Minor NFL Transactions: 7/16/21
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DT Nazair Jones
Panthers, Taylor Moton Agree To $72MM Deal
The Panthers and Taylor Moton have officially agreed to a new four-year, $72MM deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal includes $43MM in guaranteed cash, putting Moton at the top of the market for right tackles. 
Moton is now one of the highest-paid players at his position, scoring long-term stability over his original one-year, $13.75MM tender. The 26-year-old (27 in August) has started 48 straight games at right tackle for the Panthers, with Pro Football Focus grading him as a top-20 tackle in each of those three campaigns. That included 2020, a season where the lineman ranked as a top-five right tackle. He also saw just one penalty called against him, an impressive feat given all those snaps. And, in 2019, he played on all but six of the Panthers’ plays.
Previously, we heard that the Panthers were a long ways from locking down their former second-round pick. Now, they’ve got him under contract for years to come. It’s a slightly shorter deal than Ryan Ramczyk’s recent pact with the Saints, but he’s not too far behind in terms of average annual value. Still, Ramczyk has the edge with his five-year, $96MM deal that includes $60MM in guarantees, good for a $19.2MM AAV. Eagles veteran Lane Johnson, meanwhile, is just behind with $55MM in guaranteed dollars.
Moton was the third offensive lineman to be tagged in team history. Now, just like left tackle Jordan Gross and center Ryan Kalil, he’s parlayed that into a long-term arrangement.
Former Steelers FB Roosevelt Nix Retires From NFL
Former Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix is calling it a career. Nix announced his retirement from the NFL with an Instagram post on Tuesday night. 
“This game has given me everything I could ask for and everything I needed. GOD blessed me with a talent that allowed me to touch so many souls all across the world and I’m truly grateful for it,” Nix wrote.
Nix, a defensive end at Kent State, first tried to break into the NFL as a linebacker. After going undrafted in 2014, he joined the Falcons on a three-year deal and switched to fullback. However, he didn’t see his first live action until 2015 with the Steelers.
Nix proceeded to appear in 60 games (11 starts) during his five seasons in Pittsburgh, serving primarily as a fullback and special teamer. He hauled in 12 receptions for 69 yards and one score across five seasons, plus two forced fumbles on special teams. The highlight of his career came in 2017, when he went to the Pro Bowl as James Develin‘s replacement.
Nix was named a Steelers captain prior to the 2019 season, but he was limited to only three games as he dealt with a knee injury. Last year, he signed with the Colts, but missed the final cut. After spending a full year out of the league, Nix has decided to move on to his next chapter.
LB Anthony Chickillo Retires
Former Steelers and Broncos linebacker Anthony Chickillo is calling it a career. The 28-year-old announced his retirement via Instagram earlier today.
Chickillo entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers in 2015. Over five years in Pittsburgh, he played in 65 games, primarily as a rotational defender and as a key special teams contributor.
After a quality platform campaign in 2018, during which he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 40th-best edge defender out of 103 qualifiers, Chickillo drew free agent interest from the Patriots but elected to re-up with the Steelers on a two-year, $8MM contract. However, a foot injury and an assault arrest — on charges that were later dropped — marred his 2019 season, and the Steelers cut him last March.
Chickillo hooked on with the Saints several months later, but he did not survive final cutdowns and was ultimately signed to New Orleans’ practice squad. The Broncos poached him from there and he went on to appear in 11 games for Denver in 2020, with his snaps almost equally divided between defense (164) and special teams (147).
The Miami product ends his playing career with 108 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and roughly $7.5MM in career earnings. We at PFR wish Chickillo the best in the next chapter of his life.
Falcons Release Barkevious Mingo
In light of Barkevious Mingo’s arrest on the charge of “indecency with a child–sexual contact,” the Falcons have elected to release the veteran linebacker. In a statement announcing the move, the team said, “After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract.”
We now have a few more details on the matter, courtesy of Jon Wertheim of SI.com. Wertheim reports that the alleged incident took place during the Fourth of July weekend in 2019, when Mingo treated a teenage family member and the boy’s friend (also a teenager) to a trip to an amusement park and a go-kart complex. Mingo also took the boys to dinner at a local steakhouse and paid for an online shopping spree at Nike.com.
The boys spent the evening of July 4, 2019, at the hotel where Mingo was staying. The alleged victim said the boys were supposed to sleep in a different room from Mingo, but at around 3am, he woke up to find Mingo lying in bed with him. At this point, we will direct you to Wertheim’s article for the rest of the details, which are disturbing.
The alleged victim’s mother filed a complaint with police in January 2021, and the investigation — which included a search warrant for Nike’s sales records — culminated in a felony charge against Mingo. The No. 6 overall pick of the 2013 draft faces up to 20 years in prison.
Mingo’s attorney, Lukas Garcia, issued the following statement: “At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/6/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: DT Demarcus Christmas
Christmas was waived by the Steelers last week to make roster space for kicker Sam Sloman. The defensive lineman was waived with an injury designation, but it’s uncertain what is ailing the 26-year-old. It’s worth noting that Christmas missed the entire 2019 season with a back injury.
The Florida State product was a sixth-round pick by the Seahawks back in 2019. He spent that entire campaign on the PUP list, and he spent most of the 2020 campaign bouncing between Seattle’s practice squad and active roster. He joined the Steelers practice squad in November, and he was retained into the offseason thanks to a futures contract.
49ers Cut LB Nate Gerry
Nate Gerry‘s stint with the 49ers has ended after only a few months. The team cut the linebacker today, according to SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
The 49ers added Gerry back in March on a one-year, $990K deal that included an additional $137+K in incentives. The contract contained no guaranteed money, so San Francisco is off the hook financially.
The 2017 fifth-round pick out of Nebraska had spent his entire career with the Eagles, appearing in 46 regular-season games and six postseason games (including three during Philly’s 2017 run to a Super Bowl championship). After serving as mostly a backup during his first two years in the pros, Gerry started 12 of his 16 contests in 2019, finishing with 78 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions (including a pick-six), and five QB hits.
The 26-year-old started each of his seven games in 2020, collecting 57 tackles, one sack, and four tackles for loss. He was placed on injured reserve in late October with an ankle injury, ending his season.
Gerry struggled at linebacker in 2020, and the 49ers already had plenty of depth at the position. The veteran’s best chance to make another roster will be via special teams, especially after he logged 834 special teams snaps for the Eagles over his four years with the team.
Patriots Sign No. 15 Pick Mac Jones
They’re starting to go quickly now. Just one day after Trevor Lawrence became the latest of the unsigned rookie first-round picks to ink his deal, Mac Jones is joining him.
The former Alabama quarterback has signed his rookie contract with the Patriots, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New England, of course, took Jones 15th overall in the 2021 draft. For weeks leading up to the draft there were persistent rumors that the 49ers would take Jones at three, but obviously those turned out not to be true.
Instead Jones endured a bit of a slip, falling to the middle of the first-round where Bill Belichick was waiting to nab him. After a season where he put up gaudy numbers under Nick Saban, Jones is getting his first taste of pro ball with another legendary coach in Belichick.
His four-year pact, which comes with a team option for a fifth-year, is worth $15.6MM. All that money is guaranteed, and he’ll get a signing bonus of around $8.7MM. Now that his contract is settled, he can focus all his attention on the upcoming quarterback competition.
Jones is expected to face off against Cam Newton in what appears to be a truly open battle in training camp to be the team’s Week 1 starter. Jones took over for an injured Tua Tagovailoa down the stretch in 2019, and became Alabama’s full-time starter in 2020.
Although the starter for only one year, he sure made his mark. Jones threw for 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions in 14 games, averaging a ridiculous 11.2 yards per attempt and coming in third in the Heisman voting.
Jaguars Sign No. 1 Pick Trevor Lawrence
This year’s top rookie prospect is now under contract. The Jaguars and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence agreed to terms on his rookie deal Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The customary four-year deal, with the Year 5 option, will be worth $36.8MM and come with a $24.8MM signing bonus. The deal is fully guaranteed. The 21-year-old quarterback passed his physical and will collect his signing bonus within the next 15 days, Pelissero adds (on Twitter).
Lawrence will collect roster bonuses from 2022-24, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, who adds these payouts will be due three days after the start of the Jaguars’ training camp (Twitter link). The prized rookie will collect these bonuses even if he begins any of these camps on the Jags’ non-football injury list. Given this bonus structure, it will be interesting to see the full breakdown of this deal. The contract also includes no offset language.
It took a full-on Jaguars freefall to obtain the rights to Lawrence, who starred at Clemson for most of the past three seasons. Jacksonville lost 15 straight games en route to landing the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history. Lawrence’s status played a key role in leading Urban Meyer to accept the Jags’ offer to become their head coach.
The 6-foot-6 passer had been penciled into the 2021 No. 1 overall draft slot for years, dating back to his 2018 emergence as a super prospect. Lawrence led Clemson to a national title as a true freshman, taking over for veteran Kelly Bryant midway through the season. Lawrence finished with a 34-2 record as the Tigers’ starter. In his final season in South Carolina, Lawrence threw for 3,153 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. And, with 69.2% of his passes completed, he finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, despite losing time to a positive COVID-19 test.
The Jags have taken the first-round route with a few quarterbacks during their history. Following trade acquisition Mark Brunell‘s successful run in the franchise’s early years, the Jags were unable to turn their first-round QBs — Byron Leftwich, Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles — into long-term answers. Lawrence, however, enters the NFL with considerably more hype than the other three Round 1 QBs in Jags history.
Gardner Minshew took the bulk of the Jags’ snaps over the past two years, though the team used a few arms in its rough 2020 season. Minshew remains on the roster, despite offseason trade rumors. While Meyer has floated the idea of a quarterback competition, it would be shocking if Lawrence did not open the season as Jacksonville’s quarterback.
Ex-Clemson teammate Travis Etienne will join Lawrence in Jacksonville. Etienne and Jags second-round picks Tyson Campbell and Walker Little remain unsigned.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/2/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here as we head into the weekend:
New York Jets
- Cut: S Jordyn Peters
Peters was let go to make room on the roster for Morgan Moses, whose contract with the Jets became official today. Peters became a starter at Auburn in his senior year, but was mostly viewed as a potential special teams guy in the NFL. He blocked four punts at Auburn. Meanwhile, we just heard that Moses will be the team’s starting right tackle in 2021, even if the Jets insist for now there will be a competition with George Fant.