2018 September - Pro Football Rumors

East Notes: Cowboys, Bills, Jets, Giants

September 3rd, 2018 at 2:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The biggest surprise of cut-down day may have been kicking related. There was a collective shock around the league when out of nowhere the Cowboys released longtime kicker Dan Bailey. Bailey, who appears to possibly be on the verge of signing with the Jets, is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history in terms of field goal percentage.

At a press conference today Cowboys coach Jason Garrett opened up about the decision to move on from Bailey. Garrett indicated that the decision was primarily financially related, according to Clarence Hill Jr. (Twitter link). Bailey was set to make $3.4MM this year, and Garrett also said that injuries played a role. Garrett reportedly spent the first six minutes of his presser talking about the kicking situation, as there were a ton of questions about Bailey.

While we await word on where Bailey will sign, here’s more from the league’s eastern divisions:

Former second round pick Nate Orchard was cut by the Browns on Saturday, and is wasting no time setting up visits. The defensive lineman will visit with the Bills and Jets this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
It had previously been announced that former first round pick Breshad Perriman would be visiting the Jets, and if he doesn’t sign with them he’ll then visit other teams including the nearby Giants and Bills, Rapoport tweets. Wherever the pass-catcher lands, it seems likely he’ll be heading east.
The Giants kept four quarterbacks initially, then waived Davis Webb, and still might not be done addressing their quarterback room. Rapsheet also tweets that Matt McGloin will work out for the Giants tomorrow. Giants coach Pat Shurmur has said he wants to have a veteran backup, and it’s possible the team will see him as an upgrade over Alex Tanney.

Sam Darnold To Start Week 1 For Jets

September 3rd, 2018 at 1:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It’s long been rumored, but not it’s set in stone. Sam Darnold will be under center in Week 1 for the Jets a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN (Twitter link).

Darnold, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, beat out both Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater this summer to earn the job. Bridgewater’s recent trade to New Orleans all but sealed the deal, and now the Jets are making it official.

Darnold will be the only member of the 2018 rookie quarterback class starting Week 1, as Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Lamar Jackson are all backups for now. After starting and playing improbably well the first part of last season, McCown will return to the backup/veteran mentor role he’s played much of his career.

Darnold and his reps staged a holdout over contract language that spilled over into training camp, but that’s long since been forgotten. It will be Darnold taking snaps against the Lions on Monday Night Football, and hopefully for the Jets, for many years to come.

Cowboys Re-Sign WR Deonte Thompson

September 3rd, 2018 at 1:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Just two days after being cut, receiver Deonte Thompson is signing back with the Cowboys, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

Thompson inked a one-year, $2.5MM deal with Dallas in March. The pact included a $1MM signing bonus, so it was surprising when the team let him go at final cuts on Saturday. Perhaps the plan was to bring him back all along, once space was made on the roster.

Thompson spent time with the Bills and Bears last year. Between the two clubs, he turned in the best season of his career with 38 grabs for 555 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos and the incumbent Bills also expressed interest in the late bloomer before he hooked on with Jerry Jones & Co.

Thompson, who entered the league as an UDFA in 2012 with the Ravens, will have a chance to make a real impact in 2018. With Dez Bryant and Jason Witten both gone, the Cowboys have a lot of production from last year’s pass-catchers to replace.

North Notes: Steelers, Dobbs, Lions, Browns

September 3rd, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

When the Steelers took Mason Rudolph in the third round of this year’s draft, many assumed it was the beginning of the end for Josh Dobbs. Since it’s extremely rare for a team to carry four quarterbacks, the conventional wisdom was that Pittsburgh would keep Landry Jones as a veteran backup, Rudolph as the developmental rookie, and that Dobbs would either be traded or cut.

Despite facing questions about his future all summer, Dobbs was focused and showed tangible improvement this preseason. His performance in the fourth preseason game in particular was very strong, and it was enough to convince the Steelers to cut Jones instead.

While Dobbs will enter the season as Ben Roethlisberger‘s backup, the Steelers apparently did have opportunities to trade him, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN (Twitter link). Fowler reports that both the Texans and Raiders were interested in Dobbs, but that the Steelers ultimately decided to keep the second-year signal caller from Tennessee.

Here’s more from the league’s northern divisions:

The Lions had a group of running backs in for workouts, including recently released Donnel Pumphrey, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Pumphrey, a 2017 fourth round pick of the Eagles, received a lot of hype his rookie year, but injuries derailed his stay in Philadelphia.
The Browns got defensive lineman Carl Davis and LB Tanner Vallejo on waivers, but only because they picked first. Four teams in total submitted claims on Davis, and three on Vallejo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), showing that the Browns had plenty of competition for their services.
Linebacker Nigel Harris, cut by the Buccaneers on Saturday, will work out for the Browns on Tuesday, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harris has spent time with the Chargers, Giants, and Bucs since entering the league as an UDFA in 2017. He started a game for the Chargers in 2017, but was waived just a few weeks into the season.

Raiders Sign WR Brandon LaFell

September 3rd, 2018 at 11:34am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Raiders are signing wide receiver Brandon LaFell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Rapoport says it’s a one-year deal “with upside”, noting “there was a need after Martavis Bryant was released.” LaFell was released by the Bengals last month. At the time, LaFell’s agent said he had been asking for his release from the Bengals due to unhappiness with his role.

LaFell spent two seasons as the number two receiver in Cincinnati, with varying success. After compiling 64 catches for 862 yards and six touchdowns in 2016, LaFell had just 52 grabs for 548 yards and three scores last year. A week after his release, it was reported that the Browns might have some interest, but nothing ever came of it and his market has been quiet since.

As Rapsheet points out, the Raiders were in need of a veteran receiver after Bryant was cut due to an impending suspension. Oakland gave up a third round pick for Bryant, who ended up never playing a down for the team, and they’ll look to replace some of his expected production with LaFell. LaFell will turn 32 in November, and is another aging piece added to this veteran Raiders team. His best season came with the Patriots in 2014, when he caught 74 passes for 953 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jets Sign DE Jeremiah Attaochu

September 3rd, 2018 at 11:30am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A day after bringing him in for a visit, the Jets are signing defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The Jets have been looking for pass-rushing help all offseason, and finally found someone they felt good about. After losing out on the Khalil Mack sweepstakes, they settled for Attaochu, recently released by the 49ers.

Attaochu signed a one-year deal with San Francisco back in March, but apparently didn’t show enough to stick. While he never lived up to his draft status and has struggled with injuries at various points, he’s shown he can be a fairly productive pass-rusher when given the chance.

Back in 2015, he started 12 games for the Chargers and notched six sacks, a career high. Given the state of the Jets’ current edge rushers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Attaochu ends up playing a role right away in New York.

Dolphins Sign C Travis Swanson

September 3rd, 2018 at 11:06am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Dolphins filled their open roster spot today, signing center Travis Swanson according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Swanson finds a new home in the AFC East, as he was cut by the Jets on Saturday as they trimmed their roster down to 53. Salguero noted in a follow-up tweet that the team had been interested in him earlier this spring before the Jets signed him. He also points out that Swanson has a history with the Dolphins’ offensive line coach, Jeremiah Washburn, from their time in Detroit together.

Swanson came into the league as a third round pick of the Lions back in 2014. He was an effective player when healthy, but struggled with concussion issues his last two seasons with Detroit. Overall, he started 42 games for the Lions and is a nice depth signing for the Dolphins with extensive starting experience. He’ll slide in as the backup to Dolphins center Daniel Kilgore, but could start in a pinch.

Swanson was a somewhat surprising cut by the Jets, and didn’t take long to resurface. The former Arkansas Razorback received very low grades from Pro Football Focus in 2017, but was better before that. If he can show he’s put his concussion issues behind him and stay healthy, he should be able to stick in Miami.

Eagles Rework S Malcolm Jenkins’ Contract

September 3rd, 2018 at 10:31am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Just three days before the Eagles kickoff the 2018 NFL season on Thursday against the Falcons, the team has freed up some cap space. Safety Malcolm Jenkins is restructuring his contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).

While Yates reports that “Jenkins earns the same amount of money”, the Eagles will create $6.148MM in cap space. In other words, it isn’t a pay cut for Jenkins, but rather a procedural move that will give the Eagles additional flexibility. It likely involves converting some of Jenkins’ base salaries into a signing bonus that will spread the cap hit over multiple seasons.

Jenkins is heading into the second year of a four-year, $35MM contract extension. One of the league’s best safeties, Jenkins has started all 64 games that he’s been with the team since signing with Philadelphia as a free agent after the 2013 season. A two-time Super Bowl champion, Jenkins had eight passes defended and two interceptions last year.

It’s unclear what the Eagles plan on doing with the additional salary cap space, but it’s possible they’re planning a move for one of the bigger name free agents out there, and will need the space to sign them. Whatever their intentions, we should have more clarity on their plans soon.

Nathan Peterman To Start Week 1 For Bills

September 3rd, 2018 at 9:43am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

After trading away A.J. McCarron to the Raiders, the Bills’ quarterback competition was down to two. Nathan Peterman has prevailed over Josh Allen for now, as the team announced Peterman will start Week 1 against the Ravens.

Peterman, a fifth round pick last year, struggled heavily in limited regular season action in 2017. But the Pittsburgh product was excellent this preseason, and performed well enough to stave off the start of the Allen-era, at least temporarily. While Allen will almost surely take over the job at some point, the team apparently decided he wasn’t ready. Allen’s preseason was a mixed bag, his potential was clear as ever, but he wasn’t always consistent.

The Bills’ schedule to start the season very likely has something to do with the decision to start Peterman. The first three weeks of the season, they play the Ravens, Chargers, and Vikings. That’s a tough slate of defenses for any quarterback to face, let alone a rookie making his first career starts, so it makes sense why they’d want Allen to avoid that.

The Bills traded Tyrod Taylor to the Browns this spring, all but confirming they planned to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2018 draft. The team used significant draft capital to move up to number seven overall to select Allen, and even if Peterman plays reasonably well, it’s only a matter of time before Allen is under center in Buffalo.

Packers Sign LB Korey Toomer

September 3rd, 2018 at 8:45am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It didn’t take long for Korey Toomer to find a new job, as the veteran linebacker is signing with the Packers according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Toomer signed a one-year deal with the 49ers back in April, but was released Saturday as part of final cuts. Toomer has earned journeyman status over the past couple years, spending time with the Seahawks, Cowboys, Rams, Raiders, Chargers, and 49ers across his relatively short career.

Toomer, a Super Bowl XLVIII champion with the Seahawks, was drafted by Seattle in the fifth round back in 2012. Toomer will provide depth and experience to a Packers linebacking corp that’s been plagued by injuries this offseason. Starter Jake Ryan was lost for the season with a torn ACL, and projected starter Oren Burks will miss at least a couple weeks with a shoulder injury.

Toomer played mostly on special teams earlier in his career, but began to make a big impact on defense with the Chargers. He started eight games each of the past two seasons, and was serviceable. For his career, the former Idaho Vandal has 130 tackles, two sacks, and five passes defended.

In a corresponding roster move, the team placed wide receiver Jake Kumerow on injured reserve.