Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram Hit With UFA Tenders
Both the Ravens and Chiefs made use of a rarely used tender today. Per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), free agent linebackers Justin Houston and Melvin Ingram were hit with UFA tenders by Baltimore and Kansas City, respectively.
This makes July 22 (or the first day of training camp, whichever is later) a relatively important date for the two veterans. If they sign with a new team before that date, then they’ll count toward the compensatory pick formula (benefiting their 2021 team). If they remain unsigned, then their 2021 squad will have exclusive negotiating rights, meaning the player will either return to the organization or sit unsigned.
Houston’s offer from Baltimore is worth 110% of his 2021 salary, which was $2.075MM. The veteran inked a one-year deal with the Ravens last offseason, and he ended up collecting 34 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 15 starts for his new team. Houston spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Chiefs, including a 2014 campaign where he compiled 22 sacks.
Per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com, the Chiefs effectively offered Ingram a one-year deal worth $4.4MM. The linebacker was traded to Kansas City last November, and he saw time in nine games (six starts) down the stretch, collecting 15 tackles and one sack. The 33-year-old added another two sacks in three playoff games. The former first-round pick spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Chargers, collecting 49 sacks and three Pro Bowl appearances.
Panthers Sign Andre Roberts
The Panthers have found their new return specialist. Former Pro Bowler Andre Roberts is signing with the Panthers, reports Adam Caplan (on Twitter).
Roberts is inking a one-year, $1.75MM deal. The contract contains $900K in guaranteed money.
Despite the 2021 campaign being Roberts’ 12th NFL season, the veteran still put forth one of his best professional seasons. Roberts split the season between the Texans and Chargers, finishing with a league-leading 1,010 kick return yards. Roberts also added 20 punt returns en route to a second-team All-Pro nod. Per Caplan, the Chargers were interested in bringing Roberts back, but the organization wasn’t willing to offer much in guaranteed money. Roberts also generated interest from the Eagles before signing with Carolina.
Roberts has earned three Pro Bowl appearances and three All-Pro nods throughout his career, thanks in part to six special teams touchdowns. He’s also been relatively productive on offense, including a 2012 season where he had 759 receiving yards and five touchdowns. However, in the past five seasons, Roberts had only collected 223 total yards from scrimmage.
The Panthers relied on Alex Erickson as their primary punt returner last season, while veteran RB Ameer Abdullah got the bulk of the kick returns. Erickson is still on the roster, but Abdullah has since joined the Raiders.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/22
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: S Charles Washington
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: OL Willie Beavers, LB James Vaughters
- Placed on IR: LS Beau Brinkley
Cleveland Browns
- Released: K Chris Blewitt, K Chase McLaughlin
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: OL Brandon Murphy, LB Elijah Sullivan
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: FB Jake Bargas
New England Patriots
- Released: RB Devine Ozigbo
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: OL Nate Herbig
Tennessee Titans
- Released: TE Austin Fort, LB Nate Hall, LB Kobe Jones, LB Tuzar Skipper
49ers Sign 14 Undrafted Free Agents
The 49ers were busy following the draft, agreeing to terms with 14 undrafted free agents:
- Kevin Atkins, DL (Fresno State)
- Jeremiah Gemmel, LB (North Carolina)
- Tayler Hawkins, S (San Diego State)
- Qwuantrezz Knight, CB (UCLA)
- Taysir Mack, WR (Pittsburgh)
- Tay Martin, WR (Oklahoma State)
- Jordan Mason, RB (Georgia Tech)
- Marcelino McCrary-Ball, LB (Indiana)
- Segun Olubi, LB (San Diego State)
- Leon O’Neal Jr., S (Texas A&M)
- Jason Poe, OL (Mercer)
- Sam Schlueter, OL (Minnesota)
- Garrett Walston, TE (North Carolina)
- Dohnovan West, OL (Arizona State)
Dohnovan West was one of the highest-paid UDFAs in the league, earning $100K guaranteed (per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com on Twitter). The offensive lineman was a standout during his time at Arizona State, and some pundits predicted that he’d be selected just outside of the top-100. Instead, the player went undrafted, and now he’ll have a chance to compete for a spot in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the 49ers gave Leon O’Neal $60K guaranteed (per Wilson on Twitter) and Jeremiah Gemmel $90K guaranteed (per Wilson on Twitter).
Falcons Sign 13 UDFAs
The Falcons announced the signing of 13 undrafted free agents:
- Jared Bernhardt, WR (Ferris State)
- Stanley Berryhill, WR (Arizona)
- Kuony Deng, OLB (California)
- Matt Hankins, CB (Iowa)
- Brad Hawkins, S (Michigan)
- Timothy Horne, DL (Kansas State)
- Tyshaun James, WR (Central Connecticut)
- Nathan Landman, ILB (Colorado)
- Bryce Rodgers, DL (UC-Davis)
- Derrick Tangelo, DL (Penn State)
- Seth Vernon, P (Portland State)
- Tyler Vrabel, OL (Boston College)
- Leroy Watson, TE (UT-San Antonio)
“We keep talking about our scouting staff and our coaches and all the work that goes into it, and they really grind through this free agency process as well,” GM Terry Fontenot said right after the draft (via Scott Bair of the team’s website). “So I know we are going to continue to add some good football players. We’re excited.
“Once they get here, it doesn’t matter how they got here. It’s competition at every position.”
Derrick Tangelo got some significant money from the organization. Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that the defensive lineman got $55K guaranteed, including a $5K signing bonus. The rookie had 6.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in five seasons split between Duke and Penn State.
Cardinals Add 12 UDFAs
The Cardinals clearly targeted wide receivers and defensive lineman after the draft, with Arizona adding seven players at those positions among their 12 undrafted free agent signings:
- Darrell Baker Jr., CB (Georgia Southern)
- Changa Hodge, WR (Virginia Tech)
- Manny Jones, DL (Colorado State)
- Kekaula Kaniho, S (Boise State)
- Jontre Kirklin, WR (LSU)
- Will Miles, DL (Central Michigan)
- JaVonta Payton, WR (Tennessee)
- Chris Pierce Jr., TE (Vanderbilt)
- Ronnie Rivers, RB (Fresno State)
- Stephan Robinson Jr., WR (Northwestern)
- LaRon Stokes, DL (Oklahoma)
- Chandler Wooten, ILB (Auburn)
The addition of four receivers could partly be attributed to today’s news regarding star wideout DeAndre Hopkins. Among the grouping, Robinson put up the biggest numbers in 2021, finishing with 625 receiving yards. Payton was also plenty productive, finishing with 18 receptions for 413 yards and six scores.
As Darren Urban of the team’s website points out, it’s notable that the organization didn’t bring in a QB among their UDFAs. The Cardinals are currently rostering only three players at the position in Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, and Trace McSorley.
Commanders Sign 13 Undrafted Free Agents
The Commanders added eight rookies in the draft, and they added another 13 first-year players today. Washington announced the signing of 13 undrafted free agents:
- DeVante Cross, CB (Virginia)
- Josh Drayden, CB (California)
- Jequez Ezzard, WR (Sam Houston State)
- Ferrod Gardner, S (Louisiana-Lafayette)
- Curtis Hodges, TE (Arizona State)
- Cole Kelley, QB (Southeast Louisiana)
- Kyric McGowan, WR (Georgia Tech)
- Jacub Panasiuk, DE (Michigan State)
- Armani Rogers, TE (Ohio)
- Tyrese Robinson, G (Oklahoma)
- Devin Taylor, CB (Bowling Green)
- Tre Walker, LB (Idaho)
- Drew White, LB (Notre Dame)
Arizona State tight end Curtis Hodges got a chunk of money to join Washington, earning a $25K signing bonus and a guaranteed $100K base salary, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The 6-7 prospect showed some ability in the receiving game during the 2021 season, hauling in 20 receptions for 374 yards and two touchdowns.
Considering his position, Cole Kelley is another notable UDFA joining the Commanders. While he’s a long shot, Kelley will be one of several QBs (along with fellow rookie Sam Howell) competing for Washington’s starting nod. Kelley finished this past season having completed 73.55 percent of his passes for 5,124 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Jaguars Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents
The Jaguars stole some headlines during the draft when they selected Travon Walker with the first-overall pick. Days later, the team is still adding. The Jaguars announced the signing of 15 undrafted free agents:
- Israel Antwine, DT (Oklahoma State)
- Kevin Austin, WR (Notre Dame)
- Shabari Davis, CB (Southeast Missouri State)
- De’Shaan Dixon, OLB (Norfolk State)
- Nick Ford, OL (Utah)
- Benjie Franklin, CB (Tarleton State)
- Grayson Gunter, TE (Southern Mississippi)
- Sean Mahone, S (West Virginia)
- Andrew Mevis, K (Iowa State)
- Grant Morgan, LB (Arkansas)
- Denzel Okafor, OL (Texas)
- Gerrit Prince, TE (Alabama Birmingham)
- Marcus Tatum, OL (Central Florida)
- Josh Thompson, CB (Texas)
- Lujuan Winningham, WR (Central Arkansas)
The most notable name on the list is Kevin Austin. The wideout had a breakout campaign with Notre Dame in 2021, finishing with 48 receptions for 888 yards and seven touchdowns. Standing at 6-2 and 215 pounds, the receiver will compete for a roster spot with fellow UDFA WR Lujuan Winningham, who had 25 touchdowns during his final three seasons at Central Arkansas.
Andrew Mevis went 20-for-23 on field goals last season and made 100 percent of his extra point tries, putting him on the NFL map. He’ll provide some competition in a room that also features Matthew Wright and Ryan Santoso.
Bengals Re-Sign P Kevin Huber
Kevin Huber will be back in Cincy next season. The Bengals announced (on Twitter) that they have re-signed the veteran punter. Huber is inking a new one-year deal with the organization.
Huber has been with the Bengals since being selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft. He’s spent his entire 13-year career in Cincinnati, garnering a single Pro Bowl appearance. He’s the franchise’s career leader in every major punting category, and last season, he tied Ken Riley for the most regular-season appearances in Bengals history. The punter will now have an opportunity to set that record in 2022.
While Huber’s yards-per-punt average took a minor step back in 2021, the 46.4 average yards was still better than his career mark. The 36-year-old was also busy in the postseason, compiling 16 punts in four games.
“I feel like I’m kicking the ball better than I have in years past as far as strength-wise so I’m not worried about my strength and my endurance for the season,” Huber said last year (via Taylor Weiter of WCPO.com). “It’s just tweaking some mechanics I think is what I’m going to focus on this offseason and I think I’ve got plenty of leg to last for several more years.”
Vikings Decline C Garrett Bradbury’s Fifth-Year Option
As expected, the Vikings will be making center Garrett Bradbury an impending free agent. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter), the Vikings won’t pick up the offensive lineman’s fifth-year option. We heard late last month that this was the likely outcome.
Bradbury would have been eligible to earn a $13.2MM 2023 salary via the fifth-year option. As our own Sam Robinson recently pointed out, because all offensive linemen are grouped together under the franchise tag system, the foundation for the fifth-year option setup, centers and guards see their option salaries spike because of tackles’ higher wages.
As a result, the Vikings thought that $13MM+ salary was too high for a player of Bradbury’s caliber. However, their decision to decline the fifth-year option doesn’t necessarily mean the player isn’t in their future plans.
Bradbury was the 18th-overall pick in the 2019 draft, and he’s started each of his 45 games since entering the NFL. Pro Football Focus hasn’t been particularly fond of his performance in the NFL, and following a 2021 season where they ranked Minnesota’s O-line 23rd, the site had Bradbury as the second-worst player on that unit.