Bears Sign TE James O’Shaughnessy
Not long after visiting Chicago, veteran tight end James O’Shaughnessy will make the city his next NFL home. The Bears announced on Monday that they have signed him to a one-year contract.
[RELATED: O’Shaughnessy Visits Bears]
O’Shaughnessy was a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2015, when new Bears general manager Ryan Poles was the team’s scouting director. His two seasons there only saw him make eight catches, however, as he played a limited offensive role. Kansas City traded him to New England in 2017, but by the time that campaign started, he had been claimed off waivers by Jacksonville.
With the Jaguars, O’Shaughnessy saw much more playing time. He never topped 262 yards in a season, but averaged just under 10 yards per catch in his five seasons there. Overall, he has compiled 112 catches for 1,108 yards and three touchdowns across 80 games played.
Availability has been a problem for the 30-year-old in recent years. The 2019 and 2021 campaigns were both cut short by significant injuries. That, along with the addition of Evan Engram in free agency by the Jaguars, left O’Shaughnessy in search of a new team.
By signing with Chicago, he will join a TE room headed by Cole Kmet. The Bears also have Ryan Griffin and Jesper Horsted on the depth chart at the position. O’Shaughnessy will represent a familiar face to the new front office, as well as a veteran presence on a rebuilding offense.
Rams Waive Kareem Orr
The Rams have waived cornerback Kareem Orr, per a club announcement. The move will free up an extra spot on their 90-man roster and give them extra flexibility heading into the draft and the subsequent undrafted free agent period. 
[RELATED: Rams’ Matt Gay Signs RFA Tender]
Orr, 25, split his college career between Arizona and Chattanooga. He broke into the league as a UDFA and spent time with the Titans in 2019 and 2020 before hooking on with the Rams last year. Orr wound up playing in two games last year and registered four tackles but didn’t impress in his Week 14 showing against the rival Cardinals.
With Orr gone, the Rams’ cornerback group consists of Jalen Ramsey, Robert Rochell, David Long, Grant Haley, and Tyler Hall. Long and Rochell are projected to start on the outside and in the slot, respectively, though this group could use some additional depth in the draft.
In other Rams news, linebacker Travin Howard has inked his $2.54MM restricted free agent tender, officially keeping him in the fold for the 2022 season. Howard, 26 in May, finished 2021 with 21 stops and one interception across 12 regular season appearances.
Cardinals’ LB Fitts Retires
After ending the season on injured reserve for the second time in his young career, linebacker Kylie Fitts has announced his retirement from professional football, according to Josh Alper of NBC Sports. The career special teamer cited his concussion history as the reason for hanging up his cleats. 
Fitts was a sixth-round pick for the Bears in the 2018 NFL Draft after an injury-filled college career at Utah. He missed all but two games in his junior year after suffering a season-ending foot injury and continued to deal with injuries throughout his senior year. Despite the missed time, Fitts was invited to the Senior Bowl and found his way to Chicago.
After playing six games of his rookie season with the Bears, Fitts failed to make the 53-man roster for the following season. He quickly bounced back, signing on to the Cardinals’ practice squad days later. Fitts was promoted to the active roster in early December and played in the team’s last three games of the season.
In his second season in Arizona, Fitts appeared in 10 contests, earning one start, for the year before spending the last week of the season on injured reserve. He returned to the field to start the 2021 season, appearing in all of the team’s first six games before a severe concussion prematurely ended his season.
In an Instagram announcement, Fitts said, “Due to too many concussions and the severity of my recent one, it is no longer safe for me to continue to play.”
Fitts is the latest in a trend of linebackers (and NFL players, as a whole) who have called it quits due to brain trauma. Former Panthers’ star Luke Kuechly announced his retirement a little over two years ago at the age of 28. Many factors contributed to his decision, but nagging concussion issues were likely one of the biggest. Former 49ers’ linebacker Chris Borland retired in 2015 after just one season in the NFL. Borland had stepped up as a rookie with San Francisco veterans Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman out with injury and graded out as the fourth-best inside linebacker in the league after only having eight starts in the season. He appeared the heir apparent to Patrick Willis in the middle of the 49ers’ defense with all of his success ahead of him, but he chose to end his career days after Willis, claiming that the potential for neurological diseases wasn’t “worth the risk.”
While Fitts doesn’t hold quite the name recognition of Kuechly or Borland, seeing another young linebacker prioritize their brain over an NFL career should still get plenty of attention. The league will continue to research ways to make the sport safer, but, in the meantime, more career casualties like Fitts’ should be expected.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/15/22
Colts To Sign Stephon Gilmore
Just days after meeting with the Colts, cornerback Stephon Gilmore has decided to sign there. He is joining Indianapolis, as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link). 
ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds (on Twitter) that the deal is two years in length, and is worth $23MM, with $14MM guaranteed. It brings an end to a surprisingly lengthy free agent wait for the 31-year-old, given his pedigree. While he likely won’t reach the heights seen from the earlier parts of his All-Pro career, he demonstrated an ability to remain productive this past season.
Gilmore spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bills, but is most well-known for his time in New England. It was there that he earned four of his five Pro Bowls, his lone Super Bowl title and the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019. However, his Patriots tenure came to an end in October when he was traded to the Panthers.
While his time as a Panther was still productive – he compiled two interceptions and a pair of pass deflections in eight games – the team turned its attention to re-signing fellow corner Donte Jackson this offseason. He, along with 2021 first-rounder Jaycee Horn and midseason acquisition C.J. Henderson will head their depth chart moving forward.
Gilmore met with a number of teams as the offseason progressed. The list of interested clubs included the Raiders, Chiefs, Rams and, most significantly, Colts. This signing represents another notable defensive addition, something general manager Chris Ballard recently signalled could be coming. Now, Gilmore will help replace Rock Ya-Sin, whom the team traded away to add Yannick Ngakoue. Those two, coupled with incumbents Darius Leonard and DeForest Buckner, should give the Colts an improved defense in 2022, as the look to contend in a highly-competitive AFC.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/14/22
Today’s minor moves, including some restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents who signed their tenders:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed ERFA tender: OL Blake Hance
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: P Hunter Niswander
Detroit Lions
- Signed ERFA tender: DE Jessie Lemonier
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed RFA tender: LB Marcus Allen
Rams K Matt Gay Signs RFA Tender
Matt Gay has signed his tender. The restricted free agent kicker has re-signed with the Rams, reports Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (on Twitter).
Following a breakout 2021 campaign where he earned his first career Pro Bowl nod, the Rams slapped Gay with a restricted free agent tender. The one-year tender will lock the kicker into a $2.54MM salary for the 2022 campaign.
Gay had stints with the Buccaneers and Colts before catching on with the Rams in 2020. He got into seven games during his first season with the organization, and he had the full-time gig by the time the 2021 campaign came around.
This past season, the 28-year-old connected on 32 of his 34 field goal attempts and 48 of his 49 extra point tries. Gay also came through in the playoffs, converting 80 percent of his field goals and all 11 of his extra point attempts. This included a Super Bowl-winning performance where the kicker finished with five points.
Cardinals Re-Sign WR A.J. Green
After bouncing back to contribute for the first playoff-qualifying Cardinals team in six years, A.J. Green is staying put. The 12th-year veteran agreed to re-sign with the Cards on a one-year deal, according to the team. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports that the contract is worth up to $3.5MM, with $3MM of that total guaranteed (Twitter link). Green can earn the remaining $500K in per-game active roster bonuses, and the deal also includes two voidable years for cap purposes.
This will give Green a chance to play an age-34 season; the former perennial Pro Bowler will turn 34 in July. Green is coming off a season in which he played 16 games, helping a Cardinals club that was without DeAndre Hopkins for much of the year. With Christian Kirk now out of the picture, Green again stands to be a key factor for Arizona’s Hopkins-led receiving corps.
Although Green’s days of 1,000-yard seasons appear to have passed, the 6-foot-4 wideout did re-emerge after a rough close to his Bengals career. After missing the 2019 season, Green posted just 523 receiving yards in 2020. This led him to the desert, but the former top-five pick caught 54 passes for 848 yards and three touchdowns. The Georgia alum posted two 100-yard games last season.
Green’s historic run of Pro Bowls to start his career (seven) stopped after the 2017 season, with injuries causing him to miss 23 games at the end of the 2010s. And he was not connected to any other teams in free agency this offseason. Thus, it is certainly interesting to see this Green-Cards partnership continue for another year.
The Cards might still be interested in wideout help, considering they will have two 30-somethings at receiver this year — Hopkins turns 30 in June — they still have Rondale Moore and Antoine Wesley rostered. Former second-round pick Andy Isabella remains on the team, but the Cardinals gave him permission to seek a trade last month. Green’s injury past and Hopkins’ 2021 setbacks should still make this a relative need, but the former’s return should certainly help the Kyler Murray-centered offense.
Seahawks To Re-Sign Geno Smith
The Seahawks have, as expected, retained backup quarterback Geno Smith. A new deal being agreed upon between the two sides was first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz and corroborated by USA Today’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). 
ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler details that the new contract is one year in length, and has a maximum value of $7MM (Twitter link). That represents a sizable raise for the 31-year-old, who had previously earned no more than $1.2MM in a single season during his tenure in Seattle.
Smith stepped in for the injured Russell Wilson midway through the 2021 campaign. In four total appearances (including three starts), he threw for 702 yards and five touchdowns, completing over 68% of his passes. While the team only won one of those games, Smith’s level of play was higher than that during most of his NFL tenure.
It came as little surprise, then, that head coach Pete Carroll publicly stated the team’s intention to re-sign him. While the Seahawks also have former Bronco Drew Lock as a result of the Wilson trade, Smith is expected to compete for the starting role, something reflected by the financial value of this new pact.
This deal, of course, doesn’t guarantee that Seattle is set with those two at the top of the depth chart for 2022. The team has been named (as recently as yesterday) as a potential trade destination for the likes of Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo; they also hosted Desmond Ridder for a draft visit, signalling that they could be willing to select a future franchise signal-caller. Regardless of their future plans, they will clearly have a familiar face available to serve as, at a minimum, an experienced backup.
Packers To Sign WR Sammy Watkins
1:14PM: Not surprisingly, the two sides have indeed been able to reach an agreement on a deal. Watkins is signing a one-year contract worth up to $4MM (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter).
1:07PM: One of the teams most in need of wide receiver additions is meeting with one of the top remaining free agents at the position. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports (on Twitter) that Sammy Watkins is visiting the Packers today. 
Green Bay has been able to retain most of the key players on their NFC-leading team from 2021. Two of the most notable departures, though, are of course Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That has left the team in search of multiple replacements for their pass-catching corps; given the current state of the free agent market, many expected the draft to become the Packers’ main area of focus.
Watkins is on a small list of notable veterans still available, though. He, along with Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry and Will Fuller could all be on the move around, or just after, the draft. The Packers would represent Watkins’ fifth career team, as he spent the 2021 campaign with the Ravens after three years in Kansas City. That, in turn, was preceded by a single season with the Rams and three with the Bills. Since his lone 1,000 yard campaign in Buffalo, he has established himself as a consistent secondary option in the passing game.
Green Bay would still have some familiar faces for the former fourth-overall pick. Head coach Matt Lafleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator during his lone season there in 2017. Likewise, WRs coach Jason Vrable worked with Watkins as an offensive staffer when he was in Buffalo. If he were to sign, the 28-year-old would add experienced depth to the WR room, while leaving the door open to at least one other noteworthy addition, either in free agency or the draft.