month, according to Giants staff writer Michael Eisen. We’ve covered a couple of minor changes in previous posts, but there are a number of new updates in this announcement that have yet to be covered.
With the departure of Tony Sparano Jr., who left to coach the Colts‘ offensive line, New York has hired Chris Smith to fill the role of assistant offensive line coach. Smith has just finished a six-year career at Holy Cross, serving as offensive coordinator last year and offensive line coach, run game coordinator, and recruiting coordinator in previous years. The team also promoted two assistants. An offensive assistant with New York last year, Christian Jones will serve in 2023 as assistant quarterbacks coach. Angela Baker, the inaugural recipient of the Rosie Brown Minority Coaching Fellowship, will move from offensive quality control coach to offensive assistant.
Two staffers received promotions on the defensive side of the ball, as well. Last year’s assistant defensive backs coach Michael Treier was promoted to safeties coach for this year. And, after spending time as a football data & innovation research analyst, Ben Burress will rejoin the coaching staff in 2023 as a defensive assistant.
The Giants made a special teams addition, as well, hiring former Lions defensive quality control coach Stephen Thomas to fill a role as the team’s second assistant special teams coach.
Here are a few other coaching updates from around the league:
- A strong candidate early in their search, the Commanders announced the hiring of Bobby Engram as their new wide receivers coach. The former Seahawks wideout has coaching stints at the 49ers and Ravens but mostly recently served as offensive coordinator at Wisconsin. Washington also hired Shane Toub as the team’s offensive quality control coach. Toub was a defensive quality control coach at Kansas last year after serving in the same position for the Bears previously. The team also hired former NFL cornerback Reggie Howard as a defensive quality control coach. Howard started coaching in 2015, about nine years after his playing career ended. This will be his first NFL coaching opportunity. Lastly, as the Commanders continue to try and fill their vacant offensive line coaching role, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post provided the update that head coach Ron Rivera has informed John Matsko that they will not be hiring him for the job.
- New Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai filled two position coaching roles last month. The team tweeted out that they would be hiring D. J. Eliot as their new linebackers coach. Eliot has been coaching at the college level since 1999, serving as defensive coordinator for Colorado, Kansas, and Temple, most recently. Eliot will receive his first NFL opportunity under Desai. Philadelphia also brought in Ronell Williams to serve as nickels coach, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Williams previously served as a defensive quality control coach for the Bears.
- The Buccaneers have added a new role to their staff, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN, hiring Jordan Somerville as their new assistant quarterbacks coach. Somerville coached running backs at New Mexico before serving last year as an offensive analyst at Oregon. This will be Somerville’s first NFL role.
- The Seahawks made an addition to their defensive staff, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, hiring Roy Anderson as secondary coach. Anderson comes over after three years as assistant defensive backs coach in Minnesota. With the addition of Anderson, Karl Scott, who served last year as defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach, will now take the title of defensive passing game coordinator/senior assistant.
Seahawks Withdraw Ryan Neal’s RFA Tender
Before they signed Julian Love, the Seahawks extended a restricted free agent tender to Ryan Neal. With Love now forming a trio with safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, the Seahawks are moving on from Neal.
Seattle rescinded Neal’s RFA tender Friday afternoon, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). This will make Neal an unrestricted free agent. The four-year Seahawk is coming off a season in which he started a career-high 10 games.
Neal will almost certainly generate immediate interest on the open market. Pro Football Focus graded his 2022 work quite well, slotting the 6-foot-3 cover man as the No. 4 overall safety last season. Neal, 27, made 66 tackles (four for loss), deflected eight passes an intercepted another during a season in which the Seahawks played 16 games without Adams. PFF graded Neal as the No. 3 overall safety in coverage last season, which represented by far his most favorable marks from the advanced metrics site.
The Seahawks gave Neal the low-end tender, which cost them $2.63MM. The team will pick up that cap space but part with Neal, who could be a candidate to land elsewhere as a starter. The transaction will bump Seattle’s cap space past $8MM. A Southern Illinois alum, Neal started 19 games with the Seahawks from 2020-22. With the new money, the Seahawks should be expected to look into more D-line additions, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.
During the parties’ in-season negotiations, the Giants offered Love more money than he ultimately received from the Seahawks, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan (subscription required). But the breakout starter passed and ended up with Seattle on a two-year, $12MM deal. Love agreed to terms with the Seahawks three days after they tendered Neal as an RFA.
With Love in the fold, Henderson notes the Seahawks are planning to use Adams more at the line of scrimmage. The former Jets All-Pro will work as a pseudo-linebacker more often, per Henderson, opening the door for Adams, Diggs and Love to see the field together. Box work has generally been best for the aggressive defender, who makes his living in that capacity rather than as a pure coverage player. Adams set a safety record with 9.5 sacks in 2020 but did not register any in 2021.
Even with this tender off the books, the Seahawks are set to allocate an NFL-leading $41MM at the safety position. They will count on Adams, who has missed extensive time due to injuries over the past two seasons, staying healthy to justify the cost. It will be interesting to see where Neal lands.
AFC Coaching Updates: Dolphins, Ravens, Titans, Jets, Patriots
The Dolphins announced that they had finalized their 2023 coaching staff three weeks ago. We have reported this offseason on most of the major changes, but here are a few included in their announcement that are new.
On the offensive side of the ball, there were some updates to the team’s assistants. Ricardo Allen moved on to coaching shortly after retirement last year, taking a role as the Dolphins special teams assistant. This year, Allen has moved to the offensive assistant position. Another new offensive assistant, Mike Judge returns to a coaching role after spending some time in the personnel department. Miami will also give former NFL wideout Max McCaffrey his first NFL coaching position. McCaffrey will serve as an offensive assistant after time coaching wide receivers at Northern Colorado.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins hired Steve Donatell. The son of former Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell worked under his father last year and will serve as a defensive assistant with Miami. Lastly, the team has promoted Ryan Slowik, who served as a senior defensive assistant in 2022. In 2023, Slowik will be the Dolphins outside linebackers coach.
Here are a few other coaching updates from around the conference:
- With Tee Martin moving to quarterbacks coach, the Ravens hired former Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis to fill the wide receivers coaching position, according to the team’s Twitter account. Lewis coached the position in Kansas City for four seasons before moving to running backs.
- Leaving Baltimore will be former safety Anthony Levine, according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport. Levine had reportedly taken up a role with the Ravens as a scouting and coaching assistant after retiring but will now accept a role with the Titans as a special teams assistant. Tennessee will also bring on Tom Quinn as a special teams assistant and Matt Jones as an offensive line assistant.
- The Jets have hired Shaq Wilson to fill their assistant defensive line coaching role, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. Former assistant defensive line coach Greg Scruggs became the defensive line coach at Wisconsin, so New York went to the college ranks that took him away to find Wilson at South Carolina.
- The Patriots have also added a former college staffer in Keith Jones, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. The former Arkansas assistant spent time with New England during the 2022 training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship. Jones, who mostly worked with the Patriots’ defensive line, will be a coaching assistant in New England.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/31/23
Minor transactions heading into the weekend:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Joshua Miles
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL Corey Levin, TE Trevon Wesco
Levin, despite having had contracts with five teams, returns to the only team he’s appeared in games with. Since being drafted by the Titans in the sixth round of 2018, he’s appeared in 45 games, starting four total. Three of those starts came last year. The team waived him ten days ago but, ultimately, found a way to keep Levin under contract.
Chiefs To Re-Sign S Deon Bush
A year after bringing Deon Bush over from the Bears, the Chiefs will give him the opportunity to play an eighth NFL season. The veteran safety/special-teamer agreed to terms on a new Kansas City accord Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Bush, who is going into his age-30 season, will stay in Missouri on a one-year deal. The seven-year vet has experience as a starter, but his most common roles have come on special teams. The Chiefs took advantage of the longtime Bear’s special teams abilities last season, using him on 73% of their ST plays.
Bush’s 317 special teams snaps last season marked a career-high number. This role came a year after he played 44% of Chicago’s defensive snaps during his final Bears season; the Chiefs deployed the former fourth-round pick on just 71 defensive plays in 2022. Bush has been a steady special teams presence for most of his career, having logged at least a 60% ST snap rate in each of the past five seasons.
The Chiefs lost Juan Thornhill in free agency, a year after they let Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen defect to the Saints, but added Mike Edwards from the Buccaneers. Kansas City now has Edwards, Justin Reid and Bryan Cook in place as its top safeties (those three entered Friday as the only safeties on K.C’s roster).
Bush will be in position to provide in-case-of-emergency depth while likely playing another major role on Dave Toub‘s ST units.
Colts, TE Pharaoh Brown Agree To Terms
After a second stint with his hometown Browns, Pharaoh Brown will head back to the AFC South. The veteran tight end agreed to a deal with the Colts on Friday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
This agreement is pending a physical, with Fowler adding the contract is not expected to be official until April 9. Brown is a six-year vet whose most notable statistical contributions have come with the Texans.
[RELATED: Colts To Sign RB Darrynton Evans]
Brown, 28, has made a nice career for himself after coming into the league as a UDFA. The 6-foot-6 pass catcher will attempt to play a seventh NFL season, and the retooling Colts will provide that chance. Indianapolis is fairly well-stocked at tight end, rostering Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods and Kylen Granson. Each of the team’s top tight ends arrived during GM Chris Ballard‘s tenure, though Woods and Granson were selected to play in Frank Reich‘s offense. Brown marks the first notable addition at the spot since Shane Steichen took over.
The Texans gave Brown a one-year, $3.5MM deal in 2022, and the Oregon alum proceeded to lose nearly 20 pounds to better position himself for receiving success. The weight loss did not lead to increased production; between stays in Houston and Cleveland last season, Brown totaled 12 catches for 117 yards.
Brown played at around 280 pounds in 2021, working more as an in-line blocker. That may be what the Colts would prefer, given his modest receiving numbers. Brown’s career-best receiving total is 171 yards, coming in 2021. Steichen, Jim Bob Cooter and Co. will see how Brown looks in their offense. The Colts also have 2022 sixth-rounder Andrew Ogletree and former Texas A&M standout-turned-UDFA Jalen Wydermyer on their roster at the position.
Bengals To Add DE Tarell Basham
Working to bolster their edge-rushing depth, the Bengals are adding a six-year veteran to the mix. Tarell Basham agreed to terms with the team Friday, according to his agency (on Twitter).
The former third-round pick who played for two teams last season will return to Ohio, where he played his college ball. The ex-Ohio Bobcat spent last season with the Cowboys and Titans. Basham, 29, will now prepare to vie for a rotational role behind starting Bengals defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson.
Basham has already played for four teams in his career, beginning with the Colts before moving to the Jets. He has twice been waived in-season, seeing the Colts and Cowboys cut bait. Dallas did so last year, having seen Basham go down with a quad injury in Week 1 and the likes of Dante Fowler and Sam Williams become its preferred edge-rushing depth pieces. The Cowboys attempted to dangle Basham in trades but found no takers.
The Cowboys gave Basham a two-year, $5.5MM deal in 2021. He helped Dan Quinn revive Dallas’ defense that year, registering 3.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits. That came after he totaled 3.5 sacks and 13 QB hits for the Jets in 2020, creating a modest market. Basham forced three fumbles for the 2020 Jets and added another with the ’21 Cowboys. The ’22 Cowboys’ depth at the position left no room for Basham, who played five games for an injury-riddled Titans team to close out the season.
Cincinnati rosters Joseph Ossai as a backup edge option, but the 2021 draftee was playing through a torn labrum during the final games of last season. Ossai underwent surgery early this offseason. Basham will join Ossai, a former third-round pick, and Cam Sample (Round 4, 2021) as backup options going into Cincy’s offseason program. Ossai and Sample combined for 5.5 sacks in 2022.