HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Chargers To Sign Antonio Gates

September 2nd, 2018 at 10:56am CST by Rory Parks

The Chargers and Antonio Gates are getting back together. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that the Bolts and the future Hall-of-Famer have agreed to a deal that will allow Gates to return to LA. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network adds (via Twitter) that the pact includes some reachable incentives to make it worth Gates’ while.

After young tight end Hunter Henry went down with a torn ACL in May, the Chargers, who had previously told Gates that he would not be re-signed for a 16th season with the club, reconsidered their position. The two sides have been in contact over the past several months, and while the Chargers had hoped to have Gates in the fold before training camp, they were finally able to get a deal done today.

The 38-year-old is coming off a career-low 316 receiving yards, but the rapport between him and quarterback Philip Rivers cannot be understated. And while Gates is obviously not the same player he was in his prime, he still represents a credible receiving threat at the tight end position, which the playoff-hopeful Chargers desperately needed. Although the club has plenty of talent at the wide receiver and running back positions, having a security blanket like Gates will help the offense reach its full potential.

Gates’ accomplishments in the league are well-known. The former basketball star has amassed over 11,500 receiving yards, third-highest among tight ends in league history, to go along with 114 touchdowns, three First Team All-Pro bids, and eight Pro Bowls.

The Chargers are still hopeful that Henry could return late in the season, and if he does, that will make the team all the more threatening down the stretch and potentially into the postseason.

AFC West Notes: Mack, Lynch, Henry

September 2nd, 2018 at 10:14am CST by Rory Parks

Yesterday’s trade that sent Khalil Mack from the Raiders to the Bears rocked the NFL world, and we can expect more details to trickle out in the coming days. For instance, Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie conceded yesterday that he never had any desire to trade Mack until the end. Per Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, McKenzie said, “My whole thought process was how to get Khalil in here. Absolutely, it was here at the end, it was in the final hour that it kind of just hit and it hit hard and heavy. It was not the plan to trade him at all.”

McKenzie also said he was not afraid to pay top dollar for Mack, but he just could not justify Mack’s asking price. He said, “We presented him with an offer. We got the counter back and talked about it with (agent Joel Segal). What they were demanding, it just wasn’t going to work” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). McKenzie, though, did not elaborate on how Mack’s counteroffer to the Raiders compared with the contract he ultimately landed with the Bears. Gehlken also tweets that more than half the league inquired on Mack, and Oakland ultimately narrowed the list of suitors to teams that it believed could be picking high in the first round in 2019.

Now let’s round up several more rumors from the AFC West:

  • Embattled QB Paxton Lynch is still on the Broncos‘ roster for now, but he may not be around for long. As James Palmer of the NFL Network tweets, Denver GM John Elway said he spoke with several free agent quarterbacks, but the QBs he was interested in did not have any interest in joining the Broncos. Elway did not name names, but it is clear that Denver could still move on from Lynch if the club can make an upgrade through free agency or the waiver wire.
  • The Broncos waived impressive rookie OLB Jeff Holland yesterday and likely hope that he will go unclaimed so they can put him on the practice squad. Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic, however, tweets that she does not expected Holland to make it through waivers, as teams were expressing interest in him even before he was cut.
  • We heard several weeks ago that Chargers TE Hunter Henry could return this season, and as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk points out, what the Bolts did during final cuts yesterday is in keeping with that report. Los Angeles elected to put Henry on the PUP list rather than injured reserve, which further supports the notion that, if the Chargers are in the playoff hunt late in the season, Henry could return to help get them over the hump.
  • The Raiders released WR Martavis Bryant yesterday, as Bryant is facing yet another drug-related suspension.
  • The Chiefs released CB David Amerson yesterday.

Giants Open To Trading Kyle Lauletta or Davis Webb

September 2nd, 2018 at 9:19am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants still have four quarterbacks after trimming their roster to 53 players yesterday, but the team will obviously not go into Week 1 with four signal-callers. As Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com reports, Big Blue is open to dealing either Davis Webb or Kyle Lauletta.

The Giants selected Webb in the third round of the 2017 draft, but new head coach Pat Shurmur and new GM Dave Gettleman do not have any ties to the California product. They do have ties to Lauletta, who was selected in the fourth round of this year’s draft, so it would certainly be surprising if they chose to trade the former Richmond QB.

Nonetheless, it was Lauletta, and not Webb, who played in the team’s final preseason game, so the Giants could have been preserving Webb as a trade chip, they could have been showcasing Lauletta to bolster his trade value, or both. If New York is able to find a taker for either young QB, 30-year-old Alex Tanney would likely remain as the team’s No. 3 QB, as Shurmur prefers to keep three quarterbacks on his roster.

Of course the Giants could elect to keep both Webb and Lauletta and continue to groom them for the future while cutting Tanney in favor of a player at a position of need like cornerback or defensive line.

Panthers Rework Luke Kuechly’s Contract

September 2nd, 2018 at 8:56am CST by Rory Parks

The Panthers have restructured star linebacker Luke Kuechly‘s contract by converting $6.8MM of his salary into a signing bonus, per ESPN’s Field Yates (Twitter link). The move gives Kuechly, who is coming off his fourth First Team All-Pro nod, a nice influx of cash while also creating $5.1MM of cap space for Carolina this year.

Kuechly remains under club control through 2021, and while teams generally do not like to convert salary into signing bonus, as it makes it more difficult to cut ties with a player before his contract expires, it seems unlikely that Carolina will want to move on from Kuechly anytime soon. Although the Boston College product has missed a number of games due to concussions, and although he has had surgery on both of his shoulders — indeed, he has not played a full 16-game season since 2014 — he remains the best inside linebacker in the game.

The 27-year-old will once again anchor the middle of the Panthers’ defense in 2018. Carolina made the playoffs last season and is hoping for a return trip this year, but the team’s offensive line is a major cause for concern at the moment. Indeed, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that LT Matt Kalil is likely to miss at least the first three games of the regular season, and the Panthers have already placed RT Daryl Williams on injured reserve. Plus, left guard Amini Silatolu is dealing with a torn meniscus.

As such, Carolina could use some of its newfound cap space on an offensive lineman or two, and it could also look to upgrade its backup QB and safety situation. Theoretically, the Panthers could also look into an extension for wide receiver Devin Funchess.

Mike Gillislee To Visit Saints

September 2nd, 2018 at 8:17am CST by Rory Parks

Running back Mike Gillislee, whom the Patriots released yesterday, is visiting with the Saints this morning, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). As Herbie Teope of NFL.com tweets, New Orleans would be a logical fit for Gillislee, as the club currently has just two running backs on the active roster after yesterday’s cuts (Alvin Kamara and rookie Boston Scott).

Last offseason, Gillislee signed with New England as a restricted free agent after an excellent 2016 campaign in Buffalo. But despite a three-touchdown debut for the Pats in the 2017 season opener, he could not carve out much of a role in Foxborough, and his release yesterday was anything but surprising. He finished his New England tenure with 383 rushing yards (3.7 per carry) and five touchdowns.

But the 27-year-old has plenty of ability, and he and Kamara could form a nice 1-2 punch in the Big Easy. When Mark Ingram returns from suspension, that trio would represent one of the best RB corps in the league, especially as they have complementary skill-sets.

Gillislee, a Florida product, was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. He has spent his entire career in the AFC East, having played two seasons in Miami, two in Buffalo, and one in New England.

North Notes: Bears, Ravens, Packers, Browns

September 1st, 2018 at 9:15pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Among the offers the Raiders received for edge rusher Khalil Mack, the Bears‘ was “by far” the strongest, tweets Michael Lombardi of The Athletic. Chicago eventually acquired Mack, so it’s unsurprising their offer was the most substantial, but Lombardi’s report may indicate the Bears outbid rivals by several magnitudes. In the end, Chicago sent Oakland a 2019 first-round pic, a 2010 first-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick, and a 2019 sixth-round pick in exchange for Mack, a 2020 second-round round pick, and a conditional 2020 fifth-round pick. The Bears have since extended Mack, making him the NFL’s highest-paid defender.

Bears Trim Roster To 53

September 1st, 2018 at 7:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bears have reduced their roster to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Waived:

Released:

Placed on injured reserve:

Seahawks Move Roster To 53

September 1st, 2018 at 7:37pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Placed on NFI:

Placed on injured reserve:

Cut:

Redskins Form Initial Roster

September 1st, 2018 at 7:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins moved their roster to 53 players on Saturday by making the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on injured reserve:

Placed on PUP:

Placed on NFI:

Raiders Announce Roster Cuts

September 1st, 2018 at 7:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Trading Khalil Mack wasn’t the Raiders’ only order of business Saturday. They’ve also moved their roster to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Waived:

Released:

Waived/injured:

Placed on injured reserve:

Placed on PUP list:

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