Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/20
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: S Anthony Levine
Chicago Bears
- Signed: S DeAndre Houston-Carson, S Jordan Lucas
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Noah Spence, LS Zach Wood
New York Jets
- Signed: LB James Burgess, DB Deatrick Nichols
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Nick Dzubnar
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DT Caleb Brantley
Redskins Cut Nicholson, Four Other DBs
Despite Montae Nicholson having one more season on his rookie contract, the Redskins will waive the fourth-year safety, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Nicholson worked as a full-time starter for last season’s Redskins team, being a first-stringer in 13 games. His departure will create more than $2MM in cap space for Washington, which also cut veteran cornerback Kayvon Webster (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). The latter is a vested veteran and will go straight to free agency, while Nicholson will hit the waiver wire.
As it turns out, this was part of an interesting position-specific purge. The Redskins cut three other defensive backs as well, dropping cornerbacks Coty Sensabaugh, Dee Delaney and Breon Borders.
In his full-time role, however, Nicholson did not fare especially well. Pro Football Focus graded the former fourth-round pick as its third-worst safety in 2019. PFF also graded Nicholson as one of the league’s worst safeties in 2018. The Michigan State alum did intercept two passes in his third season and, due to his experience, profiles as an interesting waiver claim for a team in need of safety help.
Both Sensabaugh, 31, and Webster, 29, played in just two games with Washington last season. They joined the team as late-season injury replacements.
Panthers To Trade QB Kyle Allen To Redskins
Hours after agreeing to terms with XFL standout P.J. Walker, the Panthers are unloading a quarterback they just extended. The Panthers have agreed to trade Kyle Allen to the Redskins, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
A 2018 UDFA, Allen was the Panthers’ primary starter last season under Ron Rivera. He signed an extension March 10. Washington will send a fifth-round pick to Carolina for Allen, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
This will not only reunite Allen with Rivera, but the Redskins have former Panthers QBs coach Scott Turner on board as offensive coordinator. Turner was on Carolina’s staff for each of Allen’s two seasons with the team.
Allen, 24, will clear a path for Walker to make the Panthers’ roster and fill a Redskins need. With Alex Smith‘s status still uncertain, Washington now has a healthy quarterback set to join Dwayne Haskins. While the Redskins have been linked to Tua Tagovailoa, they are still the frontrunners to draft Chase Young. Washington has also been connected to trade-down maneuvers, with Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert drawing interest from other teams. Allen would stand to be Washington’s QB2 of the moment, and in an offseason that is unlikely to feature any OTAs, the Texas A&M product’s familiarity in Turner’s system will be critical.
Taking over after Cam Newton‘s September re-injury, Allen started strong but faded down the stretch. He ended his season with a 17-16 TD-INT ratio, 3,322 passing yards in 13 games and a 62% completion rate. Walker and Will Grier now stand to be Teddy Bridgewater‘s backups.
Redskins Not Expected To Pursue Cam Newton, Jameis Winston
While Dwayne Haskins‘ status is murkier than it would have been had the Redskins retained Bruce Allen, the Ron Rivera regime’s plan does not include giving Cam Newton a chance to reignite his career.
The Redskins have been linked to Tua Tagovailoa at No. 2 overall, but they will not add a high-profile veteran quarterback. Even if the Panthers cut Newton, the Redskins are not expected to be interested, John Keim of ESPN.com notes. The same goes for Jameis Winston, who is now in search of a new team after the Buccaneers landed Tom Brady.
Washington does not want to put Haskins in a position where he would be the clear backup, Keim adds. That would be the case if Newton and Rivera reunited. Each of Newton’s 124 starts came when Rivera was Carolina’s coach.
The Panthers are having trouble finding a trade partner for Newton, which makes sense given the COVID-19 pandemic preventing teams from having their medical personnel examine players with injury concerns. The Panthers are likely to release the former MVP soon. Winston has not been linked to any teams since the Bucs signed Brady.
Haskins finished with by far the worst QBR figure among qualified passers last season. Daniel Snyder, however, pushed for the Ohio State prospect going into the draft. Although Rivera mentioned Alex Smith as a candidate to start in 2020, the odds may still be against the former No. 1 overall pick playing again. Unless the Redskins draft Tagovailoa over Chase Young, Haskins remains the best bet to take the snaps in Week 1.
Redskins Shopping Quinton Dunbar
Another cornerback could be on the move soon. Just moments after we heard the Eagles were looking for a Rasul Douglas trade partner, we’ve got word that the Redskins are shopping corner Quinton Dunbar, via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Dunbar had a stellar 2019 season, and he publicly announced his desire to be released or traded last month after the Redskins apparently failed to meet his extension demands. Washington didn’t do anything at the time, but now they’re willing to listen to offers. Unlike the Eagles with Douglas, the Redskins might actually be able to get something significant for Dunbar.
He’s dealt with significant injuries the past two years but was great in the 11 games he started last season, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ second-best cornerback in 2019. The Florida product signed with the Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2015, and he is set to enter the final season of a three-year, $10.5MM contract he signed a couple of years ago.
The 27-year-old had four interceptions and eight passes defended in only 11 games last year. Assuming they move Dunbar, Washington’s secondary is going to look quite a bit different in 2020 under Ron Rivera after they already jettisoned Josh Norman earlier this offseason. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more, but there should be plenty of interested teams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/20
We’ll keep track of today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Keith Kirkwood
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Torry McTyer
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: KR/PR Jojo Natson
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: LB Justin March-Lillard
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: CB Will Redmond
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Adrian Colbert
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: WR Bryant Mitchell
Washington Redskins
- Signed: TE Logan Thomas
Redskins To Sign OT Cornelius Lucas
The Redskins are signing Cornelius Lucas to a two-year, $5.3MM deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Lucas isn’t a world-beater, but he’ll offer the club valuable depth on the offensive line.
Lucas, 29 in July, spent the 2019 season with the Bears. He appeared in every game and started in half of those contests.
Before Chicago, Lucas spent time with the Lions, Rams, and Saints. If the Redskins find a team willing to give them for a second-round pick for Trent Williams, he might take on a larger-than-expected role in D.C.
Contract Details: JPP, Boston, Waynes
A new batch of contract details to pass along, all via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter):
- LB Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers: two year extension. $25MM, including $20MM guaranteed. Salaries: $6.5MM, guaranteed (2020), $12.5MM, with $7.5MM guaranteed for injury (2021).
- S Tre Boston, Panthers: three years, $18MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.16MM (2020), $2.25MM (2021), $3.69MM (2022). $1MM third day 2020 roster bonus, $1MM third day 2022 roster bonus.
- CB Trae Waynes, Bengals: three years, $42MM. $15MM signing bonus. Salaries: $5MM (2020), $8.4MM (2021), $10.4MM (2022).
- DT Linval Joseph, Chargers: two years, $17MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.5MM (2020), $5.5MM (2021). $1MM annual playtime, sacks, Pro Bowl incentive.
- OL Wes Schweitzer, Redskins: three years, $13.5MM. $4MM guaranteed, $3MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1MM guaranteed (2020), $3.49MM (2021), $4.49MM (2022).
- LB A.J. Klein, Bills: three years, $18MM. $9.7MM guaranteed, $1.2MM signing bonus. Salaries: $2.2MM guaranteed (2020), $4.1MM, with $3.2MM guaranteed (2021), $4.2MM (2022).
- OL Tyler Shatley, Jaguars: signed. One-year, $1.511MM deal with $600K guaranteed. $1.375MM salary for 2020.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/20
Here are the minor moves from the first day of official free agency. The list will be updated throughout Wednesday.
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: OL Garrett McGhin
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: CB Donovan Olumba, DE Daniel Wise
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: CB De’Vante Bausby
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: T Tyler Shatley
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: C Evan Brown, DB Rashard Causey, T Chidi Okeke, WR T.J. Rahming
- Released with failed-physical designation: LB Mike Hull
Washington Redskins
- Re-signed: LB Nate Orchard
Redskins Sign RB J.D. McKissic
J.D. McKissic is heading to Washington. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Redskins are signing the running back. It’ll be a two-year deal for McKissic.
After getting cut by the Seahawks at the end of last preseason, McKissic was quickly claimed by the Lions. The 26-year-old ended up appearing in a career-high 16 games for Detroit, rushing for 205 yards on 38 carries. He also added another 34 receptions for 233 yards and one touchdown.
Other than a brief stint with the Falcons, McKissic had spent much of his first three NFL seasons in Seattle. He got into three playoff games during his stint with the Seahawks.