NFL Minor Transactions: 9/20/21
Today’s minor moves:
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: LB Wynton McManis, CB Jordan Miller
New York Jets
- Promoted: S Adrian Colbert
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: DL Henry Mondeaux
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Travis Jonsen, LB Kevin Minter
Broncos’ Josey Jewell Done For Year
An MRI confirmed that Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell has a torn pectoral muscle (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). That’ll officially end Jewell’s season so the Broncos will place him on the injured reserve list.
Jewell has emerged as a bright, young standout on Denver’s defense, starting in 30 of his 49 games to date. Last year, he notched 113 tackles, two sacks, four passes defensed, and five tackles for loss in a complete 16-game slate. In 2021, his year will end after just two starts with eight stops, one pass defensed, one forced fumble, and two tackles for loss.
The timing is especially unfortunate as Jewell is in his walk year. The 2018 fourth-round pick is currently on course for unrestricted free agency in the spring. With another healthy year, Jewell would have been in line for a massive payday. Now, he may be looking at a short-term deal in order to reclaim his value.
The Broncos advanced to 2-0 after topping the Jaguars on Sunday. This week, they’ll face the Jets in Denver, sans Jewell.
Falcons To Cut Punter Cameron Nizialek
The Falcons will waive punter Cameron Nizialek, as Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets. This comes hours after a brutal day for the youngster against the Buccaneers.
Nizialek shanked two of his punts on Sunday. The latter of the two came in the fourth quarter when the Falcons were down by just three. Nizialek’s 33-yard punt quickly turned into a Tampa touchdown and the three-point deficit turned into a 48-25 rout.
Nizialek, a Virginia native, spent time in the Alliance of American Football before making the NFL rounds in 2019. He should be back on the workout circuit again, especially since he offers the ability to serve as both a punter and an emergency kicker. For now, he’s waiving a resume with just ten punt attempts for Atlanta.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/21
The customary Saturday minor moves avalanche:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: S Chris Banjo, CB Antonio Hamilton
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: CB Kevon Seymour, T Andre Smith
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: DL Margus Hunt, T Alex Taylor
- Placed on IR: T Larry Borom
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: S Sean Davis
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: LB Elijah Lee
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: TE Jeremy Sprinkle
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB Damarea Crockett, OL Austin Schlottmann
Houston Texans
- Promoted: TE Antony Auclair, K Joey Slye
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: WR Laquon Treadwell
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted: OL Lester Cotton, RB Trey Ragas
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: DL Joe Gaziano
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: LB Micah Kiser, DL Justin Lawler
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: CB Jamal Perry
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: RB Ameer Abdullah, S Myles Dorn, QB Sean Mannion
- Waived: TE Brandon Dillon
New England Patriots
- Promoted: LB Tashawn Bower, K Nick Folk
- Placed on IR: K Quinn Nordin (story)
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: DE Jalyn Holmes, LB Wynton McManis, DB Jordan Miller, C Austin Reiter (story)
- Placed on IR: LB Chase Hansen
New York Jets
- Promoted: S Adrian Colbert, LB Del’Shawn Phillips
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: LB Dre Greenlaw (story)
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: TE Tommy Hudson
Raiders Place Marcus Mariota On IR
SATURDAY: The Raiders will indeed place their backup quarterback on IR. Mariota will be out until at least Week 5 because of this decision, moving Peterman into position as Carr’s backup. Linebacker Marquel Lee will take Mariota’s place on Las Vegas’ active roster, ascending from the practice squad.
THURSDAY: Marcus Mariota is expected to be out multiple weeks with an aggravated quad injury (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Raiders quarterback will miss a few weeks, at minimum, making him a candidate for the short-term injured reserve list.
Mariota saw a single snap on Monday night and took it for a 31-yard run. Unfortunately, he was forced out immediately after that play. Although Mariota isn’t the starter in Las Vegas, he was expected to serve a key change-of-pace role in the offense. They’ll have to find that spark elsewhere for at least the next few weeks.
Nathan Peterman will now step into the QB2 role for the Raiders, holding the clipboard for starter Derek Carr. The Raiders can free up a roster spot by moving Mariota to the injured reserve list but they don’t necessarily need to fill his spot with another signal caller.
Mariota appeared in one game in place of an injured Carr last season and showed fairly well against the Chargers on national TV, completing 17 of 28 passes for 226 yards a touchdown and an interception. He also added 88 yards and another score rushing. This year, he took a pay cut in order to stay with the Raiders through 2021. After his one-year, $3.5MM deal lapses, he’ll be eligible for free agency in the spring of 2022.
Seahawks Elevate DT Robert Nkemdiche
Robert Nkemdiche is on track to play in a regular-season game for the first time since November 2019. The Seahawks elevated the veteran defensive lineman from their practice squad Saturday.
The former first-round pick ended up with the Seahawks in April, ending a lengthy stay out of football. Nkemdiche was not with a team in 2020, with the Dolphins having released him in November 2019 after just two games.
A groin injury halted Nkemdiche’s progress in training camp and forced him to miss the Seahawks’ preseason slate. The Seahawks released the Ole Miss alum on cutdown day but re-signed him on a practice squad deal soon after. Evidently, the former Cardinals interior D-lineman has recovered from the groin issue. Nkemdiche will join a Seahawks D-line that fared well in Week 1, a 28-16 road win in which the reassembled front put frequent pressure on Carson Wentz.
The Cardinals cut bait on Nkemdiche in 2019, weeks after he showed up to training camp out of shape. Nkemdiche suffered a torn ACL in 2018 but had not stood out prior to the injury. The former No. 1 recruit in college football has just six career starts and 4.5 sacks — all coming in 2018 — but may well have the opportunity to see game action again and do so on his 27th birthday.
Panthers Elevate CB Rashaan Melvin
Rashaan Melvin now has an opportunity to play in a game for the first time since the 2019 season. The Panthers made the veteran cornerback one of their Saturday elevations, with center Sam Tecklenburg the other.
The Panthers making Melvin one of their game-day actives would make the 31-year-old defender a six-team veteran. Melvin has already played for the Ravens, Patriots, Colts, Raiders and Lions. Melvin was on track to play for the Jaguars last season, but he opted out. Having brought in a new regime, the Jags cut him earlier this year.
A 12-game starter the last time he was with a team — the Lions in 2019 — Melvin has 40 career starts under his belt. The Panthers signed him in March but did not carry him over to their 53-man roster after cutdown day. Carolina cut Melvin from its practice squad earlier this month but brought him back this week.
Melvin would be in line to serve as a depth piece behind the likes of Donte Jackson and Jaycee Horn. Melvin’s bump could be a one-game situation, with A.J. Bouye‘s six-game suspension — which began during his final weeks as a Bronco — ending after Week 2. With Melvin being a Saturday elevation and not a full-on promotion, he can be passed through back to Carolina’s practice squad Monday.
Eagles DE Josh Sweat Signs Three-Year Extension
For the second-straight week, the Eagles have extended a member of their 2018 draft class. The team announced this morning (via Twitter) that they’ve agreed to a three-year extension with defensive end Josh Sweat.
[RELATED: Eagles Sign LT Jordan Mailata To Four-Year Extension]
The three-year deal is worth $40MM and includes $26.9MM in guaranteed money, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Sweat received a $10MM signing bonus as part of the deal, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The deal contains $2MM in incentives “based on consecutive years of 7 sacks,” boosting the maximum value to $42MM (per Rapoport). The extension will keep the 24-year-old in Philly through at least the 2024 season.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk adds some additional details, reporting that Sweat will earn base salaries of $920K, $1.035MM, $12MM, and $13.75MM over the life of the deal from 2021-24. In addition to the $10MM signing bonus, the first two years of salary are fully guaranteed at signing, as is a $2.965MM option bonus for 2022. $9MM of Sweat’s $12MM salary for 2023 becomes fully guaranteed in March 2022, and the remaining $3MM becomes fully guaranteed in early 2023.
With respect to the sack escalator that Rapoport referenced, Florio says that Sweat can earn an extra $2MM in 2024 by posting at least seven sacks in each of the next three years, nine sacks in two of the next three years, or 11 sacks in any individual year.
Sweat was a fourth-round pick by the Eagles in 2018, and after barely playing during his rookie season, he found a role in Philly over the past two seasons. Sweat appeared in 30 games (three starts) for the Eagles over the past two years, collecting 59 tackles, 10 sacks, 22 QB hits, 16 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. Those numbers were collected despite the fact that Sweat only played on 35 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in 2019 and 38 percent of the defensive snaps in 2020.
The pass rusher appeared in more than 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps during their Week 1 win over the Falcons, collecting six total tackles.
Last Saturday, the Eagles agreed to a four-year, $64MM extension with offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, a 2018 seventh-round pick.
Saints Open Up Extra Cap Space
The Saints have found a couple of ways to open extra cap space in recent weeks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the organization reworked the contracts of cornerback Bradley Roby and defensive end Marcus Davenport.
[RELATED: Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints]
Roby’s restructuring comes on the heels of his trade to New Orleans earlier this month. After the Saints sent a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice to the Texans, they converted $847K of the player’s salary into a bonus. This move created a bit more than $677K in cap space. Per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), this transaction was possible thanks to the Texans’ willingness to cover $7.58M of Roby’s salary and roster bonus.
The veteran’s cap hold in 2021 is now $1.18MM, but it’s a whopping $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also now has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year. The 29-year-old’s suspension ended earlier this week, meaning he should make his season debut this weekend.
Davenport also helped his team open some extra cap by converting $1.35MM of his salary into a bonus. Similar to Roby, the defensive end will also get three void years tacked on to the end of his contract. The move opens up about $1.08MM in cap space. Davenport started New Orleans’ season opener, collecting three tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was placed on IR this week after suffering a shoulder injury.
Patriots Sign QB Brian Hoyer To New One-Year Deal
Brian Hoyer is back on the Patriots active roster. The team signed the veteran quarterback to a one-year deal this morning, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). This deal could end up locking Hoyer to the active roster for the rest of the season, but there’s always a chance the team continues to shuffle him on and off their squad.
Hoyer was one of four quarterbacks in Patriots camp, but following the release of Cam Newton and the injury to Jarrett Stidham, the veteran found himself as the primary backup to rookie Mac Jones. However, that still didn’t secure Hoyer a roster spot about the preseason. The team ended up cutting the 35-year-old, although he later landed on the Patriots practice squad in what proved to be a formality. Hoyer was promoted for New England’s Week 1 loss to the Dolphins.
The veteran passer is now on his third stint with the Patriots and will be tasked with mentoring a promising rookie. Hoyer got one start for the Patriots in 2020, when he completed 15 of his 24 passes in a loss to the Chiefs. The quarterback had an interception and a fumble in the game.
This development is probably good news for Garrett Gilbert, who was one of two quarterbacks on the Patriots practice squad. While the team has seemingly settled on Hoyer as the definitive backup, Gilbert probably has a solid hold on his practice squad spot.