Lions Claim DL John Cominsky, Release K Aldrick Rosas
The Falcons cut John Cominsky after three seasons, but the defensive lineman did not last long on the waiver wire. The Lions claimed the young defender Tuesday, according to ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
Despite being a healthy scratch at points last season — a four-game campaign for the former fourth-round pick — Cominsky only lasted to the No. 2 team on the waiver wire. The Lions, by virtue of their 3-13-1 record, sit only behind the Jaguars here.
Dan Campbell‘s team has been busy at defensive end this offseason, drafting Aidan Hutchinson second overall and adding Kentucky’s Josh Paschal in the second round. The Lions, who cut three-year defensive end Trey Flowers, largely stood pat at defensive tackle. Michael Brockers remains; ex-Day 2 picks Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill join him. Cominsky, who has worked as an inside player as well, profiles as a potential rotational cog here.
That will be the goal, at least, for the 26-year-old defender. Atlanta did not view Cominsky as a fit in Dean Pees‘ 3-4 scheme. After Cominsky played 398 defensive snaps in 2020, he logged just 13 last season. He registered a sack in 2020, but the Charleston (West Virginia) alum’s pro career has largely been light on statistics.
Detroit also cut kicker Aldrick Rosas, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Lions gave Rosas a reserve/futures deal in early February. The team still has Riley Patterson and Austin Seibert, who combined to kick in 13 Lions games last season, on its offseason roster.
Rosas kicked in one game with Detroit in 2021. The former Giants Pro Bowler continues to bounce around the league. Prior to venturing to Michigan, Rosas spent time with Jacksonville and New Orleans over the past two seasons.
Buccaneers To Waive WR Travis Jonsen
Arrested for DUI on Monday, Buccaneers wide receiver Travis Jonsen is set to hit the waiver wire. Bucs HC Todd Bowles said Tuesday the former UDFA signing is no longer with the team, via Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith (on Twitter).
A 2020 Bucs post-draft addition, Jonsen has spent most of his NFL time in Tampa. While the Lions rostered him on their practice squad for a stretch last season, the Bucs gave Jonsen a reserve/futures contract for a second straight year in January. His Memorial Day arrest has changed the team’s plans.
Tampa police arrested Jonsen at 3:18am Monday, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. Jonsen, 25, refused a blood-alcohol test and was booked at 4:56am on a misdemeanor DUI charge. Although Jonsen was released from jail before noon Monday, Auman tweets, the Bucs have since moved on. Countless instances exist of players remaining with teams after DUIs, but bottom-rung roster players are generally afforded fewer missteps.
A Montana State alum, the 6-foot-4 wideout has not played in an NFL regular-season game to this point. He finished as a first-team All-Big Sky Conference performer in 2019. He was with the Bucs on their 16-man practice squad for most of their Super Bowl LV-winning season and began last season on Tampa Bay’s taxi squad as well.
Texans, CB Fabian Moreau Agree To Deal
Although Derek Stingley Jr. will be the biggest name the Texans deploy at cornerback next season, the rebuilding team will rely on a few experienced veterans at the position. Another agreed to join the the Texans on Tuesday.
Former Washington and Atlanta corner Fabian Moreau agreed to terms with Houston, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. He will join Steven Nelson as veteran corners to have committed to the Texans this offseason.
A Washington third-round draftee in 2017, Moreau played out his rookie contract in D.C. and caught on with the Falcons in March of last year. He fetched just a one-year deal worth $1.2MM with Atlanta. Moreau started 16 games with the Falcons, playing opposite blossoming talent A.J. Terrell. The Texans figure to try him opposite Stingley, this year’s No. 3 overall pick, though Nelson stands to have considerable say in whom the team uses as its No. 2 corner.
Moreau, 28, gives the Texans some options; he has played outside and in the slot as a pro. He did not tally any interceptions last season but finished with a career-best 11 passes defensed. Moreau’s yards-per-target figure went down from 2020 to ’21, but the UCLA product’s completion percentage allowed and passer rating while the closest defender marks skyrocketed. The 6-foot defender also allowed eight touchdown receptions as the closest player in coverage, by far a career-high total.
As a result, a tepid market awaited the five-year contributor. Still, Moreau provided durability (career-high 1,037 defensive snaps) with the Falcons — after seeing his defensive snap rate plummet to 15% in Jack Del Rio‘s first DC season in Washington — and had some nice coverage stretches in the years prior.
The Texans continue to stockpile midlevel veterans under Nick Caserio, whose first offseason featured a host of deals with this sort of player. Houston added Nelson in mid-April. Despite the ex-Chiefs and Steelers starter coming off a down season with the Eagles, Nelson also worked as a full-timer last season (982 defensive snaps). The Texans have created a bit of depth at a position in which they also have returning slot defender Desmond King, whom they re-signed this offseason. The team also returns regular Tavierre Thomas, a fifth-year veteran who signed a two-year, $4MM contract in 2021.
Browns, TE David Njoku Agree On Extension
David Njoku will turn his franchise tag into a top-five tight end agreement. Weeks ahead of the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions, the Browns have come to terms with the former first-round pick.
The Browns are signing Njoku to a four-year deal worth $56.75MM, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (on Twitter). Njoku will see $28MM fully guaranteed. This $14.2MM-per-year deal makes the five-year Browns contributor the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid tight end.
Cleveland, which entered Friday holding the second-most cap space in the league, could have used this season as a de facto audition year for Njoku on the tag. But reports kept indicating the Browns’ seriousness about extending him. After making an offer north of $13MM per year, the Browns confirmed their faith in Njoku with this deal.
Njoku’s $14.2MM-AAV figure comes in below George Kittle‘s $15MM positional highwater mark, but it is right in the neighborhood of Travis Kelce ($14.3MM AAV) and Dallas Goedert ($14.25MM). Considering Njoku’s lack of statistical success on his rookie contract, this is a major win for the ex-Miami Hurricane and a Browns bet on his potential.
The 2017 first-rounder has just one 500-yard season on his resume. That came back in 2018, when Hue Jackson, Todd Haley and Freddie Kitchens were running Cleveland’s offense. The 6-foot-4 pass catcher, however, is only going into his age-26 season. Several prime years could remain ahead for Njoku, who should have a big opportunity to up his game with Deshaun Watson now at quarterback in Cleveland.
This extension comes two months after the Browns cut Austin Hooper, whom they previously signed to a top-five (at the time) tight end deal. Hooper’s presence cut into Njoku’s opportunities, but in tagging the latter ahead of the March deadline, the Browns signaled they still believed in the younger player’s potential. Njoku headlines a Cleveland tight end depth chart that includes 2020 fourth-round pick Harrison Bryant. This contract makes it clear who the Browns will rely on at the position.
The Browns traded back into the 2017 first round, after having already selected two players that year (which included trading out of the Watson draft slot with the Texans), to nab Njoku with the No. 29 overall pick. Other than his 639-yard 2018 showing, Njoku has never taken off in Cleveland. His tenure also included a rocky stretch in 2020, when he requested a trade at multiple points after Hooper signed. The sides patched up their relationship, and Njoku did produce his second-best statistical season (475 yards, four touchdown catches) — as the Browns’ passing attack cratered — in 2021.
Amari Cooper is set to be the centerpiece of Cleveland’s passing attack, and Donovan Peoples-Jones is positioned to be the trade acquisition’s top complementary player. The team cut Jarvis Landry and, despite rumors about a reunion, let him sign with the Saints following the draft. Njoku will be poised to be a key target for Watson and, in all likelihood, Jacoby Brissett this season.
This still represents a big bet on the potential of a player who has not displayed consistency yet. This deal also stands to impact the negotiations for fellow franchise-tagged tight ends Mike Gesicki and Dalton Schultz. It will be interesting to see if it affects Darren Waller‘s approach with the Raiders. Going into his age-30 season, the former Pro Bowler is tied to a below-market $7.6MM-per-year pact.
Chargers Sign First-Round G Zion Johnson
Nearly every first-round pick this year has come to terms on his four-year agreement (feat. the fifth-year option). The Chargers became the latest team to lock down their top draftee, signing Zion Johnson on Friday.
A standout guard from Boston College, Johnson was the second interior offensive lineman off the board this year — following only Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green, who went 15th overall to the Texans. This year’s No. 17 overall pick will be expected to play immediately for a Chargers team that loaded up on filling needs this offseason.
Johnson transferred to Boston College after spending two years at Davidson. He blocked for four 1,000-yard rushers while in college, most notably A.J. Dillon‘s 1,645-yard season in 2019. Boston College stationed Johnson at left tackle during the 2020 season, and he earned first-team All-American honors at guard last year, joining Green and fellow first-round O-linemen Ikem Ekwonu and Tyler Linderbaum on the Associated Press’ top team.
The 6-foot-2 blocker should be ticketed to be the Bolts’ right guard starter in Week 1. The team has its left side of the O-line addressed, with 2021 first-round pick Rashawn Slater thriving as a rookie alongside free agent pickup Matt Feiler, and Corey Linsley has the center post locked down. Los Angeles will likely still search for a right tackle, its weakest O-line spot last season, but Johnson fills a key need for what is expected to be a rising AFC contender.
All but five first-round picks have signed their rookie contracts. Only Linderbaum, fellow Ravens pick Kyle Hamilton, Patriots guard Cole Strange and Seahawks tackle Charles Cross remain unsigned.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/26/22
Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: CB Kevin Toliver
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: DT Dion Novil
New Orleans Saints
- Released from IR: TE Ethan Wolf
New York Giants
- Released from IR: DB Jordan Mosley
Falcons Waive DL John Cominsky
A rotational defensive lineman with the Falcons, John Cominsky hit the waiver wire Thursday. The Falcons moved on from the former fourth-round pick.
The team will create nearly $1MM in cap space by jettisoning Cominsky, who was going into the final year of his rookie contract. He will hit free agency if unclaimed in the next 24 hours. Atlanta, however, used some of its available space by signing running back Jeremy McNichols earlier Thursday.
Cominsky, 26, emerged out of Charleston (West Virginia) in 2019. His most notable season came in 2020, when he saw action on 44% of Atlanta’s defensive plays. The 285-pound defender registered a sack and three tackles for loss that year. Last season, the Falcons’ Dean Pees-headed defensive staff only used Cominsky in four games and on just 13 defensive plays.
The Falcons have some questions about how their non-Grady Jarrett front seven will look, with even Deion Jones‘ status up in the air. The team used a second-round pick on Marlon Davidson in 2020, but he started just one game last season. Eleven-game starter Tyeler Davison is no longer with the team; the Falcons released him in March. This would seemingly clear a path for Davidson. The team did not use a draft choice on a pure D-lineman, though it did add two edge rushers (Arnold Ebiketie and DeAngelo Malone) on Day 2.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/26/22
Here are the mid- and late-round draftees to sign their four-year rookie contracts Thursday:
Green Bay Packers
- WR Romeo Doubs (fourth round, Nevada)
- OL Zach Tom (fourth round, Wake Forest)
Seattle Seahawks
- T Abraham Lucas (third round, Washington State)
Falcons Sign RB Jeremy McNichols
The Falcons have added depth to their running back room. The team announced on Thursday the signing of journeyman Jeremy McNichols. 
The 26-year-old was a fifth round pick of the Buccaneers in 2017. He never played for Tampa in the regular season, however, failing to make the team during his rookie season. Instead, he went to San Francisco, though he only made two appearances for the 49ers.
That was followed by a plethora of short stints across the league, as he bounced on and off of teams’ practice squads. In 2018, he played in a single game for the Colts; that was also the case one year later in Jacksonville. It wasn’t until he signed with the Titans (for the second time in his career) in 2020 that he began playing on a full-time basis.
The Boise State alum averaged 4.3 yards per carry that season, totalling 204 rushing yards. His play earned him a spot on Tennessee’s roster again this past campaign, which saw him put up better numbers. Seeing a larger workload after the injury suffered by Derrick Henry, McNichols became a factor in the passing game, posting 240 receiving yards. Not long after suffering a concussion, however, he was waived.
In Atlanta, McNichols will look to again prove himself as a viable contributor at the end of the roster. Much of the team’s offense will be centered on Cordarrelle Patterson, of course, and the Falcons added Damien Williams earlier in free agency. Still, after the release of Mike Davis, McNichols will have the chance to compete for the No. 3 role.
Ravens Sign QB Brett Hundley
The Ravens are adding some training camp depth at the quarterback position. The team announced on Thursday that they have signed veteran Brett Hundley. 
The soon-to-be 29-year-old was originally a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2015. He made his Green Bay debut the following year, but didn’t register any starts until 2017. He went 3-6 during that campaign, but that remains the only time where he operated as a No. 1.
After one season as the backup in Seattle, he signed with the Cardinals in 2019. The three appearances he made that year remain the last regular season action he saw. He stayed with Arizona for one more season, though the team looked elsewhere when Kyler Murray needed replacing in-game late in the year. He then spent 2021 bouncing on and off of the Colts’ roster, and recently had a visit with the Vikings which didn’t end in a contract offer.
At the most, Hundley would be in line to compete for the No. 3 role in Baltimore. The Ravens have starter Lamar Jackson under contract for one more season, but his absence from OTAs has left the team thin at the position right now. The Ravens also have backup Tyler Huntley available; the former UDFA filled in for Jackson at the end of last season after his injury, and did enough during that span to secure the No. 2 role.
Baltimore also currently has Anthony Brown, a member of this year’s UDFA class, to take practice reps. In the absence of veteran Josh Johnson, who made one appearance for the Ravens last year, both he and, now, Hundley could find themselves in a competition to land on at least the team’s practice squad.