Cardinals Activate WR Marquise Brown
Hollywood made his debut at Cardinals training camp today. The team announced that they activated wide receiver Marquise Brown from the non-football injury list this morning. The Cardinals also signed offensive lineman Rashaad Coward and cut wide receiver Christian Blake.
[RELATED:Extension Candidate: Marquise Brown]
The offseason acquisition injured his hamstring in the middle of July, and he landed on NFI as training camp opened. Coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters that Brown won’t be a full participant right away. He’ll participate in walk-throughs over the next few days, with the hope that he’ll be able to take part in individual drills by the end of the week and be a full participant next week.
“That’s our timetable,” Kingsbury said (via ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss). “We want him to get the walk-throughs, get those mental reps so he feels comfortable when he’s out there.”
The Cardinals acquired Brown earlier this offseason from the Ravens, teaming him up with his college quarterback, Kyler Murray. With DeAndre Hopkins suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season, Brown will be counted on to lead a receivers room that also includes A.J. Green, Rondale Moore, Andy Isabella, and Antoine Wesley.
Brown’s activation from NFI ultimately cost Blake his job. The wideout spent the first four seasons of his career in Atlanta before joining the Cardinals this offseason. In 41 games (three starts), Blake hauled in 28 receptions for 257 yards. He also collected eight special teams tackles.
Meanwhile, Coward was brought in to provide some depth. D.J. Humphries continues to be sidelined by “a gastrointestinal issue” (per the team website), so Coward will provide the coaching staff with an experienced option. The 27-year-old has started 15 of his 34 career games in stints with the Bears and Steelers.
Dolphins Release DT Adam Butler
Signed in the wake of the Patriots poaching Davon Godchaux, Adam Butler is no longer with the Dolphins. The former Patriot received his walking papers Tuesday.
A failed physical designation came with the release. The Dolphins signed Butler to a two-year, $7.5MM deal in 2021. With no money being guaranteed in Year 2, the team will save $4.15MM with this transaction.
Butler logged a career-high 53% snap rate last season. Despite being used mostly as a rotational player, Butler’s 591 snaps marked a 100-plus-play increase on his single-season Patriots usage. Although Butler played in all 17 games, his production dipped in Miami.
Butler, 28, tallied two sacks and a career-low 17 tackles. His two tackles for loss also matched a career-low figure. Pro Football Focus rated Butler outside the top 70 among interior D-linemen. The Dolphins did not use any draft choices on their defensive line but did sign veteran John Jenkins this offseason.
A former UDFA, Butler recorded 10 sacks in his final two New England seasons. Prior to that, he worked as a regular up front for two Super Bowl-bound New England teams. He registered sacks against the Titans and Jaguars as a rookie during the Pats’ AFC playoff run. Butler worked under Brian Flores during his Patriots tenure. Although the Dolphins did not change defensive coordinators upon firing Flores, with Josh Boyer staying in place, one of Flores’ two-city charges is out of the picture.
Saints To Sign TE Chris Herndon
Chris Herndon will make his way to a third NFL team. The former Jets starter and Vikings contributor will join the Saints, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
This will be another new start for Herndon, whose market was quiet after his lone Minnesota season. The Jets shipped Herndon to the Vikings, who had recently lost Irv Smith Jr. for the season, prior to Week 1 last year. Herndon, 26, caught just four passes for 40 yards in 2021, seeing Tyler Conklin — whom the Jets signed this year — take over as the team’s top tight end.
A former fourth-round pick, Herndon is best known for his productive rookie season with the Jets. The Miami alum caught 39 passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns, helping fellow rookie Sam Darnold in 2018. But Herndon has not been able to follow that up.
The 6-foot-4 pass catcher began the 2019 season suspended for a personal conduct policy violation and suffered a hamstring injury while preparing for that truncated slate. In Herndon’s one 2019 game, he suffered a fractured rib. In 2020, Herndon struggled to find the form of his rookie year, totaling just 287 receiving yards.
The Saints have ex-third-rounder Adam Trautman (263 receiving yards in 2021, most among Saints tight ends) going into his third season and have moved Taysom Hill out of the quarterback conversation. The ex-starter is still expected to factor in on gadget plays as a QB, but his primary position will be tight end. Juwan Johnson, who led Saints tight ends in TDs last year with four, is also on the roster.
New Orleans also considered another former Viking, MyCole Pruitt, with Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com noting the veteran tight end worked out for the team (Twitter link). Pruitt’s Minnesota days came back in the mid-2010s, however. He spent the past four seasons with the Titans, working more as a blocking tight end.
Browns Activate OT Jack Conklin, Shuffle Receivers
After missing ten games last season with two separate injuries, Browns offensive tackle Jack Conklin has been activated from the physically unable to perform list, according to Nate Ulrich of USA Today. Conklin’s return to the field ensures that Cleveland will field all but one starting offensive linemen from last season. 
Conklin had two separate trips to the injured reserve list last year. He spent three weeks out with an early-November elbow injury and tore his patellar tendon in his first game back from the elbow injury, knocking him out for the remainder of the season. After missing OTAs to rehabilitate on his own, it was expected that Conklin would be limited to start training camp. The Browns confirmed as much by opening camp with Conklin on PUP.
After only eight months of recovery, though, Conklin has been cleared for practice. Cleveland likely won’t take any unnecessary risks in rushing Conklin back to full-go, but to have him back at all this early is an extremely encouraging sign for the Browns’ offensive line. He’ll return to right tackle opposite Jedrick Wills, bookending a line that returns starting guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller. With J.C. Tretter departing in free agency that leaves center as the only position filled by a different player than last year. A backup center for Cleveland over the past two seasons, Nick Harris will get his chance to start at center in camp this summer.
Cleveland also made some moves at wide receiver today, signing Derrick Dillon and waiving Isaiah Weston with an injury designation. Dillon participated in the USFL draft this past year but, after getting selected in the 15th round, never appeared in a game. He also spent time on the Giants’ practice squad after signing there as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Weston was an undrafted free agent from this year’s rookie class that was carted off the practice field with a knee injury on Saturday. Weston was a longshot to make the roster in the first place, and Dillon will replace him as a camp body this summer.
49ers Sign DT Akeem Spence, Place DT Maurice Hurst On IR
San Francisco brought in some veteran depth at defensive tackle today, signing Akeem Spence to a one-year deal, according to the team’s press release this morning. Spence is set to join his ninth team after as many years in the league. 
Spence has become a bit of a journeyman over the last couple of years. After playing out his rookie contract in Tampa Bay, Spence has bounced around every year since. Spence signed a three-year contact with the Lions to leave the Buccaneers but was traded after one year to the Dolphins. Miami released him before he could play out the last year of his second contract. The 2019 season saw Spence play games for both the Eagles and Jaguars. He joined the Patriots in the middle of the 2020 season and played one game for Washington last year. After being released by Washington, Spence ended the season on Denver’s practice squad.
The 49ers don’t necessarily need Spence to return to the form he once held when he was starting games for the Buccaneers, Lions, and Dolphins, but having that veteran experience behind starters Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead is comforting. The addition is likely also a reaction to the season-ending injury of Maurice Hurst. San Francisco officially made the move today, assigning Hurst to injured reserve.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/22
Here are the first minor moves of August:
Baltimore Ravens
- Activated from active/NFI list: OG Ben Cleveland
Denver Broncos
- Activated from active/PUP list: WR KJ Hamler
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Justin Jackson
- Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Corey Sutton
Houston Texans
- Activated from active/PUP list: TE Teagan Quitoriano
- Released: QB Kevin Hogan
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Curtis Bolton
- Placed on IR: LB Micah Kiser
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from active/NFI list: CB Nate Hairston
New Orleans Saints
- Activated from active/NFI list: LB Pete Werner
New York Giants
- Signed: S Jarrod Wilson
- Waived/injured: CB Jarren Williams
New York Jets
- Activated from active/NFI list: RB Tevin Coleman
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Javon McKinley
- Waived: DE Tyree Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Antonio Valentino
- Activated from active/PUP list: DE Tyreke Smith
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from active/PUP list: TE Tommy Hudson
The Lions’ new running back, Jackson, has found a second home after playing out his rookie contract in Los Angeles. The former seventh-round pick out of Northwestern spent his time with the Chargers backing up starting running back Austin Ekeler, earning a few starts during Ekeler’s more injury-riddled periods. Despite not receiving many touches, Jackson has made the most of each one averaging 5.0 yards per carry during his four-year career in the NFL to total 1,040 rushing yards and four touchdowns, adding 508 yards receiving on 65 receptions. Jackson will compete with Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson for the reserve positions behind the top-two backs, D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.
Steelers To Extend K Chris Boswell
Chris Boswell and the Steelers have come to terms on another agreement. The Steelers are giving their longtime kicker a four-year deal, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
The Steelers’ kicker since 2015, Boswell signed for four years and $20MM; the deal also comes with $12.5MM guaranteed. The $5MM-per-year average ties Boswell with Justin Tucker atop the kicker market.
The previous contract the Steelers had Boswell tied to ran through the 2022 season; it placed the former Pro Bowler ninth among kickers in average annual salary. Weeks after re-upping Minkah Fitzpatrick, the team took care of another key contract-year player. With Ben Roethlisberger and Stephon Tuitt retiring, Boswell, 31, is the Steelers’ second-longest-tenured player — behind only Cameron Heyward.
This is the second major extension the Steelers and Boswell have agreed upon. The first came, in Steelers fashion, four Augusts ago. Boswell was coming off his only Pro Bowl nod at that point, but the 2018 season — one in which he made just 65% of his field goals — was his worst as a pro. But he bounced back on that contract, making at least 90% of his FG tries in each of the past three seasons and being especially reliable from long range.
Boswell broke through on tries from beyond 50 yards in 2021. From 2018-20, Boswell had only made three field goals from beyond 50 yards. He had only attempted four. Last season, however, Mike Tomlin called for more Boswell long-range efforts; the veteran specialist delivered. The Rice alum made 8 of 9 tries from that distance range — including two in the fourth quarter of a Monday-night win over the Bears — helping him join Tucker atop the kicker salary hierarchy.
Patriots’ Jonathan Jones, Jabrill Peppers Return To Practice
After letting J.C. Jackson walk in free agency, a decision consistent with offseason cornerback choices in the recent past, the Patriots will have a transition to make. But the team does return some talent at the position. One of those players made a long-awaited return to work Monday.
The Patriots activated Jonathan Jones from their active/PUP list. The team’s primary slot corner, Jones was lost early during the 2021 season, going down with a shoulder injury in Week 6. Offseason safety addition Jabrill Peppers, who suffered an ACL tear days after Jones went down, is also back at practice for New England. The team also activated defensive back Myles Bryant from its active/non-football injury list.
Jones, 28, and Devin McCourty are the only secondary cogs left to have played regular roles in the Patriots’ most recent Super Bowl season. A former UDFA, Jones has been a key member of the Pats’ secondary since the 2017 season. New England gave the Auburn alum a three-year, $21MM extension just before the 2019 season. Jones graded as one of the top corners in football in his most recent full season (2020), per Pro Football Focus; his deal expires after the 2022 campaign.
Peppers was linked in trades ahead of last year’s deadline, but his injury nixed any move. The Giants let the 2019 trade acquisition walk this offseason. The former first-round pick saw his role decrease in 2021, with the Giants using Xavier McKinney and ex-Patriot Logan Ryan more often on their back line, but has made 59 career starts and was the No. 25 overall pick in 2017.
This will be Peppers’ age-27 season. The Pats, who signed Peppers for just $2MM, added the Michigan product to a deep safety corps — one that has McCourty back alongside Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger.
Patriots, P Jake Bailey Agree To Extension
The Patriots have taken care of an important piece of business with respect to their special teams. New England is extending punter Jake Bailey on a four-year, $13.5MM contract with $6.5MM fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). 
Bailey, 25, was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract. Now, he will be on the books through 2025, allowing the Patriots to have long-term stability at the position. The former fifth-rounder (who also handles kickoffs and is the team’s holder on field goals) earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors in 2020, after averaging 48.7 yards per punt. That average dipped slightly last season, and a league-leading three of his punts were blocked.
Despite that, Bailey’s success from the year prior earned him a sizeable raise via the Proven Performance Escalator. As a result, he was scheduled to carry a cap hit of $4.05MM this season. Not surprisingly, then, the Stanford alum was widely thought to be due an extension at some point this offseason.
Schefter’s colleague Mike Reiss adds that this new deal will lower Bailey’s 2022 cap charge by roughly $1.85MM – a relatively nominal amount, but one which is particularly significant for the Patriots, as they entered the day with the least cap space in the league. Even with this extension, they will have less than $5MM in financial wiggle room.
The $3.375MM-per-year average of the deal moves Bailey into second in the league in terms of annual compensation at the position, behind only Seattle’s Michael Dickson. He will be in place for the foreseeable future in New England, as he looks to repeat the success he has already enjoyed in his career.
49ers, WR Deebo Samuel Agree To Deal
After months of precarious conversations and rumors, the 49ers and star wide receiver Deebo Samuel have finally agreed to a new deal. Samuel has landed a three-year extension worth $71.55MM, with a potential maximum value of $73.5MM, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 
Samuel’s annual average value of approximately $23.85MM per year ranks eighth among wide receiver contracts in the league behind Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs, and recent fellow hold-in participant D.K. Metcalf. As expected, Samuel joins the trend of wide receivers breaking the $20MM per year threshold.
Samuel’s feud with the team that drafted him stems back to the early days of the offseason. General manager John Lynch had readily admitted that the team had an extension budgeted for Samuel and defensive star Nick Bosa, but San Francisco’s initial offer was out of range enough for Samuel to request a trade. Several teams reached out in hopes of trading for the 26-year-old, with the Jets making a dramatic push around the draft, but, ultimately, no trade unfolded.
At one point, Samuel had removed all references to the team on social media, indicating that the relationship was all but deteriorated, but eventually refollowed the team on Instagram and liked a post in which Lynch claimed the issues between the two parties could be worked out. The team’s communication with the media after that seemed to insist that a deal would get done, but as training camp approached, questions on the imminence of a new contract still pressed.
Samuel’s “hold-in” can now come to an end. While he had reported to training camp earlier this week, Samuel refused to practice amid his then-ongoing contract dispute. He had reported to minicamp, as well, but didn’t participate in any on-field work then either. The “hold-in” was a new concept, a result of the CBA’s crackdown on holdouts that would fine Samuel $40,000 for each day he was absent from camp.
With contract discussions in the rearview, Samuel can return focus to continuing his meteoric NFL development. Samuel impressed as a rookie amassing 57 receptions for 802 yards and three touchdowns en route to his teams run to a Super Bowl loss against the Chiefs. Samuel also showed that his impressive athleticism could provide an extra tool as he rushed for three more touchdowns on 14 carries for 159 yards. Samuel’s sophomore season was derailed a bit by injury as a fracture in his left foot forced him to miss the first three games of the season. He would miss nine games total that year due to a mix of COVID-19 and a hamstring injury.
Finally healthy again, Samuel exploded for a breakout year last season. Samuel more than doubled his career total recording 1,405 receiving yards on 77 catches for six touchdowns. He continued his dual-threat nature by rushing 59 times for 365 yards and a team-leading eight rushing touchdowns. Some reports indicated that one of Samuel’s gripes was his overuse in the run game, but the team supposedly addressed it by adding some depth to the running backs room.
But, now, all the gripes and issues will hopefully be behind the two parties. Samuel got his payday and the 49ers aren’t forced to deal one of their most valuable offensive weapons. Between signing Bosa and Samuel to massive extensions, Lynch and the 49ers’ brass have had one heck of an offseason.