Lions Sign OL Kendall Lamm
Kendall Lamm is heading to Detroit. The Lions announced that they have signed the free agent offensive tackle.
Despite going undrafted in the 2015 draft, Lamm has put together a respectable seven-year career. He spent the better part of those seven seasons with the Texans, where he started 24 of his 55 appearances. He spent a pair of seasons in Cleveland before joining the Titans last August.
The 30-year-old ended up seeing time in 12 games (one start) for Tennessee last season, and he pretty much split his playing time between offense and special teams. Lamm didn’t play enough snaps to qualify for Pro Football Focus’ rankings, but his score would have ranked toward the bottom of the OT list. However, the site was much more favorable of his performances in 2020 and 2019, and despite his ugly 2021 score, he still earned a solid grade in run blocking.
The Lions don’t have a whole lot of offensive tackle depth behind starters Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell. Lamm will be competing with the likes of Dan Skipper, Matt Nelson, and Darrin Paulo for backup reps.
Meanwhile, the Lions announced that they’ve placed offensive tackle Zein Obeid on the reserve/retired list. Obeid is now the third member of Detroit’s 12-man UDFA class to retire.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/22
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived/injured: DT Bryce Rodgers
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from PUP: RB Kyren Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Reverted to IR: RB Nathan Cottrell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DE Matt Dickerson
- Waived: LB Shilique Calhoun
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: C/G Cameron Hunt
Los Angeles Rams
- Activated from PUP: WR Warren Jackson, RB Kyren Williams
- Released from IR: TE Kyle Markway
New England Patriots
- Activated from NFI: G Chasen Hines
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Jordan Brown, DE T.J. Carter, LB Chase Hansen
- Activated from NFI: WR Rashid Shaheed
- Waived/injured: CB Dylan Mabin
New York Giants
- Released: OL Matt Gono
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Caleb Benenoch
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Ron’Dell Carter
- Activated from PUP: DE Tyson Alualu
- Waived/injured: LB T.D. Moultry
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Matt Cole
- Reverted to IR: WR Jequez Ezzard
Falcons To Sign TE MyCole Pruitt
Despite a severe injury — a dislocated and broken ankle — ending MyCole Pruitt‘s 2021 season, he is back with a team during training camp. The Falcons are signing the veteran tight end, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets.
Pruitt, who spent most of the past four years with the Titans, had surfaced on the workout circuit recently. The Bengals and Vikings brought him in, gauging his form after the ankle injury occurred late last season. Pruitt went down during the Titans’ Week 17 game in early January but will have an opportunity to be part of the Falcons’ 53-man roster.
This will import another of Arthur Smith‘s former Titans tight ends. The team also added Anthony Firkser to its Kyle Pitts-led position group this offseason. Atlanta did not retain 2021 Pitts complement Hayden Hurst, who played with the team for two seasons. Pruitt was with the Titans during part of Smith’s run as their tight ends coach and throughout his stay as offensive coordinator.
Used mostly as a blocker, Pruitt played between 36-44% of the Titans’ offensive snaps over the past three seasons. While the Titans let Pruitt sign with the 49ers in 2021, San Francisco cutting him before the start of the season paved a path back to Tennessee. The former Vikings fifth-round pick played a steady role in helping Derrick Henry to back-to-back rushing titles in 2019 and ’20. Last season doubled as Pruitt’s best receiving year, producing 14 receptions, 145 yards and three touchdown grabs (all career-high marks).
Going into what would be his age-30 season, Pruitt could be in position to complement Pitts. But he will have to show he has recovered from the ankle setback. The Falcons also used a sixth-round pick on tight end John FitzPatrick this year.
Ravens Activate RB J.K. Dobbins, Sign CB Daryl Worley
For the first time in nearly a year, J.K. Dobbins is back with the Ravens at practice. The team took its starting running back off the active/PUP list Monday.
Suffering a torn ACL and sustaining LCL and meniscus damage during the team’s final preseason game last year, Dobbins has not played since his rookie season. Monday’s news does not necessarily mean Dobbins will be in uniform when the Ravens open up their regular season, but it obviously helps open the door to that reality. The third-year back can begin ramping up in full toward debuting with his teammates in Week 1.
The Ravens also signed cornerback Daryl Worley, who worked out with the team over the weekend, and moved linebacker Vince Biegel on IR. This marks somewhat of a reunion for Worley, who finished last season with the Ravens. The veteran cover man, however, played in just one game with the 2021 Ravens. He has played for five other teams over the course of a six-year career.
Dobbins became a key presence as a rookie, averaging six yards per carry and rushing for nine touchdowns. He did this largely as a reserve, starting just one game as part of a deep backfield. The Ohio State product will be brought along slowly ahead of the regular season.
The knee injuries suffered by Dobbins and Gus Edwards threw Baltimore’s backfield into disarray last season. No Ravens running back topped 600 yards in 2021. Veterans Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman led the way, each clearing the 500-yard mark as part of a committee composed of late free agency additions. Le’Veon Bell was also briefly part of this coalition, as was Ty’Son Williams. None of these players are with Baltimore this year.
The Ravens still face significant questions about their backfield ahead of Week 1, due also to Edwards remaining on the active/PUP list. Teams have until August 23 to move players off the active/PUP list. Doing so avoids a player being shut down for the season’s first four games. Like Dobbins, Edwards is finishing up ACL recovery. Veteran Mike Davis and sixth-round rookie Tyler Badie are now part of the team’s backfield equation.
Despite his nomadic NFL run, Worley is still just 27. He worked as a primary starter for the Panthers and Raiders from 2016-19 but has been more of a depth piece since. The former third-round pick was with the Bills, Cowboys and Lions prior to catching on with the Ravens to close last season.
Biegel suffered a torn ACL last week. The Ravens had signed him in May. This represents another bad late-20s break for Biegel. The 29-year-old defender missed the 2020 season because of an Achilles tear. The former starter recovered to return as a Dolphins backup last season, yo-yoing on and off Miami’s practice squad.
Ravens Extend K Justin Tucker
The Ravens have enjoyed historic levels of success in the kicking game for the past decade, and will likely be able to do so for many years into the future. The team announced on Monday an agreement with Justin Tucker on a four-year extension.
One week ago, Chris Boswell signed an extension with the Steelers. At a rate of $5MM per season, that deal placed him into a tie with Tucker atop the list of the league’s highest-paid kickers. The latter’s new deal, as expected, has moved him back into the lead; ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the deal includes $24MM in new money (for an AAV of $6MM), along with $17.5MM in guarantees and a signing bonus of $11.5MM.
The 32-year-old had two years remaining on his current deal, an extension signed in 2019. That contract was also four years in length, and carried a record-setting value of $5MM per season. Tucker was due $3.5MM in each of the next two years, but his scheduled cap hits were just under $6MM over that span.
After joining the team as a UDFA in 2012, the Texas alum won the starting job and has put together a decorated career since. A member of that year’s Super Bowl-wining team, he has been named a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro five times each, and was a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team.
Tucker remains the most accurate kicker in NFL history, with a career mark of over 91%. Last season, he added to his collection of all-time records with a 66-yard field goal against the Lions. His success (and, perhaps to an extent, recent developments in the kicking world) has spurred another lucrative new deal.
With Tucker now on the books through 2027, the Ravens have even more certainty with respect to the league’s most decorated player at his position. The team entered the day with less than $8MM in cap space, so this deal may create some added wiggle room. In any event, Tucker’s long-term future is secure.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/22
We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DL Abdullah Anderson
- Placed on IR: DL Vincent Taylor
Buffalo Bills
- Activated from active/NFI list: G Rodger Saffold
Chicago Bears
- Placed on IR: LB Christian Albright (from waived/injured)
- Waived/injured: LB C.J. Avery
Cincinnati Bengals
- Activated from active/PUP list: DE Khalid Kareem
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/NFI list: CB Keisean Nixon
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Matt Colburn
- Waived/injured: RB Nathan Cottrell
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Eric Smith
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OT Jarrid Williams
Washington Commanders
- Signed: TE Eli Wolf, S Steven Parker
- Released: QB Cole Kelley, LB Bryce Notree
- Waived/injured: WR Jequez Ezzard
Saffold landed on the NFI list after injuring his ribs in a car accident. Getting their starting left guard back sooner rather than later is an important development for the Bills.
Colburn will take the place of Cottrell in the Jags’ RB room. The Wake Forest product played in four games for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars this year, garnering 102 rushes for 457 yards (just under 4.5 YPC) and eight scores.
Cottrell has seen action in each of the past two years for Jacksonville, returning seven kicks in 2020 and handling one carry in 2021.
Wolf and Parker get preseason roster positions after successful workouts yesterday. The Commanders are looking for depth at both positions as they work towards a 53-man roster.
Commanders To Sign LB Nate Gerry
Veteran linebacker Nate Gerry is headed back to the NFC East. The Commanders are signing him, per Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network (Twitter link). 
Gerry, 27, began his career with the Eagles in 2017. He played almost exclusively on special teams as a rookie during the team’s Super Bowl run that year, but took on a larger defensive role with each passing year. In 2019, he played a full season for the first tine, starting 12 contests and setting career highs in tackles (78) and sacks (2.5) along the way. He was a full-time starter the following season, but that campaign was cut short due to an ankle injury.
In free agency. the former fifth-rounder signed with the 49ers. By July, however, he was cut, and remained sidelined throughout the entire 2021 season. Kaye adds that he had not fully recovered from the injury until this offseason (Twitter link). Now, he will look to add starting-caliber depth to Washington’s LB corps.
The Commanders are led at the position by the likes of veterans Cole Holcomb and David Mayo, and 2021 first-rounder Jamin Davis. Gerry – who, as noted (on Twitter) by ESPN’s Field Yates, was among several players the team worked out yesterday – could prove to be a valuable find if he is able to regain his form of years past. He will, at a minimum, provide more experienced depth in the middle of the team’s defense than the likes of UDFA Tre Walker, who reversed his retirement decision yesterday.
Washington entered the day with more than $13MM in cap space, so this deal won’t prevent any other additions. Per Kaye’s colleague Aaron Wilson, the team is cutting offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson to make room for Gerry’s arrival (Twitter link).
Bills, FB Reggie Gilliam Agree To Extension
The Bills have signed FB Reggie Gilliam to a two-year extension worth up to $5.2MM, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network was first to report (via Twitter). The team subsequently announced the move.
A 2020 UDFA, Gilliam has seen most of his action on special teams, appearing in 504 third-unit snaps in his first two years in the league (as opposed to just 236 offensive snaps). However, he received high marks for his blocking prowess in his limited time on the offensive side of the ball, with Pro Football Focus assigning him a strong 76.3 grade for run-blocking and a stellar 84.7 pass-blocking grade in 2021.
Although he has lined up in the backfield and as a tight end, Gilliam hasn’t gotten many touches. In his career, he has five catches for 39 yards and a TD, to go along with three carries for three yards.
Still, the Bills clearly value his contributions. We do not yet know how much of the above-referenced $5.2MM payout is guaranteed, but as a former UDFA who plays a position that many NFL teams no longer utilize and who does not see nearly as much burn as better-compensated fullbacks like Kyle Juszczyk and Patrick Ricard, Gilliam appears to have done well for himself.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old was eligible for free agency at season’s end but is now under club control through 2024.
Chiefs Cut CB Deandre Baker
The Chiefs have cut cornerback Deandre Baker, as Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). After Kansas City injected a great deal of new blood into its CB room this offseason, Baker found himself on the wrong side of the roster bubble.
A first-round pick of the Giants in 2019, Baker played in all 16 games in his rookie season, including 15 starts. He did not perform particularly well, yielding a 116.2 passer rating and earning a poor 48.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, but as a Day 1 selection, Baker was in line to get another extended look in 2020 for a rebuilding New York outfit.
However, Baker’s career quickly went off the rails. The Georgia product was alleged to have robbed a party at gunpoint in May 2020, and the Giants had already waived him by the time charges were dropped, thereby ending a sordid saga that included the attorney for three of Baker’s accusers being arrested on extortion charges. Shortly after he was criminally cleared, Baker hooked on with the Chiefs’ taxi squad and wound up appearing in two games (one start) for KC towards the end of the 2020 campaign.
The Chiefs were intrigued enough to retain Baker for the 2021 season, and he appeared in eight games (one start) for the club last year. His performance still left much to be desired, and while Kansas City kept him in the fold this offseason, the team also drafted three corners — including first-round choice Trent McDuffie — and traded for former Texans CB Lonnie Johnson Jr.
Having failed to impress during his limited time in Kansas City, Baker was squeezed out by the new acquisitions. The soon-to-be 25-year-old will surely get another opportunity, as teams are always on the lookout for CB depth (especially when that depth comes with a first-round pedigree). But he will need to start displaying skills commensurate with that pedigree in order to stay in the NFL for the long haul.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/22
Today’s minor moves around the league:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Javin White
- Waived (injury designation): LB Christian Albright
Cleveland Browns
- Activated from PUP list: WR David Bell
- Activated from reserve/NFI list: LB Anthony Walker
- Activated from reserve/non-football illness list: WR Javon Wims
- Placed on IR: DE Stephen Weatherly
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released via injury settlement: OL Jared Hocker
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on reserve/retired list: LB Kiko Alonso (story)
- Signed: CB Quenton Meeks
- Placed on IR: OL Jerald Hawkins
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: OG Marcus McKethan (story)
Washington Commanders
- Activated from reserve/retired list: LB Tre Walker
Weatherly was in line for a rotational role with the Browns this season behind entrenched starters Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The 28-year-old was coming off of a sack-less campaign with the Vikings last year, but has 73 games and 17 starts on his NFL resume. In his absence, the Browns will depend not only on another mostly healthy season for Clowney, but also third-round rookie Alex Wright and recent USFL signing Chris Odom in the edge rush department.
Just yesterday, Walker surprisingly ended his NFL career before it began, briefly becoming the second young Commander this offseason to hand up his cleats unexpectedly. Hours later, however, the UDFA changed his mind and asked to be reinstated. Having signed him to his rookie contract, Washington held the rights to the San Jose State alum and were free to bring him back into the fold. He will once again look to make the team’s roster – something he has a decent chance at, given the lack of proven options Washington has down the depth chart at ILB.