Lions Cut Breshad Perriman
The Lions have released wide receiver Breshad Perriman (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). This was the expected move given Perriman’s injury-riddled camp.
“There just hasn’t been enough out there,” head coach Dan Campbell said recently. “He had the hip injury and then he comes back, he was solid the other night for the plays that he had, but yet he had an OPI, which he knows better than. … I think he’ll be better coming off of this hip. But I think that room right now is still up for grabs. I think there is a heavy competition going on in that room right now.”
The move leaves the Lions with Tyrell Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Quintez Cephus, and Kalif Raymond as their top four wide receivers. There aren’t a ton of high-impact options left on the market, so the Lions will be paying close attention to the transactions wire over the next 48 hours. Another team’s discarded vet could easily step into a key role for Detroit and they still have some cap room to work with.
Perriman will leave Detroit with his $2MM guarantee in hand. Next, the 28-year-old pass catcher will try to heal up and hook on elsewhere. He could be en route to his sixth NFL team, after stints with the Ravens, Browns, Bucs, Jets, and Lions.
In his 2020 with the Jets, Perriman caught 30 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns.
Colts Cut Sean Davis
The Colts have released safety Sean Davis (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Davis, who joined the Colts back in April, was slated to support starters Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon.
Davis entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2016. He spent his first four years in Pittsburgh, making 31 starts between 2017-18. Then, he missed almost all of 2019 due to injury. In 2020, he was set to play for the Washington Football Team, but missed the cut. Davis then found his way back to Pittsburgh where he dressed for all 16 of their games. With Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick playing in front of him, Davis finished 2020 with just 12 tackles and one pass defensed.
Davis seemed to have a chance at significant time in Indy given the departures of Malik Hooker and Tavon Wilson. Now, he’s back on the market with days to go before the start of the season.
Titans Cut John Simon
The Titans got an early jump on their housekeeping. On Sunday, the club released veteran defensive end John Simon, per a club announcement. They’ve also cut defensive back Clayton Geathers, waived linebacker Cassh Maluia, and placed running back Brian Hill on injured reserve. 
Simon joined the Titans in July, replacing fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper on the offseason roster. Before that, he spent three years with the Patriots. In 2020, he started in all 16 games and registered 53 stops with two sacks. All in all, he’s got 97 appearances and 52 career starts to his credit for the Ravens, Texans, Colts, and Patriots. Now, he could be en route to yet another NFL club.
Simon is perhaps best known for the three-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Colts in 2017. That deal didn’t make it to Year Two, but he’s quietly put together a solid career in the NFL. Few knew Simon’s ability better than Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who has coached the veteran at multiple stops.
Geathers is another ex-Colt; he spent his entire career with Indy up until recently. He saw time in 56 games for the Colts and started 22 games combined in 2018 and 2019. During that stretch, he posted 101 tackles and four passes defended. He sat out the 2020 campaign and only just reemerged this month when he inked a deal with the Titans. As a vested veteran, he’ll be free to sign with any club straight away.
Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins Done For Year
It’s official. On Sunday, an MRI confirmed an ACL tear for Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). The Ravens will place Dobbins on injured reserve this week to free up a roster spot, but they won’t be able to replace his production. 
This was the expected news after Dobbins was forced out of last night’s preseason matchup against Washington. Dobbins was set to play a leading role in the rushing attack along with star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now, they’ll be leaning even more on Gus Edwards with support from third-year scat-back Justice Hill and 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams.
Dobbins, a first-round talent, fell to the Ravens at No. 55 overall last year. He became a central part of the offense in the second half of 2020, finishing out with 134 carries for 805 yards (6.0 ypc), and nine rushing TDs. Edwards is still a solid Plan B (5.2 career ypc), but it remains to be seen whether he can handle a double-digit carry workload.
If the Ravens go out-of-house, they could reconsider Todd Gurley. Gurley, the NFL’s 2017 Offensive Player of the Year, touched base with Baltimore back in June.
Vikings’ Irv Smith To Miss Time
Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is scheduled for meniscus surgery (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The tear, operation, and recovery will sideline him for the start of the season, at minimum. 
[RELATED: Vikings, Harrison Smith Agree To $64MM Deal]
Smith, 23, flashed serious potential last year while posting 30 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns. The football world (and fantasy world) was awaiting a breakout year for Smith, who would have benefitted from all the attention paid to Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and the rest of Kirk Cousins‘ weapons.
Of course, all is not lost, because meniscus surgery isn’t necessary a season ender. However, it seems likely that the Vikings will be without the dynamic TE through the first six weeks of the season.
While Smith is sidelined, they’ll be counting on backup Tyler Conklin — provided that Conklin’s hamstring doesn’t keep him off the field too. Brandon Dillon, rookie Zach Davidson, and Shane Zylstra comprise the rest of the Vikes’ TE depth chart.
Texans To Trade Shaq Lawson To Jets
On Sunday, the Texans agreed to trade edge rusher Shaq Lawson to the Jets (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, New York will send a sixth-round draft pick to Houston. 
Lawson came to Houston earlier this year in the deal that sent inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to Miami. He turned in a solid, if unspectacular, 2020 campaign with the Dolphins. Previous to that, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019. For his career, Sack-a-Shaq has 20.5 sacks across five pro seasons.
The Jets will now take on Lawson and the rest of his contract. That means a paltry $1.4M in 2021 plus club control in 2022 with no guaranteed money. So, if Lawson is a bust, the Jets can drop him without penalty. And, if things work out, they can keep him for ’22 for a $8.9MM salary. It’s a savvy move for Joe Douglas & Co. — they gave up very little to fortify their defensive line in the wake of Carl Lawson‘s season-ending Achilles tear.
Lawson might not be a world-beater, but he was probably their best option after losing C. Lawson and Vinny Curry in a short span.
“It’s always easy to play the fictional game of, ‘Let’s go get somebody,’ but the reality is [it’s] few and far between in terms of what’s available,” head coach Robert Saleh said recently. “Now, obviously, Joe and his staff are working relentlessly, always trying to look at the roster and always communicating.”
Lawson has a little over two weeks to cram on his new team’s playbook. The Jets kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 12 when they face the Panthers in Carolina.
Vikings, Harrison Smith Agree To $64MM Deal
The Vikings and Harrison Smith have agreed to a four-year, $64MM extension (Twitter link via Mike Golic Jr. of ESPN Radio). With that, the All-Pro now stands as the second highest-paid safety in the league. 
Smith, 32, was previously set to enter the final season of his five-year, $51.25MM deal. It was a whopper of a deal at the time, but that AAV had him outside of the top ten among safeties in 2021. Smith, who has spent the last nine years in Minnesota, wondered whether he was headed for divorce with the only NFL team he’s ever known.
“I mean I don’t know what happens at the end of careers,” Smith said recently. “Sometimes things change. I don’t plan on that happening, but the NFL is the NFL. It’s always wild. But I’ll always consider myself a Viking no matter what.”
Now, after watching Anthony Harris‘ offseason departure, Smith has a brand new deal and a significant pay bump to boot. Still a high-end safety, Pro Football Focus has rated him in the top-15 for each of the last four years. That includes 2015 when he graded No. 1 at safety.
This’ll be Year 10, but there’s no reason to believe that Smith is slowing down. Last year, Smith matched his career high with five interceptions. Now, with a new deal, he’ll look to set even more watermarks in Minnesota.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/21
We will keep track of all of today’s minor moves here. Cutdown day is set for 4pm ET on Tuesday, August 31. Teams must cut their roster sizes from 80 to 53 by that time:
Philadelphia Eagles
- Cut: TE Cary Angeline, DE JaQuan Bailey, RB Elijah Holyfield, WR Marken Michel, LB Rashad Smith
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/21
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters down to 53 players.
New York Giants
- Suspended six games (PED policy violation): OLB Ryan Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: TE Marcus Baugh, RB Tony Brooks-James, CB Shakur Brown, DL T.J. Carter, WR Anthony Johnson, CB Lafayette Pitts, G Malcolm Pridgeon, WR Mathew Sexton, S Lamont Wade
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Nick Leverett, DL Ndamukong Suh, OL Earl Watford
Dolphins Place LB Vince Biegel On IR
To make room for Saturday trade acquisition Greg Mancz, the Dolphins are placing Vince Biegel on IR. This move will sideline the veteran linebacker for the season.
Biegel has not played in a regular-season game since the 2019 season. He suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in August 2020. Although the Dolphins re-signed Biegel, he is no longer in their 2021 plans. The fifth-year ‘backer could resurface with another team in the event of an injury settlement removing him from Miami’s IR list, however.
The Dolphins initially acquired Biegel via trade from the Saints just before the 2019 season began. Biegel spent 2018 with New Orleans and 2017 with Green Bay. The Packers drafted the Wisconsin product in the 2017 fourth round. Despite having just three years’ worth of game experience, Biegel is already 28.
The Dolphins marked the only team to use Biegel as a starter, deploying him as a first-stringer in 10 games in 2019. Biegel made 59 tackles and registered 13 quarterback hits that season, compiling 2.5 sacks for the then-rebuilding team. The Dolphins have made a few changes to their linebacking group in the time since, however.