HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Contract Details: Nsekhe, Anderson, Dorsett

March 20th, 2019 at 10:01pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFL contracts:

AFC West Notes: Raiders, Burfict, Chiefs

March 20th, 2019 at 9:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Antonio Brown was a victim of one of linebacker Vontaze Burfict‘s many dirty hits, going down with a concussion after Burfict arguably head-hunted the former Steelers wideout in the 2015 playoffs. But now that Brown and Burfict are now teammates on the Raiders, the ex-Bengals linebacker isn’t worried about getting along. “It’s all positive, man,” Burfict said, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal. “He’s a great player. He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day. Honestly, I’m just going to approach him like I do all my other teammates, introduce myself, all that good stuff. There’s nothing negative over here. We’re all on the same team.” Burfict, 28, inked a one-year deal with Oakland on Tuesday just one day after being released by Cincinnati.

Here’s more from the AFC West:

  • In addition to visiting with safeties George Iloka and Curtis Riley on Wednesday, the Raiders are also hosting free agent cornerback Tyler Patmon, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Patmon, 28, appeared in 49 total games over the past four years while spending time with the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Jaguars, but only started four of those contests. Last season, Patmon played in 12 games for the Jaguars, seeing roughly 30% playing time on both defense and special teams. Oakland is signed ex-Detroit cornerback Nevin Lawson earlier tonight to play alongside projected starters Gareon Conley and Daryl Worley.
  • The Chiefs met with tight end Neal Sterling on Tuesday, reports Howard Balzer (Twitter link). If signed, Sterling would compete with the likes of Alex Ellis and Deon Yelder to replace Demetrius Harris — who recently signed with the Browns — as Kansas City’s No. 2 tight end behind Travis Kelce. A seventh-round pick of the Jaguars in 2015, Sterling played for the Jets in each of the past two seasons. He managed six catches in five games last year before going down with a season-ending concussion.
  • Former Raiders/Chiefs corner Sean Smith has been reinstated by the NFL, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Smith was suspended indefinitely in November 2018 after being charged with felony assault. He spent part of last year in prison, but was released over the summer. Now entering his age-32 campaign, Smith’s play had already begun to deteriorate even before his ban, meaning he’s unlikely to ever return to the NFL.

Raiders Sign CB Nevin Lawson

March 20th, 2019 at 9:11pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders have agreed to sign free agent cornerback Nevin Lawson, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal worth $3.05MM, tweets Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Oakland was the first and only visit on Lawson’s brief free gent tour. After five years in Detroit, Lawson was released by the Lions earlier this month. He met with the Raiders on Tuesday, and will now join a defensive backfield that’s light on experience, meaning Lawson could be in line for significant playing time.

At present, the Raiders are projected to start Daryl Worley and Gareon Conley at cornerback, but they’ll need a third player capable of playing at least 60% of the club’s defensive snaps. Lawson has the ability to play both outside cornerback and in the slot, and he’ll give Oakland a veteran alternative to young defensive backs Nick Nelson, Rico Gafford and Makinton Dorleant.

Lawson, 26, appeared in 62 games for the Lions after being selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and started 45 of a possible 48 contests over the past three years. While he deflected an average of 6.5 passes during those three seasons, Lawson has amazingly never posted a single interception on nearly 3,000 career snaps.

Advanced metrics, meanwhile, haven’t been complementary of Lawson’s work. Among 60 qualifying corners, Lawson finished 37th in Football Outsiders’ success rate — meaning he was slightly worse than average at stopping opposing receivers short of the sticks — but just 44th on yards per pass. Moreover, the Lions ranked 27th in DVOA against opposing No. 2 wide receivers, the pass-catchers Lawson was most often covering opposite Darius Slay.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/19

March 20th, 2019 at 8:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Waived: WR Jimmy Williams

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

New York Jets

Raiders Hosted Cassius Marsh

March 20th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders hosted free agent defensive end Cassius Marsh earlier this week, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Marsh was released by the 49ers last week after spending parts of two seasons in the Bay Area. San Francisco originally claimed Marsh off waivers in November 2017 and signed him to an extension the following April. The Niners had just exercised Marsh’s option for the 2018 season earlier this month, but the club didn’t have a need for him after acquiring fellow defensive end Dee Ford from the Chiefs.

Now entering his age-27 campaign, Marsh played a career-high 550 defensive snaps in 2018, racking up 38 tackles (seven for loss) and 5.5 sacks in the process. He also saw action on roughly 50% of the 49ers’ special teams plays a year ago, and has nearly reached the 80% ST threshold in prior seasons.

Special teams would likely be an area of focus for Marsh if he signs with Oakland (especially after the team ranked just 22nd in Football Outsiders ST ratings), but the Raiders need help on the edge, too. Oakland posted only 13 sacks in 2018, the fewest of any team in more than a decade.

Dwayne Haskins To Meet With Five Teams

March 20th, 2019 at 5:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins will work out for the Raiders and Dolphins in the coming days, and also plans to meet with the Redskins, Broncos, and Giants, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Fully expected to become a top-10 pick in next month’s draft, Haskins will likely embark on a busy schedule over the next several weeks. Haskins performed at OSU’s Pro Day earlier today, giving NFL clubs an up-close look at his abilities, and he’ll surely meet with a number of other teams — in addition to those listed above — in the weeks leading up to the draft.

New York will meet with Haskins despite conflicting reports about its potential interest in the Buckeye signal-caller. While some reports have indicated Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is “all over” Haskins, others have said Haskins isn’t likely to be a target for Big Blue.

Washington is another logical candidate to land Haskins, as the Redskins need a cheap quarterback given that Alex Smith is expensive and unlikely to play any time soon. Given that need, Washington has already begun “sniffing around” about a possible trade up from No. 15 overall, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The Jets, who are looking to recoup draft capital after moving up for Sam Darnold in 2018, might be a trade partner for Washington at No. 3.

Vikings To Sign Josh Kline

March 20th, 2019 at 4:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings seem to have found their replacement for Nick Easton. On Wednesday, the team agreed to sign offensive lineman Josh Kline, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin (on Twitter). It’ll be a three-year, $15.75MM deal when all is said and done.

[RELATED: Vikings Re-Sign Dan Bailey]

Kline signed a four-year, $26MM deal ($12MM guaranteed) with the Titans last offseason, but the team moved on from him after he rejected a pay cut earlier this month. The lineman started all 16 games in 2018, although the advanced metrics imply that he took a step back from his previous seasons. After rating as a fringe top-20 guard in 2017, Pro Football Focus graded Kline 50th among 77 eligible guards in 2018.

The Vikings need some reinforcement on the offensive line, which is exactly what Kline can provide. At the moment, it appears that he’ll be in line to serve as the team’s starting right guard.

Interestingly, his new deal gives him a comparable average annual value to his previous deal, so he probably made the right call by rejecting the Titans’ push for a pay cut.

Saints, Nick Easton Hit Snag

March 20th, 2019 at 4:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Center/guard Nick Easton is set to join the Saints’ offensive line – unless he isn’t. On Wednesday, Easton’s contract was “disapproved,” according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link) hears that it’s a minor issue and that everything is still on track for Easton to play for the Saints.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like the contract was turned down by the league office, but the reason behind it is unclear. Typically, if a contract is rejected by NFL execs in New York, it signals a salary cap issue or language-related snafu.

The Saints agreed to sign Easton earlier this week after losing Max Unger to retirement. The plan was for Easton to man the center position, filling a major void in the front five.

As far as we know, that’s still the plan in New Orleans, though there are other options for the Saints to explore if worst comes to worst.

East Notes: Cowboys, Crawford, Jets, Bills

March 20th, 2019 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from the AFC and NFC East divisions:

  • Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford was caught on camera brawling inside of a Florida bar, as TMZ details. The 6’4″, 280-pound lineman is shown fighting off four bouncers at once and holding his own. Then, the fight spilled outside, where Crawford got tangled up with multiple cops. Interestingly, Crawford was not arrested and has not been charged with a crime. However, the NFL might have something to say about the incident. After losing Randy Gregory and David Irving to indefinite bans, the Cowboys can ill afford to lose anyone else on the D-Line for the start of the 2019 season.
  • Center was a major need for the Jets this offseason, but they did not make offers to Mitch Morse or Matt Paradis, the top two centers in this year’s free agent class (via Manish Mehta of the Daily News). Instead, they re-upped Jonotthan Harrison on a two-year deal with the hope that he can compete with other versatile interior line additions to come. Brett Jones, who has drawn interest from the Jets and a quintet of other clubs, could be added to the mix.
  • Seahawks free agent Maurice Alexander, a longtime starter for the Rams, will visit the Bills on Thursday and Friday, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

Jets To Sign QB Trevor Siemian

March 20th, 2019 at 3:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have agreed to sign quarterback Trevor Siemian, according to a tweet from agent Mike McCartney. Siemian’s one-year deal is worth $2MM and could reach up to $3MM with incentives, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press adds (on Twitter).

Gang Green met with Siemian earlier today and the two sides quickly hammered out a deal. The Vikings were interested in retaining him as their backup QB, but, for one reason or another, Siemian jumped at the Jets offer. It’s possible that the cash-flush Jets offered Siemian more money. It’s also possible that Siemian felt that he had a better path to seeing the field as the backup to Sam Darnold rather than supporting Kirk Cousins. Siemian did not appear in a Vikings game last season as Cousins took every snap for Minnesota.

The Jets have been connected to Siemian for a while now – he was on their radar a year ago, with the team connected to the then-Broncos quarterback via trade. New York had already re-signed Josh McCown and added Teddy Bridgewater, leading to Minnesota’s trade acquisition. In 2017, when some brief Tony Romo-to-Denver smoke surfaced, rumors of Jets-Siemian interested emerged. But, Siemian returned as the Broncos’ 2017 starter.

Siemian, 27, fared reasonably well as the 2016 Broncos’ starter, leading the team to a 9-7 record and throwing 18 touchdown passes against ten interceptions. In 2017, he rated as one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks, prompting the Broncos to change course.

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