Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/21
Tuesday afternoon marked the deadline for teams to cut down from 90 to 85 players. We’ll keep track of those cuts and the day’s other minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed (from Packers): P Ryan Winslow
- Waived: P Tyler Newsome
Atlanta Falcons
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Jeff Badet
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Johnny Townsend
Carolina Panthers
- Waived/injured: LB Nate Hall, C Mike Panasiuk
- Placed on IR: CB Troy Pride Jr.; Pride suffered a torn ACL
Chicago Bears
- Released: WR Justin Hardy
- Waived: DB Michael Joseph, LB Ledarius Mack
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: LB Anthony Hines, FB Sewo Olonilua, CB Reggie Robinson
- Waived: CB Kyron Brown, WR Brennan Eagles
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Adrian Killins
- Waived: DB Rojesterman Farris, LB Peter Kalambayi, DT Lorenzo Neal Jr.
- Waived/injured: WR DeVontres Dukes, RB LeVante Bellamy, DL Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Placed on IR: LB Shaun Dion Hamilton
- Signed: QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Waived: DT Michael Barnett
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Chad Hansen
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: QB Jake Dolegala
- Placed on IR: TE Isaac Nauta, WR DeAndre Thompkins
- Waived: OL Zack Johnson
Houston Texans
- Reverted to reserve/NFI: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: LB Te’von Coney
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB David Bellamy
- Waived: QB K.J. Costello, TE Matt Seybert
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: CB Amari Henderson
- Reverted to IR: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New England Patriots
- Waived/injured: TE Troy Fumagalli
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: OL Cameron Clark
- Waived: DL Michael Dwumfour, S Bennett Jackson, RB Austin Walter
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: DL Abdullah Anderson, DB Stephen Denmark, WR Isaiah McKoy, K Sam Sloman, OT Brandon Walton
San Francisco 49ers
- Claimed (from Ravens): CB Davontae Harris
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Jake Benzinger
- Placed on IR: G Sadarius Hutcherson
- Waived/failed physical: WR John Franklin III
- Waived/injured: G Donell Stanley
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Jamal Carter
- Placed on IR: DL Trevon Coley, S Tedric Thompson
Washington Football Team
- Waived: TE Nick Guggemos, CB Greg Stroman
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must cut their rosters to 85 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: DL Eli Ankou, LB Mike Bell, OL Caleb Benenoch, G Marquel Harrell, OL Syrus Tuitele
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: TE Pro Wells
Detroit Lions
- Cut: CB Alex Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: LS Turner Bernard, DE Jordan Brailford
New England Patriots
- Cut: TE/DL Rashod Berry, WR Marvin Hall, OL Jerald Hawkins, TE David Wells
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Cameron Kinley, TE De’Quan Hampton and WR Josh Pearson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Deon Yelder
- Cut: TE Gabe Holmes
- Placed on IR: LB B.J. Bello
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Eagles): TE Caleb Wilson
WFT Cuts Lamar Miller, Kelvin Harmon
The Washington Football Team has cut RB Lamar Miller and WR Kelvin Harmon, the team announced. Washington has also cut DB Chris Miller and activated WR Curtis Samuel off the PUP list.
L. Miller is the most recognizable member of the trio of players now seeking new employment. The 2018 Pro Bowler, who has two 1,000-yard rushing seasons on his resume, suffered a torn ACL during the 2019 preseason and missed all of the 2019 campaign as a result. He hooked on with the Patriots last August but did not survive final cutdowns. He ultimately wound up on the Bears’ practice squad and appeared in one game for Chicago before being poached by WFT. Washington re-signed him to a one-year pact in March and has now cut him loose after one preseason game.
L. Miller, 30, actually had a fair showing in that preseason contest against New England on Thursday evening. He had three carries for 14 yards and three receptions for 10 yards and a TD. WFT, however, has elected to move on with the likes of J.D. McKissic, Peyton Barber, and Jonathan Williams behind Antonio Gibson on its RB depth chart.
Harmon, a 2019 sixth-rounder, at one time looked like he might have a real future with Washington. His collegiate resume, size, and upside suggested he could have been a much higher draft choice, and he showed some flashes towards the tail end of his rookie season, finishing with 30 catches for 365 yards. Unfortunately, a torn ACL last July wiped out his entire 2020 season, and the club added Samuel and Adam Humphries in free agency this offseason while using a third-round pick on Dyami Brown. John Keim of ESPN.com classifies Harmon’s departure as a bit of a surprise but notes that the team is comfortable with its other options (Twitter link).
WFT will certainly be happy to have Samuel, who was dealing with a groin issue, back on the field. Samuel landed a three-year, $34.5MM contract from Washington in March, and his speed and abilities as a receiver and runner should complement WR1 Terry McLaurin nicely.
C. Miller, meanwhile, signed as a UDFA with the Seahawks last year and also spent some time on the taxi squads of the Titans and Cardinals. Arizona waived him in May, and WFT liked him enough to claim him off waivers, but not enough to keep him on the roster at this stage of the summer.
This Date In Transactions History: Washington Releases Orlando Scandrick
It’s never a good sign when a free agent acquisition is cut before the end of the preseason. However, after Orlando Scandrick was cut by Washington on this date in 2018, the cornerback managed to put up one more good season before later calling it a career.
Prior to joining Washington, the 2008 fifth-round pick had spent his entire 10-year career with the Cowboys. However, he only had one 16-game campaign between 2011 and 2017, thanks in part to a suspension and various injuries (including a torn ACL and MCL that wiped out his 2015 season). Following a 2017 campaign that saw him grade out as one of the league’s 15-worst cornerbacks (per Pro Football Focus), Dallas decided to pivot towards a youth movement, leading to Scandrick’s release.
It didn’t take long for the veteran to catch on with Jay Gruden and Washington, as Scandrick inked a two-year pact that could have been worth up to $10MM. However, before he even got to step foot on the field for a regular season game, the organization cut the cornerback. On August 14, 2018, Scandrick earned his walking papers from Washington, with the cornerback earning $1MM during his brief stay. Gruden wouldn’t attribute the move to anything that Scandrick did, instead noting that the move was made thanks to the development of some younger cornerbacks.
“It has nothing to do with his play. It was really the emergence of the rookies and [we] wanted Orlando to latch on to another team,” Gruden said “No one could have predicted [the emergence of] [Ranthony] Texada or Danny Johnson.”
However, it didn’t take long for Scandrick to generate some interest from rival clubs. The same day he was released, we learned that the defensive back was generating some interest from the Chiefs, and less than a week later, he officially signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with Kansas City. During his age-31 season, Scandrick was a productive member of the Chiefs’ secondary, finishing the season with 44 tackles and one interception in 15 games (seven starts). Scandrick fell out of the rotation late in the season, seeing only 12 combined snaps between Kansas City’s final two regular season games and two postseason contests.
Scandrick ended up getting one last NFL gig with the Eagles, and he bounced on and off their roster during the 2019 campaign. He ultimately saw time in three games (one start) for Philly, collecting seven tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles.
It was a bit of an underwhelming end to Scandrick’s career, but many thought his career was finished on this date in 2018. Instead, the cornerback ended up having another productive season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/9/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DT Darius Kilgo
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: CB Tyler Hall
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Siaosi Mariner
- Waived/injured: TE Jacob Breeland
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from PUP list: TE Dominique Dafney
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: LS Rex Sunahara
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Warren Jackson
New England Patriots
- Waived: QB Jake Dolegala
- Signed: LS Brian Khoury
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Blake Countess
- Waived/injured: S Obi Melifonwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Activated from PUP list: TE Cameron Brate
Washington Football Team
- Signed: C Jon Toth
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/21
Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: DT Xavier Williams
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived/injured: DT Deadrin Senat
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: DE Kendall Donnerson, DB LaDarius Wiley
- Waived: OL David Moore
- Waived/injured: DE Austin Larkin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Gage Cervenka
Denver Broncos
- Claimed (from Ravens): LB Barrington Wade
- Signed: DT Lorenzo Neal
- Released: S Tedric Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Graham Adomitis
- Waived/injured: WR Gary Jennings
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed (from Cardinals): CB Lorenzo Burns
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Bryan Witzmann
- Placed on reserve/retired list: TE Nick Keizer
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Chris Okoye, CB K.J. Sails
New England Patriots
- Re-Signed: LB Cassh Maluia
- Placed on IR: TE Dalton Keene
New York Giants
- Claimed (from Jets): WR Matt Cole
- Signed: DB Chris Johnson
- Waived: WR Andy Jones
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on active/PUP list: S Jaquiski Tartt
Washington Football Team
- Waived: OL Cole Boozer
WFT Will Not Change Name To Warriors
The Cowboys went through three offseasons of Dak Prescott negotiations, finally bringing an end to the saga with a monster four-year, $160MM extension for the Pro Bowl quarterback. This drawn-out process ended benefiting Prescott considerably, given his value when the first round of negotiations began in 2019. Dak is now one of the league’s two $40MM-per-year players, joining Patrick Mahomes, and the sixth-year Dallas quarterback cannot be franchise-tagged after this extension expires. When addressing his top regret during his time as the team’s executive vice president, Stephen Jones said he “probably would have signed Dak the first time around; it would have been better for everybody,” via Pat Doney of NBC 5. The negotiations, which began in April 2019, led to a 2020 franchise tag and the QB’s price rising to the point he inked one of the most player-friendly deals in NFL history this past March. The Cowboys still have their fourth-round find locked up long-term, however. They just took a more difficult route to get here.
Here is the latest from the NFC East:
- Randy Gregory has moved into position to be a full-time starter for the first time, being set to play opposite DeMarcus Lawrence on a regular basis this season. The Cowboys’ oft-suspended pass rusher alluded to then-defensive coordinator Mike Nolan preferring Aldon Smith due to “favoritism.” “I felt there was a little bit of favoritism going on … refusing to let me outshine their favorite,” Gregory said in a lengthy story by The Athletic’s Dan Pompei (subscription required). “They knew I could do it, so they did what they could to keep me at bay. I had my times when I was angry. … I truly felt I got robbed of a year last year.” The NFL reinstated Gregory in late October last year. Smith, who started 16 games after making his own comeback from suspension, is now a Seahawk. New DC Dan Quinn said, via Pompei, he was surprised Gregory (27.1 defensive snaps per game in 2020) did not play more in 2020 and added that the embattled defensive end will indeed see more time this season.
- The Washington Football Team will unveil its next nickname in 2022. That new identity will not be the Warriors, according to team president Jason Wright, who notes discussions the team held revealed “deep-seated discomfort” with that potential moniker. Regardless of what the new name ends up being, the franchise will still use its burgundy-and-gold color scheme.
- Lane Johnson and Derek Barnett‘s restructures created a sizable chunk of cap space for the Eagles. They now have an additional $14MM in cap space, according to Yates (via Twitter). They are up past $16MM, per OverTheCap. Following the Saints’ lead, the Eagles spread out Barnett’s 2021 fifth-year option salary onto future caps by using void years. Barnett’s base salary is now $990K, with the void years stretching through 2025. The Eagles also used void years in Johnson’s restructure, spreading out the right tackle’s cap hit through 2028. He is on Philly’s books for just a $1.1MM base salary this season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/2/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Jonathan Celestin
Houston Texans
- Signed: LS Mitchell Fraboni
- Waived: LB Nate Hall
Kansas City Chiefs
- Cut from IR: WR Chris Finke
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: RB Darius Jackson
- Placed on reserve/retired list: LB James Onwualu
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: QB Case Cookus
- Claimed off waivers (from Seahawks): QB Danny Etling
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: DL Lorenzo Neal Jr., DB Lawrence Woods
- Placed on injured reserve: TE Dylan Soehner
Washington Football Team
- Waived: OL Ross Reynolds
Contract Details: Chubb, Thomas, Allen, Wilson
Let’s catch up on the details of some of the big contracts recently signed around the NFL:
- We heard last night that Browns running back Nick Chubb was signing a big three-year extension worth $36MM with $20MM guaranteed. We’ve got the full equation now, thanks to what a league source told Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com. For starters, Chubb is getting a $12MM signing bonus. It also turns out that not *quite* $20MM is fully guaranteed. The actual guarantee is only $17.133MM. However, it’s almost effectively $20MM, since the other $2.87MM in guarantees vests in 2022 and it’s incredibly unlikely Chubb would be off the roster by then. Chubb will have low salaries and low cap hits in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he’ll have a cap hit of $14.85MM. He’ll have a $10.85MM salary but only the $2.87MM of that will be guaranteed. In 2024, he’ll have a non-guaranteed salary of $11.775MM and a cap hit of $16.2MM for his final year.
- Washington just made Logan Thomas the seventh highest-paid tight end in the game, and now we have new figures on his deal. His three-year, $24MM extension will give him a cap hit of $6.465MM in 2022, $8.75MM in 2023, and $8.315MM in 2024, John Keim of EPSN.com reports. The dead cap hits for those three years will be $7.465MM, $3.5MM, and $1.75MM respectively. In other words it won’t be too hard for the team to get out of the contract after 2022 if they wanted to. Thomas will receive a $300K roster bonus each season, and is due a $500K roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, so that will be an important date in the final season of his new pact.
- Thomas wasn’t the only player to get an extension from Washington this past week. The Football Team also gave defensive tackle Jonathan Allen a big four-year, $72MM deal. We didn’t previously know the full guaranteed amount, but it’s apparently $35.6MM. Allen’s cap hits for those four new seasons will be $9.5MM, $21.5MM, $21.5MM, and $23MM, Keim writes. As such, he won’t start really weighing down Washington’s books until 2023. He has a $14MM salary for that season which becomes guaranteed on the third day of that league year. His dead cap charges will be $26MM, $18MM, $12MM, $6MM for 2022-2025.
- Zach Wilson and the Jets avoided potential disaster by agreeing to terms on his rookie deal right before training camp started, and now we have more context on the holdup. We knew there was an issue about potential signing bonus money deferment, and it turns out New York wanted the rookie quarterback to wait to get a significant amount of cash. The Jets “only opened negotiations last week,” and wanted Wilson to defer a whopping $6MM of his signing bonus to 2022, a source told Jeff Howe of The Athletic (Twitter link). After the team relented and agreed to pay the whole signing bonus upfront, Wilson hopped on a plane to New York. In return, the Jets did get some of the offset language they were seeking.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Rojesterman Farris
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: K Dominik Eberle
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: QB K.J. Costello
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: TEs Cethan Carter, Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen
Washington Football Team
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Daron Payne