HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

Falcons To Release Ron Parker

August 31st, 2018 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ron Parker‘s stay in Atlanta turned out to be short. The Falcons are releasing the veteran defensive back, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Parker announced his release.

The Falcons signed the safety as a possible depth piece during the summer. Parker started four seasons with the Chiefs, serving as Eric Berry‘s top back-line sidekick and frequently defending slot receivers.

The Chiefs released Parker in March. Atlanta returns starters Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal, with the former signing an extension earlier this summer. Parker played five seasons with the Chiefs, shifting from cornerback to safety. He’s on the market again, not having to pass through waivers, in advance of what would be his age-31 season.

Atlanta acquired safety Jordan Richards in a trade with New England earlier Friday, and Parker looks like the odd man out. Damontae Kazee, a 2017 fifth-round pick, remains on the roster as well, Kemal Ishmael re-signed with the Falcons this offseason.

Texans Cut WR Braxton Miller

August 31st, 2018 at 12:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans cut a boatload of players on Friday, allowing them to inch closer to the 53-man max. Here’s the rundown, with all links going to Twitter unless noted otherwise:

Miller is the biggest name of the bunch, but his release does not come as a huge surprise. The former third-round pick out of Ohio State has posted a grand total of 34 catches for 261 yards and two scores over the last two years, and he failed to really stand out in the preseason.

Will Fuller, Bruce Ellington and fourth-round pick Keke Coutee seem likely to make the cut behind star receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and it remains to be seen whether Houston will carry five or six receivers in total.

Raiders Shopping Mario Edwards

August 31st, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders are shopping former second-round pick Mario Edwards, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (on Twitter). The Raiders have been frustrated by him, Rapoport hears, and he may be on the roster bubble heading into Saturday’s deadline. 

The Raiders had high hopes for Edwards when they selected him with the No. 35 overall pick in 2015. However, he struggled to get going as a 21-year-old rookie and a hip injury set him back as an NFL sophomore.

Edwards bounced back last year as he started in each of his 14 games, and he set a new career high with 3.5 sacks. Apparently, he hasn’t impressed new head coach Jon Gruden in camp, so he could be on his way out of Oakland.

If another team acquires Edwards, they’ll have him under contract for one more season with a base salary of $1.255MM. That would be a fairly low-risk move, and Edwards will surely cost a lot less than a second rounder.

Cardinals Release Chris Campbell

August 31st, 2018 at 12:16pm CST by Zachary Links

In the spring, the Cardinals used a sixth-round pick to select cornerback Christian Campbell. Unfortunately, he won’t be with the club for their season opener. On Friday, the Cardinals informed Campbell of his release, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

Campbell was behind the 8-ball in Arizona after suffering an ankle injury early on. He came off of the PUP list in late July, but he wasn’t able to make up a whole lot of ground over the past four weeks.

Campbell, a 6’1″ corner out of Penn State, totaled 102 tackles and three interceptions across four seasons in college. Per league rules, Campbell will be subject to the waiver wire following his release. If he goes unsigned, he may be a candidate for Arizona’s practice squad.

Titans Release Several Players

August 31st, 2018 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Rather than releasing 30+ players on Saturday morning, the Titans got ahead of the game on Friday by making some early cuts. The following players have been dropped from the 90-man roster (all links go to Twitter, unless noted otherwise):

King was an exclusive rights free agent this offseason and was retained on a one-year deal for the league minimum. Last season marked his most successful campaign to date as he played on a quarter of the club’s defensive snaps and 16% of the Titans’ special teams snaps.

The Titans wrapped their preseason on Thursday night with a 13-3 loss to the Vikings. The Titans went 0-4 in exhibition games, but that’s rarely an indicator of regular season success.

Per league rules, the Titans must trim their way down to a 53-man roster by Saturday afternoon. They’ll get there by releasing more players and placing others on injured reserve.

Cardinals Won’t Trade QB Mike Glennon

August 31st, 2018 at 12:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Cardinals are going with three quarterbacks to begin 2018, which means that Mike Glennon will stay with the team, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Glennon and rookie Josh Rosen will serve as the backups behind Week 1 starter Sam Bradford.

Glennon staying in Arizona means there’s one potential backup QB off of the trade market, which may raise the asking price for other quality understudies around the league. Between now and Saturday afternoon, teams will wrestle with the decision to keep two or three quarterbacks on the roster. Meanwhile, there are plenty of teams with doubts about their present No. 2 QB. Some of the players to keep an eye on include Tom Savage (Saints), Joshua Dobbs (Steelers), and maybe even A.J. McCarron (Bills).

The Bills inked McCarron to a two-year, $8.1MM deal this offseason, but rookie Josh Allen may be their Week 1 starter. McCarron’s only relevant NFL work came as a replacement to an injured Andy Dalton during the 2015 campaign, but he has long been regarded as one of the best backup types in the league. In eleven career games (three starts), the soon-to-be 28-year-old has completed 64.7% of his passes for 920 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also started the Bengals’ 2015 playoff loss to the Steelers, throwing a touchdown and a pick.

Jets Release Kevin Minter

August 31st, 2018 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are cleaning house in advance of Saturday’s roster deadline. On Friday, Gang Green released the following players (via Manish Mehta of the Daily News, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, and Darryl Slater of NJ.com.):

Minter is one of the bigger names in the bunch and one of the biggest surprises. Minter seemed likely to make the team as an inside linebacker, but evidently didn’t do enough to win the job. Minter‘s signed a one-year, $880K deal with the Jets in April, but the team won’t be on the hook for much more than his $90K signing bonus.

Bass had 3.5 sacks in 13 games for the Jets last season and did well according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, but summer injuries ultimately cost him a place on the team for the fall.

The Jets will have the opportunity to add some of these players to their practice squad if they pass through waivers, but the team is unlikely to extend the invite to James, according to Slater.

Eagles Release QB Christian Hackenberg

August 31st, 2018 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have released Christian Hackenberg, according to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com (Twitter links). The former Jets draft bust hooked on with the Eagles in August, but faced long odds of making the team. Fellow quarterback Joe Callahan has also been cut, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The Eagles still have some level of uncertainty at quarterback between Carson Wentz‘s ACL recovery and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles‘ minor neck injury. Still, one of those two QBs should be ready for the opener and the Eagles remain high on third-stringer Nate Sudfeld. Callahan drew solid reviews this summer, but the numbers crunch was ultimately too much for him to overcome.

The Jets selected Hackenberg with the 51st overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he never saw the field during two regular season campaigns. New York traded the 23-year-old to the Raiders in May, but he lasted less than month on Oakland’s roster. He met with the Patriots and other clubs had interest, so Hackenberg could be a practice squad candidate for another team.

The Eagles have also released tight end Gannon Sinclair as they work their way down to a 53-man roster.

Rams, Aaron Donald Agree To Extension

August 31st, 2018 at 11:18am CST by Zachary Links

Finally, it’s a done deal. On Friday, the Rams signed defensive tackle Aaron Donald to a historic six-year extension that will keep him in place through the 2024 season. Donald signed the contract Friday afternoon.

The new deal is worth $135MM, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter), and includes $87MM in rolling guarantees. Donald’s signing bonus is worth a whopping $40MM (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com) and he’ll receive $50MM fully guaranteed (Twitter link via Albert Breer of The MMQB). The deal represents the richest defensive deal in NFL history and ties Donald to Los Angeles for the next seven years.

Donald stayed away from the Rams this summer in order to boost his leverage in talks, creating doubt about whether he’d be in uniform for the start of the season. With the deal, the Rams have assured that he’ll be in the lineup for the team’s Monday night opener against the Raiders.

Donald has been one of the league’s most fearsome defenders since entering the league as the No. 13 overall pick in 2014. Over the years, he has racked up numerous accolades and a shocking number of sacks from the interior. The Associated Press named Donald its Defensive Rookie of the Year in ’14 and, last year, he earned his first AP Defensive Player of the Year award.

In 14 games last year, Donald amassed 11 sacks, five fourced fumbles, and led the league with 91 quarterback pressures, which is perhaps the best metric by which to judge a pass rusher. The Rams made a number of splashy moves on defense this offseason, but this massive new deal with Donald may be the biggest of them all.

Cardinals Release LB Scooby Wright

August 31st, 2018 at 10:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have released linebacker Scooby Wright, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Wright will be subject to waivers since he has less than four years of NFL experience and it’s possible that another club will pick him up before he hits the open market.

Wright, 23, missed the Cardinals’ final cut in September of last year but signed on with the practice squad the following day. In October, he earned a promotion to the 53-man roster. Wright was on the roster for ten games, but he logged just one tackle.

Wright has yet to make a major impact at the NFL level, but he is well known in the area for his work at the University of Arizona. In 2014, Wright tallied an eye-popping 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, and six forced fumbles. Unfortunately, he was slowed by injuries in 2015 and his draft stock suffered as a result. The Browns took him with one of the final picks in the draft and he later found his way to the Cardinals in 2016.

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