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Minor NFL Transactions: 5/23/22

By | at May 23, 2022 7:31 pm

We’ve got a number of minor NFL transactions to pass your way:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

3 comments Baltimore Ravens Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Rams New York Jets San Francisco 49ers Transactions Washington Commanders

Eagles Claim CB Jimmy Moreland

By | at May 23, 2022 4:40 pm

The Eagles have added a second veteran cornerback in two weeks, with the latest also being a former NFC East cover man. Following James Bradberry‘s Philadelphia signing, the team claimed Jimmy Moreland off waivers.

Houston waived Moreland on Sunday, doing so after claiming him just before last season. A James Madison alum who became a Washington seventh-round pick in 2019, Moreland has not yet made it to free agency, being claimed twice. One season remains on Moreland’s twice-passed-around rookie contract.

Moreland, who intercepted a school-record 18 passes at James Madison and scored six defensive touchdowns, started five games for Washington in both the 2019 and ’20 seasons. He intercepted a pass in 2020 and allowed just a 74.1 rating while in coverage that season. Washington waived Moreland with an injury designation in 2021, leading to a Texans claim. He played in seven games and saw only eight defensive snaps with Houston last season.

The 5-foot-11 defender profiles as an option in the slot, with The Athletic’s Zach Berman noting he may represent competition for Josiah Scott to become Avonte Maddox‘s inside backup (Twitter link). If nothing else, Moreland provides more experience to a cornerback group that lacked it beyond Maddox and Darius Slay last week. Tay Gowan, Zech McPhearson and Kary Vincent were 2021 draftees; Gowan and Vincent did not see much playing time as rookies.

To make room for Moreland on their offseason roster, the Eagles waived defensive end Joe Ostman with a failed-physical designation.

2 comments Philadelphia Eagles Transactions

Colts To Sign QB Nick Foles

By | at May 23, 2022 12:13 pm

Days after it came out that the sides were nearing a deal, the Colts are indeed signing veteran quarterback Nick Foles. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports (on Twitter) that Foles has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with Indianapolis. 

It was reported last week that the Colts were open to the prospect of adding a veteran to their QB room. Many believed that the signal-caller they would be most interested in would be Foles, given his connection to head coach Frank Reich. It was during their time together with the Eagles that Foles led the team to a Super Bowl title. He recently said, “I learned more with [Reich] and that staff in that season in 2017 than I ever have”.

Days later, it came out that the 33-year-old was nearing a deal with the Colts. When asked about the possibility of adding the familiar face, Reich said, “we’re not in a rush. There is a timing to the way things go, and the way the roster is put together, that is very intentional.” Now, almost immediately after those comments, the two have been reunited.

Foles most recently had a two-year stint in Chicago after a disappointing season spent in Jacksonville. He made seven starts in 2020, but was relegated to the No. 3 role this past year behind rookie Justin Fields and fellow veteran Andy Dalton. At the end of April, he was released, opening the door to this signing. The Colts had competition for his services, however, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweets that the Eagles were “involved” in Foles’ free agency leading up to his decision to join the former.

In Indianapolis, Foles will provide experienced depth behind Matt Ryan, whom the team has stated a desire to maintain as their No. 1 for multiple years. Should anything happen to him, Reich will now be able to lean on a trusted former colleague for at least the immediate future.

19 comments Indianapolis Colts Transactions

49ers To Sign TE Tyler Kroft

By | at May 23, 2022 9:28 am

San Francisco is already well-stocked at the top of the depth chart at the tight end position, but they are adding experienced depth. The 49ers are signing Tyler Kroft to a one-year deal, as announced by his agent (and passed along, on Twitter, by ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 

Kroft, 29, began his career with the Bengals in 2015, who drafted him in the third round. He played a rotational role in Cincinnati for the first two seasons of his career, but took on a starter’s workload in 2017. Starting all 16 contests in that campaign, he put up personal bests across the board, posting 42 catches for 404 yards and seven touchdowns.

Things took a turn for the worse in 2018, however. Kroft suffered a foot injury which ultimately landed him on IR and limited him to five games. Many felt that would limit the value of his next deal, but he received a three-year contract from the Bills that offseason. He was unavailable for 11 combined games across two seasons spent in Buffalo, again reduced to a rotational role when he was on the field.

That led him to a one-year deal with the Jets last offseason. The term of that contract was more in line with what was expected coming off of his Bengals tenure. In nine games in the Big Apple, Kroft made just 16 receptions, meaning it came as little surprise that he wouldn’t be returning after the team added C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin in free agency.

In San Francisco, the Rutgers product will compete for playing time behind All-Pro George Kittle. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to contribute as a complimentary piece to the team’s passing game as they try to make another deep postseason run.

1 comment New York Jets San Francisco 49ers Transactions

Seahawks Signing WR Marquise Goodwin

By | at May 22, 2022 10:16 pm

The Seahawks are bringing in some veteran competition to camp with the signing of wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Goodwin will be looking to use camp to solidify a spot on his fourth NFL team. 

Goodwin is a deep-threat wide receiver that was drafted out of Texas in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Bills. His best year in Buffalo saw him catch 29 passes for 431 yards and three touchdowns.

That performance convinced the 49ers to give him a chance and Goodwin gave them the best season of his career, catching 56 balls for 962 yards and two touchdowns. He was only able to play in 11 games the following year, but was still able to put up a career high four touchdown catches. He played in nine games to start the 2019 season, before being placed on injured reserve.

The 49ers traded Goodwin to Philadelphia in the next offseason for a swap of sixth round picks. Goodwin took the option available to all players that year: opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stipulations in the trade agreement reverted Goodwin back to San Francisco and the Eagles received a seventh-round draft pick as a result of the failed deal. The 49ers released him the next day. Last season, Goodwin signed with the Bears, getting limited looks in 14 games of action.

Seattle returns their top three wide receivers in D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Freddie Swain, but, behind them, their fourth-most productive receiver was rookie D’Wayne Eskridge who had 10 receptions for 64 yards in 2021.

The deal should be a nice win-win opportunity for both sides: Goodwin getting another chance to contribute and Seattle getting a bit of bench depth for their wide receiver corps.

7 comments Seattle Seahawks Transactions

Browns To Re-Sign DE Jadeveon Clowney

By | at May 22, 2022 12:13 pm

After weeks of rumors connecting Jadeveon Clowney to a Cleveland return, that agreement has come to pass. Clowney will stay with the Browns on a one-year deal, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter).

The ninth-year defensive end will stay in Cleveland on a deal worth up to $11MM, USA Today’s Josina Anderson tweets. Incentives are included in this total, making it appear similar to the one-year, $8MM pact Clowney inked with the Browns in 2021. Either way, this will ensure Myles Garrett‘s edge-rushing partner will return — something the All-Pro lobbied for — for a second season.

The sides agreed to this deal Wednesday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, but needed a few more days to finalize it (Twitter link). Clowney should be expected to earn close to that $11MM total, RapSheet adds, noting that the veteran edge defender turned down multiyear deals worth more than $14MM from other teams to stay in Cleveland (Twitter links).

While this does not stop Clowney’s run of one-year agreements, it does ensure he will return to a team for the first time since his Texans rookie deal expired. Since the Texans executed a tag-and-trade sequence with the Seahawks late in the summer of 2019, Clowney has spent the past three seasons in Seattle, Tennessee and Cleveland. The Browns season marked his most successful, even if the team underwhelmed. Clowney’s nine sacks were his most since 2018, his most recent Pro Bowl year. He finished with 32 pressures (tied for 25th in the NFL) alongside Garrett, who tied T.J. Watt for a league-high 52. Garrett’s 16 sacks were also a Browns single-season record.

Cleveland used a third-round pick on defensive end Alex Wright and traded for ex-Patriots edge contributor Chase Winovich. This duo will now be positioned to be rotational rushers behind the Garrett-Clowney tandem. With the Browns having moved on from 2021 defensive tackle starters Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell, Clowney will be positioned to help as an inside rusher as well. That would allow one of the edge backups to join he and Garrett in sub-packages.

This does continue an interesting run of contracts for Clowney, who led off a talented 2014 draft. Injuries have plagued the former South Carolina super-prospect for most of his career, with knee trouble being at the forefront of his health issues. Clowney did play in 14 games last season, however. But the long-term deal packed with guarantees — along the lines of the ones 2014 classmates Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack received years ago — eluded him. Clowney, 29, played out his Texans contract but will finish his 20s on a year-to-year path.

Still, Clowney earned $15MM in 2019 (via the tag), $13MM in 2020 and $8MM (plus $750K in incentives) last year. In addition to the $30MM-plus he made in five years with the Texans, the three-time Pro Bowler has done pretty well for himself — albeit in unorthodox fashion.

10 comments Cleveland Browns Newsstand Transactions

Chargers Sign 14 UDFAs

By | at May 21, 2022 2:27 pm

The Chargers’ 14-man undrafted free agent crop rounds out this year’s class of priority free agents. Here are the UDFAs vying to catch on with Los Angeles’ AFC team:

Brown finished his Mountaineers career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, totaling 22 rushing touchdowns in that span, while Marks was a four-year regular at Buffalo. Despite playing alongside Jaret Patterson during his first three seasons, Marks amassed a 1,000-yard rushing slate as a sophomore in 2019 and finished with 33 touchdowns with the Mid-American Conference program. These two will join the Chargers’ Austin Ekeler-led backfield, which includes backups Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree and fourth-round rookie Isaiah Spiller.

Peters, who spent six years at Illinois, struggled with accuracy (54% career completion rate) at the Big Ten program and missed time due to injury as a senior. His most productive season came in 2019, when he threw 18 touchdown passes. The Fighting Illini’s kicker from 2019-21, McCourt enjoyed his best year as a senior, when he made 18 of 23 field goals. McCourt’s eight 50-plus-yard makes are the most in program history. He joins a Bolts team that has experienced kicker trouble in recent years but one that added longtime Washington specialist Dustin Hopkins last season.

Smartt joined Old Dominion as a transfer quarterback in 2019 and started for the Commodores that year. He struggled as a passer, but after the pandemic nixed Old Dominion’s 2020 season, Smartt moved to wide receiver. He caught just 17 passes in 2021, but the Bolts will try him at tight end alongside Krommenhoek, who caught just 15 passes last season. The Chargers did not re-sign Jared Cook but added Gerald Everett in free agency; he joins Donald Parham as the team’s top tight ends.

1 comment Los Angeles Chargers Transactions

Packers Add 14 Undrafted Free Agents

By | at May 21, 2022 11:48 am

The Packers roster now includes 14 undrafted rookies:

The Packers already added three rookie wideouts via the draft, but that didn’t stop them from signing Davis. The Wisconsin product played 51 games during his collegiate career, hauling in 1,642 yards and 14 scores. He also contributed a bit in the running game, and he even served as a backup punt returner.

The team also added a trio of linebackers. Brice is a good story, as the defender worked his way from Hutchinson Community College (Kansas) to Florida Atlantic, where he collected 141 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss in 30 games. Brooks earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021, and he finished his career with the Nittany Lions having compiled 230 tackles. Manac earned second-team All-Sun Belt in 2021 after collecting 57 tackles and 10.5 sacks.

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