Bengals Sign Second-Rounder Cam Taylor-Britt
Not long after inking their top draft pick to his first NFL contract, the Bengals have done the same with another rookie defensive back. The team announced on Friday that they have signed second round corner Cam Taylor-Britt. 
[RELATED: Bengals Sign First Round S Hill]
Across four seasons at Nebraska, the six-foot, 205-pounder grew into a key role on the team’s defense. His sophomore campaign included 49 tackles, a pair of interceptions and four forced fumbles. He matched his interception total the following year, despite that season being limited to eight games.
Coming back for his senior season, Taylor-Britt was once again a consistent presence on the Cornhuskers’ back end. In 12 contests, he racked up 51 tackles, including three for a loss, one interception and a career-high 11 pass breakups – a figure which ranked him second in the Big Ten in that category. With a combination of experience and ball production, he projects to have a high floor at the NFL level.
In Cincinnati, Taylor-Britt will join a CB room led by Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton and Eli Apple. Along with first-rounder Daxton Hill, he will provide depth right away in the team’s secondary, with the potential to earn playing time with the defending AFC champions down the road.
The Bengals also announced the signing of seventh-round defensive end Jeffrey Gunter, leaving them with just two members of their draft class left to sign:
Round 1: No. 31 Daxton Hill, S (Michigan) (signed)
Round 2: No. 60 (from Buccaneers through Bills) Cam Taylor-Britt, CB (Nebraska) (signed)
Round 3: No. 95 Zachary Carter, DL (Florida)
Round 4: No. 136 Cordell Volson, OL (North Dakota State)
Round 5: No. 166 (from Cardinals through Eagles, Texans and Bears): Tycen Anderson, S (Toledo) (signed)
Round 7: No. 252 Jeffrey Gunter, DE (Coastal Carolina) (signed)
Giants Make Handful Of Roster Moves
The Giants made some minor moves to shake up their defense today. The organization signed defensive back Michael Jacquet and waived defensive tackle Antonio Valentino (via Dan Salomone of the team’s website on Twitter).
Jacquet went undrafted out of Louisiana in 2020 before catching on with the Eagle. He ended up seeing time in seven games (two starts) as a rookie, finishing with 18 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. He started the 2021 campaign on Philly’s practice squad before earning his walking papers. He later joined the Jaguars and ended up getting into one game for Jacksonville.
Valentino recently joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent. The defensive tackle saw time in 10 games as a senior at Florida, finishing with 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, and one sack.
Meanwhile, Jordan Mosley reverted to injured reserve after recently being waived-injured, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The Maryland product has had an eventful week after only joining the organization on Saturday. Mosley started all 13 games in 2021, leading Maryland with 83 tackles. He previously participated in the Jets rookie minicamp.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/19/22
Here are the latest mid- and late-round draft picks to sign their four-year rookie contracts:
Cincinnati Bengals
- S Tycen Anderson (fifth round, Toledo)
New York Giants
- CB Cor’Dale Flott (third round, LSU)
Tennessee Titans
- T Nicholas Petit-Frere (third round, Ohio State)
Ravens P Sam Koch Announces Retirement
Sam Koch punted for the Ravens for the past 16 seasons, but the team’s longest-tenured player will not stay on in that role. The soon-to-be 40-year-old specialist announced his retirement Thursday (video link).
A former sixth-round pick out of Nebraska, Koch has been with the Ravens since Brian Billick‘s tenure. He punted in 256 games with the team, suiting up more times as a Raven than anyone in franchise history. Aaron Rodgers is the only active player to have been with his team longer than Koch.
The Ravens used one of their six fourth-round picks on a punter, Penn State’s Jordan Stout. He is poised to take over alongside Justin Tucker. Koch and Tucker formed one of the league’s top special teams duos for the past 10 seasons. While Tucker is on a smooth track to the Hall of Fame, Koch made the Pro Bowl in 2015 and holds the franchise record for games played by a significant margin.
Although Ray Lewis played 17 seasons, multiple injury-marred campaigns limited the Hall of Fame linebacker to 228 games — third in team history. Koch passed Terrell Suggs for the most games played as a Raven in 2020. Koch signed six contracts as a Raven, his most recent — a two-year, $4.95MM pact — that year. One season remained on the veteran’s deal.
Koch will spend what was to be his age-40 season as a kicking consultant with the team, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. Much of his time will go to mentoring his successor.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/18/22
Here are the latest draft pick signings from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- DE Myjai Sanders (third round, Cincinnati)
Washington Commanders
- RB Brian Robinson (third round, Alabama)
Chargers Sign DL Morgan Fox
The Chargers have added to their defensive line. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter), the Chargers have signed defensive end Morgan Fox.
Fox went undrafted out of CSU–Pueblo before catching on with the Rams. He ended up spending five seasons with the organization, seeing time in 52 games. After missing the 2018 campaign with a torn ACL, Fox managed to return and appear in each of the Rams’ 32 games over the next two years, including a 2020 season where he collected six sacks. Per ESPN, Fox is the third member of the 2020 Rams defense to join the Chargers this offseason (along with defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day and linebacker Troy Reeder).
Fox inked a two-year pact with the Panthers last offseason and ended up getting into all 17 games for his new squad, compiling a career-high 34 tackles, seven QB hits, and 1.5 sacks. He was released by the organization back in March.
The Chargers made a major upgrade to their pass-rushing corps when they acquired edge rusher Khalil Mack from Chicago. Fox should play a secondary role on the depth chart, and the Chargers will likely turn to him for special teams reps.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/18/22
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Parnell Motley
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Jack Coco
- Waived: T Jahmir Johnson
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: TE Roger Carter, DB T.J. Carter, DB Daniel Isom, WR Lance McCutcheon
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: QB Chris Streveler
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DL Josh Black
- Placed on IR: LB Sharif Finch
Washington Commanders
- Waived (failed physical): T Drew Himmelman
Giants Sign Jalyn Holmes, Maurice Canady
Restrained in their approach to bolstering their edge rush for a few years, the Giants certainly changed that strategy this year via their Kayvon Thibodeaux pick. The team added another piece to its Thibodeaux-fronted edge mix Wednesday.
Former Vikings defensive end Jalyn Holmes signed with the Giants, who also added three more defenders. That includes cornerback Maurice Canady, a six-year veteran who spent last season with the Cowboys. Big Blue rounded out the signings by inking cornerback Khalil Dorsey and safety Henry Black.
A fourth-round pick out of Ohio State in 2018, Holmes received his most run as a Danielle Hunter replacement during the 2020 season. Despite starting nine games for that Vikings edition, Holmes did not record a sack. While he did add four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and two pass deflections that year, his only NFL sack came during his rookie season. Holmes spent last season with the Saints.
The Giants have 2021 second-rounder Azeez Ojulari positioned to play alongside Thibodeaux and still roster 2019 third-rounder Oshane Ximines. Lorenzo Carter joined the Falcons as a free agent. New York also signed pass rusher Jihad Ward this offseason.
Canady, a Ravens sixth-rounder in 2016, has bounced around a bit and has worked mostly as a backup. He has started six games in six years but has extensive experience in new Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale‘s system. Canady’s third and fourth Ravens seasons overlapped with Martindale’s Baltimore DC run. The soon-to-be 28-year-old defender played eight games for the Cowboys last season.
Black, 25, contributed for the Packers last season, playing 24% of their defensive snaps and intercepting a pass. He joins a safety corps that lost Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers this offseason. Dorsey played six games for Martindale’s Ravens defense in 2020; he was nontendered as an RFA in March.
Commanders To Sign Rookie WR Jahan Dotson
Another Day 1 wideout from last month’s draft is set to officially join the league. The Commanders are signing Jahan Dotson to his rookie deal (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). 
As the No. 16 pick, Dotson’s contract will be worth just over $15MM. The Penn State product had a four-year college career, which included significant production in his final two seasons. After playing behind fellow speedster KJ Hamler, he took on a larger workload in 2020. That year, he posted 884 yards and eight touchdowns despite the campaign being limited to just eight games.
With increased expectations as the Nittany Lions’ top pass-catcher, Dotson took another step forward in terms of production. He ranked third in the Big Ten in both receptions (91) and yards (1,182) and scored 13 total touchdowns. He also contributed on special teams as a punt returner. That ranked him near the top of this year’s class at the position, with many pegging him as a first round-caliber prospect.
Expected by many to be eyeing a wideout with the No. 11 pick, the Commanders traded down from that spot. They swapped with New Orleans, who gave up No. 16 to take Chris Olave. Situated at the end of a run on receivers as a result of the move, the Commanders had fewer options to choose from, but were still able to boost their passing game. Dotson will join the likes of Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown in their WR room, as they look to take a step forward on offense with Carson Wentz.
Jets Reach Agreement With First Round WR Garrett Wilson
The Jets are about to have all three of their first round picks under contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (on Twitter) that the team has reached an agreement with wideout Garrett Wilson on his rookie deal, worth $20.55MM. 
Connected to a number of veterans at the position throughout the offseason, the Jets were unable to make a sizeable addition via trade. That led many to believe they would target a receiver with one of their two top-ten picks in last month’s draft. After selecting cornerback Ahmad Gardner at No. 4, they did just that by picking the former Buckeye.
Wilson was an immediate contributor at Ohio State in his freshman season, totaling 432 receiving yards and scoring five touchdowns. He took a major step forward the following year, notching 43 receptions for 723 yards and six touchdowns in only eight contests. Competing for targets with fellow first-rounder Chris Olave and the highly-touted Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Wilson topped 1,000 receiving yards and found the endzone 13 total times last season.
That production put him in the conversation to be the top WR off the board; while that distinction ultimately went to Drake London, Wilson was seen by some as the most complete receiver in the class. He should have a path to immediate playing time with the Jets alongside Corey Davis and Elijah Moore. While the play of his namesake, quarterback Zach Wilson, will most determine the Jets’ success in the immediate future, Garrett has the potential to be an impact player on the team’s offense in the short- and long-term.