Ravens To Sign Chris Smith
Chris Smith is making another stop on his AFC North tour. The free agent defensive end has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Ravens, his agent Drew Rosenhaus announced.
Smith has previously spent time with the Bengals and Browns over the past few years. Baltimore worked out a group of pass-rushers Monday, which also included former third overall pick Dion Jordan and Shilique Calhoun, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Smith apparently won that competition. The Arkansas product originally entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2014.
He played sparingly in Jacksonville, then was traded to Cincy before the 2017 season. He played solid in a rotational role, notching three sacks, four tackles for loss, and two passes defended. That earned him a three-year contract from the Browns, although he was cut after a season and a half.
He latched on with the Raiders last year, and bounced between their practice squad and active roster. Smith turned 29 back in February. Baltimore doesn’t have a ton at defensive end right now beyond Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Smith ends up making the team.
Cardinals To Sign Daryl Worley
On the eve of training camp, the Cardinals are adding some depth to their secondary. Arizona is expected to sign free agent cornerback Daryl Worley, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
Worley worked out for the team on Monday, and they apparently liked what they saw. Worley bounced around a bit last season, and started his career as a third-round pick of the Panthers back in 2016. He started 11 games as a rookie in Carolina, and then 14 the following year. Traded to the Eagles the next offseason in exchange for Torrey Smith, he was then released by Philly after getting arrested.
He quickly signed with the Raiders, and after serving a four-game suspension became a starter for them. Worley started 15 games for the Raiders in 2019, which earned him a $3MM contract from the Cowboys last offseason. He appeared in seven games with Dallas and started four, but was cut in October along with a couple other members of their struggling defense.
He then had short stints with the Bills and Raiders again to close the season. Although he seemingly has a fair amount of tread on his tires, the West Virginia product only turned 26 earlier this year.
It can never hurt to have too much experience, and Worley has 54 NFL starts under his belt. The Cardinals’ cornerbacks room received a big makeover this offseason, as the team let Patrick Peterson walk while adding Malcolm Butler and Darqueze Dennard.
Saints To Sign Chris Hogan
Chris Hogan‘s professional lacrosse aspirations will have to go on hold. The free agent receiver apparently impressed in his workout with the Saints today, because New Orleans is signing him to a contract, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets.
Hogan, of course, was a star lacrosse player in college and had been chasing an old dream in the Premier Lacrosse League this summer before the Saints decided to pluck him away. Hogan began his NFL career as an unheralded undrafted player, and was able to eventually carve out a heck of a career for himself. After spending his first couple years on practice squads he broke through with the Bills, and ended up becoming a big part of the Patriots’ recent success.
He won two Super Bowls while playing in New England from 2016-18, then signed with the Panthers for 2019. Injuries limited him to seven games that year, and additional injuries limited him to only five with the Jets in 2020. We hadn’t heard of any other known NFL interest before he suddenly resurfaced today.
In those five games with the Jets, he had 14 catches for 118 yards. He’ll turn 33 in October, and will be a depth piece for a Saints offense that is expected to be without star Michael Thomas to begin the year.
Washington, Jonathan Allen Agree To $72MM Extension
Washington shockingly won the NFC East last season thanks to the strength of their young defense, and now they’re locking up a key member of that defense. The team reached agreement on a four-year extension worth a whopping $72MM with defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, his agency Team IFA announced on Twitter.
Per his agents, the deal comes with a massive $30MM signing bonus. We heard in early June that the two sides had commenced extension talks, and things came together relatively quickly. The 2017 first-round pick was previously set to enter the final year of his rookie deal under the fifth-year option.
Allen became a starter immediately after getting drafted 17th overall, but was limited to five games as a rookie due to a Lisfranc injury. He bounced back in a big way in his sophomore season, starting all 16 games and racking up eight sacks. Since his rookie campaign, he’s missed only one game.
An interior lineman who can be a wrecking ball in the run game, Allen has also shown a good amount of pass-rushing upside. After notching eight sacks in 2018, he had another six the following year. He only had two this past season as he didn’t play quite as prominent a pass-rushing role, but he still had 14 quarterback hits.
The $18MM average annual salary for his new pact ranks him fifth in the league among interior defensive linemen, as Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.
Allen only turned 26 earlier this year, and is now signed through the 2025 season. With fellow youngsters Chase Young, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat all still on their rookie deals, Washington’s defensive front has a very bright future.
Eagles Sign Second-Round OL Landon Dickerson
Just in time for training camp, the Eagles have inked the last holdout in their draft class. Philly agreed to terms with second-round offensive lineman Landon Dickerson on Monday, the team announced.
With Dickerson signing his four-year rookie deal, all nine players that the Eagles just drafted are now locked up. Dickerson, the 37th overall pick out of Alabama, was an interesting draft prospect. He was a highly decorated college player who was a unanimous All-American this past year, but unfortunately he tore an ACL in the SEC Championship Game.
The recipient of the Rimington Trophy for the nation’s top center, Dickerson likely would’ve been a first-rounder without the injury but fell to the top of the second instead. A center for Alabama, the Eagles initially “had eyes on Dickerson being a guard,” Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets.
However, since the draft the team has “reopened the possibility of him playing center once he’s fully healthy.” It seems the Eagles believe he could be a potential successor to Jason Kelce at the pivot one day after all. Fortunately, his recovery has been going smoothly by all accounts.
Bears To Sign Jesse James
The Bears have agreed to sign Jesse James to a one-year deal. The tight end (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). It’s likely a low-cost, one-year deal for the veteran, allowing Chicago to evaluate him in camp with little risk. 
James was released by the Lions earlier this year, just halfway through his four-year, $22.6MM pact he signed back in 2019. Starting out as a fifth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2015, he flashed some potential in Pittsburgh, including a 423-yard campaign in 2018. Between 2016-2018, James managed 112 grabs for 1,113 yards and eight touchdowns.
That potential earned him the big contract from the Lions, but the Penn State product disappointed there. In 32 games (18 starts) over two years, James hauled in just 30 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Outside of some reported interest from the Bills back in April, we haven’t heard much about James this offseason. Now, he’ll look to join a TE group that includes Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet, and fellow newcomers J.P. Holtz and Jake Butt.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Marcus Henry
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, OL Jason Spriggs
- Cut: RB Tony Brooks-James
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Reece Horn
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Kyron Brown
Denver Broncos
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Jamar Johnson, CB Kary Vincent
Houston Texans
- Placed on PUP list: OL Marcus Cannon, OL Lane Taylor
- Cut: LS Mitchell Fraboni
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on IR: DT Rob Windsor (out for year)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LS James Winchester
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: P Corliss Waitman
- Cut: K Dominik Eberle
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Tutu Atwell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: TE Carson Meier
- Cut with injury settlement: TE Jibri Blount
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on PUP list: K Riley Patterson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Kendall Donnerson
- Placed on PUP list: WR Michael Thomas
- Placed on NFI list: OL Derrick Kelly
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Eddie Yarbrough
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Darece Roberson
- Cut: CB Saivion Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DB Chris Cooper
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Kyle Peko, Anthony Rush,
- Cut: DL Bruce Hector
Vikings Waive Jaylen Twyman
The Vikings have waived rookie defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman, per a club announcement. The move will make room for new wide receiver Dede Westbrook, who agreed to a deal over the weekend. Twyman will revert to the non-football injury list if he clears waivers.
Twyman was shot four times in Washington D.C. earlier this summer. Fortunately, the Pitt product is expected to make a full recovery, but the incident will keep him off the field for the time being. No surgery was required, but his “superficial, exit wounds” prompted the Vikings to put him on the non-football injury list.
“He walked himself into the hospital. He was an innocent bystander in a car — wrong place, wrong time,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said. “They did X rays, there are no broken bones, no ligament damage. I spoke to his father, he’s going to be OK. And I informed the Vikings of everything that is going on and how he is.”
The Vikings drafted Twyman in the sixth round at No. 199 overall. In his two years at Pitt, the 21-year-old notched 57 tackles and eleven sacks.
Titans Sign John Simon
The Titans have signed outside linebacker John Simon, per a club announcement. Fellow pass rusher Tuzar Skipper has been cut in a corresponding move. 
Simon has been with the Patriots for the last three years. 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.
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 know Simon’s ability better than Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who’s coached the veteran at two different stops.
Skipper, meanwhile, will go to the waiver wire. Teams will have 24 hours to enter claims on him before he reaches unfettered free agency.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DE Daeshon Hall